Paint

Rhyme Cube:  Click here for description.

Sign Language:  Word of the day is “Paint”

Opening Rhyme:
“Open them, shut them,
Give a little clap!
Open them, shut them,
Now put them in your lap!”

First Book:  Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri

Felt Board: Five Little Paintbrushes

Five little brushes went out to paint.
One painted white, then ran away in fright.
The second painted red and jumped under the bed.
The third painted green then fled the scene.
The fourth painted black than ran around back.
The fifth painted yellow and felt so mellow,
He invited everyone back to begin again!

(credit:  I think I got this rhyme from a Summer Reading Manual years ago.)

Although I didn’t do the following felt board this time, I’ve done it in the past with slightly older kids. First I put the felt paintbrushes on the board in rainbow order and go over it with the kids.

Next I tell them to close their eyes.  I turn the board around and remove one paintbrush.  I then recite the following rhyme:

“I know the colors of the rainbow.
Do you know them too?
If one color were missing,
Would you know which hue?”

Then the kids tell me which color is missing.  We do it a few times like this but if you want to really challenge them, you can put the paintbrushes in random order instead of rainbow order.  Then remove one brush and ask them to tell you which one is missing.

Song: “We’re Making Some Purple Paint”

This is actually a twist on a camp song called “We’re Making Some Purple Soup” (I used to be a camp counselor) and I just changed the words to fit my theme.

“We’re making some purple paint,
Whip whip, whip whip              (pretend to stir paint)
We’re making some purple paint,
Shooby dooby do                    (pointer fingers to the sky and do a little dance)
With purple potatoes and purple tomatoes….
And…..”                                    (have kids tell you things they can put in the mix ie. purple socks, grapes, one kid told me to put a purple baby in….)

Mix in whatever they come up with and start the verse over again until your purple paint looks nice and mixed up!

Here’s video of some campers doing the song for reference.

Second Book: Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Felt Board:  Mouse Paint

Next I had the kids retell the story as I placed the felt pieces on the board.  As Storytime Katie suggested, I had the kids dance in place at the part of the story where the mice dance in the puddles to make new colors.

Third Book:  I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont

Activity:  We Painted Ourselves!

Next I gave each child a paint brush and we pretended to paint ourselves just like the character in the book.  I asked kids to give me suggestions on what we should paint next- our ears, our knees, our heads, our backs (grown ups helped with this one)…  Once we were covered in pretend paint I told the kids we should wash it off so we don’t drip puddles everywhere.  We pretend the giant rug on the floor was a cat’s water dish (like in Mouse Paint) and we all jumped in and cleaned off!

Goodbye Song:

Let’s tickle the clouds,
And tickle our toes,
And turn around,
And tickle our nose,
Reach down low,
Reach up high,
Storytime is over,
So wave goodbye!

I’m Back….hopefully!

After a long (and unplanned) hiatus from blogging I hope to be adding new posts ASAP.

Over the past few months I’ve been doing tons of storytimes but haven’t had a free moment to post them.  I’m sure a lot of you children’s librarians out there can relate to feeling overwhelmed at times and stretched too thin (but still loving your job!).

I hope there are others out there that feel like that.  Otherwise, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!

Urgent Message

Buy these bubbles.   Now.    You’ll thank me later*.

*I’ll pass the thanks on to my assistant Cathy!  She’s the genius who told me about them.

Hats

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description

Sign Language:  Word of the day is “Hat”

Opening Rhyme:  “Open them, Shut them…”

Finger Puppets:  Timothy Mouse

I found this cute story at ArtFelt.  I used two finger puppets I had (from IKEA!) and made a simple felt hat for the mouse.  In the story, Timothy Mouse feels embarrassed about his ears because they aren’t big like all the other mice.  So he always wears a hat.  He also is a notoriously bad listener.  His friend, the Bunny, tells Timothy that she got her big ears from being a good listener.  Timothy begins to listen and soon his ears grow big and beautiful! (remove hat to reveal his big ears).  Here are some pictures:

After this story I told the kids to put on their big beautiful mouse ears so they would be good listeners too!

