November 6: Toddler Storytime: Introduction to Nocturnal Animals: Spiders

(Reminder note: When it is time to read a story, I read the titles of three books and then display them. The children pick which one we read. The ones listed below are the ones they picked.)

Opening song:                                (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell")

             We tap hola like this

             We tap ho la like this

                 Hi-ho cherry

             We tap hola like this

               Continue with other verses:

                  We drop hola like this...

                   We circle hola like this...

                 We spin hola like this...

                We toss hola like this..

                 We roll hola like this....

                     We stomp hola like this...

Introduced theme by explaining that there are animals that sleep during the day while we are awake. When we are sleeping, they are awake. We are going to start learning about some of these animals. Today we going to learn about spiders.

I had the children guess how many eyes and legs spiders have. I then explained that spiders have 8 legs, and most have 8 eyes. If a bug only has 6 legs, it is not a spider.


Story: "The Smart Itsy Bitsy Spider" by Charise Mericle Harper

Action song using shakers:

“I Wish I were a Spider”
(Tune” “If You’re Happy, and You Know It”

Oh, I wish I were an eensy-weensy spider.
(clap, clap)
Yes, I wish I were an eensy-weensy spider.
(clap, clap)
I’d go “creepy-creepy-crawly” across your floor and up your “wall-y!” (use fingers to make movement)
Oh, I wish I were an eensy-weensy spider.
(clap, clap)

Movement song:

“Spider Dance” Tune: “Farmer In the Dell”)


Spiders crawl around, (children crawl around) Spiders up and down, (stand up, bend down) Spiders, spiders make a web, (join right hands to form a spoke) Spiders circle ‘round. (walk around in a circle together)

Spiders in and out, (crawl fingers on left hand, down and back on right arm) Spiders all about, (repeat crawl action) Spiders, spiders make a web, (join right hands to form a spoke) Spiders now sit down. (children sit down)





Action song using clipart and toy bugs: 
       (I downloaded clipart of a spider web and then enlarged it in Microsoft Word. I bought plastic flies, plastic spiders, and other bugs at Dollar Tree around Halloween. As we sang the song, we added a bug to the web with each verse. During the last verse, we put a plastic spider on the web.)
“Five Little Bugs”

One little bug went out to play, On a spider’s web one day. He had ever so much fun, He called for another bug to come. (Children call out:"Oh, bug")

Two little bugs went out to play, On a spider’s web one day. They had ever so much fun, They called for another bug to come. (Children call out:"Oh, bug")

Three little bugs went out to play, On a spider’s web one day. They had ever so much fun, They called for another bug to come. (Children call out:"Oh, bug")


Four little bugs went out to play, On a spider’s web one day. They had ever so much fun, They called for another bug to come. (Children call out:"Oh, bug")


Five little bugs went out to play, On a spider’s web one day. They got stuck, all in a bunch. And along came spider, in time for lunch!

Story: "Urgency Emergency" by Dosh Archer

Dance with me around the room (The children and parents stand up and line up behind me. I use an oatmeal container as a drum.):
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, kick, kick
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, spin, spin
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, hop, hop
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, fly, fly
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, walk sideways, walk sideways
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, walk backwards, walk backwards
Repeat first 2 all the way back to your spot

Spanish song with shakers: "Diez en La Cama" ("Ten in the Bed")        
          We sang the song first in English. Then I gave all the parents copies of the words to  the song in Spanish.
         Here is a link to the YouTube video that we sing along with.

Goodbye Song:

 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

We tap adios like this

 We tap adios like this

Hi-ho cherry

  We tap adios like this

Continue with other verses:

We drop adios like this...

   We circle adios like this...

  We spin adios like this...

   We toss adios like this...

  We roll adios like this...

           We stomp adios like this...

                 

Model the craft and then parents help their children complete it.

Craft: Spider 
          Materials:
          4 craft sticks
          Foam or felt in various colors
          Paint
          Brushes
          Googly eyes

 I modified a craft found here.

            

October 31: Preschool Storytime: Halloween

Opening song:                                 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

                         We tap hola like this

                         We tap hola like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap hola like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop hola like this...

                          We circle hola like this...

                          We spin hola like this...

                          We toss hola like this...

                           We roll hola like this...

Talked about that Halloween is today
The children that came in costume shared what they were dressed up as
Letter Hh and its sound
Found it on the Alphabet chart
Talked about things that start with Hh
Made lowercase h in the air



Book: "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" by Linda Williams

I gave each child a set of pictures of the shoes, pants, shirt, gloves, hat, and pumpkin head for them to build the scarecrow as we read the story. I found the pictures on teacherspayteachers.



Shaker song: We sing the whole song in English and then change a few words to Spanish. 
(I provided each child of picture of one of the characters in the song to hold up each time we named that character.)

“The Pumpkin in the Patch”
(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

The pumpkin/calabaza in the patch, 

The pumpkin/calabaza in the patch,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
The calabaza in the patch.

