Wee Read - Colors

Early Literacy Tip: Choose books with familiar items (shoes, toys, pets) and familiar routines (bedtime, bath time, meals).

Books

Baby Colors by Rachael Hale

How Do You Make a Baby Smile? by Philemon Sturges

I Love Colors by Margaret Miller (read together book)

Songs/Rhymes

Roll Roll Sugarbabies

Roll, roll sugarbabies (arms roll)
Roll, roll sugarbabies.
Push, pull,
Clap, clap, clap!

--Rain Makes Applesauce

Wave Your Scarf (with scarves)

Wave your scarf, one, two, three

Wave your scarf, just like me!

(repeat with roll and throw)

­--Adapted by Mollie. Originally from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Wind, Oh Wind (with scarves)

­-- Mother Goose on the Loose by Betsy Diamant-Cohen. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2006.

Mix a Pancake (with scarves)

Mix a pancake, stir a pancake

Pop it in a pan.

Fry a pancake, toss a pancake,

Catch it if you can!

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Peek-a-Boo (with scarves)

Tune: Are You Sleeping?

Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo

I see you, I see you

I see your button nose,

I see your tiny toes.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

--Jim Thomas

Good Morning, Mrs. Perky Bird (with crow puppet)

Sung to: “Short’nin’ Bread”

--Mother Goose on the Loose by Betsy Diamant-Cohen. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2006.

This is the Way

This is the way we

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

This is the way we bounce, bounce, bounce

Early in the morning. Wheeee!

--Manly Library

Storytime - Who Hibernates?

Toddler

Books: Sleepy Bear by Lydia Dabcovich and Forever Friends by Carin Berger.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “The Leaves are Falling Down”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Preschool

Books: Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming and Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “The Leaves are Falling Down”, and “The More We Get Together”.

The Leaves are Falling Down

Sung to: "The Farmer in the Dell"
The leaves are falling down,
The leaves are falling down.
Red, yellow, green, and brown,
The leaves are falling down.

--PreschoolEducation
*I threw fake leaves in the air while singing this song. When the song was over, the children helped “rake” them up and put them back in the bag.

Craft

Pine Cone Bird Feeders. Materials: pine cones, yarn, Sunbutter (a peanut-free alternative to peanut butter), birdseed, small paper bags, and popsicle sticks. A piece of yarn was tied to each pine cone by a volunteer. The children spread the imitation peanut butter on to the pine cones with their popsicle sticks. When their cones were covered, I gave them a paper bag with birdseed inside. The children placed their cone in the bag and shook, making sure the birdseed covered the cone.

This craft was a community service project for the Spring Creek Forest. The pine cone bird feeders were given to them to place on their trees for their annual For the Birds event. The children were eager to help feed the birds for the winter. Each child who participated received a sticker for helping with the project.

Wee Read - Monster Mash

Early Literacy Tip: Summarize the book if it has too many words, or just talk about the pictures. Most toddler books have no plot, so it’s not necessary to read from cover to cover.

Books
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen
That's Not My Monster by Fiona Watt
What Do You Do? by Mandy Stanley

Songs/Rhymes

If You’re a Monster
Sung to: "If You're Happy and You Know It"
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms.
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms.
If you're a monster and you know then your arms will surely show it.
If you're a monster and you know it wave your arms.
Continue with:
...show your claws
...gnash your teeth
...stomp your feet
...growl out loud

--PreschoolEducation

The Great Big Spider (with spider puppet)

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

*This song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". but instead of singing the words "itsy bitsy", insert "great big".

There’s a Spider on the Floor (with spider puppet)

There's a spider on the floor, on the floor. x2

There's a spider on the floor,

There's a spider on the floor,

There's a spider on the floor, on the floor.

There’s a spider on my leg, and he’s really really big…
There’s a spider on my tummy, and he feels kind of funny…
There’s a spider on my head, oh, my face is really red…
But he jumps off!
There’s a spider on the floor…

--Mel’s Desk

Five Crazy Monsters (with monster finger puppets)

Five crazy monsters jumping on the bed.

