Moose

I love doing moose as a storytime theme and wanted a simple counting flannel board.  I made up a rhyme back in January and then found this cute moose at this site:  http://www.clipartandcrafts.com/clipart/themes/kidstuff/thumbs/mooseth.gif

I enlarged him and printed him on cardstock.  He worked just perfectly.

Ten Mighty Moose

Ten Mighty Moose sitting in a line,

One toppled over and then there were nine.

Nine Mighty Moose sitting on the grate,

One toppled over and then there were eight.

Eight Mighty Moose were sent from Devon,

One toppled over and then there were seven.

Seven Mighty Moose would like salt licks,

One toppled over and then there were six.

Six Mighty Moose sat listening to Clive,

One toppled over and then there were five.

Five Mighty Moose sat quietly on the floor,

One toppled over and then there were four.

Four Mighty Moose, two and two you see,

One toppled over and then there were three.

Three Mightly Moose, wanted something new,

One toppled over and then there were two.

Two Mighty Moose wished for some fun,

One toppled over and then there was one.

One Mighty Moose felt like he weighed a ton,

He toppled over and then there were none.

Lisa at Libraryland is our Flannel Friday hostess this week.  Visit her site at http://lisaslibraryland.blogspot.com/2012/05/flannel-friday-round-up-for-june-2.html to share in this week's wealth.  To learn more about Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday home page http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com/ for more information on what it is and how you can participate.

 





Let's Build!

I've been working on a construction/big machines storytime for a while.  I found these five cement mixers in the dollar bin of a local grocery store and couldn't wait to use them.  I looked for a rhyme and found the song "Five Big Dump Trucks" by Pam Beall & Susan Nipp on the internet.  You can hear it at http://www.angles365.com/classroom/songsci04/fitxers/song17.swf  I changed the Dump Truck to Cement Mixer & it worked just fine.  (Linn Brown also has his own "Five Big Dump Trucks" which is a little different.)

FIVE BIG CEMENT MIXERS

Five big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Five big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload.

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload.

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

It pulls off to unload.

No more cement mixers rolling down the road.

I also stumbled across Addison Public Library's Rhymes & Resources on construction & building at www.addisonlibrary.org/assets/1/childrens_pdf/Construction.pdf   That's where I found Five Little Houses by Joan Hilyer Phelps from her book FINGER TALES.



It fit perfectly & was so easy to do--I just used our PrintShop to find five houses, printed them on cardstock, did minimal trimming & laminated for an instant flannelboard!

I would save this last one but by adding it you might still be able to get the same jeeps I did.  I found these at Hobby Lobby in their summer crafts.  They are made from fun foam & meant to be frames but work well as flannel board pieces (I just put a little velcro on the back)

I left two of these without the window punched out so you can see your options.  If I can find the right picture of fruits/vegetables, I may put those into the frame later.  Here is the rhyme I wrote to go with them.

TEN RED JEEPS

Ten red jeeps racing in two lines,

One got a flat & then there were nine.

Nine red jeeps didn't want to be late,

One got lost & then there were eight.

Eight red jeeps with their engines rev-in',

One dropped an axle & then there were seven

Seven red jeeps racing over bricks,

One took a detour & then there were six.

Six red jeeps out for a drive,

One dodged a dog & then there were five.

Five red jeeps zooming past the shore,

One got stuck & then there were four.

Four red jeeps, tires screeching like a banshee,

One slid into a ditch & then there were three.

Three red jeeps, down the road they flew,

One lost its engine & then there were two.

Two red jeeps, each one weighing a ton,

One spun out & then there was one.

One red jeep feeling like a hero,

Completed the journey & then there were zero.

Mel is hosting Flannel Friday this week.  I'm so glad she had this wonderful idea & that so many people have joined in.  I've gotten so much from the rest of you that it is what inspires me to post on this blog.

Visit Mel at http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog to check out all of this week's ideas.

