This is the first time in a long time I have been able to focus mainly on books. I've almost completely removed the phrase "the end" from my vocabulary.
Since I no longer signal to them that the book is done, the adults now actually pay attention and stick with the story. Because they pay attention, they spend more time pointing things out to the kids and helping the kids engage with the story. I've also noticed many of the one-year-olds (graduates of last year's Baby Lap Time) have really started participating with the motions on a lot of the songs. This was one of the best story times I've had all Fall.
*Note: I did not have the ukulele for this story time.
Book: First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
I get more comfortable with this book the more times I use it in story time. The group seemed really engaged with it this time, and lots of the little ones were pointing at the illustrations.
Rhyme: Five Eggs and Five Eggs
Book: Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
I personally do not enjoy Lois Ehlert that much, but I do appreciate that kids are drawn to her brightly colored illustrations, and the text is at just the right level for my toddler-heavy story time groups. I also used this book with great success with a group of three-year-olds during an outreach visit last week.
Flannel Board Song: I Like Soup
I started out thinking I would use Laurie Berkner's
"I Feel Crazy so I Jump in My Soup" but then realized it was a little bit too physical for my little guys. So then I played with it a little bit and came up with a similar song to the same tune.
I like carrots, so I put them in my soup.
I like carrots, so I put them in my soup.
I like carrots to I put them in my soup.
And then I stir up my soup!
I printed out some vegetables from kizclub.com's clipart section, found an image of a soup pot on Clker.com and had an instant flannel board. The kids seemed to like stirring. The adults were not very impressed, however, with a soup made of potato, corn, onion, carrot, and mushrooms. Oh well.
Book: A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
Song: Sunny Day
Song: Way Up in the Sky
Song with Puppets: Do You Know...?
Book: Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambeault,
illustrated by Ted Rand
Song: Head and Shoulders
Letter of the Day: Letter K
Songs: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep
Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It
Song: Where is Big Toe?
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.
