ABC & 1-2-3 (Preschool)

Preschool Storytime

"ABC and 1-2-3"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Book: "A Isn't for Fox"

*This book turned out to be a big hit!  I just had the kids call out letters, and I read only those pages, but they would have easily sat through the whole book.  Next time I will definitely make time for the whole book to be read.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Ocean Animal Movement Cards"
*I can't find where I found mine, but they are different ocean animals printed up like flashcards.  We stood up and moved around for a bit.

Book: "Mouse Count"

*This book didn't go over as well as I had hoped, but I think that it was still enjoyed.  I used our puppet snake and ten little mice.  Instead of showing the pictures I told the story using the puppets.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Five Little Fishes Swimming in the Sea"
*We propped up our five little fishes on our board, and when they get chomped by the alligator, our puppet came up out of the water and snapped them up!

Book/Flannel: "Hickory Dickory Dock"

*For this, I made a big clock, and propped it up on the board.  All the animals in the book made appearances, and the kids helped by clapping their hands when the clock struck each hour.

Fingerplay: "Alligator Story"
*Here is where I found this great alligator story.  I fed our alligator puppet magnetic letters as I told the story.  My favorite part is hearing a grandfather laugh with his granddaughter while I was telling this.  That's what I will always treasure about storytime, the memories that I am hopefully helping them make with each other.

Book: "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons"

*A favorite book, and who doesn't love Pete the Cat!  We put up a coat with the four buttons on it.  As I read the book, a button was pulled off the flannel. I had small round circles cut out of construction paper.  When the button popped off, I threw handfuls of the circles out on the kids, representing the buttons flying.  They went crazy, and I did this for all four buttons.

Craft: Here is the website where we based our craft on.  We ended up only going through the number five.

Extra Read-Aloud Books:
10 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street
10 Little Ninjas
A is for Musk Ox
Alphablock
Ants at the Picnic
Bear Counts
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countablock
Five Little Monkeys Play Hide and Seek
Hootenanny!
Sheep Go to Sleep
Shout! Shout it Out!
Take Away the A
Ten Little Ladybugs
With Any Luck, I'll Drive the Truck
Z is for Moose
Zoozical

Dog and Cat Tales (Two's)

Time for Two's Storytime

"Dog and Cat Tales"

*I was on vacation for the following storytime, but co-workers presented them for me.  

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Fingerplay: "If You're a Dog and You Know It"
  If you're a dog and you know it, bark out loud (repeat twice)
  If you're a dog and you know it, and you really want to show it.

   If you're a dog and you know it, bark out loud
  Other verses: Clap your paws, Stomp your feet.

Book/Flannel: "Dog's Colorful Day"

*All time favorite dog and color book to use with the two's.  We have a great flannel of dog, and as the story goes along, I place colored dots on dog.  When he gets a bath, all of the dots get washed off dog.

Fingerplay: "Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat"
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, turn around.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, sit on the ground.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, say meow.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, take a bow.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, chase your tail. (turn around)
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, into your bed creep.

  Kitty cat, kitty cat, go to sleep.

Book: "I Spy Pets"

*A great guessing book that I love to use.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Dog Dancing"
  Put your dog up, put your dog down.  Hold your dog and turn around.
  Put your dog on your nose, put your dog on your toes.
  Wave your dog fast, wave your dog slow.
  Put your dog on your knees, put your dog on your head.
  Hold your dog and jump up and down!
*I laminate dogs that I've printed out and put velcro on the back of. After we dance around with our dogs, then the kids can place them on my flannelboard.

Book: "Woof! Woof! Pop-Up Peekaboo!"

Action: "Feed Dog
*For this, we've made a dog face and put it on the front of a kleenox box.  I give out dog bones to the kids, and then tell them my dog needs a dog treat.  When the kids feed my dog, the bones disappear inside his mouth and drop into the kleenox box, out of sight.

Dog and Cat Tales (Preschool)

Preschool Storytime

"Dog and Cat Tales"

*I was on vacation for the following storytime, but co-workers presented them for me.  

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Book: "Max the Brave" (With puppets)

*This book is a really cute read about an adorable cat named Max who is on the hunt for a mouse.  I am very excited, because there is a second book coming out turning it into a series!