Kites

Sue Block, who does our toddler time, created these simple kites using patterned & glitter felt as well as ribbon with designs on it.  She used the book, KITE DAY: A BEAR AND MOLE STORY by Will Hellenbrand as the base for her toddler time.

Both of the rhymes Sue used came from http://stepbystepcc.com/kites.html.  The first rhyme she used with the felt pieces was:

FIVE KITES

One little kite in the sky so blue

Along came another, then there were two.

Two little kites flying high above me

Along came another, then there were three.

Three little kites, just watch how they soar

Along came another, then there were four.

Four little kites, so high and so alive

Along came another, then there were five.

Five little kites dancing 'cross the sky

What a sight to see, way up so high!

Once she had the kites up on the board, she left them there until it was time for her second rhyme.  For this one, she went to our die machine and cut out various things that can be seen in the sky.  This second rhyme can be as short or as long as you would like since you can add more "Say hi to the..." to fit whatever you'd like.

FIVE LITTLE KITES

Five little kites, way up in the sky

Say hi to the clouds, as they pass by

Say hi to the birds

Say hi to the sun

Say hi to the airplane, oh what fun.

Then swish went the wind

And they all took a dive:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

To see these in relation to the size of the kites:

You can see that Sue made some extra kties and I think she also added a star to her sky shapes later on.

Check out the other Flannel Friday posts at Linda's blog:  http://meusenotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/flannel-friday-round-up-for-may-18.html

May Baskets & More

Prior to Easter, I found a packet of fun foam baskets in a variety of colors at Wal-Mart.  While I don't do an Easter storytime, I am planning a storytime on Baskets, Boxes, and Bags for the first week of May and decided to make some May Baskets.  I still need to finish the last two but here is a photo of the three I have done.

As you can see, I still need to finish the 2nd & 5th basket.  I'm using glitter fun foam flowers from a packet called "Peace & Love" that I also found at Wal-mart, but these would also work made out of felt.  (This was just quicker & I love quicker)

FIVE MAY BASKETS

Five May baskets sitting by my door.

One went to my neighbor and then there were four.

Four May baskets put together by me,

One went to my friend and then there were three.

Three May baskets, pink, orange, and blue.

One went to Grandpa and then there were two.

Two May baskets--I'm having so much fun.

One went to my cousin and then there was one.

One May basket--my task is almost done.

It went to my baby sister and now I have none.

Being from Nebraska, home of Arbor Day, I decided we would do Tree Top Tales for family & preschool storytime during the week of April 23. As I was planning it, a customer donated a small, metal tree to us which I thought was just begging for some monkeys.  I used it after reading CAPS FOR SALE and doing the activity, "Monkey See, Monkey Do".  I bought the game "Barrel of Monkeys" to get the right size monkeys and used a beanie baby croc.  Since I wanted to start with a lot of monkeys in the tree, I made up a rhyme to lead into "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree".  The kids loved it!

See all the monkeys hanging in the tree,

Waving their arms and chattering at me?

How many monkeys do we see?

Count them now along with me.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

Ten monkeys laughing and feeling quite fine.

One chased a butterfly, then there were nine.

Nine monkeys busy throwing sticks,

Three ran after them, then there were six.

Six monkeys poking at a bee hive,

One got stung, then there were five.

Five monkeys climbing and enjoying the sun,

Saw a crocodile and thought they'd have some fun.

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree,

Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"

Along came Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be.

"SNAP" that monkey right out of the tree.

(continue to the end)

Ah-Choo!

     A few months ago, I did a preschool storytime on SNEEZES.  I was looking for all kinds of things that make us sneeze--allergies, colds, pollen, etc.  We had the pansy die from Ellison and I came up with this rhyme to use with the die cuts.  I cut them out of felt, and made separate stems and flowers and only glued the blue blossom to a stem.

A FLOWER FOR YOU

Out in the garden the flowers grew

Each with a different color and hue.

I picked the red one just for you,

Then took a sniff and went "Ah-choo!"

