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!

Toddler Story Time - What Does the Fox Say?

My story time themes are usually pretty standard.  I like those that I can easily find enough age appropriate books and activities.  But, when it was suggested that I create a toddler story time based on my favorite song, The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)..  Lets just say - challenge accepted!  The song perfectly lends itself to a spiced up animal sounds story time for little ones.  So, in case you are unfamiliar with the fox craze, here is Ylvis' The Fox.  Enjoy!

Amazing, right?  I love it! 

Book I read...

The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo By Jonathan Allen

What does a rabbit say?  A great book for getting the little ones warmed up on their animal sounds!  Little Rabbit tries out many different animal sounds with the help of his friends.  The little ones joined in by helping me say the different  animal sounds.  They did a great job!

Moo Baa La La Laa By Sandra Boynton

Love Sandra Boynton books for both the super cute illustrations and the wonderful rhymes.  Moo Baa La La La includes many great animal sounds like rhinoceroses and little dogs.

If I Were a Fox... By Jellycat

I searched and searched and searched for the perfect fox book to round out this story time.  Most foxes depicted in stories are, well, not very nice.  They get into all sorts of trouble including eating (or trying to eat) other characters.  This just isn't appropriate for toddlers, especially when we are celebrating the fox!  So I was super thrilled when I discovered this book.  It is a short board book that not only has a cute story about being a fox, but also ends with a furry tail!  What could be better? 

 

How it went...

In order to channel our inner foxes, we started story time with the action rhyme, Foxy, Foxy, Turn Around (Thank you Storytime Sparks!) .  Not only was this rhyme super cute, it was also a great way to get the little ones to sit down for the first story!

Foxy, Foxy, Turn Around
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, touch the ground.
Foxy, foxy, dance on your toes.
Foxy, foxy, touch your nose.
Foxy, foxy, jump up now.
Foxy, foxy, take a bow.
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, sit right down.

A great book with lots of activities for story times is 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children By Abigail Flesch Connors.  I loved the rhythm stick activity Walk in the Woods.  It only took a little bit of tweaking to get it to fit the fox theme.  The little ones loved it and they did a great job tapping the sticks along with the story.   Afterwards we tapped our ABCs with the rhythm sticks as well. 

Walk in the Woods

One day I went for a walk in the woods. 
It was very quiet. 
All of the sudden I heard footsteps behind me –
tap…tap…tap…tap… tap… tap…    (Tap sticks together slowly)
After a while the footsteps got a little faster, like this –
Tip-tap… tip-tap… tip-tap…    (Tap sticks together a little faster)
I didn’t know what it was, so I kept on walking.
Then the footsteps got even faster, like this –
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap…    (Tap sticks together even faster!)
I really wanted to know what it was, so I stopped!    (Stop tapping)
I turned my head to look and saw a fox!    (I had a picture of a fox on the bulletin board to point at!)
And I ran home as fast as I could!    (Tap sticks together very fast!)

Now, the moment I had been waiting for!  Flannel Time!  Ylvis' The Fox and my favorite shirt were my inspiration for this flannel board.  I felted the awesome animals designed by Fablefire and of course wore the shirt.  Twinsies!   Because we were a little bit smaller group this week, I was able to pass out the animals to the little ones so everyone could participate.  A copy of the song lyrics was posted on the bulletin board so adults could follow along.

The Fox

Dog goes woof
Cat goes meow
Bird goes tweet
and mouse goes squeek

Cow goes moo
Frog goes croak
and the elephant goes toot

Ducks say quack
and fish go blub
and the seal goes ow ow ow ow ow

But there's one sound
That no one knows
What does the fox say?

 

In order to make the flannel story interactive, I asked questions about the animal sounds.  For example, "What animal says woof?  If you are holding the animal that woofs, bring it up and put it on the board!"  I did this for each animal until we got to the fox.  For the fox,  I asked what they thought a fox would say.  Several little ones (and adults) made some funny suggestions and we added the felt fox to the flannel board.  This activity was lots of fun!

