SHAPES Storytime
Wow - I guess I'm not keeping up with my storytime blogs. I will try to do better. I'm considering relocating these posts so I can share them with my Storytime crowd.
We started by talking about SHAPES just a little bit as a precursor of the Storytime to come. I wanted to let the adults know that SHAPE recognition is very important as an early literacy skill and it is the beginnings of reading. We talked more about it throughout today's Storytime.
The More We Get Together - song with signs
Shapes that Roll by Karen Nagel/Illustrations by Steve Wilson
This book was a lot of fun. We had a great time moving (a little) like the shapes or making them with our hands, talking about all the different shapes on the pages, and guessing some of the more unusual shapes. The bright colors & slight textures of this book make it a really eye-catching fun book to read.
Next we read The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds/Illustrated by Julie Lacome. This took basic shapes & turned them into other things. I could see the little wheels turning in their mind as each page revealed something new made by turning or adding different shapes.
After that book we sang the "Circle Song" - to the tune of Have you Ever Seen a Lassie
Have you ever seen a circle, a circle, a circle?
Have you ever seen a circle, which goes round & round?
It rolls this way and that way, and that way and this way.
Have you ever seen a circle that goes round & round?
We made arm circles during the first two lines, then rolled our hands to one side & the other for the 3rd line and back to arm circles for the last line. This was a big hit (& so simple!). We sang through it a couple times since it was so short.
For the first literary aside we talked letter knowledge. We also about the importance of being able to differentiate things (such as shapes - why is a square different from a rectangle different from a circle, etc). Distinguishing "alike" and "different" is a skill that needs to be learned. This helps when young readers begin learning the alphabet and are able to tell a small 'h' apart from a small 'n.'
Next up was Perfect Square by Michael Hall. I'm just dying to do this book as a craft project, but maybe someday I'll have more room! (I also want to do shape snowmen, shape houses, etc etc etc....) We had some distractions during this one of little ones not staying on the rug but the kids who were listening were really into it. They liked figuring out what the window was becoming and sort of were in awe of all the different things.
The 2nd literary aside I talked about going on a shape scavenger hunt with their kiddos. Whether it's a walk outside (stop sign, mailbox, sidewalk squares, etc) or in the house (cereal box, windows, books, bowls, picture frames) etc. Trace the shapes in the air with your finger. Shapes are everywhere!
We did some YOGA today! It was so fun. and I'm wearing yoga pants - BONUS! We made different shapes with our bodies....we did the SQUARE (rag doll pose), the CRESCENT (crescent pose), TRIANGLE (downward facing dog), CIRCLE (flower pose) {imagine yourself seated in a bubble - sphere}. RECTANGLE (plank pose) and the STAR (star pose). This was super fun. Most of the kids really got into this. I enjoyed doing it too. I'd like to incorporate more ways to use our bodies! (credit to Miss Meg - great website!)
We read Windblown by Edouard Manceau. I did a flannel board along with this. SUPER easy - just a few shapes. I would then arrange them on the flannel board before showing the picture in the book to see if they could guess what "animal" I had made. You have to use your imagination a little bit on this one! (this would make a fun craft project too!)
And lastly we read I am Blop! by Herve Tullet. What a FUN book. It's silly & abstract but the kids loved it. I photocopied some pages of the "blank Blops" and let the kids fill them in afterward with patterns, colors, etc. They really enjoyed that.
The last literary aside was about the first letter in your child's name. We talked about that a bit last week (how that letter is THE MOST important letter in the alphabet). I just asked that they expand on that and continue pointing it out in signs, labels, books, etc. And to talk about what types of shapes make up that letter (for example - a capital A sure looks like a triangle!)
We closed with If you're Happy and you Know it! which is always popular.
Overall it was a really great storytime. The kids were into it (even with some distractions) the parents participated and it was fun! The Yoga was my favorite part. We had 46 in attendance.
The Books
Windblown - by Edouard Manceau (with flannel board)
Shapes That Roll - by Karen Nagel/Illustrations by Steve Wilson
Perfect Square - by Michael Hall
I am Blop! - by Herve Tullet
The Shape of Things - by Dayle Ann Dodds/Illustrated by Julie Lacome
Additional books we didn't get to:
Same, Same by Marthe Jocelyn, Tom Slaughter
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature -by Joyce Sidman/Pictures by Beth Krommes (I love her illustrations!
