Baby Story Time - Welcome Fall!

Ok, so I jumped on the "Fall" bandwagon this week, not knowing how it would go over with the babies.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much they enjoyed it!

Wake-Up Rhyme: "Way Up High in the Apple Tree" (from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time)
Way up high in the apple tree,
     (raise baby's arms over head)
Two little apples did I see.
     (hold up two fingers)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could,
     (jiggle baby in your lap)
And DOWN came the apples!
     (lower baby between legs)
YUM! They were good!
     (rub baby's tummy)

1st Book: Mouse's First Fall by Lauren Thompson

 

I love all of Thompson's Mouse books! A little long for babies, but we made it through.  I love the last page where Mouse and Minka wear acorn crowns!

Action Song: "Five Green Apples"
(from Peter Allard's Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Volume 1)
*I sang this myself and shortened it from five to three green apples.

Farmer Brown had three green apples
Hanging on a tree.
Farmer Brown had three green apples
Hanging on a tree.
Then he plucked one apple
And he ate it hungrily!
Leaving two green apples a-hanging on a tree.
(Keep counting down until there are no apples left!)

I made this simple apple flannel board set a few years ago to go with this song:

I also taught the parents the ASL sign for apple:

(Picture found here)

Next, I passed out these little die-cut leaves, glued to popsicle sticks, which were a huge hit!  We waved them around while we did our next two activities.

Action Rhyme: "Fall" (I'm not sure where I found this originally, but you can find it here, along with some other great "fall" themed rhymes and songs.)  We did this rhyme twice!
Autumn winds begin to blow.
     (blow gently on baby's cheek)
Colored leaves fall fast and slow.
     (wiggle fingers downward)
Twirling, whirling all around.
     (roll hands)
Until, at last, they touch the ground.
     (lower baby between legs - they found this part hysterical!)

Action Song: "Leaves are Falling Down" (adapted from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time - her song is called "Raining is Falling Down")
Leaves are falling down,
Leaves are falling down,
Slowly, slowly,
Leaves are falling down.

2) Quickly, quickly
3) Quietly, quietly

2nd Book: Apples, Apples! by Salina Yoon

This lift-the-flap book has really nice illustrations, but is a little wordy.  I didn't read the text under each flap, but we still really enjoyed the book.

Rhythm Time: Shakers!
We shook our shakers to these next two activities:

Action Song: "Gray Squirrel" (from The Learning Station's cd Where is Thumbkin?)
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your bushy tail.
(2x)

Wrinkle up your funny nose,
Hold an acorn in your toes,
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel,
Swish your bushy tail.

There is a really long musical break in the middle of this song, but I used it to go around to each child with my little squirrel friend from Folkmanis! He was a hit!

Action Rhyme: "Clap Your Hands" (adapted from Linda Ernst's Baby Rhyming Time)
Clap your hands, 1, 2, 3.
Clap your hands just like me!

(Shake your shaker, roll your hands, stomp your feet, etc.)

3rd Book: Welcome Fall by Jill Ackerman

Little Scholastic has one of these books for each season, and they're really cute.  The text is short and sweet, and each page has some kind of texture to feel or flap to lift.

Next, it was time for our goodbye songs and "thank you" rhyme.  (See my Baby Story Time page for these.)  During playtime, I got the squirrel back out for any babies who wanted to see him again!

How it went:
This story time went much better than I expected!  I had a slightly smaller group today (only 15 babies) and they were just so attentive and relaxed.  I think they really liked the little leaves on a stick (which they were welcome to take home, chew on, etc.) as well as the squirrel puppet.  We had a fun day today!  Happy Fall!

Toddler Story Time - A is for Apple

Hooray!  Summer is officially over and it is now time to start fall themed story times.  First one to check off my list is apples!  This week I introduced a new opening song.  Boy was I nervous because I had to sing- without a cd!  Fortunately, I had some awesome moms sing along with me.  Thanks to Ms. Christi at the Johnson County Library for sharing it because it fits my story time so well.  Welcome to Storytime is sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  I hope it becomes a great addition to our weekly routine.    