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Two Bones" 
   I have two bones to give away, what dog shall I feed today?
   I think I"ll feed my...snake?  No, no, no...let me try again.
*I use a couple of different puppets until I finally get the dog.  The kids love     that the wrong animal pops up.  I don't have any idea where I got this adorable rhyme from.

Book: "This Book Just Ate My Dog!"

*This book is so much fun to read aloud to kids.  Everything inside the book ends up getting eaten by..the book!

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone?"
   Doggy, doggy, where's your bone?  Someone took it from your home!
   It wasn't me, it wasn't you!  It must have been someone from the zoo!
*Click here to visit the website that references this great fingerplay.

Book: "Is There a Dog In This Book?"

*As you can tell on the cover, the cats are apprehensive of the cute little doggie in this book.  You will go on an adventure by lifting the flaps and finding not only the cats but also the dog hiding out all through this great book.

Fingerplay: "Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat"
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, turn around.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, sit on the ground.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, say meow.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, take a bow.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, chase your tail. (turn around)
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, into your bed creep.
  Kitty cat, kitty cat, go to sleep.

New Books

New Books!

More new books! 


The adorable gorilla can't decide what he wants to be at the zoo.  The kids get to stomp and roar along with him, but he's still a gorilla, but a silly one at that!

A wonderful seek and find book that includes counting.  As you read the book, you lift the flaps on each page to help papa seahorse find his missing baby.  You will discover wonderful ocean animals as you go.  Great for a counting or ocean storytime!

I have fallen in love with this author!  This book is so cute!  Every animal has a flap that you lift to show the yawning mouth open up.  I can't wait to use this in my next bedtime storytime!

This rhyming books does a great job illustrating all the wonderful pets in our world.  The words on each page are very little, but the pictures more than make up for it.  

What a precious book about a little cloud.  This book is very sweet and teaches that even though you may be small, you can turn into something great and wonderful.  In the end, little cloudette spreads rain and joy to not only frogs but children too.  A great book for a rain, cloud, or even frog storytime.

What a wonderful dragon book, and I love how it incorporates storytime into the plot.  A great rhyming book about a beautiful dragon and it rhymes also.  I've never done a dragon storytime but after reading this book I want to now!

This book is a really good movement book and it is accompanied by a wonderful CD that goes along with the book.  

 

Great lift-the-flap book for a sick storytime.  On each page, baby gets a boo-boo.  Someone different will come along to kiss and make it better!

 

Another great hit by one of my favorite authors!  As you turn the page each cut-out reveals an animal.  The cover of the book?  It turns into a monkey!  This would be wonderful for any age, and I will definitely be using it for a shape or animal storytime very soon!

This book reminds me of "Dog's Colorful Day" and I love it!  I plan on making a flannel and placing colored dots on the cat as the story progresses.  

Don't you just love the adorable monster on the front of this book?  From the creators of the book "I Will Chomp You" comes another great book!  You won't be disappointed by this one.  The monster inside this book tries to convince you that he's not a monster and then lists all the reasons why.  Another great one by a wonderful pair, Jory John and Bob Shea.

Crayons and Colors (Two's)

Time for Two's Storytime

"Crayons and Colors"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Fingerplay: "If You Want to Hear a Story"

Book: "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes"

*I was hoping that the two's would have enjoyed this book more than they did.  But they still seemed to like it.  When Pete the cat's shoes changed colors, we all stomped our feet to emphasize that fact.  That was a big hit!

Fingerplay: "Shoe Guessing Game" 
   {Red} shoe, {Red} shoe,
   Is Pete hiding behind you?

*Here is the website where I based my flannel on this adorable game.  The kids had so much fun trying to find Pete the cat behind one of the shoes.

Book: "I Spy With My Little Eye"

*This book is so great to use.  It starts out showing a small circle with the color of the animal, and a clue also.  Then you turn the page to reveal the animal. Probably the biggest hit of the books this storytime.  There are others in this series, and I highly recommend using them all.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Animal Flash Cards"

 *Here is the website where you can download these free animal movement cards.

