Flannel Friday: Five Little Ninjas

After another long hiatus from Flannel Friday (my last contribution was in February!), I am back with a 5 Little Whats-it rhyme.  As I was planning my spring Pre-K storytimes, I had an urge to do a ninja themed storytime.  Because — I mean, let’s face it — ninjas are awesome!  And some really remarkable ninja books have come out recently that are just meant to be read in storytime!  However, finding extension activities for this theme was pretty darn difficult!  So I ended up making up my own Five Little Ninjas rhyme and creating this flannel set from some clip art I found in Microsoft Word.

Five Little Ninjas

Five little ninjas, creeping through the door,
One said HIYAH, and then there were four.
Four little ninjas, climbing up a tree,
One said HIYAH, and then there were three.
Three little ninjas with nothing to do,
One said HIYAH, and then there were two.
Two little ninjas, having so much fun,
One said HIYAH, and then there was one.
One little ninja, on the run.
He says HIYAH, and then there were none.

Amanda is hosting this week’s Flannel Friday over at Trails and Tales.  And don’t forget to check out our Website and Pinterest!

Storytime: Ninjas!

I am finally able to post a new preschool storytime plan!  I did this one a few weeks ago, and it was the first time that I did the ninja theme for storytime.  When I announced that the theme was ninjas, the crowd went “oooohhhh.”

Opening Song:  Open, Shut Them

Book #1:  The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz

This is the book that made me decide to do a ninja themed storytime.  It’s a clever retelling of the Three Little Pigs, told in rhyme with bright, full page illustrations.  One of the things that I especially love about this book is the use of Japanese words throughout.  Great way to expand vocabulary and learn some new words!

Activity #1:  Five Little Ninjas

Five little ninjas creeping through the door,
One said HIYAH, and then there were four.
Four little ninjas, climbing up a tree,
One said HIYAH, and then there were three.
Three little ninjas with nothing to do,
One said HIYAH, and then there were two.
Two little ninjas, having so much fun.
One said HIYAH, and then there was one.
One little ninja, on the run.
He said HIYAH, and then there were none.

Credit:  Myself

Book #2:  Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta

In this simple story, a little ninja creeps into the kitchen on his mission to procure some ice cream.  However, the little ninja is thwarted by his mother and begins a new mission:  to go back to bed.

Activity #2:  If You’re a Ninja and You Know It

If you’re a ninja and you know it,
Be really quiet.  (Shhh!)
If you’re a ninja and you know it,
Be really quiet.  (Shhh!)
If you’re a ninja and you know it,
then your face will surely show it.
If you’re a ninja and you know it, 
Be really quiet.  (Shhh!)

If you’re a ninja and you know it…walk on tip toe (Tip Toe)
If you’re a ninja and you know it…say HIYAH (HIYAH!)

Credit:  Myself

Rhyme Cube:  Twinkle, Twinkle and I’m a Little Tea Pot

Book #3:  The Boy Who Cried Ninja by Alex Latimer

This book is another retelling of an old classic.  In this story, no one believes Tim when he says that a ninja ate the last slice of cake.  Or when he claims that a giant squid ate his entire book bag (including his homework).  In order to get his parents to believe him, he invites all the culprits (ninja, squid, pirate, etc.) over for a party.  When his parents see that he wasn’t lying in the first place, he gets 100 ice cream cones.

Closing Song:  Children, Children, Turn Around

How It Went:

This was one of those themes that the grown-ups enjoyed just as much as the children.  The kids really loved saying HIYAH (and we even had our storytime puppet, Quacky, say HIYAH at the end).  The books worked really, really well, and it was overall a pretty awesome theme.

Toddler Time: Peek-a-Boo!

We are approaching the end of the Spring session of Toddler Time!  I had a very small but very well-behaved crowd today.