Always a fan of popsicle sticks, I made each little one their own fox mask to take home with them to color.  I passed these out after Flannel Time to add an extra bit of fun to the last two activities.  The first was the action rhyme Here is Foxy.  (Thanks again to Storytime Sparks for another great activity!)  And lastly, I transformed the classic tune, "If You're Happy and You Know It" into a foxy tune.

Here is Foxy
Here is foxy’s pointed ears.    (point to ears)
Here is foxy’s nose.    (point to nose)
Here is foxy’s bushy tail.    (point to “tail”)
Now up and off he goes!    (trot around)

If You’re a Fox and You Know It…
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
If you’re a fox and you know, then you’ll really want to show it
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
…wiggle your nose…
…show your claws…

And there you have it!  A What Did the Fox Say toddler story time!  As a special treat, I substituted my normal goodbye song with The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?).  It was so much fun watching everyone's reaction when the song began to play!  A couple little ones even danced.  This was definitely a story time success!

RING-DING-DING-DING-DINGERINGEDING!

Preschool Story Time - Let's Talk Turkey!

Here come the holidays!  Here at the Library Village, we are all preparing our themes for the rest of the year.  It's a busy time, but it's time to have some fun too!  This is my second time around with this theme, but my first time blogging it.

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

Turkey is FREAKING OUT!  How can he disguise himself and hide from being Thanksgiving Dinner?  This book cracks me up.  Apparently, the caregivers and preschoolers this week thought the same thing.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

What happens when the kids on the field trip realize that the Turkeys are in grave danger?  Kidnap them of course!  A new addition to my Thanksgiving Story Time and a really well-done rhyme!

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

My flannel board for the week was based on this book.  As I read the book, I had the children bring up the pieces as I called them out.  Last year they caught on quickly and sang it with me.  This year, they were happy just watching me, and that's OK.  They still love handling the felt pieces.

We took a small pause to do the Turkey Pokey!!
You put your right wing in.  You put your right wing out.
You put your right wing in and you shake it all about.
You do the Turkey Pokey and you gobble all around.
That's what it's all about!

(Continue with: Left wing, Turkey Leg, Beak, Tail Feathers, Whole Turkey)

I admittedly screwed this one up royally, but after 15 years of theatre experience, I knew that if I just smiled and kept going, everything would be JUST FINE...and it was.  I don't mind screwing up.  It shows the parents that we all make mistakes and that anyone can have fun with their child.  Just enjoy yourself!

Over the River - A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson

This book is unique in that the text is short (the lyrics of the song), but the artwork is detailed.  There is a completely different story going on in the illustrations as in the song.  I sung the book, but turned the pages very slowly so everyone could see all of the antics on the pages. If the kids are not into it, I can just sing through it, or I can spend as much time on each page as they want.

My craft was a little decoration for Thanksgiving.  I just used die cut leaves to let each child decorate them any way they wanted with sequins and other bling.  I gave them three lengths of yarn so they could hang them at home. I noticed preschoolers LOVE this kind of craft.  It helps with fine motor skills and really keeps their attention on detail. 

This was a short but interactive story time. I sang a lot this week (add to the above all of my between book material).  Happy Thanksgiving everyone and see you in December!

Flannel Friday - Caps for Sale Flash Mob

This is the UNflannel Flannel Friday post!  I do a flannel every week of story time, but for my Monkey Story Time, I wanted to try something new - PROPS!  I say this all of the time, but I am really big on retelling.  I will often 'teach' a story to my group and then retell it or make a take-home craft to prompt the kids to tell the story at home.  It's part of Every Child Ready to Read, but also a natural part of my story times.

I read the story Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina to my story timers which, in itself, was a big hit.