The pumpkin/calabaza calls a witch/bruja,
The pumpkin/calabaza calls a witch/bruja,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
The pumpkin/calabaza calls a witch/bruja.

The witch/bruja calls a bat/murciélago,
The witch/bruja calls a bat/murciélago,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
The witch/bruja calls a bat/murciélago

The bat/ murciélago calls a ghost/ fantasma,
The bat/ murciélago calls a ghost/ fantasma, 

Hi-ho on Halloween,
The bat/murciélago calls a ghost/ fantasma.

The ghost/ fantasma scares us all.
(Ghost child says BOO!)
The ghost/fantasma scares us all,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
The fantasma scares us all.

We all scare the ghost/ fantasma. (Everyone says boo to the ghost.)
We all scare the ghost/ fantasma,
Hi-ho on Halloween,
We all scare the ghost/fantasma.

Book: "Duck and Goose, Honk! Quack! Boo!" by Tad Hills

Action Song: We sing the whole song in English and then change a few words to Spanish.
(I provided each child of picture of one of the characters in the song to hold up each time we named that character.)

“White Ghost, White Ghost”

(Tune: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”)

White ghost/ fantasma, white ghost/ fantasma, what do you see?

I see a black bat/ murciélago looking at me.

Black bat/murciélago, black bat/murciélago what do you see?

I see a green witch/bruja looking at me.

Green witch/ bruja, green witch/bruja what do you see?

I see a gray skeleton/esqueleto looking at me.

Gray skeleton/esqueleto, gray skeleton, esqueleto what do you see?

I see a red mask/máscara looking at me.

Red mask/máscara, red mask/red mascara, what do you see?

I see a black cat/gato looking at me.

Black cat/ gato, black cat/black gato?

I see a pink princess/princesa looking at me.

Pink princess/princesa, pink princess/princesa, what do you see?

I see a blue dinosaur/dinosaurio looking at me!

Blue dinosaur/dinosaurio, blue dinosaur/dinosaurio, what do you see?

I see an orange jack-o-lantern looking at me!

Happy Halloween!

As some of the children appeared to be very tired, I selected to skip a third story, do the goodbye song and start craft time.

Goodbye song:                               (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell") 

                         We tap adios like this

                         We tap adios like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap adios like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop adios like this...

                          We circle adios like this...

                          We spin adios like this...

                          We toss adios like this...

                           We roll adios like this...

Craft Time:   For Halloween, I always give the children two choices for craft time. Today they had a choice between a Halloween wreath and a skeleton. For the wreath, I modified an idea found here. For the skeleton, I modified a craft idea found here. I felt it was too hard for them to paint a skull, so I found a clip-art of a kid-friendly skull online. 

Modeled both the Hh  page and the craft before the children starting working on them

The children each completed a dot page for letter Hh. You can find these dot pages here. 

            or         

*All pictures have been taken and are shown with parental permission.

I always let the children pick which three books I read from the ones I bring with me. These are some additional suggested books that the children didn't pick:

• "Not Very Scary" by Carol Brendler
• "Skeleton for Dinner" by Margery Cuyler
• "Snowmen at Halloween" by Caralyn M. Buehner 
• "Curious George Goes to a Costume Party" by Margaret and H. A. Reys

October 30: Toddler Storytime: Halloween Theme

(Due to an illness, I had to have a substitute cover this program so the actual songs varied from this plan.)

Opening song:                                (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell")

             We tap hola like this

             We tap ho la like this

                 Hi-ho cherry

             We tap hola like this

               Continue with other verses:

                  We drop hola like this...

                   We circle hola like this...

                 We spin hola like this...

                We toss hola like this..

                 We roll hola like this....

                     We stomp hola like this...

Introduce theme by asking what holiday is coming tomorrow.
Have each child share what they are planning to dress up as.


Story: "The Spooky Wheels on the Bus" by J. Elizabeth Mills

Movement chant using props the children hold (see picture):     

“Spooky Skeleton”
(Tune: "Mulberry Bush")

1 Spooky skeleton jumping up & down, jumping up & down, jumping
up & down (hold 1 finger up to jump)
1 Spooking skeleton jumping up and down,
For this is HALLOWEEN!

2 little witches zooming through the air,
Zooming through the air, zooming through the air (make 2 witches flying)
2 little witches zooming through the air
For this is HALLOWEEN!

3 black cats walking on the fence,
Walking on the fence, walking on the fence (Show 3 cats)
3 black cats walking on the fence
For this is HALLOWEEN!

4 silly ghosts waving in the wind,
Waving in the wind, waving in the wind (Show 4 ghosts)
4 silly ghosts waving in the wind
For this is HALLOWEEN!

5 trick or treaters knocking at your door,
Knocking at your door, knocking at your door,
(Show 5 trick or treaters)
5 trick or treaters knocking at your door
FOR THIS IS HALLOWEEN
TRICK OR TREAT!
Dance around the room:
(The children get in a line behind me)


1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, kick, kick
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, spin, spin
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, hop, hop
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, fly, fly
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, walk sideways, walk sideways
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, walk backwards, walk backwards

Repeat first 2 all the way back to your spot

Story: "Ten Timid Ghosts" by

  

Movement/action song using shakers as well as images (see picture):
         The children place the pieces together in the middle of the rug while we sing the song.

