Forest Friends (Preschool and Two's)

Preschool Storytime:

*This is our registration week for SRP, and it was so busy for storytime! I was hoping to have a good crowd, but never expected our attendace this morning. We had 45 kids today and I was so excited to see everybody this morning! I'm hoping for even more next week, we'll see what happens!

Opening: Big Books

Book: A Bear Sat on My Porch Today (With Puppets)

*I have to say, my favorite part of this book was
when the skunk appeared. Why? Because the
skunk puppet happened to spray water on all of us!
This was followed by lots of screams of excitement
and laughter!

Fingerplay: Fox Hiding Game

Credit: Hey There Library

Action: Insect Flash Cards

Book: How to Find a Fox (With puppet)

*My volunteer was behind me, and to make this
book more interactive, she had a fox puppet.
All throughout the book, she would pop up the
fox puppet to get the kids riled up. Oh my, did
they ever shout and scream at me to catch that fox!
Did I? Of course!

Action: Forest Animal Flash Cards

Action: Fishing Skit

*The last thing I did for storytime was try to catch a
big fish! Of course, I caught lots of others things first,
an octopus, sock, houseshoe. When I finally caught
a fish, it was a very small fish, not the big fish that
kept popping up. The best part of this was when I
leaned over my puppet stage to try and see that big
fish. You know what's coming...that big fish popped
right up and scared me!

This is the first forest theme storytime I've ever
done and it was a huge hit! The kids went crazy
over everything we did, and I had way too much
stuff planned. Many of it I didn't include here, but
I have in store for future storytimes. I highly
recommend doing this theme, it was so much fun!

Our craft today was a paper bag raccoon and I
had no idea how much fun the preschoolers would
have with it. I was a little worried there were too
many parts to it, but not for the preschoolers. They
ran around with their raccoons and had a grand time
with them!

Credit: DLTK-Kids

Extra Books:

Time for Two's Storytime:

*I wasn't quite sure how much of a crowd to expect, since this is our registration week for SRP, but we had a great crowd of 20 kids! I have to admit, they were very wound up, but we still had a great time!

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Bear’s Big Breakfast

*The two's loved seeing the puppets pop up behind me and making all the noises with me.

Fingerplay: Black Bear

Black bear, black bear turn around.

Black bear, black bear touch the ground.

Black bear, black bear reach touch the sky.

Black bear, black bear jump up high.

Black bear, black bear show your claws.

Black bear, black bear paw around.

Black bear, black bear turn around.

Black bear, black bear touch the ground.

Fingerplay: Fox Hiding Game

Credit: Hey There Library

Book: Hoot! Hoot!  Can You Say It Too?

*The two's adore lift-the-flap books, and this is one I haven't gotten the chance to read yet. They loved it!

Action: Insect Flash Cards

Action: Fishing Skit

*The last thing I did for storytime was try to catch a

big fish! Of course, I caught lots of others things first,

an octopus, sock, houseshoe. When I finally caught a

fish, it was a very small fish, not the big fish that

kept popping up. The best part of this was when I

leaned over my puppet stage to try and see that big

fish. You know what's coming...that big fish popped

right up and kissed me!

Our craft today was a paper bag raccoon!
Credit: DLTK-Kids

Puddle Weather (Preschool and Two's)

Preschool Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Book: Boom! Boom! Boom!

*I love using this book for bedtime or a rainy day storytime. Today we had the honor of having a special guest do sign language as I read the book, which was wonderful! Also, while I read all the animals in the book would pop up behind me! A lot going on, I agree, but it went great! The kids really got into making all the animal sounds and I learned some new sign language myself.

Fingerplay: Wishy Washy Song (Tune:  London Bridge)

The cow jumped in the mud, in the mud,

in the mud.  The cow jumped in the mud.  

Now he’s dirty.

…pig rolled, …duck paddled.

WHO DO WE CALL TO WASH THE ANIMALS?  MRS WISHY-WASHY! (ADDED THIS)

The cow washed in the tub, in the tub, in the tub.  The cow washed in the tub.