Away the head of the flower flew.

(This continues substituting the colors purple, yellow, orange, pink for red until only blue is left)

Out in the garden where the flowers grew,

All that was left was a flower that was blue.

I picked that flower just for you

But I didn't sniff and go "Ah-choo!"

Now I can give you the flower that is blue.

Sea Serpents for Flannel Friday

A few years ago, I stumbled across Stephanie Stokes' site, Library Palooza (http://www.librarypalooza.com/) and her archive of Puppet Tales newletters.  In the issue for June 2008, Sea Serpent Tales, she had a rhyme and pattern for FIVE GREEN SEA SERPENTS.  I tweaked it just a little to make it SIX LARGE SEA SERPENTS and cut my serpents out of varigated felt pieces.  I use these with storytimes on sea creatures or imagination or things that swim.

I don't find time to post as much as I'd like, but I've been enjoying and using the Flannel Friday ideas and wanted to join in the fun.

Perfect Pies for Storytime

We had fun with "Pies" in a recent storytime and I thought I'd share a flannelboard we did then.  My wonderful colleague, Sue Block, made some wonderful large pies out of felt.  I came up with the following rhymes based on traditional rhymes.

TEN TASTY PIES

One tasty, two tasty, three tasty pies;

Four tasty, five tasty, six tasty pies;

Seven tasty, eight tasty, nine tasty pies;

Ten tasty pies smell so yummy!

Ten tasty, nine tasty, eight tasty pies;

Seven tasty, six tasty, five tasty pies;
Four tasty, three tasty, two tasty pies;

One tasty pie in my tummy!

FIVE PIES

Five little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Four little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Three little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Two little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

One little pie in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

To make the pies, Sue traced around a dinner plate for the bottom layer (she used textured felt there), then a smaller plate for the color (fruit) inside, & then used the dinner plate for the top layer, scalloping the edge to make it just slightly smaller then the first piece of felt.  Our interiors were all different colors which can be seen though the slits made on the top layer, though it's hard to tell that from the photo.

The books I used were:

BLUEBERRY MOUSE by Alice Low

PIE FOR ALL, ALL FOR PIE by David Martin

PIE IN THE SKY by Lois Ehlert

PIE'S IN THE OVEN by Betty Birney

SWEET POTATO PIE by Anne Rockwell

THREE LITTLE KITTENS 

I love to do pigs in storytime. Lately I've seen several cute ideas on how to create pigs for a flannelboard. I found a really cute notepad a few years ago and laminated some of them for my flannelboard rhyme (which I wrote & dedicated to my fellow storyteller, Sue--not sure she thought it such an honor though).

I like to use this when I read BED HOGS by Kelly DiPucchio and Howard Fine.

PINK PIGS

One pink pig whose name was Sue,

Made a friend and then there were __.

Two pink pigs heard "fiddle-I-fee",

Up trotted another and then they were ____.

Three pink pigs stood near the barn door,

They heard a squeal and then they were ____.

Four pink pigs waiting for supper to arrive,

When up ran another and then they were five.

Five pink pigs rolling on the floor;

One rolled away and then there were ____.

Four pink pigs crying, "whee-whee-whee";

One trotted off and then there were _____.

Three pink pigs heard, "Sooie, Sooie, Sue!"

Sue ran home and then there were ___.

Two pink pigs out enjoying the sun;

They bounded off together and then there were none.

Flannelboard--Iguanas

I was doing a desert theme for preschool storytime and one of the books that I read was MANANA, IGUANA by Ann Whitford Paul. Since we had the iguana die from Ellison, I cut 10 iguanas and used them with a rhyme I came up with. Since it works best to cut felt layered with paper, I ended up with both a paper set that I laminated & a felt set. You can use an image from print shop or draw your own iguanas if you want to use the rhyme. I used green so it would show up on my board, but you could go with any color with this rhyme.