OPENING RHYMES:

OPEN, SHUT THEM
Credit:  Traditional

HANDS UP HIGH
Credit:  Manly Library

BOOKS:

PEEKABOO MORNING BY RACHEL ISADORA

WHERE IS TIPPY TOES BY BETSY LEWIN

MIDDLE RHYMES:

WHERE IS THUMBKIN?
Credit:  Traditional

OH WHERE, OH WHERE IS MY BABY’S HAND?
Credit:  Collaborative Summer Reading Program Manual

JACK IN THE BOX
Credit:  Traditional

FLANNELBOARD:

BABY DUCK
Credit:  Miss Mary Liberry

CALM DOWN RHYME:

TWINKLE, TWINKLE
Credit:  Traditional

MOVEMENT ACTIVITY:

BUBBLES!

Last time we did bubbles in Toddler Time, it was a little chaotic.  This time, it was much better!  Before I started the bubbles, I explained to the toddlers that we’d have to take turns and share the bubbles with one another.  While there were a few toddlers who were trying to hog all the bubbles, most of them took turns popping and were very considerate to others during the bubble popping.

CLOSING RHYME:

CHILDREN, CHILDREN TURN AROUND

HOW IT WENT:

It ran a little short (I could have extended it by blowing more bubbles, but I ran out).  However, everyone really loved the peek-a-boo rhymes, and even some of the more rambunctious toddlers listened and participated during the stories, so I would say that this theme is great for toddlers!  I would definitely use everything again in the future, and maybe just add a few more peek-a-boo rhymes.

PDF HANDOUT:

Peekaboo

Baby Craft: Egg Shakers

I really debated about whether I should post this craft or not.  It’s already pretty well known, and it’s so simple to do that I feel kind of silly posting instructions for it.  However, I’m just a little bit of a perfectionist, and I like the idea of posting about all of my baby crafts, so here we go…

EGG SHAKERS

Supplies Needed:
-  Plastic Easter eggs
-  Uncooked rice (or popcorn kernels)
-  Tape (or hot glue gun)

Directions:
-  Open Easter egg
-  Pour in a little bit of rice or popcorn kernels
-  Tape or glue shut

About This Craft:

I really don’t have too much to say about this craft.  It’s pretty simple, and it’s a great way to use up Easter eggs after the holiday.  I use egg shakers a lot in my toddler (and sometimes preschool) storytimes.  We shake them up high, down low, and to the beat of music.  With babies, it’s just nice to watch them play with the egg shakers.

Toddler Time: They’re a Part of Me

One of the things that I love about Toddler Time is the chance to do new themes that I never thought about doing for my Pre-K storytime.  The They’re a Part of Me theme is one of those that I never had the chance (or even the inclination) to do with the older kids.  Which is a shame because I’ve learned that there are a lot of great things you can do for this theme.

OPENING RHYMES:

OPEN, SHUT THEM
Credit:  Traditional

HANDS UP HIGH
Credit:  Manly Library

BOOKS:

TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES BY MEM FOX

A KISS MEANS I LOVE YOU BY KATHRYN MADELINE ALLEN

MIDDLE RHYMES:

THEY’RE A PART OF ME
Credit:  Traditional

HUGS, BOUNCES, AND TICKLES
Credit:  Librarian Lisa’s Storytimes

HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES
Credit:  Traditional

NOT-A-FLANNELBOARD:

BIPPITY BOPPITY BEES
Credit:  Inspired by Miss Mary Liberry

CALM DOWN RHYME:

TWINKLE, TWINKLE
Credit:  Traditional

MOVEMENT ACTIVITY:

JINGLE BELLS!

We played a freeze game with the jingle bells today.  We jingled them while the music played, then froze when the music stopped.  Very fun!

CLOSING RHYME:

CHILDREN, CHILDREN TURN AROUND
Credit:  Traditional

HOW IT WENT:

This week’s Toddler Time went so much better than last week’s.  We had a larger crowd, which for some reason kept the rowdy kids from being too rowdy, yet they still had a lot of fun.  Everything — books, rhymes, activities — worked amazingly well, and I will definitely be doing this theme again!

