Monday, May 25, 2015

Preschool Storytime - Frogs

Opening
We Are Here Together - based on I Am Here & You Are Here by Peter & Ellen Allard from Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol. 3
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna clap our hands.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna stomp our feet.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna jump up and down.
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna have some fun.
TotSchooling 


To warm up after our song I had prepared a yellow bag with Free Printable Rhyming Sorting Game (thank you Pinterest) inside.  Its a set a of 8 rhymes with 16 cards all together.  Its great to have so many pieces because I have a lot of little helpers.  Hiding at the bottom of my bog was large resin frog. This way we could talk about which pairs rhyme, which pairs don't and which ones lead us back to our froggy friend.

Books
Frog Thing by Eric Drachman
Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
Ribbit by Rodrigo Folgueira
Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson



Songs

Spaghetti Legs by Jim Gill - The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
Can You Leap Like a Frog by Greg and Steve - Kids in Action
Wiggle Your Fingers by Peter and Ellen Allard - Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Vol. 2


I decided to use our 12" parachute to act as a lily pad in storytime.  I have used parachutes before but not with this group.  I loved that the kids wanted to sit on the lily pad instead of wandering around as much.  I didn't like that some of my kids got really fixated on the handles.  We didn't do any activities that would lift the parachute off the floor but it still took a lot of work to keep them focused on the floor games I had for us to do.  I will definitely use the parachute again but I think I will need more ground rules or a better why to regain everyone's attention.  I admit I let things get a little wild and wooly. 

Rhyme
Five Green Speckled Frogs – with felt set. I like the Raffi version of this song but sometimes it just goes too fast. We just sang along today and it worked fine.

Five green and speckled frogs
Sitting on a speckled log
eating the most delicious grub, YUM YUM
one jumped into the pool
where it was nice and cool
now there are 4 green speckled frogs
Ribbit ribbit!



Five Green and Speckled Frogs | Mother Goose Club Playhouse Kids Video



Two Little Frogs - borrowed from Frog Storytime - Miss Meg's Storytime , her version is adapted from Two Little Blackbirds.  I added two verses at the end because the kids really got into the rhyme after the second verse. 

Two little froggies sitting in the lake
One named Jane, and one named Jake
Swim away Jane, swim away Jake
Come back Jane, come back Jake!


Two little froggies sitting on the bay
One named Greg, and one named May
Jump away Greg, jump away May
Come back Greg, come back May


Two little froggies sitting on a cloud
One croaked soft and one croaked loud
croak aways soft, croak away loud
come back soft, come back loud.

Two little froggies sitting by the gate
one came early and one came late
go away early, go away late
come back early, come back late

This works best when you really ham it up and have the frogs appear but or after they are supposed to as if the frogs are just too silly to the right thing. 

Scarves
Borrowed from Scarf Songs and Rhymes for Storytime on Jbrary.
One Bright scarf (adapted from 10 Little Fingers at Storytime Rocks)

One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow (hold in hand)
Wiggle it high (wiggle scarf above head)
Wiggle it low (wiggle scarf by knees)
Shake it fast (wiggle scarf quickly)
Shake it slow (wiggle scarf slowly)
Put it behind your back (bring out empty hands)
Where did it go?


Jack in the box, sits so still
Will he come out, yes he will.


Closing – tune farmer in the dell
Borrowed from Opening/Closing Songs on Storytime Katie who borrowed it from Rhymes for Toddlers on Sunflower Storytime.

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

We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss with all of our friends
We blow a kiss like this.

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye with all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

Craft

For our craft a staff member used the printable template for our frog and lily pad to precut the basic shapes.  I braided paper for the springs, here after called boingers because I thought that was really funny.  While the website suggests some kids can make their own boingers I found my kids excelled at taking the boingers apart and then insisting their boinger broke.

Laura

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Preschool Storytime - Bugs and Insects

Opening
We Are Here Together - based on I Am Here & You Are Here by Peter & Ellen Allard from Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol. 3
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna clap our hands.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna stomp our feet.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna jump up and down.
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna have some fun.


Books
Some Bugs by Angela Diterlizzi
I Love Bugs by Philemon Sturges,
Can You Make a Scary Face by Jan Thomas



Songs
Flitter Flutter by Johnette Downing The Second Line – Scarf Activity Songs
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi - More Singable Songs
Took a Bath In a Washing Machine by Jim Gill - Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes



Felt
Bug in a Rug Game 
I've seen printable versions of this game where its several different types of bugs (Storytiming - Flannel Friday: Bug In A Rug). I play this with with kids using a felt set I found.  I added a few more ants and then glued together a rug.  The idea is to introduce all the colors first.  Then the kids have to cover their eyes so you can use the rug to hide a bug.  When you say rhyme they must open their eyes and tell you what color is gone.  If you think your group is peeking you turn your felt board around.  My felt board likes to collapse randomly so to hide what I am doing I will step in front of the  board limit the view.

