Fun with Learning Blog

Storytime at the Library – Session 14

Storytime at the Library - Session 14Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7,  Session 8, Session 9, Session 10, Session 11, Session 12 and Session 13.

Preparation for Storytime Session 14

More teddy bears!

Equipment: books, story bag, teddy bear.

What’s in the story bag? A bear! Bear starts with B. Can we find B on the story mat? What words do we know that start with that sound?

We discuss good books the kids borrowed last week.

SHARE: The Very Itchy Bear by Nick Bland – Bear and Flea are friends who like to go places together. We think of a friend we like to do things with.

Song: If you’re itchy and you know it, have a scratch! 2nd verse: If you’re itchy and you know it, flick a flea!

SHARE: There, There by Sam McBratney and Ivan Bates – Hansie the bear looks after the people he loves. How do we look after people when something is wrong?

Rhyme from last week:

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy bear, jump up high.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the sky.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, bend down low.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch your toes.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn off the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say goodnight.

Game: Hide the bear.

Display library books about bears – especially The Bear in the Cave by Michael Rosen (remember we’re going on a bear hunt ? it’s the same character!)

Evaluation: It was a seriously windy day! Enough said? Scatty we were, and annoyed with each other for sitting in “our spot” on the story mat! But we made it through without bloodshed, despite all the itching.

Storytime at the Library – Session 13

Storytime at the Library - Session 13Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7, Session 8, Session 9, Session 10, Session 11, and Session 12.

Preparation for Storytime — Teddy Bear week!

Equipment: storybag, Max, extra teddies, Big Book, small book, teddy bear-themed books for borrowing

What’s in the story bag? A teddy bear named Max! Everyone introduces or tells about the teddy bear they brought.

Share: Big Book, This is the Bear and the Picnic Lunch -a cumulative story for the bears to join in.

Rhyme for the teddies:
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Touch the ground
Teddy bear Teddy Bear
Show your shoe
Teddy bear Teddy Bear
That will do

Last week we had Twinkle Twinkle. Remind the kids we had a story about a bear last week too. We’re going on a bear hunt today too. CHANT: We’re going on a bear hunt/We’re going to catch a big one/What a beautiful day!/ We’re not scared!

Max the teddy bear is going to hide while they close their eyes and then they try to find him. Twinkle Twinkle Little Teddy, Now you’re hiding, Now we’re ready. Twinkle Twinkle Little Bear, Where are you, oh where oh where? Each child has a turn to hide the bear.

Share: Bom! Went the Bear by Nicki Greenburg. A teddy bear starts the band off and other animals join in with lots of rollicking rhythm, rhyme and fun sounds.

Try another version of rhyme for us to do:
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around!
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy bear, jump up high.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the sky.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, bend down low.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch your toes.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn off the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say goodnight.

Display the library books about teddy bears and encourage kids to borrow a book to share with their bears at home.

Evaluation: The bears loved every minute! Introductions took much longer than I anticipated, but kids were keen to talk about their bears and other topics completely unrelated! Hiding the teddy was such fun to watch but we ran out of time and I promised we would play some more next week. Both books held the children’s attention and I’m keen to do more teddy bear stories next week. Kids borrowed lots of bear books too. Might try to continue this theme of borrowing from a display at the end. No time for second verse of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear so try to include that next week too.

Storytime at the Library – Session 12

Storytime at the Library - Session 12Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7,  Session 8, Session 9, Session 10, and Session 11.

Preparation for Storytime Session 12

Equipment: printed teddy bear invitations and posters, Big Book: Twinkle Twinkle, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, story bag, 3D star shape

What’s in the story bag? Star shape. What letter and sound does star start with? Can we find S on the story mat?

Share: Big Book Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Do we know a song like this?

Revisit: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Make the noises and do body movements to accompany the story. Look closely at the illustrations and discuss. Have we ever done any of the things in the story?

Does anyone have a teddy bear at home? Bring it along next week!

