Toddlers - Butterflies

This Toddler Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Books:

Caterpillar's Wish by Mary Murphy

Butterfly Butterfly by Petr Horacek

Songs:

Caterpillar, Caterpillar
(tune: "Frere Jacques")

Caterpillar (echo),
(wiggle one index finger to represent a caterpillar)
In my hand (echo),
Place index finger on open palm, then close palm to represent a cocoon)
Soon you'll be a butterfly (echo),
(slowly open hand)
And fly away (echo).
(take "caterpillar hand" and make flying butterfly motion)



Activities:

Children and parents had their choice of the following activities for playtime:

Hand puppets were put out so that they could be used to retell either of today's stories. We used the following puppets: Bee, Lady Bug, Caterpillar, Butterfly, and Spider.

Laminated Butterfly cards could be used to play Concentration or a simple matching game.

We also had our Zoo Photo Album available for those who wanted to take a closer look at the pictures from Buzz's trip to Henry Doorly Zoo!  Here are the photos I took when Buzz and I visited the Butterfly House:

 Our next Toddler Storytime will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

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.

Rabbits!

This Toddler Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.

Books:

Blue Rabbit and Friends by Chris Wormell

Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky

 




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!)


Good Morning!
(tune: "Frere Jacques")

Good morning! (echo)
How are you? (echo)
I'm so glad to see you! (echo)
Wesley is too! (echo)


I'm a Little Bunny 
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)


I'm a little bunny, my name is Joe.
(hold up two fingers)
I hop fast and I hop slow. 
(hop fingers around fast and slow)
Whenever I get sleepy, my ears droop low, 
(bend fingers down)
But after my nap, back up they go! 
(hold fingers straight up)


Playtime Activities:

* Our activities this week included hopping like a rabbit!  As children arrived for storytime they were greeted by rabbit prints on the floor. Some decided to enter the room by hopping in!  

During playtime I re-positioned the paw prints in the storytime room, allowing children to hop to their hearts' content.

* I also put out our photo album from Buzz's visit to the zoo.   Those who wanted could take a closer look at the rabbits Buzz saw in the desert dome.

Buzz really had to search to find the rabbits when we first came to this area of the Desert Dome.  Can you see them??

Here is a close-up I took of one of the rabbits.

* Some children chose to practice their tracing skills by using dry erase markers to trace a bunny's path across a strip of laminated paper.

* I pulled out the felt pieces that I made for use with "Blue Rabbit and Friends".  This gave children an opportunity to retell the story to a parent, and an opportunity for parents to engage their children in talking about the kind of home that would be best-suited for each animal.

Next week's theme: Butterflies! (Yea!  Spring is here!)

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.

Kangaroos!

This Toddler Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.

Books:

Boing by Nick Bruel

Pouch! by David Ezra Stein

Rhymes:

Jump, jump, jump goes the big kangaroo,

I thought there was one, but I see there are two. 

The mother takes her young one along in a pouch

Where he naps like a child on a couch. 
Jump! Jump! Jump! 
Jump! Jump! Jump! 

The hopping kangaroo is very funny.
She leaps...and runs...and hops like a bunny.
And on her tummy is a pocket so wide,
Her baby can jump in and go for ride!


 
The Henry Doorly Zoo does not currently have any kangaroos on display, but Buzz and I did spy another marsupial - this wallaby -  in the Desert Dome!  Wallabies and kangaroos are related, although wallabies are much smaller than kangaroos (which can grow over 6 feet in height and weigh up to 200 pounds!)
 

Can you spot the wallaby in the picture below?!

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.

Zoo Workers

This Toddler Storytime was presented at Bellevue Public Library on Wednesday, February 19, 2014.

Books:

Sam, Who Never Forgets by Eve Rice

Zookeepers by William Russell, photographs by Lynn M. Stone

Songs:

Everybody Say Hello

Everybody say hello,
Say hello, say hello.
Everybody say hello,
Hello, Wesley!



Old MacDonald Had a Zoo

Old MacDonald had a zoo, e-i-e-i-o.
And in that zoo he had a cow, e-i-e-i-o.
With a moo, moo here and a moo, moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
Everywhere a moo, moo.
Old MacDonald had a zoo, e-i-e-i-o.

Ideas for additional verses:
Giraffe, Owl, Bear, Tiger, Lion, Penguin, Spider


If You're Ready for a Story

If you're ready for a story, take a seat.
If you're ready for a story, take a seat.
Clap your hands...
And stomp your feet.
Make your hands all nice and neat.
If you're ready for a story, take a seat.

Today we continued with our Zoo theme by focusing on ...
Zoo Workers!  

Buzz's photo album from his trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo is getting pretty thick!  We added several more pictures from his visit, including two taken of workers cleaning the penguin exhibit.  
 

Buzz also met this zookeeper who was getting ready to feed the bears.  What do you think he might have in his bucket?  (I don't know the answer, because Buzz and I 
forgot to ask him!)

Here is our friend named Andrea who works at the zoo.  Her job includes arranging 
special tours, such as the one she gave Buzz.  She let us ride in a special cart
and answered a LOT of questions for us.  She has to know about many things at the zoo in order to do her job!

Next week's theme: Stories by Dr. Seuss!

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.

Sharks!

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

It's back to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo again this week, as we continue our virtual tour of many of the Zoo's wonderful creatures. 

Today we added a picture to Buzz's photo album: a picture of him walking through the tunnel at the aquarium!  I was able to snap a picture just as a shark was swimming right over his head!

Book:

The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Geist, illustrated by Julie Gorton

Songs:


Good Morning!
(tune: "Frere Jacques")

Good morning! (echo)
How are you? (echo)
I'm so glad to see you! (echo)
Wesley is, too! (echo)



If You're Ready For a Story
(tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you're ready for a story, take a seat.
If you're ready for a story, take a seat.
Clap your hands and stomp your feet,
Make your hands all nice and neat.
If you're ready for a story, take a seat.

Rhymes:

Five Little Fishes

Five little fishes swimming in the sea,
(show number of fingers, hand makes swimming motion)
Teasing Mr. Shark, "Can't catch me!"
(wrists together, fingers extended and curved as "jaws")
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
(finger to lips, Shhhh!)
And...CHOMP!
(close "jaw" hands quickly, then rub tummy)

Four little fishes swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And...CHOMP!

Three little fishes swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And...CHOMP!

Two little fishes swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And...CHOMP!

One little fishy swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark, "Can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And...CHOMP!

Our play time today included some old favorites: our ocean-themed magnet books, sea creature puppets and several jigsaw puzzles.

Next week I will be sharing several books that are NEW! to the Children's Department!

  ~ Mrs. B.

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.