Spring Happiness - Family Storytime

A Tuesday morning storytime for ages 0-6 years old.  

Opening #1: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

Opening #2: Roly Poly Oh So Fast (hand rolling body part chant adapted by Carol Hopkins)

Roly poly, roly poly, oh so fast!
Roly poly, roly poly, oh so slowly.
Roly poly, roly poly, up.
Roly poly, roly poly, down.
Roly poly, roly poly, hands on your head.
Roly poly, roly poly, hand on your feet.

(Repeat with other body parts)

Roly poly, roly poly, hands in your lap.

  

 

Literacy activity flannelboard: Bird Shapes (a fun shape and color rhyme I found in my library’s flannelboard collection, it is very similar to this Bird House flannelboard I found at https://fallingflannelboards.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/flannel-friday-bird-houses/ )

 

  

 

Book #1: Hooray for Hoppy! by Tim Hopgood

Stand-up activity: “If You’re Happy and You Know It” traditional movement song from WeeSing

Activity: Jump, Jump Went the Little Green Frog (action chant)

 Jump, jump went the little green frog.

Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog...
And his eyes went blink, blink.

Blink, blink went the little green frog.
Blink, blink went the little green frog.
Blink, blink went the little green frog...
And his tongue went glup, glup.

Glup, glup went the little green frog.
Glup, glup went the little green frog.
Glup, glup went the little green frog...
And his legs went jump, jump.

Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog...
And then he swam away.

Transition: Come 'A' Look And See (fingerplay song I first picked up at a workshop conducted by Jane Cobb but can also be found on the music CD The Baby Record by Bob McGrath)

Come a' look a' see, here's my mama, 
(point to thumb)
Come a' look a' see, here's my papa, 
(point to index finger)
Come a' look a' see, my brother tall, 
(point to tall finger)
Sister, baby, 
(point to ring, then baby finger) 
I love them all. 
(Kiss the fingertips of your finger family) 

  

***Parent literacy tip:  When singing, children hear the same short sentences over and over.  This helps them recognize simple sentence structures and patterns.             

Book #2: Splish, Splash, Spring by Jan Carr, illustrated by Dorothy Donohue  

Book #3: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (Big Book)   

Closing music with bells: “The Tempo Marches On” from Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on His Toe Leg Knee by Jim Gill      

  

Art activity: Nest water color sheets with feathers to glue on 

Optional other books:
A Book of Babies by Il Sung Na
Spring Song by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Greg Newbold

 

 

 

 

 

Shape Adventure - Squares & Rectangles

 A preschool STEAM event.

Goals:

• Expose children to pattern recognition, size, space, position, and critical thinking while exploring and playing with the shapes we find in our world.
• Promote sorting and classifying skills.  
• Enhance vocabulary development.
• Introduce early math concepts.
• Improve understanding of spatial relations.  
• Promote imaginative and creative thinking.  
• Develop fine motor skills.
• Support socialization and communication among young children.  

Station #1: Wood block cabinet 

Station #2: Bean bag toss game with square bean bags

Station #3: Large foam dominoes

Station #4: Block stamping

Station #5: Unifix snap cubes

Shape Adventure - Circles & Spheres

 A preschool STEM adventure centered around shapes!

Station #1 - Wood blocks

Open up the block cabinet for building and engineering fun.  

Station #2 - Ring toss game

Put out this party game for large muscle play.

Station #3 - Water beads and measuring cups

Place a tub of water beads on the floor (on top of a tablecloth) for exploring liquid measurements.

Station #4 - Cheerios bird feeder

This craft table had directions and supplies for making cereal bird feeders with pipe-cleaners.  

Shape of Things - Family Storytime

A Tuesday morning storytime for ages 0-6 years old.  

Opening #1: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

Opening #2: Roly Poly Oh So Fast (hand rolling body part chant adapted by Carol Hopkins)

Roly poly, roly poly, oh so fast!
Roly poly, roly poly, oh so slowly.
Roly poly, roly poly, up.
Roly poly, roly poly, down.
Roly poly, roly poly, hands on your head.
Roly poly, roly poly, hand on your feet.

(Repeat with other body parts)

Roly poly, roly poly, hands in your lap.

