Bonjour! - A Storytime Outline

As I had probably mentioned before, my library generally celebrates the many cultures in the community. Granted there are so many of them that we can't do all of them. Last year, when doing a Hispanic Heritage storytime, I decided that it was time do a culture and language that I do know... French! I don't claim to the fact that I can pronounce French words perfectly or can speak fluently, but I can speak French considerably better than Spanish.

I didn't know what reaction to expect from the children and parents. Isn't it always the truth when you, the Children's Librarian, that you are super excited about a storytime theme and everyone else is lack luster? Well.... I'm sad to say that it was a little like that this morning. :: sigh :: Oh, well. I get props for trying! Right?

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Everyone Bonjours! written by Leslie Kimmelman and illus. by Sarah McMenemy (T)
I used bonjour about half the time it came up in the book. The rest of the time I said hello. Whichever language I used, I still waved hello.

The Moon Was the Best written by Charlotte Zolotow and photographs by Tana Hoban (T)
This is a great book with nice pictures of Paris in it. I didn't read the text word for word as I wanted the toddlers, which varied in age, to pay attention to the pictures mostly.

The Secret Circus written and illus. by Johanna Wright (P)
I read this little story with a mouse finger puppet.

The Happy Lion written by Louise Fatio and illus. by Roger Duvoisin (P)
I grew up reading this book thus I wanted to read it for the preschool kids. They liked it and were happy to respond to the question what they would do if they found a lion walking down the street.

Madeline written and illus. by Ludwig Bemelmans (P)
How can you not include Madeline in the line up of French stories? I actually got a soft laugh from the parents when, in the story, all the school girls were crying because they wanted their appendix out too.

Crepes by Suzette written and illus. by Monica Wellington (P)
I had the children help describe where Suzette was (park, a fair, and etc.) and who she was serving a crepe to. The children did it a little, but lost interest after awhile.

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Frere Jacques (T, P)
Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques
Dormez  vous? Dormez vous?
Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines
Ding, dang, dong, ding dang, dong.

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing,
Ding, dang, dong, ding, dang, dong.
Source: Toddler Storytime

The Wheels on the Metro (T, P)
tune: The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the Metro go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the Metro go round and round,
All through the town.

continue with:
The doors... open and shut
People... sway back and fourth
Babies... wha, wha, wha, wha
Source: ME! I piggy backed this to make it a French-y song!
 
Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES

Egg Shakers (T)
The toddlers got restless easily today so we played with the egg shakers. They loved it!

Pictures of things from France (P)
I printed out photos of things from France like the Eiffel Tower, baguettes, croissants, stinky cheese (emphasize stinky), berets, the Mona Lisa and so on.

CRAFTS

A Sunny Day at the Eiffel Tower (T)
The Toddlers got a coloring sheet showing the Eiffel Tower. They to color and scribble to their hearts content, but they also got to clue a yellow circle in the sky to make it a sun-shinny day. Simple and very cute.

A Picnic in Paris, France (P)
One fun thing to do in Paris is to have a picnic in the park under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. The Preschool children got to color and create their picnic spread. This was an opportunity for them to also practice cutting out their food (generally I pre-cut everything) with the safety scissors. They all enjoyed it. 

PICTURES

The Wheels on the Metro flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Pictures of things from France,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Sunny Day at the Eiffel Tower, Toddler Storytime craft,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

A Picnic in Paris, France, Preschool Storytime craft,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

MORE BOOKS

Murphy Meets Paris written by Harriet Ziefert and illus. by Emily Bolam (P)
I didn't have time to read this book during the Preschool Storytime and which I did have time!!! Ack!
Zat Cat! written and illus. by Chesley McLaren
This is a great rhyming book that includes French phrases (and their pronunciation on the same page) to tell the story.
The Cat Who Walked Across France written by Kate Banks and illus. by Gerog Hallensleben (P)
La La Rose written and illus. by Satomi Ichikawa (P)
Come Fly With Me written and illus. by Satomi Ichikawa (P) 
Pastry School in Paris: An Adventure in Capacity written by Cindy Neuschwander and illus. by Bryan Langdo  (P, SA)
The Cows Are Going to Paris written by  David Kirby and Allen Woodman and illus. by Chris L. Demarest (P)
Mama's Perfect Present written and illus. by Diane Goode (P)

In the Springtime - A Storytime Outline

The first day of Spring is March 20. Thus it was a perfect time to do a spring themed storytime on the 19th! The children had lots of fun at both programs. The Toddlers, especially, in enjoyed the books the rhymes. The Activity was a lot of fun for the kids. Children will jump at any chance to put or take something from the flannel board! There are so many different ways to do a spring storytime ranging from flowers to bugs to rain. I did a little mixture of everything. I'm already thinking of what I would like to do in 2013, especially in flannel board activities.

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Butterfly, Butterfly: A Book of Colors written and illus. by Petr Horacek (T)
This is a great book! It was just the right length and amount of text. Plus, it had colors and a very colorful butterfly. The children loved the pop-up at the end!

Where is Tippy Toes? written and illus. by Betsy Lewin (T)
This may not necessarily be a Spring book, but Tippy Toes does go to the garden and there even fireflies. It gives the feel of spring to me. Plus, the toddlers loved the kitty cat.

Planting a Rainbow written and illus. by Lois Ehlert (T)
I used the library's Big Book version, which was an awesome choice for the toddlers cause then they could really see the flowers that grow. 

