Feet Story Time: November 24-25, 2014

Books:
Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Shoes for Me! by Sue Fliess *
Parts by Tedd Arnold *
Who Has These Feet? by Laura Hulbert *

Craft: Centipede
The children were given the body of a centipede (which I admit looks more like a worm) to color.  They then glued on strips of black paper for the legs.

Literacy Extensions:
- Learn about animals and their feet (i.e. Who Has These Feet?).
- Practice rhyming words by seeing how many words your child can come up with to rhyme with the various body parts.

Tummy & Tushie Story Time: November 17-18, 2014

Books:
The Belly Book by Joe Harris *
The Butt Book by Artie Bennett
Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black *
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont *
Mother Mother I Feel Sick Send for the Doctor Quick Quick Quick  
          by Remy Charlip

Craft: Gingerbread Person
Each child was given a coloring sheet of a gingerbread person.  They were directed to color it like they would like to paint themselves (i.e. I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!).  I also handed out sparkles for those who would like to add them to their picture.

Literacy Extensions:
- Explain how different words can mean the same thing (i.e. Chicken Cheeks).  See if your child can come up with some examples.
- Use The Belly Book as an opening to talk about healthy eating.

Notes:
While I love all of the books I used this week, they really do go over best with the older children.  The Belly Book was a little long for the toddlers we had.  Also, the humor of Chicken Cheeks goes over better with slightly older children.  Although I did hear a lot of snickering from the parents on that one.

Hands & Fingers Story Time: November 10, 2014

Books:
Barry, the Fish with Fingers by Sue Hendra *
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins *
Three Little Kittens by Jerry Pinkney
Wash Your Hands! by Tony Ross *
We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin *

Craft: Handprint Butterfly
This week's craft was based on the picture to the left.  Each child was given a sheet of paper with a butterfly body on it.  They then traced their hands on either side of the body.  They could then color in the handprints and glue on sparkles.

Literacy Extensions:
- See how many activities your child can come up with that they need to use their hands for (ex. pointing, writing, etc.)
- Have your child trace his/her handprint onto several pieces of paper.  See how many different animals they can make out of their handprints.

Notes:
Story time was only held on Monday this week due to the library being closed for Veteran's Day.

The books all went over pretty good this week.  I probably would not do Wash Your Hands! again though.  While the children were engrossed by the story, there were some that were grossed out by the idea of small crocodile-like germs on their hands.

Head Story Time: November 3-4, 2014

Books:
A Boy and His Bunny by Sean Bryan *
From Head to Toe by Eric Carle *
A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan
Imogene's Antlers by David Small
There Is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems

Craft: Bunny Headband
This was a very simple craft to make.  Children colored a bunny cutout before gluing it to strips of paper to make into a headband.  They could then see what all they could do "with a bunny on their head".

Literacy Extensions:
- Ask kids to point to the different body parts as you name them.  Start with easy terms such as "ear, nose, etc." before moving on to more difficult terms such as "cheek, forehead, etc.".
- Do some simple exercises such as rolling your head, stretching your brack, etc. (i.e. From Head to Toe)