Catch the Possibilities

Books:


Letter Tree/Letter of the Day: B

Fingerplay/Movement: The Little Turtle
There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

he snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow,
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito,
He caught the flea,
He caught the minnow,
But he didn't catch me.

Wiggler: Ten Little Fingers
I have 10 little fingers and they all belong to ME
I can make them do things, would you like to see?
I can shut them up tight or open them wide.
I can put them together, or make them all hide.
I can make them jump high or I can make them go low.
I can fold them up quietly and hold them just so.

Songs:
Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard (from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!)
Jack in the Box by Carol Hammett (from It's Toddler Time)
Goodbye, Goodbye by Joanie Leeds (from I'm a Rock Star)

Craft: Special Boxes

Materials:

• Kleenex boxes
• Glue sticks
• Stuff-- tissue paper, foamies, stickers, etc.

Books:


Letter Tree/Letter of the Day: T

Action Rhyme: A Tree is a Home
A tree may be a home for a bird (flap arms like a bird)
A tree may be a home for bee (buzz your hand around)
A tree may be a home for snake (slithering snake with hands)
A tree may be a home for monkey (swing your arms)
Hmmm. I wonder if a tree would make a good home for me?

Flannel Song: I'm a Tree, I have Four Needs (Tune: Skip to My Lou)
I'm a tree, I have four needs.
I'm a tree, I have four needs.
I'm a tree, I have four needs.
Do you know what they are?
(I need lots and lots of sun, to grow big and strong)
(I need water now and then, to grow big and strong)
(I need air just like you, to grow big and strong)
(I need soil for my roots, to grow big and strong)

Songs:
Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard (from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!)
The Birds in the Trees by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael (from Groovy Green by The Learning Groove)--we sang along with the cd and then made up our own silly verses)
Goodbye, Goodbye by Joanie Leeds (from I'm a Rock Star)

Craft: Arm/Fingerprint Fall Trees

Materials:

• Fingerprint paper
• Paint
• Crayons

Books:


Letter Tree/Letter of the Day: P

Fingerplay/Movement: Five Little Puppies
Five little puppies were playing in the sun. (hold up hands, fingers extended)
This one saw a rabbit, and he began to run. (Bend down first finger)
This one saw a butterfly, and he began to race. (bend down second finger)
This one saw a cat, and he began to chase. (bend down third finger)
This one tried to catch his tail, and he went round and round. (bend down fourth finger)
The one was so quiet, he never made a sound. (bend down thumb)

Fingerplay/Movement: Ten Little Doggies
Ten little doggies went out one day (hold 10 fingers up)
To dig in the dirt and play, play, play. (pretend to dig like a dog with both hands)
Fiver were spotted, and five were not, (hold up one hand at a time)
And at dinner time they ate a lot! (pretend to eat)

Flannelboard Guessing Game: Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
Hide the dog under one of the pieces (washing machine, dog house, bed, rug). Sing the song and look for the dog.

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone,
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where can he be?

Songs:
Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard (from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!)
Blue Dog by Johnny Bregar (from Hootennany)-- with shakers!
Goodbye, Goodbye by Joanie Leeds (from I'm a Rock Star)

Craft: My Weiner Dog

Materials:

• Construction paper circles
• Pattern for dog front and back (and ear if you like)
• Glue

Books:


Letter Tree/Letter of the Day: F

Fingerplay/Movement: The Farm
One is a cat that says meow!
Two is a dog that says bow-wow!
Three is a crow that says caw-caw!
Four is a donkey that says hee-haw!
Five is a lamb that says baa-baa!
Six is a sheep that says maa-maa!
Seven is a chick that says cheep-cheep!
Eight is a hen that says cluck-cluck!
Nine is a cow that says moo-moo!
Ten is a rooster crowing cock-a-doodle-doo!

Flannelboard: Open Up the Barn Door
Open up the barn door, the spring goes "boink!"
There's a pig in the barn, saying, "Oink, oink, oink."

Open up the barn door before the clock strikes two.
There's a cow in the barn, saying, "Moo, moo, moo."

Open up the barn door, it's a sunny day.
There's a horse in the barn, saying, "Neigh, neigh, neigh."