“This Old Ghost”
(Tune: "This Old Man")

This old ghost, he played one,
he played peek-a-boo with the sun.
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

This old ghost, he played two.
He played peek-a-boo in a shoe.
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

This old ghost, he played three.
He played peek-a-boo behind a tree.
With a boo! boo! boo! and a clap, clap, snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

This old ghost, he played four.
He played peek-a-boo-with my door. 

With a boo, boo, boo, and a clap, clap, snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

This old ghost, he played five. 

He played peek-a-book in my hive.
With a boo, boo, boo, and a clap, clap, snap.
This old ghost is a friendly chap.

Spanish song with shakers: "Diez en La Cama" ("Ten in the Bed")  
         Here is a link to the YouTube video that we sing along with.

Goodbye Song:

 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

We tap adios like this

 We tap adios like this

Hi-ho cherry

  We tap adios like this

Continue with other verses:

We drop adios like this...

   We circle adios like this...

  We spin adios like this...

   We toss adios like this...

  We roll adios like this...

           We stomp adios like this...

                 

Model the craft and then parents help their children complete it.

Craft: Puffy ghost modified from here.

I found various eyes and mouths online for children to add to their ghosts. Here are some of the ones I provided. This is a link for the ghost template that I used.

October 24: Preschool Storytime: Monsters

Opening song:                                 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

                         We tap hola like this

                         We tap hola like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap hola like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop hola like this...

                          We circle hola like this...

                          We spin hola like this...

                          We toss hola like this...

                           We roll hola like this...

Talked about Halloween coming in one week
One thing we can pretend to be is a monster
Are monsters real? No
Letter Mm and its sound
Found it on the Alphabet chart
Talked about things that start with Mm
Made lowercase m in the air


Book: "Good Night Goon" by Michael Rex

Shaker and movement song: We sing the whole song in English and then change a few words to Spanish. (I put five clipart drawings of monsters on the floor.)

                                          

“5 Little Monsters” 

5 little monsters/cinco pequeño monstruos sleeping in my bed/cama

1 crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"No more monsters sleeping in your bed!"

Four little monsters/cuatro pequeño monstruos sleeping in my bed/cama

1 crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"No more monsters sleeping in your bed!"

Three little monsters/tres pequeño monstruos sleeping in my bed/ cama

1 crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"No more monsters sleeping in your bed!"

Two little monsters/dos pequeño monstruos sleeping in my bed/cama

1 crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"No more monsters sleeping in your bed!"

One little monster/un pequeño monstruo sleeping in my bed/cama

1 crawled out from under my spread.

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"No more monsters sleeping in your bed!"

No little monsters/No pequeño monstruos sleeping in my cama

None are crawling out from under my spread

I called to Mama and Mama said,

"There are no more monsters, so go to bed!"

Book: "Monster Trouble" by Lane Fredrickson

 

Action Song: We sing the whole song in English and then change a few words to Spanish.

“If You Are a Monster” 

(Tune: " If You're Happy, and You Know It"

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms/brazos.

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms/brazos

If you're a monster and you know, then your arms/brazos will surely show it. 

If you're a monster and you know it, wave your arms/brazos.

If you're a monster and you know it, show your claws/garras.

If you're a monster and you know it, show your garras.

If you're a monster and you know, then your claws/garras will surely show it. 

If you're a monster and you know it, show your garras.

If you're a monster and you know it, gnash your teeth/dientes.

If you're a monster and you know it, gnash your teeth/dientes.

If you're a monster and you know, then your teeth/dientes will surely show it. 

If you're a monster and you know it, show your teeth/dientes.

Continue with:

...stomp your feet (stomp your pies)

...growl and roar (gruñido y rugido)

Book: "Unlike Other Monsters" by Audrey Vernick

Goodbye song:                               (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell") 

                         We tap adios like this

                         We tap adios like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap adios like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop adios like this...

                          We circle adios like this...

                          We spin adios like this...

                          We toss adios like this...

                           We roll adios like this...

Craft Time: 

Modeled both the Mm page and the craft before the children starting working on them

The children each completed a dot page for letter Mm. You can find these dot pages here. 

Monster hand using foam for claws, yarn for hair, beans and lentils for warts and bumps, and googly eyes

Children could use any color of construction paper for the skin and background color and any color of yarn for hair

Option not shown: children could use kraft edgers to cut out their hand print before gluing on another color of paper

Modified craft found here.

I let the children pick which three books I read from the ones I bring with me. These are some additional suggested books that the children didn't pick:

"If You're a Monster and You Know It" by Rebecca and Ed Emberley

"The Very Worst Monster" by Pat Hutchins

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendack