Toddlertime - Dance

I expected a big group today since Early Head Start called to say they were coming with 20 kids. They did come but only had about 10 kids. And they were late. Oh well.

Here is what we did:

Open Shut Them
Hilda Must Be Dancing by Wilson

Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill
    They wouldn't stand up. I am not used to that!

I Got the Rhythm by Schofield-Morrison

    Got them to say the action words and do some movements.

Hokey Pokey

Dancing Feet by Craig

    They didn't pay attention to this one since I finally got them up on their feet for the Hokey Pokey. Such a short book I didn't cut it short.

Mexican Hat Dance

Oh What a Miracle by Hap Palmer

Coloring sheet - Hilda in her water ballet suit

Early Lit tip - Background knowledge

A nice storytime that ran a little short since I didn't do anything that needed to be passed out and no flannel stories either. I think I will add them back in for the next one.

Preschool Storytime - Farm animals

Today I did my Farm Storytime for Preschoolers.

It was fantastic!

Here is the stuff I did:

Opening song: Open Shut them
Click Clack Moo! by Cronin
     (they didn't know what a typewritter was - so cute!)
Old MacDonald with puppets
       Very good participation!
Book, Book Book! by Bruss as a flannel board

Mrs. Wishy Washy by Learning Station- from you tube
    They liked this. I had some trouble with the iPad

Mrs. Wish Washy's Farm by Cowley

Farmyard Beat by Craig as a puppet show
    They love this one!

I know a Chicken by Laurie Berkner
     They really got into this song!

No Sleep for Sheep by Beaumont
     It seemed like they needed another one, but this one was too much like Farmyard Beat.

Early Lit Tips: Phonological Awareness, why we do songs with animal sounds.
     I got a few nods from parents. So cool!

Closing song: Oh what a miracle! by Palmer

All in all my best Preschool storytime I have done in a long time.  It was really fun!

Celebrate Summer Family Storytime

A small group and a bit subdued so it was a lot of work to get them interested.

Here is what I did:

The more we get together (uke)
Roland Rolls by Carrey
The wheels on the bus (uke)
Flannel - If you're going to the pool wear...
Flannel - 5 Little Ocean Friends
It's Vacation Time! by Korda
Song - Down by the Sea by Red Grammer
One Hot Summer Day by Crews
I brought our the parachute but not quite enough adults. We did balls and sang popcorn
Shakers to Surfin Safari
May there always be sunshine (uke)

Craft - Shells on the beach

Down on the Farm - Toddlertime

Today I did an old standby, Farm Animals.

Here is what I did:

Open Shut them

Stuck in the Mud by Clarke

     The kids and parents really liked this one. They laughed and did farm animal sounds when I asked them to.

Flannel - Baa baa black sheep - I add more verses with colored sheep and then a rainbow striped one with sparkles for Disco sheep - they loved it

Five Little Chicks by Tafuris

    The children were pretty restless so I opted for this short one

Old MacDonald - with puppets
    Always a hit

Where is the Green Sheep? by Fox

   Another short one with appeal

Instruments to Red Grammer's Down on the Farm

On What a Miracle!

Phonological Awareness was the Early Literacy tip of the day. I talked about why we do animal noises.

I was going to do a puppet show of Farmyard beat but the kids were so restless I figured they wouldn't do well with it today. A small but fun group all in all.

Australian Storytime - toddlers and preschool

This week I did Preschool storytime on Tuesday and Toddlers on Wednesday (today) so I used the same theme.

My Early Literacy topic was vocabulary.

Preschool:
Opening song: Open shut them
book #1 -Marsupial Sue by Lithgow
I just sang the chorus and read the rest.
Song #1  - If you go into the bush
book #2 - Australian Animals by Arnold
    I just showed photos and talked about the animals.
Puppet story - Who Stole the Cookie Dough? by Beaumont
    I used the animals I had
Song #2 - List of Dances by Jim Gill
book #3 - Wombats on Walkabout by Diggory-Shields
Closing song - Oh What a Miracle - by Hap Palmer
Craft - pouches made with paper plates. Threading yarn through holes punched in the sides

A large group with only a few adults so craft was a little much.

Toddlers
Opening song: Open shut them
Book #1 - Wombats on Walkabout by Diggory-Shields
    really held their attention!
Song #1 - Shake your sillies out - Raffi
Puppet story - Who Stole the Cookie Dough? by Beaumont
     They really were captivated by the puppets!
Book #2 - Australian Animals by Arnold
Song #2 - Give me a home among the gum trees by Bob Brown with shakers
     They liked this one.
Book #3 - Boing! by Bruel
   Defiantly lost them at this point.
Song #3 - Wheels on the bus
Closing - Oh what a miracle! by Hap Palmer
Craft - Kangaroo coloring sheet with kangaroo facts on top

Great group! Very attentive except for final book.

interesting blog post

summer reading lists

Toddler Time - Bugs!

I am back at my home branch and back doing toddlers. Here is what I did today:

Opening song: Open shut them
Book #1;The Very Hungry Caterpiller by Carle
Fingerplay:Itsy bitsy spider
Book #2: Tiny Little Fly by Rosen
Flannel Stories: 5 little ladybugs and 5 colorful butterflies
Song: Shoo Fly with puppets
Book #3: Can You Make a Scary Face? by Thomas
Butterfly by Mariah Carey with scarves
Scarves up and down with scarves by Johnette Downing
Closing song:Oh what a miracle!

This is a storytime I have done many times and it is a good one. The Mariah Carey song was not as popular as I was thinking so I switched to the Downing song. The Jan Thomas was a hit as always.