April Ideas

Let's Celebrate Frog Month
Read: Jump! by Fischer and A Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson
Craft: Frog Face

• Need green paint, sponge brushes, red craft paper, large paper plates, clip-art flies and eyes.
• Prior to storytime, print out fly clip-art and large eyes and cut red paper into strips and curl one end (to look like long tongue)
• Give children a limited amount of green paint and have them paint the plate. (In order to hurry along the drying process, blot excess paint with paper towel)
• Next, glue on two big eyes, tongue and lastly the fly.

Our storytime is structured for 2 to 5 year-olds, but younger siblings can attend as well. If we have extra craft supplies, we invite the parents and younger sibling to join us. Because of having so many "little ones," we use paper eyes. My co-worker cuts about a million eyes a year, for use in our various crafts. I use Microsoft Publisher and design a sheet of eyes -- adjusting the size and shape for what is needed .... and it is a heck of a lot cheaper than purchasing googly eyes!

Earth Day
Read: My Garden by Henkes and Up, Down and Around by Katherine Ayres
Craft: Planting seeds

• Need soil, various flower seeds, and cups.
• Prior to storytime, I put a few of each type of seed into ketchup cups (if you haven't noticed yet, these are invaluable. You can purchase an entire box of these little paper cups at the party supply store.)
• I prepared three "stations" around the craft tables. Two stations were for scooping dirt - (large mixing bowls with potting soil and cups for scooping) and the third station was set up with the seeds.
• The group split into two groups, scooped dirt into their cups and moved along to the seed section. I showed them how to put a small impression into the dirt with their fingers and then plant the seeds.

Great and simple project for when you are more than done with cutting out vast quantities of eyes and other bits for gluing-crafts!!! This summer, one of the children brought a picture of the flower that they planted -- I couldn't believe how large it had grown.

Trees
Read: A Tree is Nice by Udry and Grade Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma
Craft: Tree

• Need paint dabbers filled with green paint, tree trunk shape copied onto white copy paper and brown crayons.
• Have children color tree trunk brown.
• Using the paint dabber, create a tree filled with leaves.

Really......can this be more simple?

March Ideas

Dr. Seuss
Read: Mr. Brown can Moo, Can You? and I am NOT Going to Get Up Today by Dr. Seuss
Craft: Noise Shakers

• Need paper party cups, beans, markers, stickers and duct-tape.
• Using ketchup cups, have child count out four scoops of beans and fill into one of their cups.
• Instruct each child to raise their hand when this task is completed. Then travel to each child and tape their cups together (drinking end to drinking end).
• Child can then decorate their cups with markers and stickers.
• Then send them home to drive their parents bonkers!

Alphabet
Read: ABC Bunny - Gag (borrowed from Woodbury P.L.) Chicka Chicka Boom for Wednesday Session and Kipper's A to Z for Thursdays session.
Craft: Watercolor Letters from Preschool Daze

• Need water color paints, painters blue-tape, craft paper/watercolor paper and foam paint brushes.
• Prior to storytime, blue-tape the first letter of each child's name to watercolor paper.
• Give each child a paint palette with various colors of paint. And have them apply to paper.
• When they are done, remove the tape. Viola..... 

Preschool Daze

Children's had a blast and were amazed at the result. The older children's projects looked similar to the Preschool Daze image. The younger ones .... not so much. The colors were muddied. Next time, I will try to be more specific with using one color at a time and etc.....

Spring
Read; Rabbit's Good News by Bornstein and Wake Up Spring by Ernst
Craft: Flower

• Need tissue paper in two colors, green craft paper -- cut into a leaf and stem, ketchup cups, white glue, pony beads and blue craft paper.
• Prior to storytime, cut out tissue paper into flower shapes, cut green paper into leaves and stems, and squirt white glue into ketchup cups.
• Have child glue onto blue craft paper, two tissue flowers, stem and leaves.
• Then glue ketchup cup onto center (carpel?) of the flower.
• Have child count out 10 pony beads and place inside the cup.
• Have each child sign their names.....

