Storytime - Mexican Independence Day

Toddlers

Books: Que te Gusta?/What Do You Like? by Michael Grejniec , My Animals/Mi Animales by Rebecca Emberley, and Piñata by Rebecca Emberley

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Head and Shoulders”, “Papa Wore a Rojo Tie” on the felt board, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Special Activities: As I read My Animals, I used the Spanish name for the animal and asked the toddlers to guess its name. In “Papa Wore a Rojo Tie”, I used the Spanish word for the color and the toddlers said the name of the color in English.

Craft: Piñatas. Materials: cardstock donkeys, tissue paper squares, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued the tissue paper to their donkeys to make their own piñatas. The idea came from Evite. The donkey outline came from the blog From Glitter to Gumdrops.

Preschoolers

Books: Que te Gusta?/What Do You Like? by Michael Grejniec , My Animals/Mi Animales by Rebecca Emberley

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Hi There, So Glad You Came”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Papa Wore a Rojo Tie”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Special Activities: Today was a day for guessing games! I said the Spanish name for the animal in My Animals, but hid the picture. The preschoolers shouted out what they thought the animal’s English name might be. They also guessed what the children were discussing in What Do You Like? I then played three favorite songs in Spanish (“The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and “Happy Birthday”) using YouTube videos. The preschoolers tried to guess the names of the songs. Our last game was to guess the color name as I sang “Papa Wore a Rojo Tie”.

Craft: Mexican Flags. Materials: Mexican flag printout, red and green construction paper rectangles, crayons, glue, tape, and scissors. The preschoolers tore or cut their rectangles and glued the pieces to their flags. Tearing paper is a great way to help children develop the muscles they’ll need to write.

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

Papa's Ties (Spanish Version)

Sung to: "Mary Wore a Red Dress"

Felt Board

Daddy wore his rojo tie,

Rojo tie, rojo tie.

Daddy wore his rojo tie

All day long.

Continue with:

Azul

Verde

Púrpura

Amarillo

--based on the song from Story Time Secrets. Katie has included a template of the felt board on her blog.

Wee Read - Goodbye, Summer!

Early Literacy Tip of the Week:

Play with tongue twisters, mix up events in a story, and read favorite stories again and again. Most importantly, have fun!

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

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

--District 196

Open Shut Them

Book One

Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Waves at the Beach

Sung to: “The Wheels on the Bus”

--The Big Book of Stories, Songs, and Sing-Alongs by Beth Maddigan and Stefanie Drennan. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003.

Mr. Sun

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Won’t you please shine down on me?

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Hiding behind a tree.

These little children are asking you

To please come out so they can

Play with you.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Won’t you please shine down on me?

--Traditional

I Wiggle My Fingers

These are the Colors Over You

Sung to: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Pink/purple and orange/yellow and green and blue

These are the colors over you

Pink as a blossom, green as a tree

Orange as a carrot (yellow as the sun), blue as the sea

Pink and orange and green and blue

These are the colors over you.

--Kendra from Read, Sing, Play

Come Under My Umbrella

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

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

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

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).

--Kendra at Read, Sing, Play

Read Together

That’s Not My Dinosaur by Fiona Watt

The More We Get Together

Inspired by Flannel Friday - Ten Little Babies

It's Friday once again! This week I present to you a project inspired by Melissa at Mel's Desk and Anna at Future Librarian Superhero: Ten Little Babies. Who doesn't love babies?!

My set was made using multicultural paper and a permanent marker. When I was all finished with their faces, I laminated the set and attached magnets to the back. Enjoy!

Ten Little Babies

Sing to: Ten Little Indians

One little, two little, three little babies

Four little, five little, six little babies

Seven little, eight little, nine little babies

Ten baby girls and boys!

--Mel's Desk*

*I made a change to the song to make it more interactive for the toddlers and preschoolers. Change the last line of the song to:
Ten little babies ____________ (eating/crying/with stinky diapers/sleeping, shh!).

Five Little Babies

Five little babies were playing one day

One saw a ball, and he crawled away

Four little babies were playing one day

One saw a rattle, and she crawled away

Three little babies were playing one day

One saw a blanket, and he crawled away

Two little babies were playing one day

One saw a teddy, and she crawled away

One little baby was playing one day

He saw his friends, and he crawled away.

--Adapted by Mel's Desk from Yakaberry.com

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Melissa at Mel's Desk! Want more Flannel Friday? Check out our Flannel Friday blog, our Pinterest board, and our fabulous Facebook group!