Fingerplay: "Let's Hear You..."
   Let's hear you roar like a lion
   Let's see you jump like a frog
   Let's see you snap your jaws like a crocodile
   Let's hear you woof like a dog
   Pretend you're an elephant with a big long trunk
   Pretend you're a monkey; now jump, jump, jump!
*I don't remember where I found this, but it's a great movement rhyme.

Book: "Go Away, Big Green Monster!"

*You can't go wrong with this color book, but sadly we ran out of time to listen to it.

Fingerplay: "Colors In My Picture"

*I couldn't find the website where this was found, but I give credit to Kathryn Roach who made this.  We ran out of time to use it, but it's so much fun to amaze the kids and pretend to draw a picture for them, and have them tell you what colors to use.  I like to have my finished picture hidden and then it magically appears before them.

Fingerplay: "White Rabbit's Color Book"

*Here is the website where I found this adorable story.  I used the three buckets of paint from our Mouse Paint story, and hid my rabbits inside.  Before I told the story, I showed my empty buckets to the kids.  When I pulled out the different colored rabbits, they were amazed!  I love being able to astound the kids and this one certainly did.

Action: "Crayon Dancing"
*I give out paper crayons to the kids, and we dance around with them.  I had way too much planned, and we didn't get to this one either.

Book: "My Very First Book of Colors"

*A fun book to use, letting the kids guess what color each animal is supposed to be.  The book is split in half, so that you can choose what color and what animal you want to see.  We ran out of time to read this one too, but I think the kids would have enjoyed it though.

Here is a picture of our craft.  Everyone seemed to enjoy making it.

Extra Read-Aloud Books:

Crayons and Colors (Preschool)

Preschool Storytime

"Crayons and Colors"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Book: "Red"

*This book was a good read, but not as fun as I hoped it to be.  I made a prop crayon to match the red crayon on the book, and the kids caught on quickly that the crayon didn't match it's wrapper.  But they still enjoyed listening to the book.  I do think it would be a book that would be more enjoyable one-on-one.

Fingerplay: "Shoe Guessing Game" 
   {Red} shoe, {Red} shoe,
   Is Pete hiding behind you?

*Here is the website where I based my flannel on this adorable game.  The kids had so much fun trying to find Pete the cat behind one of the shoes.

Book: "Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes"

*By far the biggest hit of storytime!  Several kids knew this book by sight, and when we got to the song, they started singing before me.  So much fun, I can't wait to read it again!

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Missing Crayon"
   I know the colors in the crayon box.
   Do you know them too?
   If one color was missing,
   Would you know it's hue?
*Here is the website where I found this great game.  Also, you can find wonderful fingerplays and other color themes too!  We used red, yellow and blue crayons to play with, and the kids didn't want to stop playing.

Book: "I Know a Wee Piggy"

*This is a great color book and could be used in a pig storytime too.  We have different colored pigs, and as the colors changed in the book, we placed our pigs on the flannelboard.

Fingerplay: "White Rabbit's Color Book"

*Here is the website where I found this adorable story.  I used the three buckets of paint from our Mouse Paint story, and hid my rabbits inside.  Before I told the story, I showed my empty buckets to the kids.  When I pulled out the different colored rabbits, they were amazed!  I love being able to astound the kids and this one certainly did.

Book: "Go Away, Big Green Monster!"

*You can't go wrong with this color book, but sadly we ran out of time to listen to it.

Here is a picture of our craft.  Everyone seemed to enjoy making it.

Extra Read-Aloud Books:
Bear Sees Colors
Go To Bed, Monster!
Crayons' Book of Numbers
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Lemons Are Not Red
Mix It Up!
Monsters Love Crayons

New Books

New Books!

It's like Christmas down here!  New books baby!  




This book is perfect for a spider storytime or shape storytime.  Poor spider is trying to spin his web, but everytime he makes a different shape, it gets blown down. 

 
A great counting book that make me think of Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  You count down from 10 to 1, and each page will reveal a different scene with the kids changing professions.  


This book is so sweet, and the ending is precious!  I won't give it away, but bear won't give up the chair to itty bitty mouse.  But the tables do get turned, read to find out how!