Welcome to Storytime

Welcome, welcome everyone,
Now we’re here, let’s have some fun.
First we’ll sing the ABC’s,
Then we’ll read and sing with me.
Welcome, welcome everyone,
Now we’re here, let’s have some fun. 

Books I read…

Ned’s New Home By Kevin Tseng

I originally planned to read Ducking for Apples by Lynne Berry, but a last minute book switch was a huge success.  This book is super cute and the little ones loved it!  Poor Ned needs a new home when his begins to rot.  He tries out many new homes until finding one that is just right.  This is definitely a book I plan on making a flannel for someday! 

Max’s Apples Based on the stories by Rosemary Wells

Who wouldn’t love a book with shiny red apples?!  This sweet story is about Max asking for help to get apples down from a tree.  As usual Ruby can’t understand why he needs so many until he surprises her with a pie.  It’s a shorter book, but you generally can’t go wrong with Max, Ruby, and a room full of toddlers!   

 Apples, Apples!  A Lift-the-Flap Book By Salina Yoon   

Who knew apples could make so many different types of things?  The little ones had fun guessing what each person was making out of apples throughout this book.  It was a good closing book for a busy story time morning.   

How it went…

The first action rhyme we all did together was called Apples.  I found it on Sunflower Storytime but I think it is used a lot for apple themed story times.  The rhyme and accompanied movements are super simple.  The little ones made such cute little apple trees.  We did it twice!

Apples

Way up high in the apple tree  (Stretch arms in the air) 
Two little apples smiles at me  (Make two fists)

I shook the tree as hard as I could  (Shake arms in the air)
And down came the apples  (Drop fists to floor)
Mmmmm, they were good!  (Rub tummy)

I think it can be really fun to incorporate puppets or props into story time.  This week I found the cutest apple and worm finger puppet in the supply closet.  I knew I wanted to use it during story time so I was super excited when I stumbled upon the poem, Squiggly Little Worm from Pre-K Fun .  While I recited the poem, I made the worm wiggle around in the apple.

Squiggly Little Worm

A squiggly little worm into my apple bit.

He chomped and chomped until the core he hit.    
I asked him why he did it,
And though it sounds absurd,
He said, “I love apples.”
Now that is what I heard. 

Retired Folkmanis Finger Puppet.  Look on ebay if you love it!

One of the reasons I was excited about this week’s story time was Flannel Time!  (Thanks Future Librarian Superhero!)  It was finally time to unveil my new favorite flannel story.  Five Apples in a Basket is a funny rhyming poem about five apples that think they are climbing into a basket, but really it’s a pie!  I wasn’t sure if the little ones would get the humor but I was very pleased when I heard laughter from the moms.  Mission accomplished! 

Five Apples in a Basket

The first apple in the basket was bright and shiny red.
The second apple in the basket said, “My, what a cozy bed!”
The third apple in the basket said, “Make room for me you pair!”
The fourth apple in the basket said, “Please move over there!”
The fifth apple in the basket said, “Oh dear, oh me, oh my!”
This basket looks like a pastry, I think we are in a pie!” 

 Check out this Flannel Friday post for more photos of this flannel story!

To get the little ones up and active, we danced to Raffi's Apples and Bananas.  A great song that also promotes different letter sounds.  You can watch Raffi in concert singing it here.

A craft completed this story time.  It was so easy peasy and they turned out incredibly cute.  The little ones added color to the backside of small paper plates to resemble the top of an apple tree. Some made green trees while others made rainbows, but they all finished with at least a few apples.  We use dobber markers with the toddlers for low mess fun!  It was then up to the moms to staple on a pre cut brown card stock trunk.  Inspiration for this craft came from Reading Confetti.

Can't wait to check more fall themes of my list!

Preschool Story Time - Apple Season FUN!

Have you ever had just too much material for your story time? There is no shortage of apple story time help out there in the cyber space, but I went in another direction and just had a ball with this theme.  If you missed my Flannel Friday post last week about apples, check it out HERE.  I used all three flannel boards in this story time!

