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!

Wee Read - Piggies!

Early Literacy Tip: Make books available to everyone in the house. Display them in each room and keep them on low shelves for children. 

Books 
Piggies by Audrey Wood and Don Wood 
Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton 
Touch and Feel Farm by Dawn Sirett (read together) 

Songs/Rhymes 
Here We Go Up, Up, Up 
--Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001. 

Three Dirty Piggies 
Three dirty piggies rolling in the mud. 
Squishy, squashy, felt so good! 
Then along came the farmer, who took one for a bath. 
Continue to one little piggy 
--PreschoolEducation.com 





Three Pigs So Squeaky Clean 
Three pigs so squeaky clean 
Cleanest you’ve ever seen 
Wanted to go outside and play 
Oink! Oink! 
One jumped into the mud
Landed with a great big THUD 
Then there were two clean squeaky pigs.
Continue to one little piggy  
--Mel’s Desk 

I Went to the Farm One Day 
--Mother Goose on the Loose by Betsy Diamant-Cohen. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2006. 
*With pig puppet 

Do Your Ears Hang Low? 
Do your ears hang low? 
Do they wobble to and fro? 
Can you tie them in a knot? 
Can you tie them in a bow? 
Can you throw them over your shoulder like a Continental soldier? 
Do your ears hang low?
--Traditional 

Oliver Twist 
Oliver Twist twist twist 
Can do this this this 
Touch his knees knees knees 
Touch his nose nose nose 
Touch his hair hair hair 
Touch his toes toes toes 
Oliver Twist twist twist 
Can’t do this this this 
Touch his ears ears ears 
Touch his waist waist waist 
Touch his eyes eyes eyes 
Touch his face face face. 
--District 196

Storytime - Pigs!

Books

• Ten Dirty Pigs, Ten Clean Pigs: An Upside-Down, Turn-Around Bathtime Counting Book by Carol Roth
• Toddler
• This book is double-sided. I only read the Ten Dirty Pigs portion.
• Z-Z-Zoink! by Bernard Most
• Toddler
• I'm a Pig by Sarah Weeks
• Preschool
• One of my favorite read-alouds!
• Huff & Puff
• Claudia Rueda
• Great book for class participation.

Songs/Rhymes

*These two rhymes are great to do together. The pigs get dirty then get a bath or vice-versa.

Five Little Piggies

Five little piggies rolling in the mud.

Squishy, squashy, felt so good!

Then along came the farmer,

who took one for a bath.

Continue to one little piggy

-- PreschoolEducation.com





Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean

Five pigs so squeaky clean
Cleanest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
One jumped into the mud
Landed with a great big THUD
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs.

--Mel’s Desk

Crafts

Toddler - Piggy Face 

Materials: Construction paper pig heads, googly eyes, pink pompoms, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued the eyes and pompom nose to their pig faces then colored them in.

Preschool - Pink Pigs

Materials: Pig outline on cardstock, pink paint, and paint brushes. The preschoolers painted their pigs with the pink paint.

Your Help is Needed!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you'll know that my sister and her boyfriend just began teaching English to children in China. They'll be there for a year!

They've only had limited experience working with small children, so here's where you come in. What would you say is the most valuable classroom management technique you've learned when working with children. I'd like to hear from everyone: teachers, librarians, moms are all invited! 

I learned early on that I needed to have a way to get the wiggles out before we began. I always warm up with a wiggly and loud song like "If You're Happy and You Know It" and get them focused with a quieter song like "Open, Shut Them".

Also, if anyone has ever lived in a foreign country, we'd like to know any tricks you have for adapting to a new culture (i.e. dealing with new food, mannerisms, etc).

Thank you in advance!

Here are some pictures she's posted of classrooms at the school. They're so cute! Try not to be too jealous.

Flannel Friday - Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Happy Friday, everyone!

This Friday I'm proud to show off my felt version of "Way Up High in the Apple Tree".

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

The tree trunk is made from a die cut of a tree without leaves. The leaves are actually from a cloud die. When we get to the end of the song, I shake the tree so the apples fall off.

Sarah at Read, Sarah, Read is hosting the round up this week. Learn more about Flannel Friday on our blog. Chat with us on Facebook and browse through our Pinterest boards.

Wee Read - Fly Away

Early Literacy Tip: Help your baby feel understood by imitating a sound that he is making.

Books
Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Across the Stream by Mirra Ginsburg

There was no read together book today.