Storytime - Here a Chick, There a Chick

Toddler

Books: Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri and The Little Red Hen on the felt board

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Head and Shoulders”, “Cluck, Cluck, Red Hen” with hen puppet, “Put Your Egg on Your Head” with shakers, “Shake Your Egg” with shakers, “We Shake Our Shakers Together” with shakers, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Chicken. Materials: red construction paper die cut circle, yellow construction paper die cut hand prints, orange construction paper die cut triangles, large googly eyes, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued their pieces together to make chickens. The idea came from First School.

Preschool

Books: The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton and Hungry Hen by Richard Waring on the felt board

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “A Tooty Tah”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Paint a Chicken. Materials: chicken outline on cardstock, watercolor paint, paintbrushes, and water. The preschoolers painted their chickens with the watercolors. Many of them made little red hens. The idea came from Little Family Fun. I used this outline.

Songs/Rhymes

Cluck Cluck, Red Hen
Use a chicken puppet and two plastic eggs
Sung to: "Baa Baa, Black Sheep”Cluck, cluck, red hen, have you any eggs?
Yes, sir, yes, sir, as many as my legs: 1,2!

--Storytime Source Page

Put Your Egg on Your Head

Sung to: “There’s a Spider on the Floor”

Use egg shakers
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

Shake Your 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

We Shake Our Shakers 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.

Wee Read - Summer Birds

Early Literacy Tip of the Week:

Using sign language with your baby helps children to think and express themselves symbolically, long before they can talk. --TheBump.com

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

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.

Open Shut Them

Book One

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly

Sung to: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

Flutter, flutter, butterfly,

Floating in the summer sky.

Floating by for all to see,

floating by so merrily.

Flutter, flutter, butterfly,

floating in the summer sky.

--PreschoolEducation

Two Little Blue Birds

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

Cocoon

You spin a cocoon

(Spin in a circle)

Then you wait inside

(Crouch down low and cover face)

And when you come out

(Link thumbs, still covering face)

You’re a butterfly!

(Lift hands fluttering into the atmosphere!)

--HCPL

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

I See Summer by Charles Ghingna

The Ducks on the Pond

Sung to: “The Wheels on the Bus”

The ducks on the pond go quack quack quack,

Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack.

The ducks on the pond go quack, quack, quack,

All day long.

--Children’s Programming Monthly v. 1 no. 10 pg. 5 by Kathy MacMillan

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

Read Together

There was no read together book today.

The More We Get Together

(Not a) Flannel Friday - Snow in a Can

Happy Flannel Friday! Today's post is brought to you by Old Man Winter and his lack of influence in Texas this January (seriously, it's going to be 68 this weekend). But I won't let that get in the way of some freezing fun in storytime!

My niece and nephew back home in New York sent me a perfect gift this past holiday season: Snow in a Can. I thought it would be perfect to make with my preschoolers.

I opened the can before storytime even started, since all of the videos I watched had to use a can opener when their pop tab broke (I didn't have a problem, though). Be careful, the edge is sharp! The directions say to make the snow in the can, but I used a clear plastic container.

I made a big production out of reading the instructions, emphasizing to the parents that doing so helped their children realize that those words were important!

We successfully followed the instructions and were rewarded with fluffy snow, as promised!

The children were invited up the front to touch the snow after storytime was over. They were shocked to find that it was even a little cold, just like real snow!

Make sure you check out this week's round up hosted by Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime. You can also find more Flannel Friday at our blog, Facebook page, and Pinterest page.

Storytime - Peas, Please!

Toddler

Books: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

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

Craft: Peas on a Spoon. Materials: spoon printout, green foam circles, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued the circles to the spoons and colored the paper. The spoon picture came from SuperColoring.com.

Preschool

Books: Mabel O’Leary Put Peas in Her Ear-y by Mary Delaney and LittlePea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Pea Soup”, “The Hokey Pokey”, and “The More We Get Together”. 

Craft: Peas on Ps. Materials: letter P printout, green construction paper circles, crayons, glue, tape, and scissors. The preschoolers glued their circles to their Ps and colored in their projects.

Songs/Rhymes

Pea Soup

One little pea,

Jumped into the pot,

And waited for the soup to get hot.

(Tuck thumb into fist)

Two little peas jumped into the pot,

And waited for the soup to get hot.

(Tuck pointer finger into fist)

Three little peas jumped into the pot,

And waited for the soup to get hot.

(Tuck middle finger into fist)

Four little peas jumped into the pot,

And waited for the soup to get hot.

