O is for...

Welcome Song

Henrietta’s Basket: An orange

Song: Be my echo (6 syllables x 2) ocean and old; Over and oatmeal

Flannel Board: Ocean Friends

Five little ocean friends
On the ocean floor;
The starfish walks away
Now there are four.

Four little ocean friends
Living in the sea;
The crab slides away
Now there are three.

Three little ocean friends
Looking for a clue;
“Glub, glup,” said the lobster.
Now there are two.

Two little ocean friends
Not having much fun;
Off swam the sea horse
Now there is one.

One little octopus
Sad and all alone,
He swam away
Then there was only foam.

Book: Do not open this book (Muntean)

This was a fun story...but would probably work better one-on-one, instead of a group setting.

Song: Oval Hokey Pokey
Cut out enough ovals of two different colors so each child gets one of each. 

Put your red oval in, put your red oval out
Put your red oval in and you shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around
That’s what it’s all about!

2nd verse using the other color
3rd verse both colors

Nursery Rhyme: Hey diddle diddle

Book: Over in the Meadow (ills. by Jill McDonald; Sung by Susan Reed)

ABC Chant

Good bye Chant

Enrichment: Oval worksheet, ocean puppets, toss orange bean bags, string “o” cereal to make a necklace

W is for Winter

An Outreach Storytime

Henrietta:  Hat and scarf

Book:  Ant and Grasshopper (Gray)
This book a kind of long, but it went over really well.  They loved "Here we come a-waffling" song at the end!

Stand-up Song:  Hooray for Winter!
(sung to London Bridges)

Snow is falling all around, All around, all around
Snow is falling all around, Hooray for winter!

Now put on your boots and hat, Boots and hat, boots and hat
Now put on your boots and hat, Hooray for winter!

Take the snow and roll it round, Roll it round, roll it round
Take the snow and roll it round, Hooray for winter!

Now let's have a snowball fight, Snowball fight, snowball fight
Now let's have a snowball fight, Hooray for winter!

Book:  Snowmen at Night (Buehner)

Stand-up Rhyme:   Snowman, snowman

Snowman, snowman, nod your head
Snowman, snowman, go to bed
Snowman, snowman wink your eye
Snowman, snowman jump up high
Snowman, snowman touch your knee
Snowman, snowman stand quietly
Snowman, snowman bend way down
Snowman, snowman melt to the ground.

Book:  Don't Wake Up the Bear (Murray)
I taught the children the phrase "Don't wake up the bear!"  We practiced--I said, "You may come in, but...don't wake up the bear!"  The children loved participating in the story!

N is for...

Welcome Song


Henrietta’s Basket: Nuts

Song: Be my echo (6 syllables x 2) Nightlight and noodle, Napkin and nurse

Flannel Board: 5 Nocturnal Animals

Five nocturnal animals, sitting by the door.
The firefly flashed away, and then there were four.
Four nocturnal animals, sitting by the tree.
The beaver started gnawing, then there were three.
Three nocturnal animals, sat on tractor new.
Bat hung upside down, then there were two.
Two nocturnal animals, looking for some fun.
Hungry owl caught a mouse, then there was one.
One nocturnal animal, watching for the sun.
Raccoon went home to bed, then there was none.

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

Book: The Very Noisy Night (Hendry)

Stand-up Song:   Head shoulder knees and toes

Rhyme Time Song
Nursery Rhyme: Rub-a-dub-dub

Book: Nose like a hose (Samuels)

ABC Chant


Good bye Chant


Enrichment Activities: Nine Noodles (use Elmer’s glue to glue pieces of noodle onto a 9 on a sheet of paper), Wooden block & string (necklace), look at Henrietta's nuts with a magnifying glass, N dot-to-dot

M is for...

Welcome Song

Henrietta’s Basket: marble

Song: Be my echo (6 syllables x 2) magic and music, morning and mud

Sign Language: Letter

Flannel Board: M-O-U-S-E
(sung to B-I-N-G-O)

There's a little ball of fur nibbling at my cheese
M-O-U-S-E, M-O-U-S-E, M-O-U-S-E,
And Mouse is her name-o.

