Yeehaw!

Books:

A Wild Cowboy by Dana Kessimakis Smith

Ride ‘Em Cowboy by Stefan Czernecki

Little Lost Cowboy by Simon Puttock

One great thing about storytime is being able to use our imaginations!  We asked the children what they know about cowboys and cowgirls.  We talked about riding horses, sleeping under the night sky, singing cowboy songs and herding cattle.  Each child could pretend they were a cowboy and cowgirl during the storytime, and I even had the opportunity to brandish my own hat, sherriff’s badge and handkerchief tied around the neck.

Songs:

If You’re a Cowboy and You Know It (this is a great opener!)

If you’re a cowboy and you know it, shout “YEE-HAW!”
If you’re a cowboy and you know it, shout “YEE-HAW!”
If you’re a cowboy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re a cowboy and you know it, shout “YEE-HAW!”

other verses:

rope a cow, ride a horse, eat some beans, etc.

She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain from the CD Teddy Bears’ Picnic and Songs for Wiggleworms.

During this song, we gave all of the children paisley handkercheifs and let swing them, spin them and whoop them around like a lasso.

She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, she’ll be coming ’round the mountain,
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).

The same structure is repeated with the following verses:

She’ll be drivin’ six white horses when she comes, etc.
She’ll be wearing pink pajamas when she comes, etc.
She’ll be eatin’ chicken and dumplings when she comes, etc.

Sally the Camel from Barney’s Favorites

We showed the children a picture of Sally the Camel and her 5 humps and at the end, brought out a horse puppet to show the transformation!

Another great song idea is to play the CD soundtrack ”Round Up” by the Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops Orchestra while the children are coming in (or while they are making their craft).  This has cowboy sound effects and other great classic cowboy songs such as “The William Tell Overture,” and “Rawhide.”

Art Project:  Each child made their very own cowboy/cowgirl vest with fringe and a sheriff’s badge!  We cut holes in the sides and bottom of a brown paper bag to create arm and head holes, and a slit in the middle of a large side.  Then the children were able to practice with their scissors by making fringe along the bottom of the vest.  They also decorated their own sheriff’s badges used from a cut-out star of cardstock paper.

Celia is a true cowgirl!

*From Stefan Czernecki’s Ride ’Em Cowboy 

Books:

Little Cloud by Eric Carle

The Police Cloud by Christoph Neimann

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Click Here To Order These Books on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes:

Boom, Bang!

Boom, Bang, Boom Bang!
Rumpety, thumpety, bump!
Zoom, zam, zoom, zam!
Clippety, clappty, clump!
Rustles and bustles, swishes and zings!
What wonderful noises a thunderstorm brings!

The Big Round Sun

The big round sun in a springtime sky (circle with arms)
Winked at a cloud that was passing by (wink eye)
The little cloud laughed as it scattered rain (flutter fingers downward)
Then out came the big round sun again (circle with arms)

Two Little Clouds

Two little clouds one April day (hold both hands in fists)
West sailing across the sky (move fists from left to right)
They went so fast that they bumped their heads (bump fists together)
And both began to cry (point to eyes)
The big round sun came out and said (make circle with arms)
“Oh never mind, my dears, I’ll send all my sunbeams down to dry your fallen tears.” (Wiggle fingers down like rain)

Song:

The Clouds in the Sky

(sung to “The Wheels on the Bus”)

The clouds in the sky go
Boom, boom, boom
Boom, boom, boom
Boom, boom, boom
(clap hands on “boom”)
The clouds in the sky go
Boom, boom, boom
Boom, boom, boom
Boom, boom, boom
All night and day.

Other verses:

The rain falling down goes
plink, plink plink
(move fingers down in front)

Sad little children cry
Go away, go away, go away
(sad faces, wipe eyes)

The flowers and the trees go
Yum, yum, yum
(rub tummy)

The creatures all around go
scrub, scrub, scrub
(wash self all over)

The sun behind the clouds says
move away, move away, move away
(push clouds away)

The clouds in the sky say
See you soon, see you soon, see you soon
(wave)

Activity: After reading It Looked Like Spilt Milk, we showed children that clouds can take on any shapes with this activity.  We showed the children a blue piece of cardstock, folded in half.  With white paint, we poured random blotches around the page, including inside of the paper crease.  Then, we folded the paper in half and squished down the paint.  When you open the paper again, you will see a perfectly symmetrical, ready-made painting!  We asked the children what they thought the shapes looked like.

