Animals from Australia

A trip down under for some fun with Animals from Australia!  (Feb 6, 7 and 15)

Books

Kangaroos

by Sara Louise Kras

**looked at a few pictures and talked about them

Pouch!

by David Ezra Stein

Platypuses

by Sara Louise Kras

**looked at a few pictures and talked about them

Splatypus

by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen; illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic

Koalas

by Sara Louise Kras

**looked at a few pictures and talked about them

Graph Question

Which animal from Australia would you like to see in real life?
Koala, kangaroo, platypus, crocodile

Special Song

Are You Sleeping?

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Little koala, little koala?
[snore]
Wake up little koala
Wake up little koala
Climb, climb, climb
Climb, climb, climb

Crocodile--snap
Platypus--swim
Kangaroo--jump

Play and Learn

Q-tip Dot Art--Kangaroo

"I Love You" Baby Storytime

First three weeks of February

Read Aloud Books

I Love You as Big as the World

by David Van Buren; illustrated by Tim Warnes

Only You

by Robin Cruise; illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

The Cuddle Book
Guido Van Genechten

Flannel

Hearts

Hearts, hearts, how many do you see?

Heart, hearts, count them all with me.

One for father, one for mother

One for grandma too

One for sister, one for brother,

And here is one for you!

Special Songs

Tony Chestnut

(a fun play on words rhyme)

Tony Chestnut knows I love you

Tony knows! Tony knows!

Tony Chestnut knows I love you

That's what Tony knows!

Point to body parts as you say them

Toe, knee, chest, nut (head)
Nose I love you (give a hug)
Toe, knee, nose
Toe, knee, nose
Toe, knee, chest, nut (head)
That's what toe, knee, nose

Acka Backa Soda Cracker
(a bouncing and lifting rhyme)

Acka backa soda cracker
Acka backa boo!
Acka backa soda cracker
I love you!

Acka backa soda cracker
Acka backa boo!
Acka backa soda cracker
Up goes you!

Goodbye Song
(tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

We clap our hands like this
We clap our hands like this
We clap our hands with all our friends
We clap our hands like this.

Additional Verses:
Blow a kiss
Wave Goodbye

Shared Reading

A variety of love-themed board books including

Sprinkle with Kisses: Sweet Dreams, Baby

by Emma Dodd

Bear Hugs

illustrated by Vicky Riley

Hug You, Kiss You, Love You

by Joyce Wan

Play and Learn

The Friday before Valentine's Day the adults and babies made Valentines!

In a clean plastic jar with screw on lid, put in cut-out paper heart, add a little paint (2-3 different colors) and a few marbles.  After securing the lid let the baby shake and roll the jar.  Pull out the heart and let dry.  Wash the jar and marbles and do it again!  Many parents wrote a note on the back before painting.

 

Hats and Caps Storytime

It was fun to share an old classic--because to children it's not old, but new!  And that book has been around for a long time for a reason! (Jan 30)

Books

Caps for Sale

by Esphyr Slobodkina

Hooray for Hat!

by Brian Won

Song

Silly Hat Song

Use party hats…

(Tune: This Old Man)

On my head, I wear my hat.

It is such a silly hat

That my head will wiggle waggle to and fro

Where else can my silly hat go?

[Repeat using foot, elbow and knee.]

When I used this song before it went over really well...not so much this time.

After the song I asked the children to take their hat to their grown-up until the end of storytime.

Play and Learn

Decorate a party hat with foam stickers

Animals in Winter Storytime

(January 23 and 25)  Another week without any snow, but it was still a fun storytime!  Always enjoy reading one of my favorite books!

Books

Quiet Bunny and Noisy Puppy

by Lisa McCue

Don't Wake Up the Bear

by Marjorie Dennis Murray; illustrated by‎ Patricia Wittmann

Song

One Little Penguin

(sung to: Five Little Ducks)

One little penguin in the snow

Waddles fast and waddles slow

Flaps his wings and calls, "Come on!

Join me for some winter fun!"

Two little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Three little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Four little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Five little penguins in the snow

Waddle fast and waddle slow

Flap their wings and call, "Come on!

Join us for some winter fun!"

Snowman Storytime

We didn't have any snow when we did our snowman storytime, but the children still enjoyed it!  (Jan 16 and 18)

Books

The Most Perfect Snowman

by Chris Britt

Snowmen at Night

by Carolyn Buchner; illustrated by Mark Buchner

Songs

Five Little Snowmen

5 little snowmen riding on a sled
1 fell off and bumped his head
Frosty called the doctor and the doctor said
No more snowmen riding on a sled!

Once There was a Snowman

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman
Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall
In the sun he melted, melted, melted
In the sun he melted small, small, small.

Graph Question
What is your favorite thing to do when it snows?

Build a snowman
Go Sledding
Throw snowballs/play in the snow
Stay inside and drink hot chocolate!

Play and Learn

Snowman created with three graduating size cups in white paint; use each cup to make a section of the snowman on a dark sheet of paper.  Glue on eyes, buttons, makes scarf, hat, arms, etc. out of construction paper.

In my larger group/smaller room I cut out snowman shapes instead of trying to use paint.

I Love You Storyime

Books

No Hugs for Porcupine
by Zoe Waring

Click, Clack, Moo I Love You
by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Songs/Flannel

H-E-A-R-T
Tune: Bingo

There is a shape that I can make that shows that I love you
H-E-A-R-T
H-E-A-R-T
H-E-A-R-T
A heart shows that I love you!

There is a shape that I can make that shows that I love you
H-E-A-R-(clap)
H-E-A-R-(clap)
H-E-A-R-(clap)
A heart shows that I love you!

Continue taking away a letter from the end of the word until you clap 5 times.

If You're Happy and You Know It

If you're happy and you know it blow a kiss
If you're happy and you know it blow a kiss
If you're happy and you know it then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it blow a kiss.

Give a hug
Say "I love you!"
Do all three

Play and Learn

Cut out heart collage
Match flannel heart halves
Play matching heart game

Winter Baby Storytime

Through December and January we had a Winter theme for Baby Storytime...though the weather wasn't particularly wintry.  And I had several weeks off.  But here's what we did.

Read Aloud Books

Snow Babies

by Laura Ellen Anderson

Baby Loves Winter

by Karen Katz

In the Snow

by Sharon Phillips Denslow; illustrated by Nancy Tafuri

No Two Alike

by Keith Baker

Flannel Board

3 little snowmen standing in a row
Each had two eyes and a carrot for a nose
Out came the sun and shone all day
And 1 little snowman melted away.

2 little snowmen standing in a row
Each had two eyes and a carrot for a nose
Out came the sun and shone all day
And 1 little snowman melted away.

1 little snowman standing in a row
He had two eyes and a carrot for a nose
Out came the sun and shone all day
And 1 little snowman melted away.

Special Song

Jingle Bells

Shared Reading

A variety of board books about winter/snow including

Snowman Shuffle
by Christianne Jones; illustrated by Emma Randall

Will You Wear a Blue Hat?

Scholastic Rookie Toddler

Itsy Bitsy Snowman
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rescek