Preschool Story Time - Blast OFF!

Yet another theme I had toyed with for some time, I finally got around to putting it together.  There are just not as many space books as, say, monkeys or any other animal.  I also wanted to avoid aliens or anything too technical that would go over a preschooler's head.  So I stuck with rockets!  The kids really loved counting down and yelling BLAST OFF every chance they could!

Mousetronaut - by Mark Kelly

Meteor is the smallest mouse in the bunch, but his hard work and training pay off in this space mission adventure! Based on a (partially) true story - which was a great lead in for the kids and moms!

My fingerplay is from Stoytime Katie's blog.  She makes two finger puppets - I made 5 little astronauts to use with the rhyme below.  The rhyme is from this website, but take a look at NASA's website for more too!

There were five little astronauts
Going to the moon
One stayed to close the door
And that left only four

There were four little astronauts
Going to the moon
One stayed to make some tea
And that left only three

There were three little astronauts
Going to the moon
One couldn't find his shoe
And that left only two

There were two little astronauts
Going to the moon
One couldn't get her spacesuit on
And that left only one

One little astronaut
Did go to the moon
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
BLAST OFF!
But she didn't like it very much
So she came back home quite soon!!

On The Moon - by Anna Milbourne

Shelved as a picture book, there are plenty of fascinating facts for preschoolers in this book!  The kids were rapt.  We even had a sidebar argument about how long it actually takes to get to the moon!

There Was a Bold Lady Who Wanted a Star- Charise Mericle Harper

I have an "Old Lady" book for every occasion, and I have been waiting a long time to do this one.  What I love about this book is how simply stated but true to the rhyme and measure of the original song this book stays.  I decided to go completely off book and whip up some felts.  My outreach classes loved them so I did the same in story time.  These are reversible too - the Bold Lady has to get back home!  Here is my Flannel Friday post about these felts.

Stella to Earth by Simon Puttock

I think I called this book "Earth to Stella" 8 of the 9 times I read it this week - but no matter.  Stella in her Chicken Ship (be very careful saying that quickly) blast off to excellent adventures but keeps in close contact with Earth.  What happens when Earth doesn't reply?  This book was another hit with the kids.

And my craft - well, rockets of course!  I made my own template for the fins and cone and made up dozens of them in various colors - my sample rocket is minimalist, but this give the kids the chance to color, add a face in the window, sticker, or any other bling to their own rockets!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Flannel Friday - There Was a Bold Lady

Well, since I have already made felts for every version of I Know and Old Lady who Swallowed WHATEVER for my story timers, I thought I would whip up (I literally whipped these up!) this version for my SPACE themed story time next week!  Lucille Colandro has an 'Old Lady' book for every season, but this one is by Charise Mericle Harper.  The artwork is very different from Colandro's version, or Taback, or the variety of other versions, but it definitely works for the space theme, and no one dies! 

There really isn't much to this one - I hand drew the felts with puffy paint from the artwork in the book. The Bold Lady purchases different modes of transportation on her way to buy a rocket to zoom up and put that star in her pocket.

The neat thing about my version of the flannel board is that they are reversible.  After all, the Bold Lady needs to get BACK, right???

She rode the rocket back to the plane.
She flew the plane back to the car.
She drove the car back to the bike.
She pedaled the bike back to the skates.
She skated on skates back to the shoes.
She ran for miles and didn't stop for a snooze.
There was a bold lady who wanted a star.
Now I know why she wanted a star.....to put in a jar (so it wasn't so far!).

If I can get a chance to practice it some more, my plan is to go off book and sing it for my outreach next week.  I think I can do it, and I think the kids will love this version of the song!

A HUGE Shout out and Thank YOU to Kay at Storytime ABC's Blogspot for hosting this week's Flannel Friday!  She did a great job as always and is really supportive of new children's librarians.  Make sure to visit her blog!  Also you can visit Flannel Friday for more information on how to join us!