My Body

Theme for Wednesday, September 24: My Body

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

Movement Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Transition Song: Touch Your Ears and Touch Your Nose

Book: The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle

Activity: Body Parts! From Storytime Katie

I printed out the outline of a person and had the kids help me match up the body parts on the cards to the body parts on the person.  Next time, I'm definitely going to make the person bigger!

Flannel Board: Go Away, Big Green Monster; From Storytiming 

Based on the book Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

I love this flannel board, and it was so much fun to do with the kids!

Book: Piggies by Don and Audrey Wood

Song: Hokey Pokey; From Miss Sarah's Storytimes

You put your right food in, you put your right foot out

You put your right foot in, and you shake it all about.

You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around

That's what it's all about!

More verses:

You put your left foot in...

You put your right hand in...

You put your left hand in...

You put your head in...

You put your bottom in...

You put your whole self in...

Craft: Mr. Potato Head

I traced a Mr. Potato Head onto a piece of brown paper and then printed out Mr. Potato Head body parts for the kids to glue on.  Then they colored and decorated their Mr. or Mrs. Potato Heads!

Boxes

Theme for Wednesday, September 17: Boxes!

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Action Rhyme: I Like to Be a Jumping Jack; From Storytime Katie

I like to be a jumping jack

And jump out from a box

I like to be a rocking horse

And rock and rock and rock.

I like to be a spinning top

And spring around and round

I like to be a rubber ball

And bounce right to the ground.

Book: Sitting In My Box by Dee Lillegard

Song: A Hunting We Will Go; From NancyMusic

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a fox and put him in a box

And then we'll let him go.

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a snake and put him in a cake 

And then we'll let him go.

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a cat and put him in a hat

And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a pig and put her in a wig 

And then we'll let her go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a goat and put her in a boat

And then we'll let her go.

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go

We'll catch a giraffe and listen to her laugh

And then we'll let her go.

I made a storytime cube (a box!), to go with the song.  I found pictures of the six different animals and taped them on the cube.  The kids took turns tossing it onto the floor and seeing which animal was on top.

The fox!

Then we sang "A Hunting We Will Go," and the child came up to the flannel board and taped the animal (I made extras) to the picture that rhymed with it (i.e. fox...box)

By the end, the flannel board looked something like this:

And this:

It was lots of fun, and it helped us work on our rhyming skills!

Transition Rhyme: Ten Little Fingers

I have ten little fingers and they all belong to me.

I can make them do things, would you like to see?

I can shut them up tight, I can open them wide.

I can put them together, I can make them hide.

I can make them jump high, I can make them jump low.

I can rolly, rolly them around and fold them just so.

Book: The Happy Little Yellow Box by David A. Carter

Song: A Tooty Ta from Johnny Only's CD Kids Music You Can Dance To!

Craft: Jack-in-the-Box; From The Crafty Crow

We made jack-in-the-boxes!  I gave each child a template of an open box.   They glued the head, the hat, and the spring onto the paper to make their jack-in-the-box.  Then they decorated it with googly eyes, stickers, and crayons!

Stripes and Spots

Theme for Wednesday, September 10: Stripes and Spots

We started out the storytime by talking about which animals have stripes and which have spots using pictures of different kinds of animals.

Opening: Open Shut Them

Book: It's a Tiger! By David LaRochelle

Movement Rhyme: Spotted Giraffe; From Fingerplays and Action Rhymes

The spotted giraffe is tall as can be (raise one arm as high as you can)
His lunch is a bunch of leaves off a tree (nibble with fingers of hands of outstretched arm)
He has a very long neck and his legs are long too (point to raised arm and legs)
And he can run faster than his friends at the zoo!

Transition Rhyme: Touch Your Ears and Touch Your Nose

Touch your ears and touch your nose
Now bend down and touch your toes
Wiggle your fingers and turn around
Now bend down and touch the ground
Clap your hands, count 1, 2, 3
Now sit down so quietly.

Book: Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen

We had lots of fun with this book...and it was especially fun to make the fly buzz off each animal!

Song with puppets: I went to visit the zoo one day; From Storytime Sparks

I went to visit the zoo one day
I saw tiger along the way
And what do you think the tiger did say?
Growl, growl, growl!

I used our puppets with this song:

I continued the song using our cow, dog, pig, and zebra (we pretended to run really fast with the zebra).  We also talked about which animals have spots, stripes, or neither.

Action Song: Baby Bumblebee; From DLTK

I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee 

Won't my mommy be so proud of me

(Cup hands together as if holding bee)

I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee

Ouch!  It stung me!