TEN IGUANAS

Ten fat iguanas basking in a line,

One scurried off and then there were _____

Nine fat iguanas under the bright heaven,

Two scurried off and then there were _____

Seven fat iguanas continued to thrive,

Two scurried off and then there were ____.

Five fat iguanas on the desert floor,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Four fat iguanas under the mesquite tree,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Three fat iguanas sat while the wind blew,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Two fat iguanas baked under the sun,

One scurried off and then there was ____,

One fat iguana knew day was almost done,

He scurried off and then there were none.

Sandy Wallick 5-24-11

Bedtime storytime

While looking ahead to 2011 Summer Reading, "One world, many stories", I remembered a rhyme I wrote called, "The Bedtime Train." I had some unusual felt & had cut a train using dies, then decided that it looked like a bedtime train. I couldn't find a story to fit so I wrote this:

THE BEDTIME TRAIN

(tune: The wheels on the bus)

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Chugging along, chugging along.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Hauling sleep and dreams.

Here is the tank car filled with yawns,

Filled with yawns, filled with yawns.

Here is the tank car filled with yawns,

On the bedtime train.

Here is the boxcar filled with dreams,

Filled with dreams, filled with dreams,

Here is the boxcar filled with dreams,

On the bedtime train.

Here is the caboose to carry you away,

Carry you away, carry you away.

Here is the caboose to carry you away,

To the land of dreams.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Chugging along, chugging along.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Hauling sleep and dreams.

Sandra Wallick c. 11-2-10

I plan to use this in a bedtime storytime with bedtime stories from around the world.

Fox Storytime

Animal of the day--FOXES

Picture Books on Foxes:

FOX AND FLUFF--Crum
FOUR FAMISHED FOXES AND FOSDYKE--Edwards
HATTIE AND THE FOX--Fox
RED FOX AT McCLOSKEY'S FARM--Heinz
DO LIKE A DUCK DOES--Hindley
ROSIE'S WALK--Hutchins
MY LUCKY DAY--Kasza
THE RUBBER-LEGGED DUCK--Keller
LITTLE CHICKEN AND LITTLE FOX--Sidjanski
AROUND THE HOUSE THE FOX CHASED THE MOUSE--Walton
IF A CHICKEN STAYED FOR SUPPER--Weston
DINNERTIME!--Williams

Fox rhymes:

FOXY LOXY (adapted by me 3-10-99)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch your toes. (touch toes)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch your nose. (touch nose)

Foxy Loxy,
Pat your head. (pat head)

Foxy Loxy,
Go to bed. (lay head on folded hands)

Foxy Loxy,
Wake up now. (stretch arms above head)

Foxy Loxy,
Take a bow. (bow)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch the ground. (touch floor)

Foxy Loxy,
Turn around. (turn)

Foxy Loxy,
Sit back down. (sit)

Foxy Loxy,
Don't make a sound. (finger to lips)


FIVE RED FOXES
(I wrote this 3/9/99 & have used it with small beanie babies & as a flannelboard)

Out in the woods under the sun,
Up ran a red fox and that made one.

One red fox under a sky so blue,
Up ran another and then there were two.

Two red foxes sitting by a tree,
Up ran another and then there were three.

Three red foxes trotting by the shore,
Up ran another and then there were four.

Four red foxes watching a beehive,
Up ran another and then there were five.

Five red foxes sunning by the shore,
One went swimming and then there were four.

Four red foxes underneath a tree,
One chased a squirrel and then there were three.

Three red foxes looking for something new,
One found some berries and then there were two.

Two red foxes having so much fun,
One chased a butterfly and then there was one.

One red fox enjoying the bright sun,
It ran home for supper and then there were none.


FOXY, FOXY, TURN AROUND.

Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, touch the ground.
Foxy, foxy, dance on your toes.
Foxy, foxy, touch your nose.
Foxy, foxy, jump up now.
Foxy, foxy, take a bow.
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, sit right down.


