Pets

This week we talked about pets: puppies, kitties, hamsters, birds, and fish. The list goes on and on and on. 

Books:

Toddler Books:

Bad Dog Flash - Ruth Paul

Giant Pop-Out Pets: A Pop-Out Surprise Book - Amelia Powers

If You Were a Dog - Jamie A. Swenson

Preschool Books:

Homer - Elisha Cooper

Bad Dog Flash - Ruth Paul

Giant Pop-Out Pets: A Pop-Out Surprise Book - Amelia Powers

Bark Park - Karen Gray Ruelle

My Pet Book - Bob Staake

If You Were a Dog - Jamie A. Swenson

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

BINGO (song):

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O,

And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

*CLAP*-I-N-G-O, 

*CLAP*-I-N-G-O, 

*CLAP*-I-N-G-O,

And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-N-G-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-N-G-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-N-G-O,

And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-G-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-G-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-G-O,

And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-O, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-O,

And Bingo was his name-o.

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*, 

*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*-*CLAP*,

And Bingo was his name-o.

Source: Nursery Rhyme (from memory)

*I put the letters up on the flannel board and we took a letter off for each verse.

Five Little Kittens

One little kitten went out to play,

In the sunny backyard one day.

Playing in the yard was so much fun,

She meowed for another friend to come.

(count up to five kittens)

Once there are five kittens:

Five little kittens went out to play,

In the sunny backyard one day.

Playing in the yard was so much fun,

They stayed and played until the day was done.

Source: A version of this script is in my flannel drawer but I made some slight adjustments. 

If You're a Pet and You Know It:

If you're a dog and you know it, say "Woof Woof",

If you're a dog and you know it, say "Woof Woof",

If you're a dog and you know it, and you really want to show it,

If you're a dog and you know it, say "Woof Woof".

Other verses:

If you're a cat and you know it, say "Meow"

If you're a bird and you know it, say "Tweet, Tweet"

Construction

Last week our theme was Construction. At first, I was not sure how the theme would go over with the little ones. But then I had regulars coming to several days of storytimes telling me they had seen a "digger" or a "roller" (road steam roller) while out and about. It is moments like that when you realize that, even when you don't think they're paying attention, they are soaking everything up like little sponges. 

Books:

Toddler Books:

Tip Tip Dig Dig - Emma Garcia

The Construction Crew - Lynn Meltzer

Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night - Brianna Caplan Sayres

Trucktown Race from A to Z - Jon Scieszka 

Preschool Books:

Tip Tip Dig Dig - Emma Garcia

Mighty Dads - Joan Holub

The Construction Crew - Lynn Meltzer

Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night - Brianna Caplan Sayres

Trucktown Race from A to Z - Jon Scieszka 

Construction - Sally Sutton

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Five Little Nails:

Five little nails standing straight and steady,

Get your hammers ready!

Bam, Bam, Bam! That nail goes down.

Now there's just four nails to pound.

(count down to zero)

Source: Mel's Desk

*I changed it slightly from the original version. It worked better when I had the kids pretend to be hammering with me as a great big construction crew. I used a clip art picture of a nail (enlarged and copied 5 times), laminated the nails, and then put Velcro backing on them to put up on the flannel board.

Construction Song (tune: "Wheels on the Bus"):

The backhoe on the lot goes dig, dig, dig,

Dig, dig, dig; Dig, dig, dig.

The backhoe on the lot goes dig, dig, dig.

Digging all day long.

(make a digging motion during verse)

The dump truck takes the dirt and dumps it out,

Dumps it out; Dumps it out.

The dump truck takes the dirt and dumps it out.

Moving all day long.

(make a dumping motion, or have caregivers tip to the side with toddlers)

The big cement mixer goes round and round, 

Round and round; Round and round.

The big cement mixer goes round and round,

Mixing all day long.

(Roll hands round and round for this verse)

The noisy jackhammer goes up and down.

Goes up and down; Goes up and down.

The noisy jackhammer goes up and down.

Digging all day long.

(Move hands up and down, or have caregivers lift toddlers for the motion)

Source: We had a version of this in my flannel drawer. I made some slight adjustments for our storytime. Again, you could use laminated clip art of each tool/vehicle for your storytime flannel board. We also did the actions to go along with each verse. 

Toolbox Hiding Game:

Bob the Builder likes his ______ (tool name) lots and lots,

Is it hiding behind the ________ (color) toolbox?

Source: One of my fabulous LA's. She came up with this rhyme - and what little kid does not love Bob the Builder?!

*I found a black-and-white toolbox online, saved the file, enlarged it, and made 6 different colored toolboxes. It is much easier to play hiding games with laminated objects than flannel objects. Then you just find clip art of easily recognized tools - like a hammer, wrench, or screwdriver. We used multiple tools so the kids got to learn the names of different tools during storytime.

Wintry Weather

We may have been a little too enthusiastic at our storytimes about Winter weather this week because it actually did snow! At least I'd like to think we were the reason behind it! It was also the first week I have incorporated a ukulele into storytimes!