Bug in a rug, bug in a rug
what color bug is under the rug?


Green ant lost his antenna
 but that didn't stop red and purple ant from playing hide and seek.

Five Flashing Fireflies
I wanted to incorporate fire flies after reading the post on Catch the Possibilities called Flannel Friday: Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges.  I saw this theme again in a Library Village post called Preschool Story Time - Fireflies. I was lucky enough to find a cute set of fireflies in our collection of felt boards, so as charming as these guys are I cannot take credit for them.  Of course I can't take credit for the cute rhyme which is based off the Philemon Sturges' book Ten Flashing Fireflies. I hope you don't think the rhyme is too much of a tongue twister.  I found myself saying 'flashing flyer flies' a lot. 

What do you see on a summer night?
5 flashing fireflies burning bright.
Let's catch the one that's twinkling light a star.
Now there is one firefly in our jar. 

Just repeat the rhyme and count down as you go.  


Egg Shakers
Both songs are from Give Your Storytime a Shake on JBrary.

If You're Happy and You Know It
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy you know it and you really want to show it
if you’re happy and you it give a shake
clap – tap

Everyone can Shake, Shake, Shake
everyone can shake shake shake
everyone can shake shake shake
everyone can shake shake shake shake
and now lets make a stop
tap – clap – wave



Closing – tune farmer in the dell
Borrowed from Opening/Closing Songs on Storytime Katie who borrowed it from Rhymes for Toddlers on Sunflower Storytime.

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

We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss with all of our friends
We blow a kiss like this.

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye with all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this. 

After our song I gave each child a large Ellison die cut beetle to color.  A large number of the kids tore some or all of the legs off their insect within a few minutes.  I rather like my big orange buggy.  I pretended to use his mandibles to pick my nose while standing in front of my boss's office.  If your boss is on the phone when you do this be prepared to scurry away quickly when the call ends.

Laura


Friday, May 15, 2015

Preschool Storytime - Mother's Day

I'm hoping this post is better late than never.  At least it has me thinking about Father's Day and now I have a much better idea of what to try for Mother's Day next year. 

Opening
We Are Here Together - based on I Am Here & You Are Here by Peter & Ellen Allard from Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol. 3


I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna clap our hands.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna stomp our feet.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna jump up and down.
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna have some fun.



Books
Is Your Momma a Llama by Deborah Guarino
I like It When... by Mary Murphy
Hug by Jez Alborough

Songs
Spaghetti Legs by Jim Gill - The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
Jump up , Turn around by Jim Gill - Moving Rhyme for Modern Times
Goldfish by Laurie Berkner - The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band


Little Red Box - Dr. Jean Sings Silly Songs
This song was so short that even though I had it on cd we just sang along together.  To my surprise several of the children knew the tune already.  The song was so well liked that we continued to sing it while adding other things we loved like our siblings and pets, also chickens.  :)  

I wish I had a little red box 
To put my mommy in. 
I'd take her out and go, 
Kiss, kiss, kiss,     (Kiss in air.) 
And put her back again.

Daddy: Hug, hug, hug.    (Hug self.)
Good Friends: "How do you do?" (Shake hands).


Felt Board

5 Little Hearts (colors rhyme)
All the little hearts that that I once knew
All lined up for me to view
But one is special, one is the best
One stands out above all the rest
My favorite heart’s name rhymes with …

With some groups I can call out a rhyming word for each of the colors and with some prompting the children will identity the correct color. Other times it works best to leave out the rhyming portion and state the last line as "My favorite heart's name is..." and we simply name all the colors as I point to them.


Scarves
Borrowed from Scarf Songs and Rhymes for Storytime on Jbrary.
One Bright scarf (adapted from 10 Little Fingers at Storytime Rocks)

One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow (hold in hand)
Wiggle it high (wiggle scarf above head)
Wiggle it low (wiggle scarf by knees)
Shake it fast (wiggle scarf quickly)
Shake it slow (wiggle scarf slowly)
Put it behind your back (bring out empty hands)
Where did it go?


Jack in the box, sits so still
Will he come out, yes he will.