I absolutely love anything to do with a moose, and this book is it!  The book rhymes, and the illustrations are precious.


Lift the flap books are a favorite of mine, and this book doesn't disappoint.  All the animals are waiting to say goodnight!  You turn the page, but you can choose the top or bottom half of the page to turn first.  I can't wait to use this in my teddy bear sleepover!


This book has made me laugh out loud, and I hope that you will love it too!  I feel like the author literally looked inside my imagination and drew it out for all to see.  How can you not love a book with a giant wooly mammoth in it?


A great rhyming book about super bugs!  Beautiful illustrations that will be sure to catch the eye of all your kids.

Go, Shapes, Go! (Preschool)

Preschool Storytime

"Go, Shapes, Go!"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Book: "Circle, Square, Moose"

*This book turned out to be so much fun to read!  We had a moose that popped out behind our bulletin board to "interrupt" whenever the moose spoke up during the book.  The kids caught on quickly and let me know whenever the moose peeked out, a great hit.

Fingerplay: "Shape Guessing Game" 

*I took basic shapes and labeled them on the front, and on the flip side I had pictures of items.  The kids then had to guess what was behind each one.  For instance, our triangle was a watermelon and our circle was a cookie. 

Book: "What Am I?  Looking Through Shapes at Apples and Grapes"

*This book was a great one to read with our kids, they loved guessing what fruit is revealed.  It's also an awesome book to help teach shapes and colors too.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Baby Kangaroo, Behind Which Shape Are You?"
*Click here to visit the website that I found this great flannel on.  I just used the shapes from the earlier flannel, and made a little baby kangaroo to hide behind the shapes.

Book: "Mouse Shapes"

*My new favorite shape book of all time!  I made all of the characters in the book out of construction paper, and laminated them for the flannelboard.  While I read the book, my volunteer placed them on the flannel.  It was so cute, I can't wait to read it again!

Fingerplay: "Build a House With Shapes"

       Some houses are wood and some are stone,
       But let's build one with shapes alone.
       Start with a square, but we won't stop.
       Add a triangle up on the top.
       Then a rectangle for the door.
       Now square windows, 1, 2, 3, 4.
       A circle is just for fun.
       Now our shape house is all done!
*Here is the website where I found this adorable rhyme!  My volunteer placed the items on the flannelboard as I read it.  I asked the kids what they thought, and a little boy said, it needs a chimney!  Priceless!

Extra Read-Aloud Books:
Achoo!  by Morgand
Color Farm
Color Zoo
Dinosaur Shapes
Dot
Go, Shapes, Go!
Have You Seen My Monster?
It Looked Like Spilt Milk
Lemons Are Not Red
Little Cloud
Round Like a Ball!
Lots of Dots
Perfect Square
Shape of Me and Other Stuff
Tickle Monster

Click here to visit the website where I found the shape house craft.  I have found so many cute shape crafts, that I had to save them all on my pinterest board for future storytimes!  Below is our shape house craft that we did.

*As I started planning, I wasn't excited about shapes at all.  Now, it's turned into one of my favorite themes!  All of the books went over great and the kids loved this craft.  I can't wait to do this theme again.

Zoo Achoo! (Two's)

Time for Two's Storytime

"Zoo Achoo!"

Music: "Going to the Zoo" by Raffi

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

*I have always used this, and the kids love doing it. It was used before I started, and if it works, don't change it!

Fingerplay: "If You Want to Hear a Story"

         If you want to hear a story, clap your hands (repeat)

         If you want to want to hear a story, if you want to hear a story

         If you want to hear a story clap your hands.

Book: "So Cozy"

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Animal Flash Cards"
*Click here to visit website for free download of animal cards that I used.

Book: "Jump!"

Fingerplay: "Zoo Animals" (Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It"

         If you want to be an alligator, chomp your hands (repeat)

         If you want to be an alligator, if you want to be an alligator

         If you want to be an alligator, chomp your hands

         Continue with: Monkey, jump up high; Bird, flap your wings; 

         Snake, slither slow; Giraffe, stretch real tall

Book: "Peek-a-Boo Zoo"

(This series is so great!  Each page has a rhyme that describes the animal, then you pull down the flap to reveal the animal playing peek-a-boo.  All the others by this author are really good to use in storytime also.)

