Eggstravaganza! April 21, 2011

Our Eggstravaganza was a big hit! Here's what we did:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to the letter E for Egg
Hidden Eggs
Book - Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Flannel - The Happy Egg from the book by Ruth Krauss
Action Rhyme - There's An Egg on My Head (with eggs on sticks)
Book - Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting
Puppet Story - Hatch, Egg! Hatch!

Ready to Read Skill: Storytelling (Narritive Skills)
Narritive Skills means being able to describe things and events and tell stories. Working on this skill will help your child understand what they are reading as they get older and move to more advanced books, because they will be able to recognize that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Ways to improve Narritive Skills include telling your child what you are doing throughout the day, listening to them and asking questions, and encouraging them to tell stories. Another way to practice Narritive Skills is to take a favorite book and tell it or act it out in a different way like we did this week with Hatch, Egg! Hatch! and The Happy Egg.

Thanks for joining us! Miss Elisa and I had a great time, and we hope you did, too!

Hats Storytime - Week of April 16, 2011

This week at Storytime we talked about hats.

Our Toddler Storytime Lineup included:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to hats and the letter 'H'
Flannel with Book - Whose Hat by Margaret Miller
Book -Which Hat Is That? by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Action Rhyme - A Tall Hat
Song - If You're Happy and You Know It from Songs for Wiggleworms
Book - Silly Little Goose by Nancy Tafuri
Flannel- Clancy the Clown and His Silly Hats
Song - Jumping and Counting from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem

Our Preschool Storytime Lineup included:
Song - Walkin' Old Joe from Wiggleworms Love You
Introduction to the letter H for Hat
Book - Silly Little Goose by Nancy Tafuri
Song - Milkshake from Songs for Wiggleworms
Book - A Hat For Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Flannel Story - Whose Hat?
Song - Row, Row, Row Your Boat from Songs for Wiggleworms
Creative Dramatic - Caps For Sale from the book by Esphyr Slobodkina

Our 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, having your child help you read by saying a repeating phrase, or choosing books that have a pop-up, lift-the-flap, or die-cut feature, like Which Hat Is That? Come into the library and ask us for more fun books!

Zoo Storytimes - Week of April 9, 2011

This week we are talking about going to the zoo!

Our Toddler Storytime lineup included:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to the letter 'Z' for zoo and zebra
Rhyme/Song - The Animals at the Zoo (to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)
Book - Hello Baby by Steve Jenkins
Flannel Story - 1 Little Monkey Goes to the Zoo
Song - Milkshake from Songs For Wiggleworms
Book - From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Action Rhyme - If You're a Monkey and You Know It
Song - Clap Your Handsfrom Wiggleworms Love You
Book - Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Our Preschool Storytime linup included:

Song - Very Very Tall from Wiggleworms Love You

Introduction to the letter 'z' for zoo and zebra

Book - Who Ate All the Cookie Dough by Karen Beaumont
Song - Going to the Zoo from Raffi's Singable Songs For the Very Young

Draw and Tell - Monkey Face

Book - Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, Jr.

Creative Dramatic - Feeding Time based on Sam Who Never Forgets by Eve Rice

Rhymes:

Animals at the Zoo
The snakes at the zoo go hiss, hiss, hiss!
Hiss, hiss, hiss! Hiss, hiss, hiss!
The snakes at the zoo go hiss, hiss, hiss,
All day long!

elephants... boom, boom, boom!
flamingos... squawk, squawk, squawk!
lions... roar, roar, roar!
hippos... snort, snort, snort!

If You're A Zoo Animal

If you're a monkey and you know it,* jump up high!**

If you're a monkey and you know it,* jump up high!**

If you're a monkey and you know it,
and you really want to show it,

If you're a monkey and you know it,* jump up high!**

*elephant - **swing your trunk

*lion - **shake your mane

*giraffe - **bend your neck

*alligator - **snap your jaws

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. Books we looked at this week that are great for building vocabulary include Hello Baby! and From Head to Toe.

Names Storytimes - Week of April 2, 2011

This week at storytime we talked about names.

Our Toddler Sorytime Included:
Song - Fingerpopping from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Introduction to the letter 'M' for me and Megan
Letters of the Alphabet- What letter does your name start with?
Book - Cat the Cat Who Is That? by Mo Willems
Rhyme with Puppets- Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?
Song - Milkshake from Songs for Wiggleworms
Book -Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming
Song - Clap Your Hands from Wiggleworms Love You
Flannel Story - Bingo
Song - Hop Like a Bunny from Toddlers on Parade
Book - Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug by J.D. Lester


Our Preschool Sorytime Included:
Song - If You're Happy and You Know It from Songs for Wiggleworms
Introduction to the letter 'N' for Names and Norman
Letters of the Alphabet- What letter does your name start with?
Book - My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen
Flannel Story - Bingo
Book -Hello My Name Is Bob by Linas Alsenas
Song - Jack in the Box from It's Toddler Time
Book - Cat the Cat Who Is That? by Mo Willems
Song - Tommy Thumbs Up from Songs and Games for Toddlers featuring Bob McGrath

Rhymes
Bingo
There was a farmer who had a dog
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O. B-I-N-G-O. B-I-N-G-O.
And Bingo was his name-o.

Who Stole the Cookies From the Cookie Jar? (in 2 parts)
Person 1: Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? Person 2 stole the cookies from the cookie jar!
Person 2: Who, me?
Person 1: Yes, you!
Person 2: Couldn't be
Person 1: Then who?
Person 2: Person 3 stole the cookies from the cookie jar!

Our Ready to Read Skill: ABC's (Letter Knowledge)
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 talked about the first letter of each of our names. At home, you can do the same thing - talk to your child about what letter words begin with and how they sound. 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!