One fell off and bumped his head.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

“No more monsters jumping on the bed.”

--Storytiming

Horns & Fangs

Sung to: "Head and Shoulders"
Horns and fangs, knees and claws,
knees and claws.
Horns and fangs, knees and claws,

Knees and claws.
Eyes and ears and tail and paws.

Horns and fangs, knees and claws,

Knees and claws.

--PreschoolEducation

Storytime - My Favorite Things

Toddler

Books: Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas and “The Little Red Hen” on the felt board (template is from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra).

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “The Hokey Pokey”, “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” on the felt board, “Come Under My Umbrella” with the parachute, “Row Boat, Row Boat” with the parachute, “Ring Around the Rosie” with the parachute, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: There was no craft today. We played with the parachute instead.

Preschool
Books: Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas and Hungry Hen by Richard Waring on the felt board.

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Hi There, So Glad You Came”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “Head and Shoulders”, “Five Little Monkeys Swinging from the Tree”, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, “Come Under My Umbrella” with the parachute, “Row Boat, Row Boat” with the parachute, “London Bridge” with the parachute, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: There was no craft today. We played with the parachute instead.


Songs

Five Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head!

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

Continue to one little monkey

--Traditional

Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree

Five little monkeys swinging from a tree,

Teasing Mr. Crocodile, “You can’t catch me!”

When along comes Mr. Crocodile

AAAAAAAAAND SNAP!

Four little monkeys, etc…

--Traditional

Come Under My Umbrella (parachute)

Come under my umbrella,

Umbrella, umbrella.

Gently wave the parachute up and down.

Come under my umbrella,

It’s starting to storm.

Move parachute faster.

There’s thunder and lightning

And wind and rain.

Come under my umbrella,

It’s starting to storm.

--MCLS Kids

Row Boat, Row Boat (parachute)

Row boat, row boat go so fast (shake the chute fast).

Row boat, row boat go so slow (wave the chute slowly).

Row boat, row boat the waves are getting worse (shake fast again).

Row boat, row boat put it in reverse (stop the chute by pulling towards you).

--Delectable Dabbling

Ring Around the Rosie (parachute)

Lead the group around in a circle.

Ring around the rosy
A pocketful of posies
"Ashes, Ashes"
We all fall down!

Everyone falls down.

--Traditional

London Bridge (parachute)

London Bridge is falling down.

Falling down, falling down.

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair lady.

--Traditional 

Wee Read - Shake Shake Shake

Early Literacy Tip: Be a good reading role model. Read in front of your kids. Explain how reading and writing help you get things done every day.

Books

Bouncing Babies by Mike Brownlow

Yawn by Sally Symes

What’s on My Head? by Margaret Miller (read together book)

Songs/Rhymes

Head and Shoulders

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

Knees and toes

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,

Knees and toes

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose

Head and shoulders, knees and toes

Knees and toes!

-- Traditional

An Egg is On My Nose (with egg shakers)
Sung to: “The Farmer in the Dell”
An egg is on my nose,

an egg is on my nose,
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,

an egg is on my nose.
(Repeat using other body parts)

--Storytime Source Page

Shake Your Eggs (with egg shakers)

use shaker eggs
Shake your eggs and shake them high.
Shake your eggs and shake them low.
Shake your eggs and shake them high.
Shake your eggs around you go.

--Librarian Lisa’s Storytimes

Put Your Egg on Your Head (with egg shakers)

Sung to: “There’s a Spider on the Floor”
Put your egg on your head, on your head.
Put your egg on your head, on your head.
Put your egg on your head
Put your egg on your head.
Put your egg on your head, on your head.
continue with toes, tummy, etc.

--Librarian Lisa’s Storytimes

I Wiggle My Fingers

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream!

--Traditional

Eyes and Nose

--Storytime Crafts: Crazy Days by Kathryn Totten. Ft. Atkinson, WI: Upstart Books, 2004.

