March 30, 2016 Story Time - Sheep

If you missed this weeks story time here is what we did:

*marks the books we read

Baa Baa Black Sheep  by Iza Trapani*
Farm Animals - Sheep  by Cecilia Minden
Baa-Choo  by Sarah Weeks
Farmyard Beat  by Lindsey Craig*
No Sleep For the Sheep!  by Karen Beaumont
Where Is the Green Sheep?  by Mem Fox*
Sheep Go to Sleep  by Nancy Shaw*
The Great Sheep Shenanigans  by Peter Bently
Mary Had a Little Lamb  retold by  Megan Borgert-Spaniol*
Hide and Sheep  by Andrea Beaty
Count the Sheep to Sleep  by Philippa Rae*

For our craft we covered a small sheep shape with cotton balls and added a craft stick to make a puppet like this one:
http://goo.gl/whNak1

Extra activities:
The sheep on the Farm
The sheep on the farm go baa, baa, baa
baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, baa
the sheep on the farm go baa, baa, baa
all day long
repeat with other farm animals such as: cow, horse, chicken, pig, rooster, etc

Little Sheep, Little Sheep
Little sheep, little sheep, turn around
little sheep, little sheep, touch the ground
little sheep, little sheep, walk on your toes
little sheep, little sheep, touch your nose
little sheep, little sheep, fluff your wool
little sheep, little sheep, jump to keep cool
little sheep, little sheep, stomp your feet
little sheep, little sheep, find your seat

March 23, 2016 Story Time - Piggies

If you missed this weeks story time here is what we did:

*marks the books we read

Pigs to the Rescue  by John Himmelman*
Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch  by Mary Peterson and Jennifer Rofe
Pirates Don't Take Baths  by John Segal
A Huge Hog is a Big Pig a rhyming word game  by Francis McCall & Patricia Keeler*
Pigsty  by Mark Teague
Hogwash!  by Karma Wilson
Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?  by Linda Ashman
Puppies and Piggies  by Cynthia Rylant
A Pig Parade  by Michael Ian Black
My Farm Friends  by Wendell Minor*
20 Hungry Piggies a number book  by Trudy Harris
"Eat" Cried Little Pig  by Jonathan London
Princess Pig  by Eileen Spinelli
Farm Animals - Pigs  by Cecilia Minden
Goodnight Sweet Pig  by Linda Bailey

For our craft we made a rainbow pig like the one here:
http://goo.gl/Drc9RX
We wrapped a pink pipe cleaner around our finger to make a curly tail, then glued it to our pig craft

Extra activities:
The Pigs on the Farm (sung to Wheels on the Bus)
The pigs on the farm go oink, oink, oink
oink, oink, oink, oink, oink, oink
the pigs on the farm go oink, oink, oink
all day long

Repeat with other farm animals such as: cows, sheep, chickens, horses, etc

March 16, 2016 Story Time - Hens & Chicks

If you missed this weeks story time here is what we did:

*marks the books we read

Hoppity Skip Little Chick  by Jo Brown*
Cock-a-Doodle Dance!  by Christine Tricarico
Peep!  by Maria Van Lieshout*
Chicken, Chicken, Duck  by Nadia Krilanovich
Barnyard Banter  by Denise Fleming*
The Chick That Wouldn't Hatch  by Claire Daniel
Rooster Can't Cock-a-Doodle-Doo  by Karen Rostoker-Gruber
Chickens to the Rescue  by John Himmelman*
Big Fat Hen  by Keith Baker
Chicks Run Wild  by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
Little Chickens  by Colette Barbe-Julien

For our craft we made a chick on a stick by gluing two yellow paper circles together (one big-for the body; one small-for the head), two yellow wings, two orange feet, an orange beak and two googly eyes.

