Teddy Bears' Picnic (Preschool)

Preschool Storytime

"Teddy Bears' Picnic"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Fingerplay: "We're Going on a Picnic"
Click here to view this fingerplay.

Book: "Bears Big Breakfast" (With puppets)

*The kids really enjoyed getting to see the bear pop up and enjoyed the book.

Fingerplay: "Feed Bear"
Here is where I found the fabulous idea of feeding our bear berries!  (We taped our bear to the front of an empty Kleenox box.)  I told the kids that I had a bear that needed berries just like the bear in our book.  They had a blast feeding the hungry bear strawberries and grapes.

Fingerplay: "We're Going on a Picnic"


Book: "Ants at the Picnic"

*This book turned out to be so much fun to read and make the props for.  Below is a picture of my props that I used.  I had my volunteer have the ants steal the picnic food as I read the book.  The kids had so much fun yelling out that the food had disappeared behind me.  A great book to use.


Fingerplay/Flannel: "Feed Animals Food"
Click here to view this.

Book: "Scare a Bear"

*I ran out of time and didn't get to read this book.  It's a really cute book and I recommend reading it.

Fingerplay: "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear"
*Ran out of time and didn't do this fingerplay.

Fingerplay: "We're Going on a Picnic"

Book: "The Most Perfect Spot"

*This book is really fun to make interactive.  The kids helped me by making all the animal sounds.  Also, I had little brown circles to represent mud and raindrops that I threw out when we came to those parts of the story.  When it rained I had my trusty squirt bottle to spray some light mist too. 

Here is the website were we based our craft on and below is what our craft turned out like.


Extra Read-Alouds:
Bare Bear
Bear Counts
Bear Day
Bear Sees Colors
Bear Wants More
Best Picnic Ever
Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack
Good News, Bad News
Help! The Wolf is Coming!
Moose Tracks!
More Bears!
Picnic by John Burmingham
Ten Hungry Pigs
The Bear Ate Your Sandwich
The Bears' Picnic
The Honeybee and the Robber
There's a Bear On My Chair
The Wonderful Book

We're Going on a Picnic Fingerplay and Flannel

Fingerplay: "We're Going on a Picnic"

  We're going on a picnic, a picnic, a picnic. (pat legs as you're saying)

  We're going on a picnic, what shall we bring?

  How about a dinosaur?  No?  Then...

  How about some berries!

  We're going on a picnic, a picnic, a picnic. (pat legs as you're saying)

  We're going on a picnic, what shall we bring?

  How about a bathtub?  No?  Then...

  How about a sandwich and fruit!

  We're going on a picnic, a picnic, a picnic. (pat legs as you're saying)

  We're going on a picnic, what shall we bring?

  How about a milk and cereal?  No?  Then...

  How about a pickle!

*The kids were great hollering out that I didn't need to take a dinosaur on a picnic because he would eat up all of my food!  I really thought they wouldn't want me to take milk and cereal either, but they loved that too!  So we packed that in our picnic basket also.  I made a hidden flap on the back of my basket, so that the food could disappear inside my basket.

ABC and 1-2-3 (Two's)

Time for Two's Storytime

"ABC and 1-2-3"

Opening Fingerplay: Big Books

Fingerplay: "If You Want to Hear a Story"

Book: "Hickory Dickory Dock" (With puppets)

*The kids really enjoyed getting to see the animals run around the big clock that I made.  All in all a great read.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Mice Dancing"
*I had little mice made out of construction paper, and we danced around with them before placing them on our flannelboard.  Check out this cute idea for placing the mice around the adorable clock!

Book: "Ten Little Ladybugs"

*My favorite thing about this book is as you turn the page, a ladybug will disappear from each page.  This never fails to amaze the two's.  I made ten ladybugs, and gave each one to the puppets as they appeared in the book.

Fingerplay/Flannel: "Ocean Animal Movement Cards"

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

*Sadly, I didn't get to read this book.  I always have little paper circles to represent the buttons, and when Pete loses his buttons in the story I throw my paper buttons on the kids. 

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:
Ants at the Picnic
Bear & Hare: Where's Bear?
Count With Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!
Dinosaur Numbers
Dog's ABC
Sheep Go To Sleep
Ten Playful Tigers
Ten Terrible Dinosaurs

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.