Did a theme again! I’m starting to freak myself out with all this themeing.
Books used:
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs (toddlers only)
Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri
Peek-a-Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti (tiny tots only)
Rhymes, songs, and fingerplays:
Two Little Blackbirds (we’re still in a loft being loud and soft, at least until the parents learn some self regulation. The kids have it down!)
Old Macdonald had a Farm with finger puppets
Jump Like a Frog wiggler
Shakers:
Practice fast, slow, up, down, etc. for a minute then…
We’re Tapping by Kathy Reid Naiman
If You’re Happy and You Know It by Jane Cabrera, three verses
Art Activity: die cut shapes and dobbers for a negative space experiment. I don’t go in to any great detail explaining negative space to parents (just tell them that’s what the project is about, plus working on pre-writing skills with those dobbers!), but I really like this blog post about it, if any of you are interested. I got this idea from a colleague who did toddler storytime here before I did and love how fun and simple it is so we do it every couple of months now. Thanks, Heather!
I just set out all kinds of die cut shapes, tape, paper, and dobbers. I tell the parents to tape the shape to the paper (roll the tape and attach it on the back of the shape so it will come off more easily) and let the kids go crazy with the dobbers. When they are done, take the shape off and you can see the shape still! There are lots of oohs and ahhs after removing the shape. Parents definitely do a lot of guiding so the outline will get stamped, but I think it’s a great opportunity for them to work together to create something. The kid is doing all the work with parental guidance, which seems like a good thing to me!
Here are some left behind pieces of artwork to give you a sense of the activity:
Read Sing Play 