Flannel Friday - Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed!)

 Everybody loves Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - the book, the rhyme, however you choose to use it!

A while back Miss Sue made us a quick set, but they monkeys seemed to have disappeared! No worries, I made us a cute new set, wearing pajamas, no less!

Miss Sue gets credit for the bed, which could be used for a variety of rhymes, including her ADORABLE Five Little Monsters Sleeping in My Bed!

Here's a close-up of the monkeys:

I just used two different monkey clipart designs from Google Images, and then designed simple pajamas for go over top.  This was a pretty quick and easy set to assemble, but one I know we'll use over and over again!

Happy Flannel Friday!

Thanks so much to Lisa at Libraryland for hosting this week! Flannel Friday is for anyone interested in finding and sharing great flannelboard ideas!  You can learn more about Flannel Friday and how to participate here.

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!!!

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!

Baby Story Time - We're Going to the Zoo!

No summer is complete without a trip to the zoo, so today in Baby Story Time, we did just that.  Well, sort of. :)

Books we read:

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

Because this book is nearly wordless, I've never been sure how well it would work in a story time,  but my two year-old got it for his birthday and absolutely adores it, so I thought we'd give it a try.  (I often choose books and rhymes based on whether or not he likes them!) It went over great! Lots of laughs from the parents and the babies were very attentive.  And OMG, check out this adorable felt set that I wish I had seen before just now!

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

I love this book! I've read it to babies, toddlers, preschoolers, AND Kindergartners, and they all love it!  We read the pop-up version, but it is also available as a board book with flaps instead of pop-ups. What kids love about this book is trying to guess what kind of animal will be in the next box, especially as they get smaller and smaller.

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

This book also happens to be a classic children's song, so you can sing it!  It's really long so we only did a few verses, but it was nice to be able to introduce it to a lot of the young parents who didn't know it.  I also set out Paxton's music cd by the same title with my display books so they could try singing it at home.  I like to end with a singable book if I can because music always gets the babies' attentions!

 

 Activities:

 

After our opening songs, our Wake-Up Rhyme was "One I Love You," a super cute lap bounce.  I have searched high and low for where I found this rhyme, and I cannot find it!  Where the heck did I learn this thing?  Can anyone cite this for me?

 

One I Love You
One I love you, two I love you,
     (bounce baby gently)
Three I love you so!
     (one big bounce!)
Four I love you, five I love you,
     (bounce baby gently)
Rock you to and fro!
     (rock baby side to side)
Six I love you, seven I love you,
     (bounce baby gently)
Eight you love me too!
     (one big bounce)
Nine I love you, ten I love you,
     (bounce baby gently, slowing down)
My bouncing buckaroo!
     (big, fast bounces!)

 

After Good Night, Gorilla, it was time to sing!  We sang "Alice the Camel," a very silly song my mom used to sing to us as kids. Mel's Desk uses this song for her "Zoo" themed story time, too.  Thanks, Mel, for reminding me about this silly song!  We turned it into a lap bounce!

 

Alice the Camel
Alice the Camel has 2 humps,
     (one big bounce)
Alice the Camel has 2 humps,
     (one big bounce)
Alice the Camel has 2 humps,
     (one big bounce)
So go, Alice, go!
     (quick little bounces!)

 

Alice the Camel has 1 hump...
So go, Alice, go!

 

Alice the Camel has no humps...
'Cause Alice is a horse!

 

Next we did a quick nursery rhyme - "Hey, Diddle Diddle" - which I like to sing.  With it I used this nice little storytelling kit from Lakeshore Learning - the pieces are a sturdy cardboard with Velcro on the back.

 

Hey, Diddle Diddle
Hey, diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon!
The little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the dish ran away with the spoon!

 

The babies enjoyed Dear Zoo, and then we did the classic children's rhyme, "Five Little Monkeys (Swinging from the Tree)."  Five monkeys is a bit much for the babies, so I changed it to three monkeys instead.  I believe Miss Kristie used the same rhyme in Toddler Story Time this week!  Our flannel set for this rhyme is also from Lakeshore Learning, and you can use the monkeys on a flannel board or on a little storytelling glove. (P.S. I did tell the parents that if this was too violent for them, they can say "Scared that monkey" instead of "Snapped that monkey" - it's nice to offer adaptations when you can!)

 

Three Little Monkeys (Swinging from the Tree)
Three little monkeys swinging from the tree,
     (hold up three fingers)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, “Can’t catch me!”
     (wag index finger)
Along came Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be,
     (slowly swim one hand over)
And SNAPPED that monkey right out of that tree!
     (clap hands together on "snapped")

Two little monkeys…
One little monkey…

No little monkeys swinging from the tree,
I'd better watch out or he might catch me!

Next it was Rhythm Time so we got out our shakers! The babies shook it up while I sang the song "Going to Kentucky," which I adapted so that we were going "to the zoo" instead of "to the fair."  This song was so fun we sang it twice!

Going to Kentucky
(adapted from 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children by Abigail Flesch Connors*)
Oh, we're going to Kentucky, we're going to the zoo,
To see the baby animals and watch what they can do.
Oh shake it, shake it, shake it,
Shake it if you can.
Shake it like a milkshake,
And do the best you can!
Oh, wobble to the bottom, wobble to the top,
And turn around and turn around until it's time stop!

*This book is amazing!

