What Are You Thankful For?

THE PLAN

Playtime:
We have a puzzle or some sensory toys out at the beginning of Storytime.  After we are done playing, the children grab their name tags and put them in the basket.

Two Little Hands: 
We do Two Little Hands for our introduction to Storytime.  It's a rhyme that I learned from the lovely librarians in Manawa.

"Two Little Hands"

Two little hands go clap, clap, clap

Two little feet go tap, tap, tap

Two little hands go thump, thump, thump

Two little feet go jump, jump, jump

All the little bodies turn all the way around,

and all the little bodies sit quietly down.

Beginning Song:

Toby our library dog comes out and sings the beginning song with the children.

"Beginning Song"

The more we read together, together, together

The more we read together the happier we'll be

Because your friends are my friends,

and my friends are your friends

The more we read together the happier we'll be!

All About Today:

I talk about the season and what the weather was like when the kids walked in from outside.  I like to list the choices that I have on the board.  The kids get a kick out of saying no until I come to the right choices.

Library Mouse:

Today the Library Mouse made a special appearance at Storytime!  The Library Mouse had some special mail from Lillian the Library Lion.  She asked the Library Mouse what he was thankful for, because Thanksgiving is next week!  The Library Mouse was thankful for his cousin Rufus (who I pulled out of my pocket).  I asked the kids what they were thankful for.  The answers ranged from "snow" to "riding horses".

Learning Time:

This session is devoted to learning about the letters of the alphabet.  The children use flashcards to match up the letters that I show them on the bean bag.  I usually use 6 letters each session for matching so it doesn't take too long.

Read & Listen

Today I read The Thankful Book by Todd Parr.  The bright colorful illustrations were a hit with the kids.  Especially the pictures of the penguin in a bow tie and a person with purple hair.  

Special Activity:

I try to choose an activity that ties in with the theme of Storytime, and what better to do around Thanksgiving than Turkey Handprints!

The Storytime Kids with their creations!

Ending Song

We were too busy to sing the ending song today.  It was just too much fun to sit and decorate their turkey outlines!