Valentine Love Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

 

 

• Book #1 – How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague

• Stand-up Activity – I Have a Little Heart (action chant I picked up someplace, I have seen different adaptations of it in many places)

I have a little heart
(hand over heart)
And it goes thump, thump, thump
(pat chest with fingers)
It keeps right on beating when I jump, jump, jump
(jump)
I get a special felling when I look at you
(point to children)
It makes me want to blow a kiss or two
(blow kisses)

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - Eight Valentine Cards (counting  backwards story found in Artsy Toddler Storytimes by Carol Garnett Hopkins)

• Letter of the Day - "V" is for Valentine

• Book #2 – Where Is Baby's Valentine? by Karen Katz (lift-the-flap board book)

• Activity – Valentine, Valentine (action rhyme similar to the traditional "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around")

Valentine, Valentine turn around.
Valentine, Valentine touch the ground.
Valentine, Valentine blow a kiss.
Valentine, Valentine swim like a fish.
Valentine, Valentine give a hug.
Valentine, Valentine jump like a bug.
Valentine, Valentine find your feet.
Valentine, Valentine find your seat.

• Closing - Dance with scarves to the song "Shake Your Scarves" from The Second Line: Scarf Activity Songs by Johnette Downing

   

 

• Art Experience – Place heart stickers on paper heart cut outs

January Library Lady

I had another fun visit with the ECEAP classes this month.  

  

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems 
Don't Touch This Book! by Bill Cotter 
Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz 

  

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard 
Tails by Matthew Van Fleet (lift-the-flap)
Ziggy the Zebra by Libby Ellis, illustrated by Salina Yoon (pop-up) 

Shadows with a Groundhog Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

   

 

• Book #1 – Who Will See Their Shadows This Year? by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by David Biedrzycki

• Stand-up Activity – What Is a Shadow? (action rhyme I found in STEP Into Storytime by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Kathy Fling Klatt)

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - Guess That Shadow! (rhyme and flannelboard game I found on the blog Sunflower Storytime)

• Letter of the Day - "S" is for shadow

• Book #2 – Groundhog Day by Clara Cella

• Activity – "The Tempo Marches On" from Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi On His Toe Leg Knee by Jim Gill 

• Closing - Dance with scarves to the song "Shake Your Scarves" from The Second Line: Scarf Activity Songs by Johnette Downing

  

 

• Art Experience – Use a glue stick on a shadow matching worksheet (I did all of the cutting before hand)

Fancy Pets Preschool Storytime

Storytime for 3 to 5 year olds:

• Opening - "A Tooty Ta" from Dance Like This by Mr. Al

• Number literacy activity - Fancy Numbered Goldfish  (A number ranking rhyme written by Carol Hopkins. I was inspired by a goldfish rhyme I found at Sunflower Storytime.)

Directions: Hand out numbered goldfish to each child.  The child brings up their fish when the number on their fish is said.

Fancy numbered goldfish at the pet store.

Fancy numbered goldfish I bought for my fishbowl.

First I took the 1 fish, for the one I love.

Second I took the 2 fish, for the two cents I keep in my pocket.

Third I took the 3 fish, for some three-on-three swimming.

Fourth I took the 4 fish, because four is a four-letter word.  

  

  

  

  

• Book #1 - One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail

• Stand-up activity - Can You? (action chant adapted by Carol Hopkins from one I found at Roving Fiddlehead KidLit)

Can you stretch your neck like a giraffe?

Can you hop like a frog?

Can you bark like a dog?

Can you slither like a snake?

Can you fly like a parrot?

Can you wiggle your nose like a rabbit?

Can you swim like a fish?

Can you stretch like a cat?

Can you sit like a kid at storytime?

• Sit down activity - Five Kittens (fingerplay I found at Roving Fiddlehead KidLit)

• Book #2 - Tails Are Not for Pulling by Elizabeth Verdick, illustrated by Marieka Heinlen

• Book #3 - Dog by Matthew Van Fleet, photography by Brian Stanton (pop-up)

• Closing - Egg shakers to the song "I Can Shake My Shaker Egg" from Rockin' Red from the Learning Groove by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael 

  

 

• Art experience - Glue a fish shape, stick on some small dot stickers, and color with crayons to create a paper plate fishbowl

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2018 - Non-fiction Children's Books

Every year I spend the last few weeks of the year compiling my favorite book finds of the year.  They are not always new books.  Just books I discovered for the first time and really, really liked.

CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION BOOK DISCOVERIES FOR 2018:

 

Do Not Lick This Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost

Min is a microbe. She is small. Very small. In fact, so small that you'd need to look through a microscope to see her. Or you can simply open this book and take Min on an adventure to amazing places she's never seen before -- like the icy glaciers of your tooth or the twisted, tangled jungle of your shirt. The perfect book for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the world

Meditate with Me: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Journey by Mariam Gates, illustrated by Margarita Surnaite

This accessible and fun guide to meditation and mindfulness is the perfect introduction for young children.  Kids will learn how to focus on their breath, on the sensations in their body, and on the sounds around them to help them relax, settle their busy minds, and understand their emotions.

One Wave at a Time: A Story About Grief and Healing by Holly Thompson, illustrated by Ashley Crowley

A boy dealing with the loss of his father describes the many waves of emotion that come with the grieving process: sad waves, mad waves, fear waves, even happy waves. As the boy and his family learn to adjust to life without Dad, the waves still come, but with help from friends, they learn to cope and heal.

SPECIAL VIDEO BONUS:

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

A strange flower grants a young girl magical powers, which leads to the adventure of a lifetime.

Miss Carol's Best Book Finds of 2018 -- Picture Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2018 -- Middle Grade Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2018 -- Middle Grade Books

Every year I spend the last few weeks of the year compiling my favorite book finds of the year.  They are not always new books.  Just books I discovered for the first time and really, really liked.

MIDDLE GRADE CHAPTER BOOK DISCOVERIES FOR 2018:

 

A Dash of Trouble: Love Sugar Magic by Anna Meriano

Leonora Logroño’s family owns the most beloved bakery in Rose Hill, Texas. Leo discovers that her mother, aunt, and four older sisters have been keeping a big secret: they’re brujas—witches of Mexican ancestry—who pour a little bit of sweet magic into everything that they bake.

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty

Bronte is ten years old when she receives a letter saying that her long-absent parents have been killed by pirates, and the lawyers tell her that their will (reinforced with serious magic) requires her to deliver gifts to her ten other aunts (not Aunt Isabelle, whom she lives with), and to start the trip immediately and alone--but as she travels the kingdoms, she begins to suspect that there is more to this journey than delivering treasures, and that her parents had more secrets than she ever realized.

 

The Lotterys More or Less by Emma Donaghue

Sumac Lottery is the keeper of her family's traditions -- from Pow Wow to Holi, Carnival to Hogmanay, Sumac's on guard to make sure that no Lottery celebration gets forgotten. But this winter all Sumac's seasonal plans go awry when a Brazilian visitor overstays his welcome. A terrible ice storm grounds all flights, so one of her dads and her favorite brother can't make it home from India. And then the power starts going out across the city... Can Sumac hang on to the spirit of the season, even if nothing is going like a Lottery holiday should?

Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley

Mischievous woodland fairy Nix is up to no good. His beloved fairy queen has gone away, leaving him with a very important job: He must protect the forest from a most dangerous enemy—humans.

Miss Carol's Best Book Finds of 2018 -- Picture Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2018 - Non-fiction Children's Books