Stories & Crafts: Family Favorites

April 23, 2024

Books
Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes by Super Simple Songs (Speeding Up)

Fingerplay: 2 Little Butterflies
Two little butterflies sitting on a hill
One named Jack, and one named Jill
Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill
Come back Jack, Come back Jill

Other Verses:
Cloud… Quiet.. Loud
Stick… Slow… Quick
Sky… Low…High

Song: Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Song: Zoom, Zoom by Charlie Hope

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Nursery Rhymes ABC

Bubbles Song: PJ Masks Theme Song by PJ Masks

Bubbles Song: Super Mario Bros. Theme by Video Game Players

Bubbles Song: I’m a Bookworm, Baby! by Sesame Streets’ The Bookworms

Craft: Paper Plate Butterfly
Craft idea from No Time for Flashcards.

Stories & Crafts: Farm Animals

April 16, 2024

Books
Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier
Duck! by Meg McKinlay
Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Jump, Run, and Shout! by The Singing Walrus

Rhyme: Put Your Hands Up High
Put your hands up high, put your hands down low,
Put your hands in the middle and wiggle just so.
Put your elbows in front, put your elbows in back
Put your elbows to the side and quack, quack, quack!

Song: Quack Quack, Waddle Waddle by B Minor Music

Fingerplay: 10 Fuzzy Chicks
Five eggs and five eggs and that makes ten
Sitting on top is the mother hen.
Bock, bock! Crack, crack!
What’s that I see?
10 fuzzy chicks as cute as can be!
Cheep, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!

Shaker Song: I Know a Chicken by The Laurie Berkner Band

Shaker Song: Shake Freeze by Little Maestros

Shaker Song: Let’s All Shake Our Shaker Eggs by Miss Jamie

Craft: Duck and Cow Puppets
Craft ideas from iHeartCraftyThings and Simply Today Life

Stories & Crafts: Silliness

April 2, 2024

Books
Don’t Wake Up the Tiger by Britta Teckentrup
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
Please Don’t Read This Book! by Deanna Kizis

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

Song: Put a Chicken on Your Head by Eric Litwin and Michael Levine

Song: Icky Sticky Bubble Gum by The Learning Station

Rhyme: Spaghetti
Rhyme: Spaghetti
Spaghetti on my tummy
Spaghetti on my nose
Spaghetti on my elbow
Spaghetti on my toes.
Wipe it off my elbow
Wipe it off my toes
Wipe it off my tummy
Oops! I forgot my nose.

Bubbles Song: The Goldfish by The Laurie Berkner Band

Bubbles Song: Down by the Bay by Raffi

Song: Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Craft: Silly Monster
We used a variety of materials to create the silliest monsters we could!

Stories & Crafts: Bunnies

March 26, 2024

Books
What Does Bunny See? by Linda Sue Park
Bunny Built by Michael Slack
Hope is a Hop by Katrina Moore

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: My Bunny Goes Hop by The Laure Berkner Band

Rhyme: Little Rabbit
I saw a little rabbit go hop, hop, hop
I told that little rabbit to stop, stop, stop
He wiggled his ears and crinkled his nose
And wiggled, wiggled, wiggled right down to his toes.

Fingerplay: There was a Little Bunny
There was a little bunny who lived in the wood. (hold up two fingers)
He wiggled his ears as a good bunny should (wiggle on head)
He hopped by a squirrel. He hopped by a tree. (hop, hop)
He hopped by a duck. And he hopped by me. (hop, hop over fist)
He stared at the squirrel. He stared at the tree. (stare, stare)
He stared at the duck. But he made faces at me! (stare, make faces)

Song: The Bunny Hop by Itty Bitty Beats

Rhyme: We Can . . .
We can jump, jump, jump,
We can hop, hop, hop,
We can clap, clap, clap,
We can stop, stop, stop.
We can nod our heads for yes,
We can shake our heads for no.
We can bend our knees a tiny bit,
And sit down slow

Shaker Song: Hop Little Bunnies by Toddler Fun Learning

Shaker Song: Hop Hop Hop Little Bunny by Bounce Patrol

Craft: Paper Cup Bunny
Craft idea from Darcy and Brian.

Stories & Crafts: Bugs

March 19, 2024

Books
Step Gently Out by Helen Frost and Rick Lieder
It’s an Orange Aardvark by Michael Hall
A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Rhyme: 5 Hungry Ants
Five hungry ants were marching in a line,
They came upon a picnic where they could dine.
They marched into the salad,
They marched into the cake,
They marched into the pepper
Uh-oh, that was a mistake!
Aa aa aa aa-CHOO!

Four hungry ants. . .
Three hungry ants . . .
Two hungry ants . . .
One hungry ant . . .

Fingerplay: 2 Little Butterflies
Two little butterflies sitting on a hill
One named Jack, and one named Jill
Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill
Come back Jack, Come back Jill

Cloud… Quiet.. Loud
Stick… Slow… Quick
Sky… Low…High

Fingerplay: Here is the Beehive
Here is the beehive (hold out one fist)
But where are the bees?
Hiding inside where nobody sees (point to fist)
Watch as the bees come out of their hive
1…2…3…4…5! (count on fingers)
Buzzzzz!

Scarf Song: Ants in My Pants by Pinkfong

Scarf Song: Slow Snails and Busy Bees by Piccolo Music

Scarf Song: Bug n Roll by Pinkfong

Craft: 3D Paper Ant
Craft idea from Kids’ Craft Room.

