Monday, January 13, 2014

Let It Snow!

Now that (hopefully) the worst of winter is behind us, we can actually celebrate the season! Well, sort of ... it's only mid-January.

Books We Read Today
"Winter is the Warmest Season" by Lauren Stringer
"Under My Hood I Have a Hat" by Karla Kuskin
"The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats
"Pip & Squeak" by Ian Schoenherr






I recited this silly poem with flannel pieces.
The brilliant Jack Prelutsky wrote this and it can be found in the collection "It's Snowing, It's Snowing! : Winter Poems (An I Can Read Book)" :

My snowman has a noble head
He's broad and he is tall.
His ears are tin, his eyes are coal,
He has no neck at all.


Beneath his ragged hat he wears
A bit of tangled wool,
His barrel chest is buttoned up,
His belly's rather full.

My snowman has a handsome face
Complete with carrot nose,
His arms are long, his legs are short,
He hasn't any toes.

He wields a broom, the helpful guy,
His smile is wide and bright.
"He looks like you!" my father says.
You know ... he may be right!


I also shared one of the few cut-and-tell stories that I think actually works at storytime.
This one is titled : "Just Like That".

On Sunday it snowed ... just like that  (show piece of blank white paper)
On Monday I made a snowman ... just like that (cut out a snowman from the paper)
On Tuesday the wind blew ... just like that (cut away some of the snowman)
On Wednesday it rained ... just like that (cut away yet more of the snowman)
On Thursday it rained and RAINED! ... just like that (cut away most of the snowman)
On Friday the sun shone ... just like that (cut snowman until it is a small puddle)
On Saturday I stayed inside ... just like that (make "harumph" sound and cross arms)
On Sunday it snowed ... just ... like ... that ... (show a new piece of blank white paper)


Finally, we did one of my all-time favorite fingerplays ... first we did this as an actual fingerplay with no props. Then I got out my prop carrot and prop bunny and we did it again. Love this.

There was a little snowman (show L fist)
Who had a carrot nose (show index finger of L fist)
Along came a bunny (R hand makes rabbit ears)
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny
Was looking for some lunch ... (bunny ears turn to "look" at snowman)
He saw the snowman's carrot nose,
Nibble ... nibble ... CRUNCH! (hop bunny all the way over to snowman and "eat" carrot)