Storytime: Caterpillar/Butterfly

For this story time I had a wide range of ages, 15 children total all between the ages of 0-8. Lucky for me the littlest ones were movers and shakers and the older ones were more than willing to participate, as far as I’m concerned nothing is more of a Debbie Downer than kids who just don’t want to be at story time!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpillar by Clare Jarrett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Life of a Butterfly

(Tune: Skip to My Lou)

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

What’ll I be my darlin?

I’m a chrysalis, now sleep with me…

I’m a butterfly, come fly with me…

Two Little Butterflies

I use this rhyme with pretty much any animal, most children are already familiar with the actions and get really into the motions.

Two little butterflies sitting on a hill

One named Jack, and one named Jill

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

Come back Jack, come back Jill

Two little butterflies sitting on a stick

One named Slow, and one named Quick

Fly away Slow, fly away Quick

Come back Slow, come back Quick

Two little butterflies sitting on a cloud

One named Soft, and one named Loud

Fly away Soft, fly away Loud

Come back Soft, come back Loud

Two little butterflies flying through the sky

One named Low, and one named High

Fly away Low, fly away High

Come back Low, come back High

Itsy, Bitsy Caterpillar

(Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The itsy bitsy caterpillar

Crawled up the garden wall

Down came the rain

and he hoped he wouldn’t fall.

Out came the sun

and dried up all the rain.

Then the itsy bitsy caterpillar

went on his way again.

Cocoon

You spin a cocoon (spin around)

Then you wait inside (crouch down)

And when you come out

You’re a butterfly! (jump up and flap arms)

Storytime: Zoo

This program was held for 3-5 year olds (the majority were 3) and it was a blast, anything that allows the kids to make animal  noises and hop around is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Before reading “Animal Strike at the Zoo It’s True” I did have to give the children a brief explanation of what a strike was, and the children acted out each move while I read “From Head to Toe,” but surprisingly “Gladys Goes Out to Lunch” was the big hit of story time!

Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Animal Strike at the Zoo It’s True by Karma Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Elephants in the Bathtub

This can also be turned into a flannel board, I just didn’t have the time to make one!

One elephant in the bathtub going for a swim (swimming motion)

Knock, knock (clap twice)

Splash, splash (slap knee twice)

Come on in (motion with hand to come in)

Two elephants…

Three elephants…

Four elephants…

Five elephants in the bathtub going for a swim

Knock, knock

Splash, splash

They all fell in (raise both arms)

Source: Jbrary

Funky Spunky Monkey (Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The funky spunky monkey climbed up the coconut tree (climbing motion)

Down came the coconut and bonked him on his knee (wave hand down and slap knee)

Along came his mama and kissed away his pain (blow a kiss)

So the funky spunky monkey climbed up the tree again (climbing motion)

Source: Jbrary

Five Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys swimming in a tree

Teasing Mr. Alligator

“You can’t catch me, no you can’t catch me”

Along comes Mr. Alligator, as quiet as can be

And snatched that monkey right out of the tree

(count down…)

Animal Action by Greg and Steve

“Kids in Motion”

Zoo Train Flannel Board

From 1001 Rhymes & Fingerplays (1994)

Craft

Book Review: We Were Liars – E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

3 out of 5 stars

This young adult novel is about a dysfunctional, yet privileged, family and four friends (the Liars) who spend every summer on their grandfather’s private island. One summer Cadence Sinclair Eastman, the eldest of the Liars, suffers a tragic accident and is unable to remember the events surrounding it. While recovering Cadence reaches out to the Liars (Johnny, Mirren and Gat) but none answer her emails. When Cadence returns to the island and the Liars she begins to remember what happened that fateful summer and the tragic events surrounding her accident.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book, not only in the YA community but also in Adult. While I did enjoy the book I was not overly impressed, this could have been because it has been talked up so much. After reading the book I found that I wanted to know more; more about the family dynamics and issues, more about the Liars personal lives and most of all more about the accident. I felt as if only the surface was scratched and that it would have benefited with more depth. There was a lot of lead up and hinting about the accident but the actual revelation was anticlimactic. With all of that being said, there is definitely a place for this book in YA. I believe readers who want a quick mystery will really enjoy this book, the content is interesting but not hard to follow.