Closing – tune farmer in the dell
Borrowed from Opening/Closing Songs on Storytime Katie who borrowed it from Rhymes for Toddlers on Sunflower Storytime.

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

We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss with all of our friends
We blow a kiss like this.

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye with all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this. 

Nancy Tafuri

Film – Have You Seen My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri (5 minutes)


Laura


Friday, May 8, 2015

Preschool Storytime - Farms


Opening 
We Are Here Together - based on I Am Here & You Are Here by Peter & Ellen Allard from Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol. 3

I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna clap our hands.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna stomp our feet.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna jump up and down.
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna have some fun.


Books
Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborourgh
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton

Songs
Spaghetti Legs by Jim Gill - The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes 
I know a chicken by Laurie Berkner - The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band
Jump up, Turn around by Jim Gill - Moving Rhyme for Modern Times 

Rhyme
Dingle Dangle Scarecrow

When all the cows were sleeping and the sun had gone to bed
Up jumped the scarecrow and this is what he said
I'm a dingle dangle scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat,
I can shake my hands like this and shake my feet like that.

When all the dogs were sleeping and the cats in the loft
Up jumped the scarecrow, who whispered very soft
I'm a dingle dangle scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat,
I can shake my hands like this and shake my feet like that.


When all the hens were rousting and the moon behind a cloud,

Up jumped the scarecrow and shouted very loud
I’m a dingle dangle scarecrow With a flippy floppy hat
I can shake my hands like this and shake my feet like that



Egg Shakers
Both songs are from Give Your Storytime a Shake on JBrary.




If You're Happy and You Know It
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy and you know it give a shake
if you’re happy you know it and you really want to show it
if you’re happy and you it give a shake

clap – tap




Everyone can Shake, Shake, Shake
everyone can shake shake shake
everyone can shake shake shake
everyone can shake shake shake shake
and now lets make a stop

tap – clap – wave


Closing – tune farmer in the dell
Borrowed from Opening/Closing Songs on Storytime Katie who borrowed it from Rhymes for Toddlers on Sunflower Storytime. 

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

We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss with all of our friends
We blow a kiss like this.

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye with all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this. 


Laura


Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Preschool Storytime - Rainy Day

Thank you to Sunflower Storytime and the Rainy Day Storytime that inspired my first preschool storytime at my new job.  I got to know the kids by introducing myself and letting each child test my rain stick to see if they too could make a storm. Late comers got to create rain after class. 


Rainy day


Opening 


We Are Here Together - based on I Am Here & You Are Here by Peter & Ellen Allard from Sing it! Say it! Stamp it! Sway it! Vol. 3

I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna clap our hands.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna stomp our feet.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna jump up and down.
I am here and you are here
and we are here together.
I am here and you are here
and we’re gonna have some fun.


Songs
Spaghetti Legs by Jim Gill - The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes 

Leaky umbrella by Jim Gill - The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes 

Goldfish by Laurie Berkner - The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band 

If All of the Raindrops by Barney - Barney's Big Surprise 

Jump up , Turn around by Jim Gill - Moving Rhyme for Modern Times


Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson


Books 

BOOM! Big, Big Thunder and One Small Dog by Mary Lyn Ray


Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson

Scarves
Borrowed from Scarf Songs and Rhymes for Storytime on Jbrary.
One Bright scarf (adapted from 10 Little Fingers at Storytime Rocks)



One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow (hold in hand)
Wiggle it high (wiggle scarf above head)
Wiggle it low (wiggle scarf by knees)
Shake it fast (wiggle scarf quickly)
Shake it slow (wiggle scarf slowly)
Put it behind your back 
(bring out empty hands)
Where did it go?




Jack in the box, sits so still
Will he come out, yes he will.

Felt Board
Five little raindrops (hold up five fingers)
Dancing on the walk(dance hand up and down)
Pitter patter, pitter patter,
that’s the way they talk. (pat legs)
Out comes the yellow sun, shining in the sky (raise arms up like the sun)
And away goes one raindrop (hold up one finger)
Bye, bye, bye! (wave goodbye)

Closing – tune farmer in the dell

Borrowed from Opening/Closing Songs on Storytime Katie who borrowed it from Rhymes for Toddlers on Sunflower Storytime. 

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

We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss like this
We blow a kiss with all of our friends
We blow a kiss like this.

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye with all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this. 


I way over planned this storytime.  I think I had enough rhymes, songs and books for an entire new program.  I'm still working on 'Less is More.'  This storytime was brought to you by the concept of editing. :) 

Laura