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Tuesday, August 3, 2021

New Year's Eve

 Cheer the New Year (Row, row, row your boat)

Found on Kids Parkz

Cheer, cheer, cheer the year,
A new one’s just begun.
Celebrate with all your friends,
Let’s go have some fun!
Clap, clap, clap your hands,
A brand new year is here.
Learning, laughing, singing, clapping,
Through another year.

 

Fireworks On New Year’s Day (Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed)

Found on Perpetual Preschool

5 little children waiting to see,
Fireworks on this New Year’s Eve.
One saw the fireworks and what did she say?
“Happy New Year to you this day!”

 

Out with the Old, In with the New (Mary Had A Little Lamb)

Found on The Best Kids Book Site

This year’s drawing to an end,
To an end, to an end.
This year’s drawing to an end.
Soon we’ll start a new one.
Out with the old, in with the new,
In with the new, in with the new,
Out with the old and in with the new,
On January 1st.


THE CLOCK IS TICKING DOWN (The Farmer In the Dell)

Found on Preschool Express.

The clock is ticking down.
Get ready for the sound.
Boom, Bang, it’s 12 o’clock
Fireworks all around!
Jean Warren

 

A Brand New Year (The Muffin Man)

Found on Preschool Education.

Now we have a brand new year,
A brand new year, a brand new year.
Now we have a brand new year,
It’s (name of year).

 

New Year’s Day  (Jingle Bells)

Found on Preschool Education.

New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.
On New Year’s Eve we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!
New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day
Comes but once a year.
On New Year’s Eve we celebrate
And ring it in with cheer!

 

Happy New Year (Are You Sleeping?)

Found on Preschool Education.

Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Good-bye to the old year!
Hello to the new year!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah! Rah! Rah!

 

This Year’s Drawing to an End (Mary Had A Little Lamb)

Found on Preschool Education.

This year’s drawing to an end,
To an end, to an end.
This year’s drawing to an end.
Soon we’ll start a new one.

Out with the old, in with the new,
In with the new, in with the new,
Out with the old and in with the new,
On January 1st.



Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Elephants

Link to an Elephant storytime outline

https://library.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Storytime-Starters-Elephants-Storytime.pdf 


Five Little Elephants
(tune: Five Little Ducks)


One elephant went out to play
Upon a spider's web one day
He had such enormous fun
That he called for another elephant to come. 

Two little elephants went out to play
Upon a spider's web one day
They had such enormous fun
That they called for another elephant to come. 

Three elephants went out to play
Upon a spider's web one day
They had such enormous fun
That they called for another elephant to come. 

Four elephants went out to play
Upon a spider's web one day.
They had such enormous fun
That they called for another elephant to come.

Five elephants went out to play
Upon a spider's web one day.
The web went creak, the web went crack
And five elephants came running back!

(http://bit.ly/2QEnNUF) 


Royalty: Kings, Queens, Princesses, Princes, etc.

 If You're Royal and You Know It
(Tune:  If You're Happy and You Know It)

If you're royal and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're royal and you know it, clap your hands.
If you're royal and you know it, then you really ought to show it.
If you're royal and you know it, clap your hands.

If you're royal and you know it, take a bow.
If you're royal and you know it, take a bow.
If you're royal and you know it, then you really ought to show it.
If you're royal and you know it, take a bow.

If you're royal and you know it, shout hurray.
If you're royal and you know it, shout hurray.
If you're royal and you know it, then you really ought to show it.
If you're royal and you know it, shout hurray.


The Knights Go Marching
(Tune: The Ants go Marching)

The knights go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah,
The knights go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah,
The knights go marching one by one, they stop and stand to see the sun.
And they all go marching down to the cave, to capture the dragon. 

The knights go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah
    ...they stop to see what's new

The knights go marching three by three, hurrah, hurrah.
    ...they stop and rest by the tree.

The knights go marching four by four, hurrah, hurrah,
    ..they listen to the dragon snore.

The knights go marching five by five, hurrah, hurrah.
    they see the dragon, he's alive.


Kings & Queens
(Tune: Michael Finnegan)

One royal, two royal, three royal queens.
Four royal, five royal, six royal queens.
Seven royal, eight royal, nine royal queens.
Ten royal queens, all in a row. 

One royal, two royal, three royal kings..
Four royal, five royal, six royal kings.
Seven royal, eight royal, nine royal kings.
Ten royal kings, all in a row. 


All Around the Castle
(Tune: Pop Goes the Weasel)

All around the castle
The knight chased the dragon
The dragon thought it was all in fun.
Roar! Went the dragon.


