Monday, June 29, 2015

Animals

Last week our theme was Animals, and very lightly touches on the "Every Hero Has a Story" Collaborative Summer Reading theme. Most of the the books, at least for Preschool Storytime, had brave animals featured in them.



Books:

Toddler Books:
Brave Squish Rabbit - Katherine Battersby
Whose Nose and Toes? - John Butler
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Eric Carle *Flannel Story Version

Preschool Books:
Brave Squish Rabbit - Katherine Battersby
What the Ladybug Heard - Julia Donaldson
You Can Do It, Bert! - Ole Konnecke
Millie and the Big Rescue - Alexander Steffensmeier

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Slippery Fish Song (and puppet show):
Slippery fish, slippery fish, sliding through the water,
Slippery fish, slippery fish, gulp, Gulp, GULP!
...OH NO! He's been eaten by a....

Hermit crab, hermit crab, crawling through the water,
Hermit crab, hermit crab, gulp, Gulp, GULP!
...OH NO! He's been eaten by a....

Octopus, octopus, squiggling through the water,
Octopus, octopus, gulp, Gulp, GULP!
...OH NO! He's been eaten by a...

Great white shark, great white shark, lurking in the water,
Great white shark, great white shark, gulp, Gulp, GULP!
...OH NO! He's been eaten by a...

Big green turtle, big green turtle, swishing through the water,
Big green turtle, big green turtle, gulp, Gulp, GULP!
..."BUuuuRP!...Pardon me!"
Source: Slippery Fish
*I used the video for the tune, but I substituted whatever ocean-themed animal puppets we have on hand at my library.

Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree:
Five little monkeys, swinging in the tree,
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me."
Along comes Mr. Crocodile, as quiet as can be,
"SNAP!" But that monkey got away to another tree.
count down till all that is left is a very hungry crocodile and five very safe monkeys
Source: Traditional
*I used five monkey finger puppets and a large crocodile. 

If You're An Animal and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):
If you're a monkey and you know it, jump up and down,
If you're a monkey and you know it, jump up and down,
If you're a monkey and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're a monkey and you know it, jump up and down.

Other verses:
If you're an elephant and you know it, stomp your feet
If you're a turtle in the ocean, swim like this (make turtle flippers swimming motion)
If you're an alligator and you know it, SNAP, SNAP

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Monsters

Everyone loves a good villain...but in our case, for the little ones, we had fun this week pretending to be monsters. 


Books:

Toddler Books:
Go Away, Big Green Monster - Ed Emberley
Some Monsters Are Different - David Milgrim
Monster Math - Anne Miranda
Monster Hug! - David Ezra Stein


Preschool Books:
My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I am Not) - Peter Brown
Go Away, Big Green Monster - Ed Emberley
The Monster Who Lost His Mean - Tiffany Strelitz Haber
Monster Math - Anne Miranda
Your Pal Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster - Mo Willems

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

If You're a Monster and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):

If you're a monster and you know it, smack your claws (clap, clap)
If you're a monster and you know it, smack your claws (clap, clap)
If you're a monster and you know it, and you really want to show it,
If you're a monster and you know it, smack your claws (clap, clap)

Other verses:
If you're a monster and you know it, stomp your paws (stomp, stomp)
If you're a monster and you know it, wiggle your horns (wiggle, wiggle)
If you're a monster and you know it, give a roar (ROAR, ROAR)
Source: "If You're a Monster and You Know It" by Rebecca Emberley
*I put the book up on the flannel board, and we sang and acted out the different verses.


Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed
Five little monsters jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head,
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monsters jumping on the bed!"
count down till none...



Monster Hiding Game
Monster, monster, come out to play!
Which colored house are you hiding in today?
*If you have the mouse in the house flannel, you can use the houses and make a monster to hide behind the houses.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Dads

This week we did the storytime theme celebrating the heroes in our family, especially Dads (and Grandpa's) since Father's Day is next weekend.