First Book:  The Magic Hat by Mem Fox

Finger Play:  My Hat Has Three Corners

My hat it has three corners
[Join thumbs and index fingers to form triangle and place on top of head.]
Three corners has my hat
[Raise three fingers.]
If it did not have three corners,
[Raise three fingers and shake head.]
It would not be my hat.
[Join thumbs and index fingers to form triangle and place on top of head.]

Felt Board:  “Little Bat, Little Bat…”

Another variation on one of my favorite felt boards.  This time I made four felt hats (in different colors) and one black bat.  I turned the board so the kids couldn’t see and told them to close their eyes (no peeking!).  I hid the bat under one of the hats and then let the kids guess which hat he was under.  We recited this rhyme:

“Little Bat, Little Bat, are you under the ____ Hat?”

Second Book:  This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

(p.s. Jon Klassen is my favorite illustrator)

Song:  Silly Hat Song

(Tune: This Old Man)
On my head, I wear my hat.
It is such a silly hat
That my head will wiggle waggle to and fro
Where else can my silly hat go?
[Repeat using foot, elbow and knee.]

credit: Surlalune

Felt Board:  Shape Recognition

I made three felt “people” using different shapes.  I had Mr. Blue (circle), Mrs. Green (triangle), and Mr. Orange (square).  Here’s a picture:

I also made three different hats; round, pointy, and square.

We talked about the shapes.  I pointed out that Mrs. Green has three corners because she’s a triangle. We talked about how Mr. Orange has four sides,…etc

Next we put the correct hat on the correct person.

Cake

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description

Sign Language: Word of the day was “Cake“

Opening Rhyme: “Open them, shut them…”

First Book: The Cake That Mack Ate by Rose Robart

Song: “This is the way…”

This is the way we mix the batter, mix the batter, mix the batter
This is the way we mix the batter, when we bake a cake!

This is the way we spread the frosting, spread the frosting, spread the frosting
This is the way we spread the frosting, when we bake a cake!

This is the way we eat our piece, eat our piece, eat our piece
This is the way we eat our piece, when we bake a cake!

Felt Board: 5 Bright Birthday Candles

(5 candles with flames
remove flames as we blow them out)

Five bright birthday candles and not one more,
The red one got blown out  (blow)
Then there were four.

Four bright birthday candles, pretty as can be,
The blue one got blown out (blow)
Then there were three.

Three bright birthday candles waiting for you,
The green one got blown out, (blow)
Then there were two.

Two bright birthday candles oh what fun,
The yellow one got blown out, (blow)
Then there was one.

Just one bright birthday candle standing oh so tall.
The purple one got blown out, (blow)
And that was all.

(credit: Storytime Katie, I altered the words slightly to include the color of each candle)

Second Book: Who Made This Cake? by Chihiro Nakagawa

(I was originally going to read Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson but I had a lot of very little ones in the group today so I went with this one instead.)

Song: “Patty Cake”

Patty cake patty cake,
Bakers man bake me some a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it pat it mark it with a “B”
And put it in the oven for baby and me

Felt Board:  Layer Cake

I ended up making this flannel board myself but I got the idea from one I found for sale on ebay.  I changed it up a little to suit my needs (I didn’t include flannel candles and numbered the layers differently).

Here are some pictures of what I did:

We started with the layers all mixed up.  I asked one child to come up, find layer number one, and bring it to me.  I then put the first layer on the wall.  I continued asking children to find the next layer until we had them all in the right order.  We stopped along the way to count up the layers and at the end I pointed out that the cake was taller than them!

(*since I had more kids than layers, we did this activity more than once to give all the kids a chance)

Third Book: If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

Song:  “Mix the Batter”

Mix the batter, stir the batter
(make a stirring motion with one arm/hand)
Shake some flour in
(make a shaking motion with one arm/hand)
Mix the batter, stir the batter
(make a stirring motion with one arm/hand)
Place it in a tin
(pretend to pour)
Sprinkle in some raisins
(pretend to sprinkle)
Pop it in the oven
(open both hands, palms up, and slide them forward)
Open wide the oven door
(pretend to open door)
And out comes the cake!
(open both hands, palms up, and slide them forward)

(credit: Baby World Child Care Center)

Felt Board:  Cupcakes

Here’s the pattern I used for the cupcakes

Down the corner at the cupcake shop
There were 6 yummy cupcakes with sprinkles on top
Alone came _________(child’s name), all alone
S/He bought the _________(color) one and took it home!

