Hello Kitty...

We found cats in the storytime apron this month!  We say hello to each as they come out of the pockets.

Then I read Mabela the Clever by Margart Read MacDonald.

This is an awesome story but is perhaps a little long for three year olds.  I ask "Who taught Mabela to be clever?" at the end of the story.  Her father is the response.  When I ask who is teaching you to be clever, the response is usually "My Mother!".  I suggest their teachers also.

Next we learn how to say kitty cat with our hands:

Little cat!   Meow!   Little Cat!  Meow!

There's a little cat walking all around.

Little Cat!   Meow!   Little Cat!  Meow!

See this little cat walking all around.

Here is the link to the whole song by Nancy Stewart:  http://www.nancymusic.com/Littlecat.htm

We learn to sign mouse, duck and pig also!

Then I add four mouse friends to the little grey mouse:

Five little mice came out to play, gathering crumbs along the way.

Out came a kitty cat, sleek and black, but only four little mice came back!

A black cat puppet pops up  from behind the flannel board and spies the mice!  Pause here for suspence.

Then she pounces on a mouse.  In the end, all of the little mice come back, of course!

Next I use the black puppet and the three little kitten finger puppets to tell the story of the three little kittens.

At the end of the story and mostly for the benefit of the teachers, I say, "And that's conditional love!"

Finally, I sing the soft kitty song and ask the children to pretend that one of their hands is a kitty.  Does your kitty purr or meow?

Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur!

Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr!

Here are some more fingerplays you could use with a cat storytime:

Five Little Kittens

Five Little Kittens Standing in a row (Hold up 5 fingers)

They nod their heads to the children so (Bend fingers)

They run to the left, they run to the right

(Run fingers to the left and then to the right)

They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight

(Stretch fingers out tall)

Along comes a dog who’s in for some fun

(Hold up one finger from opposite hand)

MEOW! See those little kittens run (Let fingers run)

My Cat Stretches (Full body rhyme, suit actions to words)

My cat stretches one paw high.

With the other paw she’ll touch the sky.

Then says meow and turns around.

Folds her paws and sits right down.

Thankful for Turkeys!

Books Shared or Recommended:

Bear Says Thanks by Wilson

Family Book by Parr

Littlest Pilgrim by Dougherty

Over the River and Through the Wood by Child

Ten Fat Turkeys by Johnston

Thanksgiving by Gibbons
Turkey Trouble by Silvano

Very First Thanksgiving Day by Greene

 

One Whole Pie

One while pie set by the door,

Cut into pieces, I count four.

Four pieces of pie, all for me!

I ate one piece, now there are three.

Three pieces of pie for me too.

I ate another piece, now there are two.

Two pieces of pie, Oh!  What fun!

I ate another piece, now there is one.

One piece of pie, I can’t wait!

I ate that last piece, Empty plate!

Five Fat Turkeys

Five fat turkeys sitting on a fence,

The first one said, “Oh my! I am immense!”

The second one said, “Gobble!  Gobble!  Gobble!”

The fourth one said, “thanksgiving Day is coming!”

The fifth one said, “We’d better start running!”

The turkeys could not be found on Thanksgiving Day, so the poor old farmer had this to say:

“I guess we’ll have to eat pizza!”

I’m a Little Turkey (Turkey Puppet Song)

(Tune:  I’m a Little Tea Pot)

I’m a little turkey, my name is Ted.

Here are my feathers, here is my head.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, is what I say.

I run and hide on Thanksgiving Day!

Turkey wore his Red Feather

Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather, Turkey wore his red feather,

All day long!

Green, orange, blue, yellow, pink and white feathers also.

Walk Like a Turkey

Walk like a turkey, waddle, waddle, waddle!

Talk like a turkey, gobble, gobble, gobble!

(Flap arms like wings)

Run like aturkey, ‘round and ‘round.

(Run in place)

But when it’s Thanksgiving, don’t make a sound!

(finger to lips)

Pies in the Oven

Pies in the oven, yum, yum, yum!

