Cats--Toddler Storytime

For some reason I had the worst time deciding on a storytime for today!  But this one came together quickly and the children really enjoyed it--especially Big Box, Little Box and the playdough!

Books

Lola Gets a Cat

by Anna McQuinn; illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Big Box Little Box

by Caryl Hart; illustrated by Edward Underwood 

Meeow and the Blue Table

by Sebastien Braun

Songs/Rhymes

Kitty Cat
(tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little kitty cat nice and sweet
Here are my whiskers and here are my feet.
When I go out hunting mice beware!
Or you might just have a ... SCARE!

Five Little Kittens

Five little kittens standing in a row
They nod their heads to the children so
They run to the left, they run to the right
They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight.
Along comes a dog, who's in for some fun...
Me-ooow! See the kittens run!

I'm Hopping Like a Bunny
Nancy Stewart

Play and Learn

Yellow Playdough
All but one toddler played with playdough the whole time!  He enjoyed the buckets and beanbags.

Family Storytime--Books with Holes!

It was fun to substitute for Family Storytime today!  I had children ages 2 through 8 for a total of 17 in attendance.  I reused a theme I did in May with a moon book (with holes) thrown in.

Books

When the Moon Smiled

by Petr Horacek

Night Lights

by Nicholas Blechman

Flannel

Very Hungry Caterpillar

Songs/Rhymes

My Hedgehog

Dancing Rainbow Colors

Hop, Hop, Stop!

Bluegrass Jamboree

Play and Learn

Activities with HOLES!

Seal Ring Toss
Hula Hoops
Peg Puzzle
Mr. Potato Head
Straws and Connectors
Hole Punch Process Art

Baby Storytime--Down on the Farm

Visiting the farm for the first six weeks of summer!

Song/Rhymes/Bounces

You Ought to See My Baby
Baby-O
You ought to see my baby
My baby loves to bounce
And every time we sing this song
We bounce and bounce and bounce

Stretch
Roll
Clap

Hello!
Hello __________
Hello __________
Hello __________
We're glad you're here today!

Little Bear
Little Bear, in the tree
Sitting oh, so still
Won't you come out?
Yes he will!
He looks to the left
He looks to the right
He looks straight ahead
Then he POPS! out of sight

Old MacDonald Had a Farm
with puppets
Cow, pig, dog, duck, lamb

Roly-Poly
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Big, big, big
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Small, small, small
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Touch your toes
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Touch your nose
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Up to the sky
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Fly, fly, fly!

The Noble Duke of York
Baby-O

This is the Way
This is the way the lady rides
The lady rides, the lady rides
This is the way the lady rides
So early in the morning.

Gentleman (faster)
Farmer (side to side)
Ending with a "Boop!" and drop between adults knees.

Hey Diddle Diddle

Over in the Barnyard 
One-cut flannel
Over in the barnyard in the pen in the sun

Lived an old mother pig and her little piglet one

Oink said the mother, we oink said the one

So they oinked all day in the pen in the sun.

Over in the barnyard where the green grass grew

Lived an old mother horse and her little colts two.

Neigh said the mother, we neigh said the two

So they neighed all day where the green grass grew.

Over in the barnyard beneath the old oak tree

Lived an old mother sheep and her little lambs three

Baa said the mother, we baa said the three

So they baaed all day beneath the old oak tree.

Read Aloud Book
one each week

The Very Busy Spider

(select pages)

Eric Carle

Together
by Dimitrea Tokunbo; illustrated by Jennifer Gwynne Oliver

Time for Bed
by Mem Fox; illustrated by Jane Dyer

Hello, Day!
by Anita Lobel

All Kinds of Kisses
by Nancy Tafuri

Barnyard Banter
by Denise Fleming

Shared Reading
A variety of board books with a farm/animal theme for adults and babies to share together including:

Dog & Friends On the Farm

by Emma Dodd

How Kind!

by Mary Murphy

Old MacDonald had a Farm

illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang

Play and Learn

Sun, Moon, and Stars

Our 2nd toddler storytime about things in the sky!

Books

Kitten's First Full Moon

by Kevin Henkes

When the Moon Smiled

by Petr Horacek

abbreviated

What the Sun Sees/What the Moon Sees

by Nancy Tafuri

Song and Rhymes

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

Hey Diddle, Diddle 
flannel

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Play and Learn

Enjoy playing outside in the sun!

• Water tubs and toys
• Tunnel
• Beach balls
• Hula Hoops
• Ribbons
• Bubbles
• Parachute

Moon Storytime

Our 2nd storytime to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing!

