Spring Animals Preschool Story Time, 4/12/13

Rhyme: There Was a Little Turtle
I introduced this as a rhyme, but a child informed me it didn't rhyme so it has to be called a poem. This is the second time in two weeks I have been called out about this by a four year old!

Book: Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
I love this book so much, and the kids did, too.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Book: Guess What I’ll Be by Anni Axworthy
This was a perfect guessing game for this mostly-four-year-old group. 

Song with Poster: Over in the Meadow 
One little girl got really into  this song. Another asked questions after each verse. It was much more successful this time than the last  time I used it.

Books: Big Woods Orchestra by Guido Van Genechten
The kids showed no interest in this book during story time, but then they asked me to read it again during the craft. I read an abbreviated version without all the bird calls, and somehow they seemed to like that better than the first time through when I made all the silly sounds!

Craft: Bird Coloring Page 
Everyone got really into the design of their birds. Even some older girls who didn't come to story time stopped by to do some coloring!


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.

Spring Animals Toddler Lap Time, 4/12/13

Song: Way Up in the Sky

Book: It's Spring! by Samantha Berger 

Flannel Board Rhyme: Hippety Hop Hippety Hay

Flannel Board Song: Mary Had a Little Lamb (with different-colored lambs)

Book: Flip, Flap, Fly by Phyllis Root

Song with Puppets: Did you ever see...?

Song: Hands Up High
I have never seen parents participate so well! These people were on their feet the whole time and super-involved.

Song: Head and Shoulders

Songs and Rhymes with Shaker Eggs: We were such a small group, I gave shakers to the adults, too. That seemed to work pretty well, so I might try to make some more so we can do that every session without worrying we'll run out.

• Song: Shake My Sillies Out
• Song: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me?
• Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

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.

Spring Animals Drop-In Story Time, 4/12/13

Book: Splish, Splash, Spring by Jan Carr

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Book: A Good Day by Kevin Henkes

Song: Way Up in the Sky

Letter of the Day: R

• Book: My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell
• Flannel Board Rhyme: Hippety Hop Hippety Hay
• Song with Puppets: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Hands Up High

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Chickadee

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

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.

Spring Animals Baby Lap Time, 4/11/13

 Spring Animals Baby Lap Time, 4/11/13

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Book: Hop! by Phyllis Root
I haven't used this book in a couple of years, and it wasn't as great as I remembered. It rhymes, though, and the babies did seem to enjoy hearing the language.

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies

Song: All the Little Babies

Book: In My Nest by Sara Gillingham
This would not have been my first choice for a baby story time book, but it worked out okay.

Rhyme with stick puppets: Two Little Blackbirds
My birds do not stay on my stick puppets because the birds are too large. Next time we might have to do this on the flannel board.

Song: Tony Chestnut

Rhyme: One Two, One Two
We'll keep using this one for a few weeks. It's catching on.

Rhyme: Mother and Father and Uncle John

Song: ABCs

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Rhyme with Puppets: I’m a Little Bumblebee
This group liked this rhyme much more than others I have shared it with recently.

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Where is Big Toe?
This is the perfect song to plug in when the program is running short and everybody's attention is still with you.

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

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.

Spring Animals Toddler Lap Time, 4/11/13

Spring Animals Toddler Lap Time, 4/11/13

(What you see on the wall behind the flannel board in this photo is part of a diagram of the water cycle that my amazing colleague drew for her Explorers' Club program.)

Song: Way Up in the Sky
We are now doing this song at basically every session, and almost all the kids know the motions, even toddlers I might have thought were too young. It's my new favorite.

Book: Who’s Awake in Springtime? by Phillis Gershator
This book is... just not good. It doesn't make sense and the ending is confusing.

Flannel Board Rhyme: Hippety Hop Hippety Hay

Flannel Board Song: Mary Had a Little Lamb (with different-colored lambs)

Book: Flip, Flap, Fly by Phyllis Root
I still love this book - we'll use it again in the afternoon session.

Song with Puppets: Did you ever see...?
We sang about the ladybug, bumblebee, and butterfly.

Song: Hands Up High

Song: Head and Shoulders

Songs and Rhymes with Shaker Eggs

• Song: Shake My Sillies  Out 
• Rhyme: Shake, Shake, Shake
• Song: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me?

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It


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.

Spring Animals Drop-In Story Time, 4/9/13

Spring Animals Drop-In Story Time, 4/9/13

Song with Puppets: When Cows Get Up in the Morning 
I really like this song as an alternative to Old MacDonald. The kids seemed to enjoy it more, too.

Book: In the Spring by Craig Brown
This is a good book for introducing the correct names for the mother and baby animals. The ending, where the farmer's wife has twins, is cute, but not particularly exciting. It went over fine, but it's never going to become a favorite.

Song: Way up in the Sky
We have been doing this song pretty regularly for a few weeks, and this morning, I noticed that many of the little toddlers know all the motions. We sang it twice - as we usually do - to give them a chance to show off! 

Book: Birds by Kevin Henkes
This book was a bit long for my antsy group this morning, though the ones who paid attention showed the usual enthusiasm. The high temperature here today is 88, and it was pretty warm this morning, so I'm not surprised that the kids were a bit distracted.

Rhyme: When Skies Turn Blue
This is the first half of a poem. The kids didn't like it as much as I expected, though they did all of  the motions with me.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out 

Letter of  the Day: Q

• Flannel Board Poem: The Quilt that Grandma Made
• Flannel Board Story: Quiet, Quiet said the Queen
  (I have scheduled Flannel Friday posts about each of these flannel boards - stay tuned!)

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song with Ukulele: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It


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.