Joseph Had an Overcoat by Simms Taback

Read book:  Joseph Had an Overcoat by Simms TabackHave children say the repeated phrase, "But it got old and worn."
Retell with flannel board: Now let's do the story on the flannel board. What happened first?
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: [As you give out the handout] I have a handout for you today for Joseph Had an Overcoat. It is the same pattern that I used for the flannel board. You can cut out the pieces and have your children retell the story. As you have your children retell other stories too, using props can help them remember what comes next. For your younger children who may not be able to retell stories, they can repeat a word or perhaps a phrase. These are all activities that will later help your child understand how stories work and also help them understand what they read. Pattern for flannel board and handout:  josephovercoathandout

 

Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree Song

Preparation: Use a crocodile hand puppet and five monkeys that can be removed from a glove puppet. If you have a tree prop, like one for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, place monkeys on the tree.Children count and snap. Children of all ages enjoy the rhythm/chant of the song and the snapping. Adults with babies can gently give them a surprise snap with a big smile. Toddlers and preschoolers count and like the repetition.

Five little monkeys sitting in a tree   (Hold up five fingers and bounce hand up and down) Teasing Mr. Crocodile, teasing Mr. Crocodile (Wave fingers forward) Can’t catch me; can’t catch me. (Shake head no.) Along comes Mr. Crocodile as quiet as can be. (Whisper with index finger over nose and mouth.) And SNAPS that monkey out of the tree!

To make this rhyme more interactive between adults and children, when you repeat it, have the adult be the five little monkeys, holding up one hand. The child is the crocodile making a mouth with one hand. Optional: Reverse roles.

Early Literacy Aside--Example: In this rhyme, we are counting backwards with our children in a fun way. Counting is part of learning concepts which support your child's background knowledge.

 

Submitted by Katie Rinenbach, Bucks County (PA) Public Library

Elmer by David McKee Craft

Extension Activity: Elmer PuppetHand out elephant cut outs on white card stock and colorful construction paper squares to glue to the elephant or crayons to color the elephant. They then glue a popsicle stick to the back. Encourage children to describe what they made and to retell the story using their puppet. Adults with babies can make a colorful elephant to move in front of their babies’ eyes and talk about the shapes and colors.

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Adults as you play with your children or make crafts with them, try to use a word they are less familiar with. Children learn words best through their experiences, not by memorizing words. You might use less familiar words for colors, like fuschia or magenta, or perhaps the way the elephant is walking, lumbering slowly along. You have many opportunities throughout the day to build your children’s vocabulary. It is these little things you do over and over again that make a difference.

Submitted by Katie Ringenbach, Bucks County (PA) Public Library

What! Cried Granny by Kate Lum

Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Our early literacy tip today is on print motivation, your children's enjoyment of books and reading. Children who have had positive experiences around books and reading before going to school are more likely to stick with learning to read even if it is difficult. I'll be pointing out some ways to make booksharing enjoyable in today's storytime. Book and flannel board: What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story by Kate Lum is our next book. It's about a boy who is having a sleep-over at his grandmother's house. Let's see what happens when he tries to get the things he needs to go to sleep. Granny is often surprised and says in a loud voice,

  "What!" Let me hear you all say that. You can join in as we go through the story.

Early Literacy Aside--Example: There are many ways to have children participate in stories as we read together. Having them participate as we read the story helps them enjoy the story more.

Submitted by Katie Ringenbach, Bucks County (PA) Public Library  

 

 

Little Red Hen Handout

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: In our storytime today, we read the story of the Little Red Hen by Byron Barton. Your children also retold the story with me on the flannel board. In today's handout I have the repeated phrases and the order of what the little red hen did. There are also boxes for your children to draw the animals. You can cut them out and have the children retell the story for you. For your younger children, they can say the words "Not I" or say the sounds of the animals. Having your children retell stories helps them understand the story better and helps them learn how stories work. Enjoy!Handout: lrhenhandout

Rock a Bye Baby

Song as lead in to book: Rock a Bye Baby[Adults rock baby back and forth] Rock a bye baby on the tree top, When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, And I'm there to catch you, cradle and all.

Early Literacy Aside--Example: When we sing to babies, they hear language slowed down which makes it easier for them to hear the sounds in words. Even thugh we may not sing to our children for this purpose, it is the beginning of helping them to later sound out words when they later learn to read.

