I think a lot of our story time families are away this month, so this story time was on the small and quiet side again this week. There were 7 kids in all, 5 of whom were over the age of four. Aside from the hello song, we didn't do any singing, but that was fine because they were not at all an active or distracted group.
Book: A House is a House For Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
I read this book to three-year-olds at the rec. center once, with surprisingly great results. I tried to recreate that at this story time, but it didn't have quite the same effect. One boy loved it, but the other kids seemed indifferent.
Book: This is Our House by Hyewon Yum
This is a new book, and I really like it. It's a simple and gentle story about two generations growing up in the same house. It wouldn't work for a huge group, but for this small, intimate setting it was perfect.
Flannel Board Story: The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood
I used this clipart from MakingLearningFun.com as my flannel board pieces, and told the story mostly from memory, with just a few quick hints on the backs of the pieces and on a little piece of paper. The kids were into it, and one kid found the whole story just hilarious. I wanted them to join in with me on some of the repeated bits, but they seemed too shy to be comfortable, so I didn't push it.
Book: Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House by Libby Gleeson
This is another quiet book, but I was correct in thinking it would resonate with this age group. One boy even made a connection to Not a Box, which we read at this story time a few weeks ago.
Book: Moving House by Mark Siegel
This last book ended story time on a silly and surreal level. The oldest boy in the room was especially pleased that he figured out the joke - that "moving house" means moving, and that it refers to an actual "moving house." I would use this again in a rec. center or Pre-K setting.
Coloring Activity: Inside and Outside of a House
I used the outline of a house as my template, then drew lines through the center to separate the outline into the different rooms of a house. I flipped the template around and removed the lines on the reverse side of the page, then cut the entire house out so the kids could design an interior and exterior. Many of them just did their own thing, which is fine with me, but I'm thinking of re-using this activity with my more advanced beginning readers group at the end of the month.
I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.
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