The Plan:

Apples Apples Apples by Nancy E. Wallace

Lesson one:  Read your books before you read them in story time.
Lesson two:  Read them out loud before you read them in story time.
Lesson three: Decide if you want to do the book only after lessons one and two, not before.

I got half way through this book and realized I missed lesson 2.  It was too long, too involved, and had too much information for my group.  I skipped lines and pages everywhere just to finish up. So on day two I did this book instead and it made a huge difference:

Apples Apples Everywhere by Robin Koontz

A much better choice for preschool and kindergarten with just enough information on Apples.  The worms in the apples were a great fact I hadn't seen before.

We next did my NEW Apple Sauce song...complete with felts.  It's to the tune of Peanut, Peanut Butter, Jelly:

Making Applesauce (by Miss Sue)

Making some applesauce, YUM! 
Making some applesauce, YUM!

First you take an apple and you peel it, you peel it.
First you take an apple and you peel it, you peel it.
(Chorus)
Then you take the apples an you chop 'em, you chop 'em.
Then you take the apples an you chop 'em, you chop 'em.
(Chorus)
Next you add some sugar and you cook 'em, you cook 'em.
Next you add some sugar and you cook 'em, you cook 'em.
(Chorus)
Then you take a masher and you smash 'em, you smash 'em.
Then you take a masher and you smash 'em, you smash 'em.
(Chorus)
Coooool it down! yeah....Coooool it down!
Then you take a spoon and you eat it, you eat it.
Then you take a spoon and you eat it, you eat it.
(Chorus)

This went over well because it was to a familiar tune.  Some of the kids picked it up really quickly!

Next up:

Little Apple Goat - Caroline Jayne Church

This darling little story about a goat who loves her orchard teaches the kids a little bit about what happens to seeds when they are scattered unwittingly by any creature.

After our halftime dance, we got back to the stories!  This time a flannel story I also created.  This is based on Katya Arnold's That Apple is Mine!  I used the story but not the book to retell the tale in my own fashion using my own felts:

This photo only shows part of the story.  For more on these felts and the story it goes with, click HERE. 

Our last story is my new favorite!! 

Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng

Ned is in need of a new home!  Will he find one that suits him as well as his beloved apple?  I adore this book and will surely use it again and again.

Last felt set for today was my matching apples: 

I passed the apples out and together we tried to match the number with the number of seeds.  The younger ones had a little trouble but the older ones were quite excited to help out!  For more on where I got the idea for these and any of my felts this week, click This Flannel Friday Link, or search our labels for more Apple Felt and story ideas.

This was the craft idea I designed:

We talked about how to form numbers this week, using little poems for each number (Something like "around the tree and around the tree is how you make a number three!").  This was a basic apple shape on red paper and a basic circle on white.  I wrote the "I am ___" on the white paper and photo copied it. The seeds are raisins which is safer than using real seeds.  I'm sure the kids were sneaking a raisin or two!

Another successful story time this week!  I had lower numbers than usual this week, perhaps because the weather was so amazing, but the crowd was perfect.  Great participation, great atmosphere, and great fun had by all.  I'll tuck this one away for next year!

Flannel Friday - Apples, Apples, and More APPLES!

In a Flannel Friday BONUS for my Flannel Friday Peeps, I have not one,  but THREE Apple Flannel Board Posts for you.  I am going to have a very busy Apple Story Time next week, but I couldn't resist making a song/finger play, a story, and an activity.

First up, my own take on the song Peanut Butter and Jelly (you know, "Peanut, Peanut Butter, Jelly").  A chant I saw on this site gave me the idea for the chant, but I decided to set it to music and change it up for simplicity.  The felt pieces below coordinate with the song's verses, and the hand motions I do match as well (fairly self explanatory).  For the Chorus, clap out the rhythm and rub your tummy on the word Yum.:

Making Applesauce (by Miss Sue)

Making some applesauce, YUM! 
Making some applesauce, YUM!

