2020!

2020 is here!   I tell you, it doesn't even feel that we could be getting ready to celebrate the new millenium, or at least that it was just a couple of years ago, but that was now 20 years ago!!!   Time goes faster and faster the older one gets!

It's also another new year of storytimes.  I usually kind of think my "year" starts back in September, kind of like when school starts, but I suppose it starts again now.

I still have the two storytimes I do per week - Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings.  I still maintain a pretty fair attendance on Tuesday mornings.  It has waned somewhat since the weather has gotten colder, but hopefully it will build back up when the weather warms up.  Thursday evenings is going through a downslide primarily. I certainly don't blame parents for not wanting to get back out with their kiddos when it's so cold.

I'm considering starting a once a month Saturday morning storytime.  I'm leaning more and more towards starting it.  I need to make a for sure decision as I really ought to start in February, and get it going.

After going through the letters of the alphabet in the fall (2 alphabet letters each week, with books and activities and crafts centered around the letters), this session we are going to focus on "Favorite Things".  I'm starting out with some of my favorite things, and then I'll ask the kids and their families what their favorite things are -- books, stories, animals, food, activities, etc.

This week, no surprise to those who know me.....I selected CATS!   
I shared photos of my girls....

This is Gracie...my 7 year old.

These two pictures are of my "senior cat" Maddie.  She is 18 years old, and isn't especially social. Getting her picture is pretty hard. 
















I call her my "little old lady."

















The first book we read was Pretty Kitty, by Karen Beaumont.  I actually found this book while my family was on vacation during Christmas break.  It's a very sweet book.  There is a repetitive verse that my HeadStart kids got into helpming with!    Some of the print is scattered around the page, some very small font on dark colors.  I love the charm of that in picture books, and love how it can bring focus to different story elements.  However, something that is hard for me to admit, but as I get older, it's getting a little harder for me to focus on and find all the random text pieces scattered around, even after I've read through it a couple of times ahead of time.  I have to be very cognizant of this.



My storytime kids, across the board, LOVE the felt board activities that hide something underneath a selection of items.  Today we did "Little Cat Little Cat" hiding behind different hats.

Making learning fun

I love this website for all sorts of felt board stories.  They have printable patterns , and help make the process so easy!

The second book we read was What Will Fat Cat Sit On, by Jan Thomas.  She is a phenomenal author/illustrator for all books very young children.  They are fun and engaging. This book with very simple text brought chortles of joy from several of the little ones this morning. 

Special thanks to http://www.adventuresinstorytime.com/search/label/Storytime-To-Go for the large motor activity If You're a Cat and You Know it!

If You're A Cat And You Know It...

If you're a cat and you know it,

say, "Meow!"

If you're a cat and you know it,

say, "Meow!"

If your a cat and you know it,

and you really want to show it.

If you're a cat and you know it,

say, "Meow!"

.... lick your paws (warn them to just pretend).......drink your milk....... sharpen your claws....

....(give a purr)......... swish your tail........give a hiss....

We didn't get through all of the verses, as I have a variety of very young kiddos who were running out of time with us :)

After singing our Goodbye Song, those who were able to stay, did a very simple Cat craft.
I found the image on Pinterest, but wasn't able to get the link to work in order to give credit to the originator.

However, due to time constraints, we didn't paint the entire plate.  First we drew the nose, mouth, and whiskers with black marker, glued on large googly eyes, and then used a square sponge pinched with a clothespin to paint...they could either paint as much as they wanted, or it was pretty easy to paint stripes on the kitty.