B is for...

B is such a fun letter to do in storytime because there are so many fun words that start with the letter B!!  Bubbles, balloons, butterflies, beanbags, blocks, bugs, bumblebees, bears, balls, books, bananas, bird, boats...  With all these great B words it can be challenging to narrow down a storytime focusing on the letter B.

Books

The Biggest Bed in the World  by Lindsay Camp

This is a great story with lots of "B" words for the children to say--even all the children's names start with a B!

I Love Bugs!  by Emma Dodd

This book has large, clear, and simple text.  It is a great book to read with your child and talk about what bugs they like and where they have seen bugs.  This books also lends itself nicely for a bug hunt and allow children to get a close-up look at bugs!

Fingerplays/Songs/Rhymes

Five Little Butterflies   (from preschoolexpress.com)

Five little butterflies on flowers galore,
One flew off, then there were four.

(repeat after each "verse")

*Butterfly, Butterfly, happy all day,

Butterfly, Butterfly, fly fly away.

Four little butterflies among the sweet peas.
One flew off, then there were three. *

Three little butterflies with nothing to do,
One flew off, then there were two. *

Two little butterflies resting in the sun,
One flew off, then there was one. *

One little butterfly, now the only one,
She flew off, then there were none. *

Beanbag Song  (Totline Magazine, July/August 1999, p. 24)

(Sung to:  If you're happy and you know it)

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair

Put your beanbag on your hair and leave it right up there

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair.

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground

Put your beanbag on the ground, now step and step around

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground.

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe

Put your beanbag on your toe, lift it high and and lift it low

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe.

Put your beanbag in your hand, in your hand.

Put your beanbag in your hand, in your hand.

Put your beanbag in your hand, toss it up and watch it land. 

Put your beanbag in your hand, in your hand.

Little Boy Blue

Little Boy Blue come blow your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haystack, fast asleep.

Enrichment Activities

• Butterly (made from a gallon size plastic bag and a variety of colorful items)  From http://www.rainbowstarbooks.com/butterflyunit
• Bug counters
• Large wooden beads and string
• Trace the ball bounces (from http://www.kidslearningstation.com/tracing-lines/trace-curved-lines.asp )

A is for Apples

Each month I visit two daycares/preschools.  I love visiting these centers and enjoy sharing some songs and stories with them.    This month the storytime theme was Apples.  The visits were several weeks apart this month so I changed a few things for the second visit.  Here are the books, songs, and fingerplays I did at one or both places.

Books:

Up, Up, Up! It's Apple-Picking Time by Jody Fickes Shapiro

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert

Flannel board/songs/fingerplays:

Star in the Apple
Once upon a time a little boy was tired of playing with his toys.  He whined to his mother, "I'm bored!  There's nothing to do!"  Mother suggested he go outside and find a small red house with no windows and no doors but with a star inside.  The little boy thought that sounded like fun so off he went.  He looked and looked but couldn't find the small red house with no windows and no doors with a star inside.  Soon he came to a dog.  "What are you doing?" asked dog.  "I am looking for a small red house with no windows and no doors with a star inside.  Have you seen one?" the boy replied.  "No, I haven't," said the dog, "but I am curious about this little red house with no windows and no doors with a star inside.  Could I come with you to look?"  "Of course," said the boy.  So together they set off.
Continue the story with the boy meeting several different animals, such as a cat, duck, horse or cow.
Finally the boy and the dog and the... and the... and the ... came to a little old lady.  The boy asked, "We are looking for a small red house with no windows and no doors but with a star inside.  Have you seen it?"  "Why, indeed I have!" answered the old lady.  She reached up and plucked an apple from the apple tree.  "Here is a small red house with no windows and no doors."  "I guess", answered the boy, "but there is no star inside.  I know.  I've eaten an apple before."  Then the old woman carefully cut the apple in half and showed the boy.  "There is a star in the middle of an apple!"

Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree,
Four little apples hung over me.
I shook the tree as hard as I could
Down came an apple.  Crunch!
Mmmmmm! It was good!

Ten Red Apples Guessing Game (from prekfun.com)

Ten red apples growing on a tree

Five for you and five for me.

There’s one little worm that you can’t see!

Where, oh where, could that little worm be?

