Cuddle Up with Teddy preschool storytime plan

Last month we encouraged the preschoolers to Cuddle Up with Teddy at our teddy bear themed preschool storytime. You can get my planning sheet by clicking here.

For the craft we made teddy bears out of the letter B. Here's the PDF of the craft.

Winter Wonderland preschool storytime theme

We recently had a winter storm that left us with a lot of snow.  What better time to share my Winter Wonderland storytime plan?  Please note, to view the file, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

 

All ready for the fun to begin!

Party Palooza Preschool Storytime Plan

Today's my baby sister's birthday.  In honor of her birthday, I decided to share the storytime plan from my birthday week.  Yes...we had a birthday themed storytime in honor of MY birthday.  Because it is all about me and my day. ;)

 You can download a PDF of the Party Pallooza storytime plan by clicking here.

For the craft we made pigs in party hats (click for PDF of the craft).  The kids enjoyed the storytime, craft...and the treat I shared (since it was my birthday, I wanted to give them a little something extra).  There were smiles all around. 

Please note, to view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

Boo to You preschool storytime plan

It's fall, which means preschool storytimes are back in session.  I've had only a handful of storytimes over the past few months, as most have been presented by Miss Brindi. 

Since it is nearly Halloween, I'm sharing my Halloween themed storytime plan.  We called the storytime, Boo To You. (click for the pdf of my plan).  In addition to having a craft for the kids, I also gave each one a little treat (idea from here).

Candy Corn Collage

Five Little Pumpkin treats

 Please note, to view the PDF file, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

June 2015 Reads

This summer has been going quickly!  We are in the final week of Summer Reading at the library.  While some of our stats (summer reading registration, program attendance) seem to be lower, we have still been keeping busy with planning programs, helping patrons, and all the other fun (and not-so-fun) aspects of our jobs.

In June I managed to read 33 books.  A few, such as the Outlander titles, were repeat reads.  Several were picture books or graphic novels. As usual, if the title is in bold print then I rated it five stars on Goodreads. 

Firefighters by Jacqueline Gorman 
This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne 
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Guardians Disassembled by Brian Michael Bendis 
Rocket Raccoon and Groot: The Complete Collection by Bill Mantlo 

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

Tallulah's Tap Shoes by Marilyn Singer

Worst in Show by William Bee

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd

This Orq. (He Cave Boy.) by David Elliott

If I Had a Triceratops by George O'Connor

Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson

Wild About Us! by Karen Beaumont

You Can Do It, Bert! by Ole Konnecke

Is There a Dog in This Book? by Viviane Schwarz

Roger Is Reading a Book by Koen van Biesen

Dojo Daycare by Chris Tougas

Burned by Karen Marie Moning

Hawkeye, Vol. 3: L.A. Woman by Jeffrey Brown

Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Star Wars: Jedi Academy, Return of the Padawan by Jeffrey Brown

Star Wars: Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown

National Geographic Little Kids Look and Learn: Dogs

Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction

Black Widow: The Name of the Rose by Marjorie M. Liu

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Angela by Brian Michael Bendis

Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon by Jeffrey Brown

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

The School for Brides by Cheryl Ann Smith

The Accidental Prince by Michelle Willingham

The Accidental Princess by Michelle Willingham

May 2015 Reads

Though we have a "break" from programming during the month of May (i.e. we have fewer programs), we are still often busy as bees getting ready for Summer Reading.

Even with the busy days at work, I read 36 books in May.  As usual, if the title is in bold print then I rated it five stars on Goodreads.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

An Accidental Seduction by Michelle Willingham         

The Accidental Countess by Michelle Willingham

An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns by Betsy Rosenthal

Uh-Oh Octopus! by Elle Van Lieshout

Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) by Jim Butcher

Make Mine Midnight by Annmarie McKenna

Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Rethinking Normal: A Memoir in Transition by Katie Rain Hill

Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim

Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie

Five Minutes Late by Rich Amooi

Bitsy's Bait and BBQ by Pamela Morsi

Fishfishfish by Lee Nordling

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson

From Goat to Cheese by Lisa Owings

From Pumpkin to Pie by Lisa Owings

From Sugar Beet to Sugar by Lisa Owings

From Strawberry to Jam by Lisa Owings

From Bulb to Tulip by Lisa Owings

From Sea to Salt by Lisa Owings

Weird and Wild Animal Facts by Jessica Loy

The Original Cowgirl: The Wild Adventures of Lucille Mulhall by Heather Lang

John Muir Wrestles a Waterfall by Julie Danneberg

Talkin' Guitar: A Story of Young Doc Watson by Robbin Gourley

Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek

Winnie and Waldorf by Kati Hites

Creole Fires by Kat Martin

Going Green Preschool Storytime Plan

 April 22 is Earth Day.  In celebration of it, we had a Going Green themed for preschool storytime.  While I did find many books on the green lifestyle, I wasn't finding many fingerplays and songs that I felt the children would enjoy.  So I shared the books on my handout and as a display in the room, and instead did a frog themed program.  

You can get my Going Green storytime plan by clicking here. 

 

When I was looking for a craft, I came across several using paper plates.  Doing those would require lots of coloring or painting, or having green plates.  I didn't want to do that, since I can have a fairly large group of preschoolers.  Instead I decided to make my own template in MS Publisher and copy it onto various shades of green paper.  You can get my template by clicking here.

Please note, to view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here). 

Here is my sample, along with all of the curled tongues, dotted eyes, and copied templates.  

 

Zoo to You Preschool Storytime Plan

Animal themed storytimes are always fun.  This was true for a recent one I presented called Zoo to You.  The kids enjoyed acting like various animals one might see in a zoo, and we all had fun singing zoo themed songs.

For the craft we made monkey masks.  I found the masks here (click for link) and copied them on cardstock.  The children colored their masks, cut them out, and glued them on an extra large craft stick.   

Here is my storytime plan (click for link). Please note, to view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

Storyteller's Choice preschool storytime plan

Every few months my staff and I meet to choose themes for upcoming storytimes.  Usually we have little issue deciding on a theme for each week.  Those rare occasions when we aren't able to think of a great theme (that hasn't been used within the past year), we end up going with Storyteller's Choice (also called Storyteller's Favorites). Sometimes I use the same basic plan from a previous storytime, just changing the stories (click here for another Storyteller's Choice storytime).

This past week was one of those times.  The hardest part is deciding which stories to share!  The second hardest?  Deciding on a craft to go with the program.

Click here to download the Storyteller's Choice preschool storytime plan as a PDF.  Please note, to view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

I < 3 You Preschool Storytime Plan

Because another staff member and I take turns with presenting preschool storytime at her branch, I don't always get to do the Valentine's Day theme. This year I did.  What fun!
Click the link for the I < 3 Valentine's Day theme.

To view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

As I've mentioned recently, I have a Cricut Explore cutting machine.  I love using it for a variety of crafts - including for materials to use at work.  For the Valentine's Day preschool storytime craft I made bees and hearts on my Circut. I assembled the bees before the program, as we can have as many as 24 children - many younger three-year-olds.  I also wrote "mine." on all of the hearts.  Everyone enjoyed this easy and adorable craft.

Over the Rainbow Preschool Storytime Plan

As a general theme for St. Patrick's Day, we decided to go Over the Rainbow.  I incorporated a holiday themed book into my storytime plan (There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover! by Lucille Colandro), but mostly focused on colorful stories and rhymes. 

To download and view the full preschool storytime plan, click here. Please note, to view the files, you will need a version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (get it free here).

Our craft was a fairly simple one.  Using a lovely sky blue colored paper, I copied this rainbow (click here for pdf) that I made a few years ago. The kids could then glue torn pieces of colored paper onto the appropriate bands.  The kids ha a lot of fun with it and several of the adults were thrilled that I incorporated the appropriate number of bands and included indigo.

The finished product.  I made some extras and put them out as a Make-and-Take.