Theme: Penguins

PR: Little Listeners: Penguins are Cool!  Chill out at the library and enjoy stories, rhymes, fingerplays and a craft-all centered around penguins.

Book suggestions:

There are so many penguin books! I used these:
That's Not My Penguin
Penguin Says Please by Michael Dahl
Five Flying Penguins by Barbara Barbieri McGrath
10 Little Penguins by Kate Toms

New Words Introduced:
Waddle, glide

Discussion about penguin attributes and qualities.
I had many pictures of different penguins. Various colors, what they eat, teeth are on their tongue, etc.

Songs:

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Silly and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Way up North where there's ice and snow
There lived a penguin and his name was Joe
He got so tired of black and white
He wore pink slacks to the dance last night!

Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

Silly and foolish the whole day through
Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy?

The kids chose some of their favorites:
"Wheels on the Bus"
"Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes"

Craft:  Waddling penguins

Materials needed:  Pre-cut penguin pieces, glue, small paper plate

Theme: Hats

Story Ideas:

Hat On, Hat Off – by Theo Heras
Old Hat – by Emily Gravett
Book-O-Hats – by Donald Lemke
That’s My Hat! – by Anouck Boisrobert & Louis Rigaud
Hooray for Hat! – by Brian Won
Books For Preschoolers: The Red Hat – by David Teague
Brimsby’s Hats – by Andrew Prahin
The Pink Hat – by Andrew Joyner
I want my hat back – by Jon Klassen
This is not my hat – by Jon Klassen
We found a hat – by Jon Klassen

Words introduced:
"to and fro"

Fingerplays & Songs :
I Hop on my Horse
I hop on my horse and go to town. (Pretend to ride horse.)
I ride up high and I don’t fall down. (Place arms high and then low.)
I wear a hat so my hair won’t blow. (Put hand on head.)
and when I want to stop, I just say Ho! (Pull back on reins.)

Yankee Doodle Dandy (traditional)
Yankee Doodle went to town,
Riding on a pony
Stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni
Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle Dandy
Mind the Music and the step
And with the Girls be Handy.

I Like My Hat
I like my hat. I like my hat.
I like my hat so I'll put it on my.... Knee.
Elbow, Foot, Tummy…

Three Cornered Hat
My hat, it has three corners,
Three corners has my hat
And had it not three corners,
It would not be my hat.

Suggestions to spark a conversation with your group:
Why do we wear hats?
What kind of hats do we wear in the summer?
What kind of hats do we wear in the winter?
Which hats are worn to protect our head?
When you ride your bike, what do you wear?

Who would wear these hats?
· Sun hat
· Chef hat
· Cowboy hat
· Top hat
· Snow hat
· Fireman hat
· Sailor hat
· Baseball hat
· Hard hat

Theme: Hibernation/Sleep

PR: Where do animals like chipmunks and bears go in the winter? How can they live in the cold? Let's explore how they hibernate under the snow.

Stories used:

Bear Can't Sleep by Karma Wilson
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
The Napping House by Audrey Wood (Big Book)
A Nap in a Lap by Sarah Wilson 

Other book ideas:
Animals In Winter by Henrietta Bancroft
Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff
Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead
Bear is Awake: an alphabet story by Hannah E. Harrison
The Bear in the Book by Kate Banks
Bear Is Not Tired by Ciara Gavin
A Bed for Bear by Clive McFarland
A Bed for the Winter (DK)
Brownie Groundhog and the Wintery Surprise by Susan Blackaby
Don’t Wake up the Bear by
Do not Disturb by Margery Facklam
Do Polar Bears Snooze in Hollow Trees?: A Book About Animal Hibernation by Laura Purdie Salas
Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! by Aaron Blecha
Groundhog Stays up Late by Margery Cuyler
Hibernation by Margaret Hall
Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows
Home at Last – A Song of Migration by April Sayre
Knock Knock by Tammi Sauer
Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
Mika the Bear Who Didn’t Want to Sleep by Erik Kriek
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler
Ouch! by Ragnhild Scammell
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
Red Sled by Lita Judge
Sleep, Bear! by Shelby Alinsky
Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep by Maureen Wright
Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Monica Carnesi
Sleepy Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen
The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett
Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming
Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser
When it Starts to Snow by Phillis Gershator
Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer
Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter? by Mary Englar

Song: “Hibernation”
(Tune: “Alouette”)
Hibernation, time for hibernation.
Hibernation, time to go to sleep.
In the winter, where’s the bear?
Sleeping in its log or lair.
Where’s the bear? Log or lair. OH!
In the winter, where’s the frog?
Sleeping by a pond or log.
Where’s the frog? Pond or log. OH!
In the winter, where’s the snake?
In the mud beneath the lake.
Where’s the snake? Beneath the lake. OH!
In the winter, where’s the bat?
In a cave is where it’s at.
Where’s the bat? Cave it’s at! OH!

Song & Puppet: “Sleepy Bear”
Tune: Thumbkin
Where is Bear? Where is Bear?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you this winter?
Very tired, thank you.
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.

Song: "Are You Sleeping?"
Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Little bear, little bear?

I will sleep till springtime
I will sleep till springtime
Snug and warm
Snug and warm

Can you Stretch?
Tall as a tree?
Wide as a house?
Thin as a pin?
Small as a mouse?

Activity:
We used the parachute as a bear cave at first, then simply played with the chute.

Theme: Kindness

Theme: Kindness

New words and phrases introduced:
Drought, "your manners do appall", "happy to oblige", tangled, "come in handy"

Books used:
The Thank You Book by Mo Willems
Please Say Please by Kyle Webster
How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Be Kind? by Jane Yolen
Time to Say Please by Mo Willems
I Can Help in the Neighborhood by David Hyde Costillo
Babies Love Kindness by Ginger Swift (a lift-the-flap book)
Kindness: A Celebration of Mindfulness by Katie Wilson

Songs, Rhymes & Fingerplays:

Crafts/Activities:

 Bee magnets:  These patterns from SimpleMomProject.com were pre-cut and the kiddos assembled them with glue.  We attached a magnet on the back so that when they see the bee, they remember to "bee kind."