Bats and Spiders

Story Time:

(For Toddlers)
Eensy Weensy Spider by Jane Manning
Roly-Poly Spider by Jill Sardegna
"Baby Bat's" Lullaby by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Hello Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lunde

(For Pre-Schoolers)
Eensy Weensey Spider by Margaret Wang
Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
Three Hungry Spiders by Dawn Bentley
Flying Bats! by Fay Robinson

Song:
Spin Little Spider
(Sung to: The Farmer in the Dell)

Spin little spider, spin. (Spin around)
Spin little spider, spin
Round and round
And up and down
Spin little spider, spin

Crawl little spider, crawl (Crawl around)
Crawl little spider, crawl
Round and round
And up and down
Crawl little spider, crawl

Dance little spider, dance (Dance around)
Dance little spider, dance
'Round and 'round
And up and down
Dance little spider, dance

Activity:
Color a spider and his web and paste onto contrustion paper.

Extended Activity:
Read the little miss muffet nursery rhyme:
Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a spider and sat down beside her
and frighened Miss Muffet away.
then..

Snack
New!Make curds and whey - Give each child a bowl of cottege cheese (curds and whey) Had the child add pineapple, peaches, pears, tomatoes or whatever you like with cottege cheese

NEW!
My Craft idea: Use a styrofoam ball and colored pipecleaners (available at craft stores) to make your own spider! You can paint your spider and add eyes too!

Owls

Story Time:

(For Toddlers)
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
"I'm not Scared" by Jonathan Allen
The Best Nest by Laura Datta
Good-Night Owl by Pat Hutchins

(For Pre-Schoolers)
Lazy Ozzie by Michael Coleman
Whoo-oo Is It? by Megan McDonald
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
The Best Nest by Llaura Datta

Song
Wise Old Owl
( Sung to "Frere Jacques")

Wise Old Owl, Wise Old Owl
In the tree, In the tree
Whoo-oo do you see?
Whoo-oo do you see?
Is it me? Is it me?

Activity:
Color an owl and wings (separate pieces). Can attach wings with glue or brads

Extended Activity:
After the sun goes down, sit in the backyard with a grown-up and listen very carefully. What sounds do you hear? You may hear crickets, frogs, or you may even hear the hooting of an owl! There are many animals that sleep durning the day, but are awake at night. These are called Nocturnal animals. What other animals are awake durning the night? Can you hear them too?

Mice

Story Time:

(Toddlers)
Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse by Lindsay Barrett Georga
Mouse on the Moon by Anna Milbourne
Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood

(Pre-Schoolers)
Sleep Tight, Little Mouse by Mary Morgan
Mother, Mother, I Want Another by Maria Polushkin Robbins
Where Are You Going, Little Mouse by Robert Kraus
Eeek! There's a Mouse int he House by wong Herbert Yee

Fingerplay:
Mouse in a Hole

A mouse lived in a little hole,
(hold up fist with thumb tucked inside)
Lived softly in a little hold,
When all was quiet, quiet as can be...
Out popped he!
(pop thumb out of fist)

Activity/Craft
Color a picture/cut out of a mouse. Tape him to the back of a thick popsicle stick to have your own puppet!

Fun Activity:
Play a game of sneaky mouse. Have your child pretend to be a mouse hiding in a little hole. Encourage your child to peek out of the hold and look around. Your child can carefully sneak out of the hole and scamper around the room. Your child must stop when you say "Here comes the old Tom cat!" and run back tot the safety of their holes. Repeat several times.

*Thanks again, to Diane Flore of the Headquarters Library for these

Counting Colors

Story Books:

(For Toddlers)
Color Crunch by Charles Reasoner
Snappy Little Colors by Kate Lee
Cat's Colors by Jane Cabrera
Five Speckled Frogs by Debbie Tarbett

(For Preschoolers)
Snappy Little Colors by Kate Lee
Eight Silly Monkeys by Steve Haskamp
Over in the Meadow by Olive A Wadsworth
Ten Friendly Fish by Debbie Tarbett

Song:
Count to Three
(Sung to: Mary Had a Little Lamb)
Lightly tap your foot two times,
Foot two times, foot two times
Lighly tap your food two times,
Now lets count to three

One, two, three, let's all sit down
All sit down, all sit down
One, two, three, let's all sit down
Gently on the ground

Extended Activity:
When you go shopping count the things in the store and talk about the different colors. Teach your child new colors sucha as turquoise, magenta, or salmon. Find these colors wherever you go.

Grandparents are Special

Story Books:
(for Toddlers)
What Grandpas Do Best - Laura Numeroff
Grandpa and Me - Karen Katz
Here Comes Grandma - Janet Lord
Grandma and Me - Karen Katz
(for Preschoolers)
Grandma, Grandpa and Me - Mercer Mayer
I Love You, Grandpa - Vivian French
Staying With Grandma - Eilenn Roe
When I Am Old With You - Angela Johnson

Song:
Lets go see our Grandparents
(Tune: Take Me Out to the Ballgame)

Lets go see our grandparents,
Take us there for a while.
Mommy and Daddy both need a break
We'll play games and stay up late!

Oh, we want to thank our grandparents
For all the things that they do,
So it's time...to...say you're the best
And that we love you!

Activity:
Trace childs hand on one side of a sheet of colored paper. On the other side, paste the following poem:

I miss you when we're not together
I'm growing up so fast
See how big I've gotten
Since you saw me last?
As I grow, I change a lot,
The years will fly right by.
You'll wonder how I grew so quick
When and where and why?
So look upon this hand print
That's hanging on your wall.
And memories will come back of me,
When I was very small.

Extended Activity
Make a memory book with your child. Provide photographs of family members and glue them on heavy duty paper. Punch holes in the edges and tie them with ribbon or yarn. Let the children draw pictures in the book also. Discuss the photographs when the book is complete.

*Thanks to Diane Flores of Headquarters Library who puts these together

Toddler Action Rhyme

Action Rhyme
Two Little Feet Go Tap

Two little feet go tap, tap, tap (Tap feet)
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap (Clap hands)
A little leap up from my chair, (Stand up quickly)
Two little arms reach high in the air. (Stretch arms high)

Two little feet go jump, jump, jump (Jump)
Two little fists go thump, thump, thump (Pound fists)
One little body goes round and round, (Twirl around)
And one little child sits quietly down. (Sit down)

Extended activity:
Give your child tracing paper and have them practice tracing their names

Starting Toddler T ime

I started this blog as a way to keep track of the extra acitivies we did at story time at the library. I quickly figured out that it was worth it to keep track of the books read and well as the extra activites - for future reference! Hense this blog was born, as my diary of extra fun ideas of things to do with my young ones.
Over time, I expect I will record activities from other places as well!