Open up the barn door, singing, "Tra-la-la."
There's a sheep in the barn, saying, "Baa, baa, baa."

Open up the barn door, while the sky is blue.
There's a rooster in the barn, saying, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Open up the barn door and don't get off the track.
There's a duck in the barn, saying, "Quack, quack, quack."

Puppets: "Where Do I Live" guessing game
I had some farm animal puppets and some non-farm animal puppets. I pulled them out of a bag one at a time and asked "Do I live on a farm or not on a farm?"

Songs:
Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard (from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!)
Old MacDonald by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael (from Bouncy Blue from The Learning Groove)
Down on Grandpa's Farm by Dennis Buck (from Five Little Monkeys)
Goodbye, Goodbye by Joanie Leeds (from I'm a Rock Star)

Craft: Folded Barn



Materials:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Stickers (optional)

I'm late to this party, but I have had a draft post sitting in my files since last April! Lots of smart and talented colleagues have shared their thoughts on the subject already. See here, here, here, here, here, and here for other posts on the topic.

My mom told me a story once about my neighbor, Bob. He asked my mom one day if I knew a song for everything, because one of my favorite activities when I was young was singing to myself while swinging on our swing set in the backyard. Apparently I would do it for long periods of time. Music is something that ingrained in who I am and how I experience the world.

I know that I have a pleasant singing voice. I get compliments from storytime attendees all the time when I sing in programs. But I definitely have had experiences like Katy where I'm the only one singing even though all the caregivers are participating in the actions. So I do a mix of a capella singing and recorded music.

I sing. I can't help myself. At least once a day someone says something in casual conversation that reminds me of snippets of lyrics. I like playing the "what tune can I sing this to" game with rhymes and books. In storytimes sometimes I'll play a song (like Birds in the Trees), so everyone has a chance to hear how the melody and accompaniment sound together, and then we'll sing it a capella as a group so we can add additional verses or do it faster or slower, or in robot voices, or something else silly. Sometimes I make up little "songs" as we put scarves or shakers away. We sing a lot in my Rock, Rattle, and Rhyme program (for 0-36 months) because we utilize mainly classic, American childhood songs or piggyback lyrics with those familiar melodies, but I do sometimes incorporate recorded music with different activities.

I also use iTunes to organize all my music files at work. I have a lot of music. I use the files to introduce jazz music, classical music, "kid classics" like Raffi, Jim Gill, and Wee Sing, "radio" music from the likes of The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Bobby Darin, local artists like the Okee Dokee Brothers, Paul Spring and Go Fish. I like to include such a variety because part of childhood is just being exposed to different things. I did a storytime last year where we listened to Skater's Waltz and "skated" on top of a parachute. The kids were really into it. I love watching their faces trying to figure out Mumbles by the Oscar Peterson Trio. Grandparents and parents sing every word of "Splish Splash," or "Surfin' USA" while we play with bubbles. Those moments of engagement are so fun to watch as a presenter. Recorded music is also great for using rhythm sticks and shakers. Even if I put all my might into projecting, I just can't counter 20 energetic preschoolers making music, but I can crank up the volume to compensate.

Its also a chance for me as a presenter to fully engage with the kids and the activity. This might not be everyone's experience, but it is mine. When I'm the one responsible for "initiating" the music, I have to use more of my brain and less of my heart to make sure I'm singing the correct words, making the appropriate action, singing loudly enough for all to hear, enunciating extra clearly, looking at all of the audience, etc. I find I'm more focused internally, focused more on the "performance" aspect of the song. While I do sing along with recorded music, I'm also "off the hook" in terms of "performing." I can dance and sing and not worry about the whole song falling apart because I had a momentary blank on the lyrics or clapped my hands when I was supposed to be turning in a circle. In other words, I get to use my heart more than my brain. Obviously I'm always alert to signs of boredom, cues the group needs more direction or a suggested movement to get them back on track, etc. but it's easier to do that when you're participating more than you are leading (at least for me). I'm more likely to really see and digest what the kids are doing too. I use an opening song for an entire year (currently Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard) and I am able to take the time to observe a toddler go from just being capable of doing 2/5 actions (usually clapping their hands and shaking their hips), to mastery of less familiar movements in the song towards the Spring.