Castle Capers
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I am the king of running,
I run and run and run.
My subjects all run with me.
And we have so much fun. 

I am the prince of turning
I turn and turn and turn.
My subjects all turn with me
It's an easy thing to learn. 

I am the princess of dancing
I dance and dance and dance. 
My subjects all dance with me
And dance when they get the chance. 

I am the queen of jumping
I jump and jump and jump.
My subjects all jump with me. 
And sit down with a bump. 





Credit: From the CLSP Summer Reading Manual 2020 "Imagine Your Story"


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Another of "My Favorite Things"

The second week of "Favorite Things"...this week:  BOOKS & STORIES of course! :)



How to Read a Story by [Messner, Kate]
How to Read a Story, by Kate Messner


Is There a Dog in This Book? by Viviane Schwarz

Instead of a felt board story/rhyme this morning, I did a folder story.  Since we still have ice on the ground with a little bit of snow, and still winter, the folder story wss about a snowman.  See the patterns and rhyme at these links.  I tailored the snowman a little bit.  I will try to get actual photos of the folder included here.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bmNrbHMub3JnfG5ja2xzLXlvdXRoLXNlcnZpY2VzLXJlc291cmNlc3xneDo0NDZjYzM5ZTFkNTk2ZGI2

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=bmNrbHMub3JnfG5ja2xzLXlvdXRoLXNlcnZpY2VzLXJlc291cmNlc3xneDoxYjIzOThiYTg4YTM5YmM1

If you do not have a set of these differentiated cubes for your storytime usage, and you have about twenty bucks available, I urge you to get a set of them. I've primarily used them for gross motor activities, and there are a TON of ideas and free already done cube sets online.  Today I used them for a "gross motor" and telling/writing stories combo....we used some of the old cube activities I had used at Christmas/winter theme,and then made up a mini-story as we did the gross motor movements to go with whatever we rolled. 
Carson-Dellosa Publishing Differentiated Instruction Cubeshttps://www.amazon.com/Carson-Dellosa-Publishing-Differentiated-Instruction-Cubes/dp/1604189274/ref=sr_1_4?crid=23DJRB77X3CM9&keywords=carson+dellosa+differentiated+instruction+cubes+manipulative&qid=1579640820&sprefix=carson+dellosa+differ%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-4


Our activity was just to "write" out own books.  I just printed off a simple "cover page" and then supplied some white copy paper, crayons, markers, & pencils, and had the kids "write their own books."   With the range of kiddos I have, we had the scribble pages (which is awesome) on up the beginning concepts of starting to draw pictures to go with a story idea.  I encouraged the adults that they can also write down the words that the children tell them that goes with their pictures. 

I've done this before, and I always hope that maybe this will encourage one or two of them to go home and continue "writing"!

Thursday, January 16, 2020

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.




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. 
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? (The Giggle Gang) by [Thomas, Jan]

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.  



Sunday, June 16, 2019

Universe: Sky, Stars, Planets, Solar System, Sun, etc.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars
(Tune: "Music, Music, Music")

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars,
Friends of Jupiter and Mars.
All you do the whole night through
Is twinkle, twinkle, twinkle.
Shine, oh, friends of mine.
If wishes really, really do come true.
I will wish tonight on you.
Please, oh please, oh please come true.
The wish I wish tonight on you.
Then tomorrow all day through
I'll twinkle, twinkle, twinkle.

(Jean Warren)

Another version:


Little Stars
(Tune: Music, Music, Music)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star
Friends of Jupiter and Mars.
ALl you do the whole night through
is twinkle, twinkle, twinkle.

Rockets keep flying higher
Keep Flying further, further every day,
And need the stars to chart their way.

So while you watch the ships go by
Keep on lighting up the sky
Keep on shining through the night
And twinkle, twinkle, twinkle.


The Stars Are Shining Bright
(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

The stars are shining bright
See their twinkling light.
When you see the sky at night
The stars are shining bright.

Sky

Up, up and away,
I can fly so high!
Just believe in me,
And I'll reach for the sky!

I See a Star
(tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)

I see a star that's not in the sky
Not in the sky, not in the sky.
I see a star that's not in the sky,
Can you tell me why?

It is in the ocean blue
Ocean blue, ocean blue.
It is in the ocean blue,
It has a name lie you.

See star, see star is it's name,
Is it's name, is it's name.
Sea star, sea star is it's name
And we're finished with this game.

Stars

At night I see the twinkling stars
Clasp and open hands
And a great big smiling moon.
Circle arms overhead
And mommy tucks me into bed
Lay finger in cupped hand
And sings a good night tune.
Rocking motion with hands

One Little Star

One little star was out last night
Cross one pointer finger over the first two fingers of other hand
It was pretty as can be
It was peeping through my window
Hold hands up to face as if peeping
And looking right at me.
Point to sky.