Super fun and super easy. The children loved counting and picking the color of the beads for their flower.

Rabbits
Read: Where Did Bunny Go? by Nancy Tafuri and Quiet Bunny by McCue
Craft: Carrot collage from No Time for Flash Cards

• Need: Orange and green craft paper, white paper cut into carrot shape.
• Prior to storytime, rip up orange craft paper into squares (depending on age, children can rip paper up themselves) and cut green paper into leafy green.
• Have children glue the paper onto the carrot shape and finish it off with the leafy greens.
• Easy-peasy...

No Time for Flash Cards

Easter Eggs
Read: The Easter Egg by Jan Brett and The Story of the Easter Bunny Katherine Brown Tegen
Craft: Easter Egg Suncatchers

• Need sticky-back paper cut into egg shape, glitter, sequins, ribbon and bits of this and that
• Prior to storytime, tape a sticky-back egg onto craft table.
• Child "decorates" their egg.
• Instruct children to raise their hand when they are finished decorating and they may leave the craft table for free play.
• As children play, adhere a second piece of sticky-back on the top of egg and and then trim around the egg shape. Punch a hole into the top and thread and knot a ribbon.

Really simple and the children love using sticky-back paper. I try to use it as much as I can.

February Ideas

Penquins
Read: Three Cheers for Tacky by Lester and Your Personal Penquin boardbook by Boynton
Craft: Color and cut Penguin (really lame, because I was expecting we would cancel due to snow)
Wednesday's session canceled.

Valentine's Day
Read: Guess Who? boardbook by Schaffer and Woof: a Love Story by Weeks
Craft:
Both Wednesday and Thursday canceled due to snow.

Birds
Read: Wild Birds by Ryder and Birds by Henkes
Craft: Feather paintings

• Need multiple colors of poster paint. Feathers.
• Layout paper plates with various colors of poster paint. Have child use feathers as a paint brush.

Kids LOVED this craft and I am going to repeat it again next year. Wednesday's session had been canceled due to snow. UGH, snow.

January Drop-in Storytime Ideas

Every year we try something different with January. We follow the Region 12 delayed school scheduled. So, if school is delayed, we also start late and cancel storytime. This year we tried drop-in for January.....and attendance was very very small....

Winter
Read: Here Comes Jack Frost by Konora and Caps, Hats, Socks and Mittens by Borden
Craft: Q-tip snowflakes

• Need Qtips/cottonswabs, white glue, wax paper and glitter.
• Tape a piece of wax paper to craft table
• Place a generous dollop of glue on middle of wax paper. Have child dip one end of 8 Qtips into glue, then  lay the opposite end into the glue.
• Have child sprinkle some glitter onto the entire "snowflake" and let dry.
• When dry, carefully loosen from wax paper....Viola you have a snowflake.

Bears
Read: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Craft: Bear Cave

• Cut-out of a cave and a bear, have child color bear and place inside the cave. Glue ... The end.

Song:
Here is a Cave (Author Unknown)
Here is a cave (Make a cave out of your fingers on one hand)
Inside is a bear. (Put your thumb into the cave)
Now he comes out
To get some fresh air. (Take thumb out)

He stays out all summer
In sunshine and heat.
He hunts in the forest
For berries to eat.

When Snow starts to fall
He hurries inside
His warm little cave
And there he will hide. (Put thumb back into the cave)

Snow covers the cave
Like a fluffy white rug.
Inside the bear sleeps
All cozy and snug. (Place your other hand over the cave)

National Hugging Day
Read: What Baby Wants by Root and Snuggle Puppy boardbook by Boynton
Craft: Hug card

• Need two cut-out arms, square-cut colored craft paper and the poem (see below).
• Have child arms, glue poem onto center of colored craft paper and then glue arms at either end of the square. When glue is dry, fold arms in.