Fingerplay: "Band-Aids"
(Click above to visit the website where I found this fabulous idea.  But you make felt band-aids and pass them out to the kids.  Then they get to put them on your sick puppet.  We helped our dog puppet feel better today.  They loved it!)

Fingerplay: "Five Beautiful Flowers"

        Five beautiful flowers, each a beautiful hue.

        I took a big sniff, just for you, and then I went, ACHOO!

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"
(We didn't do this today, ran out of time.)

*The favorite thing by far was the five beautiful flowers fingerplay.  Especially when I threw flower petals on the kids!

Click here to visit the website with the boo-boo bear craft we based ours off of. Be sure to check out the craft using Q-Tips and making the teddy bear with a skeleton.  Below is our take on the boo-boo bear that our kids made.

Extra Books:

'Twas the Day Before Zoo Day

Bear Feels Sick

Flea's Sneeze

Going to the Zoo

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?

Jump!

Llama Llama Home With Mama

My Heart is Like a Zoo

Peek-a-Boo Zoo

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Roar, Roar, Baby!

So Cozy

Taking Care of Mama

The View at the Zoo

The Zoo is Closed Today!

More new books!

We've gotten so many awesome new books, I had to share them!  There are a lot of books, so bear with me.....

All of the books below rhyme, which are always favorites with my storytime crowd.


This book is so bright and colorful, and the author did a fabulous job in combining trains and robots. 



Combine counting and trucks in this rolling picture book about trucks!



Why yes, we all do have a lion inside us!  I can't wait to use this book during a jungle storytime.  The book has such a great story behind it, and the little mouse finds his inner beauty and what it means to be true to yourself.  I won't give away the ending, you must read it to find out for yourself!



With bright and enthusiastic animals, this book will catch the eye of everyone around.  The animals and construction vehicles will keep all entertained.  Perfect for a construction or building storytime.



The illustrations in this book are precious, and you can't help but fall in love with them!  Perfect for a bedtime or train storytime.  Where exactly do steam trains sleep at night?  Read to find out!



I had to share this one, especially if you're not familiar with Rappy the Raptor. He is introduced in the first book in the series, and he talks in rap.  Plus he's a dinosaur, always a big draw with the kids.

Here are more books, but not in rhyme.  Still great to use in storytime!



Another great truck book by Stephen Savage.  I highly recommend you read Supertruck in this series, if you haven't already.  In this book, the truck is confused on what he's supposed to be mixing.  But it turns out to be spectacular!  I won't spoil what he's making, but it's something you'll love!



Just the cover alone of this book cracks me up!  It's a great counting and food book to use.  I love the use of real food with the hand-drawn illustrations.  All of the food has been turned into very creative looking animals.  

 

Who doesn't wanna be a great big dinosaur?  In this great interactive book, you get to follow along with the dinosaur and find out what it takes to be a great, big dinosaur!  Kids will love getting to stomp and roar right along with you.



We all know the classic and well loved song "Old MacDonald".  This author has a great take on it with Old MacDonald had a truck.  You start out on the farm, but instead of animals you get construction vehicles!  Of course, you are building up to the grand finale, which is a truck!  An ordinary truck?  Oh no!  I can't spoil this one either!  You must read it to find out for yourself!



I am always excited to see new Halloween books, and this one doesn't disappoint.  It's a great repetitive book, and I plan on making a flannelboard to go along with it.  That way the kids can help say the lines along with me.



This book will make you laugh out loud!  All I can say is, poor little guy.  Trust me, you really must read the book.  A great one for a fish or ocean storytime.



What is that noise owl keeps hearing?  Something is keeping owl awake time after time.  This is a great bedtime book that will keep the kids guessing.  It doesn't hurt that the illustrator and author is Greg Pizzoli either.



My last book of this post is a new book about a new baby.  If you're on the lookout for the perfect book to share with the big brother, this is perfect.  The illustrations are spot on, and it is so funny!

I hope that you've found some new favorites out of this bunch.  I can't wait to be able to use some of these books in storytime.  Have a blessed day!