Bright Sun
(tune: "Row row row your boat")

Bright sun shining down,
Spread fingers and move hands down slowly
Shining on the ground
What a lovely face you have
Make a large circle in front of face with arms
Yellow, big and round.

The Sun is Up So High

The sun is up so high
Stretch arms above head.
And is so big and round
Form circle with arms.
But when the evening comes.
The sun goes down, down, down.
Slowly stoop until in kneeling position. 

You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away.

What Can We Do on a Sunny Day?

What can we do on a sunny day?
A sunny day, a sunny day.
What can we do on a sunny day
When we all go out to play?

Mr. Moon
Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, you're out too soon
The sun is still in the sky.
Go back to bed and cover up your head
And waittill the day goes by.

We'll Be Orbiting Round the Moon
(Tune: She'll be coming around the mountain)

We'll be orbiting 'round the moon, yes we will
We'll be orbiting 'round the moon, yes we will
We'll be orbiting 'round the moon
We'll be orbiting 'round the moon
We'll be orbiting 'round the moon, yes we will

We'll be landing on the moon, yes we will
We'll be landing on the moon, yes we will
We'll be landing on the moon,
We'll be landing on the moon,
We'll be landing on the moon, yes we will

We'll be walking on the moon, yes we will
We'll be walking on the moon, yes we will
We'll be walking on the moon,
We'll be walking on the moon,
We'll be walking on the moon, yes we will

We'll be blasting off again,  yes we will
We'll be blasting off again,  yes we will
We'll be blasting off again,
We'll be blasting off again,
We'll be blasting off again,  yes we will

We'll be landing back on Earth, yes we will
We'll be landing back on Earth, yes we will
We'll be landing back on Earth,
We'll be landing back on Earth,
We'll be landing back on Earth, yes we will

Up in the Sky
(Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)

What's that object passing by?
There's a ________________ in the sky
There's a ________________ passing by
Have children select what it is

Rocketship
(tune: Oh Do You Know the Muffin Man)

If I were a rocket ship, I'd blast to the moon,
I'd blast to the moon.
If I were a rocketship,
I'd blast to the moon after cowndown.
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 (say without music)

I'm flying into space in my rocketship
Rocketship, rocketship
I'm flying into space in my rocketship
Flying to the moon.

I'm walking in space around my rocketship,
My rocketship, my rocketship
I'm walking in space around my rocketship
It's dark and cold in space.

If I were a rocketship I'd fly back to earth
Fly back to earth
If I were a rocketship
I'd fly back to earth from space.

If I were an astronaut I'd splash down at sea
Splash down at sea
If I were an astronaut
I'd splash in the sea from space.

Flying to the Moon
(tune: Farmer in the Dell)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Countdown

We're flying to the moon
We're flying to the moon
We left Earth in our rocketship
We're flying to the moon.

We'll take a walk in space.
We'll take a walk in space.
We left earth in our rocketship
We'll take a walk in space.

Moon Ride

Do you want to go up with me to the moon?
Point to someone, then self
Let's get in our rocket ship and blast off soon.
Pretend to climb in ship, swish hands quickly.
Faster and faster we reach to the sky
Jump and reach
Isn't it fun to be able to fly?

We're on the moon, now all take a look
Look down
And gently sit down and I'll show you a book
Sit down

Grandma Moon
Grandma Moon, Grandma Moon
You're up to soon!
The sun is still in the sky.
Go back to bed,
And cover up your head,
And wait till the day goes by.

Ten Little Astronauts
C
One little, two little, three little astronauts
G7
Four little, five little, six little astronauts
C
Seven little, eight little, nine little astronauts
G7                     C (stop)
Ten little astronauts lifting off


5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Blast Off!


C 
Bumping up and down in my little space shuttle
G7
Bumping up and down in my little space shuttle
C 
Bumping up and down in my little space shuttle
G7                   C
Won’t you go to the moon with me?
Verses
My space suit's on and my boots are too...
We step on the moon and bounce up and down...


“WHERE IS THE SPACESHIP?”
Spaceship, spaceship, we’ll find you soon!

Are you behind the (color) Moon?


IN The Sky

(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

The Sun is in the sky,
The Sun is in the sky,
Hot and bright it gives us light,
The Sun is in the sky!

The Moon is in the sky,
The Moon is in the sky,
Round and round the earth it goes,
The Moon is in the sky!

The stars are in the sky,
The Stars are in the sky,
Far and bright and out at night,
The stars are I the sky!

