Crafts/Activities | Storytime Share

O Is for Opposite

April 17, 2009 on 3:26 am | In 2's and 3's, 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Crafts/Activities, Letter Knowledge, Movement Activities, Storytime Component, Storytime Plans | No Comments

Storytime Plan for O Is for Opposite
Storytime Plan
Submitted by Ellen Abramson, Sherwood Regional Library, Fairfax County (VA) Public Library

Shape Bee

April 17, 2009 on 1:57 am | In 2's and 3's, 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Crafts/Activities, Flannel Board, Letter Knowledge, Storytime Component | No Comments

Early Literacy Aside: Before children learn letters, they learn shapes. Let them play with shapes to develop early letter knowledge.
Flannel Board: Do Shape Bee on flannel board. See attachment for pattern Shape Bee pattern
Craft Activity: You can use the pattern as a basis to have the children make their own Shape Bee.
Closng Aside: Wherever you go today, look for the letter B, on signs, in books, on products. Then you can do the same with other letters throughout the week.
Submitted by Erin Nguyen, Public Library of Charlotte and Mechlenburg County (NC)

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

April 17, 2009 on 12:14 am | In 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Closing, Crafts/Activities, Introduction, Narrative Skills, Storytime Component | No Comments

Introductory Aside: Teddy Bear puppet taling to introduce the skill: Today we are going to develop your children’s narrative skills, expressive language, by talking about the story after we read it and by having the children act it out as they say the words. Then hide the bear in a black piece of paper like a cave.
Read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Early Literacy Aside: Let’s use our expressive language to help us develop our narrative skills.
Act out the story.
Activity: Give children colored stips of paper to represent each of the scenes in the book. Connect each color strip with each scene; for example: blue for river, green for grass, brown for mud. Now, retell the story using first, second, third, etc.–first we went to the river and as they say the phrase they place the blue colored strip down, and so on. For the last action where they go home, have a piece of material to represent a blanket.
Closing Aside: As yu go about your day together, talk about things that happen, and the order they happen in, just as we did in this story. This helps children become better at narrative skills.
Submitted by Irania Patterson, Public Library of Charlotte and Mechlenburg County (NC)

Old Macdonald Had a Farm Flannel Board

March 10, 2009 on 7:48 am | In 2's and 3's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Closing, Crafts/Activities, Flannel Board, Music/Songs, Phonological Awareness, Storytime Component | No Comments

Flannel Board: Pass out flannel board pieces of fam animals. Play or sing “Old Macdonald Had a Farm” . When a child hears the animal he/she is holding, that child comes up to place the animal piece on the flannel board.
Aside: Having your children hear and make the sounds of the animals is one enjoyable way to help them develop phonological awareness, to eventually be able to hear the smaller sounds in words.
Take-Home Activity: Hand out shapes of animals for families to take home.
Aside: Parents, you can use these animal shapes to make animal sounds with your children and home and sing the song with them to practice the skill of phonological awareness.
Submitted by Helen Patzer, Dayton (OH) Metro Library, Northtown-Shiloh Branch.

Candlewick Press Storytime Plan

October 22, 2008 on 8:02 am | In 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Crafts/Activities, Fingerplays and Rhymes, Introduction, Letter Knowledge, Movement Activities, Narrative Skills, Phonological Awareness, Print Awareness, Print Motivation, Puppets/Dolls/Props, Storytime Component, Storytime Handouts, Storytime Plans, Vocabulary | No Comments

Storytime Plan includes these books with suggested activities and relation to the six early literacy skills.
Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpiller by Clare Jarrett
On the Farm by David Elliott
A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
Tweedle Dee Dee by Charlotte Voake
[Some activities are more for school-age children.]
readtousstoryhourkit.pdfÂ

Little Raindrops Fingerplay

September 5, 2008 on 3:58 am | In 0 to 2, 2's and 3's, 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Crafts/Activities, Fingerplays and Rhymes, Print Motivation | No Comments

Fingerplay:Â Little Raindrops
This is the sun, high up in the sky. (Form large circle with arms up)
A dark cloud suddenly comes sailing by.Â (Move hands through the air in a parallel motion.)
These are the raindrops,Â pitter, pattering down. (Bring arms down, flutter fingers)
Watering the flowers, growing on the ground. (Cup hands to form flowers.)
Activity: Make a book based on this fingerplay. Use the pattern here (Little Raindrops Booklet pattern)Â to represent the items in the fingerplay. There are four pages for your book (one for each line of the fingerplay). The pattern is a Word document so you can change the size of the objects to save paper, if you wish. The children cut out the pictures. They can cut around them to make it easier. The adults write the words to the fingerplay on each page. For children too young for this craft, the adults make the book FOR their young children. The umbrella can be used on the cover of the book.
Aside: Making a book with or for your child is very special. By showing care in making them and including your child in the process you make this activity around a book enjoyable. Your child can memorize the words to the rhyme and can “pretend” read it to you. Praise your child. This helps develop print motivation, a child’s interest and enjoyment of books and reading.
Submitted by Jaime Duval and Whitney Whitaker, Radford (VA) Public Library

Rain by Robert Kalan

September 5, 2008 on 3:35 am | In 2's and 3's, 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Crafts/Activities, Flannel Board, Narrative Skills, Storytime Component | No Comments

Read the book.
Aside: It is really important for children to be able to tell and re-tell stories or ideas in chronological order. We are going to use this flannel board (Rain flannel board) to let the children re-tell the story we just read. Plus, they will see how each item affects the next one. This activity will help them develop their narrative skills.
Flannel Board: Place pieces on the flannel board as the children retell the story.
You can use some of the pieces from the flannel board pattern as a handout so that the children can retell the story at home.
Submitted by Jaime Duval and Whitney Whitaker, Radford (VA) Public Library

Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley

September 5, 2008 on 3:01 am | In 2's and 3's, 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Closing, Crafts/Activities, Print Awareness | No Comments

Our next story is Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley.
Aside: Notice the words on boxes and bottles as Mouse finds food to eat.
Read the book, saying the words on the boxes and bottles as you point to them.
Aside: Pointing out the words we see on boxes and bottles is one way to help children develop one of the six early literacy skills, print awareness, understanding that print has meaning.
Activity: At the end of storytime put out cereal boxes, bottles, any containers with writing on it and let the children “read” them.
Closing Aside: Don’t forget, when you go shopping or are just out and about, talk with your children about the signs and labels they see, just as we did with Mouse Mess.
Submitted by Saroj Ghoting

You Can Do Anything, Daddy by Michael Rex

July 2, 2008 on 3:37 am | In 4's and 5's, Adult Aside, Age Levels, Books, Crafts/Activities, Narrative Skills, Storytime Component | No Comments

Read the book.
Craft/Activity: In this book, the boy is thinking of bad things that might happen to him. His father is figuring out how to save his son. I am giving each of you [adults and children] a piece of paper. On one side I want you to draw something you think of that is scary for you. On the other side I want you to think of something your Dad or a grownup could do to help you. It is all pretend, make-believe. What can you think of?
Aside: Having your children draw and then tell you about what they drew develops their narrative skills. It also gives us a window into their thoughts.
Submitted by Saroj Ghoting