Storytime - Breakfast

Toddler

Books: Max’s Breakfast by Rosemary Wells, Ellie’s Breakfast by Sarah Garland, and “The Pancake Man” on the felt board.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “Head and Shoulders”, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Pancakes. Materials: Die cut tan construction paper circles, paper plates, red stickers, brown yarn, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued their circles (pancakes) to the plates, placed the stickers (cherries) on top, and drizzled the yarn (syrup) on top. The idea came from Estherstorytimes.

Preschool

Books: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss and “Flip Flap Jack” on the felt board.

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “Open, Shut Them”, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Pancakes. Materials: Die cut tan construction paper circles, paper plates, red, blue, and yellow stickers, brown yarn, crayons, glue, and tape. The preschoolers glued their circles (pancakes) to the plates, placed the stickers (cherries, blueberries, and bananas) on top, and drizzled the yarn (syrup) on top.

Flannel Friday - The Little Red Hen

Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully my American readers had a great (and filling!) Thanksgiving.

"The Little Red Hen" is one of my favorite stories to tell aloud. I recently decided to use it again in storytime, but thought the toddlers would like to see, too.

The templates came from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book: Second Edition by Judy Sierra.

Library Quine is hosting the Flannel Friday round up this week. For more information about FF, or to see past round ups, visit the Flannel Friday blog. We're also on Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Wee Read - Thanksgiving

Early Literacy Tip of the Week: Don't be afraid to improvise. The words don't need to be read as they appear in the book. You can just talk about the pictures.

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

If You’re a Turkey and You Know It

If you’re a turkey and you know it,

Flap your wings.

If you’re a turkey and you know it,

Flap your wings.

If you’re a turkey and you know it,

And you really want to show it.

If you’re a turkey and you know it,

Flap your wings.

Continue with wibble, wobble; gobble gobble; do all three.

--Miss Mollie

Open Shut Them

Book One

This is Thanksgiving by Harriet Ziefert

Did You Ever See A Turkey?

Sung to: "Did you ever see a Lassie"
Did you ever see a turkey a turkey a turkey
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that
Go this way and that way and this way and that way
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that?

--PreschoolEducation.com

The Turkey

The turkey is a funny bird,

His head goes wobble, wobble, wobble.

All he says is just one word,

“Gobble, gobble, gobble.”

--HomeSchoolCreations.com

Turkey Feathers

Sung to: “Are You Sleeping?”

Turkey feathers, turkey feathers,

Red, orange, yellow,

Green and brown.

Which color is this?

Which color is this?

Do you know? Do you know?

--from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes. Elgin, IL: Building Blocks, 1997.

Book Two

My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola

The Leaves are Falling Down

Sung to: "The Farmer in the Dell"
The leaves are falling down
The leaves are falling down
Red, yellow, green, and brown
The leaves are falling down.

--PreschoolEducation

Hello Mr. Turkey 

Sung to: "If You're Happy and You Know It"
Hello, Mr. Turkey how are you?
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?
With a gobble, gobble, gobble,
And a wobble, wobble, wobble.
Hello, Mr. Turkey, how are you?

--PreschoolEducation.com

Read Together

Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

The More We Get Together

Storytime - Thanksgiving

Toddler

Books: My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola and This is Thanksgiving by Deborah Zemke.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Did You Ever See a Turkey”, “Turkey Feathers” on the felt board, and “The More We Get Together”.

Turkey Feathers

Sung to: “Are You Sleeping?”

--from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes. Elgin, IL: Building Blocks, 1997.

*I handed each toddler a turkey feather. We sang the song, and at the end of each verse, I said a color of feather. Those toddlers with that color in their hand brought it to the front and placed it on the felt board.

Did You Ever See A Turkey?

Sung to: “Did You Ever See a Lassie?"
Did you ever see a turkey, a turkey, a turkey?
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that?
Go this way and that way, and this way and that way,
Did you ever see a turkey go this way and that?

--PreschoolEducation.com

Craft: Build Your Own Turkey. Materials: Die cut brown construction paper circles, die cut feathers, full sheet of green construction paper, yellow construction paper beaks, googly eyes, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued their turkey pieces to the green paper and colored them in.

Preschool

Books: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr and I Know an Old

Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson on the felt board (the felt board template came from Lil Country Kindergarten).