After reading the book, I put on my checked cap and the kids smiled.  I was very slow and deliberate as  I pulled out 20 little finger sized 'caps' that one of my story time moms made for me (Shout Out to Jocelyn)!!  I stacked them up carefully, talking about the colors, and starting to retell the story.  The kids got really excited and caught onto what I was doing.  Then I 'fell asleep' under the 'tree' and voila!  The caps were gone!!!  We were able to do the entire story just like the book. FLASH PLAY!!!

"You Monkeys give me back my caps!!"  

"Tsz, Tsz, Tsz."  

The kids were all SO excited to be the Monkeys and really got into our 'play' by imitating me just like the monkeys in the book imitate the peddler.  Even several moms talked to me after and told me how great this addition to story time was today!  How fun!

Now I have to admit that the initial idea was to stack the hats on my fingers but that wasn't stable enough, so I stacked them on the book.  Also, the second day of story time, I had a cheeky little girl who decided to take ALL of the hats while my eyes were closed.  So it's probably best to state the rules as you are setting up the story.  And as a disclaimer, I used small hats because I am a bug-o-phobe and worried about lice!  Finally, the book isn't difficult, but you will want to make sure you know it well enough to play your role and ham it up!

The best part for me, was hearing moms come back to me to say that their child was retelling Caps For Sale at home, playing all of the parts and adding the 'tsz, tsz, tsz.'  As a librarian, what is better than that?  I'm already thinking about a Hats story time so I can use this one again soon.

For more on my Monkey Themed Story Time, Click HERE.  Thanks for stopping by!  A shout out and many thanks to Shawn at Read, Rhyme, and Sing for hosting this week's Flannel Friday!!!

Toddler Story Time - Shh.. It's Bedtime

Shhh...  This week's story time was about bedtime.  This was the perfect opportunity to get out the teddy bears and scarves and enjoy quieter fingerplays and rhymes.  Did it work?  Not a chance with 18 little ones under 3, but it was lots of fun!

Books I read...
Llama Llama Red Pajama   By Ann Dewdney

Baby Llama wants misses his Mama Llama at bedtime.  Love, love, love this story..  And I loved how four little ones sat at my feet mesmerized by the tale.  I don't think they even blinked!

I’m Not Sleepy   By Jonathan Allen

It’s morning and Baby Owl is determined to stay awake!  This book gave us a chance to talk about how owls sleep during the day.  Most didn't know this and thought that was pretty silly!

 

Yawn  By Sally Symes

This rhyming board book is super fun.  It has a hole through the pages that follows a yawn from critter to critter starting with a little boy named Sean.  I really like using books that have a unique feature like this. 

How it went...

A great finger play for bedtime (or nap time) is Here is a Baby (Another great idea from Perry Public Library Storytimes!).  This can also be used for a younger audience by using the babies and not your fingers.  Babies would love to be rocked during this! 

Fingerplay: Here is a Baby

Here is a baby                                  (index finger)
Ready for a nap
Lay her down in her mother's lap.     (place finger in palm)
Cover her up so she won't peek.        (curl fingers around index finger)
Rock her till she's fast asleep.            (rock)

The next finger play I used was adapted to fit in nicely after reading Llama Llama Red Pajama.  It was originally about elves (Thanks to the 2012 Dream Big SRP!) but worked great with llamas too.  There wasn't much action to it other than counting fingers, but it was still super cute. 

Fingerplay: Tired Little Llamas (count on fingers)

Said this little llama "I'm as tired as can be"
Said this little llama "My eyes can hardly see"
Said this little llama "I'd like to go to bed"
Said this little llama "I want to rest my head"
Said this little llama "Come climb the stairs with me"
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 they tiptoed          (tiptoe fingers)
Just as still as still could be    

I had not had the opportunity to use scarves at a story time yet, but discovered how cool they are recently.  This theme fit perfectly for trying out something new!  Scarves quickly became wash clothes as we all got ready for bed! 