HERE IS FOXY

Here is foxy's pointed ears. (point to ears)
Here is foxy's nose. (point to nose)
Here is foxy's bushy tail. (point to "tail")
Now up and off he goes! (trot around)


FOX HAS GOT A LONG RED TAIL

Fox has got a long red tail,
Shake that tail, shake that tail!
Fox has got a long red tail,
Shake that tail now!

Fox has got a pointy nose,
Wiggle that nose, wiggle that nose!
Fox has got a pointy nose,
Wiggle that nose now!

(continue Fox has got: two front paws; two pointy ears; two bright eyes; long pointy teeth, etc)


Flannel board ideas:
FIVE RED FOXES (see above)
HENNY PENNY (you can make your own or purchase)
FOX IN A BOX.

Dragons, dragons, I love dragons

I love to do dragons for storytime. I've listed an overview of books, flannel board stories and fingerplays that I've used. When possible, I've listed the sources for copyrighted works, links for those I've found on-line, and the actual text of those I've created or adapted.

Books:

THE EGG by M.P. Robertson
THE BEST PET OF ALL by David LaRochelle/illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama
THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS by Robert Munsch/art by Michael Martchenko
WHO WANTS A DRAGON? by James Mayhew/illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A DRAGON by Jack Kent
SPARK THE FIREFIGHTER by Stephen Krensky/illustrated by Amanda Haley
THE PET DRAGON: A Story about adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters by Chrisoph Niemann
THE KISS THAT MISSED by David Melling
BABY DRAGON by Amy Ehrlich/illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
LITTLE ONES DO by Jana Novotny Hunter/illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert
GRAMPS AND THE FIRE DRAGON by Bethany Roberts/illustrated by Melissa Iwai
THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE DRAGON by Else Holmelund Minarik/pictures by Martine Gourbault
NO HUGS TILL SATURDAY by Julie Downing
PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON by Peter Yarrow & Lenny Lipton/paintings by Eric Puybaret

Flannel board stories:
COLOR DRAGONS (see below)
LITTLE DRAGON'S BIRTHDAY (tracking down the source on this--I did from memory)
TEN DIZZY DRAGONS from SUPER STORYTELLING by Carol Elaine Catron & Barbara Catron Parks
THE DRAGON a poem by Jean Kenward (used PrintShop 15 to make flannelboard pieces)
S-P-A-R-K (see below)

Tell & Draw Story
THE LITTLE DRAGON MONSTER from CHALK IN HAND by Phyllis Noe Pflomm

Finger plays:
I found several at http://storytimepreschooltodders.blogspot.com
Dragon, Dragon (see below)
If I Were A Dragon (see below)

COLOR DRAGONS

Red dragon,
Green dragon,
Yellow dragon,
Blue....

Orange dragon,
Brown dragon,
Purple dragon, too!

How many dragons do we see?
Count them now along with me,
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Seven bright dragons fly in the heavens.

Original author unknown, adapted by me on 9-26-01

S-P-A-R-K

There was a dragon that I knew
And Spark was his name.
S-P-A-R-K
S-P-A-R-K
S-P-A-R-K
And Spark was his name.

(On the second verse, remove the K & clap instead of saying "K". Continue replacing a letter with a clap until all five letters are claps)

Dragon, Dragon

Dragon, dragon, turn around
Dragon, dragon, touch the ground
Dragon, dragon, fly up high
Dragon, dragon float in the sky
Dragon, dragon, shake your tail
Dragon, dragon, pound a nail
Dragon, dragon, give a roar
Dragon, dragon, drop to the floor.


If I Were A Dragon

If I were a dragon, a dragon, a dragon,
If I were a dragon, here's what I'd do:

I'd fly and glide and soar and dip,
If I were a dragon that's what I'd do.

If I were a dragon, a dragon, a dragon,
If I were a dragon, here's what I'd do:

I'd stomp and roar and blow my fire,
If I were a dragon, that's what I'd do.