Songs/Rhymes

They’re a Part of Me

Sung to: “The Wheels on the Bus”

­--Babies in the Library by Jane Marino. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

We Hit the Floor Together

Sung to: “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”

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

Tony Chestnut

(Point to each body part as it is said. Your "nut" is your head.)
Toe, knee, chest, nut
nose eye love you.
Toe knee nose.
Toe knee nose.
Toe, knee, chest, nut
nose eye love you.
That's what toe knee nose.

--Katie at Sharing Soda

Two Little Blue Birds

Two little blue birds sitting on a hill.

One named Jack, the other named Jill.

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill.

Come back Jack, come back Jill.

--Perpetual Preschool

Roly Poly

--from Babies in the Library by Jane Marino. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

Red Bird

Use red, blue, green, and yellow birds.

--from Babies in the Library by Jane Marino. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

*I hand out stick puppets of birds for this song. I show the families how to make the sign for bird, as well as for each color.

Storytime - Build with Me

Books

• I Love Tools by Philemon Sturges
• Toddler
• Machines at Work by Byron Barton
• Toddler
• Building a House by Byron Barton
• Preschool
• Toolbox Twins by Lola Schaefer
• Preschool

Songs/Rhymes

Johnny Hammers One Hammer

Johnny hammers one hammer,

One hammer, one hammer.

(pat one hand on leg)

Johnny hammers with one hammer all day long.

Repeat with two hands for two hammers, use feet for three and four hammers.

--PreKFun

Carpenter’s Song

This is the way we saw the wood

Saw the wood, saw the wood

This is the way we saw the wood

Sawing, sawing, sawing.

This is the way we hammer the nail

Hammer the nail, hammer the nail

This is the way we hammer the nail

Pound, pound, pound.

This is the way we stir the paint

Stir the paint, stir the paint

This is the way we stir the paint

Stir, stir, stir.

--PreKFun

Craft

Toolbelts

Materials: Construction paper strips, printable tools (hammer, wrench, and saw), scissors, crayons, glue, and tape. The children colored their tools, then glued them to the strips and fastened them around their waists. I pre-cut the tools for the toddlers and allowed the preschoolers to cut out their own.

The idea came from Ms. Hegna's Story Room.

The images came from Brilliant Beginnings Preschool.

Wee Read - Pop

Early Literacy Tip: Read alphabet books. Say the different sounds of each letter, as well as a word containing the sound.

Books

• Babies on the Go by Linda Ashman
• A Hug for You by Margaret Anastas
• Five Curious Buddies by Wendy Wax
• Read Together book

Songs/Rhymes

Hands Up High

Hands up high
Hands down low
Hide those hands,

Now where did they go?
One hand up, the other hand too.
Clap them, fold them, now we're through.

--Manly Library

*The link will open a PDF of the songs they use in their toddler groups.

Pop, Pop, Pop

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

*With scarves

Mix a Pancake

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

*With scarves

Dancing Up and Dancing Down

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

*With scarves

Jack in the Box

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

Storytime - Popcorn

I'd like to thank everyone who had a hand in helping me plan this storytime. I don't know what I would have done without my Twitter crew!

Book

• Popcorn by Alex Moran
• Toddler
• Preschool

Songs/Rhymes

Pop, Pop, Pop

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

POP 

You put the oil in the pot and you let it get hot
You put the popcorn in and you start to grin.
Sizzle, sizzle
Sizzle, sizzle
Sizzle, sizzle
POP!
Start the poem in a crouched position, knees bent, hands on the floor. At "sizzle", s-l-o-w-l-y rise until the final POP!, then jump up in the air.

--PreschoolEducation

Activities

Five Little Kernels
Five little kernels sizzling in the pot
All of a sudden, one went POP!

Four little kernels… etc.

Put up the five kernel shapes on the board, as spread out as you can. When you say POP! slap a white popcorn shape right on top of one of the kernels.

--Mel’s Desk
*Melissa has a link to her template for this felt board on her page.

P-O-P
I used my magnetic letters to spell out the word pop. The preschoolers identified each letter as I held it up. We then came up with words that rhyme with pop, and substituted the first P with other letters.

Crafts

Toddler
Cornstalk Pictures. Materials: Popcorn kernels, outline of a cornstalk on cardstock, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued and taped their kernels to the paper. I reminded the caregivers that the children were working on developing their fine motor skills, the same skills that will help them write in the future.

Preschool
Popcorn Kernel Pictures. Materials: popcorn kernels, white cardstock, glue, tape, crayons, and scissors. The preschoolers colored their paper and then glued their kernels on. They made very imaginative pictures!