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Hi There, So Glad You Came”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Did You Ever See a Turkey”, and “The More We Get Together”. 

Craft: Thankful Chains. Materials: Construction paper strips in five colors, crayons, glue, and tape. The preschoolers wrote one thing they were thankful for on each strip of paper. They used the strips to form a chain. When they were done, I went around the room and asked the children what they had written. One child wrote that she was thankful for the library!

Storytime - Colors of the Rainbow

This is by far my favorite storytime theme to do!

Books

• Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry
• Toddler
• A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
• Toddler
• Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
• Preschool
• Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
• Preschool

Songs/Rhymes

Color Ducks (flannel board)

Sung to: “Mary Wore a Red Dress”

If you have a red duck, red duck,

Red duck,

If you have a red duck, bring it to me now.

--Abby the Librarian

*I gave each child a duck, then sang the song. When I held up a color, each child with the same color brought it to me and placed it in my basket.

**Abby's version was about cows at the farm. 

Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue

Sung to: Head and Shoulders

Red, yellow, green, and blue,

Green and blue.

Red, yellow, green, and blue,

Green and blue.

Orange, purple, brown, and black.

Red, yellow, green, and blue,

Green and blue.

--Unknown.

*We sang the song once through, then took out the color red and replaced it with a red rectangle. At the rectangles, we clapped instead of singing the color.

**I don't have a source for this song, so if you know where it comes from, share the information!

Activities

Build a Rainbow

I asked the children to help me build a rainbow by finding what piece came next in order of size. The pattern is from Storytime Magic by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker.

Mixing Colors Experiment

After reading Mouse Paint, I demonstrated how to mix colors by pouring water into clear cups and dropping in food coloring. The preschoolers guessed what color the water would turn when the two cups were mixed. One mom even called afterwards to say that her son had so much fun watching the experiment that he wanted to recreate it at home!

Crafts

Toddler - Build a Rainbow

Materials: Construction paper semi-circles in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, crayons, glue, and tape. I used the Storytime Magic template (see above). The toddlers glued their rainbows together in color order. 

Preschool - Mixing Colors

Mixing Colors. Materials: dyed macaroni noodles, color mixing print out, glue, tape, crayons, and scissors. The preschoolers matched the correct color of macaroni to the corresponding box on the paper. You can find the sheet I made for this here.

Wee Read - Fall is Here

Early Literacy Tip: Speak face-to-face when talking to your baby: they watch adults’ mouths to match shapes to sounds.

Books
Dappled Apples by Jan Carr
Orange PearApple Bear by Emily Gravett
BabyFarm Friends by Jeanie Lee (read together book)

Songs / Rhymes

Criss Cross Applesauce

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Three Little Apples (felt board not pictured)

Three little apples at the grocery store.

Three little apples, all lonely to the core.

When along comes a child with a quarter to pay,

She buys one and takes it away.

--Miss Mollie

The Leaves are Falling Down

Sung to: "The Farmer in the Dell"
The leaves are falling down
The leaves are falling down
Red, yellow, green, and brown
The leaves are falling down

--PreschoolEducation

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree

arms above head

Two little apples did I see.

make two fists

So I shook that tree as hard as I could,

wiggle body all over

Down, came the apples.

bring arms down, wiggling fingers

Mmmmmm, they were good!

rub tummy

--Passionate Librarian

I Wiggle My Fingers

--from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Tall as a Tree

--I’m a Little Teapot: Presenting Preschool Storytime by Jane Cobb. Vancouver, BC: Black Sheep Press, 1996.

Blue Bird, Blue Bird

Blue bird, blue bird,

On my window.

Blue bird, blue bird,

On my window.

Blue bird, blue bird,

On my window.

Oh, Mommy, I'm tired.

--Jim Thomas

Storytime - Apples

Books

• Dappled Apples by Jan Carr
• Toddler
• Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
• Toddler
• The Apple Pie that Papa Baked
• Preschool

Songs/Rhymes

Five Little Apples

Five little apples at the grocery store.