Action Song:  This is the Way We…
This is the way we wash our face, wash our face, wash our face.
(rub scrunched scarf on face)
This is the way we wash our face,
When we get ready for bed.
…wash our toes…
…wash our arms…
…wash our tummy…
(Thanks Sunflower Storytime!)

This story time was FULL of props for the little ones to play with.  Children learn a lot about language through playing!  So far, we had used scarves, musical instruments (for our weekly rendition of ABCs), and now the teddy bears marched in!  You get a teddy bear..  You get a teddy bear..  And you get a teddy bear!  (I was very popular by the end!)  We used our little teddy bears to act out the popular action rhyme, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear.

Action Rhyme: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around.            (Turn around)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground     (Touch the ground)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, show your shoe.      (Point to your shoe)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, I love you.                (Hug yourself)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, climb upstairs.         (Pretend to climb stairs)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, brush your hair.       (Pretend to brush hair)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light.    (Pretend to switch off the light)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say “Goodnight.”     (Hands together and lean head on them)

Flannel Time this week was also about teddy bears, so I let the little ones keep their bears while I told the flannel story Red Ted Said (Thank you to Loons and Quines for the idea!).  This also seemed to help with not touching the flannel board.  I made simple colored teddy bears to go along with a bed made by Miss Sue.  I decided not to include the group participation portion of this flannel story even though I really liked the idea.  I had a lot of activities to fit into my small window of time and knew having the little ones come up would take a huge chunk of it. 

Flannel Time! Red Ted Said

There were five in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and yellow fell out.
There were four in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and brown fell out.
There were three in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and green fell out.
There were two in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and blue fell out.
There was one in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"I'm lonely, so lonely".
So they all climbed back in, and their momma said,
“Good night!”

I have been filling in during Baby Story Time for Miss Kristen the last couple weeks and learned her closing rhyme.  Many of the toddlers are new graduates from Baby Story Time and I think it is really cute so I decided to include it this week before we shook our ribbons to Looby Loo! 

Closing: “Thank You” Rhyme

Our hands say thank you     (Hold hands up)       

With a clap, clap, clap;        (Clap hands)                      
Our feet say thank you         (Point to feet)         
Clap, clap, clap;                    (Clap hands)
Tap, tap, tap.                         (Tap feet)
We roll our hands around,    (Roll hands)                                           
And say, “Good-bye.”          (Wave good-bye)

I must say, by the end of this story time I was ready for bed!  The room was full of happy contagious energy.  Thankfully, I chose a nice quiet craft to finish things off, inspired by a craft I saw on Storytime Katie.  It was super simple - black cardstock plus a precut crescent moon and eight sparkly star stickers equals a darling night sky.  I saw many beautiful constellations as they left this week.  Good night! 

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Preschool Story Time - Monkey Business

Ok, who doesn't love Monkeys?  There is far too much material about monkeys to do just one story time.  These are definitely some of the best books and activities I could find.  We went WAY over time, but the kids enjoyed every minute!

I normally start each book with the song If You're Happy and You Know it sung for example like this: "If you wanna hear a story clap your hands", so I can signal that its time to turn on our listening ears and get ready for reading.  This time, I changed it to:
If you're a Monkey and you know it scratch your fur.
or
If you're a Monkey and you know it beat your chest.
or
If you're a Monkey and you know it wave your arms.
or
If you're a Monkey and you know it say 'ee-ee-ooh'

The kids love when I do this.  They love anticipating what I will do next.

Big Little Monkey by Carole Lexa Schaefer

Goodness this book is darling!  This is one of those books to practice out loud before story time, because you will want to practice your rhythm and voices.  But the kids LOVED it because each of them can relate to the BIG little monkey.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

I read this classic old book, and  then took the opportunity to retell it using props!  One of my story time moms crocheted for me 20 little caps.  I donned my own checkered cap, stacked my colored caps, fell asleep under the tree and the little monkeys all came from the story time carpet to snitch a cap from me!  I am really big on retelling, so this book was a great opportunity to have a little "Flash Play". The kids were awesome monkeys!!   My Flannel Friday post next week will have more about this fun activity!  Click here for more!

