0 Preschool Story Time - Easter Bunnies

It's hard to imagine that Spring will come, but it will.  We have had two very cold winters in a row here in Ohio and as I type this, the snow is softly falling.  But I wanted to make sure I blogged my Easter story time for all those who are preparing for Easter in their communities.  I have to be fair and state that this Easter story time does not have very much to do with religion, and that is so it can be inclusive. You will see a lot of bunnies, chocolate, and bonnets, (as anyone would see in the stores) but I stayed away from any religious overtones.

Max Counts His Chicks - Rosemary Wells

A counting book, and a book with a moral all rolled into one!  How would you feel if Ruby kept finding all of the chickens?  Have fun counting up to 10 and back again!

Jelly Bean Countdown- Poem and Felt

So I found this great lesson plan on 123 Learn Curriculum (Click HERE for the entire lesson and templates).  It suggested I use real jelly beans or flannel ones.  I chose flannel simply because some kids have allergies to the dyes in jelly beans and I thought this way there would be no hurt feelings.

5 little jelly beans
I wish I had more!
I'll eat the (color) one
Now there are four!

4 little jelly beans
Tasty as can be
I'll eat the (color) one
Now there are 3!

3 little jelly beans
Only a few.
I'll eat the (color) one
Now there are 2.

2 little jelly beans
Eating them is fun
I'll eat the (color) one
Now there is one.

1 little jelly bean
The last one for me
I'll eat the (color) one
I'm as happy as can be!

Easter Parade - Berlin

Most of you may never had an Easter Bonnet, or walked in an Easter Parade.  It seems like its a pastime of yore.  I had an Easter Bonnet as a child though, and I remember learning and singing this song every year.  If you know the song, why not teach it to another generation?  I promise you that you will get a lot of blank stares, but the grandmas in the room will think it's great.  So go ahead!  Just make sure you know how to pronounce rotogravure before you get to that part of the song!

Song:

Easter Parade:

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, you’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.  I’ll be all in clover, and when the look you over, Ill be the proudest fella in the Easter Parade.

On the avenue, 5th Avenue, the photographer will snap us, and you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure.  Oh I could write a sonnet, about your Easter Bonnet, and of the girl I’m taking to the Easter Parade.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick - Lucille Colandro

Because I really enjoy all of the "Old Lady" books, I especially like to sing and immortalize these books in felt.  The kids love the silliness and love to let me know when she is eating something that is ridiculous.  Here is my felt set.  I like to let the kids put the items in or near the basket.  The artwork  is directly out of the book.

Time for a DANCE!   Here is The Bunny Pokey

You put your bunny ears in, you put your bunny ears out, you put your bunny ears in and you  shake them all about.  You do the bunny pokey and you hop, hop up and down.  That’s what it’s all about!

Continue with:
Bunny paws
Bunny nose
Bunny Tail
Whole Bunny

Easter Bunny's Assistant - Jan Thomas

This book cracks me up!  I love all of Jan Thomas' books.  You will learn which of your kiddos have that preschool-humor down as the skunk...well, skunks up the place when he gets SO EXCITED!!  Use your big voices for this hilarious book!

STEM activity - Shaker Eggs

This was GREAT fun.  What happens when I put beans in the eggs and shake them up?  What if I put in pennies.  Does it sound the same?  How about rice or marbles or feathers?  We tried a few things to see what they would sound like, then I let the kids fill eggs with what they wanted.  Together we used the shaker eggs to shake our sillies out in song and dance.

ALTERNATE FELT SET!  

Since doing this particular story time, I have done more with bunnies.  Actually, I have done another Easter story time too.  Click HERE for more resources for Easter.  The felt set above is simply a fun bunny story that has the kids saying "OH NO NOT AGAIN!" It is called Too Many Bunnies by Matt Novak and you can CLICK HERE for more on this felt set....including the entire story in case you don't have the book on hand.

Craft - Bunny Collage

Look at how cute!!  These bunnies are made by swirling a little white paint with a Q-Tip, and then using Q-tips for ears.  Simple and fun for the kids!

I hope this helps while putting together some of your trickier holiday story time themes!  Thanks for stopping by!

Detail: Preschool Story Time - Easter Bunnies

0 Flannel Friday - Duck! Rabbit!

To go along with my Duck Story Time (Click HERE for that), and my Ugly Duckling Flannel Friday set (Click HERE for that), here is my Flannel Friday submission to go with the book Duck! Rabbit!!  Not exactly creative, but definitely easy and handy for multiple ages.

