Food! - A Storytime Outline

FOOD! I love you! Who doesn't love food. Seriously? There were several ways I could've gone with this program, such as a "Big GULP!" type theme. But in the end, I had a mixture of books that I love (the best way to go, in my opinion), and it turned out great!

BOOKS
Creepy Carrots! written by Aaron Reynolds and illus. by Peter Brown 
This book is amazingly awesome, especially if you read it in a very dramatic and suspicious way. The children loved it! 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illus. by Eric Carle 
How can you have a Food-themed storytime and not read The Very Hungry Caterpillar?

Stone Soup written and illus. by Marcia Brown 
I didn't have another version on hand - not that it matters too much. The story is pretty much the same. This version was a little long for my children so I paraphrased most of it and had the children put the flannel pieces on the board. 

The Watermelon Seed written and illus. by Greg Pizzoli 
Another read that has to be done with some drama. Some of the children thought - yes, indeed, a watermelon will grow inside of you. While some explained that you would have swallow dirt, water, and sunlight in order to have a melon grow inside of you.

SONGS & RHYMES 
 Open, Shut Them
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
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Pizza Man, Pizza Man
Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, touch the ground

Pizza man, pizza man, smell a rose
Pizza man, pizza man, touch your toes

Pizza man, pizza man, touch the sky
Pizza man, Pizza man, wave goodbye

Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, sit back down

Pizza man, pizza man, shake your head
Pizza man, pizza man, go to bed
Source: SurLaLune Storytime

Bananas Unite
Watch the video linked before for the actions! 
Banana Unite!
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas,
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas

Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,
Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,

Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,
Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,

Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,
Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,

Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Source: Jbrary 
Note: For this group, I went over the actions, and made sure they knew what to do with going bananas. We did three time, each time a little faster. This group loves doing speedy stuff!

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 bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES 
"Pizza Man, Pizza Man" pizza box balancing
To make the "Pizza Man, Pizza Man" ever more interactive, I used pretend pizza delivery boxes that I made last year. They were out of square pieces of cardboard. To decorate them, so that they are recognized as a pizza box, I simply glued on a piece of paper that had a logo printed on them. The children loved doing the rhyme while holding the boxes in one hand.You can read the original description and see the photo here.

FLANNEL BOARD 
Stone Soup 
I really wanted a flannel board for this program, and my totally awesome Library Assistant Jennifer suggested this. I could believe that my library system did not have a flannel version of the Stone Soup story. Wow! So, with inspiration from Miss Mary I set Jennifer to the task of making me a flannel board. She did an amazing job and totally matches what I had envisioned!

Flannel Boar, Stone Soup, created by Jennifer,
WPCC 2014.

CRAFT 
Creepy Carrots 
I found this craft over at Miss Meg's Storytime blog and new it was the perfect craft for my group. I freehand everything - from the carrot body, the leafy tops, the eyebrows, mouths and teeth. For the eyes I simply used some of eye stickers I had on hand. At the end of the program we had an entire crop of creepy carrots!

Craft, Creepy Carrot
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

MORE BOOKS 
Fast Food written by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Jamberry written and illus. by Bruce Degen
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant written
The Doorbell Rang written and illus. by Pat Hutchins
Whopper Cake written by Karma Wilson and illus. by Will Hillenbrand

Book images were found at www.goodreads.com. 

Miss Dorothy's Favorites II - A Storytime Outline

This is the second of the continuing theme, "Miss Dorothy's Favorites." These books are among the ones that I love to read due to the story and/or the illustrations.

BOOKS
Tuck Me In! written by Dean Hacohen and illus. by Sherry Scharschmidt (T)
This book is extremely simple and so adorable for  adults to share with babies and toddlers. Sometimes I use this book with puppets and the little ones have to tuck them with pieces of fabric/blankets. This time around, I walked around the room and let everyone have a turn turning the half-page blankets on each illustrated baby animal. The children loved it!

What Will the Fat Cat Sit On? written and illus. by Jan Thomas (T)
I have a Folkmanis cat puppet that is perfect for this story. I used puppets to help tell this story.
Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit written and illus. by Catherine Rayner (T, P)
A great book about friendship and thinking outside of the box ... errr.. book!

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch created by James Dean (P)
Pete the Cat is awesome! As it's in an Easy Reader format I needed a way make this book more visual for the children. So! I created a flannel sandwich that the children had to help build during the reading of the book. See the Flannel Board section below for more details.

