Eggs Storytime - Week of January 25, 2010

This week at Storytime we talked about eggs and the animals who hatch from them!

Our Toddler Storytime Lineup Included:
Song - Finger Popping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Intro to the Letter E
Rhyme/Props - When Ducks Hatch Out of Their Eggshells
Book - Look Who's Hatching by the World Wildlife Fund
Song - Clap Your Hands from Wiggleworms Love You
Book - Whose Chick Are You? by Nancy Tafuri
Fingerplay - Five Aggs and Five Eggs
Song - Jumping and Counting from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
Book - Good Egg by Barney Saltzberg

Our Preschool Storytime Lineup Included:
Song - Can't Wait to Celebrate from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
Book - The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill
Fingerplay - Five Eggs and Five Eggs
Book - The Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
Song - Shake Your Sillies Out from Raffi's Singable Songs
Flannel Story - Five Little Ducks
Book - Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Ready to Read Skill: Vocabulary (Words)

Vocabulary means knowing the names of things. Knowing many words will help your child recognize written words and understand what he or she reads. Some great ways to work on this skill include talking to your child about what is going on around you, speaking clearly and using short sentences, and pointing out pictures in books when you say certain words. Look Who's Hatching is a great book for building vocabulary because it offers new animal names, like ostrich and robin.

Rhymes:
Five Eggs and Five Eggs
Five eggs and five eggs,
That makes ten.
Sitting on top is the big mother hen.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
What do we see?
Ten little chicks, just as cute as can be!

When Ducks Hatch Out of Their Eggshells
When ducks* hatch out of their eggshells
They always say good day.
When ducks* hatch out of their eggshells
"Quack quack**!" is what they say.

*Use different animals next time around: birds, snakes, chicks, etc.
** Use the corresponding animal sounds: tweet tweet, hiss hiss, peep peep.

Yay for Valentine's Day!

Join us for a special Family Storytime celebrating

Valentine’s Day!

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.
in the Hilltop Branch meeting room

We’ll share songs and stories about loving and caring for one another, and then we’ll make valentines to share with our friends and families!

Hats Storytime - Week of January 18, 2010

This week we talked about hats.

Our Toddler Storytime Lineup included:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to hats and the letter 'H'
Book - Who's Under That Hat? by David A. Carter
Flannel - H-A-T
Song - Clap Your Hands from Wiggleworms Love You
Book - Silly Little Goose by Nancy Tafuri
Song with Props - On My Head I Have A Hat (with hats on sticks)
Song - Shake My Sillies Out from More Singable Songs by Raffi




Our Preschool Storytime Lineup included:
Song - Can't Wait to Celebrate from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
Book - A Hat For Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Song with Props - On My Head I Have A Hat (with hats on sticks)
Book - The Magic Rabbit by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Song - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Flannel Story - Spunky the Clown
Book - A Boy and His Bunny by Sean Bryan
Song - Jumping and Counting from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem



Rhymes:
On My Head I Have a Hat
(to the tune of 'This Old Man' - fun to do with an actual hat)
On my head*, I have a hat.
It is such a silly hat.
It makes my head* wibble wobble to and fro.
Where else can my little hat go?

*fill this in next time with a new body part- feet, hand, nose, etc.)

Ready to Read Skill: Letter Knowledge (ABC's)

Letter knowledge means knowing that letters are different from each other, recognizing them everywhere, and knowing the sounds they make. Each week at Storytime we introduce a letter and discuss the sound it makes and words that begin with that letter. This week, we used a special flannel and talked about spelling and sounds for the words hat, cat, and bat. At home, you can do the same kind of thing - talk to your child and get them excited about what letter words begin with, how they sound, and other words that sound similar and the letters those words start with. Another way to work on your child's Letter Knowledge is to use alphabet magnets to spell things on your refrigerator, or let them trace letter shapes with their fingers on a plate of whipped cream or shaving foam. Most importantly, make learning letters fun for you and your child!

Toys Storytime - Week of January 11, 2010

This week at Storytime we are talking about toys!

Our Toddler Storytime lineup included:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to the theme and letter 'J' for jack-in-the-box
Book - Spot's Playtime Pop-up Book by Eric Hill
Song - Little Red Wagon from Wiggleworms Love You
Book - No Bed Without Ted by Nicola Smee
Flannel Rhyme - Six in the Bed
Song - Happy and You KNow It from Songs for Wiggleworms
Rhyme with props - The Balls in the Room (with balls on sticks)
Book - Kipper's Lost Ball by Mick Inkpen




Our Preschool Storytime lineup included:
Song - Hands Are For Clapping from Jim Gill's The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
Introduction to the letter 'J' for jack-in-the-box
Book - Night-Night, Emily! by Claire Freedman
Flannel Rhyme - Six in the Bed
Book - Bounce by Doreen Cronin
Rhyme with props - The Balls in the Room (with balls on sticks)
Song - Little Red Wagon from Wiggleworms Love You
Book - Kipper's Lost Ball by Mick Inkpen
Song - Stick To the Glue from Jim Gill Makes It Noisy In Boise, Idaho



Ready to Read Skill: Print Motivation (Loving Books)
Print Motivation means being interested in and enjoying books. There are many ways to encourage this skill with your child, but the best way is to make reading fun! Some ways to do this include helping your child choose books to read with you, trying funny voices for the characters in the books, or having your child help you read by saying a repeating phrase. Choosing books that have a pop-up or lift-the-flap feature, like Spot's Playtime Pop-up Book, No Bed Without Ted, and Kipper's Lost Ball also make reading fun and exciting for your little one. Also, feel free to ask the librarians at the branch you visit for books about topics your child is interested in (for example: trains, frogs, princesses, etc.).

Rhymes:
Six in the Bed

There were six in the bed

And the little bear said,

"Roll over! Roll over!"

So they all rolled over

And _____* fell out

And he hit the floor

And they heard him shout : _____**


* Insert animal name here (e.g. lion)

** Insert animal sound here (e.g. ROOAAARRR!!!)

(Continue until there is only one left- the bear)


There was one in the bed

And the little bear said,

"I'm lonely and scared! Everyone come back!"

So they all came back and went to sleep.

The Balls In the Room

The balls in the room bounce up and down,

Up and Down, up and down.

The balls in the room bounce up and down,

All through the day.

...bounce on our heads.

...bounce on our toes.

...bounce on our bellies.

...bounce all around.

Great book for toddlers and preschoolers!!!

Where's My Sweetie Pie? is a fantastic new book by Ed Emberly that is great for working on Ready to Read skills! Kids will love lifting the flaps to see who is under them, and seeing themselves in a surprise on the last page, both of which help your child learn Print Motivation (or Loving Books). Where's My Sweetie Pie? is also great for Vocabulary (or Words) because it teaches new words, like owl and locket. Lastly, the book is made up of rhyming phrases, so it is perfect for working on Phonological Awareness (or Sounds). When reading Where's My Sweetie Pie? to a preschooler or talking toddler, try to let them finish the last word of the rhyme by pausing and pointing at the image of the answer. (For example, "In this chair? It's a teddy..." Point at the picture of the bear and try to get the child to hear the rhyme of chair/bear.)

Have fun with this great new book!