Five little apples, all lonely to the core.

When along comes a child with a quarter to pay,

She buys one and takes it away.

--Miss Mollie

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree

arms above head

Two little apples did I see.

make two fists

So I shook that tree as hard as I could,

wiggle body all over

Down, came the apples.

bring arms down, wiggling fingers

Mmmmmm, they were good!

rub tummy

--Passionate Librarian

A-P-P-L-E

Sung to: “B-I-N-G-O”

There is a fruit I really like,

And Apple is its name-o.

A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E

And Apple is its name-o.

--Miss Mollie

Craft

Toddlers - Apple Tree

Materials: Die cut red construction paper mini apples, die cut brown construction paper trees, die cut green construction paper clouds (leaves), crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued and taped the leaves and apples to their trees.

Preschool - Small a

I taught the preschoolers about the difference between capital A and lower case a before handing them this color-by-number sheet.

Storytime - Opposites and Underwear?!

Note: The toddlers' theme was Opposites. The preschoolers' was Underwear.

Books
Toddler
You and Me: We're Opposites by Harriet Ziefert
A Garden of Opposites by Nancy Davis

Preschool
Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
What Color is Your Underwear? by Sam Lloyd

Songs/Rhymes

Tall as a Tree (Toddler)

Tall as a tree.

stand up tall with arms over head

Wide as a house.

stretch arms out to sides, feet apart

Thin as a pin.

arms at sides, feet together

Small as a mouse.

sink down to floor and crouch

--source unknown

Activities

Don’t Stare at the Bear

--Storytime Crafts: Crazy Days by Kathryn Totten. Ft. Atkinson, WI: Upstart Books, 2004.

Parachute

Instead of a craft, the toddlers played with the parachute. We sang:

Come Under My Umbrella (parachute)

Come under my umbrella,

Umbrella, umbrella.

Gently wave the parachute up and down.

Come under my umbrella,

It’s starting to storm.

Move parachute faster.

There’s thunder and lightning

And wind and rain.

Come under my umbrella,

It’s starting to storm.

--MCLS Kids

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream!

--Traditional

Ring Around the Rosie

Ring around the rosie

A pocket full of posie

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

--Traditional

Craft

The preschoolers were given a copy of a bear paper doll from Kathryn Totten's book Storytime Crafts: Crazy Days (see above). They cut out their bear and his clothing.

Flannel Friday Round Up - 10/19/12

Happy Friday, fellow flannelers! We have quite the roundup for you today!

Maureen shares with us her fun fall-themed game, Scarecrow, Scarecrow, as well as how to make great scarecrow hats.

Lisa has flannelized a storytime favorite: Mouse Shapes!

Tina's Tasty Treats is an original draw-and-tell story by Anne.

Library Quine shows us how to make our own hand-held flannel boards. Genius!

Swim down to the bottom of the ocean with Angela's Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea.

Melissa is back in the Flannel Friday spotlight with her beautiful Little Birds.

I scream, you scream, Katie screams for ice cream! Check out her deliciously cute Three Ice Cream Cones.

Grab your goggles because we're going to the ocean! Dorothy has Five Little Starfish to keep us company.

I spy with my little eye... Erin with shapes!

Courtney shares her original story, Little Mouse and the Big Leaf.

Sarah is picking up the trash with these cute garbage trucks.

Sarah Mc will have your mouth watering as you do the Pizza Chant.

BOO! Don't be scared, it's just Kay Leigh with some ghostly glowing props.

Black cat, black cat, what do you see? I see Jane looking at me!

Public service announcement: This is brought to you by The La Crosse Public Library in La Crosse, WI. They are looking for an innovative, creative, and all-around awesome kid lib for their early literacy department. Seriously folks, this sounds like a great opportunity. Check out the specifics here.

Wow, what a line up! For more ideas, tips, tricks, and information, be sure to visit our three locations: Flannel Friday blog, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Flannel Friday Place Holder

Happy Friday, fellow Flannelers! I'll be your Flannel Friday host this week. Please submit your links in the comments below.

I can't wait to see what everyone has for this week!