The Watermelon Seed written and illus. by Greg Pizzoli (P)
This books MUST be read with dramatics! It's very silly and imaginative. The children loved it!

SONGS & RHYMES
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

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider (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 (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!

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 bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARDS

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch (P)
As I mentioned above, I needed visual aids during the reading of the book Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch since the book is in Easy Reader format, which makes the illustrations smaller than normal for storytimes. I made all the pieces by hand with the help of Microsoft clip art templates. I had a Pete the Cat doll with me that day, since then I've added a flannelized version of Pete to go along with the story.

ACTIVITIES
Storytime Scarves (T)
The little ones were restless so in addition to our egg shakers I let the toddlers dance to the following songs with our storytime scarves:

• I'm Gonna Catch You by Laurie Berkner
• My Energy by Laurie Berkner

Egg Shakers (T, P)
Shake them up high and shake them down low!

CRAFTS
"Tuck Me In and Read Me a Story" coloring page (T)
The toddlers got a coloring page that allowed them color their own bed and blanket. If they wanted to they could draw (or scribble) an animal or themselves on the pillow. 

Pop-Up Book/Card (P)
To tie into the book Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit I used a pop-up card die cut to create the inside page for children to paste and tape scrapes of paper to create their own fold out book/card like the book is. The cover was created just by cutting a rectangle and folding it in half. Then they could draw anything inside of it that would need extra room to fit in the book. I drew a giraffe as you can see. I saw a couple rockets that were pretty awesome.

PICTURES

Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch flannel board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

Tuck me in and Read me a story! coloring page,
Toddler Storytime craft, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

Pop-Up Book/Card, Preschool Storytime craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013

Oh My! A Great Pizza Pie! - A Storytime Outline

This was for the first storytime of the Fall season. Still recovering from the summer I prepped from this storytime right before I had an adventurous vacation (of which I would return only two days prior to the start of storytime!). This was a super easy program and super fun! It was also very YUMMY!

BOOKS
Pete's a Pizza written and illus. by William Steig (T)
How can you not read Pete's a Pizza. Parts of the story the toddler did not quite get, but the guardians greatly enjoyed it.

"Hi, Pizza Man!" written by Virginia Walter and illus. by Ponder Goembel (T, P)
I managed to get this through ILL, which was amazing! I told this story, which the help of the children, by using puppets. The toddlers loved visiting with the puppets.

The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza written by Philemon Sturges and illus. by Amy Walrod (P)
To make this story more fun, I tried to make the preschoolers make the animal noises and to ask them what they thought the animals would say.


SONGS & RHYMES
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

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap.

Pizza Man, Pizza Man (T, P)
Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, touch the ground

Pizza man, pizza man, smell a rose
Pizza man, pizza man, touch your toes

Pizza man, pizza man, touch the sky
Pizza man, Pizza man, wave goodbye

Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, sit back down

Pizza man, pizza man, shake your head
Pizza man, pizza man, go to bed
Source: SurLaLune Storytime

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 bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD
Pizza Toppings (T, P)
This activity was really designed for the toddlers, but the preschool children enjoyed it too. Basically, we had a pizza crust and sauce and the little ones had to add all the toppings. It looked delicious!

ACTIVITIES
"Pizza Man, Pizza Man" pizza box balancing (T, P)
To make the "Pizza Man, Pizza Man" ever more interactive, I made pretend pizza delivery boxes out of square pieces of cardboard. To decorate them, so that they are recognized as a pizza box, I simply glued on a piece of paper that had a logo printed on them. The children loved doing the rhyme while holding the boxes in one hand. The preschool children expanded the rhyme by coming up with their movements.

CRAFTS
Custom Pizza Slice (T)
To continue the flannel board idea, the toddlers got make their own pizza slice and top it any way they wanted. Typically I add all the elements into the storytime craft bags (where the crayons and glue hang out), but this time I left the toppings out on the table so that they can really pick and choose which toppings they wanted for their pizza. No mushrooms on mine, please!

Delivery Pizza "Boxes" (P)
This was such a fun craft! Not only did the children got to make a pretend pizza "box", which really two pieces of paper used to make a flap, but they also got to pick their own toppings to customize the pizza that was inside of it.

