Categories
Story Times

Feelings & Emotions Story Time

Hello song

Book 1: I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont

A wonderful modern alternative to Dr. Seuss if you’re not into that right now.

 

Theme Song:

Shake My Sillies Out

I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies (or kookies) out
Clap, clap, clap my crazies out
Clap, clap, clap my crazies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away (on the last wiggle my waggles I always turn around and wiggle my butt, the kids love it!)

Re-focus song

Book 2: Why The Face? by Jean Jullien

Favorite songs and goodbye!

 

Categories
Story Times

Dinosaur Story Time

Hello songs

Book 1: Hi, Pizza Man! by Virginia Walter

Theme Song: 

I’ve done a couple different theme songs for this story time. My latest one was playing Laurie Berkner’s We Are The Dinosaurs on a loud speaker and doing big fun movements along with the song.

I’ve also done this song:

Dino-Pokey

Put your claws in. Put your claws out.
Put your claws in and scratch them all about. Do the dino-pokey and turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.

Put your teeth in… chomp them all bout. Put your feet in…stomp them all about. Put your tail in…wag it all about.

Re-focus song

Book 2: We Love Dinosaurs by Lucy Volpin

Favorite songs and goodbye!

Categories
Story Times

Lions, Tigers & Bears Story Time (Toddler/Family)

Hello songs

Book 1: It’s A Tiger by David LaRochelle

Theme Song: 

Bear Song

Grizzly bears are big and brown, big and brown, big and brown
Grizzly bears are big and brown
And live in the woods
Polar bears are soft and white, soft and white, soft and white
Polar bears are soft and white
And live in the cold
Teddy bears are just my size, just my size, just my size
Teddy bears are just my size
To cuddle with at night

Re-focus/transition song

Book 2: If you”re Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition by James Warhola

Favorite songs and goodbye!

 

Categories
Early Literacy Workshops

Early Math Skills Early Literacy Workshop

This is a workshop my colleague and I hosted with parents at a local school. The following is the format/outline of the workshop and the points we covered all through casual but directed conversation and through fun activities. 

Math + Literacy Early Literacy Workshop Outline:

Quick review:

What is early literacy? (Discussion)

Definition: Early literacy is what a child knows about reading and writing before they have the ability to read and write ex: scribbling with a crayon, recognizing shapes

5 Foundations of Literacy? (Discussion)

Read, Write, Talk, Sing, Play (I like to sing it to a beat, drum on table, helps us remember)

Major Talking Points:

  • Count
  • Point out shapes
  • Talk about patterns & relationships
  • Make music

Counting: How can we count at home?

  • Grocery store (Ex: How many apples should we buy? How many apples should we buy if everyone in the house gets 1 apple?)
  • While cooking: (Help with measuring, How many of X do we need you think?)
  • General counting by sight: (counting steps, counting ppl on the street, counting stripes on a shirt, counting sidewalk cracks)

Shapes: How can we encourage our child to notice and acknowledge shapes?

  • Easiest thing to do is point out shapes you see, maybe pick a shape of the day
  • Can be done on train, at home
  • Ask how do you know it’s X shape?
  • Make it a game: Play “I spy” “I spy a green circle” (a traffic light?)
  • Playing with shapes such as legos, tangrams, blocks, drawing and cutting shapes, tracing shapes to make a story

Patterns and relationships: How can we encourage our child to notice patterns?

  • Recognize repetition (of lines, colors, shapes) great at the grocery store & clothing store
  • Use math words to describe change (I am taller than I was last week!, I dumped blocks out of the bucket, then I put them back in the bucket when I cleaned up, this is the very beginnings of algebra)
  • Where are patterns? On street, in bathroom, at stores, on clothing
  • Finding all the squares in a book
  • Sort blocks (by color, shape)
  • Matching capital and lowercase letters
  • Larger smaller
  • Matching lids, bottle caps to containers

Making Music:

  • Clapping to a beat helps children understand rhythm, numbers, patterns. Rhythm=pattern
  • Read rhyming books
  • Listen to music
  • Sing songs (1,2, buckle my shoe, 5 little monkeys, 5 little ducks, really all songs have rhythm)

Song Break!

