Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Gardens and Flowers Storytime 3/29/16 and 3/30/16

Books read: 
Dig in by Cindy Jenson-Elliott
Good Morning Garden by Barbara Brenner

Other book suggestions:
My garden by Kevin Henkes
Fran's Flower by Lisa Bruce
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

ASL Sign of the Week: Flower

Seed in the ground (adapted from Jack in the Box by Jbrary)
Little seed, in the ground. (crouch)
Sits so still.
Will it sprout?
Yes it will! (jump up)

The farmer and his seeds (to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell", from Suralune Storytime)
The farmer plants the seeds, (pretend to plant seeds)
The farmer plants the seeds,
Hi-ho the dairy-o,
The farmer plants the seeds.

The sun begins the shine, (arms in a sun shape above head)
The sun begins to shine,
Hi-ho the dairy-o,
The sun begins to shine.

The rain begins to fall, (rain motion with fingers)
The rain begins to fall,
Hi-ho the dairy-o,
The rain begins to fall.

The seed begins to grow, (slowly rise and move arms outward)
The seed begins to grow,
Hi-ho the dairy-o,
The seed begins to grow.

If you're muddy and you know it

Wiggling Worms (modified from Kids Activities)
Wiggle them up, (wiggle hands up)
Wiggle them down, (wiggle hands down)
Wiggle them around and around. (wiggle hands in circle)
Wiggle them fast, (wiggle hands fast)
Wiggle them slow, (wiggle hands slowly)
Wiggle them high, (wiggle hands up)
Wiggle them low. (wiggle hands down)
Wiggle them on your feet, (wiggle on feet)
Wiggle them on your head, (wiggle on head)
Wiggle them, wiggle them,
Straight to bed. (pretend to sleep)

Ring around the Rose (with parachute)


There's something in my garden (with puppets hidden under felt, from SuraLune Storytime)
There's something in my garden,
Something I can't see.
I hear a funny sound (insert noise)
What could it be?

Craft: Toddlers decorated a flower template with circular stickers. Preschoolers colored a flower template.

Literacy tip of the week: Books are a great way to build children's background knowledge. For instance in this storytime we learned a little about the science behind what makes plants grow.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Chickens and Eggs Storytime 3/23/16

Books read:
Baby Bird by Joyce Dunbar
Roly poly egg by Kali Stileman

Other book suggestions:
Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert
Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield
The Chick and the Duckling by Mirra Ginsburg

ASL Sign of the Week: Bird
  
If You're a Chicken and You Know It
If you're a chicken and you know it cluck like this,
If you're a chicken and you know it cluck like this,
If you're a chicken and you know it, then your face will surely show it.
If you're a chicken and you know it, cluck like this.
Additional actions: flap wings, scratch, peck

My little birdie (from Preschool Education)
My little birdie is one day old,
He can do what he is told!
Sleep little birdie, sleep!

My little birdie is two days old,
He can do what he is told!
Tweet little birdie, tweet!
Continue with additional numbers and actions.

Dance to the Chicken Dance

Shake, Shake, Shake (to the tune of "Do your ears hang low?", from Storytimes and More)
Can you shake your egg up high?
Can you shake your egg down low?
Can you shake it side to side?
Can you shake it by your toe?
Can you shake it really fast?
Can you shake it really slow?
Can you shake your egg?

I Know a Chicken (from Laurie Berker's CD "Whaddaya Think of That?") 

Making our chicken puppet "fly" on our parachute.

Craft: We decorated an egg printout with torn paper.

Literacy tip of the week: If your child is interested in a certain topic, explore that topic with them through books and songs. It is a great way to grow a love of books and learn new things!

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Green Storytime 3/15/16 and 3/16/16

Books read: 
Go Away Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
Snip, Snap! What's that? by Mara Bergman

Other book suggestions:
Where is the green sheep? by Mem Fox
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

ASL Sign of the Week: Green

If you like green (to the tune of "Did you ever see a lassie?")
If you like green, like green, like green,
If you like green clap your hands!
If you like green, like green, like green,
If you like green jump up and down!
Other actions can include stomp your feet, spin all around, etc.

Way up high in the apple tree (modified from Literary Commentary)
Way up high in the apple tree, (lift arms)
10 green apples smiled at me!
I shook that tree as hard as I could, (shake back and forth)
Down came the apple, (wave hands towards ground)
Boy was it good!   