I can smell them, oh!  What fun!

One is pumpkin, one is berry.

They will make Thanksgiving merry!

Pies in the oven, yum, yum, yum!

Soon they’ll be in my tum, tum, tum!

 

Decorate your Bookmobile or library with Book Banners!

I have started making banners out of tatty old books.  I use these to decorate the bookmobile, but you could use them for library displays or bulletin boards.

Here are the basics:

Rip the pages out of a damaged, but otherwise desirable book.

Measure the center of the bottom of the page and mark it with a little pencil marking.

Use a big paper cutter and go from the upper outside edges to your little mark at the bottom of the page.  You can cut about three or four pages at each chop.

Make your pile of triangles and put them in either a narrative or attractive order.  Some pages will be better than others!  I did not use the big tree page seen here, but used the reverse side instead.

Get some seam binding and your sewing machine.  I purchase seam binding at tag sales where it is about 25 cents a packet.  It's ten times that amount at fabric stores.  You can't be picky about your colors or widths.

Start sewing a tail of the binding with the 'opening' on the outside of your machine, like so:

Insert the triangles as you go, like so:

leave an inch or two between triangles.

You could add embellishments, such as little pumpkins or pom-poms.

Voila!  Here is the finished product:

And a different bird banner hanging in the bookmobile:

Yay!  Have fun making your own quick and easy pennant decorations!

Dogs!

Dogs!

Used or recommended Books:

Bark, George by Feiffer

Doggone Dogs by Beaumont

Don’t Lick the Dog by Wahman

Great Gracie Chase by Rylant

Great Smelly Slobbery by MacDonald

Harry the Dirty Dog by Zion

Not Afraid of Dogs by Pitzer

Say Hello to Zorro! By Goodrich

We found some puppies in the storytime apron!

We read this book on how to be safe around dogs...

I love it because it is full of useful information and it rhymes!

Then it's time for a flannel board story:  Dog's Colorful Day.

Dog gets a bath to wash away all of the spots.

Dog gets into bed and dreams of colorful bones!

Then we could sing a song or two:

Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?

Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?

(Look around)

Oh where oh where can he be?

(Hands out, palms up, shrug shoulders)

With his ears cut short

(Hands on ears)

And his tail cut long

(Wag hands behind back)

Oh where, oh where can he be?

(Look around)

Or do another flannel board with a song:
BINGO!

Or do an action rhyme:

Puppy’s Dog House

This is puppy’s dog house

(Tips of fingers together)

This is puppy’s bed.

(Hands flat, palms upward)

This is puppy’s pan of milk

(Cup hands together)

So he can be fed. (Lapping motion)

The puppy has a collar (hands around neck)

With his name upon it too.

Take a stick and throw it,

And he’ll bring it back to you!

This Is What My Dog Does

This is what my dog does

Whenever I’m around

(Point to self)

He wags his tail from side to side

(Waggle your ‘tail’)

Then chases round and round

(Roll fists rapidly)

And whenever I’m feeling down

(Look sad)

He licks my face and licks my face

(Make licking motions with hand on face)

And licks away my frown.

(Pull mouth into a smile)

Ten Little Puppies

(To the tune of Ten Little Indians)

One little, Two little, three little puppies,

Four little, five little, six little puppies,

Seven little, eight little, nine little puppies,

Ten little puppies, running and barking!

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 secind 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)

this one was so quiet,he never made a sound. (bend down thumb)

That Doggie in the Window?

How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)

The one with the waggly tail

How much is that doggie in the window? (Bark! Bark!)

I do hope that doggie's for sale!

 

This Old Man

This old man, he played one,

He played knick-knack on my thumb;

Knick-knack paddywhack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played two,

He played knick-knack on my shoe;

Knick-knack paddywhack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played three,

He played knick-knack on my knee;

Knick-knack paddywhack,

Give a dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

Finally, time for puppets!  I act out the story of Bark, George using puppets:

Go Away Monsters!

Monsters!