Poem:
A hug delights and warms and charms,
it must be why we all have arms!
Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
sweet for sisters and swell for brothers.
So, stretch those arms without delay and
give someone a HUG today!
Here is my hug for you!

December Ideas

Most of the ideas are about winter....then I add a little Christmas at the end.

Winter
Read: The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth
Story extender/ Story board: Using felt mitten add each animal as the story progresses
Craft: Mittens

• Need card stock, yarn, crayons
• Child will make two mittens -- one to take home and one to leave behind.
• Use second mitten for winter bulletin board.

Snowmen
Read: There was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Colandro and Snowmen at Night boardbook by Buehner.
Storyboard: Using There Was a Cold Lady as prompt....hand out character cards to children, have each child place card on cold lady's felt-stomach, when prompted.
Craft: Recycled Snowman (from Preschool Daze)

Preschool Daze

Christmas
Read: Christmas Magic by Thompson and Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star by Petr Horacek
Craft: Christmas Tree

• Need sticky-back paper, green craft paper cut into tree shape and middle cut-out, different colored glitter and star sticker.
• Beforehand, stick tree shape onto sticky paper and tape whole thing to craft table.
• Give each child plate with a limited amount of each colored glitter. Have child sprinkle onto shape and adhere star sticker on top of tree.
• Send them for free-play and finish by placing second piece of sticky paper on top and trimming into tree shape.

November ideas

Cookies
Read: Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar by Lass
Story board: Book as prompt. Child participation with character cards.
Craft: Puffy Paint Cookie (No Time for Flash Cards)

• Need white glue, shaving cream (unscented is best), paper plate, brown paint, paper "chips." and PLENTY of wet paper towels for wiping hands.
• Before storytime, mix 3/4 cup shaving cream, 1/4 cup glue....then add a little bit of paint until you get desired result.
• Place bowl in the center of each table. Have children apply "cookie dough" have them wipe hands, then apply "chips"

No Time for Flash Cards

Thanksgiving
Read: Thank you, Thanksgiving by Milgrim and Gooble, Gooble, Crash by Stiegemeyer
Feast: We had a small feast. Turkey lunch-meat roll-ups, and various snacks brought in by parents.
Craft: Turkey Hand with poem (Preschool Daze)

• Used Microsoft Publisher to recreate the sheet below.
• Preschool Daze used water color paint, we used poster paint.
• Set up a paint table. Had parents/caregivers paint child's hands at table and place onto paper.
• I drew eyes, beak and "gobble"

Preschool Daze

 The children loved getting their hand's painted -- I think it was the parent participation they liked the most.

October Ideas

Owls
Read: The Owl Became the Moon and Up all Night Counting
Felt Board: Using book as prompt, Animals and counting
Craft: Paperbag Owls Puppets

• Paper lunch bags
• Cupcake liners for eye sockets
• Cut-outs: eyes, beak, ears and fringies for chest
• Have child glue all the bits on to create an owl.

Of course, there was lots and lots of Whooooooooo-ing...

Pumpkins
Read: Pumply Dumply Pumpkin by Serfoza and It's Pumpkin Time by Hall
Craft: Paperbag Pumpkins

• Use those paper lunch bags again - stuff with newspaper and bind them with elastic
• Orange paint and sponge brushes
• Green pipe cleaners for vine

Preschool Daze

Squirrels
Read: The Very Busy Squirrel by Tafuri and Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Hills
Song: Gray Squirrel -- have children clap a beat and sing
Craft: Acorn Collage (from my favoritest of favs blog No Time for Flash Cards)

• In advance, cut and paint a bunch of grocery-size paperbag in various shades of brown and cut-out large acorn shapes from cardstock or copypaper.
• Give each child a large piece of bag and have them rip it up into smaller pieces
• Glue pieces onto a acorn shape.



No Time for Flash Cards