Preschool Story Time - Penguins!

I really couldn't wait to come home from work and blog about my day.  Today I had a penguin themed story  time that was off the charts.  To break it down, we have had a pretty horrible winter.  Today was the last work day before the anticipated snowmaggedon 2014 v.6.  I think every mom and child decided to come to story time worried that we would be snowed in forever.  The kids were as excited as if it were a holiday.  Not 'the big one' but maybe a lesser-but-still-exciting holiday.

Anyway, I definitely had too much material - which is always what I strive for, but here's what we actually did:

Before we started, I had them notice the color scheme of all of my books.  They were ALL blue, white, and black with only little bits of other colors.  This was an important discussion, because the theme remained throughout the day and into craft.

These best friends live on opposite ends of the Earth and couldn't be more different!  Good discussion on opposites, on simple facts like where polar bears and penguins live, and on the fact that it's ok to be opposites with someone but still be their friend.

To start a little more non-fiction chatter, I brought up this amazing book below.  It's a non-fiction that reads like a picture book.  I read it in my penguin story time last year (I used all new books this year), but brought it out to share a few facts - like the size of penguins (48 inches!!), how they huddle together in the cold, how the moms hunt for food while the dads care for the babies, and how the moms always come back with dinner.

I made these penguins for my rhyme I used, but also to demonstrate the mom-dad-baby dynamic of the emperor penguins.

See my little baby? 

Back to more black, white, and blue books! 

 Poor penguin is looking, looking, looking - for something that isn't white. That isn't black.  That isn't blue.  Will she find something else?

After halftime, we settled down with a rhyme, and later a little singing.

Here's the rhyme to go with the felt penguins:
5 little penguins as happy as could be, standing on a rock, looking out to sea.
Crash went the waves, oh, what a din!  Said the first little penguin, "shall we all jump in?"
Said the second little penguin, "the water is like ice!"  Said the third little penguin, "that's not so nice."
Said the fourth little penguin, "lets bask in the sun."  Said the fifth little pengiun, "hey that's no fun!"
So the five little penguins took a leap and a dive, and splashed into the water, 1,2,3,4,5.
Three seconds later, out they all popped, and stood once again on top of that big rock.

Not sure whom to credit since it was on a card with the former set of penguins (I borrowed them from my old library and made my own set), but the poem is definitely not mine.  I did have a rock I made by cutting gray felt irregularly.  The kids liked the rock and played with the entire set after story time.

I LOVE this story of friendship!  I knew it would work really well in our community and it did.  Lots of smiles and 'aawww's from the parents.

What would happen if penguins got a hold of a tourist's camera in the zoo!  They would take tons of pictures of course!  A funny surprise ending enchanted the kids.


Here's my craft.  We used back, white, and blue, just like the books.  For the kids, they got blue construction paper and not this computer paper because white crayon shows up SO MUCH better on construction paper!  Definitely a 'note to self' for next time.

BUT the 'hit' of the day was  after story time.  These little intellectuals spent as much time with me AFTER story time as we spent IN story time.  Some played with my felt penguins, some explored my books, especially the pop up books I brought in, some wanted me to play ukulele more, and some just wanted to talk about penguins.  I was stunned that I was cleaned out of my parent newsletters, and by how long everyone stayed after to talk.  This is what story time means to me.  It's the connections with the families that makes days like these so special. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

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!!

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!

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! 

Preschool Story Time - Monster Playdate

I have toyed with this theme for some time.  Ever since last November when I made a little one cry with my troll voice in Three Billy Goats Gruff, I have been afraid to do anything remotely scary.  I think I finally found the right combination of books, songs, and finger plays that will delight the preschool set without making them uneasy.

The Monster's Monster by Patric McDonnell

Grump, Gloom and Doom, and Gripe build their own monster - but will he be what they expect?  This is a rather sweet book and great to show that monsters aren't all what they are made out to be.

Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer

What's there to do with a girl monster who doesn't quite fit in with the monster crowd?  Should she change to be more like her class to gain acceptance?  This is a story that says it's OK to be you!

After Halftime, we settled back down with a flannel board/finger play!

When I do these "5 Littles", I do them twice.  Once on fingers with hand movements, and once on the feltboard with felt pieces.  Where applicable, I give the kids some means to take the rhyme home to do with a parent- either putting it on my parent newsletter or finding a reproducible that has the figures to cut out and play with.

5 Little Monsters sleeping in my bed.
One crawled out from under the spread.
I called out to mama and my mama said:
'No more monsters sleeping in your bed!'

Continue with 4,3,2,1 and
No more monsters sleeping in my bed
None crawled out from under the spread
I called out to mama and my mama said:
"No more monsters, now go to bed!"

