Storytime Programs - Week Three, Winter 2015

Welcome to the third week of our winter storytime programs.  We hope you and your little ones are enjoying being part of the fun!  Below you will find some of the books, rhymes, and fingerplays we are presenting this week.

Baby Rhyme Time (For babies 0-11 months and a caregiver)

Books
Baby's Bathtime - Watt 
Bathtime Peekaboo! - Sirett

Action Rhyme - Three Bubbles
A small bubble, (make small circle with hands)
A medium sized bubble,
A great big bubble I see.
Now let's count them,
Are you ready?
One, two, three,
Pop, pop, pop!  (clap hands)

The babies know all about bubbles since we are using the bubble machine each week during this session.  Their faces are a delight to see!  This is an activity that many families are sure to continue at home.

Wonderful Ones (For babies 12-23 months and a caregiver)

Books

This Little Chick - Lawrence
Piggies - Wood

Rhyme: Head and Fingers
Head and fingers, tummy and toes, tummy and toes,
Head and fingers, tummy and toes, tummy and toes,
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head and fingers, tummy and toes, tummy and toes.

As well as teaching the names of body parts, rhymes such as this one can be a welcome and amusing distraction at diaper-changing time!

Terrific Twos (For toddlers 2-3 years and a caregiver)

Books
Snowmen at Night - Buehner 
Winter Is - Dixon

Sledding - Winthrop

Action Rhyme: Here's a Hill
Here's a hill (tilt left arm so that it forms a hill)
And here's a hill (tilt rhyme so that it forms a hill)
All covered with snow (raise hands up and bring down in slow motion)
I'll put on my coat (put coat on)
And jump on my sled (hold rope of sled)
And ZOOM, down the hill I will go! (clap hands, then slide hands down)

Sharing rhymes and songs that tell stories will help your toddler develop sequencing skills which is the ability to put the events of a story in the order in which they occur. This is important because logical order of thinking is fundamental to reading. 

1, 2, 3, Go! (For children 1, 2, and 3 years and a caregiver)

Books
Little Owl's Orange Scarf - Feeney
Under My Hood I Have a Hat - Kuskin 

Action Rhyme: One Cold and Frosty Morning
One cold and frosty morning,
When stormy was the weather,
A birdie peeked out of his nest,
And ruffled up his feathers.
He fluffed them up, he fluffed them down,
He flapped his wings together,
And then crawled back into his bed,
And said I DON'T LIKE THIS WEATHER!

It's always fun to take a rhyme home from storytime!  Repeat the rhyme and actions with your toddler.  

StoryMix For 3 to 6 (For children 3-6 years without caregiver)

Books 
Should I Share My Ice Cream? - Willems

Hooray For Hat! - Won

Action Rhyme: Hats (to the tune of Frere Jacques)
H-A-T-S
H-A-T-S
That spells hats
That spells hats
Everybody wears them
Everybody wears them
When they're cold
When they're cold

We are continuing our shape theme with triangles this week.  Host a triangle picnic.  Cut paper plates in triangles and sit on a blanket folded into a triangle.  Eat triangular-shaped foods, such as pizza or triangle sandwiches.  What fun!  Talk about other foods that are triangular.  Did you know that talking is how children learn new vocabulary?