Wishy, Washy.

…pig…duck.

The all jumped in the mud, in the mud,

in the mud.  They all jumped in the mud

they are dirty again.

*I love doing this with the kids, and to make it more interactive, we all stand up and jump! I have a box covered with brown fabric, and my volunteer will have my animals "jump" into the mud. So much fun!

Credit: Making Learning Fun

Book: Mud Puddle

*I was hesitant to read this book this year, just because it's really long. But I went with it, and I'm so glad I did! My volunteer has a piece of brown fabric, that represents the "mud puddle". As the mud puddle jumps onto the little girl in the book, my volunteer throws the piece of fabric onto me! The kids loved screaming and shouting at me that the mud puddle was coming my way! A great book to use for a mud theme.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Cloud Hiding Game

*Today we hunted for a tiny, little white cloud behind big, different colored clouds. I'm always afraid the preschoolers will get tired of hunting for things on my flannelboard, but thankfully they never do!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Umbrellas

Five umbrellas waiting for rain to pour,

One was picked by Penguin, and now there are four.

Four umbrellas, saying pick me, pick me!

One was taken by Owl, and now there are three.

Three umbrellas, wondering what to do,

One was chosen by Bunnies, and now there are two.

Two umbrellas waiting for some fun,

One was picked by Alligator and now there is one.

One little umbrella, the rain is all done,

He went home with a cute little girl and now there are none.

*This time we fed the umbrellas to our puppets!

Credit: One Little Librarian

Fingerplay: In the Rain (Tune of: “Farmer in the Dell”)

          We’re stomping in the rain

          We’re stomping in the rain

          We can’t go yet, we must get wet!

          We’re stomping in the rain

          Repeat with: clapping, hopping

*My favorite part of this? I decided to make this more interactive and throw paper raindrops on kids when you say “We must get wet!” But I wanted to add a twist. How? My volunteer was still behind the puppet stage, so she had a water bottle. When I threw the paper raindrops, she squirted a mist of water out! The kids went crazy shouting! They all thought I had sprayed them! I could honestly say, I didn't do it! Such a good time!

Credit: Librarian vs. Storytime

Our craft today was an umbrella with raindrops!  My favorite part of it was the fuzzy pipe cleaner.  I have to admit, I think that was the preschoolers favorite part too!  The preschoolers glued down the raindrops and had stickers to place on the umbrella.

Extra Books:

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Boom! Boom! Boom! (with puppets)

*The two's loved stomping their feet every time I read the refrain "Boom! Boom! Boom!" This book is a little long for the two's, but they loved all the action and the animals popping up behind me.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Cloud Hiding Game

*Today we hunted for a tiny, little white cloud behind big, different colored clouds.

Fingerplay: Wishy Washy Song (Tune:  London Bridge) USE PUPPETS
The cow jumped in the mud, in the mud,in the mud.  The cow jumped in the mud.  
Now he’s dirty.
…pig rolled, …duck paddled.
WHO DO WE CALL TO WASH THE ANIMALS?  MRS WISH-WASHY!!!! (ADDED THIS)

The cow washed in the tub, in the tub, in the tub. The cow washed in the tub.

Wishy, Washy.

…pig…duck.
The all jumped in the mud, in the mud,
in the mud.  They all jumped in the mud
they are dirty again.
*We stood up to get out some wiggles and jumped! The two's loved jumping and seeing the animals go in and out of the mud.

Credit: Making Learning Fun

Book: Little Cloud

*I don't normally read two lengthy picture books with the two's, but they did great! This book I love, because I have the two's tell me what each cloud is. I also had a flannel to go along with this book, which helped also. I usually spray the kids with a little water when little cloud rains in the book, but I didn't feel like the group today would have liked that.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Umbrellas

Five umbrellas waiting for rain to pour,

One was picked by Penguin, and now there are four.

Four umbrellas, saying pick me, pick me!

One was taken by Owl, and now there are three.

