Friday, March 23, 2012

Baby/Toddler Lap Time, 3/23/12

A couple of old favorites, and the usual Spring routine for today. Only one thing changed. At the start of the first book, I asked everyone to make a quiet noise to help us get ready to read. We all said shhhh twice, and then I said, "Let's stay this quiet while we read our story." It worked like a charm. I didn't repeat this technique for the second book, but I definitely will in the future, because this group is so large and loud!

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Rhyme: Dance Your Fingers 

Book: Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker (1994)

Rhyme: Five Eggs and Five Eggs

Book: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer (1999)

Flannel Board Song: All the Pigs

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: I'm a Little Teapot 

Song with Puppet: Flutter, Flutter Butterfly

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Rhyme: Wiggle Your Fingers and Toes 

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

After School Read-Aloud & Craft: Gardening Theme, 3/22/12

This was a nice program. The kids loved it, the parents got involved, and I actually read books to an interested group. Plus, the craft came out great! Here's what we did:

The Craft: Cupcake Wrapper Bouquets 

I. Supplies 
  • Colorful cupcake wrappers
  • Buttons in assorted colors
  • Straws in assorted colors
  • Ribbon 
  • White glue
  • Scotch tape
II. Prep 
There was minimal prep needed for this craft, which is honestly part of why I chose it. For an example, I made three flowers - two with the cupcake wrappers left right-side out, and one with the wrappers turned inside-out - then tied them together with a ribbon. The kids instantly understood that they were flowers, and most of them were eager to make one.

III. Process 
Most of the kids had an adult with them, and were old enough, really to do the entire thing on their own. Only one little girl needed my help. I had three nice compliments. One came from a dad who said it was a great idea, another from a mom who said her two-year-old loved it so much they made two, and the third from a little boy who announced, "This library has the best projects!" 

Here's one of my flowers:


The Read-Alouds: Books About Gardens 

Book 1: In the Garden: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George (2006)
This book was great for the group I had - mostly preschoolers, and one little girl who might have been in kindergarten. They loved guessing at which animals might have been in the garden,


Book 2: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (2002)
Another hit. The kids thought it was neat how the rabbits kept outsmarting Mr. McGreely, even if the ending did seem to leave them hanging.


Book 3: Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni (1960)
This book opened up a discussion about who does and does not love worms. A set of twin girls was split on the decision, and a little boy announced that he definitely doesn't like them.

The Display: More Spring and Garden-Themed Books 

Flannel Friday: Let's Make a Noise by Amy MacDonald

Today's Flannel Friday is yet another rhyme from Stories and Fun for the Very Young. (The others I've posted about are Snazzy Aunties by Nick Sharratt and I Can... by Helen Oxenbury, the art from which I used to accompany my own rhyme.) This one is very, very simple and therefore absolutely perfect for my baby and toddler groups. I think I will probably incorporate it into my Spring baby lap time sessions when they start in a couple of weeks.

The title of the rhyme is "Let's Make a Noise." Amy MacDonald wrote the simple text, and Maureen Roffey did the colorful illustrations, which I then blew up on the copy machine. I won't type up the whole rhyme here, to be respectful of copyright, but if you can't get your hands on the book, you can email me for the full text. For now, though, I'll just list each animal/object/person and the noise it makes.

Dog... WOOF

Train... TOOT TOOT
 
Cat... MEOW
Sheep... BAA-AA

Truck... BRMM, BRMM


 Baby... WAAAH

There are lots of ways to adapt this concept to flannel board pieces you might already have, and I think these would also be really great pop stick puppets - at least when blown up to a fairly large size. I am already thinking of ways to use individual pieces on their own as puppets. 

Today's Flannel Friday host is Cate. The full Flannel Friday archive is kept by Anne. Next week, don't forget our 2012 Summer Reading "Dream Big, Read" Theme Extravaganza. I'll be in New York, but I hope to post at least a preview of my summer reading flannels ahead of time so I can participate.

Have a great weekend!
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