Amazing Animals!

Storytime is back! Playgroup is back! I was actually, factually skipping around the house yesterday morning because I was so excited! Our theme for the week was "amazing animals" or animals who are heroes in one way or another. We borrowed the Large Motor Kit and the Build It Kit from IFLS.

Welcome Song: Hello Friends (tune of Goodnight Ladies) - found on this website

















Book: Paul Meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb
(because a good friend is a hero)

Fingerplay: (introduction:) I know a story about a small guy who learned how to face his fears and be his OWN hero. I bet you know the story, too.. Can we sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider together?

Book: Domino by Claire Masurel








Movement Activity with shaker eggs: Animal Eggs Shaker Song (made up by ME!)

Book: Little Pink Pup














Interactive Story: Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman - We had pre-cut chicken finger puppets (no...not chicken fingers. finger puppets) and whenever I read "Chickens to the rescue!" they joined in and held up their puppets. During playgroup, they had the option to color them before taking the puppets home.














Poem: Flying Cows (i had them guess "What kind of gas made
them fly?" and then we talked about the last two lines)

Goodbye Song: Tickle the clouds - also from this website

(standby book was A Sick Day for Amos McGee)

Playgroup Activity: color your finger puppet

Playgroup activity: water play - wash plastic animals

Playgroup activity: bristle blocks and clear stackers

Playgroup Activity: put on animal masks and look at books with an adult (or on your own)

Black & White Storytime - March 4, 2015

I still have the sign-in board up. Children are completing the X, which helps them practice crossing the midline.
Good Morning Song

Book: Darkness Slipped In by Ella Burfoot

Song with egg shakers: Shaker Song by Debbie Doo Wop and Dynamite Dan

Book: Round Trip by Ann Jonas

Song: Scarves on Your Laps by Johnette Downing

Book: The Foggy, Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt

Book: Black Meets White by Justine Fontes


Goodbye songs & Bubbles

During Playgroup, I had puppets made up. These were simple animal figures (yay for dye cuts!) glued to a popsicle stick. I set up our projector screen for a shadow puppet show! Each child could take home 2 of the puppets to play with at home. (Please excuse my messy "office." We lack space and my stuff has to go somewhere for easy use.)

I also had various objects out for crayon rubbings. I set out the book The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin for children to explore.

Next Week: Birds!

Ghosts & Ghouls Storytime - October 29

We had a large crowd for storytime this morning! What fun!

Good Morning Song

Book: The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak -- not exactly related to ghosts and ghouls, but I just HAD to!! They really got into it once they realized how silly it was and how much fun it was to respond.










Music: If You're a Monster and You Know It - like If You're Happy and You Know It.
-clap your hands
-stomp your feet
-show your fangs
-howl loud
-go sneaking
-holler "BOO!"

Book: Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara (ran out of time for Monster Needs a Costume by Paul Czajak)

Activity: Count the pumpkins in Jenna's cauldron (21 of them)




























Book: Skeleton Hiccups

Song: Halloween Action Poem - from The Pumpkin Book by Susan Olson Higgins
Flap your wings like a big black bat,
Arch your back like a witch's cat.
Prowl around like a goblin on the town,
Dance on tiptoes like a funny, floppy clown.
Fly away on your magic broomstick,
Open your bag for a treat or a trick.
Float through the air like a ghost all about,
Now everyone together, let me hear you shout:
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat by Lewis Carroll
Twinkle, twinkle little bat.
How I wonder what you're at.
Up above the world youfly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you're at.

Goodbye songs but no bubbles due to the spiderweb....

Playgroup activity:
Collect the ghosts and spider off the spiderweb - Children balanced on the spiderwebs to collect the ghosts and spider, then walked to a new location and set them down so other friends on the web could collect them. I was slightly surprised how long most of the kids did this potentially never-ending activity!

Next week: Soup!