(credit: Mel’s Desk, but I changed the words slightly)

Bees! (bees?!?)

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description.

Sign Language:  The word for the day is “Bee”

Opening Rhyme:  Open them, Shut them,…

First Book:  Where There’s a Bear, There’s Trouble!  by Michael Catchpool

Flannel Board:  5 Bees

One little bee flew and flew.
He met a friend, and that made two.
Two little bees, busy as could be.
Along came another and that made three.
Three little bees wanted one more.
Found one soon and that made four.
Four little bees going to the hive.
Spied their little brother and that made five.
Five little bees working every hour.
Busy away, bees and find a flower.

(rhyme from: http://sturgiskids.wetpaint.com/page/Bee+Storytime+songs+and+games )

Song:  “I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee…”

Second Book:  Bear and Bee by Sergio Ruzzier

Flannel Board:  Here is a Beehive

I got this cute idea and the template from Sunflower Storytime

Make a bee hive and little bees that you can velcro onto a glove.  Here’s a picture of mine:

Then recite this rhyme”

Here is a beehive. Where are the bees?
Hidden away where nobody sees.
Soon they come creeping out of the hive (have one bee pop out)
1-2-3-4-5! BUZZ! (bring each bee out as you count)
(make your bees fly all around the hive)

Song:  Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee

(I can’t remember where I found this song but it’s basically a version of “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear…”)

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing all around.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing on the ground.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing up so high.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing in the sky.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing past your toes.

Bumblebee, Bumblebee
Buzzing on your nose.

Third Book:  Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Went the Bumblebee by Colin West

Flannel Board: Patterns

Using the flannel bees I used previously, I pointed out that the bees had a pattern on them.  Tell the kids that bees have stripes.  Point to yellow, black, yellow… “this is a pattern!  It’s the same over and over again.”

“You can make patterns with shapes too. Not just colors.  Here is a pattern I’ve made:
Bee, hive, bee, hive, bee, hive   – Let’s see if we can make the same pattern right below-”

(I asked the kids to repeat the pattern right below the first one while I put the pieces up.  Here’s a picture:)

We did the activity again but I made the pattern a little more difficult:

You could also create a pattern leaving one piece out and ask the kids to tell you what’s missing.

This is a very easy way to introduce a simple STEM concept into the storytime and the kids liked it!

Activity:  Egg Shakers

We used egg shakers (pretended they were bees!) and danced around while we listened to Laurie Berkner’s song “Buzz Buzz”

*  I already conducted this storytime but just found an app that could be used in storytime to emphasize pattern recognition.

iPad App:  Park Math HD by Duck Duck Moose

This is a great app (Duck Duck Moose is one of my favorite developers) that promotes math skills for the very young.  There are a number of cute activities included in the app but the one that I could use the next time I do this storytime is activated by tapping on the green kite (unfortunately, the activities are not labeled).

The screen displays a pattern made up of a number of everyday objects.  There is one object missing from the pattern and at the bottom of the screen there are four choices of objects that can be used to complete the pattern.  Here’s a couple screen shots:

You could hold the iPad facing the children and discuss the pattern that is displayed on the top half of the screen.  Then ask them to tell you what object would complete the pattern.  The app starts out with simple patterns (like the ones above) but there are slightly more difficult patterns included as well.

Another Baby Storytime – Rhythm Sticks

It’s about time I include another baby storytime on this blog.  So here it is…

Welcome:  Hello everyone!  I’m so happy to see you all today.  (model the sign for “happy“)  We’ll do every rhyme twice and clap for ourselves and each other a lot!

Sign Language:  Word of the day is “bath“.  You can do this sign before, during, and after bath time.

Rhymes:  The following few rhymes I do every week at baby storytime because repetition is good!

