Home Sweet Home- Storytimes Week of Nov 26-Dec 1

Our Toddler and Preschool Storytimes were about Houses and Homes:

"Walking, walking" from Songs for Wiggleworms
H is for House, Homes Flannel
Whose House? by Barbara Seuling
"Old McDonald" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Build a House- Action
The Little Red House Flannel
"Drive the Fire Truck" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Mommy, Where Are You? by Leonid Gore
"Finger' Poppin" from Preschool Aerobic Fun
Guess the House- puppet activity

The theme for our Tuesday morning Baby Laptime was "Things that Go!"

"Baby Hop" from Diaper Gym
Peek a Choo Choo by Marie Cimarusti
"Ride Baby Ride" from Bob McGrath
The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz
Riding in my Stroller flannel story
"Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" song
That's Not My Train by Naomi Watt
Henry Drives a Blue Bus flannel song

Yum, Yum! Food Storytimes- Week of Nov 19-24

Lots of tasty stories about food this week! (Thursday we will be closed so you can enjoy your tasty Thanksgiving!)

Preschool Storytime Lineup
"Wheels on the Bus" from Songs for Wiggleworms
F is for Food
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
"Peanut Butter and Jelly" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Make a Pizza- Creative Dramatic
"The Sneezing Song" from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song
Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield
"Milkshake Song" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Nail Soup- Prop Story (from the book by Eric Maddern)

Toddler Storytime Lineup

"Clap Your Hands" from Wiggleworms Love You

F is for Food

What's for Lunch? by Ann Garrett

"Peanut Butter and Jelly" from Songs for Wiggleworms

Flip Flap Jack- Flannel 

"I'm a Little Teapot" Action Rhyme

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Pop Up book!) by Eric Carle

"Milkshake Song" from Songs for Wiggleworms

Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield

"I Feel Crazy so I Jump in the Soup" from Victor Vito

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear- Prop Story (from the book by Don and Audrey Wood)

Ready 2 Read Skills: Loving Books
Take a book like Nail Soup or The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear and act it out! Have you child help add things to the nail soup, or come up with new ways to hide the strawberry from the Big Hungry Bear. Turning books into games is a great way to model how much fun reading can be!

Look for Pop-Up and Lift-the-Flap books! Charlie Chick, What's for Lunch?  and the pop-up version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar are books that your child will quickly grow to love!

Rain, Rain! Storytimes- Week of November 14, 2011

It's Wet and Rainy Day Storytimes this week!

Our Preschool Lineup:

"Can't Wait to Celebrate" from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
R is for Rain
Move Over Rover by Karen Beaumont
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Raindrop Plop by Wendy Lewison
Middle of the Puddle- Flannel Story
"Itsy Bitsy Spider" from Songs for Wiggleworms
Thirsty Thursday by Phyllis Root
Stamps and Stickers

Our Toddler Lineup:

"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" from Songs for Wiggleworms
R is for Rain!

Thirsty Thursday by Phyllis Root
"Milkshake Song" from Songs for Wiggleworms
It's Raining- Flannel Story
Make a Rainstorm- Action Play
Ducks Like to Swim by Agnes Verboven
"Leaky Umbrella" from Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song
The Big Storm- Puppet Story
Stamps and Stickers

Make a Rainstorm

Hear the gentle rain (rub hands together)

Listen to the raindrops (snap fingers)

That rain is really coming down! (slap thighs)

It's really pouring now! (stomp feet)

It's starting to die down (slap thighs)

The rain is slowing (snap fingers)

The rainstorm is almost over (rub hands together)

Now here comes the sun! (arch arms overhead)


Ready 2 Read Skill: Sounds

Even very small children love to interact with sounds in books like Ducks Like to Swim. Have your child help "call the rain' with each animal.

Songs and rhymes are great ways for kids to have fun while developing understanding of different sounds.

Make a rainstorm with your little one! Show them all the different sounds you can hear in a rainstorm by making them with your hands and feet.

Snip! Snap! Crocs and Gators Storytime- Week of Nov 7

This week our stories were all about Alligators and Crocodiles!

Our Preschool Lineup:

"Jumping and Counting" from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
A is for Alligators!
Where's Your Smile Crocodile? by Claire Freedman
"Knuckles Knees" from Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on his Toe Leg Knee
There's a Crocodile Under My Bed by Ingrid Schubert
Five Little Monkeys- Flannel Story
"Silly Dance Contest" from Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song 
The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
Stamps and Stickers

Our Toddler Lineup:

"Shake Your Sillies Out" from Raffi's More Singable Songs
A is for Alligators!

How Do You Make a Baby Smile by Philemon Sturges
"Alligator Pie" Rhyme
Finger Poppin' from Preschool Aerobic Fun
A Kiss Like This- Flannel Story 
The Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
"Jumping and Counting" from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem
Little Bunny and the Crocodile- Puppet Story
Stamps and Stickers

Alligator Pie

Alligator, alligator,
Alligator Pie. (clapping hands like alligator jaws)
If I don't get some
I think I'm gonna cry. (rub eyes with fists)
You can take away the grass (wave fingers like grass)
And take away the sky, (arch arms overhead)
But please don't take away
My Alligator Pie! (clapping again)



Ready 2 Read Skill: Loving Books

Books that encourage interaction are one way of getting squirmy little ones excited about reading. Ask your child to do the actions in How Do You Make Your Baby Smile?

Pop-up books like The Wide Mouthed Frog are lots of fun and will have your child looking forward to reading time!

Remember, the best way to show your kids how fun books are, is by loving them yourself! Let your child "catch" you reading something you love!

The Mysterious Gap

You may have noticed a sad lack of posts lately. Rest assured, our storytimes have continued at the Hilltop Library! We have not had updates for the month of October while Elisa L. was at the Main branch downtown. But we are picking up again with our storytime updates!