Bear Wants More written by Karma Wilson and illus. by Jane Chapman (P)
Ask the children if they know what bears do during the winter (hibernation) and what happens when they wake up in the spring. This is such a fun book. It always reminds me of Winnie the Pooh when he eats too much honey and gets stuck in Rabbit's front door.

The Singing Chick written by Victoria Stenmark and illus. by Randy Cecil (P)
Another not-so-spring-y book, but it's fun! I tied it in saying that when it becomes Spring you get so excited that the flowers are growing and it's getting warm that you just want to start singing you're so happy! This is a story about a chick that begins to sing. 

Good Morning, Garden written by Barbara Brenner and illus. by Denise Ortakales (P)
This was a pleasant book. I tied it in by saying that when the flowers start to grow that you should say "good morning," "good night," or "hello" to the flowers because they actually like being talked to.

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
make the children make their two pointer finger their bees and make them buzz!
follow actions
Bumblebee, bumblebee,
Landing on my nose.
Bumblebee, bumblebee,
Now he's on my toes.
On my arms, on my legs,
On my elbows!
Bumblebee, Bumblebee,
He lands and then he goes!
Source: Mrs. Jones via Storytime Katie

Five Little Flowers (T, P) - I didn't get to do this rhyme, but it's a good one to have on hand!
One little flower growing just for you.
Up came another and then there were two.

Two little flowers growing near a tree.
Up came another and then there were three.

Three little flowers growing more and more.
Up came another and then there were four.

Four little flowers growing side by side.
Up came another and then there were five.

Alternative Rhyme
Five little flowers standing in the sun
See their heads nodding, bowing one by one.
Down, down, down, comes the gentle rain.
And the five little flowers lift up their head again.
Source: SurLaLune Storytime

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (T) - I didnt' do this rhyme, but I had it as a "just in case" for the Toddler Storytime.
(follow actions with your fingers and arms)
The itsy bitsy spider (move your fingers like a spider going upward)
went up the water spout.
Down came the rain (wiggle your fingers like rain is falling)
and washed the spider out! (sweep with your hands like the a wave of water washed the spider out)
Out came the sun (raise arms overhead in a circle to make a sun)
and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (make your finger spider go upwards again!)
went up the spout again!

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS

Five Little Flowers (T, P)
Even though I didn't end up doing this rhyme during the two programs, I did prep a quick flannel board for it. My library owns a flower die cut that allows you to cultivate very colorful flowers quickly.

Ladybug Spots (T, P)
See the Activity below!

ACTIVITY

Ladybug Spots (T, P)
Bugs come out in the springtime, including Ladybugs. I handed out black spots that were the size of a quarter. Then I showed a large ladybug that had four spots, and ask if the spots looked familiar to something they have in their hands. There must be so many spots that they're meant for a really big.. ladybug! The children had to put their spots on the the ladybug. Afterwards they got to count how many spots it had total.

CRAFTS

Daffodil Flower (T, P)
This was a really simple and adorable craft to do! I must admit that I'm in love this craft! Using a die cut, I made lots of yellow stars. I then cut out 1"x3" yellow strips, which were edge on one long side with a sawtooth scissor. The children had to take the strip into a ring then tape it to the middle of the star. They all got a green straw to tape their flower to. Extremely happy looking flowers were the end results at the end of each program. Some colored their flower to make them more rainbow-y. One little came back to get a crayon to draw a smile on his. So cute! Source: BusyBeeKidsCrafts.com

PICTURES

Daffodil Flower craft,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Five Little Flowers flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Ladybug Spots flannel board activity
from Library collection.

MORE BOOKS

Countdown to Spring!: An Animal Counting Book written by Janet Schulman and illus. by Meilo So (T)
This is a ::PERFECT:: book for Toddler Storytime. Next time I'm going to make double sure that I have it in time for the next spring themed storytime!
In the Small, Small Pond written and illus. by Denise Fleming (T)
Splish, Splash, Spring written by Jan Carr and illus. by Dorothy Donohue (T, P)
Wake Up, It's Spring! written and illus. by Lisa Campbell Ernst (T, P)
Spring Song written by Barbara Seuling and illus. by Greg Newbold (T, P)

Green for St. Patrick's Day - A Storytime Outline

I managed to squeak in a St. Patrick's Day and the color Green storytime theme this year. This holiday, as with a lot of holidays with the exception of Halloween and Thanksgiving, are hard to do without repeating all the read-able books and songs and rhymes. This is was a great success and I'm already planning next year's (look out for rainbow colors!)! This week is Spring Break for our ISD, and I got a good number of new little faces to meet, which was a lot of fun too!

T = Toddlers Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS
Big Frog Can't Fit In written and illus. by Mo Willems (T) 
We have this as a special storytime-use-only book to read because it's a pop-up book extraordinaire!

Good Luck Bear written and illus. by Greg Foley (T, P)
A great simple book that includes the hunt for a four leaf clover.

Green Wilma, Frog in Space written and illus. by Tedd Arnold (P) 
One little girl asked, "How does a frog get into space????".  What a good question! This will tell you how!

Green Shamrocks written by Eve Bunting and Illus. by Joelle Dreidemy (P) 
This is one of the very, veerrrrry, few St. Patrick's Day books that exists and can be read in storytime! Thank you Eve Bunting!

SONGS & RHYMES

 Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.


Five Green and Speckled Frogs (T)
Five green and speckled frogs
Sitting on a hollow log
Eating the most delicious bugs.
Yum, yum!

One frog jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool.
Then there were four green and speckled frogs.

Repeat, counting down

One green and speckled frog
Sitting on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs
Yum, yum!