(I chose this song because it has a lovely rhythm, a built in word pattern [tick tock tick tock] and some numbers!)

Tick Tock

Tick tock tick tock I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock tick tock now I’m striking 1 o’clock CUCKOO! (jump up and sit back down)
Tick tock tick tock I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock tick tock now I’m striking 2 o’clock CUCKOO CUCKOO! (jump up and sit back down)
Tick tock tick tock I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock tick tock now I’m striking 3 o’clock CUCKOO CUCKOO CUCKOO! (jump up and sit back down)
Tick tock tick tock now it’s time to STOP

General tips:

  • Have natural discussions, not just questions and answer sessions
  • Patience, math talk takes time!

Activity:

Two possible activities: Lego Time &/or DIY Tangrams

Legos & Discussion Time

Ingredients: Legos and that’s it!

  • Making & recognizing patterns with legos
  • Sorting legos
  • Making shapes out of legos
  • Counting legos

DIY Tangrams:

There are many places online where one can find printable tangrams and instructions for DIY tangrams with measuring and whatnot but I like to think of the simplest possible way to do things because I think that’s more realistic for parents, so here’s my short and sweet and super simple DIY tangram recipe!

Ingredients:

  • Cardboard box
  • Scissors
  • Markers or crayons

Instructions:

  • Draw shape outlines on box
  • Color in each shape as desired
  • Cut out each shape
  • Make fun new shapes, designs and characters out of your tangrams!

This is a great activity to do together with a child and then continue to leave out on a table or the floor as an invitation to play.

Extension activities:

  • Only color one side of shape and then play a “matching” game where child tries to match colors
  • Close eyes and try to match shapes just by feel
  • Add numbers to each shape and play number matching game
  • Shape sorting, counting and pattern making
  • Invite child to turn shapes into characters based on a story you have read

 

 

Categories
Story Times

Water Story Time (Toddler/Family)

Hello songs

Book 1: Wet by Carey Sookocheff

Theme Songs:

Umbrella Song 

Down come the rain drops SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH! (stamp feet on the splashes)
Let’s run for cover, DASH, DASH, DASH! (run on the spot)
Pitter patter, pitter patter, DRIP, DRIP, DROP! (clap hands in rhythm)
I’m under my umbrella till the raindrops STOP! (put up pretend umbrella)

Re-focus/transition song

Book 2: Little Cloud by Eric Carle

Bonus song: At the end of story time I usually just do our favorite songs but I adore this song so I included it as a bonus.

If all the raindrops
Were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh what a world it would be
I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide going
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
If all the raindrops
Were lemon drops and gumdrops
Oh what a world it would be

If all the snowflakes
Were candy bars and milkshakes
Oh what a world it would be
I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide going
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
If all the snowflakes
Were candy bars and milkshakes
Oh what a world it would be

If all the sunbeams
Were bubble gum and ice cream
Oh what a world it would be
I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide going
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
If all the sunbeams
Were bubble gum and ice cream
Oh what a world it would be

Favorite songs and goodbye

Categories
Story Times

Numbers & Letters Story Time (Toddler)

A story time full of oldies but goodies!

Hello songs

Book 1: Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Theme Song:

5 Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping onthe bed
Continue with 4, 3, 2, 1 monkeys

Re-focus/transition song

Book 2: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

Favorite songs and goodbye!

Categories
Story Times

Musical Instruments Story Time (Toddler)

Hello songs

Book 1: Barnyard Boogie by Tim McCanna

Transition/re-focus song

Theme Song:

Note: For this story time I actually just used two transition songs as Barnyard Boogie has a tendency to get us all riled up, so I wanted to bring us back to calm for the second book before getting all riled up again with shaker songs at the end!

