Snow Much Fun Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

  

 

• Book #1 – One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith

• Stand-up Activity – "When It's Cold Outside" from Pick Me Up! Fun Songs for Learning Signs by Roger Treece and Nancy Stewart

• 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 - Five Little Snowmen (counting backwards rhyme I found somewhere many years ago)

Five little snowmen all made of snow.
Five little snowmen all in a row.
Out came the sun and shone all day.
And one little snowman melted away.

(continue rhyme counting down until you get to two snowmen)

The last two snowmen made a good plan.

Into my kitchen They both ran,

Hopped in my freezer where the temperature's right,

And they come out to play on very cold nights.

• Letter of the Day - "W" is for winter

• Book #2 – Millions of Snowflakes by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles

• Activity – Itsy Bitsy Snowflake (fingerplay I found in a Mailbox Preschool magazine, December/January 2007-8, page 26)

• Closing - Scarves to the song "Popcorn Calling Me" from Buzz Buzz by Laurie Berkner 

    

 

• Art Experience – Print snowflakes on blue construction paper using white and paint and plastic receipt roll centers

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 - 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 2019:

   

Finding the Speed of Light: The 1676 Discovery that Dazzled the World by Mark Weston

Describes how Danish astronomer Ole Romer measured the speed of light using a crude telescope and a mechanical timepiece.

Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girls’ Guide to Disney Animation by Mindy Johnson 

A fun and inspiring look at many of the amazing women who have worked at Disney Animation over the years--from Story Artists, to Animators to Inkers and Painters, all with unique personalities and accomplishments, such as becoming a record-holding pilot, or designing Hollywood monsters, or creating an international club for tall people!

Pollen: Darwin’s 130 year Prediction by Darcy Pattison

How long does it take for science to find an answer to a problem? On January 25, 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids. One flower, the Madagascar star orchid, fascinated him. How, he wondered, did insects pollinate the orchid? After experiments, he made a prediction. In 1992 a German entomologist captured the first photo of the hawk moth pollinating the flower, as Darwin had predicted 130 years before. 

 

Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho

Mars has a visitor. It likes to roam, observe, measure, and collect. It explores the red landscape - crossing plains, climbing hills, and tracing the bottoms of craters - in search of water and life. It is not the first to visit Mars. It will not be the last. But it might be the most curious.

Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot’s World War II Story by Marc Tyler Nobleman

In this important and moving true story of reconciliation after war, beautifully illustrated in watercolor, a Japanese pilot bombs the continental U.S. during WWII--the only enemy ever to do so--and comes back 20 years later to apologize.

Miss Carol's Best Book Finds of 2019 -- Picture Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 -- Middle Grade Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 -- 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 2019:

 

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee 

Min, a thirteen-year-old girl with fox-magic, stows away on a battle cruiser and impersonates a cadet in order to solve the mystery of what happened to her older brother in the Thousand World Space Forces.

Megabat and Fancy Cat by Anna Humphrey

Megabat was looking forward to Christmas morning: presents, p-laying toys, smoosh fruit and watching Star Wars. But then Daniel opened his last, most special present. Daniel thinks this might be the best Christmas present yet: a beautiful cat named Priscilla! But is there more than meets the eye with this furry menace?

Miss Carol's Best Book Finds of 2019 -- Picture Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 - Non-fiction Children's Books

Miss Carol's Best Book Finds of 2019 -- Picture 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.

PICTURE BOOK DISCOVERIES FOR 2019:

  

Are You Scared Darth Vader? by Adam Rex 

Although he professes to fear nothing, it turns out that the most-feared villain in the Star Wars universe may not be so fearless after all.

Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank 

Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell 

The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.

  

Crash, Splash, or Moo! by Bob Shea 

Mr. McMonkey hosts a game in which the reader is invited to guess whether a stunt will result in a crash, a splash, or a moo.

Don’t Play with Your Food! by Bob Shea 

A monster named Buddy is determined to eat some cute little bunnies, until they prove to be more enjoyable as playmates.  

Everybunny Dance! by Ellie Sandall 

Bunnies dance, play, sing, and learn to include everyone in their games.  