1.
Everybody wave hello, wave hello, wave hello.
Everybody wave hello, let’s have some fun.
Everybody wave hello, wave hello, wave hello.
Everybody wave hello, now our song is done. (model sign for “done“.  This is a useful sign for babies because you can use it at the end of meals, playtime, bath time,…)

2.
Old Mother Goose when she wanted to wander    (tap thighs to rhythm)
Would fly through the air on her very fine gander  (lift child into the air)

3.
Two little dickey birds sitting on a cloud  (hold both pointer fingers up in front of you)
One named “Soft”                                 (wiggle right pointer while you whisper)
The other named “Loud.”                      (wiggle left pointer while you “shout”)
Fly away Soft!                                       (move right pointer behind back and whisper)
Fly away Loud!                                      (move left pointer behind back and “shout”)
Come back Soft!                                   (bring right point to front and whisper)
Come back Loud!                                  (bring left point to front and “shout”)

“That last rhyme was about a bird.  Can you say ‘bird‘ in sign language?”

Book:  What Does Baby Say? by Begin Smart

This book is great because you can do a number of corresponding signs as you read.  I model the sign language words for:  more, drink, cat, mommy, eat.

Rhymes:  The following rhymes change from week-to-week.

4.
Here we go up, up, up.                        (lift child up)
Here we go down, down, down.          (bring child back to lap)
Here we go backwards and forward.  (hold child close and lean back)
Here we go round and round.              (hold child close and move in a circle)

5.
Pizza, pickle, pumpernickel,     (trace a circle on child’s tummy)
My little honey’s going to get a tickle!  (tickle child)
One for your nose,         (point to corresponding body parts)
One for your toes,
And one for your belly
Where the hot dog goes!

6.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

Felt Board:  Humpty Dumpty

I placed the felt pieces on the board as I recited the rhyme.  We did this felt board twice.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again

I found the pattern for this felt board at KizClub

Rhymes:

7.
Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock    (hold child close and rock side to side)
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking one o’clock
Cuckoo!            (lift child into the air)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking two o’clock
Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!      (lift child into the air twice)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock, tick tock, Now I’m striking three o’clock
Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!   Cuckoo!    (lift child into the air three times)

(the tick tock rhyme is a favorite with my current group)

8.
This is my right hand,
I’ll raise it up high.            (right hand up)
This is my left hand,
I’ll touch the sky.              (left hand up)
Right hand,                      (show right palm)
Left hand                         (show left palm)
Roll them around            (roll hands)
Right hand,                     (show palm)
Left hand                        (show palm)
Pound, pound, pound!   (pound fists together)

This is my right foot,     (hold up child’s right foot)
I tap it on the ground.    (tap the ground)
This is my left foot,       (hold up child’s left foot)
I kick it all around.         (kick it around)
Right foot,                     (hold right foot)
Left foot,                        (hold left foot)
Give ‘em both a kick.    (kick feet)
Left foot,                        (hold left foot)
Right foot,                      (hold right foot)
Click, click, click!           (click heels together)

9.
We’re flying to the moon.      (bounce child on yoru lap)
We’re flying to the moon.
Oh, what an adventure! We’re flying to the moon.
10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – BLAST OFF!  (lift child into the air)

Activity:  Rhythm Sticks

Next I pass out two rhythm sticks to each child/caregiver.  If the kids are older they can hold the sticks themselves.  The caregiver can hold the sticks hand over hand for the really little babies.

I told the parents that I expect the children to explore making sounds with the sticks, that’s the whole point after all!  As long as no one is hurting themselves or others with the sticks we’re all good!

Here are the rhymes we did with the sticks:

10.
This is the way we tap our sticks, tap our sticks,
tap our sticks.
This is the way we tap our sticks so early in the
morning!

This is the way we rub our sticks, rub our sticks,
rub our sticks.
This is the way we rub our sticks so early in the
morning!

This is the way we tap the floor, tap the floor,
tap the floor.
This is the way we tap the floor so early in the
morning!