The Alligator Jump (modified from Storytime with Ms. Tara)
Alligators jump, (jump)
Alligators slide, (slide back and forth)
All the alligators move from side to side.
Alligators jump, (jump)
Alligators giggle, (pretend to laugh)
All the alligators like to turn around and wiggle! (shake your behind)

Funny, Funny, Froggy (from Perry Public Library)
Funny, funny froggy,
Hop, hop hop!  (jump)
Funny, funny froggy,
Stop, stop, stop! (stop)
Funny, funny froggy,
Don't run away! (run)
Funny, funny froggy,
Stay and play!

Red Light, Green Light
 
One green leaf (with scarves, adapted from Storytime Underground)
One green leaf, waiting for the wind to blow,
Wave it high, wave it low,
Throw it high!
Where did it go?

Five Green Peas (with scarves, from Storytime Katie)
Five green peas in a peapod pressed, (put scarf in fist)
One grew, two grew and so did the rest. (stretch scarf slowly)
They grew and grew and did not stop.
Till one day that peapod just had to go POP! (throw scarf in the air)

Color identification game (simple version of Twister with parachute colors)

Row, row, row your boat (with parachute)
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
Row row, row your boat gently down the stream,
If you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!
Row, row, row your boat, all around the map,
If you see an alligator, don't forget to snap!
Final verse from @erinisinire

Craft: We made collages of green items cut from magazines.

Literacy tip of the week: Songs and rhymes are a fun way to teach concepts such as colors and numbers.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Getting Silly Storytime 3/8/16 and 3/9/16

Books read: 
Wiggle by Doreen Cronin
Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman 

Other book suggestions:
Can you make a scary face? by Jan Thomas
Dragons love tacos by Adam Rubin
Chicken Butt by Erica Perl

ASL Sign of the Week: Silly

Roly Poly (from Reading with Red)
Roly Poly, Roly Poly, (roll hands)
Up Up Up! (lift hands)
Roly Poly, Roly Poly (roll hands)
Down Down Down! (lower hands)
Roly Poly, Roly Poly,  (roll hands)
Clap Clap Clap! (clap hands)
Roly Poly, Roly Poly, (roll hands)
Lap Lap Lap! (touch lap)

Shake My Sillies Out (from childhood)
I'm gonna shake, shake, shake, my sillies out! (shake body)
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out.
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out.
Wiggle my waggles away!
Other verses can include clapping crazies out, jumping jiggles out, etc.

Did you ever get silly (to the tune of "Did you ever see a Lassie?")
Did you ever get silly, get silly, get silly,
Did you ever get silly by shaking your head?
Did you ever get silly, get silly, get silly,
Did you ever get silly by jumping around?
Other actions can including stomping, shaking, etc.

Hello, my name is Joe (from the Storytime Spot)
Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house, and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me
"Are you busy?" 
I said "No."
The cook said, "Do you mind stirring sauce with your right hand?" (stirring motion with right hand)

Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me,
"Are you busy?"
I said "No."
The cook said "Then do you mind chopping these veggies with your left hand?" (add chopping motion with left hand)

Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me,
"Are you busy?"
I said "No."
The cook said, "Do you mind opening the trash with your right foot (add motion with right foot)

Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me,
"Are you busy?"
 I said "No."
The cook said, "Could you open the door with your left foot?" (add motion with left foot)

Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me,
"Are you busy?"
I said "No."
The cook said, "Could you lick these stamps with your tongue?" (stick out tongue)

Hello, my name is Joe and I work at the pizza factory.
I have a house and a dog and a family.
Now one day the cook said to me,
"Are you busy?"
I said "YES!"

Bananas Unite (from Jbrary)
Bananas unite! (hands connected above head)
Peel bananas, peel bananas! (move hands down)
Chop bananas, chop bananas! (chopping motion)
Mash bananas, mash bananas! (mashing motion)
Go bananas! Go bananas!

I feel so crazy I jump in the soup by Laurie Berkner

Silly Hat Song (from SurLaLune Storytime)
(Tune: This Old Man)
On my head, I wear my hat.
It is such a silly hat
That my head will wiggle waggle to and fro
Where else can my silly hat go?
(Repeat using foot, elbow and knee)

Craft: We decorated sock printouts with colored paper to create "silly socks".

Literacy tip of the week: When you read with silly voices and expression it will help engage your child with the story you are reading.