I made ten apples  and one worm  using clipart then printed them on cardstock and numbered them.  I put a magnet on the back of each and used a cookie sheet to play the game.  Both times I hid the worm under number 7 and it was last or second to last to be picked!

ROUND THE APPLE TREE (from alphabet-soup.net)

 (Tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush")

Verse 1:

Here we go round the apple tree,

The apple tree, the apple tree.

Here we go round the apple tree,

So early in the morning.

Verse 2: This is the way we plant the seeds.

Verse 3: This is the way the little seed sprouts.

Verse 4: This is the way it grows to a tree.

Verse 5: This is the way the flowers blossom.

Verse 6: This is the way the apples grow.

Verse 7: This is the way the apples are picked.

A is for...

Today in storytime we started our alphabet adventure with the letter A.  The letter A is interesting because it can make several different sounds (short a as in apple, long a as in acorn, air as in airplane, ar as in Arctic, and aw as in autumn).  This, of course, can be very confusing to children so I choose to focus on the short a sound.  The primary reason for this is because when children start to read some of their first words are cat, rat, hat, etc. all with a short a sound in them.

Although each of the five early literacy activities are usually quite integrated this outline will point how each is used in storytime--Singing, Talking, Reading, Playing and Writing.

Books (of course fall into the reading category, but also lend themselves nicely to talking)

Young Mouse and Elephant:  An East African Folktale by Pamela J. Farris
(Animals from Africa)

This books allows children to name different animals found in Africa and talk about how strong a little mouse really is.

A isn't for Fox:  An Isn't Alphabet  by Wendy Ulmer

This rhyming book allows children to look at the pictures to find things that really begin with each letter of the alphabet.  The whimsical pictures are silly and fun to talk about.
[This book was a little long for the three year olds, so on Thursday I read Snip, Snap! instead.]

Snip, Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman

This story keeps kids on the edge of their seats as they anticipate what is coming into the house and then waiting to find out how the children get away.  Parents and children can talk about what scares them and how they can deal with those fears.

Songs and Nursery Rhymes (singing, talking and writing):
The songs we sing every week are along the right side of the blog.

The Ants Go Marching
Parents can count with their children before or after the song

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching one by one, the littlest stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down...to the ground...to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching two by two, the littlest stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down...to the ground...to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching three by three, the littlest stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down...to the ground...to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching four by four, the littlest stops to shut the door
And they all go marching down...to the ground...to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah
The ants go marching five by five, the littlest shouts, "I'm glad I'm alive!"
And they all go marching down...to the ground...to get out of the rain
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One, Two Buckle My Shoe
The words are in a sentence strip pocket chart and I point to the words as we say the rhyme together.  At home a parent can easily point to words in a book.

One, two buckle my shoe
Three, four shut the door
Five, six pick up sticks
Seven, eight lay them straight
Nine, ten a big fat hen!

Enrichment Activities  (playing, writing, talking, reading)

• Match animals and their shadows by drawing a line (from www.tlsbooks.com/preschoolworksheets.htm)
• Play dough with alphabet letter "cookie cutters"
• Sort animals into "farm animals" and "zoo animals"
• Letter card games (from the Dollar Store)
• Apple Survey (What's your favorite way to eat an apple?)

Letter to Parents

This is the letter I am giving to preschool storytime parents this year...

Fall 2012

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I am excited that you have chosen to bring your child(ren) to Preschool Storytime at the Bellevue Public Library!  Throughout the year we will be focusing on early literacy skills through songs, rhymes, reading, and interaction.  I encourage you to participate with your child during storytime by actively listening and involving yourself in the activities. 

Early literacy skills are the building blocks for future success in reading.  The American Library Association has identified five easy things you can do everyday with your child to help foster pre-reading skills.  The acronym “Star Power” can help you remember them:

·         Sing

·         Talk

·         Read

·         Play

·         Write

You are your child’s first teacher.  By taking the time each day to sing, talk, read, play and write with your child you will help them to succeed in school and in life.  You do not need to formally teach nor buy certain products to help your child learn these skills!  Just by spending quality time with your child you will be teaching that books and reading are fun, how books work, letter names and sounds, that smaller sounds make up words, the names of things and how to describe them, and that the words we speak can be written.  These skills are vital for reading success and you can teach them by singing, talking, reading, playing and writing with your child each day.