  

The Fox on the Swing by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė

A boy named Paul lives in a cozy treehouse in a big city with his family. And then something unexpected happens--Paul befriends a wise, friendly fox on a walk home from the bakery.  The fox gives Paul a space to think about what makes him happy and what friendship means.  

Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer

Have you ever had a grumpy day and not known why? Penguin is having a grumpy day like that. No matter what he does, he just can't shake it! Sometimes the only thing left to do is wash the grumpy day away and start over.  

Just Add Glitter by Angela DiTerlizzi 

 Illustrations and simple, rhyming text encourages the reader to add glitter to everything in sight, until even what should really sparkle is obscured.

   

A Parade of Elephants by Keven Henkes

Illustrations and easy-to-read text introduce such basic concepts as adjectives, adverbs, daytime, and nighttime as they follow five elephants marching from dawn to dusk.

Thank you, Omu! by Oge Mora 

When the aroma of Omu's homemade stew fills the air, her neighbors arrive, one by one, for a taste until all is gone except for her generous spirit.

This Book Is Magic by Ashley Evanson 

Do you know that you're a magician? In this interactive book, use your fingers to perform all kinds of magic tricks. Tap a hat to make a bunny appear, recite a spell to make books bigger, say "Gone-zo!" to make a ship disappear, and much more. But beware: the clever magic tricks don't always turn out the way you'd expect! 

What’s Next Door? by Nicola O’Byrne 

The crocodile from Open Very Carefully is back, and he's not happy. All he wants to do is find his way home, but he can't get there by himself -- he needs your help! In this unique interactive book, children are encouraged to take part in the story and use their imaginations to guide him door-to-door on his journey. Will he ever find his way home?

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 -- Middle Grade Books

Miss Carol's Favorite Book Finds of 2019 - Non-fiction Children's Books

Winter Wonderland Guest Reader for 1st Grade Class

The day before Winter Break started I was invited to be a guest reader for a first grade class.  It was part of their "Winter Wonderland" celebration.  I read these fun books:

   

A Big Bed for Little Snow by Grace Lin 

Cookie Count: A Tasty Pop-up by Robert Sabuda (pop-up)

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

 

Rhinos Who Snowboard by Julie Mammano 

The Snowmen: Pop-up Book by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner (pop-up) 

Minecraft Build Competition: Winter Break Edition

Theme: Ice Mansion

Hosted another successful (yet low attended) Minecraft Build Competition during the holiday break. (To read how I run my Minecraft program, please read my past post on the topic.) This program is still a lot of fun to offer. 

How the children interpreted this theme was very interesting.  I would not necessarily call the buildings they built as mansions.  But it was fun watching the children work out how to place snow and fire next to each other. Also, many of the children found creative ways to add blocks that looked like snow but wasn't ice blocks.  

  

Bugs Bugging You Preschool Storytime

Storytime for 3 to 5 year olds:

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

• Literacy activity - Crunching Caterpillar 

I handed every child one colored leaf.  When I said their color, each child brought up their leaf to place on the board.  We then counted the leaves at the end.  I adapted this idea from something I saw in a Preschool Mailbox magazine (April/May 2008, page 34).

(sung to the tune of "Did You Ever See a Lassie")

Did you ever see a caterpillar, a caterpillar, a caterpillar?

Did you ever see a caterpillar chew on a [PURPLE] leaf?

He'll go crunch, crunch, crunch,

And munch, munch, munch.

Did you ever see a caterpillar chew on a [PURPLE]?

        

  

  

• Book #1 - The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle 

• Stand-up activity - "Baby Bumblebee" from Toddler Action Songs by Cedarmont Kids

• Sit down activity - Two Moths (fingerplay written by Carol Hopkins)

I see two moths flying toward the light
They fly around in circles
Sometimes they fly fast
Sometimes they fly slow
But never do they touch that light as they fly out of sight

• Book #2 - Snappy Little Bug by Claire Nielson and Dug Steer, illustrated by Derek Matthews (pop-up)  

• Book #3 - Who's Bugging You?: A Sliding Surprise Book by Charles Reasoner (board book) 

• Closing - Tambourines to the song "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)" from Buzz Buzz by Laurie Berkner 

 

• Art experience - Dot stickers and crayons on a "Lots of Spots" caterpillar worksheet I found in a Mailbox magazine