Jane Klein, Chester County (PA) Library System

Night/Noche Storytime Handout

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: I have a handout for you on the topic of our storytime today--night. It has some book titles which I have also displayed here.  I hope you'll like the suggestions of ideas and techniques you can do with your children at home to help develop their pre-reading skills, just as you saw me do in the storytime. You are with your children more often than I am so you have many opportunities to use some of these ideas. Let me know which ideas you enjoy doing with your children.Storytime Handout for storytime on the theme of Night/Noche Handout in English  Nighthandoutkc Handout in Spanish  Nochehandoutkc

Submitted by Katie Cunningham

Ideas que  le ayudarán a fomentar la alfabetización temprana en casa:  Al final de este parrafo encontrará un folleto con el tema de la noche. El folleto habla de algunos libros que también se presentan aquí.  Espero que estas ideas y técnicas le ayuden en casa a sus ninos a desarrollar las habilidaes necesarias para que puedan aprender a leer, así como lo ha visto en nuestra hora de cuentos.  Usted pasa mas tiempo consus hijos del que ellos pasan conmigo, así es que tendrá muchas oportunidades de usar algunas de estas ideas.

Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern

toomuchnoise.jpg

Empower Aside: I have a handout for you related to the book we did with a flannel board today in storytime, Too Much Noise. Using little cues like the flannel board pieces can help your children retell the story. The handout has squares where your children can draw in the animals, you can cut them out and then retell the story together. Your youngest children can say the animal sounds, slightly older children can say the names of the animals and perhaps repeat the words "too noisy" and your preschoolers can try retelling the whole story. All of these are stages in helping your children develop narrative skills which will help them later understand what they read and how stories work. Enjoy!Handout for Too Much Noise:  multsttoomuchnoise

 

Five Scrumptious Cookies

We sing this song after reading Wolf's Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza. The first time you come to the word scrumptious, add the words delicious or yummy. [If you prefer you can tlak about the word scrumptious before starting the book.]Early Literacy Aside--Example: When a book has a word that is unfamiliar to your child, this is a great opportunity to build vocabulary. Don't replace the word with a simpler one, just explain it briefly. Books have rich language, more unusual words than we use in daily conversation. Five Scrumptious Cookies Five scrumptious cookies in the baker’s shop Big and round with some sugar on top Along came a boy with a penny to pay Who bought a scrumptious cookie and took it away.

Four scrumptious cookies . . . Three scrumptious cookies . . . Two scrumptious cookies . . . One scrumptious cookie . . . No scrumptious cookies . . . Big and round with some sugar on top No one came with a penny to pay. So close the baker’s shop and have a baking day.

Llama, Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney

Read Llama, Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney.Point out some word pairs that rhyme, such as boat and moat. Ask children what other words rhyme with boat (they don't have to make sense). Early Literacy Aside--Example: Helping children hear words that rhyme is one way to help them hear the smaller sounds in words which will then later help them sound out words. storytimehandoutlorenasearsPA Early Literacy Aside--Empower: I have a handout for you with suggestions for some rhyming games and ways to help your children hear the smaller sounds in words. Lorena Sears, F D Campbell Memorial Library (PA)

Breakfast for Jack by Pat Schories

Our next book is a wordless book. It has pictures but no written words. Let's see if you can figure out what the story could be just from the pictures.Read through Breakfast for Jack by Pat Schories (or another wordless book of your choice) Let the children contribute to the conversation as you go through the pictures in the book. Early Literacy Aside--Example: Using wordless books and having your child tell the story is one easy way to develop your children's narrative skills--having them tell stories. They can tell the story different ways when reading the book several times. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: I have displayed some wordless books today. Feel free to check them out and have your children tell you the story. If they seem to be stuck, you can ask open-ended questions like "What do you see in this picture? What do you think is happening here?" If you are telling the story together, remember to follow your child's lead. Supporting your children's narrative skills helps them later understand what they read.