We thought this one looked like a butterfly of flower.

What about this one?  I think it looks like a penguin!

Art Project: Using blue paint, foam paint brushes, sponges, cotton balls and cotton filling, we made cloud art!  To help encourage letter recognition, we printed out the word “clouds” for the children so that they could label their artwork.

Books:

Sheep Blast Off by Nancy Shaw

Here in Space by David Milgrim

I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton

Find These Books on The Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes & Fingerplays:

Moon Ride (this is a great opener!)

Do you want to go up with me to the moon?

Let’s get in our rocket ship and blast off soon!

Faster and faster we reach the sky

Isn’t it fun to be able to fly?

We’re on the moon, now all take a look

Sit back down, and I’ll read you a book

Five Little Stars

Five little stars

In the sky with even more

One shot off

Then there were four

Four little stars

Winking at me

One shot off

Then there were three

Three little stars

With nothing to do

One shot off

Then there were two

Two little stars

Afraid of the sun

One shot off

Then there was one

One little star

Alone is no fun

It shot off

Then there were none!

Five Astronauts

Five brave astronauts floated into space

The first one disappeared without a trace

The second one somesaulted past the moon

The third one entered the atmosphere too soon

The fourth one took off counting ten to zero

And the fifth one landed safely like a hero

Going to the Moon

Get in the spaceship

We’re going to the moon, going to the moon, going to the moon

Get in the spaceship

We’re going to the moon

Let’s count down right now

5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF!!!!

We’re flying to the moon…

We’re walking on the moon…

We’re going back home…

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom we’re going to the moon

Zoom, zoom, zoom we’re going to the moon

If you’d like to take a trip

Climb aboard my rocket ship

Zoom, zoom, zoom we’re going to the moon

5-4-3-2-1 BLAST OFF!!!

The Sun is in the Sky (tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

The sun is in the sky, the sun is in the sky

Hot and bright, it gives us light

The sun is in the sky

The moon is in the sky

The moon is in the sky

Around and round the earth is goes

The moon is in the sky

The stars are in the sky

The stars are in the sky

Twinkly bright, they shine at night

The stars are in the sky

Craft:

We made a space scene using black construction paper and different colored chalk.  The kids were able to draw stars, the moon, the sun, rockets, and whatever else they wanted in their space scene.

Books:

Pirates, Ho!  by Sarah L. Thomson

I Love My Pirate Papa by Laura Leuck

Pirate Piggywiggy by Christyan Fox

Find These Books on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes and Fingerplays:

If You’re a Pirate and You Know It

If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

If you’re a pirate and you know it, then you’ll hear the sea winds blowin’

If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

If you’re a pirate and you know it, walk the plank (stomp, stomp)….

If you’re a pirate and you know it, say ahoy….

One-Eyed Jake

I’m one-eyed Jack the pirate chief

A terrible, fearsome ocean thief

I have a peg upon my leg

I have a hook and a dirty look

I’m one-eyed Jake the pirate chief

A terrible, fearsome ocean thief

The Day I Went to Sea

When I was one

I sucked my thumb

The day I went to sea

I jumped aboard a pirate ship

And the captain said to me

We’re going this way

And that way

We’re going forward

And backward

It’s a pirate’s life for me!

When I was two, I tied my shoe…

When I was three, I scraped by knee…

When I was four, I shut the door…

When I was five, I danced a jive…

Ten Little Pirates

Ten little pirates stood in a row

They bowed to their captain so

They marched to the left

They marched to the right

They shouted yo ho ho

and gave their captain a fright!

 Activity:

I hid three different “X’s” around the storytime room and showed the children a map with three “X’s” on it.  I told the children that we need to follow the X’s to find a treasure that waited for us at the end.  When it was time, I had the children  find and point to the X in the room with the signified number on it.  Behind each X was a clue to the next activity that we would do during the storytime (for example, the first X had a picture of a boat behind it.  We then sang the song, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”).  The last X had a clue that told the children to search around for the hidden treasure.  They searched and found a gold chest with free stickers inside!  Each child was able to take home stickers, which many of them used to decorate their craft.

Craft:

A pirate isn’t complete without his hat.  This week we made pirate hats that the kids decorated and wore.  I found a nice pirate hat template at Craft Jr.  This template also comes with an eye patch, if you wanted to make that as well.  Parents cut out the hat and the two long strips under the hat.  Then the two strips were taped or stapled to each side of the hat and taped together at the back of the head.  The kids then decorated the hat with sequins, feathers, tissue paper, and markers.  Arrrggh, doesn’t it look swashbuckling?