Wiggle & Stop & These Are My Glasses re-focus/transition songs

Book 2: 88 Instruments by Chris Barton

Shaker Songs:

Note: Instead of our normal favorite songs at the end for this satory time we finished with shaker songs! Over the years I have collected many shakers of various shapes and sizes, not just eggs. I love using all different ones for the kids to enjoy.

Song 1: Shake Your Shakers

Shake your shakers just like me, just like me, just like me
Shake your shakers just like me
Shake your shakers
Shakers your shakers fast and slow, fast and slow, fast and slow
Shake your shakers fast and slow
Shake your shakers
Shake your shakers high and low, high and low, high and low
Shake your shakers high and low
Shake your shakers
Shake your shakers round and round, round and round, round and round
Shake your shakers round and round
Shake your shakers

Song 2: Shake My Sillies Out

I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies out
Clap, clap, clap my crazies out
Clap, clap, clap my crazies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
Jump, jump, jump my jiggles out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
Yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away (on the last wiggle my waggles I always turn around and wiggle my butt, the kids love it!)

Song 3: We’re Going to Kentucky (I think there are many versions of this song, but this is the song my grandmother used to sing to me)

We’re going to Kentucky
We’re going to the fair
To see a señorita with flowers in her hair
Oh shake it shake it shake it
Shake it if you can
Shake it like a milkshake
And do the best you can
Oh rumble to the bottom
Rumble to the top
Then turn around and turn around
Until you make a stop
S-T-O-P
Spells STOP

Goodbye song while collecting shakers

 

 

 

Categories
Story Times

Becoming a Big Sibling/Growing Up & Getting Bigger Story Time (Toddler/Family)

Hello songs

Book 1: Little Miss, Big Sis by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Theme Song:

Note: This song is mostly made up as far as I can remember but you may recognize a big part of it from the old Toys ‘R’ Us commercials!

I’m A Big Kid Now

I’m a big kid now
I can climb the stairs
I’m a big kid now
I can brush my hair
I’m a big kid now
I can pick my clothes
I’m a big kid now
I can touch my toes
I can do so many things I couldn’t do before!
And when I get much bigger I’ll do even more!
Cuz I’m a big kid now
Yes I’m a big kid now

Re-focus/transition song

Book 2: I am Just Right by David McPhail

Favorite songs and goodbye!

 

Categories
Story Times

Birds Story Time (Toddler)

Hello songs

Book 1: Birds by Kevin Henkes

Theme Song:

My Little Birdie

My little birdie one day old
She can do what she is told!
Sleep little birdie
Sleep, sleep, sleep!
Sleep little birdie
Sleep, sleep, sleep!

My little birdie’s two days old
She can do what she is told!
Tweet little birdie
Tweet, tweet, tweet!
Tweet little birdie
Tweet, tweet, tweet!

My little birdie’s three days old
She can do what she is told
Hop little birdie
Hop, hop, hop!
Hop little birdie
Hop, hop, hop!

Re-focus/transition song

Book 2: Hooray for Birds! by Lucy Cousins

Favorite songs (including 5 little ducks) and goodbye!

Categories
Class Visits

Pizza Story Time (Class Visit)

Pizza story time conducted with a 3-K class.

Hello song

Book: Hi, Pizza Man! by Virginia Walter

Theme Song:

Patty cake patty cake pizza man
Make me a pizza as fast as you can
Roll it and toss it
And sprinkle it with cheese
And don’t forget the pepperoni please

Activity:

Paper Pizza Slices

I completely forgot to take pictures but hopefully I can describe what we did well enough!

Materials:

-Plain paper pizza slices (googled and printed out on cardstock, I used two different slice drawings and arranged them in a circle like a pizza pie for a little bonus pattern recognition action)
-Crayons
-Random colorful scraps (I used felt, colored paper and tissue paper)
-Gluesticks
-Pizza box (optional)

Directions:

-Arrange pizza slices inside pizza box prior to visit
-Open pizza box to reveal blank slices!
-Have each child choose their slice
-Color slices for 5 minutes
-Hand out glue sticks and allow children to add their “toppings”
-Arrange slices back into a pie to show off all the different slices!