Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (Preschool and Two's SRP)

Off-Site Two's Storytime:

*I have been going to a preschool off-site this summer, and it's been so much fun!  This week I only had the two's class, but they were very excited to have storytime!  Below is a short plan of what I did.

Opening: Big Books
Book: Don't Push the Button!
Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Ballet Dancers
Credit:https://jeninthelibrary.com/tag/dance/
Book: Press Here
Fingerplay/Flannel: Button Hiding Game  
Credit: http://onelittlelibrarian.blogspot.com/2018/05/toddler-time-dont-count-your-buttons.html
Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Preschool Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Book: Don’t Push the Button!

*I read this book often, and I was afraid the preschoolers would tired of it. But thankfully they are still
loving this book! The preschool group wanted me to read the book again, which always makes you
feel good!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Ballet Dancers

Five ballet dancers

Prancing on their toes

They twirl and spin and jump

Then off the stage one goes.

4 ballet dancers…3 ballet dancers…2 ballet dancers…

One ballet dancer

Prancing on his/her toes

S/He twirls and spins and jumps

Then off the stage s/he goes.

No more dancers!  The performance is over.

And what do we do at the end of a performance?

We applaud!  (clap)
Credit: Jen in the Library

Book: 3 Little Firefighters

*For this book, I made three firefighter jackets, with removable buttons to go on them. The best
part of my flannel? One of the preschool groups asked me where the head and feet of the
firefighters were...LOL! Don't you love when that happens? You gotta roll with the punches! As
I read the book I would mismatch the buttons on the jacket, so that the preschoolers would get to
tell me what was wrong. They really got into this part and had a lot of fun!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Button Hiding Game  

Pete lost all his buttons! Where can they be?

Does Elmo have a button?

Let’s look & see!

1-2-3!
Credit: One Little Librarian

Song: http://www.thenutfamily.com/songs.html
*My co-worker found this wonderful song online, to go along with the book.  Trust me, once you hear this tune, you won't be able to get it out of your head!

Book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

*I have a favorite thing I love to do with this book, and that is throw out paper buttons onto the kids!
As each button pops off Pete the cat's shirt, I take a button off the shirt I have up on my flannelboard.
Next I have small circles cut out of paper, that match each color of Pete's buttons. The kids go crazy
when I have items "rain" down upon their heads, and today they went bezerk!

Our craft today was sent home with the preschoolers, but this is what it looked like.

Extra Books:

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Don't Push the Button!

*Everybody enjoyed making beeping sounds with me as we changed our monster inside this
interactive book!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Book: Press Here

*The group that visited got into this book a little
quicker than my normal crowd, but everyone still
seemed to enjoy this interactive book.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Button Hiding Game  

Pete lost all his buttons! Where can they be?

Does Elmo have a button?

Let’s look & see!

1-2-3!
Credit: One Little Librarian

Fingerplay: Five Ballet Dancers

Five ballet dancers

Prancing on their toes

They twirl and spin and jump

Then off the stage one goes.

4 ballet dancers…

3 ballet dancers…

2 ballet dancers…

One ballet dancer

Prancing on his/her toes

She twirls and spins and jumps

Then off the stage s/he goes.

No more dancers!  The performance is over.

And what do we do at the end of a performance?

We applaud!  (clap)

Credit: Jen in the Library

Book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

*I have a favorite thing I love to do with this book, and that is throw out paper buttons onto the kids!
As each button pops off Pete the cat's shirt, I take a button off the shirt I have up on my flannelboard.
Next I have small circles cut out of paper, that match each color of Pete's buttons. The kids go crazy

when I have items "rain" down upon their heads, and today they went bezerk!

*The two's made their own Pete the Cat!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Group and Two's Storytime SRP)

Group Storytime:

*I didn't present the preschool storytime this week, we had a wonderful guest visit us, Kindermusik!  It was amazing, and I am already having them visit us again in fall.  But below is my plan for the group I visited off-site and what I did for the groups that visited the library also.

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Farm Friends

Book: Sleepover Duck

*I had so much fun with this book! I had my volunteer behind the puppet stage, and the owl would pop up behind me all through the book. Why? Because the duck and cat in this wonderful book are looking for who made that "Hoo-Hoo"!