It  jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were no green and speckled frogs.
Source: DLTK

Five Green Shamrocks (T, P)
Five green shamrocks growing outdoors,
Somebody picked one and that left four.

Four green shamrocks green as they can be,
Somebody picked one and that left three.

Three green shamrocks playing peek-a-boo,
Somebody picked one and that left two.

Two green shamrocks nodding in the sun,
Somebody picked one and that left one.

One green shamrock ready for some St. Patrick's Day fun,
Somebody picked it and that left none!
Source: Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITY

Five Green and Speckled Frogs (T)
This was one of the first few flannel boards that I created in my beginning year as a Children's Librarian. It was nice to roll the log out and set some frogs on there.

Five Green Shamrocks (T, P)
A simple flannel board for the rhyme. Five shamrocks made with a die cut. I did make more so that I could easily repeat the rhyme a few times so that each child had the opportunity to come up to the board at least once to pick a shamrock off the board.

ACTIVITY

What is Green? (T, P)
To tie into the green portion of the programs I asked the kids what was green. They named things like grass, trees, plants, flowers, my storytime wall (yes, one of them is a wonderful shade of green). Inspired by Mel at Mel's Desk (who did this for a July 4th theme, which is an awesome idea, and had mentioned St. Patrick's Day at the end of the post) I used my die cut roller to make animals and other things (such as a Christmas Tree) out of green felt! The kids loved shouting out their guesses!

CRAFT

Textured Shamrocks (T)
The Toddlers got to take a shamrock, created by my handy-dandy die cut machine, and paste it into a sheet of paper. They then were allowed to tear up a lighter green color paper and glue the bits onto their shamrock. Crayons, as always, were available to decorate their paper to their hearts content. I saw their coloring as abstract rainbows to tie into this theme.

Shamrock Necklaces with Lucky Gold (P)
I took more of the aforementioned shamrock shapes and took a hole punch to them. The children had to take a green color length of yarn and thread it through the holes to make a necklace. Afterwards they got to clue on shiny gold sequins to their shamrock for some extra luck! I love it! This was inspired by

PICTURES

Shamrock Necklace with Lucky Gold,
Preschool Craft, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

What is Green? flannel board, inspired by Mel's Desk,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

MORE BOOKS
Go Away, Big Green Monster! written and illus. by Ed Emberley (T, P)
Lizette's Green Sock written and illus. by Catharina Valckx (P)
Green Wilma written and illus. by Tedd Arnold (P)

Baa - Sheep! - A Storytime Outline

What is one of the most adorable animals in the world? Don't know? Another hint... it's says "baaaaaa!". Sheep and lambs, that's what! I love them (can't you tell?)! The children were a little sleepy, but they still liked the program!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Where is the Green Sheep? written by Mem Fox and illus. by Judy Horacek (T)
As I've said before, I love this book!

Sheep Blast Off! written by Nancy Shaw and illus. by Margot Apple (T)
Any of Shaw's books would do, but this is the most fun!

The Lamb Who Came to Dinner written by Steve Smallman and illus. by Joelle Dreidemy (P)
This was a fun read, especially if you get into the voices of the characters and make it as dramatic as you possibly can!

Russell the Sheep written and illus. by Rob Scotton (P)
Poor Russell can't sleep. As one little girl said, "He needs to count to ten" to go to sleep!

The Lamb-a-roo written by Diane Kimpton and illus. by Rosalind Beardshaw (P)
So cute and good to express individuality. One mom related to me about she raised sheep as a young girl and a flock of sheep that could jump fences!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Baa, Baa Black Sheep (T)
(clap or pat knee in rhythm)
Baa, baa black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.

One for my master,
One for my dame,
And one for the little boy/girl
Who lives down the lane.

Mary Had a Little Lamb (T, P)
Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.

Everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
Everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school (storytime!)one day,
School (storytime) one day, school (storytime)one day,
It followed her to school (storytime)one day
Which was against the rules (which was exciting to do!)

It made the children laugh and play,
Laugh and play, Laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school (storytime!).

Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.

Five White and Fluffy Sheep (T, P) - I only did this for the preschoolers this time around.
(follow actions)
Five white and fluffy sheep (hold up five fingers)
In the pasture fast asleep (hands under head, lean over)
Their wool kept them cozy all night long (hug yourself)
Snore! Snore! (you guessed it! Snore!)
The farmer slipped way with one (hold up one finger)
And sheared the wool till he was done (clap)
Then there were four white fluffy sheep (hold up four fingers)
Baa! Baa! (baa!)

repeat, counting to one sheep

One white and fluffy sheep
In the pasture fast asleep
His wool kept him cozy all night long
Snore! Snore!
The farmer slipped way with him
And sheared the wool till he was done
Now all five sheep were white and fluffy no more
But rainbow cozy in sweater galore!
Baa Baa!
Source: Hubbard's Cupboard via Storytime Katie (I added in the last few lines for the fun sweater idea)

Five Little Sheep (P) - I didn't get to do this one, but it's a cute one!
tune: Five Little Ducks
Five little sheep on a warm spring day
Climbed the green, grassy hill and went to play.
Mama sheep warned them not to roam
But only four little sheep came home.

Repeat, counting down till there is no little sheeps

Lonely mama sheep on a warm spring day
Climbed the green, grassy hill looking far away
Mama sheep bleated Baa, Baa, Baa
And all five little sheep came home.
Source:  Strathcona County Library

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

Five White and Fluffy Sheep (P)
 This was a fun rhyme and it was the perfect opportunity to create a equally as fun flannel board. I made sheep that were wooly on one side and wool-less but wearing a snazzy sweater instead.