Credit: Cape May Library

The Moon Up Above
(Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)

The moon up above is,
Big and round,
Big and round,
Big and round,
The moon up above,
Is big and round,
Up in the sky.
The moon up above is,
Near the stars,
Near the stars,
Near the stars,
The moon up above,
Is near the stars,
Up in the sky.
The moon up above is,
Clear and bright,
Clear and bright,
Clear and bright,
The moon up above,
Is clear and bright,
Up in the sky.
 Where is Robot?Robot, robot, we know you’re here!
Are you behind the (color) gear?


Credit:  Lady Librarian

Robot Song:

LIGHTS ON THE ROBOT

(Tune: Wheels on the Bus)
The lights on the robot go on and off
On and off, on and off
The lights on the robot go on and off
All day long
The arms on the robot go up and down
Up and down, up and down
The arms on the robot go up and down
All day long
The feet on the robot go clickity clack
Clickity clack, clickity clack
The feet on the robot go clickity clack
All day long
The antennas on the robot go wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
The antennas on the robot go wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
All day long
Credit:  Lady Librarian



 In the Sky (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
The Sun is in the sky, The Sun is in the sky, Hot and bright it gives us light, The Sun is in the sky!
The Moon is in the sky, The Moon is in the sky, Round and round the earth it goes, The Moon is in the sky!
The stars are in the sky, The Stars are in the sky, Far and bright and out at night, The stars are I the sky!

The Moon Up Above (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
The moon up above is, Big and round, Big and round, Big and round, The moon up above, Is big and round, Up in the sky.
The moon up above is, Near the stars, Near the stars, Near the stars, The moon up above, Is near the stars, Up in the sky. The moon up above is, Clear and bright, Clear and bright, Clear and bright, The moon up above, Is clear and bright, Up in the sky.

Alien, Alien
Alien, Alien, turn around. Alien, alien, touch the ground. Alien, alien, fly your ship. Alien, alien, say “blip, blip!” Alien, alien reach the stars. Alien, Alien, jump so far! Alien, alien, tie your shoe. Alien, alien, that will do. Alien, alien, turn out the light. Alien, alien, say good-night.

Five Little Rockets
Five little rockets ready to zoom, This one says, “There’s not enough room.” It starts its engine; Ready to fly, Looks at the others and waves good-bye. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!
Four little rockets…[continue counting down to one rocket] One little rocket ready to zoom, This one says, “Everyone’s gone!” It starts its engine; Ready to fly, Looks at us and waves good-bye. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!

 IN The Sky
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
The Sun is in the sky, The Sun is in the sky, Hot and bright it gives us light, The Sun is in the sky!
The Moon is in the sky, The Moon is in the sky, Round and round the earth it goes, The Moon is in the sky!
The stars are in the sky, The Stars are in the sky, Far and bright and out at night, The stars are I the sky!
The Moon Up Above (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
The moon up above is, Big and round, Big and round, Big and round The moon up above, Is big and round, Up in the sky. The moon up above is, Near the stars, Near the stars, Near the stars, The moon up above, Is near the stars, Up in the sky. The moon up above is, Clear and bright, Clear and bright, Clear and bright, The moon up above, Is clear and bright, Up in the sky.

Five little men in a flying saucer
Looked around the world one day
They looked left and looked right
But they didn’t like the sight
So one man flew away.
Four little men in a flying saucer…count down.

The Moon Up Above (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus)
The moon up above is, Big and round, Big and round, Big and round, The moon up above, Is big and round, Up in the sky. The moon up above is, Near the stars, Near the stars, Near the stars, The moon up above, Is near the stars, Up in the sky.
 The moon up above is, Clear and bright Clear and bright, Clear and bright, The moon up above, Is clear and bright, Up in the sky.
Mr. Moon
Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, you’re out too soon
The sun is still in the sky
Go back into your bed
Until the day goes by
Twas on a summer’s evening
I walked the forest through
When suddenly I heard it
A soft and sweet cuckoo
Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
A soft and sweet cuckoo
Cuckoo!  Cuckoo!
A soft and sweet cuckoo!

The Moon Is Round
The moon is round
As round can be
Two eyes, a nose
And a mouth like me. 


I See the Moon
(tune: Hush Little Baby)


I see the moon and the moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree
Please let the moon that shines on me
Shine on the ones I love. 


Over the mountain, over the sea
Back where my heart is longing to be
Please let the moon that shines on me
Shine on the ones I love. 
Zooming, Zooming
Zooming, zooming, 
Up to the moon
Zooming, zooming,
Back so soon. 


Zooming, zooming 
Up to the sky
Zooming, zooming

Down we fly!