Pumpkins!

This Toddler Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on October 29, 2014.

Books:
Apples and Pumpkins by Ann Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin by Mary Serfozo, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

Songs:

Everybody Say Hello!
(tune: "London Bridge")

Everybody say hello, say hello, say hello,
Everybody say hello, hello Wesley!

(Wesley is my turtle puppet who pops out of my apron pocket whenever we sing this song.  Then he sits quietly on his rock and listens to the stories and sings along with us.  At the end of storytime he says goodbye to the children, gives them high fives, eats pretend food from their hands, blows kisses, and plays hide and seek!)


Pumpkins Growing
(tune: "Are You Sleeping?")

Pumpkins growing...(echo)
On the ground (echo)
Look at all the pumpkins (echo)
Orange and round (echo)


Rhymes: 

Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Pumpkin, pumpkin, sitting on a wall,
(sit up straight and tall)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, tip...and fall!
(lean to one side, then fall over)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, rolling down the street
(roll across the floor)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, trick or treat!
(sit up straight)



Playtime Activities:

What's in the Green Box?
(tune: "Sally Wore a Red Dress")

What's in the green box,
The green box, the green box?
What's in the green box
For us to play?

Today I offered a cut pumpkin for the children to explore!  This type of experience can provide a great opportunity to enrich your child's vocabulary!  Why not try using some of these words while describing a pumpkin to your child?:
Lined, Little, Smelly, Light, Fat, Orange, Rough, Round, Hard, Short, Green, Speckled, Big, Bumpy, Plump, Tall, Smooth, Heavy, White, Squishy, Cold, Stringy, Slimy, Soft, etc.

Here are photos from today's storytime:

I left the pumpkin out until Miss Michelle's Preschool Storytime dismissed.  Here are a few photos of some of the children in her Preschool program:



Each Toddler Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Every Child Ready to Read^® @ your library^®, PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks of the American Library Association and are used with permission.