Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Night

We've had fun this week learning all about Night! Every storytime this week has been crowded after people were cooped up all weekend because of ice and snow, so we did a ton of movement songs to get some energy out. Since we talked about night time, we also got in our rocketships and went to the moon several times.


Books:

Toddler Books:
A Book of Sleep - Il Sung Na
What the Moon Sees - Nancy Tafuri
Night Owl - Toni Yuly

Preschool Books:
Goodnight Moon - Margaret Wise Brown
Night Animals - Gianna Marino
A Book of Sleep - Il Sung Na
Night Owl - Toni Yuly

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon,
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon,
If you want to take a trip, climb aboard my rocketship,
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon,
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...BLAST OFF!!!
Source: Jbrary


Rocketship Run - Laurie Berkner Band (Rocketship Run)

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high, 
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Source: Traditional

Going to the Moon (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")
If you're going to the moon, wear your boots (stomp, stomp)
If you're going to the moon, wear your boots (stomp, stomp)
If you're going to the moon, this is what you have to do,
If you're going to the moon, wear your boots (stomp, stomp)

Repeat with:
If you're going to the moon, wear your gloves (clap, clap)
If you're going to the moon, wear your helmet (pat, pat)

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Colors

Our library was closed a few days because of snow and ice, but on the days we were open we learned about colors!


Books:

Toddler Books:
Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Colors - Keith Baker
I Spy With My Little Eye - Edward Gibbs

Preschool Books
Monsters Love Colors - Mike Austin
Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Colors - Keith Baker
I Spy With My Little Eye - Edward Gibbs
Perfect Square - Michael Hall

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Baa, baa, black sheep have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes sir, three bags full.
One for my master and one for my dame,
One for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Baa, baa, black sheep have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes sir, three bags full.
Repeat with: Green sheep, Red sheep, Blue sheep, etc.
Source: Traditional

Brown Bear, Brown Bear 
Book by Eric Carle as a flannel

Color Rhyme
Orange as a carrot,Yellow as a square,
Purple as a butterfly, Brown as a bear,
Green as the grass, Blue as the sky,
Black as a cat, and Red as cherry pie.
Source: Can Teach
I used Can Teach's rhyme as inspiration but changed a lot of the elements to things that kids would more readily recognize.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Winter

The weather has been fairly temperate this winter so far, but we are still talking about snow and wintry weather this week anyhow. Perhaps our positive thoughts towards snow will bring some snow our way.




Books:

Toddler Books:
Snow Babies - Laura Ellen Anderson
No Two Alike - Keith Baker
Under My Hood I Have a Hat - Karla Kuskin
A Kitten Tale - Eric Rohmann
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons - Il Sung Na

Preschool Books:
No Two Alike - Keith Baker
Snowmen at Work - Caralyn Buehner
A Kitten Tale - Eric Rohmann
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons - Il Sung Na

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Five Snowmen:
Five little snowmen standing in a row.
Each with a hat and a carrot nose.
Out came the sun and it shone all day,
And one little snowman melted away.
Count down 4, 3, 2, 1...
Source: a variant of this is in my flannel drawer

Kitten Behind the Mitten Hiding Game:
Little kitten, little kitten, 
are you behind the red mitten?
Source: Me :). We love hiding games at our library!

Winter Dress-Up Game:
One of my LA's made a weather dress-up game last storytime session. She made a laminated boy and girl, and had different types of clothes/accessories that they could wear. 

I would hold up a piece of clothing and ask them if they would wear it in the snow. For example, I held up a pair of shorts and put them on one of the laminated flannel kids, and they would crack up and say "NO!" very loudly.

The kids enjoyed the game and we had a lot of fun playing with what to wear in the winter weather.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Polar Animals

Last week was our first storytimes of our winter session. We learned the letter "P" and talked about our polar friends that start with the letter "P" -- polar bears, penguins, and puffins. 


Books:

Toddler Books:
I Am Small - Emma Dodd
Baby Penguins Everywhere - Melissa Guion
Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme - Bruce McMillan

Preschool Books:
Virgil & Owen - Paulette Bogan
Baby Penguins Everywhere - Melissa Guion
Puffin Peter - Petr Horacek
Nothing Like a Puffin - Sue Soltis

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Two Little Puffins (Tune: "Two Little Blackbirds"):
Two little puffins sitting on a cliff,
One named Becky and the other named Biff.
Fly away Becky. Fly away Biff.
Come back Becky. Come back Biff.
Two little puffins sitting on a cliff,
One named Becky and the other named Biff.
Source: An inherited flannel

If You're a Penguin and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):
If you're a penguin and you know it, flap your wings.
If you're a penguin and you know it, flap your wings.
If you're a penguin and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you're a penguin and you know it, flap your wings.

Repeat with:
If you're a penguin and you know it, waddle your feet
If you're a penguin and you know it, go for a swim

There's Something in the Snow:
There's something in the snow, now what can it be?
There's something in the snow, that I can't really see.
Hear its funny sound...
GRR, GRR, GRR, a polar bear is what I found!

Repeat with:
WADDLE, WADDLE, WADDLE, a penguin is what I found!
FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, a puffin is what I found!
Source: Storytime Katie

Polar Friends:
North Pole is UP. South Pole is DOWN.
Snow and ice cover the ground.
At the North Pole you'll see polar bears,
At the South Pole there are penguins everywhere.
North Pole is UP. South Pole is DOWN.
That is where our polar friends are found!
Source: Again, another inherited flannel in my drawer that a lovely Library Assistant made at some point. It is a flannel of the world with the different poles labeled, and a flannel polar bear and penguin to put at the North Pole and South Pole respectively.