(Tuck little finger into fist)

Finally the soup got so very hot,

All the little peas jumped out of the pot!

(Open hand and wiggle all your fingers)

--Katie at Sharing Soda

If You’re Happy and You Know It

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it,

And you really want to show it,

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

Repeat with stomp your feet, shout hooray, do all three.

--Traditional

The Hokey Pokey

You put one arm in,

You take one arm out.

You put one arm in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey,

And you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!

Substitute different body parts. For more advanced children, use left and right.

--Traditional

Wee Read - Ribbit Ribbit!

Early Literacy Tip of the Week:

Remember to not ask too many questions. Try to keep your comment to question ratio between 2:1 to 4:1 (2-4 comments/statements for every question you ask your child). --Playing with Words 365

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

With Our Hands

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

Open Shut Them

Book One

Hop Jump by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Little Green Frog

Mmm-ahh! Went the little green frog one day.

Mmm-ahh! Went the little green frog.

Mmm-ahh! Went the little green frog one day.

And the frog went mmm-mmm-ahh!

--PreschoolEducation.com

Little Frog

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

Little Froggy

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

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

That’s Not My Frog by Fiona Watt

Frogs

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

Two Little Hands

Sung to: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Two little hands go clap, clap, clap,

Two little feet go tap, tap, tap.

Two little hands go thump, thump, thump (on the ground),

Two little feet go jump, jump, jump.

One little body turns around,

One little child sits right down.

--District 196

Read Together

Mirror Me by Julie Aigner-Clark

The More We Get Together

Storytime - Dinosaurs

Toddler

Books: Dinosaur Roar! By Paul and Henrietta Stickland and Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “Stomp, Stomp, Stomp Around”, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, “Come Under My Umbrella” with parachute, “These Are the Colors Over You” with parachute, “Ring Around the Rosie” with parachute, “Row Boat, Row Boat” with parachute, and “The More We Get Together”. 

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

Preschool

Books: How Do Dinosaurs Go to School by Jane Yolen and Dino Bites! by Algy Craig Hall.

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

Special Activity: Storytime Graduation. We celebrated the preschoolers who were moving up to Kindergarten. Each graduate received a special Storytime Diploma! There were 17 graduates in all. They’ll be missed, but we look forward to hearing about their adventures in Kindergarten! The storytime diploma can be found here. The template originally came from Microsoft's template site.

Craft: There was no craft today.

Songs/Rhymes

Stomp, Stomp, Stomp AroundSung To: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Stomp, stomp, stomp around
On your great big feet.
Swish your tail
Then turn around,
Now go take your seat!

--PreschoolExpress

If You’re Happy and You Know It

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it,

And you really want to show it,

If you’re happy and you know it,

Clap your hands.

Repeat with stomp your feet, shout hooray, do all three.

--Traditional

Come Under My Umbrella

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

These are the Colors Over You

Sung to: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

Pink and green and orange and blue

These are the colors over you

Pink as a blossom, green as a tree

Orange as a carrot (yellow as the sun), blue as the sea

Pink and orange and green and blue

These are the colors over you.

--Kendra at Read, Sing, Play

Ring Around the Rosie

Ring around the rosie

A pocket full of posie

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

--Traditional

Row Boat, Row Boat

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

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

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).

--Kendra at Read, Sing, Play

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

Wee Read - The Great Big Spider

Early Literacy Tip of the Week:

When playing with your child, make sure to follow his lead. If he isn’t interested in the activity, he probably won’t learn much from it so move on.

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

The Great Big Spider

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

*Substitute the words "great, big" for "itsy bitsy". Use big arm gestures instead of fingers.

Open Shut Them

Book One

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

Tall as a Tree

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

There’s a Spider on the Floor – with puppet

--Raffi

One Elephant Went Out to Play

One Elephant went out to play

Upon a spider’s web one day

He had such enormous fun

He called another elephant to come.

(HEY, ELEPHANT!)

Two elephants went out to play

Upon a spider’s web one day

They had such enormous fun,

They called another elephant to come…

etc.

--Miss Mary Liberry

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Lorianne Siomades 

Humpty Dumpty Up

Humpty Dumpty up,

And Humpty Dumpty down.

Humpty Dumpty left,

Humpty Dumpty right,

Humpty Dumpty all around.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

Poor Humpty Dumpty (smiling).

--Jim Thomas

Eyes and Nose

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

Read Together

Little Miss Muffet by Tracey Campbell Pearson

The More We Get Together