Books:

Toddler Books:
The Very Best Daddy of All - Marion Dane Bauer
Daddy Hugs - Nancy Tafuri
Daddy Hug - Tim Warnes

Preschool Books:
My Daddy is a Giant - Carl Norac
What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best - Laura Numeroff
Daddy Hugs - Nancy Tafuri
My Father Knows the Names of Things - Jane Yolen

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Family Pizza Party:
*I stole this idea from Storytime Katie's Family Pizza Party Flannel Friday post. I had one of my Library Assistant's create family member's (Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, Baby, Grandma, Grandpa) and then a pizza delivery person.

"Knock, Knock"  (clap hands)
"Who's there?"  (have older kids guess different family members)

Have each family member appear. Save the pizza delivery person for last...
My kids thought it was HILARIOUS that the last person wasn't a family member but was the pizza guy.


The Wheels on the Bus (Family Version):
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round, Round and round. 
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

Other verses:
The babies on the bus go up and down
The sisters on the bus go clap, clap, clap
The brothers on the bus go stomp, stomp, stomp
The parents on the bus go "Shh, shh, shh"


Song: Down on Grandpa's Farm by Raffi
*I used puppets of the different animals and put my parents/caregivers to work, making them clap along to the song.


Daddy's Ties (Tune: "Mary Wore Her Red Dress"):
Daddy wore his ____ tie, _____ tie, _____ tie,
Daddy wore his ____ tie, all day long.
Source: Story Time Secrets
*One of my Library Assistants found this song and made the laminated flannel to go along with it. It was a big hit at Toddler Storytime.

Firefighters

Last week was our first "official" week of the Summer Reading Program, Every Hero Has a Story, for Summer 2015! Our first theme of SRP 2015 was Firefighters!




Books:

Toddler Books:
Flashing Fire Engines - Tony Mitton
Lucky Ducklings - Eva Moore
Fire Engines - Jim Pipe

Preschool Books:
Dot the Fire Dog - Lisa Desimini
Lucky Ducklings - Eva Moore
Fire Engines - Jim Pipe

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Brave Firefighters:
One brave firefighter, putting out the fire.
"Swoosh" goes the water...but the flames grow higher.
The firefighter calls for a friend with a shout,
"Help me put this fire out!"

count up to four

Four brave firefighters, putting out the fire.
"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh" goes the water...
And the flames STOP growing higher!
The firefighters clap their hands and shout, 
"Hooray, we put the fire out!"


"I'm a Firefighter" (Tune: "Mulberry Bush"):
This is the way I pull on my boots, 
Pull on my boots, pull on my boots;
This is the way I pull on my boots,
I'm a firefighter.

Other verses:
Drive the truck
Climb the ladder
Source: Preschool Education


Fire Dog Hiding Game:
Fire dog, fire dog, come out to play!
What color fire truck are you hiding behind today?
*My awesome Library Assistant made 6 different colored firetrucks and a fire dog. We laminated them and used Velcro to attach them to the story board when we played this game.


Who Uses This? Police or Firefighter? Game:
*The same LA helped me make a laminated flannel similar to the one found at Storytime with Miss Tara. We used it at Preschool Storytime and my preschoolers LOVED playing this game.




Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Ocean

The week of May 26 to May 30, was all about the Ocean! Since most of the kids probably spent their Memorial Day weekend at the beach, or would be going to the beach sometime this summer, I felt it was appropriate.

This particular week I was suffering from a terrible cold, so I substituted some of my material for ocean/beach themed songs. So forgive some lack of originality on my part...


Books:

Toddler Books:
Fish Wish - Bob Barner
Hooray For Fish - Lucy Cousins
I Spy Under the Sea - Edward Gibbs

Preschool Books:
The Pout-Pout Fish in the Big-Big Dark - Deborah Diesen
I Spy Under the Sea - Edward Gibbs
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean - Kevin Sherry

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Five Little Fishies (Tune: "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree"):
Five little fishies, swimming in the sea.
Teasing Mr. Shark, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, as quiet as can be...
"CHOMP!" 

count down, 4, 3, 2, 1...

One little fishy, swimming in the sea.
Teasing Mr. Shark, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, as quiet as can be...
"CHOMP!"
No more fishies, swimming in the sea.
*I used a puppet shark for this rhyme and five flannel fishes. The kids LOVED it and thought it was hilarious when the shark bit the fishies.

Song: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" by Rob Newhouse (Songs for Wiggleworms)