Pre-K Socks!

Who knew that socks could be so much fun?  (Or that ducks enjoyed socks so much?)

 

Books:

 

Duck Sock Hop by Jane Konuth.  In this tongue-twisting, toe-tapping picture book, ducks grab socks from a big sock box and head on down to the duck sock hop.

Ducks Don't Wear Socks by John Nedwidek.  Emily is a serious girl but slowly cracks when she sees silly duck day after day wearing human clothing.

 

The is another book where I really change the text to make it work for storytelling.  I used my flannel as I "read" the story to make it easier for the kids to see duck's silly antics.

 

 

 

 

New Socks by Bob Shea.  I didn't get to this one today, but it's about a chicken (I think?) who gains  confidence and a hip attitude when he wears his new orange socks.  Fun! Fun!

 

 

Music /  Movement:

 

We danced to two songs today:

 

"Sock Puppets" -  I always learn new sock puppet dance moves from my storytime kids!  Here are a few (of my 60) sock puppets the kids got to choose from for dancing to this song:

 

 

"BOOTS" - What a great song to stomp around to!  Before each new kind of boot is introduced in the song, we get to spell out (and stamp our feet to) the word "BOOTS".

 

 

Letter of the Day:  Ss (for socks, of course).

 

The kids sounded out the word "socks" with me and I spelled it out in foam letters.  We then used our bodies to make lots of letter S's around the room.

 

Flannel:

 

My "sock" version of "A-Hunting We Will Go"

 

A-hunting we will go (pat rhythm on legs)

A-hunting we will go (pat rhythm on legs)

We'll catch a fox

and put him in ______ socks (kids, call out the color when I hold the socks up)

and then we'll let him go! (shoo the fox away so he can have fun in his new socks!)

 

 

Even though they were pre-schoolers and already knew their colors, the kids had a lot of fun with this one because I told them to call out the color as QUICKLY as they could so they were very alert and eager to participate!

 

After fox had some fun in a few new pairs of socks, I introduced him to a friend..... awww a girl.... and the group decided she should wear pink socks.  Whew, because that is what I brought for her!

 

 

 

 

 

Alligators and Croc: Pre-K and Family Storytimes

8-15-13  Last week we read about alligators and crocodiles in storytime

Pre-K Storytime (Thursdays at 10:30)
52 kids
37 adults
89 total

Evening Family Storytime (Thursdays at 6pm)
34 kids
36 adults
70 total

Yup!  Summer vacations are over and library programs are in full swing!

Memory Box:  Hippo from Solomon Crocodile

Books: 

Solomon Crocodile by Catherine Rayner.  This book gets mixed reviews, but I love the bold, charming illustrations!  I think of Solomon as a puppy -  all he wants to do is play but he sure can be a pest!

Snip Snap by Mara Bergman.  Don't let the cover fool you.  This book is so fun!  An alligator creeps up the stairs, closer and closer to the children.  The author asks the audience several times:  "Were the children scared?" 

And we all answer:  "YOU BET THEY WERE!"

Finally, the children have enough of all this scary alligator stuff and tell him to, "GET OUT!"

Do you think he was scared?  YOU BET HE WAS!


Clarabella's Teeth by An Vrombaut.  What can you give a crocodile who spends all day brushing her teeth?  Clarabella's friends have the perfect gift!

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli.  I read this one a few weeks ago, but it would have been great with this theme too.
Blog post here


Flannel / Prop:

The Alpha-gator

I couldn't resist making this prop when I found this poem about an alpha-gator who eats the alphabet; but those letters keep wreaking havic in his tummy.  http://www.perrypubliclibrary.org/webfm_send/17

Fingerplay / Movement
(From Miss Trish at Chandler Library)

I have the kids crawl toward me and then turn around and target their parents!

The alligator's jaws go snap snap snap
(snap 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....

GOTCHYA!
(grab/hug someone you know!)

Music / Movement
The kids danced with scarves to the lively song "Alligator Jump"

The chorus:

Alligators jump
Alligators slide
All the alligators like to move from side to side

Alligators grunt
Alligators giggle
All the alligators like to turn around and wiggle

Wiggle Worms Quack!

Letter of the Day: Qu for "quack"

Book:  Cicken, Chicken, Duck! by Nadia Krilanovich.  Simple words and large pictures tell the story of a barn yard game led by a noisy duck.

Now that my kid is two, books have to pass his approval before I share them with my groups.  My toddler loved this one so I read it today and had Michelle help turn it into a fun game.

The duck has a loud, playful outburst every two pages.  Every time he popped up in the book, my puppet popped up too to give the toddlers their cue to, "Quaaack!"  The anticipation was really fun!

Music / Movement:

We love the "Popcorn" song and today we spruced it up with some white pom poms from Oriental Trading.  There are lots of recorded versions of the popcorn song out there.

 

Flannel / Prop Rhyme:

 

"Mama Duck" by Peter & Ellen Allard

 

Here comes the Mama Duck - Quack!

Here comes the Mama Duck - Quack!

Here comes the Mama Duck and one little duckling - Quack!

 

(Keep adding "quacks!" and ducklings as the song goes on.

 

Listen to a sample of "Mama Duck" here

The Watermelon Seed - Flannel Friday

I did a summer storytime theme last week and ended with a book: The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli.

 

This book is so funny!  This little croc loves watermelon!  He has been eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner since he was a baby.

My little croc helped tell this story:

 

My co-worker manipulated the puppet as I read.

 

This watermelon slice is made of double-sided felt and stuffed with batting:

 

All is great until our croc swallows a seed.  Did you read that right?  SWALLOWED A SEED!  His imagination runs wild and he imagines turning pink, growing vines, and an expanding belly.

 

 

 

 My co-worker snuck this black pom-pom "watermelon seed" into the crocodile's mouth so the kids didn't see it:



 

The best part was the loud burp and launching the seed right into the middle of the group of kids!