Ocean Animals -- 4/14/26 & 4/21/26

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

(There are so many great Ocean Animal books that we did two weeks of this theme.)

I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs
Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone
Plankton Is Pushy by Jonathan Fenske

Books:
Chomp: A Shark Romp by Michael Paul
Don't Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton
How to Put an Octopus to Bed by Sherri Dusky Rinker
I Need Pants! by Susan Sweet
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry
Milo Is Missing Something by Vern Kousky
Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick
Sharky McShark by Alison Murray
Tropical Terry by Jarvis

Craft: Squid
- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Cut out squid's head

- Color squid's head

- Cut 5 strips of crepe paper (about 4-5" long)

- cut each crepe paper strip in half longways

- Glue strips to bottom of squid's head

Craft: Shark

- Color paper plate and fold in half

- Draw on mouth and eye

- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper

- Color and cut out pieces (fin, tail)

- Glue fin to top of shark along fold

- Glue tail to back of shark


Extension Activities:

- Go on an ocean animal scavenger hunt.  Hide ocean animal stuffies or print out pictures of various ocean animals to hide.

- Have fun with a parachute or a sheet as the ocean creating waves.  Alternate between gentle, soft waves and stormy, crashing waves.  Add ocean animal stuffies or a toy boat to the top of the "ocean" if you have them.

Squid Template --

Shark Template --

Kids Songs: The Farmer in the Dell -- 1/6/26

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's online Story Time.

The Farmer in the Dell by John O'Brien
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs

Books:
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Chicken, Chicken, Duck! by Madia Krilanovich
Farmer Brown Goes Round and Round by Teri Sloat
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Gris Grimly
Old Mikamba Had a Farm by Rachel Isadora
On the Farm by David Elliott


Craft: Animal Match
- Print template onto cardstock or heavy paper (makes two sets)
- Color animals
- Cut along lines to make cards
- You can play a memory matching game by either trying to find both halves of the same animal or by creating new animals


Extension Activities:
- Visit a local petting zoo or farm such as Suson Park to visit the farm animals.
- Play a game of animals charades.


Template --

I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs -- 5/23/23

Story Times are held weekly on Monday and Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am. A monthly virtual Story Time is posted the first Tuesday of the month on the library's Facebook page.  It is available to view for one month before the next video is posted.

Click HERE for this month's virtual Story Time.

I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck

Books:
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
Off to See the Sea by Nikki Grimes
One Lonely Seahorse by Saxton Freymann
Pup 681: A Sea Otter Rescue Story by Jean Reidy
Save Your Friends! by Hyewon Kyung
Scuba Bunnies by Christine Loomis
Swallow the Leader: A Counting Book by Danna Smith
Turtle Tug to the Rescue by Michael Slack

Craft: Crab
- Cut a small paper plate in half for crab's body and color
- Print template onto heavy paper or cardstock and cut out pieces (legs, pinchers, eyes)

- Color legs, pinchers, and eyes before gluing to paper plate as shown

in picture

Extension Activities:

- Enjoy a Sea Snack.  Make blue raspberry jello in a clear punch cup.  Add Swedish Fish or jello or place goldfish crackers on top.
- Make a simple coral craft by sticking pipecleaners into a small ball of playdough.  Twist the pipecleaners to finish look.

Template --

The Farmer in the Dell (Farm) Sing-Along Story Time: July 9-10, 2018

Books:
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
The Farmer in the Dell by John O'Brien *
Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig *
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs *

Craft: Cow Mask
This week's mask was based on the picture at left with one small change.  The make the cow's head, we chopped the plate in half and then cut out the center of the plate so that it looked like a "C".  The kids then colored the plate, nose, ears, and horns before gluing them all together.

Literacy Extensions:
- Extend I Spy on the Farm by giving clues about farm animals and seeing if your child can guess them.  Ask them for what the different baby animals are called or what sounds they make.
- Visit a farm and see if the owners will let you go on a tour. 

Farm Animals Story Time: January 30-31, 2017

Books:
The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill *
Cows in the Kitchen by June Crebbin *
Farmyard Beat by Lindsay Craig
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs *

Craft: Rocking Chicken
Our craft this week was based on the picture at left.  Children folded a small paper plate in half.  They then colored three small teardrop shapes and glued to a folded corner edge for the head feathers.  They colored one small teardrop shape and glued to the side with a triangle for the beak and waddle.  Three large teardrop shapes were glued to the back folded corner for the tailfeathers.

Literacy Extensions:
- There are a lot of fun farm themed songs to sing with your kids - Old MacDonald Had a Farm, BINGO, etc.
- Take a visit to a local farm or petting zoo to visit the farm animals.


Template:

Ocean Animals Story Time: January 17, 2017

Books:
Clumsy Crab by Ruth Galloway
I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs *
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry *
Nugget and Fang by Tammi Sauer
Ocean Animals from Head to Tail by Stacey Roderick
Secret Seahorse by Stella Blackstone *

Craft: Paper Plate Stingray
This week's craft is based on the picture above.  Paper plates were cut into quarters.  Each child got one quarter to color.  They then attached half a pipe cleaner to a hole punched at the pointy end of the quarter.  Two googily eyes were glued onto the curved edge.

Literacy Extensions:
- Visit a local aquarium or zoo with ocean animal exhibits.  In the summer, the St. Louis Zoo offers the chance for people to pet stingrays and baby sharks.
- Practice your counting while reading the books.  Ask your child to count the different types of ocean creatures in the books.

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.