Five Little Sheep (P)
I would have use the wooly side of the sheep that I created for the Five White and Fluffy Sheep rhyme.

CRAFT

Wooly Sheep (T)
The toddlers got to paste a picture of a lamb to a bigger sheet of paper then put on fluffy cotton balls onto its body. Super simple and allows them to glue and color!

Sheep Bracelets (P)
I found this craft playing online and it's super cute! I made my example and discovered that it was big enough for me to wear as a bracelet... light bulb goes off! I didn't have enough cotton balls to do exactly like the one I found. So! Instead I made a heart shape to use as the feet and made another heart and cut it in half to make the ears. The cotton balls we did use we used to make the wooly head. Googly eyes added a fun element to it all too! Source: Free Kids Crafts.com.

PICTURES

Five White and Fluffy Sheep flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

MORE BOOKS

Ten Little Lambs written by Alice B. McGinty and illus. by Melissa Sweet (T, P)
Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep: A Yarn About Wool written by Teri Sloat and illus. by Nadone Bernard Westcott (P)
No More Blanket for Lambkin! written by Bernette Ford and illus. by Sam Williams (P)
Can't Sleep without Sheep written by Susanna Leonard Hill and illus. by Mike Wohnoutka (P)
Little Bo Peep's Library Books written and illus. by Cressida Cowell (P)

Boo-tastic Halloween! - A Storytime Outline

My Halloween storytime was actually on Halloween! The children were invited to come dressed up. If one didn't have a costume I offered them to wear one of my foam princess crowns or bunny years from my professional collection. The books could have been more stellar (or perhaps I needed more interested from the kids?), but the songs, rhymes and activities was the funnest part!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Trick or Treat Countdown written by Patricia Hubbard and illus. by Michael Letzig (T)

Sheep Trick or Treat written by Nancy Shaw and illus. Margot Apple (T)

I'm The Scariest Thing in the Castle written and illus. by Keven Sherry (T)
This is a perfect book for storytime! I had the great fortune to find a pack of Halloween finger puppets that included a bat that looked exactly like the bat in the story! I read the book with the finger puppet on my finger!

Skeleton Hiccups written by Margery Cuyler  and illus. by S. D. Schindler (P)
I thought that this book would be good for the program, but the children weren't as interested as I was hoping they would me. It's still a great book for reading with a kid though!

Halloween Surprise written by Corinne Demas and illus. R. W. Alley (P)
This is a fun book, especially if you're familiar with Valentine Surprise. 

Pumpkin Eye written and illus. by Denise Fleming (P)

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Pumpkin, Pumpkin What Do You See? (T)
Pumpkin, Pumpkin, what do you see?
I see a Jack'O Lantern looking at me!

Jack'O Lantern, Jack'O Lantern, what do you see?
I see a Purple Bat looking at me!

Purple Bat, Purple Bat, what do you see?
I see a Black Cat looking at me!

Black Cat, Black Cat, what do you see?
I see a White ghost looking at me!
Whoooooooo!
Source: Storytime Source Page

If You're A Skeleton and You Know It (T, P)
tune: If You're Happy and You Know It
If you're a skeleton and you know it, rattle your bones (shake your body as if you rattle)
If you're a skeleton and you know it, rattle your bones
If you're a skeleton and you know it
Then your bones will surely show it
If you're a skeleton and you know it, rattle your bones

Continue with other lines
If you're a cat and you know it, say "Meow.." ... then your meow will surely show it
If you're a bat and you know it, flap your wings ... then your wings will surely show it
If you're a wolf and you know it, give a howl ... then your howl will surely show it
If you're a ghost and you know it, just say, "BOO!" ... then you're BOO! will surely show it
Source: Storytime Source Page

The Haunted House (T, P)
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
On Halloween.

continue with:
The mice go "Squeak, squeak, squeak"
The cats go "Meow, meow, meow"
The witches go "ha ha ha"
The monsters go "rawr, rawr, rawr"
The bats go "ee ee ee"
Source: Preschool Education 

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

The Haunted House (T, P)
For the song I made our characters! Even thought the witch is ugly (how appropriate, right?) I'm still impressed that I managed to make it! I liked the, ghost, the bat and the monster the most!

Skeleton Dress Up (T, P)
See Activity below.

CRAFT

Jack'O Lantern Decorating (T)
The toddlers got to glue on a faces onto a pumpkin shape. It was simple and lots of fun.

Flying Bat Marionette (P)
The preschoolers took their bat shape, made from construction paper and glue on googly eyes and foam teeth. They then taped a length of yarn to the back and tied it to a craft stick. If you moved the stick around it made the bat flitter-flutter and fly!

ACTIVITY

Skeleton Dress Up (T, P)
To make a skeleton I found a cartoon template online and blue it up a bit to make him about 18inches in height. His arms, skull, rib cage, and legs are separate pieces, which allowed me more freedom if I ever needed to have more fun. To make it exciting for the children I made clothes and accessories for them to put on him. By the way, I named him Sal.

PICTURES

There are so many pictures from this program!

 

Skeleton Dress Up flannel activity,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011
There is suppose to be a poodle skirt, but it went missing!

The Haunted House flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

Finger puppets perfect for Pumpkin, Pumpkin What Do You See?
For the first part, I turned the Jack'O Lantern puppet around to be a regular pumpkin.
I made the Wolf and Owl puppet, obviously.
The Purple Bat puppet was perfect for Kevin Sherry's book
I'm the Scariest Thing in the Castle

My cupcake! I dressed in my black and white work clothes,
placed cat ears on my head, and wore this beauty on my wrist
(it has a ring in the back for wear)! Who was I?
The cat from If You Give a Cat a Cupcake!

