Happy Tuesday! It's a BIG and little storytime!

Happy Tuesday! Today we had fun exploring the opposite concepts of Big and Little. We also have some fun with puppets and sensory play!

Books:
I'm Big! By: Kate and Jim McMullan
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by: Jan Thomas
Big Bug by: Henry Cole

What We Did:
1.) Greeting song: The Storytime Train is coming!
(to the tune of "She'll be comin round the mountain)
Well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Oh the storytime train is coming, yes the storytime train is coming, well the storytime train is coming. How are you? (all: Choo Choo!)
Let's say hello to _____________. How are you? (Choo! Choo!)
Repeat this for each child in attendance.

2.) Get our bodies ready to read! This is the way...This is the way we clap our hands, clap our hands, clap our hands.
This is the way we clap our hands, when we're at storytime!
Repeat this tune with different actions (Stomp feet, jump up and down, tap your head, whisper voice, and always end with sit in my spot)

3.) Puppet Story: Bark, George!
Luckily for me, I have a Puppet leftover from the previous children's librarian that is still in great working order. George is a large, plush dog that you can reach into and pull out some smaller animals. If you haven't read the book by Jules Feiffer, you really ought to. I have the kids say hello to George as he sits on my lap. When I tell George to bark, he Meows, then Quacks, the Oinks, then Moos. After the giggles fade away, I notice that George has something in his mouth. I reach in and pull out each of the small stuffed animals.

4.) Action Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big! This is a fun rhyme I got from Storytime Katie.
This is big, big, big. (Throw hands out wide)
This is small, small, small. (Bring hands in close)
This is short, short, short. (put hands close and show vertically short)
This is tall, tall, tall. (put hands apart and show tall)
This is fast, fast, fast (pretend to run very fast)
This is slow, slow, slow (pretend to slo-mo run)
This is yes, yes, yes. (nod your head)
This is no, no, no. (shake head no)

5.) Big/Little sort- http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sorting-activities. First, we sorted the fist into two piles. Little fish and big fish. Then, we mixed them up again and the kids helped me put them in order from smallest to largest.

6.) Playtime: Today our three stations were Pla-doh, Sensory table (corn), and sponge painting.

a.) Sponge painting- Cut sponges into different shapes and set out a few paper plates and paper. Stand back and watch how many different ways they can use the sponges to paint! They can stamp, smudge, streak, paint on the sides, and more! I love turning the kiddos loose on a project and let their creativity expand!

b.) Pla-Doh
c.) Sensory Corn Bin- This was a trial run at a sensory table. I have a space issue and have no real storytime room. So, I set a sterilite tub full of feed corn. I also purchased some funnels, measuring cups and used some of my kids' sand toys that were stored away for the winter. Kids can learn so much from a sensory tub. First, the corn feels fun. Next, they learn about measuring and other concepts such as more/less and empty/full. They learn about what will and what will not fit inside a container. It was a big hit.
We have two storytimes left in our fall session. I hope you've enjoyed the information presented here. Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing. See ya next week!