Wee Read - Fly Away, Birdie!

Early Literacy Tip of the Week:

Using simple signs will help your baby express what she feels and will lead to less frustration. As she ages, she will abandon signs once she’s learned how to say the words.

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

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

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

Open Shut Them

Book One

Have You Seen My Cat by Eric Carle

Three Crows

Three crows,

Sat upon a wall,

Sat upon a wall,

Sat upon a wall.

Three crows,

Sat upon a wall,

On a cold and frosty morning.

--via Library Quine

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.

Pretty Bird

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

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

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

I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock!

Rock babies gently back and forth on your lap as you say the verse. Then lift them up in the air for each “Cuckoo!”

Tick tock, tick tock

I’m a little cuckoo clock

Tick tock, tick tock

It’s one o’clock!

CUCKOO!

Tick tock, tick tock

I’m a little cuckoo clock

Tick tock, tick tock

It’s two o’clock!

CUCKOO! CUCKOO!

--Mel’s Desk

Read Together

Baby Says Peekaboo by Dawn Sirett

The More We Get Together

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

Wee Read - Birds

Early Literacy Tip of the Week: Change your voice as you read aloud and make the sounds of the animals your baby sees. Babies listen more when the pitch and volume of your voice frequently changes.

Good Morning

Hello, How are You?

Sing with Me

Sung to: “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush”

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

Open Shut Them

Book One

Little Robin Redbreast by Shari Halpern

Good Morning, Mrs. Perky Bird

Sung to: “Short’nin’ Bread”

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

Fingers Like to Wiggle Waggle

Repeat with: way down low, on my knee.

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

Two Little Blue Birds

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

I Wiggle My Fingers

Book Two

How Does Baby Feel? by Karen Katz

Jack in the Box

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

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 today.

The More We Get Together

Flannel Friday - Two Little Bluebirds

Happy Birthday, Flannel Friday! 

My post this week is one of my favorite rhymes to chant with my Wee Read group: "Two Little Bluebirds". The clip art I used as a pattern came from Sweet Clip Art.

Two Little Bluebirds

Two little bluebirds sitting on a hill.

One named Jack, the other named Jill.

Fly away, Jack. Fly away, Jill.

Come back, Jack, and come back, Jill!

--Lapsit Services for the Very

Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New

York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc,

2001.

Melissa, our founder, is hosting the roundup this week. Amy, Anne, and I worked to bring you the Flannel Friday Map in time for our birthday party. Thanks, Amy, for doing such a great job with the unveiling!

As always, we are available on Facebook and Pinterest. 

Flannel Friday - Blue Bird, Blue Bird

This week's entry is a set of props that I've discussed before in my storytime posts, but I never talked about its origins.

I got the idea for these props from Dr. Jim Thomas. At a seminar we held for area day care workers, Jim provided foam bird cut outs for the attendees. I was lucky enough to snag a set, and thought it would be great if, while singing the song, each baby had their own set to look at.

I traced the outline of Jim's set, scanned it into my computer, and printed them out on blue, red, green, and yellow paper, then laminated the paper. After they were cut out, each had a popsicle stick taped to the back to make it easy for the babies to hold on to.

Jim used the signs for each color, bird, and Mommy. I made my own little changes by changing Mommy to Daddy, Grandpa, and Grandma for the other three verses. 

The song "Red Bird" from Babies in the Library by Jane Marino (Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2003) also works with these props.

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.

Use green, yellow, and red.

--Jim Thomas

My additions: change "Mommy" to a different family member each verse.

Sharon from Rain Makes Applesauce is hosting today's roundup as well as the What Flannel Friday Means to You event. Make sure you stop by and give her a big internet hug for putting so much work into the festivities.

Find us on Pinterest and on Facebook, and check back next week for the Flannel Friday birthday celebrations on Mel's Desk. This is where we'll be unveiling the Flannel Friday map!

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 - Birds

Early Literacy Tip: Choose books with one image to a page. Tap the image while saying the name of the object.


Books

• Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox
• Baby Says by John Steptoe
• Duckie's Splash by Frances Barry
• Read Together book

Songs/Rhymes

See My Fingers Dance and Play

Sung to: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”

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

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.

The Owl Goes Hoo! (with owl puppet)

Sung to “The Farmer in the Dell”
The owl goes hoo. The owl goes hoo,
Hi ho the derrio the owl goes hoo.

--Librarian Lisa’s Storytimes

One Little Duck Went Out One Day (on the felt board)

One little duck went out one day

Over the hill and far away

Mother Duck said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack!”

And two little ducks came waddling back.

Continue to five little ducks.

--Traditional

Red Bird

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

*The idea for the bird props came from Dr. Jim Thomas at Itsy Bitsy Babies.

Wee Read - Birds

Early Literacy Tip: Teach your baby your native language first, and encourage him or her to speak it with you. This will help your baby learn other languages in the future.

Books

Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Look at the Baby by Kelly Johnson

 

Five Little Ducks by Juliet Williams

Read-Together

Special Songs/Rhymes

Clap Hands, Clap Hands

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

Owl in the Tree (with owl puppet)Sung to: “Skip to My Lou”

Owl in the tree goes, “Hoo, hoo hoo,”
Owl in the tree goes, “Hoo, hoo hoo,”
Owl in the tree goes, “Hoo, hoo hoo,”
Hoo, hoo, hoo, my darling.

--Sunflower Storytime

Five Little Owls

Five little owls sitting in a tree
One flew away!

How many do you see?
One, two, three, four.

Four little owls sitting in a tree
One flew away!

How many do you see?
One, two, three.

Three little owls… etc.

--Sunflower Storytime

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

Flannel Friday - Move Like the Animals

After a brief Flannel Friday hiatus, I'm back!

Today's post features a collection of animal movements we used for storytime this week. Each picture is from Open Clip Art Library. They were added to a word document, printed out, and laminated.

I put double sided tape on the back of each, and hung them on the dry erase board side of my flannel board. The children were invited to shout out the name of the animal and imitate their movements.

Don't forget to check out the weekly roundup hosted by Erin at Falling Flannelboards. Keep an eye out for us on Pinterest and chat with the Flannel Friday crew on Facebook!