(Shake hands as if just stung)

I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee

Won't my mommy be so proud of me

(Squish bee between palms of hands)

I'm squishing up the baby bumblebee

Ooh! It's yucky!

(Open up hands to look at mess)

I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee

Won't my mommy be so proud of me

(Wipe hands off on shirt)

I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee

All clean!

(Hold hands up to show they are clean)

Book: Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier

This book was also a really big hit with the kids!

Movement Song: Silly Dance Contest from Jim Gill's CD Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes

Craft: Snakes!

We made striped and polka-dotted snakes today!  The kids colored their snakes and glued on googly eyes.  I don't usually use scissors in storytime, but we did today...the kids cut out their snakes along the black line!

Back-to-School!

Theme for Wednesday, September 3: Back-to-School

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books by Lucille Colandro

Movement Activity: Stand up and Stretch

Transition Rhyme: Touch Your Ear and Touch Your Nose

Touch your ears and touch your nose
Now bend down and touch your toes
Wiggle your fingers and turn around
Now bend down and touch the ground
Clap your hands, count 1, 2, 3
Now sit down so quietly.

Book: Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus by James Dean

Flannel Board Activity: Monkey Face
Based on the book Monkey Face by James Asch; From Rain Makes Applesauce

We started with our drawing that monkey made of himself in school today.  As he's walking home, he runs into a few of his friends, including owl, rabbit, alligator, lion, elephant, and giraffe.  They all tell monkey how much they like his picture, but wouldn't it look better if they changed just a little part of it?

So owl gives him bigger eyes, rabbit gives him bigger ears, alligator gives him bigger teeth, lion gives him a nice fuzzy mane, elephant gives him a trunk, and giraffe gives him a longer neck.  Then he takes his picture home, shows it to his mom, and she loves it just the way it is!


Flannel Board Activity:  What should bear wear to school?

We picked out clothes for bear to wear to school today!

Fingerplay: Back-to-School; From DLTK-Kids

Two little houses all closed up tight (make fists)
Open up the window and let in the light (open fists)
Ten little finger people tall and straight (ten fingers)
Ready for school at half past eight (walk with fingers)

Book: I'm Not Ready! by Jonathan Allen

Movement Song: I had a request for The Penguin Dance from Jack Hartmann's CD Get on Board the Transition Train

Craft: Back-to-School Bus

I cut out a bus template for the kids to decorate and glue onto a blue sheet of paper.  Then they added the wheels, the windows, and the stop sign!

Dinosaurs

Theme for Wednesday, August 20: Dinosaurs!

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen

Action Rhyme: STOMP, STOMP, STOMP From Hummingbird Educational Resources

The first big dinosaur went stomp, stomp, stomp
I said to the first dinosaur, "Stop, stop, stop!"
The second big dinosaur went run, run, run
I said to the second dinosaur, "Fun, fun, fun!"
The third big dinosaur went thump, thump, thump
I said to the third dinosaur, "Jump, jump, jump!"
The fourth big dinosaur went whack, whack, whack
I said to the fourth dinosaur, "You stay back!"
The fifth big dinosaur went creep, creep, creep
I said to the fifth dinosaur, "It's time to sleep."

Transition Rhyme: Touch your ears and touch your nose

Touch your ears and touch your nose
Now bend down and touch your toes
Wiggle your fingers and turn around
Now bend down and touch the ground
Clap your hands, count 1, 2, 3
Now sit down so quietly

Book: Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

Flannel Board: Five Huge Dinosaurs; From In the Children's Room

Five huge dinosaurs, fierce and mean.
The first one said, "I eat things that are green."
The second one said, "I hatched from an egg."
The third one said, "I have really strong legs."
The fourth one said, "I fly through the air."
The fifth one said, "I give everyone a scare!"
Then THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, along came a T-rex that day
And five fierce dinosaurs ran away!

Action Rhyme: Dinosaurs From YLPL

Dinosaurs lived long ago.
Some walked (stomp in place)
Some swam (pretend to swim)
Some flew, you know (flap arms at sides)
Some were big (reach up high)
Some were small (hold hands low)
Some were gigantic (stretch arms out wide)
V-e-r-y tall! (stretch arms up high)

Book: Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont

Song: We are the dinosaurs from Laurie Berkner's Whaddaya Think of That?

Craft: Dinosaurs!

I cut out a dinosaur and the kids colored it in and glued on different colored spikes!

Beach Time!