Action: Farm Animal Action Cards

Flannel Board:  Hide and Seek Mouse Behind the Barn

Book: Ten Red Apples (With apples and puppets)

*I haven't read this book to my preschoolers in such a long time, partly because it is long. But I fed my puppets an apple as went go along, and the preschooler went crazy over this! We clapped and shouted each time I read "Yippee! Fiddle-dee-fee!" That helped move the book along too.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Cowboys Jumping on the Bed

Book: I Spy on the Farm

*You just can't beat this book series for storytime, and the preschoolers loved telling me what farm animal was hiding in my book!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Farm Animal Mix-Up

*I love mixing things up on my flannel-board, and this time I had three farm animals. But I put them up, and the front and back half of my animals didn't match! The preschoolers loved telling me what I got wrong.

Extra Book:

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Farm Friends

Book: Ten Red Apples (Feeding animals apples)

*I don't think I've ever read this book to the two's, partly because it is long. But I fed my puppets an apple as we went along, and the two's went crazy over this! We clapped and shouted each time I read "Yippee! Fiddle-dee-fee!" That helped move the book along too.

Action: Farm Animal Action Cards

Flannel Board:  Hide and Seek Mouse Behind the Barn

Book: Do Cows Meow?

Fingerplay: Farm Animal Dancing

Our craft today was a cow, and the two's went crazy over this!

Extra Book:

Let's Sing a Lullaby! (Preschool and Two's SRP)

Group Storytime:

*Below is a very short description of what I did for an off-site storytime for a group, which went wonderfully!  I am visiting them once a week, on Monday mornings.

Opening: Big Books

Book: Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues (With puppets)

Flannel: Five Cozy Blankets

Credit: Flannel Board Fun

Book: Noisy Night

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Bo Peep Has Lost Her Sheep

*The group loved everything, which was a wonderful thing!  I might try to add just a bit more for next week, we'll see how it goes!

Preschool Storytime:

*For preschool storytime, I had a group storytime at 9:30, before my regular storytime at 10:30  

Opening: Big Books

Book: Don’t Blink!

*This is a brand new book, and it was adorable!
All through the book, you can't blink! If you do,
you must turn the page! The kids told me right
away how many times I blinked. I was pleasantly
surprised how much the kids enjoyed this book,
it was so much fun.

Flannel: Five Cozy Blankets

5 cozy blankets with patterns galore,

1 covered Rabbit and then there were four.

4 cozy blankets as snuggly as can be,

1 covered Raccoon and then there were three.

3 cozy blankets with dots red and blue,

1 covered Fox and then there were two.

2 cozy blankets made just for fun,

1 covered Bear and then there was one.

1 cozy blanket left out in the sun,

It covered Owl and then there were none.

*The kids went crazy telling me which animal to cover up with the blanket!  I had to be silly and try covering up the heads of the animals too, but of course, that wasn't right. Silly me!

Credit: Flannel Board Fun

Book: Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues

*Pete the Cat is a classic, and the kids thoroughly
enjoyed making all the animals in this bedtime romp.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Book: Good Night Owl

*I love this book, and I highly recommend you
checking it out if you've never read it.
Owl can't find the source of the squeak inside his
house, but it's mouse! I had forgotten to ask my
volunteer to pop up the mouse puppet behind me,
but thankfully she did anyway! The kids screamed
and yelled at me to turn around to catch that silly
mouse, but I never did see
that mouse until after I finished reading my book.

Fingerplay: Four Little Stars

Four little stars winking at me, one shot off, then
there were three.

Three little stars with nothing to do, one shot off,
then there were two.

Two little stars afraid of the sun, one shot off, then
there was one.

One little star, alone is no fun, it show off, then there
was none.

(From Book: Storytime Magic)

*I only used the last two lines of the fingerplay above.  What I did was place two stars on my
flannelboard and had the kids hold up their hands
and have them make them twinkle like stars.  
After I said the line and took my star off the
flannelboard, I then threw out little paper stars onto
the kids. This represented the stars taking off!  The
kids went crazy! Anytime I make things rain down
onto the kids they absolutely love it!

For our craft today, we decided to make a bed with
teddy bears in it! We wanted this to look like the
song "Six in the Bed". We sent this home since we
usually have bigger crowds in the summertime
and don't have enough space to set up tables for
crafts like we do during the year.

Since I like to be silly for the kids, here I am in my
PJ's!


Extra Books:

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Sheep Go To Sleep!

*This is one of my favorite books to read to the two's, and they seemed to love seeing the sheep on the flannelboard. Why? Because I made five sheep, that on one side were asleep, and on the other side were awake. My volunteer would flip them over as they went to sleep as I was reading the book.

