Baby/Toddler Story Time, 4/3/12

It is so hard to come back to story time after a long weekend filled with family and bus rides and sleeping on an air mattress, and harder still to do three story times in a row. As you can see, to make it bearable I varied my routine slightly for the third group. Because I was so tired and planned at the last minute, these weren't the best story times ever, but they were still not bad. Most of the adults participated, and the crowd was somewhat smaller since families are on Spring Break. Here's how it went:


Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Book: First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2007)
I like this book a lot because it's simple, interesting to look at, and works on a number of levels for a number of different ages. 

Rhyme: Five Eggs and Five Eggs

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers (Sessions 1 and 2); This is Big, Big, Big (Session 3)

Book: I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy (2003)
I have heard about this book in a lot of different places, but didn't love it as much as I expected. The one highlight, though, was all the kids blowing kisses to the baby duck.

Song: All the Pigs 
Today we sang about cows, dogs, cats, sheep, and bees.

Song: Head and Shoulders 

Song: Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands (Sessions 1 and 2); I'm a Little Teapot (Session 3)

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Put Your Finger in the Air 

Flannel Board Rhyme: This Little Baby 

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Chickadee (Session 1)

Song: You Are My Sunshine

Song: Where is Big Toe? (Session 1); Chickadee (Session 3)

Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

After School Craft (sans Read Aloud), 3/29/12

Last week's after school program attracted so few kids that I skipped the read-aloud part. I know that sounds terrible, but the two kids who came on time for the activity did their craft and left immediately thereafter, so by the time it was time to read, there was no one to read to. So we just did the craft, and about an hour later I saw a number of moms and nannies choose books from my display to either share in the library or take home with them. So all was not lost.

The Craft: Beaded Pipe Cleaner Bracelets

I. Supplies:

• Pony beads
• Colored pipe cleaner

II. Prep
No preparation required - my favorite kind of craft! I set the beads out in bowls and provided a pile of pipe cleaners. The kids did the rest.

III. Process
One child took a set of beads and a pipe cleaner home for himself and his sister. He was careful to pick out lots of pinks and purples because those were his and his sister's favorite colors. The other two girls who came didn't seem to have a method for beading, but one strung a bunch of pipe cleaners together to make a huge necklace.

The Display: Books About Things You Wear

• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• Do You Have a Hat? by Eileen Spinelli
• The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
• When I Wore My Sailor Suit by Uri Shulevitz

 (There were more titles on this list, but it's been five days and I don't remember them now!)

2012 Picture Book Challenge: March Wrap-Up Post

This year I'm participating in the Read To Me Picture Book Challenge hosted by There's a Book. My goal is to read 700 qualifying books. (The challenge focuses on not just picture books, but board books and easy readers as well. Read more about the challenge, and my goal, here.)

Each month, I'll be posting a list of the picture books I've read, with links* to related reviews and story time posts. Below are the books I read for this challenge in March.

	Blue Sky by Audrey Wood
	Butterfly Garden by Margaret McNamara
	Good-bye, Curtis! by Kevin Henkes
	Amelia Bedelia and the Baby by Peggy Parish
	Ride, Fly Guy, Ride! by Tedd Arnold
	Yoko Learns to Read by Rosemary Wells
	A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
	If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond
	Pinkalicious: The Princess of Pink Slumber Party by Victoria Kann
	Splat the Cat Takes the Cake  by Rob Scotton
	Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins
	Mr. Griggs' Work by Cynthia Rylant
	Rain Talk by Mary Serfozo
	Tina Cocolina: Queen of the Cupcakes by Pablo Cartaya
	Wake Up, Baby! by Joanne Oppenheim
	Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements
	Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
	Sleepy Kittens by Jill Leman
	Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka
	Out Came the Sun: A Day in Nursery Rhymes by Heather Collins
	Olivia by Ian Falconer
	In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
	Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian
	Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
	Ella Sarah Gets Dressed Helen Chodos-Irvine
	Inch By Inch by Leo Lionni
	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
	The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
	Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
	Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman
	The Village Garage by G. Brian Karas
	My Truck is Stuck by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
	A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
	Truck by Donald Crews
	Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
	Hot Air by Marjorie Priceman
	Owen by Kevin Henkes
	Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
	In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming
	And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin Stead
	Up, Tall and High by Ethan Long
	Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
	Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes
	Hippety Hop, Hippety Hay by Opal Dunn
	Playtime Rhymes for Little People by Clare Beaton
	The Gingerbread Girl Goes Animal Crackers by Lisa Campbell Ernst
	Demolition by Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
	Jack and the Beanstalk by Nina Crews
	Moonlight by Helen Griffith, illustrated by Laura Dronzak
	Library Lily by Gillian Shields
	Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed by Eileen Christelow
	Mary and Her Little Lamb by Will Moses
	I'm Fast! by Kate McMullan
	The Queen of France by Tim Wadham
	The Easter Bunny's Assistant by Jan Thomas
	First Day of School by Anne Rockwell
	One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small
	Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson
	Another Brother by Matthew Cordell
	Swirl by Swirl by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes
	Look for the Lorax by Tish Rabe
	Carl at the Dog Show by Alexandra Day
	Love, Mouserella by David Ezra Stein
	Hilary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull
	A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee
	Dixie and the Class Treat by Grace Gilman
	Lunch by Denise Fleming
	What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
	The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
	Hondo and Fabian by Peter McCarty
	Jump! by Steve Lavis
	Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
	Junglewalk by Nancy Tafuri
	My Daddy by Susan Paradis
	Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
	I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
	Bad Frogs by Thacher Hurd
	God's Dream by Desmond Tutu
	Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri
	Max Goes on the Bus by Adria F. Klein
	Young Cam Jansen and the New Girl Mystery by David A. Adler
	Young Cam Jansen and the Molly Shoe Mystery by David A. Adler
	Young Cam Jansen and the Double Beach Mystery by David A. Adler
	Young Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery by David A. Adler
	Young Cam Jansen and the Lions' Lunch Mystery by David A. Adler
	I Know a Bridge by Jeff Sheppard
	When You Were Just a Little Girl by B.G. Hennessey
	Biscuit Takes a Walk by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Wants to Play by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit's Day at the Farm by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit's Big Friend by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Finds a Friend by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit and the Little Pup by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Goes to School by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Bathtime for Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Visits the Big City by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Meets the Class Pet by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit Wins a Prize by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit and the Baby by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Biscuit's New Trick by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean? by Lauren Child
	I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges
	The Happy Egg by Ruth Krauss
	Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
	In the Garden: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George
	Clarice Bean, Guess Who's Babysitting? by Lauren Child
	Biscuit Plays Ball by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
	Clarice Bean, That's Me! by Lauren Child

*Some reviews for these books will post in April. I will update this page with those links when they are available.