We visited the beach today for storytime!

Theme for Wednesday, August 14: The Beach!

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root

Movement Activity: Stand up and Stretch

We stretched as high as we could and as low as we could.  

We wiggled our fingers and our toes.

We shrugged our shoulders up and down.  

We made a fist and rolled our hands in a circle.  We started slowly and then sped up!

Transition Rhyme: Touch your ears and touch your nose

Touch your ears and touch your nose

Now bend down and touch your toes

Wiggle your fingers and turn around

Now bend down and touch the ground

Clap your hands, count 1, 2, 3

Now sit down so quietly.

Book: How Will We Get to the Beach? by Brigitte Luciani

Flannel Board Activity: Beach Bear

We talked about what we wear when we go to the beach.  I had the kids help me get the bear dressed in the right clothes!

Flannel Board Activity: Popsicles! From: Storytime Katie

Since I didn't have the song that went with this flannel board, we simply talked about the popsicles instead.  We had a smaller group tonight, so I was able to have each kid choose a popsicle from the bag.  We pretended to eat the popsicle and then talked about what color our tongue would turn (i.e. you eat the purple popsicle, your tongue would turn purple!).  Then the child picked out the blue tongue from the pile and stuck it on the boy's face.

 

We also talked about what flavor we thought each popsicle would be.  We decided that the purple one was probably grape-flavored!

Book: Sally Goes to the Beach by Stephen Huneck

Song: Shake Your Sillies Out from The Wiggles' CD Yummy Yummy

Craft: Leis 

This craft took a little bit of figuring out on my part.  I cut out the flowers for the kids to decorate.  Then I had them punch a tiny hole in each of them. (I had to use the tiny hole puncher because otherwise it made too big of a hole).

Then I took a straw and cut it into thirds.  I realized that you needed a small piece of straw to go in between each flower, otherwise the flowers would lump together.

I used twine to make the necklace part of it and wrapped some tape around the end to make it easier for the kids to string the flowers and the straws.  Once the kids were done making the leis, I tied the ends of the twine in a knot and made a necklace for them!

Let's go Camping!

Theme for Wednesday, August 6: Camping

Opening: Open, Shut Them

Book: One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova

Fingerplay: Five Little Hot Dogs (with a flannel board!) From: Fun with Friends at Storytime

Five little hot dogs, frying in a pan (hold up 5 fingers and wiggle them)

The grease got hot and one went...BAM! (Clap hands loudly)

(Continue counting: 4, 3, 2, 1...)

Zero little hot dogs, frying in a pan (hold up a fist)

The pan got hot and it went...BAM! (Clap hands loudly)

Transitional Rhyme: Touch your ears and touch your nose

Touch your ears and touch your nose

Now bend down and touch your toes

Wiggle your fingers and turn around

Now bend down and touch the ground

Clap your hands, count 1, 2, 3

Now sit down so quietly.

Book: The Woods by Paul Hoppe

Action Song: A Ram-Sam-Sam; From: Mill Valley Public Library

Hand Motions

A ram-sam-sam = make two fists and pound them, one on top of the other

Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly = make two fists and roll them in a circle

A raffi, a raffi = raise hands over your head and wiggle your fingers

Lyrics

A ram-sam-sam 

A ram-sam-sam 

Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly

Ram-sam-sam

A ram-sam-sam

A ram-sam-sam

Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly

Ram-sam-sam

A raffi! A raffi!

Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly

Ram-sam-sam

A raffi! A raffi!

Gooly, gooly, gooly, gooly

Ram-sam-sam

I love this song because we did this for my very first summer reading in Ridgeland, Mississippi! 

I've seen a few different versions of the hand motions, but these are the ones I've traditionally used.

Song: Alice the Camel (with flannel board!) From: So Tomorrow

Alice the camel has 5 humps

Alice the camel has 5 humps

Alice the camel has 5 humps

So go, Alice, go!

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!

(Remove a hump.  Repeat as you count down 4, 3, 2, 1 humps)

Alice the camel has 0 humps

Alice the camel has 0 humps

Alice the camel has 0 humps

Alice is a horse!

I asked the kids at the very end what they thought Alice looked like, and they said "horse" right away!

Book: Foggy, Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt

Action Song: Tooty Ta from Johnny Only's CD Kids Music You Can Dance To!

Craft: Picnic craft!

We made a picnic craft today!  I created a checkered template on a blank sheet of white paper in Microsoft Publisher.  The kids decorated the squares and glued on delicious picnic food!