H Story Time - Horses & Hats: February 23-24, 2015

Books:
Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash
Hidden Hippo by Joan Gannij *
The House in the Meadow by Shutta Crum
Hungry Hen by Richard Waring *
Hush, Little Horsie by Jane Yolen
The Magic Hat by Mem Fox *
Which Hat Is That? by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Craft: Letter "h" Horse
Our craft was based on the picture at left.  The children were given a lowercase "h" and a horse head to color and glue together.  They then glued on pieces of yarn for the horse's tail.

Literacy Extensions:
- See if your child can continue the book Which Hat Is That? by coming up with more descriptive riddles of different types of hats to wear.
- Explore the stages of building something.  See if you can make it into a song or poem with each step being a different verse. (i.e. The House in the Meadow)


Notes:
The book Hungry Hen by Richard Waring always goes over really well.  They tend to get very emotionally involved in the story so that the twist ending is a relief for them.

G - Gardens & Goats: February 17, 2015

Books:
Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler
Let's Count Goats! by Mem Fox *
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
The Short Giraffe by Neil Flory *
Silly Tilly by Eileen Spinelli *

Craft: Gumball Machine
This week's craft was based on the craft found at http://www.themeasuredmom.com/crafts-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers-the-letter-g/.  I traced the gumball machine and cut it out of cardstock for the kids to color.  They could then stick on circle stickers for gumballs.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk about how letters can make different sounds (i.e. hard "g" in "garden" and soft "g" in "giraffe". - Practice letter recognition by having your child point out the letter"g" on various pages of the book you are reading.

Notes:
Story Time was not held on Monday this week as the library was closed for Presidents Day.

F - Flowers & Frogs: February 9-10, 2015

Books:
The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long *
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs *
Old Mikamba Had a Farm by Rachel Isadora *
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Sylvie by Jennifer Sattler

Craft: Fishbowl
Children were given a coloring sheet of an empty fishbowl to color.  They could then glue on fish cut from colored paper.

Literacy Extensions:
- Continue the I Spy game from I Spy on the Farm doing various other animals (i.e. zoo animals, forest animals, etc.)
- Sing some more movement songs that direct the kids how to move (i.e. Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, If You're Happy and You Know It, etc.)


Notes:
The children loved the story time this week.  The inclusion of two books that were songs was a big hit.  Also, the third book also included audience participation in the form of a guessing game.

E - Elephants & Eggs: February 2-3, 2015

Books:
The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill *
Do Your Ears Hang Low? by Caroline Jayne Church *
Emma Kate by Patricia Polacco
How to Catch an Elephant by Amy Schwartz *

Craft: Cone Elf
The template for this craft can be found at http://www.dltk-holidays.com/xmas/mconeelf.html.  I changed the template a little in that I drew all the features and accessories onto the cone except for the arms.  This made it a little easier for us to cut out and for the kids to assemble.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk about the different phonic sounds of the letter "e" - short "e" and long "e".  See if your child can come up with examples of words that have the different sounds.
- Have your child come up with their own version of How to Catch an Elephant but with a different animal.