Storytime: Letter B

This weeks two year old program went a lot better than the first one. Hopefully every week there will be improvements!

Bears in the Bath by Shirley Parenteau

Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly Butterfly by Petr Horacek

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ABC Magnets

I like to start and end the Alphabet program by singing our ABCs. To start I put out all of the letter magnets and have the children tell me what letter is missing, that becomes our letter of the day. After we go through the letter and some words that start with it I invite each child up to take two letters off the board and put it into my bag. At first all the children like to swarm up and will grab as many letters as they possibly can, but after a few weeks they begin to understand that they must wait until they hear their name called. To help them stick with two letters only I count out loud (this program maxes out at 12 children so I know I will have enough letters). The children get very excited when it is their turn, plus this helps them learn patience and how to take turns!

Five in the Bed

The song is normally sung with ten in the bed but I decided to shorten it for the twos.

I used a flannel board that a coworker made with felt bears.

There were five in the bed (hold up 5 fingers)

And the little one said “Roll over, roll over” (roll arms)

So they all rolled over and one fell out.

(count down)

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

See the little bunnies sleeping til it’s nearly noon (pretend to sleep)

Come and let us gently wake them with a merry tune

Oh, how still

Are they ill?

Wake up soon!

Hop little bunnies, (hop around)

hop, hop, hop

Hop little bunnies,

hop, hop, hop

Hop little bunnies,

hop, hop, hop

Source: Jbrary

The Life of a Butterfly (Tune: Skip to My Lou)

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me

What’ll I be my darlin?

I’m a chrysalis, now sleep with me…

I’m a butterfly, come fly with me…

The Wheels on the Bus by Raffi

Marching Around the Alphabet by Hap Palmer

This song has become a story time favorite! Every week the children line up on the outside of the alphabet rug and start to march with their adult. When the whistle blows the children stop, bend down and point out which letter they are standing on. I like to participate as well and sometimes I will ask a child what letter they stopped on and the color of the square.

Parachute

The children all grab on and we make some waves (fast, slow, big, small) then I ask the parents to hold on to the parachute. The adults lower the parachute and then pop it into the air, the children then go under (lots of happy squeals) and we gently shake the parachute over their heads. We do this 3 or 4 times, there is always one child that doesn’t want to come out but the parents are pretty good about it. Next I have the children hold on again and place foam letters on the parachute. We shake the parachute and watch the letters fly (again lots of happy squeals)!

ABCs

Craft

I always tell the parents to please do not do the craft for their child, feel free to help them use the glue stick but if they want to put an eye where the foot should be well then that’s just artistic license!

B is for Bear

Storytime: Alligator

This storytime was for families, I had 8 children all between the ages of 1 to 6. This program is held at night and children come in this PJs, because of this we always end the storytime by passing out felt stars, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Star Light, Star Bright. Due to the wide range in ages I try to use 3-4 shorter books and lots of action songs.

Books:

Snip Snap! What’s That? by Mara Bergman

Very Boring Alligator by Jean Gralley

Doodle Bites by Polly Dunbar

There’s an Alligator Under my Bed by Mercer Mayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Alligator Rap

Tap, tap, tap (clap 3 times)

Do the alligator rap

Swish your tail in time (shake bottom)

To the alligator rhyme

Spread those scaly claws (hold up hands)

On your alligator paws

Stomp your scaly feet (stomp feet)

To the alligator beat

Tap, tap, tap (clap 3 times)

Do the alligator rap!

Alligator, Alligator Turn Around

Alligator, alligator turn around

Alligator, alligator touch the ground

Alligator, alligator dance on your toes

Alligator, alligator touch your nose

Alligator, alligator jump up now

Alligator, alligator take a bow

Alligator, alligator stomp your feet

Alligator, alligator take a seat

Source: Jbrary

Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree (hold up 5 fingers)

Teasing Mr. Alligator “You can’t catch me, no you can’t catch me” (shake finger)

Along comes Mr. Alligator, as quiet as can be (put hands together and move slowly)

And snatch that monkey right out of the tree (clamp down hands)

…count down

Five Little Alligators

This could be turned into a flannel board but I ran out of time to make one!