Noisy Storytime - A Storytime Outline

To go alone with the Jump and Move storytime I also did a Noisy Storytime! I must say that the book choices for this theme are all on my favorite list. The children and parents got a kick out of this program too!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Bark, George written and illus. by Jules Feiffer (T)
I love this book with it's fun little twist at the end. One mom had never read this book before and became a fan of it after its reading.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Did You Hear? written by Bill Martin Jr. and illus. by Eric Carle (T)
Can't go wrong with this classic!

The Noisy Way to Bed written by Ian Whybrow and illus. Tiphanie Beeke (T)

Snip Snap! What's That? written by Mara Bergman and illus. by Nick Maland (P)
The suspense in this book wast. I wish more of the children were into it as much as I was.

Katie Loves the Kittens written and illus. by John Himmelman (P)
The children loved howling like Katie during this reading. 

Seals on the Bus written by Lenny Hort and illus. by G. Brian Karas (P)
Another favorite of mine! The children loved it too!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

BINGO (T, P)
There was a farmer had a dog
and Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O
and Bingo was his name-o.

(Clap with you see an *)
There was a farmer had a dog
and Bingo was his name-o.
*-I-N-G-O, *-I-N-G-O, *-I-N-G-O
and Bingo was his name-o 

(Continue to repeat until you are now
clapping for all the letters)

There was a farmer had a dog
and Bingo was his name-o.
*-*-*-*-*,*-*-*-*-*, *-*-*-*-*
and Bingo was his name-o

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Did You Hear (T)
For the reading of the this book I let the toddlers put their matching animal picture on the flannel board. Everyone loved it.

ACTIVITY

Egg Shakers (T, P)
Do you have to guess what we did with this? We made it noisy, noisy, NOISY in the storytime room. But we also made it quiet... then noisy again!

CRAFT

Noise Makers (T, P)
A.K.A toilet paper empanadas! Everyone got a toilet paper tube to color and decorate. One they were ready we stapled on end shut, filled with dry cereal and one jingle bell, then stapled the other end shut. It was super easy, fun and noisy!

Opposites - A Storytime Outline

This was fun theme to present to the children. The books were great and the flannel board was awesome!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

A Garden of Opposites written and illus. by Nancy Davis(T)

Where is the Green Sheep? written by Mem Fox and illus. by Judy Horacek (T)
I ::LOVE:: this book! Any chance to tie into a program theme I will read it!

Opposnakes: A Lift-the Flap Book About Opposites written and illus. by Salina Yoon (T)
The toddlers liked the pictures in this book, especially they unfolded and made the book really long!

Round Trip written and illus. by Ann Jonas (P)
I saw a Children's Librarian read this book back when I was a Library Assistant years and years ago and ever since I had wanted to read the book in my own storytime. Finally I have!

Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit written and illus. by Catherine Rayner (P)
This is such a fun book! I love the ending as did the kids!

Big Smelly Bear written and illus. by Brita Teckentrup (P)
The parents thought that this was a funny book!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Five Clean and Dirty Pigs (T, P)
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 big THUD! (make a big clap to some sound effect, if you want)
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs.

Repeat, counting down

One pig so squeaky clean
Cleanest you've ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
He jumped into the mud
Landed with a THUD
Then there were no more clean squeaky pigs

Remember to count how many dirty piggies you have! 
Source: Mel's Desk via Storytime Katie 

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (T, P)
(follow actions with your fingers and arms)
The itsy bitsy spider (move your fingers like a spider going upward)
went up the water spout.
Down came the rain (wiggle your fingers like rain is falling)
and washed the spider out! (sweep with your hands like the a wave of water washed the spider out)
Out came the sun (raise arms overhead in a circle to make a sun)
and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (make your finger spider go upwards again!)
went up the spout again! 

The Great Big Hairy Spider (T, P)
tune: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(follow actions)
The great big hairy spider
climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out!
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain.
And the great big hairy spider
climbed up the spout again!

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

Five Clean and Dirty Pigs (T, P)
I saw the flannel boards for this on both Mel's Desk and Storytime Katie's blogs and fell in love. The pigs are adorable! So, obviously I had to make some for myself. The rhyme was a a huge hit!

CRAFT

Clean Pig, Dirty Pig (T)
Inspired by our flannel board, the toddlers got to make a craft that hand on clean pig and one dirty pig. A lot of the children actually understood the concept!

Black and White Pictures (P)
This craft was based off of Jonas' book. The children had to glue random shapes made from white construction paper on to a sheet of black construction paper. I had made a funny looking boat on a lake. Some of the resulting pictures were cars, rockets, and balloons. It was fun to see the imagination flowing in the artwork!

ACTIVITY

Egg Shakers (T, P)
We all got to play with the egg shakers. We shook them really hard and fast to make it loud. Then we shook them slow and soft to make it quiet. We shook toward the sky and down by the ground as well as in front of us and behind us. Egg shakers are always a lot of fun!

PICTURE

Piggies are soooo cute!

Five Clean and Dirty Pigs flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

Clean Pig, Dirty Pig, Toddler Storytime craft,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

What's in my Pocket? - A Storytime Outline

Just as with the What's in a Box storytime theme, I had always wanted to do a storytime about pockets. I must say it was harder to plan this one than the box theme, but it all turned out quite well! The rhymes and flannel boards was the glue for everything, plus they were super fun!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime 

BOOKS

What Did You Put in Your Pocket? written by Beatrice Schenk de Regmiers and illus. by Michael Grejniec (T, P)
This was actually for our flannel board fun!