PICTURES

Custom Pizza Slice, Toddler Storytime craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

Pizza Delivery "Box," Preschool Storytime craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

"Pizza Man, Pizza Man" balancing activity prop,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2013.

The Turkey Shot of the Oven - A Flannel Friday

Salutations everyone. For this special Thanksgiving Round-Up I present to you a flannel board for the poem "The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven" by poet-extradinaire Jack Prelutsky.

A few years back I had made this flannel board out of laminated construction paper that had felt glued to the back of each piece. However, during my move between libraries some of the pieces have disappeared. I decided to try my hand at flannelizing this poem to make a new complete set. 

For templates I simply used images from my computers clip art files. I want to give a special shout-out thanks to a coworker of mine, Korey, for helping me get to a happy-looking popcorn shape. Popcorn is tough to make out of flannel! 

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven flannel board
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven 

by Jack Prelutsky

The turkey shot out of the oven

and rocketed into the air,

it knocked every plate off the table

and partly demolished a chair. 

It ricocheted into a corner

and burst with a deafening boom, 

then splattered all over the kitchen,

completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows,

it totally coated the floor,

there was turkey attached to the ceiling,

where there'd never been turkey before. 

It blanketed every appliance,

it smeared every saucer and bowl,

there wasn't a way i could stop it,

that turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,

and though with chagrin as I mopped,

that I'd never again stuff a turkey

with popcorn that hadn't been popped. 

This poem can be found in either the book of the these two books:

• Something BIG Has Been Here written by Jack Prelutsky and illus. by James Stevenson, 1990.

• Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies selected by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton and illus. by James McMullan, 2009

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Amanda on her blog Trails & Tales. To learn more about Flannel Friday and ways to get involved, please visit the official Flannel Friday blog! 

Picnic, No Ants Allowed! - A Storytime Outline

If it isn't too hot, families should enjoy picnics! This is the storytime that I did during the week of July 4th, and hoped that some families were going to do the tradition of joining the outdoor festivities, which includes yummy food noshing, before the firework show. The children loved the theme, and all of theme loved the reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The preschool children loved sneezing during the Five Hungry Ants rhyme. A word to the wise, be prepared for a response about what happens to the ant(s) after they sneeze. A boy who kept on saying that they died when they sneezed! I said they were so tired after sneezing really big that they had to take a break. Whew!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack: An Alphabet Adventure written by Doreen Cronin and illus. by Betsy Lewin (T)
The toddlers liked seeing the animals, especially the sheep because they were zooming fast to catch up. One little boy thought it was because they wanted to eat the mice. Thankfully he agreed when I said that they were probably wanting to go on the picnic with the rest of the farm animals too.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illus. by Eric Carle (T, P)
Eating yummy food is always a good idea for a picnic. Even the Preschool children wanted to read this story instead of another "picnic" book.

Ready for Anything written and illus. by Keiko Kasza (P)
A book about friendship and being prepared. The children loved guessing what would live in a cave.

SONGS & RHYMES

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 Hungry Ants (P)

Five hungry ants,

marching in a line,

came upon a picnic

where they could dine.

They marched into the salad, 

they marched into the cake,

They marched into the pepper...

Uh oh, that was a mistake!

AAHHHH-CHOOO!

continue to count down till there is one ant left

One hungry ant,

marching in a line,

came upon a picnic

where it could dine.

It marched through the salad,

it marched through the cake,

it marched through the pepper...

Uh oh, that was a mistake!

AAHHHH-CHOOO!

Now there are no more hungry ants 

Source: Miss Mary Liberry

We're Going on a Picnic (T, P) - I ran out of time before I got to do this one.
We're going on a picnic,
A picnic, a picnic.
We're going on a picnic,
and this is what we'll bring.

Let the children say what we should bring.

We'll bring along some hot dogs,
Some hot dogs, some hot dog.
We'll bring along some hot dogs,
and that is what we'll bring.

Continue with other items:
watermelon, beach balls, bubbles
Source: Yakaberry

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, P)
We did our usual shaking in the Toddler Storytime, but because I was running out of time and wasn't able to do our last song, I had the Preschoolers do some egg shaking as well. They loved it! In both programs I added in the song "Head and Shoulders," which they got the grasp of all the while shaking an egg.