I was a little worried how this set would fly in my story time.  I wasn't sure the 3-6 year old set would appreciate how this drawing could be seen two ways.  Well, I am sure some of the younger ones didn't quite understand, but most of the group really did get it and were fascinated by it!

Is it a duck?  Or is it a Rabbit?  Let's vote!
I hear duck sounds!  What does a duck say?
Wait - I think I hear Rabbit sounds!  What does a Rabbit say?  Hmmm.  How about 'sniff sniff'?

Well look at that!  The duck is having a piece of bread!  No wait.  The rabbit is eating a carrot!

Now I see a duck in a swamp!  Hmm or is it a rabbit in the tall grass?

The duck is getting a cool drink in the pond.....or is it a rabbit cooling his ears in the stream?

Now I am SURE I see a duck!

Now I am certain I see a rabbit!

Then I showed the last page of the book with the anteater and brontosaurus and said "hmm, I guess we could do this all day!  I better stop now."

Some of the kids really saw one or the other more.  Quite frankly, I see the rabbit more than the duck, but the book really is fascinating and the moms were really into this book too.  It is just fun and something completely different.  I am sure I could use this book for school visits and outreach too.  I have a Duck! Rabbit! poster I used during school visits and there was always ONE student who pointed out the poster saying "HEY - I get it!!!" so I bet the flannel set would work very well with them.  Very fun!

Thanks to my friends Lindsey and Dana at JBrary for hosting this week. Please check out their wonderful blog HERE.   If you would like more information on Flannel Friday and how you can participate, click HERE!
Thanks for stopping by!

Detail: Flannel Friday - Duck! Rabbit!

0 Preschool Story Time - Duck, Duck, Swan!

One thing I have learned is that everyone does story time their own way.  If you can take ideas from our page, we are thrilled to keep blogging our story times.  Someone else might look and say "meh, not for me" and that is cool too.  There isn't a right or a wrong way to do a story time, as long as you love what you are doing.  The kids will see someone who isn't genuine a mile away, so really just go for it and shine on.
Duck story time is always great - because there are so many resources.  Did you know you could really do an entire story time on ducks wearing socks?  True story!  I mixed it up a little and brought in different duck books, but it really was a difficult choice.  Here we go!

Duck is such a great cook, but he wants to create his OWN recipe.  With a dash of mad-cap humor, this soup-opera is sure to please.

Emily is so serious!  What happens when she meets a duck who has a clear answer for every one of his little quirks?  The kids really thought this was silly and fun.

One of the easiest felt sets I created EVER.  You might get only one use with your preschool crowd, but this one can be used with a wider range of kids.  I think I will get use of this with school visits up to second grade.





After HALFTIME, we kept the party going with a sing-along.  This week I feverishly plucked out the 5 Little Ducks song (traditional) the night before.  I was nervous because there was so little practice time, but I had the moms all help me out and it turned out great!



5 little ducks went out one day, over the hill and far away.
Mother duck said, "quack, quack, quack, quack!"
But only 4 little ducks came back....

Continue with 4, 3, 2, 1 until
Sad mama duck went out one day, over the hill and far away.
Sad mama said, "quack, quack, quack, quack!"
And all the 5 little ducks came back!

Time for my second flannel story of the day!  Using some of the artwork in this book, I created my version of The Ugly Duckling!  Click HERE to see the full length Flannel Friday post on this set, complete with ALL of the pieces I created for this story.

There is no one way to tell this tale, so you can learn the basics and tell it any way you would like.  My story timers love the felt sets the best, so I like to make sure I have a new set every week.  I just enjoy making them because I know how much the kids appreciate them.

Well, we had a little time left, so I pulled out this interactive book.  Duck dares the kids not to tickle him, but of COURSE you have to!  I took it slowly and made sure everyone had a chance to tickle the duck on every page.  Little meat to the story, but lots of fun.

Today's craft was a duck pond scene!

One of my secrets is owning a circle punch.  I have been able to create so many crafts using my 1 inch and 2 inch punches.  The kids used a ripping technique to create the pond and grass, and created the scene any way they wanted.

Thanks for stopping by!

Detail: Preschool Story Time - Duck, Duck, Swan!