REMINDER: Give your teddy/teddies the invitation, and bring them next week!

Evaluation: The little girls (5 regulars) are very much at ease in the group. They’re happy to respond, join in and offer suggestions. The two little boys not so much. They tend to sit with their mums instead of sitting with the girls on the story mat. That’s fine with me – I want them to feel comfortable. But I hope to lure them into some participation if I can, mostly with the sheer fun of the words. Today I explained that when the children invite their bears, they must tell the bears that story time is not for toys, toys are when story time is over. I asked mums, dads and Grandmas to reinforce this message for me. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is becoming a firm favourite and they read/act out the refrain with real enthusiasm and panache!

Frog Activity – Using Comics for Information Reports

Life Cycle of FrogIn conjunction with my article at The Book Chook, Using Comics for Information Reports, I’ve created a simple 6 panel report on the life style of the white-lipped green tree frog. To do this, I added images I have permission to use to a template in Comic Life, then added captions to one panel, leaving the rest blank for children to write in themselves.

If you are a parent, teacher or librarian who would like to use this activity with primary-aged children, you can download the free PDF by clicking here.

Storytime at the Library – Session 11

Storytime at the Library 11Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7,  Session 8,  Session 9, and Session 10.

Preparation for Storytime Session 11

Equipment:

What’s in the story bag? Goose puppet. Our story is about a baby goose. The special name for a baby goose is a gosling. Find letter G on the story mat. What sound(s) does G make?

Share: Big Book, Baby Goz (a lift the flap book) by Steve Wetherill. The kids LOVE lift the flap books, and love to each take a turn to lift the flap. Discuss: what’s your favourite baby animal? If you were a baby animal, which one would you be? Do the children know any other special words for baby animals?

Share: Piglet and Papa by Margaret Wild and Stephen Michael King.

Revisit: I’m a Dirty Dinosaur, with more performance. Try some more chorus with mums establishing a beat behind. Play with some of the words to create a chant of our own.

Evaluation: It was one little girl’s birthday so we sang the birthday song. She brought some of her toys to show the others and it was VERY hard for them to concentrate on the stories when they were hyper-aware of the toys. I accepted it today, but think I need to draw a line between story time and toy time next week. I’m a Dirty Dinosaur was great to repeat as it gave them an outlet for some of their pent up energy. Piglet and Papa was very cute but no competition for toys. Re-visit both it and Baby Goz at a later time.

Storytime at the Library – Session 10

Storytime at the Library 10Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7,  Session 8 and Session 9.

Preparation for Storytime Session 10

Equipment: storybag, red bus, The Wheels on the Bus, I’m a Dirty Dinosaur by Janeen Brian and Ann James. Check out my review and some activities at The Book Chook that  you can do with I’m a Dirty Dinosaur. 

What’s in the story bag? Let’s guess before we feel – is it something light or heavy? Feel/heft and discuss. What could it be? A red bus. Bus starts with the sound, B. Can we see the letter B? Do we know any names or words that start with that sound?

Share: Big Book, The Wheels on the Bus. Act it out and discuss.

Remind kids about the dinosaur book we had last week. Look at all the different dinosaur pictures. D words. Finding D on the story mat.

Share: I’m a Dirty Dinosaur. Look at the way the artist drew the dirty dinosaur, and compare with earlier dinosaur pictures. Second time through, have kids join in. Try saying some phrases and putting movements with them. Once more through for fun, and the sheer joy of the words!

Who’s going to borrow books? What book did you read last week?

Evaluation: Another great storytime! The children are beginning to offer more describing words for what’s inside the story bag, and it’s become a nice introduction to the shared books. I’m a Dirty Dinosaur is a huge hit!

Storytime at the Library – Session 9

Storytime at the Library Session 9Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6,  Session 7, and Session 8.

Preparation for Session 9

Equipment: Story bag, instruments, Baby Beats, My Dinosaur Dad

What’s in the storybag? Several noise makers! We predict and explore their sounds.