Books:

Toddler Books:

No Two Alike - Keith Baker

OH! - Kevin Henkes

Under My Hood I Have a Hat - Karla Kuskin

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons - Il Sung Na

Flannel Kisses - Mari Takabayashi

Preschool Books:

No Two Alike - Keith Baker

Snowmen at Work - Caralyn Buehner

The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons - Il Sung Na

All You Need for a Snowman - Alice Schertle

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Once There Was a Snowman:

Once there was a snowman, a snowman, a snowman,

Once there was a snowman, tall, tall, tall,

In the sun he melted, he melted, he melted,

In the sun he melted, small, small, small.

Source: Jbrary*

*If you haven't seen anything by the Jbrary Librarians, it is a must-have resource to check-out! 

Five Little Snowpals:

Five little snowpals, standing in a row,

Each with a hat and a carrot nose.

Out came the sun and it shone all day,

One little snowpal melted away.

(Count down 4, 3, 2, 1)

Source: One of my clever Library Assistants came up with this one. We have 5 flannel snowpals as well (They are snowpals, instead of snowmen, because we have several snow women.)

Ukulele Song: Bumping Up and Down in My Little Blue Sled

C 

Bumping Up and Down in My Little Blue Sled,

G7 

Bumping Up and Down in My Little Blue Sled,

C 

Bumping Up and Down in My Little Blue Sled,

G7                         C

Won't You Be My Darling?

Repeat with other actions: Clapping My Hands, Swaying To-and-Fro, Rocking Back-and-Forth, Twirling Round-and-Round, etc.

Source: Jbrary 

*I borrowed the idea from Jbrary, but came up with actions that I could do reasonably well and still play a ukulele. I had found a more difficult song version to play but I am not the greatest at changing fingers for the chords (especially while keeping my eyes on a bunch of rambunctious kids at storytimes). So I adjusted the song until it sounded fine with just two chords - C and G7. The strumming pattern just goes with the tune. 

Snowflake on My Shoulder (Tune: "Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?"):

There's a snowflake on my shoulder, my shoulder, my shoulder,

There's a snowflake on my shoulder and it's melting away.

Repeat with: Elbow, Tummy, Knee, Head, etc.

Source: Time for Storytime

*Surprisingly, Toddlers were a little unsure about an instrument at storytime. It was the first time in was introduced, so we may wait a few weeks to bring it back out at Toddler Storytime. They will stop everything they are doing and quiet down when I sing a cappella but I think the instrument was an added piece that they weren't ready for. Instead of the ukulele song for the second Toddler Storytime of the week, one of my Library Assistant's told me about this song she was using later in the week with a flannel snowflake. Anything having to do with learning parts of the body is perfect with Toddlers and they loved it!

Song: "I Wanna Be a Snowman" by Caspar Babypants
*This didn't have actions so I did not use it during the actual storytime. But I do love the song so I used it while I was stamping hands at the end of storytime.

Polar Bears, Penguins, and Puffins, Oh My!

The theme for our first week back in the Winter/Spring Session of storytimes, we are talking about Arctic Animals. It just so happens that most of these Arctic Animals begin with the letter "P"! 

Books:

Toddler Books:

I Am Small - Emma Dodd

Baby Penguins Everywhere - Melissa Guion

Polar Bear Night - Lauren Thompson 

Mama, Why? - Karma Wilson

Preschool Books:

Baby Penguins Everywhere - Melissa Guion

Lost and Found - Oliver Jeffers

Nothing Like a Puffin - Sue Soltis

Polar Bear Night - Lauren Thompson 

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

If You're a Polar Bear and You Know It:

If you're a polar bear and you know it, clap your paws,

If you're a polar bear and you know it, clap your paws,

If you're a polar bear and you know it, and you really want to show it,

If you're a polar bear and you know it, clap your paws.

Other verses:

If you're a polar bear and you know it, show your teeth.

If you're a polar bear and you know it, growl real loud.

Source: Storytime Katie 

*I changed it from different types of bears to being about just polar bears.

North Pole and South Pole:

North Pole is UP (raise hands up)

South Pole is DOWN (point down)

Snow and ice cover the ground.

North Pole is where you'll see polar bears.

At the South Pole there are penguins everywhere.

North Pole is UP (raise hands up again)

South Pole is DOWN (point down again)

That is where our polar friends are found.

Source: My flannel drawer (and more accurately, one of my Library Assistant's who is an amazing storytime resource). She made a flannel of the Earth (with the North and South Pole's labeled), a flannel of a polar bear (you place on the flannel board at the North Pole), and a flannel of a penguin (you place on the flannel board at the South Pole).

Two Little Puffins (Tune: Two Little Blackbirds):

Two little puffins, sitting on a cliff,

One named Becky and the other named Biff.

Fly away Becky, Fly away Biff.

Come back Becky, Come back Biff.

Two little puffins, sitting on a cliff,

One named Becky and the other named Biff.

Source: My flannel drawer (same amazing LA - she's the best!)