If I were a dragon, a dragon, a dragon,
If I were a dragon, here's what I'd do:

I'd twirl around then sit back down,
If I were a dragon, that's what I'd do.

Okay, that's the bare bones. Have fun with it!

Websites for storytellers & preschool teachers

I created a page "Websites to visit" that is now available through Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, NE @ http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/Kids/teachers_page.htm

These sites have theme units, flannel board stories, or other good things to use with young children. I share it with students who are studying early childhood education as well as with teachers who visit our library.

Buggy Summer

Our theme for summer reading (like a lot of the country) is "Catch the Reading Bug". I really like the new Ed Emberley book--"Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug".

"Bugs, Bugs, Bugs" by Bob Barner is available in a book/cd set that's so much fun. On kizclub.com you can find pieces to print out to do this on the flannelboard.

I'm also using poems from Rick Walton's "What to do when a bug climbs in your mouth and other poems to drive you buggy". Many of them beg to be recited with puppets or other props.

Brenda's Bedtime

I did the following several years ago for my preschool storytime & the kids had SO much fun with it. I used 7 very large plush animals to tell the story. Any animal or toy can be used with different excuses for taking them out of the bed (one squeaks, one is too hard, etc.) You can also use this as a flannel board story.

BRENDA'S BEDTIME

No matter how tired she was, Brenda never wanted to go to bed. She always needed one more drink, one more kiss, one more bedtime story.

One night when Brenda's mother was putting her to bed, Brenda cried, "I'm lonely. I need my special friend to keep me company."

"Just hurry up, Brenda. It's time to go to sleep. I'll come back in a few minutes and you better be in bed," her mother told her.

When her mother left the room, Brenda huttied to find her friend. First she found her teddy bear and put it in the bed. Then she saw her shaggy dog and put it in the bed. Brenda started to climb into bed when she saw her stuffed rabbit and put it into the bec. The next animal to be added was her elephant and then it was her monkey. Brenda looked around to see if she had forgotten anyone and saw her giraffe and her penguin and they went into the bed.

Brenda tried to climb into bed before her mother came in and there was....no room! What was she going to do? Brenda set out her penguin...but there still wasn't enough room. Then she took out her giraffe. Now she could get into bed, but when she tried to turn over, she fell out! So Brenda got up and put the penguin, the giraffe, AND the monkey into the toybox. Finally Brenda climbed into bed only to discover that her blanket wouldn't cover her and all her friends. The elephant joined the other toys in the toybox.

Now Brenda could lay in the bed AND cover herself and her friends with her blanket. The ears of her rabbit tickled her and made her wiggle, so the rabbit was hopped to the toy box. Now all that was left was Brenda, her teddy and her shaggy dog. Brenda was ready to go to sleep when the shaggy dog's fur made her sneeze! Back to the toybox he went.

When Brenda's mother looked in the door a few minutes later, Brenda was in bed, covered with her blanket and cuddling her teddy bear...fast asleep.

Sparkling Snow Storytime

I love doing snow storytimes in winter. Alice Schertle begins ALL YOU NEED FOR A SNOWMAN when the first snowflake falls. SNOWBALLS by Lois Ehlert also deals with building a snowman.

An older song that I remember (and can be found on the internet) is Suzy Snowflake. She comes tapping on the window and offers to help build a snowman and take them on a sleigh ride. I'm planning on making a flannelboard to go with the song.

Another song that has picture book editions is FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. This is always a favorite & although we hear it during the Christmas season, the song itself never mentions the holiday. This means it can be used throughout the winter.

A quick and easy flannelboard is "Counting Snowflakes". I used some snowflake calendar cutouts & put sandpaper (you can also use velcro or felt) on the back. You can count up as you put them on the board & down as you take them off.

There are some great picture books out there on dancing. I used several in preschool storytime and wanted to share them with you. Check out our catalog at www.lincolnlibraries.org to see reviews of the books.

