Storytime: Winter!

We had our last week of storytime this past week since we take the month of December off. There are always such sad sighs from the parents when we tell them this and I assure them that we still have lots of programming happening, just not weekly storytimes. I decided to do a Winter themed storytime, even though it's been warm here and hardly feels like Winter. It's the though that counts, right? :) Here's what we did:

Opening Song: I recently started doing two opening songs (Wake Up Hands off a CD that I can't remember the name of right now! and Finger Poppin by Georgiana Stewart) I got the idea from another branch in our library district and I like that it gives parents and kids just a bit longer to arrive.

Racing to Read Skill: Talk and Read-we were exploring lots of winter words in our storytime this week!

Read: Kitten's Winter by Eugenie Fernandes (for toddler storytime)-I love this book because it has great pictures and vocabulary-"scurries, burrows, dozes"-so fun!

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London (I used this one in preschool storytime)-this one gets lots of interaction from the audience and the kids and parents both loved it.

Song: These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner (we sing this weekly)

"These are my glasses"-(make circles with your hands around eyes)

"And here is my book"-(make hands into closed book in front of you)

"I put on my glasses"-(lift circles with your hands around eyes)

"And open up my book"-(open palms into a book)

"And I read, read, read, and I look, look, look"

"Then I take off my glasses"-(move circles with your hands down from eyes)

"And whoops, close up the book!" (close palms into book in front of you)

Flannelboard: (I used this with both age groups). This was in our Winter Storytime collection that we have on hand. It came from Children's Programming Monthly Vol. 1/No. 4.

Hey, Mr. Snowman

I went walking 

Through a winter wonderland

And spied a frosty snowman

Who needed a hand.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you need?

I need some eyes, put them on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?

I see an orange carrot. Put it on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?
I see a purple hat, put it on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?

I see some red licorice, put it on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?

I see some brown sticks, put them on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?

I see a green scarf, put it on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?
 I see red mittens, put them on me please.

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?

I see yellow boots, put them on me please.

(And our ending was cut off, so I adapted this line:)

Hey, Mr. Snowman, what do you see?
I see a snowman, happy as can be.

Read: Snowballs by Lois Ehlert-my favorite winter themed book ever!! I used it with both groups and they all loved it!

Song: The Freeze Dance by Greg and Steve (we had to freeze in the snow of course! I used this with both groups as well-it's great for getting parents and kids dancing together)

Activity Stations: 

-Snowman Craft-I used our diecut of a snowman and had the kids use their fingers and stamp pads to decorate the snowman

-Snowball Chute-we have a large box with a tube in it that we use as a ball chute. We used plastic softballs as "snowballs"

-Snow Fort Building-The greatest thing we have in our activity stash! We have giant foam blocks that come in our computer packages and they are sturdy enough for the kids to build with. They are always a big hit!

-Flannel Snowmen-We had several flannels of snowmen in our Winter Storytime supply, so I put those on a mat with additional books. For the preschool group I also put out the flannel we have of Froggy Gets Dressed so they could retell the story.

Gather Back Together Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Read: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle (our weekly closing book)

Closing Song: Skinnamarink (I do the Sharon, Lois &  Bram version with the boop boops at the end because that's what I grew up on)