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Years ago I knew this book/rhyme would be forever with me, when I would read it to the preschoolers at the Yochien (Japanese Preschool) my children attended.  Even though the kids spoke no English and I had no Japanese,  the kids and I came together once a week to shout "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"  I created this quick flannel board to go with the rhyme, and put books on display to take home.

I finished the rhyme with this verse as I tucked each monkey in:
Now there are NO little monkeys jumping on the bed.
So none fell of and bumped their heads.
Mama didn't have to call the doctor, but instead she said.
'5 little monkeys, now it's time for bed.'

There Was an Old Monkey who Swallowed a Frog by Jennifer Ward

Yet another retelling (or in my case, resinging) of There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.  This funky monkey swallows a bunch of unique things.  For my group who is used to hearing me sing about the Old Lady, this was a refreshing new look and what is going down someones throat!

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett

This book just CRACKS ME UP!  I used this book in outreach and in my story times and the kids have never been so vocal.  Everyone seems to love this book!  Come on, I dare you.  Count the Monkeys!

My crafts this week weren't really crafts, but tools for retelling. I found this fantastic blog post  with this awesome printable:

I supplied pop sticks and glue so the kids could make their own 5 little monkeys.  I also supplied materials to make this paper bag puppet, thanks to Teacher's Friend Publications

 This is just a great theme.  I have added it to my 'outreach pool' of themes I can grab and go, because it seemed like everything I did was a hit with the kids. And I even have more that I didn't even use!  I hope you enjoyed this post. 
Miss Kristie has also done a story time about Monkeys - to see how it can be done for TODDLERS, click on this link!
Thanks for stopping by!

Flannel Friday - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

While planning my toddler Thanksgiving story time, I was completely stumped on what flannel story to include.  I really wanted to step out of the box and pick something that the little ones wouldn't guess!  So... I crossed turkeys, pilgrims, and Indians off my list.  What did that leave?  Well, actually not much.  But it did make me look in other places for inspiration.  And inspiration struck in the form of a song my boys sung in preschool.  There are many websites that use this song and there appears to be slightly different versions.  I could not find the exact same wording as my boys' song, so maybe they made it up themselves. 

 

The song goes like this...

 (To the tume of "Where is Thumbkin?")

 

Turkey and stuffing,

Turkey and stuffing,

Pumpkin pie,

Ten feet high!

We were so much thinner,

Before we ate our dinner.

Me-oh-my!  Me-oh-my!

 

 

This is how the flannel set works..

Turkey and stuffing,

Turkey and stuffing,

 

 

Pumpkin pie,

 

Ten feet high!  (This is where it gets fun!)

 

We were so much thinner,

Before we ate our dinner.

Me-oh-my!  Me-oh-my!

(I didn't make a flannel for this section of the song. 

I plan on holding my belly like I am super full from eating too much!)

 

I think the little ones will be super excited to see the pie magically grow!  To accomplish this, I made two pie crusts and glued them around the edges like a pocket, leaving the top unglued.  I glued the bottom of the pumpkin pie filling to the inside of one of the pie crusts.  I rounded the top of the pumpkin and added a dollop of whipped cream.  When dry, the pumpkin can be folded down and hidden in the pie pocket until needed.  I used this pie and this turkey as templates.

 I hope you enjoy my flannel song!  --  Miss Kristie

 

And as a Thanksgiving Bonus, Miss Sue is sharing her felts that go along with I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, by Allison Jackson.  This Thanksgiving book really is fun to share at Thanksgiving.  Allison Jackson does a great job maintaining the natural rhythm of the original song too, so the book can be sung!  There are scads of versions of this flannel board out on the internet and a good search will bring up a lot of additional activities to print as well.  This is just to show another technique when making felts - usually Miss Sue uses puffy paint on her felt, but in these earlier days, she used Sharpie markers in all colors to do the shading and detail on the felt.  I especially like the salad!