Extra activities
Hens of different colors
(The children guessed what color the hens were while reading this riddle. Then we talked about what words rhymed with each other)
This little hen is BLACK
she stands in the barnyard by a big haystack
this little hen is RED
she is very tired and won't get out of bed
this little hen is BROWN
she is feeling sad and wearing a frown
this little hen is YELLOW
she's friends with the rooster; he's a handsome fellow
this little hen is WHITE
she dances and plays, oh what a sight
this little hen is PURPLE
she spends her day running around in circles
this little han is GREEN
she is the silliest hen I've ever seen
this little hen is BLUE
she lays eggs for me and you
this little hen is PINK
she goes down to the pond to get a drink
all of these hens live at the farm
out in the big RED barn

March 9, 2016 Story Time - Cows

If you missed this weeks story time here is waht we did:

*marks the books we read

Moo, Moo, Brown Cow! Have You Any Milk?  by Phillis Gershator*
Only Cows Allowed!  by Lynn Plourde
There's a Cow in the Road!  by Reeve Lindbergh
Lazy Daisy, Cranky Frankie  by Mary Ellen Jordan & Andrew Weldon*
The Grumpy Morning  by Darcia Labrosse
Meow Said the Cow  by Emma Dodd
From Milk to Ice Cream  by Stacy Taus-Bolstad*
Moo Who?  by Margie Palatini
Brown Cow Green Grass Yellow Mellow Sun  by Ellen Jackson
The Cow Who Clucked  by Denise Fleming

For our craft we made a cow paper bag puppet like the one found here:
http://goo.gl/HSZsGa


Extra activities

I Went to the Farm to See the Animals (an action chant)
I went to the farm to see the animals, see the animals, see the animals
I went to the farm to see the animals, and this is what they did:
The cows I saw went walking, walking, walking (walk in place)
the cows I saw went walking, and then I saw the sheep
the sheep I saw went sliding, sliding, sliding (slide feet side to side)
the sheep I saw went sliding, and then I saw the ducks
the ducks I saw went waddling, waddling, waddling (waddle like a duck)
the ducks I saw went waddling, and then I saw the chickens
the chickens I saw went scratching, scratching, scratching (scratch ground with feet)
the chickens I saw went scratching, and then I saw the pigs
the pigs I saw went rolling, rolling, rolling (roll hands over each other)
the pigs I saw went rolling in the mud, and that is what I saw

We talked about farm animals and the sounds they make

March 2, 2016 Story Time - On the Farm

If you missed this weeks story time here is what we did:

*marks the books we read

Pete the Cat - Old MacDonald Had a Farm  by James Dean*
Down on the Farm  by Merrily Kutner
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm  by Joy Cowley
True or False? Farm Animals  by Daniel Nunn
Big Red Barn  by Margaret Wise Brown*
Old MacDonald Had a Dragon  by Ken Baker
Farm Animals  by Katie Daynes
Going To Sleep On The Farm  by Wendy Cheyette Lewison*
This is the Farmer  by Nancy Tafuri

For our craft we made a farm scene using the images found here:
http://goo.gl/Kh5vXB

Extra activities:
We sang "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" while we read the Pete the Cat book

We played a guessing game called "Farmer, farmer what do you see?". I held up pictures of farm animals and the children had to guess which animal it was and what sound it made. Animals used: goose, lamb, horse, goat, dog, chicken, cat, cow, pig and rooster.

Farm riddles:
I am an animal,
and I have four legs,
I have a swishy tail,
and sometimes I have horns
what am I?
(cow)
I am a machine,
I have 4 wheels,
the farmer rides on me,
and I help him do his work
what am I?
(tractor)
I live in the barn,
and eat the corn,
I am small,
and I squeak
what am I?
(mouse)
I sleep in the barn,
and I like to eat hay,
I have 4 legs,
and I like to say "neigh"
If I'm good,
sometimes I get an apple
what am I?
(horse)
Some people think I'm pink,
I really like the mud,
I use it to keep cool,
I also like to eat slop
what am I?
(pig)
I am big and red,
I'm made of wood,
many animals come visit me,
especially when it rains
what am I?
(barn)