Books

Bringing Down the Moon

by Jonathan Emmett; illustrated by Vanessa Cabban

A Big Mooncake for Little Star

by Grace Lin

Graph
Think about the last time you looked at the moon.  What did the moon look like?
Crescent (2), Quarter (5), Gibbous (9), Full (8)

Songs

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We're Going to the Moon!

Astronaut, Astronaut

Hey Diddle, Diddle

PLAY with the Nursery Rhyme

Have pictures to so kids can substitute words and make a crazy nursery rhyme!  Print Motivation!  And so much fun!

Lots of pictures to put into the rhyme!

I got the word stripes and pictures from Literacy Centers and Activities for Nursery Rhymes Volumes 1 & 2, Bobbie Wilson, Karen Brown, Mara Guckian, Dede Dodds, M.S. Ed.

Play and Learn

Paint a moon with crumpled foil
black, white, (and gray) paint; large white circle; aluminum foil; black construction paper

High in the Sky! Toddler Storytime

Part one of a two part storytime about high in the sky!

Books

Higher! Higher!

by Leslie Patricelli

Blue Sky

by Audrey Wood

Little Cloud

by Eric Carle

Songs

Put Your Hands Up in the Air

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around
Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the ground
...
Dance on your toes
Touch your nose
Reach up high
Touch the sky
Bend down low
Touch your toes
Jump up noe
Take a bow
Stomp your feet
Take a seat

Dancing Rainbow Colors

Play and Learn

Paint clouds
The little bit of blue I gave them really dominated when they mixed it with the white.  Oh, well!  They had a ton of fun and it wasn't too messy!

Astronaut Storytime

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lunar Landing we had a storytime all about astronauts this week and the Moon next week!

Books

Zoom, Rocket, Zoom!

by Margaret May; illustrated by Alex Ayliffe

Penguinaut!

by Marcie Colleen; illustrated by Emma Yarlett

Graph
What would be the most exciting thing about being an astronaut?
Wearing a spacesuit (0), Floating in Space (7), Visiting the Moon (0), Flying a Rocket (9)

Songs

If You're Going to the Moon
(tune: If you're happy and you know it)

If you're going to the moon wear your suit
Zzzzip!
If you're going to the moon wear your suit
Zzzzip!
If you're going to the moon this is what you have to do
If you're going to the moon wear your suit
Zzzzip!

Additional verses
Wear your helmet (pat, pat [your head])
Wear your boots (stomp, stomp)
Wear your gloves (clap, clap)
Wear all four (Zip, pat, stomp, clap!)

Astronaut, Astronaut

Astronaut, astronaut turn around
Astronaut, astronaut touch the ground
...
Dance on you toes
Touch your nose
Reach up high
Touch the sky
Bend down low
Touch your toes
Jump up noe
Take a bow
Stomp your feet
Take a seat

Play and Learn

I set up an obstacle course to get from the earth to the moon!  Unfortunately the pictures didn't turn out great...but here's what I did.,,

The kids lined up behind this sign on the floor.  They were so cute and would step onto the picture when it was their turn.  They would wait while I counted down--3, 2, 1, Blast off!  Then they would walk along a tape line to get to the hopscotch, then follow the tape line to the tunnel.  

After the tunnel they followed another tape line to reach five hula hoops set on the floor to jump through that led them to the area they needed screw a nut onto a bolt.  

They then followed the last tape line to the stool to get up on to touch the moon!

Mousetronaut came in on the day of my storytime, so I debated about if I should read it or Penguinaut.  The kids were really squirmy and barely made it through the shorter Penguinaut.  But I think Mousetronaut is super cute and shows what real astronauts do in space.

Swimming

Books

Be Brave, Little Penguin

by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water

by Gemma Merino

Graph
What's your favorite thing to do in the water?
Splash (2), play with friends (6), practice swimming (6), go under water (9)

Songs

Bounce, Flap, Twist
Eric Herman

My Hands
My hand upon my head I'll place
Upon my shoulders, on my face
At my waist and by my side
And then behind me they will hide
Then I will raise them way up high
And let my fingers fly, fly, fly
Then clap, clap, clap and 1, 2, 3
Let's sit down, quietly.

Play and Learn

Beach Balls
Water Play

Going on Vacation

Books

The Pout-Pout Fish: Far, Far From Home

by Deborah Diesen; illustrated by Dan Hanna

Penguin on Vacation

by Salina Yoon

Graph
What would you like to do on vacation?
Visit grandparents (0), go to a fair/amusement park (5), go camping (6), go to the beach (6)

Songs

I Can Walk on Two Feet
I can walk on two feet
On two feet, on two feet
I can walk on two feet
All day long.

Additional verses:
Run
Tiptoe
March
Jump
Hop on one foot

Alabama, Mississippi
Jim Gill using the parachute

Play and Learn

Parachute
Sand