Ryder, Joanne. DANCE BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. (this is written to fit the tune: Buffalo Gals). 2007

---- BIG BEAR BALL. (2002) I love Steven Kellogg illustrations.

Andreae, Giles. GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE. (this title came out in 2001 but an edition with a CD was released in 2007)

Harter, Debbie. THE ANIMAL BOOGIE. (this is available in paperback with a music CD that invites kids to get up & move with the animals. This also works well as a flannelboard story)

Winthrop, Elizabeth. THE DANCING GRANNY (2003) This has a dancing granny and a zoo full of animal dancers.

Helldorfer, M. C. GOT TO DANCE (2004) A young girl dances through a summer day.

Merz, Jennifer J. THAT DANCIN' DOLLY. (2004) This is also written to the tune: Buffalo Gals. This is also a wonderful title to use with toddlers.



Dillon, Leo & Diane. RAP A TAP TAP: HERE'S BOJANGLES, THINK OF THAT! (2002) A picture book about the dancing of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.



Shields, Carol Diggory. SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE DINOSAUR STOMP. Who doesn't love dinosaurs, just pratice your pronunciation.

Wilson, Karma. HILDA MUST BE DANCING. A hippo shakes up her friends with her dancing until they find a happy compromise that satisfies everyone.

These are just my top 10. (it was hard to limit to 10 but I did). This storytime invites participation and movement. Later I'll post activities to go with the books.

Farm rhyme/Zoo rhyme

I found a rhyme on the internet that went:

I went to visit a farm one day,
I saw a cow along the way
And what do you think I heard her say?
Moo, moo, moo.


I've also used it for a zoo kit:

I went to visit the zoo one day,
I saw a tiger along the way
And what do you think I heard him say?
Growl, growl, growl.

While visiting our local Hobby Lobby I found some nifty wooden creatures in their Bible School area. There were zoo animals, some farm animals, and some bugs. These are just the right size to add a fat craft stick to for stick puppets. I'm going to use them with the above rhyme and see how it goes.

Piggy in the Puddle

It's funny how something that I've used for years can become fresh again. When I first began presenting preschool storytime, I used a book called PIGGY IN THE PUDDLE by Charlotte Pomerantz. The pictures aren't as large or as bright as many newer books, but the rhyme & language is delightful. I used it today with 3, 4, & 5 year olds, thinking that the younger kids might think it a little long. When I finished, a 3 year old looked at me and said, "That was a really fun book." I had 3 copies of the book available for check out & they all disappeared.

Ezra Jack Keats "Pet Show" activity

At the time of the video conference, I didn't have this ready to send out. I hope you'll find it useful.

Ezra Jack Keats----Pet Show Activity

Have children sit in circle.

Read “Pet Show” by Ezra Jack Keats
(You may need to provide some background on what a germ is)

Explain that we’re going to have a pet show all our own
And that we’ll use the library’s animals.

Have the children close their eyes and hold out their hands.

Hand out the beanie babies—it may help to have a teacher hand some out
(and teachers get one, also!)

Open your eyes!

Show children how to treat their beanie baby tenderly—model stroking its
head, etc.

After children have had a chance to explore their animal, demonstrate how
the beanie gets put on the floor in front of each child for the pet show.

Then—they chant! (You may need to coach them so everyone participates)

Hey Friend! (clap, clap)
What’s your pet? (clap, clap)

Child will identify pet

Everyone repeats the kind of animal it is

(clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) nice pet!
(count aloud: one-two-three-four-five nice pet!)

At the end, have the children put the beanies back in their bags, and into the basket.

You can gauge the group about how they’ll handle the beanies. Some groups get pretty aggressive with them, and it helps to be very structured about how you use them.

Some children end up disappointed in their animal—they like another one better. You can decide whether, if animals are left, you can make a trade.

You might want to do a quick check whether each child can identify their animal—or if you get to the identification point and the child doesn’t know, just supply the name.

Developed by Pat Leach, Youth Services, Bennett Martin Public Library, Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, NE.