Books Shared or Recommended:

Bear Feels Scared by Wilson

Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Yolen

Go Away Big Green Monster by Emberley

Good Night Little Monster by Ketteman

If You’re a Monster and You Know It by Emberley

Leonardo The Terrible Monster by Willems

Monster Hug! By Stein

Squeeky Door by MacDonald

Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak

Oh no!  We found some monsters in the storytime apron this month!  Here they are:

I then talk about how sometimes I get scared when I see a scary thing on television or a scary picture.  What can we do if we're afraid?  I read The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald and explain that here's a book about a little boy who is afraid.  What is he afraid of?  Who helps him?  It is a wonderful read aloud.  The children really get into the rhythm of grandma tip-toeing out of the room, turning out the light (click), and closing the door (Squeak).  I love reading excellent books like this one because it looks like I'll be reading this one about 37 times this month!  Needless to say, I have it memorized.

  Then I take two of the monsters off of the flannel board and do "Five Hairy Monsters".

Five Hairy Monsters (Count on fingers)

Five hairy monsters howling out a roar,

One ran away and then there were four.

Four hairy monsters hiding in a tree,

One fell out and then there were three.

Three hairy monsters eating spider stew,

One got full and then there were two.

Two hairy monsters having lots of fun

One ran away and then there was one.
One hairy monster, afraid to be the hero.
He ran off and then there were zero.

Then it's time for Go Away Big Green Monster.   Here's the flannel board version:

The children practice using their words:  "Go away big green monster!"

If it's fidgety time, we go on a:

Monster Hunt

We’re going on a monster hunt.

We’re going to find a big one!

We’re not afraid, but…

What if he’s under the bed? (Peek under)

Better go over it, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

(Walk fingers over legs)

What if he’s in the closet? (Open door)

Better close it, SLAM! (Clap hands loudly)

What if he’s behind the curtains? (Peek hands)

Better open them, SWISH! (Fly hands apart)

What if he’s in the hallway?  (Shade eyes)

Better tiptoe down it (Tiptoe)

What if he’s in the garage?  (Shade eyes)

Better stomp through it  (Stomp feet)

SHHH!  (Put fingers to lips)  What’s that?

AHHH!  It’s a monster!  (Scream and wave arms)

Stomp thru garage (Stomp feet)

Tiptoe thru the hallway (Tiptoe)

Close the curtains (Fly hands together)

Open the closet (Pretend to open door)

Turn on the lights (Snap fingers)

And jump into bed (Jump)  PHEW!! (brush brow)

We’re not going on a monster hunt again! (NO)

We can sing Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed:

Or sing these songs:

SONGS

Monster Song

Sung to If You Ever See a Lassie

If you ever see a monster, a monster, a monster,

If you ever see a monster, here’s what you do.

Make this face and that face

And this face and that face

If you ever see a monster…Be sure to shout BOO!

Monster, Monster

Monster, monster, turn around.

Monster, monster, touch the ground.

Monster, monster, reach up high.

Monster, monster, squint your eye.

Monster, monster, show your teeth,

Monster, monster, stamp your feet.

Monster, monster, make a frown,

Monster, monster, sit right down!

Ten Little Monsters

(Sing to ten little Indians)

1 little, 2 little, 3 little monster

4 little, 5 little, 6 little monsters

7 little, 8 little, 9 little monsters

10 little monsters roaring at me!

10 little, 9 little, 8 little monsters

7 little, 6 little, 5 little monsters

4 little, 3 little, 2 little monsters

1 little monster can’t scare me!

If You’re a Monster…(If You’re Happy)

If you’re a monster and you know it,

wave your arms!

If you’re a monster and you know it,

Wave your arms!

If you’re a monster and you know it,

Then your growl will surely show it,

If you’re a monster and you know it,

Wave your arms!  (Other verses)

Show your claws, gnash your teeth,

stomp your feet, growl like me!

Monsters Galore

Monsters galore, can you roar?  (ROAR)

Monster galore, can you soar?  (Flying motion)

Monsters galore, please shut the door.  (Clap)

Monsters galore, fall on the floor!  (Sit down)

Action Rhyme:  Monster Stomp

If you want to be a monster, now’s your chance.