Books:

Cat Skidoo by Bethany Roberts

I Love Cats by Sue Stainton

Kitty’s Cuddles by Jane Cabrera

Click Here to Find These Books on the Heights Library Catalog

I have a cat

My cat is fat

I have a cat

It wears a hat

I have a cat

It caught a bat

I have a cat

Purrrrrrr!  Meow!

I’m a Little Kitten (Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)

Right up on your lap, I like to hop

I purr, purr, purr and never stop

Five little kittens standing in a row

They nod their heads to the children, so

They stand and stretch in the bright sunlight

Along comes a dog, looking for some fun

Meowww! Meowww!

See those kittens run!

Color Cats (I printed out and used colored cats for this rhyme)

When the cat that is red

Is finally fed

He raises his head

And says, “Meow!”

When the cat that is blue

Has nothing to do

He comes up, too

And whispers, ”Meow!”

When the cat that is yellow

Is feeling mellow

He tends to stretch

And bellow, “Meow!”

When the cat that is green

When I say he can really “Meow!”

Okay, little cats

Let’s hear some “Meows”  (encourage the kids to give out their best meows!)

And now it’s time

For curtsies and bows

Craft:

Each child received a paper lunch bag and we created cat puppets.  Children were able to decorate the lunch bag any way they wanted to: they could draw on a face, cut out ears and tails from construction paper and glue them onto the lunch bag, and glue a colorful, sparkly pom pom for the cat’s nose.

The cats turned out very cute and the kids had a blast playing with them!  Meow!!

Books:

Do Like a Duck Does by Judy Hindley

Five Little Ducks by Ivan Bates

Just Ducky by Kathy Mallat

Click Here to Find These Books and more on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes and Fingerplays:

Quack, Quack

 Now I’m up

Now I’m down

See me waddle all around

Put my hands behind my back

Like a duck I’ll say “quack quack”

Two Little Ducks

Two little ducks sitting on a hill

One named Jack, one named Jill

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

Come back Jack, come back Jill

Little Duck

I am a little duck that goes quack, quack, quack

And I’ve got lots of feathers on my back, back, back

And when I go down to the lake

I wiggle and I wobble and I shake, shake, shake

And when I go to sleep at night

I close my eyes so very tight

But in the morning when I wake

I wiggle and I wobble and I shake, shake, shake

Funny Ducks  

This funny duck went waddle, waddle, waddle

This funny duck went paddle, paddle, paddle

This funny duck went quack, quack, quack

This funny duck wiggled its tail in the back

And this funny duck, the very last

Jumped in the water and went splash, splash, splash

Art:

We made simple ducks using yellow, orange, and blue paper.  The blue paper served as our background.  We used the yellow to make our ducks.  The ducks were made of simple shapes: a circle for the head, a half circle for the body, and a smaller half circle for the wing.  I found a template for the shapes at http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/farm/shape-duck.asp, but you can also just create your own shapes.  We used the orange paper to cut out triangles for the ducks’ beaks.

We put our ducks together and glued them onto the blue paper.  Children were encouraged to make as many ducks as they liked, in various sizes.  We then decorated our ducks with google eyes, feathers, and markers.

We completed our project by drawing a peaceful and picturesque scene around our ducks.

Books:

Hurray for Spring! By Patricia Hubbell

Peek-a-Bloom by Marie Torres Cimarusti

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Click Here to Find these Books and more on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes and Fingerplays:

Planting Seeds

First you take the seed and you plant it in the ground (pretend to plant seeds in hand)
Next a rain cloud comes and waters all around (Use one hand to simulate rain)
Next the sun shines brightly, wouthout a sound (use fingers like sun)
And in just a few days, a flower is found (open hand like flower)

Daffodils

One little daffodil had nothing much to do,
Out popped another one, then there were two.
Two little daffodils were smiling at a bee,
Out popped another one, then there were three,
Three little daffodils were growing by the door,
Out popped another one, then there were four, 
Four little daffodils were glad to be alive,
Out popped another one, then there were five,
Five little daffodils were wearing golden crowns,
They danced in the breeze in green satin gowns.

Art:  Children were given various supplies to create their own spring scenes!  They made beautiful gardens and flowers out of paper, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, markers and foam bugs.