PDF HANDOUT:

Theyre a Part of Me

Baby Craft: Felt Ribbon Ring

I have to say a huge thank you to Melissa at Mel’s Desk for coming up with this one!  Thinking of baby crafts can be a bit tricky, especially if you’re like me and want some variety and don’t want to paint baby’s foot/hand every week!  (Don’t get me wrong, the painting baby’s foot/hand crafts are adorable, and I do my fair share of them but, like I said, I like variety.)  This craft has the triple benefit of being cheap, easy, and fun for babies to play with!

FELT RIBBON RING

Supplies Needed:
-  Plastic shower curtain rings
-  Felt in various colors cut into thin strips

Directions:
-  I’m going to point you over to Mel’s Desk for the directions because she has great, easy-understand instructions with pictures!  She also suggests ways to use the felt ribbon rings with babies and toddlers!

Note:

I pre-cut the felt and just place the various colored strips on the table in a pile for the caregivers to pick and choose.  This not only saves time, but it also means that the caregivers don’t have to use scissors while holding babies.

Toddler Time: Down on the Farm!

For our second week of Toddler Time, I decided to do a Farm Animal theme!  This one was very noisy with all the toddlers making animal sounds!

OPENING RHYMES:

OPEN, SHUT THEM
Credit:  Traditional

HANDS UP HIGH
Credit:  Manly Library

BOOKS:

COCK-A-DOODLE QUACK! QUACK! BY IVOR BADDIE

FARMYARD BEAT BY LINDSEY CRAIG

MIDDLE RHYMES:

THIS IS THE WAY
Credit:  Kindergarten Magic

FARM SONG
Credit:  Kindergarten Magic

OLD MACDONALD
Credit:  Traditional

FLANNELBOARD:

ROOSTER HAS A RED FEATHER
Credit:  Kindergarten Magic

CALM DOWN RHYME:

TWINKLE, TWINKLE

MOVEMENT ACTIVITY:

EGG SHAKERS!

I passed out our egg shakers, and we shook them along to some music.  Afterwards, I asked the toddlers to bring the eggs back to the nest (a bucket) because Mama Hen missed them (I broke out our hen puppet).

CLOSING RHYME:

CHILDREN, CHILDREN TURN AROUND

HOW IT WENT:

My smallest crowd yet, though I’m going to blame the weather again (it was in the 80s and sunny yesterday, but it’s rainy and 39 degrees today).  Still, we had over 20 people, so it wasn’t too small of a crowd, and the toddlers who showed up enjoyed themselves a little too much.  The beginning of the program wasn’t too bad…I knew the kids were hyper, but I was able to direct their attention to the book by asking them to make animal sounds.  They continued to enjoy making animal sounds for the middle rhymes, but by the time we got to Old MacDonald, they were tired of that and decided that it was time to dance and run around.  They loved Rooster Has a Red Feather, though few of them waited for me to call out their color.  The calm down rhyme calmed them down for a grand total of 30 seconds, and they were up and about during the second book, so I skipped a few pages and ended it quickly so that I could pass out the egg shakers and the little ones could get all that energy out.

PDF HANDOUT:

Farm

Storytime: Spring!

This week’s storytime was devoted to all things spring!  I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I am ready for spring to be here for good and winter to scram until next year.  Texas had it a little easier than the north this year (okay, a lot easier), but even we have been dealing with the effects of a lingering winter.  One day it’s sunny and in the 70s, and the next day it’s cloudy and in the 40s.  What’s up with that?  Okay, enough about the weather.  Here’s what I did for the spring theme:

Opening Song:  Open, Shut Them

Book #1:  Rabbit’s Good News by Ruth Lercher Bornstein

A mother rabbit wakes up one day and discovers that it’s spring!  The pastel illustrations of flowers and bees and baby birds are perfect for introducing a discussion about what happens in the spring time.

Activity #1:  Alphabet Garden

In this matching game, I handed out flowers that each had a letter of the alphabet written on it.  I then told the children to find their adults and talk about the letter on their flower.  Then I called up each letter one by one and the child who had that letter was able to come up and place the flower on the flannelboard.  I have to say that this one worked very well!

Credit:  Myself, though I’m sure there are similar things out there.

