Play Storyhour

Props: Toys!!! I brought balls, clown noses, musical instruments, teddy bears, and a jack in the box. The jack in the box was a particular hit. 
Book:  Knuffle Bunny Too by the great Mo Willems. In this exciting Knuffle Bunny episode, a terrible switch is made in pre-K by accident and Knuffle Bunny's owner comes home with the wrong rabbit! Even worse, she doesn't discover this tragedy until 2:30 am, and her parents -- and the other set of parents -- have to act fast to set things to write. 
Book:  Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley.  This wonderful book kind of is this storyhour.  I propped the Big Book up on a chair and we clapped our hands and stomped our feet happily.
Song: Five Little Monkeys misbehaving on the bed.
Book: Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat. Even though I love the opening joke of the story, "One afternoon Jonathan's parents announced, "You're getting too old for a stuffed animal. So we traded your bear for a toaster," the book is just a tiny bit too long for this age group. Clothesline story?
Book: Clap Your Hands Part Two. I like to read just the first half of this book as an exercise break between other books. The last half went just as well -- everyone was old enough to somersault!
Book:  Hello! Is This Grandma? by Ian Whybrow.  This cute lift the flap about a boy calling his grandma does give you the chance to make phone calls, do animal noises, and sing Happy Birthday, but why are all Grandma's friends farm animals? I just don't get it.


Sharing books is not as easy as Carson and Oliver are making it look.



Craft:
I am such a sucker for these beads from  Oriental Trading .  I filled shoeboxes with a mix of them plus some wooden beads in various sizes, and let the children string them. (Stretchy elastic from Oriental Trading on these flossers -- they make great big eye needles.)  Four children made four completely necklaces with four completely different color combinations. Love it.

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