For more on my flannel board (and to find my template/coloring page) which was featured on a recent Flannel Friday post, and a link to this rhyme and more monster rhymes, Click HERE

There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca and Ed Emberly

A take on There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, this book is a great book to sing to!  I already do every possible version of the "Old Lady" in my story time, so the kids were excited to see what this old monster would be swallowing.  Make sure you practice a couple of times first, however, because the song takes a little detour from the traditional tune.  The ending will surprise everyone!

The Baby That Roared by Simon Puttock

Mr and Mrs Deer have a new baby!  But they can't seem to get the baby to settle down.  Who should they call to help?  This book had the kids laughing.  They really enjoyed it and I enjoyed watching them slowly 'getting' it.

And as a bonus and to close our session, we used Rebecca Emberly's book 'If You're a Monster and You Know It' as a fun movement song.  I made sure to have plenty of copies on hand to go home with the kids, but we just sang and danced this song A-Capella. 

And now for my craft!  Inspired by this blog called Alphamom, but using card stock instead of foam, I cut a pair of 'feet' for the kids to decorate with yarn (for hairy feet), markers and jewels (for a pedi).  They can be worn over the shoes or socks as monster feet!!  I used one card per foot for my demonstration, but for the kids I was able to use one card for both feet.

This was the biggest hit with all of the kids!  Make sure to have extra on hand.  The moms are sure to want extras for their kids at  home.  I was cleaned out!

Thanks for stopping by!  Monster Theme was a big hit with the kids because they learned that monsters didn't have to be scary - sometimes they were silly and fun!

Flannel Friday - 5 Little Monsters Sleeping in My Bed!

For my preschool story time this month, I decided on a not-so-scary monster theme.  Thanks to finding several sweet poems on Guybrarian's Blog, I was inspired to make these cute monsters:

5 Little Monsters Sleeping in My Bed!

5 little monsters sleeping in my bed.
One crawled out from under the spread.
I called out to Mama and my Mama said:
"No more Monsters Sleeping in your bed!"

Continue with 4,3,2,1, and

No more Monsters sleeping in my bed
None crawled out from under the spread
I called out to Mama and my Mama said:
"No more Monsters, now go to bed!!"

If you would like to see how I used this in Story Time - I have a Blog post about it!  Click HERE for more.

I made a template so the kids could take it home, color it, and retell the poem.  You can use my template below if you would like (but please only for personal use and credit this blog is all I ask in return), but they were just so easy to do by looking at samples of monster clip art.  Really, I just made the sausage looking one on paper and decided it was the right size, and drew out the rest, then drew them on felt with puffy paint and adding features later. There is NO right or wrong with drawing monsters, so GO FOR IT!  The bed is strips of brown with two knobs, and the blanket is a white blob to fit.  Easy peasy!

Thanks to Katie from StorytimeKatie.com for hosting Flannel Friday this week!  To learn more about Flannel Friday, Click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Preschool Story Time - Going Batty!

There are so many great theme possibilities in October.  Bats are one of those curious animals that kids hardly ever see or learn about, but are fun to see.

The Bat in the Boot - by Annie Cannon

Based on a true story, this book reveals some interesting facts about bats and how mom bats care for their young.  I do not love the illustrations, but it sparked a discussion about how the mommy bat takes care of her babies.  Many kids had cowboy boots on too - so that was fun to talk about.

Bat Jamboree - by Kathi Applet

Counting by bats has never been so fun!  Shake it!

We paused to do this 5 little bat song (to the tune of 6 little ducks) from naturallyeducational.com which was a big hit with the kids and the moms.  We performed it with fingers so they could learn it and use the song at home, and when we got to 5 little bats came back, I let some of them put the bats back on the board.

5 little bats went on a flight

by the light of the moon one night

Mama bat said squeek squeek squeek squack

But only 4 little bats came back!

Continue with 4,3,2,1,none (and the 5 little bats come back)

**See more about my Halloween Felt Sets from a recent Flannel Friday Post.

Daft bat by Jeanne Willis

Take a look at the world as a bat sees it, and bats wont look so daft after all!  This one may have gotten away from the little ones.  It was funny for the moms and older kids, but some of  the three and four year olds didn't seem to get it.

5 Little Bats Flying in the Night - by Steve Metzer

Very short and sweet and a good closer to our bat story time!

Here is our craft this week! We had our volunteers paint 40 toilet paper rolls and cut out wings.  Fold the top of the roll to make ears, add eyes and feet and voila!  My craft sample is prepared pretty basically because I want the kids to express themselves, so we had other materials set out so the children could add any embellishments to the bats that they would like.

Seems like October is busier than ever.  It's a good thing that themes come naturally this month.  Next up is Monsters!