Little Red Hen Readers' Theater

Introduce the book Little Red Hen by Byron Barton: This is a folktale that many authors have retold. The book we are going to read was written and illustrated by Byron Barton. [Have several copies of the book available, or copied sheets.] Today with your help, we are going to read by doing what is called Readers' Theater.  This is playacting without having to memorize any lines. I will act as narrator, but I will need the rest of you to participate as well. Let's divide into three groups: pig, duck, and cat.  Now I will need four parent volunteers and your children to come to the front to read the lines of the characters. After you have read the lines, encourage the children to repeat after you. After the child says your words then the children in groups will say those words as well.Clap for all the participants--children in groups, children up front, parents. Talk briefly about the story by asking questions such as How would you feel if you were the little red hen? What would you have done? What do you think the pig, duck and cat might do next time? Early Literacy Aside--Example: When you have children act out stories, it is not only fun, but this kind of dramatic play helps them understand how stories work and helps them understand the story. These are skills that will help them understand what they read when they get to school. Lillie Butler, St. Tammany Parish (LA) Library

Song in Spanish

Here is a song that is fun to sing in English, Spanish or both, to the tune of "Frere Jacques."Esta canción es divertida cantar en inglés, español, o ambos, al tuno de "Frere Jacques."

Hello children.                  Hola niños. How are you?                   ¿Como están? Very well thank you.        Muy bien gracias. How about you?               ¿Y Usted?

Although today we are having  fun singing songs in two languages, talk with your children in the language  that is most comfortable for you. It is best for children to know one language  spoken fluently. If children know one language well, they can learn another one  more easily. If you are fluent in more than one language you can choose which  language to talk with your child in.

Aunque hoy  nos divertimos por cantar en dos idiomas, recuerde hablar con sus niños en el  idioma que usted mejor sepa.  Es mejor para  los niños saber un idioma con fluidez.  Si los niños saben bien un idioma, es más fácil para ellos aprender  otro.  Si usted habla con fluidez más que un idioma, puede elegir en cual quisiera hablar con su niño.

by Katie Cunningham, http://bilingualchildrensprogramming.blogspot.com

Library Love Song

Library Love Song[Storytime presenter] I love you, you love me We're a happy library With a great big hug And a wish from me to you Won't you say you'll read books, too!

[Child to adult/parent] I love you, you love me Won't you share a book with me? With a great big hug And a wish from me to you Won't you say we'll read books, too!

Early Literacy Aside--Example: Keeping that close connection as we read with children is something they cherish. It is this kind of feeling around reading books that helps them see reading as something enjoyable. This attitude helps them want to hear more books, read more and makes learning to read easier.

Jane Boss, Hennepin (MN) Public Library and Diana Price, Bucks County (PA) Free Library

Tree Poster

This poster is available in English and Spanish through the Library of Virginia: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/el It is downloadable and has print specs if you want to get it printed by a printer in poster format. I print off a picture of an apple blossom and tape it to the branch of the early literacy skill I am highlighting that day. Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Our early literacy tip today is on print awareness, helping children understand that print has meaning. Today in storytime I'll be pointing out ways we can support this pre-reading skill as you read and play with your children.

B I N G O (Bingo) Song

BINGO SongHere is a way to do the BINGO song so that we are saying all the letters at the end. "X" means to clap. There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-X-X-X-X, B-X-X-X-X, B-X-X-X-X And Bingo was his name, oh. There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-i-X-X-X, B-i-X-X-X, B-i-X-X-X And Bingo was his name, oh. There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-i-n-X-X, B-i-n-X-X, B-i-n-X-X And Bingo was his name, oh. There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-i-n-g-X, B-i-n-g-X, B-i-n-g-X And Bingo was his name, oh. There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o, B-i-n-g-o And Bingo was his name, oh. We all spelled Bingo's name. You know all these letters!  B   i   n    g   o  (point slowly to each one) Early Literacy Aside--Example: Singing letters of the alphabet is one enjoyable way for children to learn letters. You can spell out other words using the same tune. Having children become familiar with letter names and identifying letters will later help them as they try to recognize words.

Fold Your Own Book

Today you're going to make your own book, using just one sheet of paper.[You'll need one piece of paper per person per book and scissors.] Here is a video clip of how to make the book: fold a book   Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Adults, having your children write in the pages of their own books helps them understand how books work, both the turning of pages and also understanding that what they write represents what they say. Whether you are writing words for them or they are drawing pictures or scribbling, you are helping them develop print awareness, knowing that print has meaning. It is easy to do so you can make many books. Make little books for yourself as well as you have fun together.

Fold a Book Handout:  foldbook