 

 

Literacy activity flannelboard: Bird Shapes (a fun shape and color rhyme I found in my library’s flannelboard collection, it is very similar to this Bird House flannelboard I found at https://fallingflannelboards.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/flannel-friday-bird-houses/ )

 

 

  

Book #1: The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds, illustrated by Julie Lacome (big book)

Stand-up activity: “Jumping and Counting” action song by Jim Gill

Sit-down activity: Circles, Triangles, and Rectangles (fingerplay to the tune of "Jingle Bells" written by Carol Hopkins)

Circles round, circles round, circle in the air
Circles can be small or big
We see them everywhere

Triangles, triangles, triangle in the air
Triangles can be slim or huge
We see them everywhere

Rectangles, rectangles, rectangle in the air
Rectangle can be as big as a door
We see them everywhere

 

***Parent literacy tip:  Learning shapes helps get kids ready to learn letters! Learning about any differences will help them, too.    

Transition: 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 

  

Book #2: Guinea Pigs Go Baking by Kate Sheehy (board book)

Book #3: Brown Rabbit’s Shape Book by Alan Baker  

Closing music with jingle bells: “Fruit Salad Salsa” from Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner

  

Art activity: Glue precut shapes onto a paper plate

Optional other books:
Shapes, Reshape! By Silvia Borando
Get Together by Miguel Ordóῆez (board book)

 

 

 

Dinosaur Shapes - Baby Toddler Storytime

A Tuesday morning storytime for ages 0-2 years old.  

Opening #1: Skinnamarink (action song from Car Songs: Songs to Sing Anywhere by Dennis Buck from Kimbo)

Opening #2: Sticky, Sticky Bubblegum (fingerplay)

Sticky, sticky bubblegum, bubblegum, bubblegum; 
Sticky, sticky bubblegum;
Stuck to your __________.
1, 2, 3, PULL!

(Repeat with more body parts)

 

Book: Shape by Shape by Suse Macdonald

Stand-up activity: All Around the Swamp (action song to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus” that I found at Storytime Sprout https://www.storytimesprout.com/post/dinosaur-storytime)

Pteradactyl’s wings went flap, flap, flap
Flap, flap, flap, (x2)
Pteradactyl’s wings went flap, flap, flap
All around the swamp.

 

Triceratops’s horns went poke, poke, poke…

 

Stegosaurus’s feet went stomp, stomp, stomp…

 

Their dinosaur mouths went munch, munch, munch…

 

 Sit-down activity: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (fingerplay song from Car Songs: Songs to Sing Anywhere by Dennis Buck at Kimbo)

***Literacy tip: Learning shapes helps get kids ready to learn letters! Learning about any differences will help them, too.     

Lap rhyme #1: Tick Tock (lap bounce)

(bounce baby from leg to leg)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock.
Tick, tock, tick tock, now it is one o’clock… Cuckoo!
(raise baby up for each cuckoo)

(repeat for other times of day)
Now it is two o’clock… Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Now it is three o’clock… Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

 

Lap rhyme #2: Counting Bubbles (counting rhyme I learned during a BrainDance workshop)

One bubble, two bubbles, three bubbles, top.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then place hands on top of head)

Three bubbles, four bubbles, five bubbles, drop.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then drop hands to lap)

Six bubbles, seven bubbles, nine bubbles, pop.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then clap hands loudly in front of body)

Ten little bubbles floating down!
(twinkle hands down to floor)

Now let’s blow _____ bubbles.
(This is a breath exercise.  Pick a number and pretend to blow that number of bubbles through hand.  Don’t forget to pop the bubbles with a loud clap after blowing it up.  I count the bubble while I do the clap.) 

 

Lap rhyme #3: Roly Poly (hand rolling opposites action rhyme)

Roly poly, roly poly, up, up, up.
Roly poly, roly poly, down, down, down.
Roly poly, roly poly, out, out, out.
Roly poly, roly poly, in, in, in.
Roly poly, roly poly, clap, clap, clap.
Roly poly, roly poly, tap, tap, tap.
Roly poly, roly poly, fast, fast, fast.
Roly poly, roly poly, slow, slow, slow.
Roly poly, roly poly, I love you!

 

Lap rhyme #4: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (traditional body parts action song)

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes,
Knees and toes.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
And eyes and, ears and, mouth and nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

 

Transition: 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 

 

Letter of the day: "B” is for brachiosaurus and big

 

Flannelboard: Ship-Shape Shay (a shape rhyme flannelboard I found in my library’s flannelboard collection)

Closing song with bells and egg shakers: “Ring Them On the Floor” from I Love to Hear the Sounds by Kathy Reid-Naiman