Stories & Crafts: Trains

March 12, 2024

Books
How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton
The Littlest Train by Chris Gall
Steam Train, Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes by Super Simple Songs (Speeding up)

Rhyme: Here’s a Little Choo Choo Train
Here’s a little choo choo train
Chugging down the track (chug arms)
Now it’s going forward (lean forward)
Now it’s going back (lean backwards)
Hear the bell ringing (ring a bell)
Now the whistle blows (blow train whistle)
What a lot of noise is makes
Everywhere it goes

Rhythm Sticks Rhyme: Clickety Clack
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
Here comes the train on the railroad track
Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn
Here comes engine number 1
Clickety-clew, clickety-clew
Here comes coal car number 2
Clickety-clee, clickety-clee
Here comes box car number 3
Clickety-clore, clickety-clore
Here comes tank car number 4
Clickety-clive, clickety-clive
Here comes coach car number 5
Clickety-clicks, clickety-clicks
Here’s the caboose, that’s number 6
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
There goes the rain on the railroad track
Chooo-choooo

Rhythm Sticks Song: Choo Choo Train by Patty Shukla

Craft: Egg Carton Train
Craft idea from Hands on as We Grow

Stories & Crafts: Libraries!

March 5, 2024

Books
A Library Book for Bear by Bonnie Becker
The Loud Librarian by Jenna Beatrice
Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: If You’re Ready for a Story
(Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you’re ready for a story, clap your hands!
If you’re ready for a story, clap your hands!
If you’re ready for a story, really ready for a story,
If you’re ready for a story, clap your hands!

(Additional verses: Stomp your feet, Shout hooray!, Take a seat)

Song: These are My Glasses by The Laurie Berkner Band
These are my glasses,
This is my book.
I put on my glasses,
And open up my book.
Then I read, read, read,
And I look, look, look.
I put down my glasses and whoop! Close up the book.

Rhyme: When Cows Get Up in the Morning
When cows get up in the morning
They always say hello
When cows get up in the morning
They always say hello
And what do they say?
Moo . . .

(Verses: pigs, ducks, sheep, goats, chickens)

Bubbles Song: Fun with Our Librarian by Move ‘n Groove Kids

Bubbles Song: I’m a Bookworm Baby by Sesame Street’s The Bookworms

Craft: Bookworm Puppet
Craft idea from Storytime Sprout.

Stories & Crafts: Bears

February 27, 2024

Books
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
A Bear is a Bear (Except when he’s not) by Karl Newson
A Beary Rainy Day by Adam Ciccio

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Song: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around by The Kiboomers

Rhyme: A Bear Eats Honey
A bear eats honey (pretend to eat)
He thinks it’s yummy in his tummy (rub tummy)
But the bees don’t think it’s funny!
Buzzzzzzzzzzzz! (wiggle fingers and make buzzing noise)

Song: Where is Hibernating Bear? by The Kiboomers

Rhyme: Two Little Black Bears
Two little black bears sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Run away Jack, run away Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill

. . . digging in the snow.
One named Fast and the other named Slow.

. . . feeling very proud.
One named Quiet the other named Loud.

Scarf Song: Drip Drop Rain by Dance ‘n Beats

Scarf Song: Big Brown Boogieing Bear by StoryBots

Craft: Paper Bag Bear Puppet
We made bear puppets using brown paper bags, cardstock ears, googly eyes, and big pom-pom noses.

Stories & Crafts: Dragons

February 20, 2024

Books
Look Out! It’s a Dragon! by Jenny Lambert
Being Friends with Dragons by Katherine Locke
Little Wing Learns to Fly by Calista Brill

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: We’re Going on a Dragon Hunt by The Kiboomers

Rhyme: Dragon, Dragon
Dragon, dragon turn around.
Dragon, dragon touch the ground.
Dragon, dragon fly up high.
Dragon, dragon touch the sky.
Dragon, dragon swing your tail.
Dragon, dragon shake your scales.
Dragon, dragon give a “ROARRRRR!”
Dragon, dragon sit on the floor.

Song: Roar Went the Dragon
(Tune: Pop Goes the Weasel)
In and out the castle gate, the knight chased the dragon
The knight thought it was all in good fun
“Rooooarrr” went the dragon

Rhyme: Swing Your Dragon Tail
Turn around once and swing your dragon tail.
Turn around twice, flap your wings and shake your scales.
Turn around three times, stomp your feet and roar.
Jump up high then sit down on the floor.

Ribbon Song: Baby Dragon by The Tambourine Social

Ribbon Song: Shake Your Dragon Tail by Dragon Tales

Craft: Cardstock Tube Dragon
Craft idea from Surviving a Teacher’s Salary, but instead of using toilet paper tubes, we rolled up sheets of cardstock.

Stories & Crafts: Love

February 13, 2024

Books
A Book of Love by Emma Randall
I am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown
While We Can’t Hug by Eoin McLaughlin

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays
Song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, down, turn around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Wiggle fingers, wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders, say hello!

Song: Jump, Run, and Shout! by The Singing Walrus

Fingerplay: I Put My Hands Together
I put my hands together,
This is how I start
I curve my fingers right around,
And I can make a heart!

Song: Skinnamarink by Sharon, Lois, and Bram

Scarf Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It
If you’re happy and you know it, wave your scarf
If you’re happy and you know it, wave your scarf
If you’re happy and you know, and you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it, wave your scarf

. . . jump up and down
. . . shake your scarf fast
. . . stomp your feet
. . . give yourself a hug
. . . shout hurray!

Scarf Song: Waving My Scarf Stop by Ballet Preschool Party

Craft: Yarn Heart
Craft idea from About a Mom.