After that we just shook our shakers as we found our various body parts - toes, tummy, etc.  And then we shook them as we sang the ABC song!  I've never bothered with the ABCs with babies before, but since rhythm helps children to break down sounds (think 'phonological awareness') I thought this would be a good activity for parents to practice with their little ones.

After reading/singing Going to the Zoo, we finished up with our closing songs and rhyme, and it was time to play!

How it went:

My group just keeps growing - 18 babies today.  They were amazingly well behaved for such a big group, so we were able to squeeze in a lot of stuff in just 25 minutes!  I'm starting to see new members joining us, and then returning the following week with their friends, which is just such a nice compliment!  I've got a pretty wide range of ages right now, and one problem we had was that when we "snapped" our crocodile hands, it startled a few of the younger babies.  I felt really bad!  I'll start working on a quieter adaptation for that rhyme for next time!

 



Toddler Story Time - Monkeys!

I had a lot of fun planning this week’s story time.  Monkeys!!  Ee-ee!  Oo-oo!  Last week I announced the theme at the end of story time and suggested that the little ones bring a favorite monkey.  I was so excited by how many little ones came this week with their monkey friends.  It really added to the fun of the morning! 

Books I read…

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

I had to read this book, so I did it first!  By the end of this repetitive monkey tale, all the little ones (and grownups) were saying with me, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”.  I thought about doing this story off book, but I really liked the illustrations.  It was easy to just turn the pages while saying the rhyme.

Kiki’s Blankie by Janie Bynum

Kiki loves her blankie!  It goes everywhere with her until a big wind blows it away.  Eek!  It ends up near a crocodile!  Kiki must find a way to get it back.  The illustrations are adorable and I loved that she cleaned her blankie in the washing machine upon its return! 

 Two Little Monkeys By Mem Fox

A rhyming story about two monkeys, one named Cheeky and one named Chee.  These two little monkeys have to hide from a big scary cat in a “big old tree.” It is a great read aloud book.  It was a little longer than I usually read for a last book, but the little ones were sitting so well this week that it worked! 

How it went…

We began with the action rhyme Monkey See, Monkey Do that I found from the Perry Public Library.  This little rhyme got everyone acting like little monkeys!  After jumping around for a couple verses, it ends with all the monkeys sitting down.  It was a great intro for our first book.

Monkey see, monkey do
Little monkey in the zoo
Monkey, monkey, in the tree
Can you jump around like me?
…swing your tail…clap your hands…nod your head…sit down…

After our first book, and with all monkeys safely put to bed, we all stood up and did a sweet monkey rendition of the Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear poem.  The moves were simple enough for even the youngest toddlers to follow.  I found this action rhyme at Themed Storytime Ideas.

Monkey, monkey, turn around (turn around)

Monkey, monkey, touch the ground (Touch the ground)
Monkey, monkey, dance on your toes (Dance on tip toes)
Monkey, monkey, touch your nose (Touch your nose)
Monkey, monkey, give a little clap (Clap)
Monkey, monkey, take a nap! (Lay head on hands like sleeping)

Flannel Time travelled off the board this week and onto the storytelling glove.  This is a great prop for toddlers because I can hold it up high!  This week was Teasing Mr. Crocodile.  It is a set from Lakeshore Learning.   To make it even more fun, I used silly plastic peepers that slip onto your hand to make a Mr. Crocodile puppet.  I secretly put it on my hand behind my back to surprise them as Mr. Crocodile snaps at his first monkey!  It was a fun flannel story, but next time I might start with only three monkeys to shorten it up a bit. 

Teasing Mr. Crocodile

Five little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mister Crocodile:
“You can’t catch me.”
Along comes Mister Crocodile,
Quiet as can be
And SNAPS that monkey
Right out of that tree!
(Repeat counting backwards to one monkey)
…No more little monkeys
Sitting in a tree!

I looked high and low for a great monkey song and I think I found it with One Monkey Who from the Wiggles cd, Go Bananas!  Everyone danced around the room with their monkeys.  The song gets really fast at the end and super silly! 

Wow!  We needed to sit down and rest at this point so we did a couple quieter activities before our last book.  I found the fingerplay Three Little Monkeys which was super simple and super cute.  Then we sang the Itsy Bitsy Monkey (sung to the tune of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, of course).  We loved the song so much, we sang it twice!  Thanks SurLaLune Storytime for the idea!

Three Little Monkeys

Three little monkeys sitting in a tree   (hold up 3 fingers)
Eating bananas just like me   (pretend to eat a banana)
One had a frown   (make a frown face)
One had a grin   (make a smile)
One had banana all over his chin!   (rub chin)

Itsy Bitsy Monkey (To the tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”)

The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the coconut tree   (Pretend to climb)
Down came a coconut that bopped him on the knee   (Make a fist and touch knee)
Along came his Mama, who kissed away the pain   (Give kisses!)
Then the itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the tree again   (Pretend to climb and reach way up high)

I try to occasionally highlight a nonfiction book and this week it was Monkeys by Valerie Bodden from the Amazing Animals series.  I didn’t read it, but the photos were too wonderful not to show! 

Instead of free play, we finished this week with a craft.  I drew a palm tree on a plain piece of paper and photocopied on cardstock.  I also photocopied cute little monkey heads.  (Thanks About.com for the monkey heads!) The little ones colored their trees and glued on their monkeys.  They turned out great!

Miss Sue has done this theme for Preschool too!  If you would like to see how, click HERE!