11.
Tap your sticks in the air with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks on the floor with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks in the air with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks on the floor with a 1-2-3

Tap your sticks to the left with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the right with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the left with a 1-2-3
Tap your sticks to the right with a 1-2-3

(I got this rhyme from Hap Palmer’s Rhythms on Parade CD.  Check out this YouTube clip)

12.
There was a farmer 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!

(we tapped our sticks for the B-I-N-G-O part)

Early Literacy Tip:  When you sing or play music with your child, the rhythm allows them to hear syllables and break words into “chunks”.  This skill will help them later when learning to read.

I was really worried that using the rhythm sticks was going to be a huge disaster but it wasn’t!  The little ones had a blast.  A mom came in the next week and said her daughter was using crayons as rhythm sticks at home!  So cute.

Playtime:  I got out a bunch of toys and put on music and we all played.  “Play”

Goodbye Song:

13.
Our hands say thank you with A clap, clap, clap
Our feet say thank you with a
Tap, tap, tap.
Clap, clap, clap!
Tap, tap, tap!
We roll our hands around, and say,
“Good-bye.”

Rainy Day

Rhyme Cube:  Click here for description

Sign Language:  The word of the day was “Rain”

Opening Rhyme:  Open them, shut them…

First Book:  Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray

Felt Board:  Five Little Umbrellas

I put the felt umbrellas on the board and had the kids count them with me.  We also pointed out the different colors.  Then I recited the following rhyme as I removed each umbrella (we always count the felt pieces together after each verse).

Five umbrellas stood by the back door,
The red one went outside,
Then there were four.

Four umbrellas, pretty as can be,
The blue one went outside,
Then there were three.

Three umbrellas with nothing to do,
The green one went outside,
Then there were two.

Two umbrellas not having much fun,
The yellow one went outside,
Then there was one.

Just one umbrella alone in the hall.
The white one went outside,
And that was all.

Song: “I Like to See the Raindrops Fall”

(to the tune of All Around the Mulberry Bush)

I like to see the raindrops fall,          (use sign language word for “rain”)
the raindrops fall, the raindrops fall
I like to see the raindrops fall
on a stormy day.

I like to hear the thunder  clap         (clap your hands loudly)
the thunder clap, the thunder clap
I like to hear the thunder clap
on a stormy day.

I like to see the lightning flash,       (make a flash motion with your hands)
the lightning flash, the lightning flash
I like to see the lightning flash
on a stormy day.

(credit: Storytime Secrets)

Second Book:  Rain by Manya Stojic

Felt Board:  Make a Rainstorm

Next I asked the kids to help me make a rainstorm on the felt board.  I gave each child a felt raindrop and told them to hold onto it until they hear their name.  Once they hear their name that can come put it on the board.

I recited the following rhyme for each child:

“Rain, Rain,
Go away;
Come again,
Another day
Little (name of child)  wants to play.”

Our board looked like this:

We made a rainstorm!  I continued with another felt board activity.  I recited the following rhyme as I added the appropriate pieces.

“Rain on the grass
Rain on the trees
Rain on the rooftops
But not on me!
Rain on the grass
Rain on the trees
Rain on the windows
But not on me!”

Now our board looked like this:

Third Book: Rain by Robert Kalan

Activity:  It’s Raining Bubbles!

Next I told the kids that we could pretend bubbles were raindrops and I could make it rain inside!  I blew tons of bubbles and we sang songs like “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring,” “Rain is Falling Down,” and “Rain, Rain, Go Away.”

(idea from Falling Flannelboards)

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description

Sign Language:  The word of the day was “Kite” and we repeated it often throughout the storytime.

Opening Rhyme:  Open them, shut them…

First Book: Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand

Felt Board:  Five Little 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 them soar,
Along came another, then there were four.
Four little kites, so high and alive
Along came another, then there were five.
Five little kites dancing across the sky,
What a sight to see, way up so high!

(credit Storytime Katie)

As I recited the rhyme I added felt kites until we had all five up.

I left these up to use later on in this storytime.