Watermelon Seeds (T)
This is a flannel board. No rhyme (at least not until I write one up, eventually), just sticking seeds on the felt watermelon.

FLANNEL BOARD

Watermelon Seeds (T)
To make the watermelon just made fat U-shapes from the pink and green felt. I added in light green felt squiggles to give the skin some variety. The seeds are just regular black felt ovals. They were the perfect size for a toddler's hand.

Five Hungry Ants (P)
To go along with the rhyme, I flannelized the elements. How awesome is that salad? The children thought that my pepper shaker was a sock, but I'm that it was because they never really paid attention a salt and pepper shaker in real life before. The ants were three lumps with three strips glued on the middle of the backside. The children loved making the sneezing portion of the rhyme. One boy kept on saying that the ants died every time they sneezed. I told him that each ant was just tired from such a big sneeze!

CRAFTS

Picnic Plates (T, P)
To keep it simple this time, I cut out pictures of food from magazines and had the children glue the pictures to a paper plate. They could color their plate with the crayons if they wanted too.

PICTURES

I need to get a better camera or try to take pictures in a different room. I'm getting dark pictures right now, it's depressing despite the uber cuteness of the flannel boards!

Watermelon Seeds flannel board, Toddler Storytime,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012.

Five Hungry Ants flannel board, Preschool Storytime,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012. 

Picnic Plate craft, Toddler and Preschool Storytime,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012.  

MORE BOOKS

We're Going on a Picnic! written and illus. by Pat Hutchins
The Best Picnic Ever written and illus. by Clare Jarrett
Polly's Picnic written by Richard Hamilton and illus. by Sophy Williams
One Hundred Hungry Ants written by Elinor J. Pinczes and illus. by Bonnie Mackain
Please Do Feed the Bears written by Phyllis Renolds Naylor and illus. by Ana Lopez Escriva
How Hungry Are You? written by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen and illus. by Amy Walrod
The Surprise Picnic written and illus. by John S. Goodall
Piggins written by Jane Yolen and illus. by Jane Dyer
The Rattlebang Picnic written by Margaret Mahy and illus. by Steven Kellogg
The Most Perfect Spot written and illus. by Diane Goode
The Bears' Picnic written and illus. by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Hot Dog - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION

So, it's baseball season again! This poem isn't necessarily about the classic American sport, but what you can :: eat :: during a ball game.... hot dogs! Yum! This poetry break requires some delectable hot dogs to eat - complete with all the trimmings! This poem would also work for a picnic session too.

POEM

Hot Dog
by Mordicai Gerstein

Dear hot dog..........................with relish and a blanket
snug as a puppy.....................of crimson ketchup.
in your bready bun,.............. .You are so fragrant,
I love you.............................. .I could
mustard..................................eat
up and down........................ ..you
your ticklish tummy,............  ..up!
and cover you up

EXTENSION

• Have the children deck out a hot dog and eat it up (it's a must!)
• Encourage the children to share what they love about hot dogs.
• For the baseball season, have the children share what they like about the sport and what they eat at a game.

BIBLIOGRAPHYY

Gerstein, Mordicai. 2011. Dear Hot Dog. Illus. by Mordicai Gerstein. NY, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780810997325.

Pineapple - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION

It’s time for a funny “holiday” poetry break! April 20^th is National Upside Down Pineapple Cake Day! Yes, there is actually a day for this delectable dessert, and now I am able to pull a haiku poem from Pat Mora’s Yum! Mmmm! Que rico!: Americas’ Sproutings book! Share this poem and have a some fresh pineapples for tasting!

POEM

Pineapple

by Pat Mora

A stuff, spiky hat

on thick prickly skin, inside

hide syrupy rings.

EXTENSION

• Have the children help bake a upside down pineapple cake in the kitchen with plenty of adult supervision.
• If you have fresh pineapple for eating, have the children prep the tops for growing a new pineapple plant.
• Let the children share what they like and don’t like about the fruit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat2007. Yum! Mmmm! Que rico!: Americas’ Sproutings. Illus. by Rafael Lopez. NY, NY: Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN: 9781584302711.

Mmm... Pancakes - A Storytime Outline

Who knew pancakes would be such an awesome success! As a storytime theme, I mean. Yes, a storytime theme! Sometimes I have the concern that a new theme won't go over well with the children, especially if there aren't a lot of books to choose from, especially for a certain age group. Well, one of the greatest things about storytime is that isn't always about the books you read. It can be about the activities and flannel boards that you can do! Both my Toddler and Preschool storytime were so well received that I deem this theme perfect! Take that any naysayers!

