May 29, 2013 Story Time-Birds

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

(*marks the books we read)



There is a Bird on Your Head!  by Mo Willems*
The Early Bird  by Richard Scarry
Birds and Their Nests  by Linda Tagliaferro*
Flip, Flap, Fly!  by Phyllis Root
Feathers for Lunch  by Lois Ehlert*
A Bird can Fly  by Douglas Florian*

Our craft was a bird's nest from www.toddlerapproved.com/2010/08/soft-prickly-birds-nest.html

Extra activities:

Two Little Black Birds
Two little black birds sitting on a hill
One named Jack (move one hand forward)
And the other named Jill (move other hand forward)
Fly away, Jack (move one hand behind back)
Fly away, Jill (move the other hand behind your back)
Come back, Jack (return hand to the front)
Come back, Jill (move the other hand to the front)

Five Little Birdies
Five little birdies, flying around our door
The blue one flew away and then there were four
Four little birdies sitting in a tree,
The yellow one flew away, and then there were three
The little birdies didn't know what to do,
So the red one flew away, and then there were two
Two little birdies sitting in the sun,
The brown one flew away, and then there was one.
The little green birdie felt so all alone,
It flew away and then there was none.

May 22, 2013 Story Time - Bees

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

(*marks the books we read)



"Buzz" Said the Bee  by Wendy Cheyette Lewison*
The Beeman  by Laurie Krebs
Where There's a Bee, There's Trouble  by Michael Catchpoo*
Pooh's Hone Tree  by Isabel Gaines
Hooray for Beekeeping!  by Bobbie Kalman
Bumblebees  by Emily K. Green*

We made a bumblebee necklace. The picture came from Publisher. I punched a whole in it and we used black yarn for the necklace.

Extra Activities:

Bee Fingerplay
Here is the bee hive (hold fist together)
But where are all the bees? (hold up hands, or shrug shoulders)
Hiding very carefully
1,2,3,4,5 (hold up fingers one at a time)
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz (wiggle fingers)

Buzzing Bumblebees
6 buzzing bumblebees
Flying around the hive
One buzzes off and that leaves 5
5 buzzing bumblebees
Flying near my door,
1 buzzes off and that leaves 4
4 buzzing bumblebees
Flying around a tree
1 buzzes off and that leaves 3
3 buzzing bumblebees
In the sky so blue
1 buzzes off and that leaves 2
2 buzzing bumblebees
Flying by the sun
1 buzzes off and that leaves 1
1 buzzing bumblebee
Looking for some fun
It buzzes off and that leaves none!

May 15, 2013 Story Time - Sunny Days

                                                                

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

(*marks the books we read)



It's Sunny Today  by Kristin Sterling*
Baby Elephant's Fun in the Sun  by Michael Teitelbaum
The Day Ray Got Away  by Angela Johnson*
Hello Day!  by Anita Lobel
Fun in the Sun  by Janine Scott
Moo in the Morning  by Barbara Maitland
Bear in Sunshine  by Stella Blackstone*

For our craft we made a sunny stick puppet. The pattern was copied from the book "Seasonal Story Time Crafts" on page 91.



Extra activities:

We sang the Mr. Sun song:

Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, please shine down on me
Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you, to please come out so they can play with you
Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, please shine down on me

May 8, 2013 Story Time - Windy Days

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

(*marks the books we read)



The Wind Blew  by Pat Hutchins*
It's Windy Today  by Kristin Sterling*
A Windy Day  by Robin Nelson
Flora's Very Windy Day  by Jeanne Birdsall
The Day Ray got Away  by Angela Johnson*

Our craft came from the book "Seasonal Storytime Crafts" by Kathryn Totten.




I copied the twirling toy on page 67 and we cut and folded it to make our craft.

Extra activities:

We took straws and tried to blow things off the table. Items used were rocks, cotton balls, paper, craft sticks. Children were asked if they thought each item would blow off or stay on the table and why.

May 2, 2013 Story Time - Vegetables

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

(*marks the books we read)



The Vegetable Garden  by Melvin Berger*
In the Garden: Who's Been There?  by Lindsay Barrett George
Vegetables  by Cynthia Fitterer Klingel*
Growing Vegetable Soup  by Lois Ehlert*
How Are You Peeling? Foods With Moods  by Saxton Freymann
Up, Down and Around  by Katherine Ayres*

For our craft we made a vegetable necklace. I copied the vegetables from page 77 of the book "April Patterns, Projects & Plans" by Imogene Forte. We colored the vegetables that were our favorites or new vegetables we had never tried and then threaded them on a piece of colorful yarn.

Extra activities:

We talked about our favorite and least favorite vegetables. We also discussed which vegetables grow up and which vegetables grown down.

April 24, 2013 Story Time - Flowers

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

(*marks the books we read)


Flower Garden  by Eve Bunting*
Flowers and Showers: a Spring Counting Book  by Rebecca Fjelland Davis
Good Morning, Garden  by Barbara Brenner*
Little Seeds  by Charles Ghigna*
What Does Bunny See?  by Linda Sue Park
Planting a Rainbow  by Lois Ehlert

I made the craft we did on Publisher. It was a flower box with plant stems and the children glued flowers on the stems.

Extra activities:

10 Little Daisies
One little, two little, three little daisies
four little, five little, six little daisies
seven little, eight little, nine little daisies
10 little daisies standing straight and tall

Daffodil Fingerplay
One little daffodil had nothing much to do,
out popped another one, then there were two.
Two little daffodils were smiling at a bee,
out popped another one, then there were three.
Three little daffodils were growing by the door,
out popped another one and then there were four.
Four little daffodils were glad to be alive,
out popped another one, then there were were five.
Five little daffodils were wearing golden crowns,
They danced in the breeze in green satin gowns.

April 17, 2013 Story Time - Gardens

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

(*marks the books we read)





Planting the Wild Garden  by Kathryn O. Galbraith*
In the Garden: Who's Been Here?  by Lindsay Barrett George
Isabella's Garden  by Glenda Millard
My Garden  by Kevin Henkes*
Secrets of the Garden: food chains and the food web in our backyard  by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Seeds, Seeds, Seeds  by Brian and Jillian Cutting*
10 Hungry Rabbits: counting & color concepts for the very young  by Anita Lobel

The craft we made was created on Publisher. We colored a small watering can and punched two holes in the bottom. Then we tied small vegetable and flower seed packets to the watering can with colorful yarn. The seed packets were also made using Publisher.

Extra activities:

We sang a song to the tune of "If You're Happy & You Know It"

I need water, I need sunshine, I need dirt. (yes, dirt!)
I need water, I need sunshine, I need dirt. (yes, dirt!)
If I want to grow up tall, If I want to grow at all,
I need water, I need sunshine, I need dirt. (yes, dirt!)

We talked about what plants need to grow. We used hand gestures too, for water (wiggle outstretched fingers) sunshine (hands forming circle over your head) and dirt (hands clapping together)