Hooray for letter P! It's story time Wednesday!

Good afternoon! Welcome to another story time Wednesday! It was rainy out, but we were all sunshine inside for letter P! For our story time I chose three safe stories. After last week I wasn't feeling like my luck would last because it usually doesn't. The first story we read was How I became a pirate by Melinda Long and David Shannon. I do a really good Pirate voice. Seriously. Ask me to do it sometime because it's awesome. It went over well. It's a bit longer than my kids are used to, but it held their attention the entire time and got some giggles. I also read Olivia and The Missing Toy by Ian Falconer. This was alright. There are some bald spots in the plot that don't make a lot of sense. But I love Olivia, and the kids like when she gets all dramatic. Last, but not least I went with one of the safest story books outside of The Pigeon and that is Pete the Cat: My Four Groovy Buttons. I have to share this story before moving on, but as you may know, I use a "Magic Hat" as a way to introduce books and topics. Well, today at the bottom of my hat I had about 20-30 buttons. Well, I dumped them on my head after pretending to try and pull them out of the hat and I said "Buttons, who knows a story about buttons?" And one little girl, starts jumping up and down, "PETE THE CAT! PETE THE CAT!" So we did it and it was great. Another mom checked it out for her little ones and, again, Pete was a hit.

So what did we do today?
ABC Action by Heidisongs
Greeting Song: We're All Here!
Here, here, We're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
We're here at story time!
Hello, ______. How are you?
Hello, ______. How are you?
Hello, ______. How are you?
I'm glad you're here today

Letter P song/dance by Heidisongs

Craft: Letter P Pirate (Arrgghh!)

Needs: 
White Paint pen (For drawing skulls. Yes I did them free hand. Yes they are awesome)
Black construction paper
Brown construction paper
Grey construction paper
glue sticks
black marker for eye patch strap
Googly eyes or eyeball stickers
First, cut out a letter P from an internet template. I downloaded a small pirate hat template and a small beard template from google images. I first traced the template onto craft foam, then used the foam as my template when I made the rest of the hats and beards. I then cut a small half circle out of the top of the hats, and drew a skull on them with the white paint marker. I used the scrap paper left over from the hats to make the eye patches. FUN!

Hooray for letter O! It's story time Wednesday!

Good afternoon readers! Today we had lots of giggles and smiles at story time. It was one of those cosmic instances where everyone was on the same wavelength. Moods were all pleasant, the sun was shining, and all the jokes were gold! It doesn't happen all the time, so when it does, you have to reflect on how fortunate you are. Well, I don't do a whole lot with puppets, but it may be time to begin changing that since my puppet was such a phenomenal hit. I bought this puppet from Liz Goble at The Book Farm. You can put your hand in it and manipulate five of the tentacles. When I made Oliver (Yes, that's his name.) talk I moved my free finger move up and down over my lips to make him sound underwater. The kids LOVED him. I think it really helped them enjoy the first story as well, which I was nervous about.

That book in question was Cowboy and Octopus by John Scieszka and Lane Smith. A short, goofy collection of short tales about two unconventional best friends. Each story has a good punchline, but they all teach lessons for kids such as being honest with friends, helping each other out, and being polite about something that you don't really like. Having Oliver handy (Yeah...it's a pun) helped the kids visualize this story. I wasn't sure they would get this book, but luckily for me it turned out to be the favorite of the morning! Next, we read Animal Opposites by Jeff Horacek. This is a book that teaches a solid preschool concept, and it has fold-outs on nearly every page. It's definitely worth checking out. Finally I read Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace. It's a cute story about a little owl who just wants to go to bed and fights his parents about staying up late. The more astute kiddos get why this is funny. The rest of them can just enjoy a nice, easy going story with some funny moments.

Here's what we did today

Heidisongs ABC Action and Letter O song/dance

Greeting Song: We're All here! (Skip to my Lou)
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
We're here at story time!

Hello ________. How are you?
Hello ________. How are you?
Hello ________. How are you?
I'm glad you're here today!

Magnet board- Opposite Match.
I found these opposite printables at First Grade A La Carte. With lots of verbal prompting and hand motions from me (If I'm not big, I'm very...) The older kids were able to guess the opposites and help the younger kiddos out.

Craft: Letter O Octopus.
Needs: Construction paper Letter O
Glue sticks
Googly eyes or eyeball stickers
Tissue paper cut into strips

Quick, easy, and fun! The kids made short work of this project, but they were all thrilled with the result!

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

Hooray for Letter N! A very LATE story time Wednesday!

