Halloween Fun

I just love Halloween, but it is hard to celebrate it when you are working with different childcare centers who do not celebrate the holiday. However, I still displayed some Halloween books along with books about autumn. Anyway...I get excited over Halloween and I was sure I would need to create a felt activity for a storytime. I love the holiday so much, I even dressed up my storytime turtle, Thomas, as a pirate. (Arrrrrr!!!) He is a very bashful creature!



I wanted to do something with bats to work well with  my Night Winged Creatures and Halloween stortyime.

This is my bat felt prop that was used on a glove. It also can be used on a felt board. I used the "Bats are Sleeping" fingerplay with this creation.

Books I used for storytime.

Baby Bat’s Lullaby by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Bat Jamboree by Kathy Appelt
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

State and County Fair Storytime Theme

It is that time of year again for...State and County Fairs!!!
A lot of people get excited about state and county fairs. There is so much do like seeing many farm animals, exhibits, winning prizes, and all the wonderful rides. This year was my two-year-old son's first State Fair and he grew very excited when he won some prizes! Anyway, I've been searching online for state fair themes for storytimes and it was not as successful as I would like. A light build came on and I came up with an idea. So...every time I think of a state fair I think...Cotton Candy! Below I created an activity that consists of five felt cotton candies. They can be used two ways, one side has number and the other is bare.

Here are some titles that can be used for a State Fair Storytime theme. And of course, you can use any books that have farm animals in it.

Cows to the Rescue by John Himmelman
Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin
The Cow that was the Best Moo-ther by Andy Cutbill
County Fair by Elise Cooper
Does a Cow Say Boo? By Judy Hindley
Let’s Count Goats! By Mem Fox

Chickens!!!!

This is my very first blog and I decided to post my "creations" I used for storytime. I used these two different props for last month's theme, National Chicken Month. The first prop I used is titled, Five Little Chicks. I used the finger-play Five Little Ducks, just substituted it with baby chicks.

This prop can be used for all ages, birth to 5 years-old. I decided to use goggly eyes to create some type of sound/rhythm. As you can see, the baby chicks are on a glove. They can easily be detached from the glove and  used on a felt board.

My next activity is a hide and seek game. The children had fun counting the eggs and learning colors. I found it really cute when they were guessing which egg the chick was in.

Recommended Books: 

Here is a list of books that would be awesome to use with the props.

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan

The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill

Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Hoppity Skip Little Chick by Jo Brown

The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton

My Life as a Chicken by Ellen A. Kelly

New Socks by Bob Shea

Rosie Walk by Pat Hutchins