Pre-K Library Storytime

I always start this storytime by counting US!  The math skills three year olds need to be working on are not number problems but shapes, sorting, and counting to five.  The math skills three year olds need to be working on are not number problems but shapes, sorting and counting to five. B o o k s Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes by Kimberly and James Dean. Monica made me a set of beautiful cupcakes, and this was a great read with those props.  (Cupcakes are in Food folder in file cabinet) This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington.  Love this version. Cat up a Tree  by John and Ann Hassett.  Too funny, and you can do voices.  Didn't Get to: One  by Kathryn Otoshi is the book I usually use, ( Colors, numbers, and a great lesson about standing up to a bully make this a classic must-read in my book. The moms really love the ending of this one. So do I.) But this year I'm going for her Zero. It may be the only picture book I know that talks about zero...

Books: Pop-Up Book: Animal Opposites by Horacek.  Gorgeousity.  Great attention getter. Caldecott Winner and a true Gripping Tale: Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. Although I admired the beautiful pictures in this book as much as anyone, I never thought I'd be using it for a storytime. But the very traditional tale worked out perfectly. Because it's a wordless book, it really lends itself to prediction -- prediction is all there is! What are those men unloading? A net! (A gasp goes up.) The kids ALL listened, even 20 month old Peter. This works year after year.   Fun Read: I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry. I love this cute, funny tale, and so did the kids. Very short, repetitive text as the squid cruises by all the smaller critters. The kids had a great time calling out the different sea creatures on each page -- shrimp, crab, etc. The poor bragging giant squid came to a bad end in the end -- in the belly of a giant whale. Sophie's Big B...

We started off by waddling like penguins and then belly diving (hand motion) at the beginning.  They really wanted to jump up and down though. Note:  Penguins do a lot of talking in these books. Work out a penguin accent.  B o o k s Waddle! Waddle!    by James Poimos.  Plenty of action here. Waddle, slide, sing, and blow your horn.  The book has the concept of the penguin missing his new friend, which is really his own image reflected in the water.  I tried bringing out a small mirror, setting it on the ground, and having him see himself in that. I think I would have to use a bigger mirror, maybe set on the whiteboard, so that everyone in the audience could see the puppet recognizing himself in the mirror.  As it was, these little guys didn't get the concept, and you can just skip it entirely, because him going off with his two new friends is nice enough. Penguin Problems  by Jory John.  I love this funny book, but the concept of a ...