Spring Has Sprung ... or has it?

I had planned on a spring-themed storytime this week, but here is what it looked like the morning of storytime :

Nice, eh?

Still, I went ahead with what was originally planned.

We shared four spring-themed storytime books.

This new one by Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek is lovely (the same pair that created the book "Birds" which I simply adore)

Anne Rockwell's book about a little girl looking for her robin is also charming. I asked the kid's if they could see the robin on each page of the book.

I love Lauren Stringer's illustrations in this book - the text sometimes goes over the heads of younger kids, but the images of bare feet squishing in the mud can be enjoyed by anyone.

I was a bit apprehensive about sharing this book because Easter is not a holiday we can celebrate in public libraries, but fortunately the library barcode label sat right over the word "Easter" so I could just call this book "Babies : A Springtime Counting Book".

I also skipped the last page about bells ringing at the church. Worked pretty well with a bit of clever editing.

I shared my flannel for "Five Spring Eggs" ... always get a kick out of the reaction at the end when the fifth eggs cracks open to reveal a little chick.

This flannel rhyme is to the tune of "Five Brown Teddies" and goes ...

Five spring eggs were sitting in the hay

Five spring eggs were sitting in the hay

And if one spring egg should crack (clap hands) and roll away ...

There'll be four spring eggs sitting in the hay ...

(last time)

One spring egg, sitting in the hay

One spring egg, sitting in the hay

And if THAT spring egg should stay just one more day ...

CRACK! (clap hands)

There'll be one spring CHICKEN sitting in the hay!

The trickiest thing about this was putting the eggs up on the board in front of my storytime families without revealing the chick in side the last egg.

For my early literacy handout, I made a "Talk Together" activity sheet to promote letter recognition and discussion about starting sounds of words.

For at home use only

Since it was spring break at the local school district, I ended storytime with a craft. I don't usually do this at storytime but thought that a more diverse group age-wise might make storytime a better fit for families with children of multiple ages.

I had purchased some felt spring shapes from the dollar bin at Target. I had cardstock and glitter on hand and supplemented with some Easter basket grass (paper). This allowed kids to make a spring tableau using the felt shapes. I CONTROLLED ALL THE GLITTER APPLICATION. I knew from past experience that this was the only way glitter would work! The result was minimal glitter on the floor. Success!