First you take an apple and you peel it, you peel it.
First you take an apple and you peel it, you peel it.
(Chorus)
Then you take the apples an you chop 'em, you chop 'em.
Then you take the apples an you chop 'em, you chop 'em.
(Chorus)
Next you add some sugar and you cook 'em, you cook 'em.
Next you add some sugar and you cook 'em, you cook 'em.
(Chorus)
Then you take a masher and you smash 'em, you smash 'em.
Then you take a masher and you smash 'em, you smash 'em.
(Chorus)
Coooool it down! yeah....Coooool it down!
Then you take a spoon and you eat it, you eat it.
Then you take a spoon and you eat it, you eat it.
(Chorus)

The picture isn't great at showing the 'chopped apples' on the upper right or the apple being peeled on the upper left.  The cream colored felt appears lighter in the photo than is in person.  The artwork is all my own for this flannel board. Feel free to use this for your story times but please credit this blog.

Next up is a flannel board based on Katya Arnold's retelling of the Russian Folk tale, That Apple is Mine!

 

Another book where I love the story, but the illustrations won't translate well to story time, in my opinion.  This will be shared strictly off book as a flannel board story.

 

If you do not know they story, a rabbit spots an apple up high in the tree. Try as he may, he can't reach it, so he asks Crow to knock it down for him.  Crow decides instead to pluck the apple from the tree for himself, but accidentally drops it onto hedgehog.  Hedgehog thinks 'what luck' and runs away with the apple. All three creatures declare the apple is theirs!  A large argument ensues.  "But that apple is MINE!"

Their bickering wakes bear, who tries to sort out the disagreement.  He suggests cutting the apple and sharing it.  But there is one piece left!  Hedgehog declares the last piece should be for bear, be cause he solved the problem.

 At the end, worm wriggles out from behind the stem to declare, "Hey, that apple was mine!"

The animals in my flannel board are original artwork by my daughter, Sarah.  The apple was made by making two apples with white centers, cut facing each other.  If you notice, two halves have 2 seeds and two have 3 seeds.  This is so I can match which sides go together, so the apple can fit back together like a puzzle.  As the story unfolds, a piece of apple can be 'cut' away and given to an animal, leaving the stem behind.  The worm can be placed quickly when the last piece is moved.

Last up is a bonus activity, Counting and Matching Apples. 

I have seen this activity on many websites but not quite in this form.  I used this image idea from StoryTime Katie combined with these images from Desert Blossom Learning to make this activity:

The plan is to use these apples as a matching game in the group along with counting.We will also make numbers in the air with our fingers as many children will not have experience writing numbers yet.  After story time, these apples will remain on the board for free exploration.  I usually stay by the flannel board after story time and interact with the children one-on-one while mom is chatting or siblings are crafting.  Some children prefer to have some quiet time with me while the craft tables are so busy and noisy.

Stay tuned for the story time next week, and the craft that goes along perfectly with this last felt activity!

Please feel free to comment or contact me with more information on any of these.  I had a little burst of energy when making my flannel board stories last month and can't wait to use them! 

Thanks to Bridget over at What is Bridget Reading? for hosting Flannel Friday this week!  Check out her awesome blog at: http://whatisbridgetreading.blogspot.com/

Flannel Friday - Five Apples in a Basket

Fall is in the air and we are gearing up for new cooler weather story time themes!  It is just about time to put away the summer flannel stories and bring out new fall flannel sets!  To start us off right, I found the funniest apple rhyme and flannel set from Future Librarian Superhero via Falling Flannelboards.  As soon as I read it, I knew I needed to include this in a story time!  I am not sure if the little ones will completely understand it, but I am positive the moms will love it!  (And we can't forget about entertaining the moms once and awhile!)

Five Apples in a Basket

The first apple in the basket was bright and shiny red.

 The second apple in the basket said, “My, what a cozy bed!”

The third apple in the basket said, “Make room for me you pair!”

The fourth apple in the basket said, “Please move over there!”

The fifth apple in the basket said, “Oh dear, oh me, oh my!  This basket looks like a pastry–I think we’re in a pie!”

 

And, just for fun, I added a crust to put on top of the apples at the end!

 

To keep it easy, I used clipart to help make the pie and apples. 

 

I can't wait to use this set in a couple weeks!