Pouch! written and illus. by David Ezra Stein (T, P)

Carrot in My Pocket written by Kitson Flynn and Denise Ortakales (P)

There's a Wocket in My Pocket! written and illus. by Dr. Seuss (P)
OK, so this isn't really about pockets, but you can't go wrong with Dr. Seuss... though I did need just a little more practice on some of those tongue twisters!

BOOKS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

A Great Big Happy Smile (aka Something in my Pocket) (T, P)
I've got something in my pocket (hand one hand sideways and put the fingers of the hand inside it like a pocket)
That belongs across my face
I keep it very close (put your hand pocket close to your heart)
In the most convenient place
I'm sure you wouldn't guess it
If you tried a long, long while
So I'll take it out and put it on... (take your hand out of the other)
It's a great big (storytime) smile! (pretend to put on a smile)
Source: Perry Public Library (this will open a s a Web view of a PDF)

What's in my Pocket? (T, P)
I have a little pocket where something can hide.
It opens doors and starts the car.
Do you know what's inside? (key)

I have a little pocket where something can hide.
It's used to draw in a coloring book.
Do yo know what's inside? (crayon)

I have a little pocket where something can hide.
It shows you when it's time for bed.
Do you know what's inside? (clock)

I have a little pocket where something can hide.
It lights up a dark room.
Do you know what's inside? (flashlight)
Source: This was a flannel from my library, but you can find this also at So Tomorrow.


In My Pockets (T, P) - I didn't get a chance to do this one but perhaps next time and even as a flannel board!
The things in my pockets are lots of fun (hold up five fingers)
I will show you one by one

In my first pocket is a frog (point to thumb)
I found him sitting on a log.

In my second pocket is a car (point to index finger)
It can race off very far.

In my third pocket is a ball (point to middle finger) 
I can bounce it on a wall.

In my fourth pocket is a bunny (point to ring finger)
She twitches her nose and looks so funny.

In my fifth pocket is a dog (touch pink to frog)
He's a friend of my little frog.
Source: Harris County Public Library

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
Touch Your Nose
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

What Did You Put in Your Pocket? (T, P)
Based off of Beatrice Schenk de Regmiers' book, I created a giant pocket and a large number of everything that ends up in the pocket. I read the book and every time something new was added, the children with the corressponding shape got to go up to the board and put into the pocket. It was loads of fun!


What's in My Pocket? (T, P)
I need to make my own copy of this flannel board guessing game. The children on both programs loved it!

CRAFT

Pocket Necklace (T, P)
This was a really simple craft. I cut out pocket shapes from construction paper. The children, with the help from me and their guardian, they got to staple their pocket shut and add string to it so that it turned into a necklace. I gave them a fat pencil and a bookmark for them to put in their pockets. 

PICTURE

Look what the toddlers and preschoolers put in the pocket!

What Did You Put In Your Pocket? book inspired flannel board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

Whoo-Hoo Owls - A Storytime Outline

Whoooo likes owls? Everyone! It's a great theme for anytime of year, but it was really nice during the fall harvest season.  For my Preschool Storytime I brought a Folkmanis owl puppet for the children to see before the program started (I didn't do with the Toddlers cause it's quite dark and scary looking). The kids loved it! They even started feeding the owl pretend dead mice! It's great!

T = Toddler Storytime

P = Preschool Storytime  

BOOKS

"I'm Not Cute!" written and illus. by Jonathan Allen (T)
Oh, yes he is!

"Wow! Said the Owl written and illus. by Tom Hopgood (T, P)
I love this book and it's use of colors!

Good-Night, Owl! written and illus. by Pat Hutchinson (T)

The Life Cycle of an Owl written by Ruth Thompson (T, P)
We looked at the pictures.

"I'm Not Scared!" written and illus. by Jonathan Allen (P)
Yes, he is! A little girl in Preschool Storytime said that he was scared and that he was a liar!!!! Oh my gosh! I had to catch my breath from laughing and agreeing with her so that I could finish the story!

Cock-a-Doodle-Hooooooo! written by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (P)
So cute! The parents liked it too!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

If You're an Owl and You Know It (T, P)
tune: If You're Happy and You Know It
(follow actions)
If you're an owl and you know it hoot like this "Hoo(t), hoo(t)..."
If you're an owl and you know it hoot like this "Hoo(t), hoo(t)..."
If you're an owl and you know it then your hoot will surely show it
If you're an owl and you know it hoot like this "Hoo(t), hoo(t)..."

continue with other lyrics:
Flap your wings (flap wings)
Blink your eyes (blink eyes and open and close hands to help mimic the movement)
Turn your head (turn it from side to side!)
Source: Librarian Lisa

The Wide-Eyed Owl (T, P)
(follow actions)
There's a wide-eyed how (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your "claws")
He lives way up (point way up)
In the tree (spread your arms out to mimic the canopy of a tree)
And when he looks at you (point to the children)
He flaps his wings (yep, flap your wings)
And says, "Whoo! Whoo!" (keep those wings flapping!)
Source: Librarian Lisa

Five Little Owls (T, P)
Five little hoot owls siting in a tree
One flew away! How many do you see?
One, two, three, four.

Four little hoot owls sitting in a tree
One flew away! How many do you see?
One, two, three.

Repeat, counting down.

One little hot owl sitting in a tree
It flew away! How many do you see?
None!
Source: Sunflower Storytime via Storytime Katie 

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
 (follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends. 