Three umbrellas, wondering what to do,

One was chosen by Bunnies, and now there are two.

Two umbrellas waiting for some fun,

One was picked by Alligator and now there is one.

One little umbrella, the rain is all done,

He went home with a cute little girl and now there are none.

Credit: One Little Librarian

Fingerplay: In the Rain (Tune of: “Farmer in the Dell”)

          We’re stomping in the rain

          We’re stomping in the rain

          We can’t go yet, we must get wet!

          We’re stomping in the rain

          Repeat with: clapping, hopping

*My favorite part of this? I decided to make this more interactive and throw paper raindrops on kids when you say “We must get wet!”

Credit: Librarian vs. Storytime

Our craft today was an umbrella with raindrops!  My favorite part of this is the fuzzy pipe cleaner.  The two's glued down the raindrops and had stickers to place on the umbrella.

Extra Books:

New Books for May 2018

We've gotten a few new books this month, check them out!


*This book hopped right into my heart!  This is perfect for a rain, frog or hopping storytime!  The adorable little frog hops around and meets all kinds of friends.  The best part to me?  Everything rhymes, which seems to do nothing but make this that much cuter!


*I love books that are repetitive, and this book is exactly that!  You start out with the adorable robin, building her nest.  Along come her friends to help build!  A beautifully illustrated book that shows all that goes into an intricately built nest.

Happy Mother's Day! (Preschool and Two's)

Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYqFPa1mrXo

Preschool Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Book: Where’s My Mom? By Julia Donaldson

*This is a really cute book, where butterfly helps monkey find his mom.  I think the kids enjoyed telling me the most that each animals was not monkeys mom!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Snake, Little Snake

Credit: Storytime in the Stacks

Fingerplay/Flannel: Hearts with Animals

*I only did four hearts that are listed on this fingerplay, because I had the puppets to go along with it. I had the hearts printed out, and then the picture of the animal on the other side. After I read the rhyme and had the preschoolers guess what animal got my heart, I gave the heart to that puppet. The preschoolers loved seeing my puppets pop up! You can see all the rhymes listed on the site below.

Credit: Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime

Book: Pouch! by Stein

*I adore using this book in storytime. Why? Because we jump all throughout the book! Baby kangaroo jumps in and out of his mama's pouch. Each time he jumps one more time than he did before. Not only do we get to move around a lot, but it also helps teach the kids to count to five!

Action: Five Kisses to Give Away (Place kisses on animals)

I have five kisses to give away,

Who should I kiss on this special day?

*I apologize, I have on idea where I found this. If it's your idea, please let me know!

Book: What Not to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day

*I was hesitant to read this book, but the kids did seem to enjoy it this time.  I think it's an adorable book to use!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Fingerplay/Flannel: “A Flower for You”

         (Make flower, and when you sneeze, throw petals on kids)

         Out in the garden the flowers grew,

         Each with a different color and hue.

         I picked the {red} one just for you.

         Then took a sniff and went “Ah-choo!”

         And away the petals of the flower flew

*As usual, the kids love having petals being thrown on them!

Extra Books:

*Our craft today was a ladybug for our mom!

Credit: Teachwithme

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Mommies Say Shhh! (With puppets)

*This book took longer than I expected to read, but the two's did great making all the animal noises with me!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Book: Where Is Baby’s Mommy?

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Snake, Little Snake

Credit: Storytime in the Stacks

Fingerplay/Flannel: Wheels on the Bus Song

*I tend to forget how much the two's love singing, and they had so much fun singing!

Fingerplay/Flannel: “A Flower for You”

         (Make flower, and when you sneeze, throw petals on kids)

         Out in the garden the flowers grew,

         Each with a different color and hue.

         I picked the {red} one just for you.

         Then took a sniff and went “Ah-choo!”

         And away the petals of the flower flew

*As usual, the kids love having petals being thrown on them!

*Our craft today was a ladybug for our mom!

Credit: Teachwithme

Extra Books:

*When I read this book, I like to feed flowers to my puppets.