Book #2:  Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley

A bear befriends a caterpillar and grows worried when the caterpillar wraps itself in a cocoon for the winter.  However, when spring comes, the caterpillar emerges from the cocoon as a moth and the two are reunited once again.  The colors and story are better suited for fall and/or winter, but seeing as the story ends in spring (with at least one page of green), I decided it would work well in a spring storytime.

Book #3:  Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Okay, this story doesn’t shout out spring, but I wanted something that involved a kite.  And the story itself is genius for storytime:  A boy gets his kite stuck in a tree, and he throws random objects to try to get it down, only to have those objects get stuck in the tree as well.  By the end of the book, everything from a shoe to a firetruck to a whale is stuck in the tree.  The kids loved this one!

Activity #2:  Four Little Kites

Okay, it’s supposed to be Five Little Kites, but I was overly ambitious and hand stitched these flannel pieces and was sick and tired of looking at them by the time I finished the fourth one.  So I changed it to four little kites and will eventually make the fifth kite someday.  You can find the original Five Little Kites rhyme (and the inspiration for the flannel set…Katie did such an excellent job with hers!) over at Storytime Katie.

Rhyme Cube:  Noble Duke of York

Book #4:  And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

A little boy who’s surrounded by the brown of winter waits patiently for the green of spring.  I think this one depicts the restlessness that many people feel during the last days of winter very well.

Puppet Show:  Its Spring

Closing Song:  Children, Children Turn Around

How It Went:

Overall, it wasn’t a bad storytime, though I didn’t get much response from the kids.  They liked our two activities and Stuck but didn’t seem to pay much attention to the other stories or even the puppet show.  Oh well, every librarian has one of those storytimes.

Puppet Show: It’s Spring!

This will be my last puppet show for awhile.  I don’t have one planned for May, and we don’t do puppet shows in the summer (the room with the puppet theater is too small for our summer crowds).  I was really suffering from some puppet show writer’s block when I came up with this one.  It’s not my favorite out of all the puppet shows, but the kids seem to love anything that involves puppets, so it still works out well in the end.

In this puppet show, two mice discuss how they know it’s spring and are interrupted by a bear who has woken up from hibernation.

Its Spring

Baby Craft: Rhyme Cube!

My baby storytimes have started back up, which means I have some new baby-appropriate crafts to share with you!

This first craft is something that I initially made to use in my Pre-K storytime.  I decided that I wanted to sing more in that storytime (and have the kids and their caregivers sing along), but coming up with songs off of the top of my head on the spur of the moment is hard!  So I made this rhyme cube, and it has been a big success in Pre-K storytime.  It’s a lifesaver for me (especially on days when I need to get the kids’ attention or fill up some time due to a particularly short book).  However, it’s also a favorite among the kids!

Since the rhyme cube has been such a big hit with the older kids, I figured it would make a great craft for the baby storytime.  Surely I’m not the only one who has trouble thinking of rhymes off of the top of my head, and this way parents can take it home and be reminded to sing rhymes with their babies.

RHYME CUBE

Supplies Needed:
-  Tissue box (I prefer empty, but you can use a full one if you want)
-  Clip art for rhymes
-  Colored paper (optional)
-  Book tape

Directions:
-  Tape rhyme clip art to larger squares of colored paper (optional, but it looks nice)
-  Tape rhyme clip art to each side of tissue box
-  Place book tape over rhyme clip art to create a laminated effect (also helps protect it)

About This Craft:

This is a cheap craft, although you’ll have to remember to save up tissue boxes ahead of time (I started saving in the fall for this spring craft).  While it’s a fairly simple craft to do, it can be time-consuming.  Out of the six caregivers who came to today’s session, only three completed the craft, and it took them about 20 minutes to do it.  Out of the other three, two attempted the craft but gave up when their babies started reaching for the paper (they ended up taking the supplies home to do it later), and one didn’t attempt it at all.  To make the craft shorter, you can skip the colored square backgrounds and even the book tape.

Note:

Some people suggest using full tissue boxes (either leave the tissues in them, or fill them with something else).  This will make them more sturdy.  However, I have found that empty tissue boxes roll better.  So it’s my own personal preference to use empty ones.