Second Book:  Someone Bigger by Jonathan Emmett

Felt board:  Someone Bigger

For the next activity I asked the kids to retell me the story we just read and as they did I added the “felt” pieces to the wall (we have a carpeted wall so I can use it as a felt board).  I made color photo copies of all the characters from the book.  I laminated them and added velcro dots to the back so I could stick them onto the wall.   I also made a kite out of felt with yarn as the string.  Here’s a picture:

Here are some close-ups of the kite and Sam (from the story):

In the story, Sam’s dad gets pulled into the sky while flying a kite.  A series of townspeople (and some animals) try to help but get pulled up too.  Finally, Sam grabs onto the kite string and pulls everyone down to safety.  I asked the kids to remember who got pulled up and I added the characters to the wall.  In the end it looked like this:

This is a good activity to promote the kids’ narration skills!

Third Book:  Kite Flying by Grace Lin

Felt Board:  Five Little Kites

Using the kites from the first felt board I recited the following rhyme:

“Five little kites, way up in the sky
Say hi to the clouds, as they pass by.”

(Repeat with-
Say hi to the birds…
Say hi to the sun…
Say hi to the airplane…   and add the appropriate felt pieces)

“Then swish went the wind
And they all took a dive:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5”   (pull each of the kites down until there are none left on the board)

Here’s a picture:

(credit: Storytime Sparks)

Activity:  Let’s Go Fly a Kite!

I gave each kid a paper kite I had glued onto a popsicle stick.

We “flew” these around and danced with them as we listened to “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from the Mary Poppins soundtrack.

Eggs!

I did an egg themed storytime around Easter.  I try not to do anything religious themed so “eggs” are perfect for this time of year

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description

Sign Language:  “Egg”

Opening Rhyme:  Open them, shut them…

First Book:  Eggs 1 2 3: Who Will the Babies Be? by Janet Halfmann

Rhyme:

“Oh, I wish I were a teeny tiny egg.
Oh, I wish I were a teeny tiny egg.
I would roll and roll around,
Rolling all around the ground.
Oh, I wish I were a teeny tiny egg.”

(from Preschool Express)

Felt Board: Where is Little Baby Chick?

I totally stole this awesome felt board idea from the Read it Again! blog.  The kids loved it!  I cut out ten different colored eggs from felt and then found clip art images of ten different items (including a little yellow baby chick).  I laminated the clip art items and put a little velcro dot on the back of each one so it wouldn’t fall off the board.

I placed the ten images on the board and put the felt eggs over each one.  I showed the kids my board and told them we need to find the little yellow baby chick.

I asked them which color egg I should check under first.  They shouted out some colors.  I went with one of their suggestions but tried to save the little baby chick for last.  If they told me to check under the green egg I said “little baby chick are you under the green egg?”  Then I lifted the egg up to reveal what was hiding underneath.  I asked the kids to tell me what it was and then asked them a question or two about the item.  For example if it was the cat I said “what color is that cat?” and “what does a cat say?”.

We continued on until we found the little baby yellow chick! (and the angry bird! – this was such a fun idea that I also stole from the Read it Again! blog).

Second Book: Except If by Jim Averbeck

Rhyme:

I’m a Little Chickie
(To the Tune of: I’m a Little Teapot)

I’m a little chickie,                   (crouch down inside your egg)
Ready to hatch,
Pecking at my shell,              (Pecking motion)
Scratch, scratch, scratch!    (scratching motion)
When I crack it open,
Out I’ll jump                           (jump out of shell)
Fluff my feathers,
Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!

(from Everything Preschool)

Felt Board:  Three Eggs in a Basket

I got this felt board idea from the Storytiming blog.  I had three eggs in a basket and underneath the eggs I had a turtle, a chick, and a duck.  I pointed out the differences between the eggs (size and shape) and told the kids that “one day, the first egg began to shake!  Then it started to crack!  And out popped a…… TURTLE!”  I continued until we had all the eggs removed.

Then I said the mama turtle came, the mama hen came, and the mama duck came.  I put all the mama’s on the board.  Next I put all the babies on the mama’s backs and said “Off they went on their mama’s backs to go play.”

Third Book:  Ollie by Olivier Dunrea

Activity:  Egg Shakers

Next we each got an egg shaker and shook our sillies out while we listened to Laurie Berkner’s “I Know a Chicken” song on the Whaddaya Think of That? CD.Thanks to Miss Sarah’s Storytime for this activity idea.