Angry Story Time: February 25-26, 2019

Books:
How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? by Jane Yolen *
Llama Llama Mad at Mama - Anna Dewdney
Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban *
Sometimes I'm Bombaloo by Rachel Vail
When Mommy Was Mad by Lynne Jonell *

Craft: Emotions Coloring Sheet
Children were given a matching coloring sheet.  They were asked to color the faces the color of the matching emotion.


Extension Activities:
- Discuss with your child different coping techniques for when they feel mad (i.e. deep breaths, counting to ten, etc.)
- See how many different emotions and feelings your child can identify.  Ask them to describe how different emotions make they feel and act.


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Scared Story Time: February 19, 2019

Books:
Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson *
The Doghouse by Jan Thomas
I Am (Not) Scared by Anna Kang
Oh So Brave Dragon by David Kirk *
Sea Monkey & Bob by Aaron Reynolds
Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman *

Craft: Dragon
This week's craft is based on the picture above.  Children glued a half sheet of green paper into a roll to make the dragon's body.  They then colored a dragon head and wings before gluing them to the body.

Extension Activities:
- Have a discussion with your child(ren) about their fears.  What are they scared of?  What makes they feel better when they are scared?
- Monsters are a common fear for children.  Help allay that fear by making a silly monster out of craft supplies found around the house.

Love & Hate Story Time: February 11-12, 2019

Books:
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
I Loathe You by David Slonim
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal *
Love and Kisses by Sarah Wilson *
Pigs in Love by Teddy Slater *

Craft: Heart Person
This week's craft is based on the picture at left.  The kids colored a large cardstock heart with a face on it.  They then glued on four strips of accordian-folded paper for arms and legs.

Extension Activities:
- Make homemade valentines to give out to family and friends. 
- Little Pea talks about foods we love and hate to eat.  Have your child make a list of foods they love and hate.


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Happy & Sad Story Time: February 4-5, 2019

Books:
The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss *
I'm Sad by Michael Ian Black
If You're Happy and You Know It! by Anna McQuinn *
Mr. Happy by Roger Hargreaves
My Friend Is Sad by Mo Willems *

Craft: Sad / Happy Person
Kids were given a large gingerbread person cutout to decorate to make them either happy or sad.  They used crayons and glued on paper squares and sequins.

Extension Activities:
- See how many different emotions your child can list.  Have them poll different people to see what their current emotion is.
- Ask your child to rewrite "If You're Happy and You Know It" to fit different emotions and their actions.

Angry Story Time: February 27-28, 2017

Books:
How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? by Jane Yolen *
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban *
Sometimes I'm Bombaloo by Rachel Vail
When Mommy Was Mad by Lynne Jonell *

Craft: Anger Figure (from Inside Out)
Children colored an Anger cardstock cutout that was then glued into a cylinder so it could stand.  Orange and yellow strips of tissue paper were glued to the head for his fiery hair.

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss with your child different methods for dealing with anger (i.e. counting to ten, deep breaths, time out, etc.)
- Talk about things that might make us mad.  Then come up with ways we might work so they no longer make us mad.


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Scared Story Time: February 21, 2017

Books:
Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson
I'm a Shark by Bob Shea *
Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman *
When Someone Is Afraid by Valeri Gorbachev *

Craft: Spider on a Leash
Children colored a spider cutout and folded the head up before gluing on strips of accordian-folded paper for legs.  Two holes were then punched into the spider's body near the head and a piece of yarn tied on to make a leash to walk the spider.

Literacy Extensions:
- Talk about fears with your child.  Discuss what they are scared of and how to make that thing less scary.
- Make a feelings collage.  Have your child cut out pictures of people in old magazines and glue onto a sheet of paper identifying the emotion of each person as they work.


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Love Story Time: February 13-14, 2017

Books:
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney *
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen *
I Loathe You by David Slonim *
Love You More Than Anything by Anna Harber Freeman
Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal *

Craft: Valentine's Wreath
Children glued pink, purple, and red hearts of different sizes to the outer edge of a paper plate.  They could then write a Valentines message on the middle of the plate. (i.e. - Happy Valentine's Day, Love, "Child's Name", etc.)

Literacy Extensions:
- After reading Guess How Much I Love You, extend the story with your child by asking them to come up with expressions for how much they love you.
- Make valentines with your child to give to friends, family, and loved ones.

Happy & Sad Story Time: February 6-7, 2017

Books:
Happiness is a Watermelon on Your Head by Stella Dreis
The Happy Day by Ruth Krauss *
If You're Happy and You Know It! by Anna McQuinn *
My Friend Is Sad by Mo Willems *
Snow Happy! by Patricia Hubbell

Craft: Smiley Face Necklace
The children were given a cardstock smiley face cutout to color.  It was then strung onto curling ribbon along with pony beads to make into a necklace.


Literacy Extensions:
- After reading My Friend Is Sad, have your child come up with ways they would cheer up a sad friend.
- Extend the song If You're Happy and You Know It by coming up with more actions for more verses.  Or change up the song by making verses for different emotions (ex - If you sad and you know cry a tear).


Notes:
I love using curling ribbon for necklaces.  The ribbon is thick enough that the beads will not fall off of the ribbon so you don't have to worry about tying a knot at the end.  It also doesn't unravel like yarn does.  The curling ribbon is also stiff which makes it easier for kids to string on the items.  Making necklaces like this is a great way to practice hand-eye coordination with children.

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What Do You Feel? Scared Story Times: February 24-25, 2014

Books:
Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson *
I'm Not Scared! by Jonathan Allen *
Itsy Bitsy Baby Mouse by Michelle Meadows *
Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes
Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman *

Craft: Owl Mask
These were some of the easiest masks we've made in story time.  The eyes were much easier to cut out in these.  The kids simply colored and glued the various pieces (face, eyebrow feathers, beak) together before gluing on a stick handle.

Literacy Extensions:
- Have a discussion with your child about the different fears you have.  Suggest ways to handle those fears.
- One common fear for children is a fear of the dark.  On a nice evening take your child outside to look at the stars.  See if you can identify any constellations.  Reassure your child that the stars and constellations are always there at night -- just sometimes they are behind the clouds.

What Do You Feel? Mad Story Time: February 18, 2014

Books:
How Do Dinosaurs Say I'm Mad? by Jane Yolen *
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney
Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban *
Sometimes I'm Bombaloo by Rachel Vail
When Mommy Was Mad by Lynne Jonell *
When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry . . . by Molly Bang

Craft: Porcupine
Our craft was based on the above picture.  The only difference is that we used multi-colored quills.  Since I only had a picture, I had to draw a template for the porcupine's body.  The quills were approximately 4" long.

Literacy Extensions:
- Discuss with your child methods of controlling anger (i.e. counting to ten, deep breathes, etc.)
- Try some rhyming words with your child by asking him / her to come up with words that rhyme with "mad".

What Do You Feel? Love Story Time: February 10-11, 2014

Books:
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney *
How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? by Jane Yolen
I Loathe You by David Slonim *
I Love You Because You're You by Liza Baker
Love Monster by Rachel Bright *
Old Bear and His Cub by Olivier Dunrea *
What Do You Love? by Jonathan London

Craft: Hearts Necklace
Each child was given three hearts to color along with beads and a piece of curling ribbon.  The hearts could be glued together or strung onto the ribbon individually with the beads to make a necklace.

Literacy Extensions:
- With your child try to come up with expressions to show how much you love each other (i.e. Guess How Much I Love You and I Loathe You)
- See how many rhymes your child can come up with for the words "I", "love", and "you".