January 25, 2017 Story Time - Snowmen

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

*marks the books we read

Snowbaby Could Not Sleep  by Kara LaReau*
The Loopy Coop Hens-Snow Hens  by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Sneezy the Snowman  by Maureen Wright
100 Snowmen  by Jen Arena*
S is for Snowman-God's Wintertime Alphabet  by Kathy-jo Wargin
Snowflake the Snowman*

For our craft we decorated a snowman shape with stickers

Extra activities
We sang 5 little snowmen and used the fingerplay puppets found here:
https://goo.gl/pOf0XS

Five Snowmen Riding on a Sled (sung to "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed")
Five snowmen riding on a sled
one fell off and bumped his head
Frosty called the doctor and the doctor said
no more snowmen riding on that sled!
(Continue verses until you get to zero)

January 18, 2017 Story Time - Polar Animals

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

*marks the books we read

Polar Animals  by Paul Hess*
In Arctic Waters  by Laura Crawford
Polar Bear Night  by Lauren Thompson*
10, 9, 8 Polar Animals! A Counting Backward Book  by Rebecca Fjelland Davis*
Animal Babies in Polar Lands  by Jennifer Schofield*
Arctic Babies  by Kathy Darling
Polar, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?  by Bill Martin Jr.*

For our craft we made a polar bear puzzle using this template:
https://goo.gl/iPS9jV

If you scroll to the middle of the page there is a link you can click on for a template of the polar bear

Extra activities
There's Something in the Snow
There's something in the snow, now what can it be?
there's something in the snow that I just can't see
Hear its funny sound....Howl, Howl, Howl
A wolf is what I found!
(GRR, GRR, GRR - a bear is what I found; WADDLE, WADDLE, WADDLE - a penguin is what I found, etc)

Sleepy Bear (sung to "Thumbkin")
Where is bear? where is bear?
here I am, here I am
how are you this winter?
very tired, thank you
go to sleep. go to sleep
(have children shout "WAKE UP BEAR" to do the song again)

January 11, 2017 Story Time - Snow

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

*marks the books we read

If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws!  by Kim Norman*
Snow  by P. D. Eastman
No Two Alike  by Keith Baker*
Tiny The Snow Dog  by Cari Meister
The Snowball  by Jennifer Armstrong*
Snowball Fight!  by Jimmy Fallon*
Cleo in the Snow  by Stella Blackstone
Andy & Sandy and the First Snow  by Tomie dePaola*

For our craft we made a snowflake person by gluing a face onto the middle of a big snowflake, then we added green paper caps and gloves and tied a string to the top so we could hang it up

Extra activities:
Snowflakes, Snowflakes (sung to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")
Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around
snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground
snowflakes, snowflakes, in the air
snowflakes, snowflakes, everywhere
snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around
snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground

Five Little Snowflakes
Five little snowflakes
dancing here and there
then one little snowflake
blew away in the air!

Four little snowflakes
dancing here and there
then one little snowflake
blew away in the air!

Continue to zero, then

Zero little snowflakes
not one to be found
cause five little snowflakes
have fallen to the ground!

January 4, 2017 Story Time - Nursery Rhymes

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

*marks the books we read

Hey Diddle Diddle  by Moira Kemp*
The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock  by Jim Aylesworth*
Roll Over! A Counting Song  by Merle Peek*
The Itsy Bitsy Spider  by Iza Trapani*
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe  by Paige Billin-Frye*
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep  by Moira Kemp*
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star  by Sharon Lane Holm*

For our craft we made a picture like this one:
https://goo.gl/MQ3atb

Extra activities
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
how I wonder what you are
up above the world so high
like a diamond in the sky
twinkle, twinkle, little star
how I wonder what you are

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
One, two, buckle my shoe
three, four, shut the door
five, six, pick up sticks
seven, eight, lay them straight
nine, ten, a big fat hen

Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout
down came the rain and washed the spider out
out came the sun and dried up all the rain
and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again

Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
yes sir, yes sir, three bags full
one for the master and one for the dame
and one for the little boy who lives down the lane
baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
yes sir, yes sir, three bags full

Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey diddle diddle
the cat and the fiddle
the cow jumped over the moon
the little dog laughed to see such sport
and the dish ran away with the spoon

December 28, 2016 Story Time - Winter

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

*marks the books we read

When Winter Comes  by Nancy Van Laan*
Boot Weather  by Judith Vigna
Baby Bear Counts One  by Ashley Wolff*
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit - A Book of Changing Seasons  by Il Sung Na*
I see Winter  by Charles Ghigna*
Lionel in the Winter  by Stephen Krensky
Winter  by Ann Herriges

For our craft we made this:
https://goo.gl/MUne5V

Extra activities:
We talked about what we like to do in the winter: play in the snow, go sledding, make snowmen, make snow angels, catch snow flakes on our tongues, etc

Ten Little Snowmen
One little, two little, three little snowmen
four little, five little, six little snowmen
seven little, eight little, nine little snowmen
ten little snowmen standing in the snow

December 21, 2016 Story Time - Santa

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

*marks the books we read

Shhh!  by Julie Sykes*
Santa is coming to Missouri  by Steve Smallman
Word Bird's Christmas Words  by Jane Belk Moncure*
Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!  by Doreen Cronin*
Santa's Busy Night  by Michael Rex*
Pete the Cat Saves Christmas  by Eric Litwin*

For our craft we made a paper bag santa with this pattern:
https://goo.gl/5keO8V

Extra activities:
Old St. Nicholas
Old St. Nicholas had a tree
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
and on his tree he had some horns
ho, ho, ho, ho, ho
with a honk, honk here
and a honk, honk there
here a honk, there a honk
everywhere a honk, honk
old St. Nicholas had a tree
ho, ho, ho, ho, ho

repeat verses with:
had some drums, (with a boom, boom)
had some candy canes (with a yum, yum)
had some lights (with a flash, flash)
had some stars (with a twinkle, twinkle)

December 14, 2016 Story Time - Reindeer

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

*marks the books we read

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer  by Barbara Shook Hazen (adapted from the story by Robert L. May)*
Rudolph's Bag of Toys*
Caribou and Reindeer Too  by Joyce L. Markovics
Uncles and Antlers  by Lisa Wheeler
Rudolph's Christmas Party!  by Mary Man-Kong*
Olive the Other Reindeer  by J. Otto Siebold
Rudolph Shines Again  by Robert L. May

For our craft we made a reindeer ornament like this one:
https://goo.gl/tTOaQj

Extra activities:
We sang "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Little Reindeer
One little, two little, three little reindeer
four little, five little, six little reindeer
seven little, eight little, nine little reindeer
ten little reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh
(then we counted back down to none)

Call Rudolph
Eight little reindeer pulling Santa's sled
one fell down and bumped his head
the elves called Santa and Santa said
"can seven little reindeer pull my sled?"

seven little reindeer.....
six little reindeer.....
five little reindeer....
four little reindeer....
three little reindeer....
two little reindeer.....

One little reindeer pulling Santa's sled
he fell down and bumped his head
the elves called Santa and Santa said
"Call Rudolph!"