“Cauce everybody’s doing the monster dance.

You just stomp your feet, wave your arms around.

Stretch ‘em up, stretch ‘em up!  (Stretch arms)

Then put them on the ground.(Hands on floor)

‘Cause you’re doing the monster stomp.

(Feet stomp)

That’s right!  You’re doing the monster stomp.

(Stomp Feet)

Music:

“Looking for Dracula” song from Ten Carrot Diamond CD by Charlotte Diamond

“Monster” song on Can You Sound Like Me CD  by Red  Grammer

Finally, it's time for the special visitors from the library:  a little boy named Max who is dressed up in a wolf suit.  I tell his story of Where the Wild Things Are.    "The night Max wore his wolf suit..."

Max gets to tell the children the bookmobile rules and he also gets to sing the goodbye song!

Go away scary monsters!  Our family can help us, we can use our words, or we can be King of the Wild Things (Monsters!).  YAY!

Apples! Apples! Apples!

Books Recommended or shared:

All of Pie, Pie for All by Martin

Apple Farmer Annie by Wellington

Apple Pie Tree by Hall

Apples Here! by Hubbell

The Farmer’s Wife by Shah

So this is what we find in the storytime apron this month:

An apple tree!

We use the tree to tell the story of The Farmer's Wife which is a cumulative tale involving an apple.

Here are the flannel board pieces:

A-P-P-L-E (Sung to the tune of  B-I-N-G-O-)

(Remove the first letter of the word and clap in its place, repeat until no letters remain)

I know a fruit that grows on trees, and apple is its name, oh!

A-P-P-L-E!  A-P-P-L-E!  A-P-P-L-E!  And apple is its name, oh!

Farmer Brown had Five Green Apples

Farmer Brown had five green apples hanging on a tree.  (Hold up five fingers)

Farmer Brown had five green apples hanging on a tree.

He plucked one apple, and ate it eagerly,

(Mime picking and eating an apple)

Leaving four apples hanging on a tree.

(Hold up four fingers)

(Continue song until last verse):

He plucked that apple and gave it right to me.

Leaving no more apples hanging on the tree.

Or use flannel apples and turn an apple over each time you 'eat' one:

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in an apple tree, (mime looking up)

Five red apples smiled at me (Hold up five fingers)

I shook that tree as hard as I could (shake tree)

Down fell an apple, mmmm, mmmm, good.

(Eat apple and rub belly)

Continue counting down to no more apples.

2.  Whispered (sing softly and shush with finger)

3.  Got Angry (Sing grumpily and frown)

4.  Cried (Sing while sniffling, wipe eyes and sob)

5.  Yawned (Sing and continue yawning)

Make these apples by putting colored paper through a copier, cutting them out, and then laminating them and adding flannel to the backs.  Make enough for each child to have one and bring them up at the appropriate moment.

The Apple Basket

The first apple in the basket was bright and shiny red.

The second apple in the basket said, "My, what a cozy bed!"

The third apple in the basket said, "Make room for me you pair!"

The fourth apple in the basket said, "Please move over there!"

The fifth apple in the basket said, "Oh dear, oh me, oh my! 

This basket looks like pastry.  I think we're in a pie!"

Five Red Apples

Five red apples hanging in a tree,

The juiciest apples you ever did see.

The wind came by and gave an angry frown,

And one little apple came tumbling down.

Four red apples…..etc.

A Little Apple Seed

(To the tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”)

Once a little apple seed,

(Hold fingers together to show a small seed)

Was planted in the ground

(Place on ground)

Down came the raindrops

(Wiggle fingers to show rain)

Falling all around.

Out came the big sun

(Form a circle with arms overhead)

Bright as bright could be.

And that little apple seed,

Grew up to be a tree!

(Raise arms to make a tree).

Apple Roll

Five little apples in the bowl

One fell out and started to roll

It bumped the table and hit my feet

How many apples left to eat?

(Count down)