 

Preschool Story Time - Halloween Fun

What's better than a Red Sox World Series win on Halloween???  A Red Sox World Series win BEFORE Halloween so we can focus on having a GREAT Halloween Story Time!  And it was!!  My apologies for posting a Halloween Story Time in November, but I had to post a followup to my Flannel Friday of earlier this month, and I had to wait to see how the kids enjoyed it so I could tell you!
When thinking about the 5 practices of Every Child Ready to Read, we talked about vocabulary, and how there are so many opportunities at holiday time to build your child's vocabulary.  Halloween words like skeleton, spooky, vampire, and creepy are not generally used in everyday language.  By talking about the things a child will see at Halloween, and the emotions of Halloween, you are building vocabulary and getting your child ready to read!

Click, Clack, Boo!  By Doreen Cronin

The animals are planning a wild party in the barn for Halloween, but Farmer Brown doesn't like that idea at all!  How will the animals get Farmer Brown to come?

Just Say Boo! by Susan Hood

I am SO happy I found this book!  I was able to do a few things with it.  We talked about the scary things you might encounter on Halloween and how to deal with it.  We learned how to recognize and 'read' the word BOO.  The kids were able to be a part of the book with the repetitiveness of "what do you say?".  My favorite part though, was that it was a fantastic tie in to my FLANNEL BOARD this week!!!

Did you see my Flannel Friday contribution for Halloween?  If not, click HERE.  I created a new rhyme and original felt pieces to talk about how costumes can be scary, but we always need to remember that costumes are just pretend, especially on Halloween night.

That's a Costume (by Miss Sue)
Over there I see a Ghost, my oh my a scary Ghost!
Mom says "no, its all OK.  That's a costume.  Take it away...
and you'll see it's your good friend Sheep!
Out on Halloween night!

The rhyme continues with the other costumes and characters.  My Flannel Friday Post has a lot more information on this rhyme and the felts.

This went over so well with the families.  Many moms thanked me for them and asked for copies of my templates to make at home.  The kids caught on with the rhyme and were repeating it with me, or just shouting out the animal names as they were revealed.  It was so fun to see something I created be so enjoyed.


After the fingerplay/felts, we did our Halftime dance, and then back to the books!

Creepy Carrots! By Aaron Reynolds

Not a Halloween book per-se, but definitely one of my favorite Halloween reads.  If you have not seen it, PICK UP THIS BOOK!  I use it for outreach, Kindergarten visits, and my story times.  The kids and parents just love it!

Did you see Roving Fiddlehead Kid Lit's Flannel Friday Post about Creepy Carrots??  Here are the ones I made from their templates, but there is a rhyme that goes with it too!  I ran out of time during both story times this week, but I was glad to make a set for us to use whenever we pull out Creepy Carrots.

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by Elizabeth Mills

Any book that we can sing is going to find its way into my story time at some point!  The kids loved singing along with this book and made up their own hand motions to go with it!  Fun!

 

Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

I love Jan Thomas's books!  This is the latest one and great for fall.  Its very short, and really takes some delivery skills, but everyone in the room was silently anticipating what will happen.  Its always awesome to see an entire room rapt with a book, and always fun for a story teller to see everyone smiling with anticipation.

And our craft this week!  I used wax paper to draw the candy corn outline (I used a coloring page as a template).  The kids put tissue paper squares in each of the three sections.  When the glue dries, they carefully cut out the candy corn so the outline of the candy stays defined.  Then they can put their candy corn in the window to catch the light!  It is an easy craft and the kids loved working on it.  It also helps fine motor skills.

YAY Halloween!  The kids loved being in costume, they loved seeing Miss Sue as The Cat in the Hat, and everyone had a great time as this year's "Boo To You" Story Time!  Onward to Thanksgiving!