One little alligator swimming in a pool (hold up 1 finger, make swimming motion)

Another comes along and now there are two (hold up 2 fingers)

Two little alligators swimming by a tree (swimming motion)

Another comes along and now there are three (hold up 3 fingers)

Three little alligators swimming near the shore (swimming motion)

Another comes along and now there are four (hold up 4 fingers)

Four little alligators swim, splash and dive (swimming motion)

Another comes along and now there are five (hold up 5 fingers)

Five little alligators having lots of fun

Mama calls, “It’s time for bed!” (cup hands over mouth)

and now the fun is done

Storytime: Letter A

This was my very first time working with just the twos, I did this particular program 3 times and each time I tweaked it a little bit. This past week has definitely been a learning experience for me and I’m hoping after a few more weeks of working with this age group that I will get into the swing of things. I was warned by my coworkers that the hardest part would be getting the children to listen to the stories but they were actually very well behaved during the books. The biggest issue I had was fingerplays and flannel boards, some of the kids just didn’t want to participate in the fingerplays and the adults with them seemed uninterested as well (librarian pet peeve) and when it came to the flannel board the kids were more interested in pulling the pieces off. By the last program I cut out almost all of the fingerplays, and replaced them with action songs and rhymes, and got rid of the flannel board. If you would like to see some of the songs and rhymes we did to get the wiggles out please see “Storytime Go To Songs.”

There’s An Alligator Under My Bed

by Mercer Mayer

I was apprehensive to use this book but the children really enjoyed it.

I’m the Best Artist in the Ocean

by Kevin Sherry

Apple Farmer Annie

by Monica Wellington

ABC Magnets

I like to start and end the Alphabet program by singing our ABCs. To start I put out all of the letter magnets and have the children tell me what letter is missing, that becomes our letter of the day. After we go through the letter and some words that start with it I invite each child up to take two letters off the board and put it into my bag. At first all the children like to swarm up and will grab as many letters as they possibly can, but after a few weeks they begin to understand that they must wait until they hear their name called. To help them stick with two letters only I count out loud (this program maxes out at 12 children so I know I will have enough letters). The children get very excited when it is their turn, plus this helps them learn patience and how to take turns!

Alligator Rap

Tap, tap, tap (clap hands 3 times)

Do the alligator rap

Swish your tail in time (shake bottom)

To the alligator rhyme

Spread those scaly claws (hold hands up)

On your alligator paws

Stomp your scaly feet (stomp feet)

To the alligator beat

Tap, tap, tap (clap hands 3 times)

Do the alligator RAP (clap loudly)

(REPEAT)

This is the Way…

This is the way we stir the paint, stir the paint, stir the paint

This is the way we stir the paint so early in the morning

(dip our brush, paint the picture, blow it dry, frame the picture)

Source: Storytime Katie

Ten Red Apples

Ten red apples growing on a tree (hold hands high with fingers extended)

Five for you and five for me (wave one hand, then the other)

Help me shake the tree just so (shake tree)

And ten red apples will fall below (lower hands and wiggle fingers)

If you have any tips, songs, fingerplays or rhymes that you love using with twos!

Marching Around the Alphabet by Hap Palmer

This song has become a story time favorite! Every week the children line up on the outside of the alphabet rug and start to march with their adult. When the whistle blows the children stop, bend down and point out which letter they are standing on. I like to participate as well and sometimes I will ask a child what letter they stopped on and the color of the square.

Parachute

The children all grab on and we make some waves (fast, slow, big, small) then I ask the parents to hold on to the parachute. The adults lower the parachute and then pop it into the air, the children then go under (lots of happy squeals) and we gently shake the parachute over their heads. We do this 3 or 4 times, there is always one child that doesn’t want to come out but the parents are pretty good about it. Next I have the children hold on again and place foam letters on the parachute. We shake the parachute and watch the letters fly (again lots of happy squeals)!

ABCs

Craft

I always tell the parents to please do not do the craft for their child, feel free to help them use the glue stick but if they want to put an eye where the foot should be well then that’s just artistic license!

We turned the letter A into an alligator!