Books:

“What Does Bunny See?” by Linda Sue Park

“Bunny and Me” by Adele Aron Greenspun and Joanie Schwarz

“Wee Little Bunny” by Lauren Thompson

Click Here to Check Out These Books on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes:

Here Comes a Bunny

Here comes a bunny, hip-hop-hop

See how his long ears, flip-flop-flop

See how his nose goes, twink-twink-twink

See how his eyes go wink-wink-wink

Funny Bunny

Here is a bunny (raise two fingers)

With ears so funny

And here is a hole in the ground (make hole w/ fingers of other hand)

At the first sound she hears

She pricks up her ears (straighten fingers)

And pops right into the ground (put fingers in hole)

The Bunny Pokey

You put your right paw in

You take your right paw out

You put your right paw in

And you shake it all about

You do the Bunny Pokey

And you hop all around

That’s what it’s all about!

Follow with:

You put your left paw in…

You put your pink nose in…

You put your floppy ears in…

You put your cotton tail in…

You put your whole bunny in…

Craft:

We made peeking bunnies using a paper plate, construction paper, glue, and markers.

First we traced and cut out two handprints from green construction paper.  We placed our paper plate “eating side” down and glued the handprints to the bottom of the plate.

Then we cut out two bunny ears from another sheet of construction paper.  I made my bunny’s ears pink, but some of the kids had other ideas and we had bunny ears in blue, yellow, white, black, orange, and so on.

We then glued the ears on the top, back of the plate.  Finally we drew some “peeking” eyes on our bunny, using a black marker.

Voila, we’re done!

Books:

“Farmyard Beat” by Lindsey Craig

“Farmer Nat” by Chris L. Demarest

“Charlie the Chicken” by Nick Denchfield

 Click Here to order these Books on the Heights Library Catalog

Songs:

“Old Macdonald Had a Farm” from Songs for Wiggleworms and Toddler Favorites

“Baa Baa Black Sheep”  from Songs for Wiggleworms and Toddler Favorites

“Five Little Ducks” From 100 Toddler Favorites

“B-I-N-G-O” from 100 Toddler Favorites

“Farmer in the Dell”

“Down on Grandpa’s Farm” from Raffi’s One Light One Sun

“Put a Chicken on your Head” from Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael’s Groovy Green

Rhyme:

Five Little Pigs

Five Little Pigs rolled in the mud,
Squish, squash, squish it sure felt good,
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.

Four Little Pigs rolled in the mud,
Squish, squash, squish it sure felt good,
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.

Three Little Pigs rolled in the mud,
Squish, squash, squish it sure felt good,
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.

Two Little Pigs rolled in the mud,
Squish, squash, squish it sure felt good,
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.

One Little Pig rolled in the mud,
Squish, squash, squish it sure felt good,
The farmer took a pig out, and cleaned him up nice.

No little pigs rolled in the mud,
They all looked nice and clean,
The farmer turned his back and what do you know!
All those little pigs jumped back in the mud!

Art:

We all made a “Pig of Many Pinks” (idea found from everythingpreschool.com)!  Everyone received a print-out of a picture of a pig.  We laid out all the supplies we had lying around that were pink, including yarn, tissue paper, foam shapes, jewels, pipe cleaners, crayons and more.  Children made collages out of their pigs to give him a pink color.  They turned out beautiful!

Books:

“Birds” by Kevin Henkes

“Little Green” by Keith Baker

“Feathers for Lunch” by Lois Ehlert

Click Here to Order These Books on the Heights Library Catalog

Rhymes:

I used two bird puppets to present this rhyme, while the kids followed along using their hands.  The original rhyme is “Two Little Blackbirds,” but since I had brown birds I recited it as “Two Little Birds”

Two Little Birds

Two little birds sitting on a hill

One named Jack, one named Jill

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

Come back Jack, come back Jill

I Saw a Little Bird   (we stood up and did the actions to this one together)

I saw a little bird go hop, hop, hop

I told that little bird to stop, stop, stop

I went to the window to say “How do you do?”

He just shook his little tail, and far away he flew!

Art:

We made bright, sparkly peacocks.  I gave the kids a peacock body shape (from http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/animals/birds/peacock-craft.asp), which I had cut out from blue construction paper.  We gave our peacocks beaks and feet cut out from orange construction paper and decorated them using feathers and rhinestones.

Have you seen a prettier bird?