T = Toddler Storytime
P = Preschool Storytime

BOOKS

Round is a Pancake written by Joan Sullvan Barnaski and illus. by Yu-Mei Han (T)
This books isn't entirely about pancakes, but its about round things, which is a great shape concept to introduce to toddlers.

How to Make a Pancake written by Dave Max and illus. by Jeffery Ebbeler (T)
Almost very instructional in nature, but is a Easy Reader perfect for storytime nonetheless. There are cute little mice that help the chef make the pancakes so make sure to point them out. You can also emphasize the tall stack of delicious pancakes that was made and how the chef ate them all! Oy!

Mr. Wolf's Pancakes written and illus. by Jan Fearnly (P)
A great take on "The Little Red Hen". The children thought it was funny when he tried to read a book that was upside down, and agreed how all his neighbors were rude! Everyone thought it was funny when he ate his neighbors then his pancakes! Sorry gave the plot away!

If You Give a Pig a Pancake written by Laura Numeroff and illus. by Felicia Bond (P)
How can you not read this 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.

Make a Pancake (T)
Make a pancake, pat, pat, pat
Do not make it fat, fat, fat
You must make it flat, flat, flat
Make a pancake just like that!
Source: Youth Services Organization Program Page

Pat a Cake (T)
Pat a cake, Pat a cake
Baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
You pat it and roll it
And mark it with a 'B'
Put it in the oven for baby and me!

Mixin' Pancakes (T, P)
Mixin' pancakes,
Stirrin' pancakes,
Pop em' in the pan;
Fryin' pancakes
Flippin' pancakes
Catch 'em if you can!
Source: Youth Services Organization Program Page

Five Crispy Pancakes (T, P)
Five crispy pancakes in a frying pan,
Flip them and toss them and catch them if you can.
Along came (child's name)
For a pancake one day
Sprinkled with sugar and took it away.
Source: Youth Services Organization Program Page

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

Mixin' Pancakes (T, P)
Before doing the rhyme I handed out little felt circles to each of the children. Moved our hips and arms when mixing and stirring, then we made our palm flat to make a pan to keep the circle on. Then when it was time to say "Catch 'em if you can" we all had to toss up our circles like pancakes and see if we could catch them. Toddlers and preschoolers LOVED it!!!!!!

Five Crispy Pancakes (T, P)
I used a large circle and a separate narrow rectangle to make a frying pan. Then I used five medium circles to make pancakes. I had the children one by one take a pancake off the board, which is a fun twist from the often activity of putting something on the board.

CRAFTS

Pancake Toppings (T)
The toddlers got to clue a brown circle to a paper plate and glue blueberry, strawberry and banana toppings.

Pancake Tossers (P)
Tape/glue (I recommend tape cause it's fast) a craft stick to the bottom of a small paper place, then tape a piece of string to the top of the plate then tape a brown circle to the other end of the string. Color and decorate your new frying pan. Then try to flip the pancake up and see if you can catch it! Craft inspired by 
Source: Youth Services Organization Program Page

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

Egg Shakers (T)
Any Children's Librarian knows that you cannot be without egg shakers. I always have them on hand in my storytime room. Today I used them because I tied them into my pancake breakfast theme. The children love them! Remember to shake toward the sky, then down low by the toes, behind your back, by your tummy, from side to side, really loud and fast then really slow and quiet. Repeat as long as you want!

How Do You Top Your Pancake? (T, P)
After doing the Five Crispy Pancakes rhyme, I removed the frying pans handle, which is why I made sure the elements were separated, and the large circle becomes a plate! Genius, I know. The children had to put the pancakes back on the plate, and I handed out felt shapes that were blueberries, strawberries, bananas, pats of butter and splotches of syrup. One by one they had to put their fruit, butter and syrup on the pancakes! They loved it! I added a egg and bacon to the Preschool Storytime fun by asking, "What else can you eat with pancakes?".

PICTURES

Topped off pancakes from each of the programs! All the kids were budding chefs!

How Do You Top Your Pancake?, Toddler Storytime,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2012

How Do You Top Your Pancake? Preschool Storytime,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2012.