Re-introduce Baby Beats. Share the story. Kids accompany with their “pretend” instruments. Put the rhythm into their hands, add their feet, add their heads. Make a conga line. Open hand means play; closed hand means stop playing.

Introduce My Dinosaur Dad. Predict from the cover and find the title. Does anyone know the letter D? Share the story. Read again and find the describing words. Stand up and act like a dinosaur if your dad is like the dinosaur dad.

Five Cheeky Monkeys requested so we did it again!

Who’s going to borrow books? What book did you read last week that you liked?

Evaluation: We are having such fun with Storytime! When I asked “What sound does dinosaur start with?”, one of the girls said, “Oh, I know, dinosaur starts with Raaah!” I spend a lot of time disciplining myself to act like a grown-up! The kids (who are 4 and under) particularly respond to books with strong rhythm, rhyme and play features like flaps and holes.

Storytime at the Library – Session 8

Storytime at the Library, Session 8Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5,  Session 6, and Session 7.

Preparation for Session 8

Equipment: Story bag, dog puppet, bear puppet, bells, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, Who’s Making that Noise? (revisited) felt board kit for Five Cheeky Monkeys

What’s in the bag? Something that makes a noise: Bells. Can we remember a story about noise-making?

Revise Who’s making that noise? and find mouse and duck, plus try to remember what’s behind the flap.

Introduce We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Predict from the cover and find the title. Does anyone know the beginning letter, W and what sound it makes? Share the story. Re-read, with kids joining the actions and noises.

Revisit Five Cheeky Monkeys and act it out.

Evaluation: The kids loved knowing what was behind the flap, rather than predicting. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt took a while to read, but they enjoyed it and I think will enjoy it more at a second or even third try. Five Cheeky Monkeys is adored by all! After last week and the distractions, it was great to see the kids had no focus problems at all, and there was lots of participation.

Storytime at the Library – Session 7

StorytimeattheLibrary7Read about Storytime at the Library Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5, and Session 6.

Preparation for Session 7

Equipment: wombat toy, monkey puppet, Five Cheeky Monkeys felt board kit, name tag, story bag, One Woolly Wombat, Baby Beats

One Woolly Wombat counting book 1. Predict what the pics might be about before we read it. 2. Counting games.

Baby Beats : Predict from the cover. Look at title. B. Share the story. Do the actions and try our own beats.

Games: I play a rhythm, kids repeat with claps. Beat. Beat-beat. Beat-beat-beat. 4 beats. Change: kids jump to the rhythm played. Kids clap when my hands are open, stop clapping when hands are shut. Buzz when hands are open, stop when hands are shut. Try buzz and clap at same time, same rules?

Rhyme: Five Cheeky Monkeys. 1. Encourage kids to tell the rhyme with their hands and help me say it. 2. Re-tell the rhyme with the felt board. One at a time, kids place and remove monkeys. Act out the rhyme.

Evaluation: Only four kids today and the children showed they wanted to play. One little boy had some challenging behaviours, and that distracted the others. One Woolly Wombat was slower than they wanted, so I hurried it through and moved to an action story, Baby Beats. Cheeky Monkeys went down well. I scrapped the rhythm game and will likely play it when we re-visit Baby Beats – hopefully with a bigger and not as distractible group.

Kookaburra Activity for Children’s Picture Book, Jeremy

KookaburraActivityforJeremy Here’s the image of a four-panel comic-style story I made as a model activity for the 2014 short-listed children’s picture book, Jeremy by Chris Faille and Danny Snell. Jeremy is a great non-fiction story to use with kids any time, but especially during Children’s Book Week 2014. To extend the literature experience, children can use Comic Life or similar software to make a digital story or an information report about kookaburras. Read more ideas in my article at The Book Chook, Children’s Book Review and Activities, Jeremy.

If you’re a teacher, parent or librarian who’d like to use this model PDF for educational purposes, you can download it on my Free PDFs and Resources page.
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