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

September Ideas

Welcome Back
Read: Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn and Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins
Song: Welcome, Welcome Everyone (our storytime theme song)
Discuss libraries and library cards. (Let parents in on the "secret" that these are pretend library cards)
Craft: Make your own "library card"

• Print out template
• Provide crayons and stickers for child to design card
• Cut and laminate for child.

Our library does not give library cards to children patrons -- I completely disagree, but this policy is old and we are a small library, so.... We make "dummy" cards for the students in the nearby Burnham School, who frequent our library twice a month. These cards are kept at the library and when the child "graduates" fifth grade they are given a real library card. Otherwise, children patrons use their parents cards. Oh, well.....

September

Grandparents Day
Read: The Hello Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
Craft: "Window" picture frame

• Recycled CD Holder
• Colored construction paper
• Picture of child

Autumn
Read: Fall Leaves Fall -- by Zoe Hall
Craft: Collage Leaves

• Contact paper cut into leaf shape
• Ripped bits of tissue paper in fall colors (browns, oranges etc.)
• Have child adhere tissue onto contact paper. When finished place second piece on top. Punch hole on top and thread yard for child to hang.