Well, life does get crazy at times doesn't it? When you have two under 5, you are constantly on your toes and ready for anything. Unfortunately, when your hands are full, something has to be dropped from time to time, and well...this blog is at the top of the list of things to be put on hold. Well, I expect a full recovery by Wednesday to present you with my letter O story time. Well, without further delay, here is Letter N.

For this story time I had the kids come upstairs and partake in a smell guessing game. I took Dixie cups, filled them with different food items ( I used coffee, onion slices, and lemon slices). Then, I put a tissue over the top and rubber banded it to the cup. I marked each cup with a different colored sticker and had the kids, using only their sense of smell, see if they could guess what was in each cup. It was harder for them than I thought. Most of the didn't know what the onion was, but almost all of them could guess lemon and coffee. "But, Mr. Mike!" you say "Smell doesn't begin with the letter N!". I understand, but you smell with your NOSE, and that does. It was fun and I plan on using more things like this in the future. For this weeks books I chose two big books from my own collection and a non-fiction book about the sense of smell. The first book was all about noodles. More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman has been a favorite of mine since my young 5 teaching days. The rhyming prose is fun to read, the illustrations are silly and there's a great twist at the end. I also read The Napping House by Don and Audrey Wood. Most Librarians and educators of young people already know this classic. It's perfect for flannel boards and story re-telling. The kids like it because of the silly illustrations and repetitive text. Finally, I read What is Smell? by Jennifer Boothroyd. Jennifer has an entire series on all the five senses. It can be dicey reading non-fiction to preschool age kids. The language has to be simple and fun. The pictures have to be clear and engaging. The books also need to be short and to the point. Because of this, I read only what I felt were the most important bits. I cut out the jargon, and gave them exactly what mattered. As a result, they were all entertained and I hope they all walked away with a new appreciation for how important their little noses are!

We did all of our usual songs and activities, including Alphabet Action by Heidisongs, and the corresponding letter N song/dance.

Greeting Song: We're all here! (Skip to my lou)
Here, here. We're all here!
Here, here. We're all here!
Here, here. We're all here!
We're here at story time!
Hello________. How are you?
Hello________. How are you?
Hello________. How are you?
I'm glad you're here today. (repeat for each child)

Craft: Nighttime Letter N

I used a white paint marker and traced a letter N on black paper.
The kids used a Q-tip and white paint to dot stars onto their letter N. The effect is very cool. The letter N almost appears to be glowing. This is a very easy craft to do. Just make sure to model how they should be painting the dots and then be ready for them to do it their own way, anyway!


Thanks for reading! Have a great week!


Mr. Mike.

Story time Wednesday! Letter M! Music, Mittens, Marshmallows, Mini-Muffins, and Mommies!

Happy Wednesday! We had a wonderful, spunky group of kiddos for our letter M story time. The three books I chose were all big hits with the group! I read Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Jarrett is also the author of the very popular middle elementary graphic series Lunch Lady. Perhaps it's the punk in me, but I really dig the idea where the farm animals live a double life at night as a punk rock farm band. The animals wait until the farmer goes to bed and set up their equipment for rehearsal and a rock concert. The best part about both this and it's sequel Punk Farm on Tour is that you can download the Punk Farm songs from their website here. I played the tune while showing the pictures from  the book. It's easy to do, the text on the pages follows the song perfectly. The  kids really enjoyed this story and the adults laughed out loud at the big rock ending the band puts on. We also read The Mommy Book by Todd Parr. I get Todd Parr. I know that not all of my fellow librarians get him as well, but I can see why kids like his books so much. The text is in plain language. The pictures look like something the kids would draw themselves, and he always talks about a subject that every kid can relate to. He doesn't shy away from different sorts of families and nearly every child has a mommy, daddy, grandma, or grandpa who fits in with Parr's books. I think that the kids like to imagine their mommies and daddies doing some of the silly things they do in the books like riding a 

motorcycle, or flying through the air, tied to a kite. Finally, I read Ed Emberley's If You're a Monster and you Know it! You sing it, you do all the moves, the kids have a great time. It's a classic formula. I like to get them all warmed up by having them imagine themselves as any monster they want to be. I tell them that they can be big or tiny, ugly or cute, any color they want, or as silly as they want. So we snorted, growled, clapped, stomped, and roared!