FLANNEL BOARDS

Five Little Owls (T, P)
I ::loved:: the owls that Leah of Sunflower Storytime and Katie of Storytime Katie made for this rhyme. Sooo, I had to make some for myself!

CRAFT

O is for Owl (T)
For this craft I just printed a picture of an owl that the toddlers could color as well as paste a letter O onto the tummy. Everything was then glued onto a piece of construction paper.

Owl Figurines (P)
This was a great way to use some of the toilet paper tubes piling up in the supply closet. Bend down the middle on one end to make the ears. Add some wings (a heart cut in half), a beak, googly eyes and some feathers to finish off this cute owl!

PICTURES

 Owl Figurine, Preschool Storytime Craft,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

More is coming!

Cool Winter Fun - A Storytime Outline

In 2011, when I did this storytime, it was actually cold outside! It was perfect! Side note, in 2010 when I did a similar theme it was 70-80 degrees. Not as a much fun! The children had a great time at this program. My favorite part was doing the song "The Mitten in the Snow" because of the flannel board I created.

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

No Two Alike written and illus. by Keith Baker (T)
One of the library's newer books. I love the illustrations!

Frozen Noses written by Jan Carr and illus. by Dorothy Donohue (T)
Having fun in the snow and getting frozen noses!

A Hat for Minerva Louise written and illus. by Janet Morgan Stoeke (T)
Oh, Minerva Louise, I love you! The parents liked this one too!

Snow Dance written by Lezlie Evans and illus. by Cynthia Jabar (P)
I loved this rhyming story. Who doesn't like dancing in the snow (or the rain!)?

Froggy Gets Dressed written by Jonathan London and illus. by Frank Remkiewicz (P)
This is always a crowd-pleaser. The children had fun guessing what he had forgotten to put on. 

Snow written and illus. by Manya Stojic
The snow is coming! I love this book from the words to the illustrations!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P) 
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Boots and Parka, Scarf and Hat (T, P)
tune: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
(touch the areas that you wear these items of clothing!)
Boots and parka, scarf and hat (feet, arms, neck, and head)
Scarf and hat
Boots and parka, scarf and hat
Scarf and hat
In wintertime we dress like that!
Boots and parka, scarf and hat
Scarf and hat!
Source: Mel's Desk 

The Mitten in the Snow (P)
The mitten in the snow
The mitten in the snow
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

A mole squeezes in
A mole squeeze in
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

A rabbit squeezes in
A rabbit squeezes in
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

Continue with the other animals:
Hedgehog
Owl
Badger
Fox
Bear (yes, even a bear!)
Mouse

The bear says, "A-choo!"
The bear says, "A-choo!"
All the animals fly out of
The mitten in the snow!
Source: Mrs. Jones Room

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD

The Mitten in the Snow (P)
It was a lot of fun to get all those animals "into" the mitten. When it came to when the animals flying out I just pulled the full mitten away from the board (the animals stayed put ... ah, the power of felt!) and I shook it! The animals really did go flying!

Hidden Snowball Guessing Game (T, P)
See the Activity below.

CRAFT

Mitten Decoration (T)
I made lots and lots of construction mittens with the die cut machine. The children glued them onto onto another sheet of construction paper and had to decorate them with cotton balls and crayons.

Snow Guessing Page (P)
This was inspired by our activity. Each child got a pair of mittens, a length of yarn (remember the old days when your mittens were like that?), a snowball and some glitter glue! On a piece of construction paper, the had put the snow then cover it with one of the mittens. The mittens were only glued on at the bottom so that they could be flappy. Then they decorated to their hearts content with the glitter glue, a rare treat! Once it was done the children could ask someone behind which mitten the snowball was. All you had to do was pull down the flap to find out!

ACTIVITY

Hidden Snowball Guessing Game (T, P)
This was inspired by Anne from So Tomorrow. The children had to guess which mitten a couple of snowballs were hiding behind. It was a huge hit, especially with the preschool children. Sometimes someone would find one by accident, but that made it fun for the parents and let us all laugh in silliness!

We said this rhyme a couple before we got caught up in the fun!

Snowball, snowball,
Cold and round,
Behind which mitten
Can you be found?!

PICTURES

The Mitten in the Snow flannel board
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

Hidden Snowball Guessing Game,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

EXTRA BOOKS

Red Sled written by Patricia Thomas and illus. by Chris. L. Demarest
I discovered this book after the storytime and wish that I had it for the Toddler Storytime. Next time I will use it! It's so cute!

Jump and Move - A Storytime Outline

You always have wigglers in your storytime. No matter what. This is the perfect storytime for those little ones! This is also just a plain good theme to have for any day, especially those ones when you need to get up and move or else you turn into real slugs!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Busy Lizzie written and illus. by Holly Berry (T)

In a Small, Small Pond written and illus. by Denise Fleming (T)

The Cuddle Book written and illus. by Guido Van Genechten (T)
This book is adorable! Some moms actually began to cuddle their toddler during this story.

From Head to Toe written and illus. by Eric Carle (P)
The kids really liked matching the actions of the animals found in this book!

Wiggle written by Doreen Cronin and illus. by Scott Menchin (P)

Hop Jump written and illus. by Ellen Stoll Walsh (P)
Why jump and hop when you can dance?!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Bluebird Through My Window (T)
Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Oh, Johnny (or Mommy/Daddy) I'm tired.

Continue with other colored birds, yellow, red, green, and etc.

Head and Shoulders (T, P)
(follow actions)
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes
Eyes and ears
And mouth and noes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes.