I'm going to end with a quote from Music and Movement: a Way of Life for the Young Child, a textbook written by Linda Carol Edwards, Kathleen M. Bayless, and Marjorie E. Ramsey. In it they say, "Music and movement represent ways of knowing as well as ways of expressing feeling, and they allow children to move beyond the common ways of experiencing their world and expressing what they know about it." (6th edition, pg41). So whether you sing a capella, use recorded music, or both-- keep doing what you're doing!

I actually didn't get to do this storytime because the preschool I planned it for forgot to let me know they were closed on the day I showed up. Whoops! I was excited about this one too!

Books:


Extensions:
Action Rhyme: “Little Birds”
Little birds, little birds, jump up and down
Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound
Little birds, little birds, tip-toe to me
Little birds, little birds, bend your knees
Little birds, little birds, peep, peep, peep
Little birds, little birds, sleep, sleep, sleep
Little birds, little birds, fly to the leaves
Little birds, little birds, sit down please.

Two Little Blackbirds
Two little blackbirds
[Wiggle both hands.]
Sitting on a hill
[Wiggle right hand.]
One named Jack
One named Jill.
[Wiggle left hand.]
Fly away Jack
[Hide right hand behind back.]
Fly away Jill
[Hide left hand behind back.]
Come back Jack
[Bring right hand back.]
Come back Jill.
[Bring left hand back.]

There’s a Bird In the Air 
(Tune: Spider on the Floor) [with scarves]
There’s a bird in the air, in the air (pinch scarf in the middle, then flap it in the air like a bird)
There’s a bird in the air, in the air
There’s a bird in the air, now he’s flying in my hair (put “bird” on hair)
There’s a bird in the air, in the air.
There’s a bird on my leg, on my leg (put “bird” on leg)
There’s a bird on my leg, on my leg
There’s a bird on my leg, and he is pretty big
There’s a bird on my leg, on my leg.
There’s a bird on my hand, on my hand (put “bird” on hand)
There’s a bird on my hand, on my hand
There’s a bird on my hand, but now he is my friend
There’s a bird on my hand, on my hand

Songs:
These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner from Whaddaya Think About That
Mother Gooney Bird by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael from The Learning Groove: Rockin' Red
Reach for the Sky by Wee Sing from Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays

Books:



Letter of the Day: A

• Big Green Alligator story from One, Two, What Can I Do?

Fingerplay/Movement: Alligator 
The alligator's jaws go snap, snap, snap (clap arms in front of you)
The alligator's tail goes thwack, thwack, thwack (swish arms like a tail)
And he's getting closer (crawl)
[REPEAT]

(Turn around) GOTCHYA! (grab/hug someone you know)

Folder Story: Alphagator

Songs:
Glad to See You by Peter and Ellen Allard (from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It!)
Alligator Chant by Dr. Jean (from Silly Songs)
Goodbye, Goodbye by Joanie Leeds (from I'm a Rock Star) (we sing and act out the first part and then I fade the music out)

Rewind Wednesday- yet another unblogged plan from this spring: Rain!

Books:


Extensions:
Rhyme/Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider (Learning Groove style)
     -->This is my favorite way to do Itsy Bitsy Spider now. Kids looove it!
Action Rhyme: Rain is Falling Down

Songs:
I'm a Book Baby (Toddlers)
These Are My Glasses (Preschoolers)
Reach for the Sky (Both)

Throwback Tuesday! A storytime about our senses (to go with the preschool's theme that week). Which, as it turns out, is a hard theme to plan for squirrely toddlers!

Books:


Extensions:
[tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain
My (eyes) are made for (seeing).
My (eyes) are made for (seeing).
My (eyes) are made for (seeing).
So I can (see) my world.
mouth...tasting, hands...touching

Flashback Monday! I found some storytimes I never blogged about, so enjoy this dose of spring this first full-week of August. :)

Books:



Extensions:
Song: 10 Little Butterflies
Song: Planting Time (to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Action Rhyme: Tiny Caterpillar

(I didn't do this, but now that I've made it, this butterfly matching game would have been fun to do too!)

Songs:
I'm a Book Baby (younger group)
These Are My Glasses (preschool group)
Reach for the Sky (both groups)

Books:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)

Books:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)

Books:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing) [so many bodies!]
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)