 When the kids arrived I had prepared mini muffins for them to enjoy. I absolutely love teaching with food. We all have the need for food. Everyone likes food. I believe food is an invaluable teaching tool for preschoolers because it satisfies each of our five senses. Anyone with preschool or early childhood experience understand how important tactile and sensory learning is. Depending on what food you use to teach, each sense can be stimulated. Tasting the flavor. Looking at the color, size, and shape of the fruit. Smelling the aroma. Feeling the size, shape and texture. Even hearing the crunch or squish of food when we eat it. So, I use food to teach a LOT! It can also foster social development. Snack time is a social time for kids where they learn how to talk to one another, share, express ideas, and learn social conventions. Food is also a way for kids to learn courage and experiment outside their comfort zone when they aren't sure about if the food is good or not. Seriously, I can not say enough good things about teaching with food. Everyone should! Even as the kids get older, having them help cook and prepare food teaches math and measurement, science and chemistry! FOOD IS AWESOME!!!!!!!

It's spring break this week and we had some older siblings take part in at least a portion of story time. Anyway, we went through our routine and the kids were incredible! They know so much of the ABC action song now that I feel I may not have to dance in front of them any longer. Rest assured, dear readers. I promise to continue dancing for you amusement. Then of course we greeted our friends with our hello song.
We're All here!
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
We're here at story time!
Hello _______. How are you?
Hello_______. How are you?
Hello _______. How are you?
I'm glad you're here today!

Letter M Song (Sally the Camel)
Capital M's got Big Bumps! (Trace letter M in the air)
Capital M's got Big Bumps!
Capital M's got Big Bumps!
That's letter M! Boom, boom boom! (Shake hips)

Lowercase m's got small bumps (Make a small sign with fingers)
just make a line and bump bump! (trace letter in the air. Jump slightly to the side when you make the bumps)
Just make a line and bump bump! (repeat above)
And that's letter m. Boom, boom, boom! (Shake hips)

/m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ bump bump! (make the m sound and shake hips)
/m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ bump bump!
/m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ /m/ bump bump!
That's letter m! Boom, boom, boom, BOOM! (jump and clap on the last BOOM!)


Letter M marshmallow craft
Easy Peasy, lemon-squeezy!
Cut out Letter M templates from construction paper.
Model for the kids how to make dots with their Elmer's glue. Glue sticks aren't the best suited for this project. 
Have the kids stick the marshmallows on the letter M.
Try not to eat too many!

Thanks for reading! See you next wednesday!

Story time Wednesday! Hooray for Letter L!

 Happy Wednesday! It's time for another story time blog! Today we continued our Alphabet Adventure as we explored many things related to letter L. The books I chose for this story time were Max's Bunny Business by Rosemary Wells, Light or Heavy? A book of opposites, and The Little Red Hen (Makes A Pizza) By Philomen Sturges. Well, the little peanuts were all charged up today. It was not the best a story time has ever gone over. We read two of the three books, did our usual Heidisongs dances and crafted these adorable letter L Lamps. The kids were able to decorate them with markers and stickers. They turned out really cool. See the pictures below to get a look at what we've been up to.

 So to start things off, we use Heidisongs ABC Action song and dance to warm up. Wow. The progress these kids have made since January. When you think that each of these kiddos have only seen this once a week, you have to admire how well they perform the moves and sing the song now. It's always incredible to watch them grow and get better each week. We had a very good sized group today with a few kids returning after some time away from the library. It was great to see them back!


Afterwards, we greet everyone with our song We're all here! (Skip To My Lou)
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
Here, here, we're all here!
We're here at story time!

Hello, ___________ How are you?
Hello, ___________ How are you?
Hello, ___________ How are you?
I'm glad you're here today!

I read Max's Bunny Business and had lemonade for the kiddos to drink. I also passed around a lemon for the kids to touch and smell. Young children learn in a tactile fashion, so anything you can do to get their senses involved is nothing but a benefit to them.

After reading Light or Heavy? I put some pictures of things that appeared in the book on the magnet board. The kids helped me sort all the pictures onto a chart that I had drawn up. Heavy and Light are opposite concepts that sometimes we take for granted but for young children, they often need help to gain an awareness of weight.

The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) was cut short due to even shorter attention spans. I read about half of the story when I noticed that not one set of eyes was towards me, so I took a tip I learned from Spring Institute and just closed the book with a "La La La! The End!" Well, this got a chuckle out of the parents in the room. We quickly did our goodbye song and headed over to make our craft.

During the craft, I had pink lemonade for the kids to sample, and they all had a great time making this easy project. All you need are letter Ls cut out of construction paper, printed lampshades cut out ahead of time, glue sticks, markers, and foam stickers.

Thanks for reading! See ya next week!