Repeat signing and moving at different speeds (slow and fast)

If You're Happy and You Know It (T, P)
(follow actions)
If you're happy and you know it
Clap your hands (clap your hands!)
If you're happy and you know it
Clap you hands (clap your hands)
If you're happy and you know it
Then your hands should surely show it
If you're happy and you know it
Clap your hands!

If you're happy and you know it
Stomp your feet (stomp you footsies!)
If you're happy and you know it
Stomp your feet (stomp!)
If you're happy and you know it
Then your feet should surely show it
If you're happy and you know it
Stomp your feet.

Continue with
"shout hooray!... then your voice should surely show it..."
"do all three (clap, stomp, hooray!)... then you should surely show it..."

Five Little Moneys Jumping on the Bed (T, P)
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor
And the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor
And the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Count down to one monkey!

One little monkey jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor
and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (T, P)

Traffic Light (T, P)

CRAFT

Butterfly Finger Puppets (T)
My library owns a die cut that is in the shape of a butterfly and includes a band cut in the midsection that is meant for a little finger to slip into to use it as a puppet. If you don't have one then find any butterfly shape, cut it out, and temporarily fold in half (without creasing it) and make two cuts horizontal to the tummy. When you lie the butterfly flat it has that ring band affect for the finger to slip into it. You can also crease the wings a little give them more flight, but I didn't on mine. The toddlers loved them!

Cup and PomPom Catcher (P)
To keep with the theme of movement, all the preschoolers got to make cup catcher. One end of a string was taped to the inside of the cup and the other end was tied around a fluffy pompom. Children had to jerk the cup to send the pompom flying and they had to try to catch in the cup. It was an AWESOME craft and everyone loved it!

SPECIAL ACTIVITY

Traffic Light (T, P)
I cut out a red, yellow, and green circle to make the "traffic light" image. I also used our die cutter to make letters that spelled out "stop," "slow," and "go" in the corresponding felt color. Once all of that the flannel board, we breifly talked about the meaning of the colors. Then we walked, ran, and stood in place pending the speed (fast, slow, stop) that I shouted. Everyone loved it!

PICTURE

Traffic Light flannel board,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2012

Use Your Imagination - A Storytime Outline

I'm going to go along with to people from my Preschool Storytime to describe how this program theme went... from one boy it was "Awesome!" and from a guardian it was "fun!". Granted the toddlers didn't quite grab the concept of imagination! But they can recognize the animals and other things from the illustrations in the books to make it fun. The preschoolers loved the theme, especially once I pulled out Antoinette Portis' books!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

It Looked Like Spilt Milk written and illus. by Charles G. Shaw (T)
This was a great book for the toddlers, and even preschoolers, for shape recognition.

He Saves the Day written by Marsha Hayles and illus. by Lynne Cravath (T) 
This was a fun book. I shortened the reading for this one because the toddlers were really active.

Mud is Cake written by Pam Munoz Ryan and illus. by David McPhail (P)
Imagination at its fullest in this rhyming book. 

A Pig Called Pete written by Alan Bowater and illus. by Pete Pascoe (P)
You have to imagine that pigs can be clean, purple, and can fly around the world! 

Not A Box written and illus. by Antoinette Portis (P)
I love this book! 

Not A Stick written and illus. by Antoinette Portis (P)
Because Not A Box was such a success this was my fourth and last book I did in the program. The children loved it and created a lot of "awesomes" from one little boy!

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (T, P)
(follow actions with your fingers and arms)
The itsy bitsy spider (move your fingers like a spider going upward)
went up the water spout.
Down came the rain (wiggle your fingers like rain is falling)
and washed the spider out! (sweep with your hands like the a wave of water washed the spider out)
Out came the sun (raise arms overhead in a circle to make a sun)
and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (make your finger spider go upwards again!)
went up the spout again!

The Great Big Hairy Spider (T, P)
tune: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(follow actions)
The great big hairy spider
climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out!
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain.
And the great big hairy spider
climbed up the spout again!

Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree (P)
Five little monkeys swinging from a tree (hold up five fingers and swing your arm)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!" (but your hands to your ears like antlers!)
Along come Mr. Crocodile, (but your hands together and swim them around slowly)
As hungry as can be
And SNAP! (make your whole arms into a large crocodile mouth and snap your hands together)

Four little monkeys swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hungry as can be
And SNAP!

Countdown to one monkey

One little monkey swinging from a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Crocodile,
As hunger as can be (still!)
And SNAP!
Along go Mr. Crocodile as fat as can be!

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)
(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITY

White Cloud Shapes (T)
I was unable to borrow It Looked Like Spilt Milk flannel board from another library in time. So! Instead I took my white felt and use the die cuts to create different shapes (cow, train engine, turtle, spider, and etc.) that allowed the toddlers to put on the board.

CRAFT

"My circle is a..." coloring page (T, P)
Inspired by Anotinette Portis' books I cranked out die cut circles out of colorful construction paper. The children then had the opporuntity to glue their circle onto a sheet of paper, which I had printed "My circle is a..." on, and they had to imagine their circle as something other than a circle! One girl made her circle into a portrait of Hello Kitty. A boy made his into a baseball and drew a bat to hit it with. The preschoolers had the most imagination as my toddlers are actually quite young. We just viewed the craft as a practice in dexterity and fine motor skills!

EXTRA BOOKS

What Shall We Play written and illus. by Sue Heap (T)
My Garden written and illus. by Kevin Henkes (P)
Harold and the Purple Crayon written and illus. by Crockett Johnson (P)
Ella's Games written by David Bedford and illus. by Peter Kavanagh (P)

PICTURES

It's coming!