In storytime this year we will be singing, talking, reading, playing and writing as we explore the alphabet.  Each week we will focus on one or two letters—practicing the sound it makes and exploring words that begin with that letter through fingerplays, songs, books, and activities.  Although I will point to written words on signs during storytime this is not an attempt to “teach your child to read” nor do I expect your child to “read” the words.  It is a way to teach that letters make up words and the words we say can be written.  Formal reading instruction is not necessary, nor encouraged, at this age.

Every week I will have a handout with simple ideas of things you can do with your child at home.  Remember, I only see them once a week for an hour—the time you spend with them everyday is vital to their learning.   I encourage you to sing, talk, read, play and write with your child everyday! 

If you have any questions please feel free to stay after storytime or you can email me at tammy.henry@bellevue.net  For an outline of each week’s storytime with words to songs and fingerplays, as well as other library and literacy information you can visit my blog at StorytimesAndMore.blogspot.com   I am looking forward to a wonderful year of storytimes with you and your child(ren)! 

Every Child Ready to Read

I have attended two separate Every Child Ready to Read workshops in the past six months and also took a graduate level class about early literacy.  I have written several papers about the importance of early literacy skills and children's books that can be used in teaching literacy skills.  So in other words, I am passionate about early literacy.  

Last year in preschool storytime I tried to incorporate the six early literacy skills:  Phonological Awareness, Letter Recognition, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills,  Print Motivation, Print Awareness.  I didn't talk much about them with the parents, I just did them every week at storytime.  A "letter a week" approach worked very well for me and lent itself to easily incorporate early literacy skills.  

This year I will be doing many of the same things, however, I will be emphasizing the five practices from Every Child Ready to Read 2 (which are ways to learn the six skills).  These are five easy thing that parents and caregivers can do every day to "teach" early literacy skills to children.  They are:

• Singing
• Talking
• Reading
• Playing
• Writing

The beauty of this program is that parents and caregivers, for the most part, are already doing these things with their children.  By emphasizing these activities at storytime I hope to help parents and caregivers be more mindful of the time they spend with their child and to take one extra step towards enhancing the experiences.

What to expect at Preschool Storytime:

We will, of course, read, usually two picture books--one with a substantial story and the other with rhythm and rhymes. We will also "read" a nursery rhyme every week--recite the rhyme while I point to the words in a sentence chart.  

Each week we will sing several songs, including the ABC song--some of the songs will be repeated each week and we will usually have one action song that goes with the letter of the day.

As I read aloud I try to allow children time to talk and respond to the stories.  Of course this depends on the number of children present.  To accommodate the larger crowds we will be doing a "survey" every week that parents and caregivers can talk about together.

Playing is an essential part of child's development and critical in developing early literacy skills.  For several years I have been doing what I call "enrichment activities" following storytime.  This is a time for children to try new things, explore, color, write, cut, glue, and be active.  Now I feel "justified" in doing these things every week!

I will be striving to add writing more into storytimes.  Although one may think that writing is writing the letters on practice worksheets, writing can be so much more (and so much more fun for the children!)  We will be drawing lines to matching objects, tracing curved lines, and doing mazes and dot-to-dots.  We will usually have some kind of "alphabet" activity.

Every Child Ready to Read is an exciting approach to not only do in storytimes, but to encourage parents and caregivers to enjoy quality time together with their children singing, talking, reading, playing and writing!

A library blog

I have been keeping my own storytime blog for about two years.  It has been very beneficial for me and I love keeping it for my own sanity (since I can't remember my own "great" ideas!).  In addition to that "personal" blog, I will be writing a blog specifically for the library.  At first I wasn't sure that I wanted to try to keep up on two, (actually three because I maintain the library's Legos blog as well) but after thinking about it I am very excited!  Some of the things that will be on this blog are:

• Preschool Storytime Outlines
• Children's Programming
• Early Literacy Skills
• New(er) Children's Books
• Book Recommendations
• Information about children's authors
• and "other library stuff"

Storytimes begin for the fall tomorrow!!  Preschool Storytimes are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 AM.  Mrs. B (the children's librarian) has Baby and Me Storytime on Wednesdays at 9:15 AM and Toddler Storytime at 9:15 AM on Thursdays.