It looked like Spilt Milk - by Charles Shaw
We started by talking about SHAPES just a little bit as a precursor of the Storytime to come. I wanted to let the adults know that SHAPE recognition is very important as an early literacy skill and it is the beginnings of reading. We talked more about it throughout today's Storytime.
The More We Get Together - song with signs
Shapes that Roll by Karen Nagel/Illustrations by Steve Wilson
Next we read The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds/Illustrated by Julie Lacome. This took basic shapes & turned them into other things. I could see the little wheels turning in their mind as each page revealed something new made by turning or adding different shapes.
After that book we sang the "Circle Song" - to the tune of Have you Ever Seen a Lassie
Have you ever seen a circle, a circle, a circle?
Have you ever seen a circle, which goes round & round?
It rolls this way and that way, and that way and this way.
Have you ever seen a circle that goes round & round?
We made arm circles during the first two lines, then rolled our hands to one side & the other for the 3rd line and back to arm circles for the last line. This was a big hit (& so simple!). We sang through it a couple times since it was so short.
For the first literary aside we talked letter knowledge. We also about the importance of being able to differentiate things (such as shapes - why is a square different from a rectangle different from a circle, etc). Distinguishing "alike" and "different" is a skill that needs to be learned. This helps when young readers begin learning the alphabet and are able to tell a small 'h' apart from a small 'n.'
Next up was Perfect Square by Michael Hall. I'm just dying to do this book as a craft project, but maybe someday I'll have more room! (I also want to do shape snowmen, shape houses, etc etc etc....) We had some distractions during this one of little ones not staying on the rug but the kids who were listening were really into it. They liked figuring out what the window was becoming and sort of were in awe of all the different things.
The 2nd literary aside I talked about going on a shape scavenger hunt with their kiddos. Whether it's a walk outside (stop sign, mailbox, sidewalk squares, etc) or in the house (cereal box, windows, books, bowls, picture frames) etc. Trace the shapes in the air with your finger. Shapes are everywhere!
We did some YOGA today! It was so fun. and I'm wearing yoga pants - BONUS! We made different shapes with our bodies....we did the SQUARE (rag doll pose), the CRESCENT (crescent pose), TRIANGLE (downward facing dog), CIRCLE (flower pose) {imagine yourself seated in a bubble - sphere}. RECTANGLE (plank pose) and the STAR (star pose). This was super fun. Most of the kids really got into this. I enjoyed doing it too. I'd like to incorporate more ways to use our bodies! (credit to Miss Meg - great website!)
We read Windblown by Edouard Manceau. I did a flannel board along with this. SUPER easy - just a few shapes. I would then arrange them on the flannel board before showing the picture in the book to see if they could guess what "animal" I had made. You have to use your imagination a little bit on this one! (this would make a fun craft project too!)
And lastly we read I am Blop! by Herve Tullet. What a FUN book. It's silly & abstract but the kids loved it. I photocopied some pages of the "blank Blops" and let the kids fill them in afterward with patterns, colors, etc. They really enjoyed that.
The last literary aside was about the first letter in your child's name. We talked about that a bit last week (how that letter is THE MOST important letter in the alphabet). I just asked that they expand on that and continue pointing it out in signs, labels, books, etc. And to talk about what types of shapes make up that letter (for example - a capital A sure looks like a triangle!)
We closed with If you're Happy and you Know it! which is always popular.
Overall it was a really great storytime. The kids were into it (even with some distractions) the parents participated and it was fun! The Yoga was my favorite part. We had 46 in attendance.
The Books
Windblown - by Edouard Manceau (with flannel board)
Shapes That Roll - by Karen Nagel/Illustrations by Steve Wilson
Perfect Square - by Michael Hall
I am Blop! - by Herve Tullet
The Shape of Things - by Dayle Ann Dodds/Illustrated by Julie Lacome
Additional books we didn't get to:
Same, Same by Marthe Jocelyn, Tom Slaughter
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature -by Joyce Sidman/Pictures by Beth Krommes (I love her illustrations!
It looked like Spilt Milk - by Charles Shaw
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