[Leave out a letter on each repeat and use a clap in place of the missing letter.

Words by Joe Stover from http://www.ccplonline.org/kids/songs4tots.html

Book: The moon might be milk (Shulman)

Stand-up Song: 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed

Rhyme Time Song
Nursery Rhyme: Little Miss Muffet

Book:  Millie waits for the mail (Steffensmeier)

ABC Chant

Good bye Chant

Enrichment: ABC dot-to-dot, M&M sorting and counting, musical instruments, Memory game

I copied the recipe for "Moon Cookies" from the back of "The Moon Might be Milk" for the storytime families.  One little girl was so excited to make them...and later that day she brought me some!  Yummy!!  Thank you, Charlotte!

L is for...

Welcome Song

Henrietta’s Basket: Lego house

Song: Be my echo (6 syllables x 2) lemonade and ladder, library and light bulb

Flannel Board: One Little Lion

1 little lion, roaring in the zoo. Called for another: ROAR!
And that makes 2.

2 little lions, underneath a tree. Called for another: ROAR! ROAR!
And that makes 3.

3 little lions who heard a distant roar. Called for another: ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
And that makes 4.

4 little lions, happy and alive. Called for another: ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
And then there were 5.

Book: The Very Lazy Ladybug (Finn and Tickle)

Song: I’m a little ladybug (from http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/LadybugBodyPartFeltBoardSet.htm)
(My note: sing to "I’m a little teapot")

I’m a little ladybug on the go,
I’m landing on an arm and then an elbow.
See me fly around and around your hand
watch as on your thumb I land.

I’m a little ladybug searching for some toes,
but instead I’m landing on your nose.
Now I look around and fly to your hair,
I muss it up a bit, then I pat it down with care.

I’m a little ladybug looking for a knee,
I’m just so happy that you aren’t afraid of me.
Now see me landing on your chest.
This little ladybug needs a rest.

I made thise felt ladybugs so the children could move the ladybug as the song directs.

This didn't go over very well...so Wednesday night I "wrote" the following...I liked it better, because I knew it better.  We still used the felt ladybugs though.

Ladybug Song
(tune: There’s a spider on the floor; words by Tammy Henry)

Chorus:
There’s a ladybug in the air, in the air
There’s a ladybug in the air, in the air
There’s a ladybug in the air, she flies without a care,
There’s a ladybug in the air, in the air.

There’s a ladybug in my hair
Try to catch her if you dare

[Sing chorus following each verse, if desired]

Toes
She stopped there for a doze

Thumb
Chewing bubble gum

Chin
It makes me stop and grin

Chest
Time to take a rest

Rhyme Time Song
Nursery Rhyme: Mary had a little lamb

Announcements

Book: The Red Lemon (Staaket)

ABC Chant

Animal Good byes

Enrichment: ABC dot-to-dot, lion (cut mane), lacing cards, lamb maze

New Books for the New Year

Each year our library has a program called, "New Books for the New Year".  It is usually held on New Year's Eve day.  Families are invited to bring a lunch and listen to stories.  The children's librarian and I choose some of the "newer" books that have come into the library to read or booktalk.  This year I highlighted some juvenile fiction.  I made a book trailer and found a few on youtube.  It was a lot of fun (if only we didn't have the "technical difficulties" with the laptop to show the trailers!)

Here are the books and book trailers we highlighted...in no particular order.

"11 Experiments That Failed"
by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter

"Dear Hot Dog" by Mordicai Gerstein

"Every Thing On It" by Shel Silverstein

"I Will Not Read This Book" by Cece Meng

"Jeremy Bender vs. The Cupcake Cadets" by Eric Luper

"Introducing Limelight Larry" by Larry Hodgkinson

"The Princess and the Pig" by Jonathan Emmett

"Stuck" by Oliver Jeffers

Theodore Boone (series) by John Grisham

"Max Quick:  The Pocket and the Pendant"
by Mark Jeffrey

"Missing on Superstition Mountain"
by Elise Broach

(Book Trailer I made on animoto)

Each child received a door prize

And just before everyone left we had a "practice" count down to the New Year...complete with noise makers and confetti!

This is always a fun program to do and families seem to really enjoy it!