Flannel: Five Cozy Blankets

Credit: Flannel Board Fun

Fingerplay/Flannel: Little Bo Peep Has Lost Her Sheep
*The two's love hunting for items, and this we looked for sheep!
Credit: Kids Blog

Book: Nighty-Nite, Little Green Monster

*The two's were just spellbound by the little green monster appearing and disappearing again right before their eyes.  I love using Ed Emberley's books, they never fail to amaze!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Fingerplay: Four Little Stars

Four little stars winking at me, one shot off, then there were three.

Three little stars with nothing to do, one shot off, then there were two.

Two little stars afraid of the sun, one shot off, then there was one.

One little star, alone is no fun, it show off, then there was none.

(From Book: Storytime Magic)

*I only used the last two lines of the fingerplay above.  What I did was place two stars on my flannelboard and had the kids hold up their hands and have them make them twinkle like stars.  After I said the line and took my star off the flannelboard, I then threw out little paper stars onto the kids. This represented the stars taking off!  The kids went crazy! Anytime I make things rain down onto the kids they absolutely love it!

For our craft today, we decided to make a bed with
teddy bears in it! We wanted this to look like the
song "Six in the Bed". We sent this home since we
usually have bigger crowds in the summertime

and don't have enough space to set up tables for
crafts like we do during the year.

New Books for June 2018

It's time for new books!  This list is very long, so bear with me!  Don't you love getting new books?  I do!  


*My two's love lift the flap books, and this one has felt flaps, which make it even better! I can't wait to use this one during the summer.


*Another great addition to the series "Can you say it, too?".  A wonderful boardbook by Nosy Crow.


*I just had to squeal very loudly while looking at the illustrations in this book.  They are just hilariously adorable!


*This book may look simple, but it's wonderfully made!  Each page has one word on it, but when you open it up the word is illustrated with a beautiful pop-up!  I honestly don't know how long this book will hold up in circulation, but it's completely worth the purchase, I promise.


*I wasn't sure when I saw this book online if it would be as cute as I had hoped, but it really is!  All through the book kids can guess which hand, ear, wing, etc., the item is hiding under.  I think my preschoolers will go crazy over this book.  Because when I do a hiding game on my flannelboard that's all the want to do!


*This is a simple, but wonderful little book about cupcakes!  The best part of it?  Each time you turn the page, a cupcake disappears!  My two's love when this happens in books, they think I'm magical.


*Oh my, the animals in this book are so cuddly!  I love guessing books, and this is a lift-the-flap on top of that!  EEEK!  Anyway, this is a wonderful forest theme book that is sure to delight kids, young and old.


*This book is perfect for our SRP theme this year, Libraries Rock!  You have to guess what instrument is making the sound, then lift the flap to see!  I am looking forward to using this book in my storytime called "Bears in a Band".  Isn't the cover perfect?


*Bitty bot is back and this time it's set at the beach!  I love the rhyming in this book and the illustrations area precious.


*Oh my, this book was so much better than I expected!  Tiny is digging up a bone, but not what you expected!  All I will say is this book is great for our SRP this year.  Doesn't make sense?  Check this book out to see why I said that!


*Oh, this book is great for SRP 2018 too!  All the animals can't find their sound, so you get to make the noise!  On some pages, when you turn the page you can choose what made the noise.  I plan on making a flannelboard and having the kids tell me what made each noise!


*Another great interactive musical book, perfect for SRP 2018!


*I'm always looking for a new bedtime book, and this one is great!  It's a good lift-the-flap book, but for older ones.


*What a great monster book!  This adorable little monster just wants to be everything a monster is, slimy and stinky, but not sweet!  Until he meets a big ogre who wants to eat him, and he changes his mind.  A great read-aloud for monsters of all ages!


*Don't you love the grumpy little bear and cut little park ranger?  The two truly have a war of signs over who is getting fed all the yummy food in the park!  But in the end they agree they can share.  


*This book is a great number recognition book and the illustrations make it really fun for the kids to read also.


*Another great book for an underground or garden theme.  This book has lots of actions to it, which I think the preschoolers will love!


*If you need to add a book about no biting to your collection, this is a winner!  The illustrations alone will crack you up, but the rhyming to go along with each page just add to the charm of this book.


*How do you behave at school?  This book is sure to teach you how to act, with the wonderful rabbit at your service.  Trust the title, you will do nothing but giggle all through this book, I did!


*Crackerjack Jack did it again!  He stole the duck among other things!  This book is just so cute, it will steal your heart!