Literacy Volunteers - Middle Earth "Snow" Storytime/Craft

 

Read: Snow by Uri Shulewitz (discussed Caldecott Medal – what it means)

Acted Out: The Mitten by Jan Brett (did with a large tablecloth mitten & sign/masks from janbrett.com details: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/12/winter-storytimetheatercraft-jan-bretts.html)

• Talked about folktale (story retold over generations/centuries (define), then read Jan Brett’s  book with kids holding tablecloth and masks from www.janbrett.com at the “aachoo”, I grabbed the tablecloth and the kids scattered. Another possibility is to have two kids (or grown ups) hold hands and become each side of the mitten, then let the kids crowd in between. (from http://lalalalibrary.blogspot.com/2014/12/flannel-friday-mitten.html)

Singable Book: Frosty
Booktalked: Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman (wonderful video available on Youtube) 

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian (talked about Caldecott Gold woodcut illustrations, true book – would find in the Biography (bio=life, graphy =writing,stories section)

Singable/flannel: “In the Freezer” by Joe Scruggs – lyrics here.

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert (had kids look at the collage art –> art project)

Snow creatures (inspired by Ehlert’s book) – Materials: White & colored construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, pompoms, buttons, feathers, etc.

Finished with: Snowball fight using plastic bag snowballs, to the music “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson (on album Season’s Greetings)
Making snowballs:
1) Gather a white plastic grocery bag into a long, skinny tube-like length with the handles on one end.
2) Fold the length in half, then in half again.
3) Wind a rubber band around the middle until it is tight.
4) Cut open both ends to remove any folded areas.
5) Then fluff out pieces
Idea courtesy of:  Susan Dailey, librarian, speaker and author of "A Storytime Year"

Optional Additional Craft : Cut out paper snowflakes http://thechocolatemuffintree.blogspot.com/2012/12/making-giant-snowflakes.html (could use large tissue paper) (booktalked Snowflake Bentley – another Caldecott)

1/24/24

School Age Storytime: “Soup’s On”

School Age Storytime: “Soup’s On”   K-2 Bedminster School

Featuring soup stories and songs, incorporating fiction and non-fiction, concepts of alphabet, emotions, and months of the year, and participatory storytelling of a classic folk tale.

Kdg only: Book: Growing Vegetable Soup – Lois Ehlert (vocabulary, non-fiction concepts of gardening & food prep)

“Piggy Back” Song/Action: This is the Way we… make the Soup (lyrics for this and all other songs below) (reinforces sequencing)

All classes:  Interactive story with props (pot, puppets, & veggies): Stone Soup  (Participatory storytelling, mentioned old story many variants – I use the Ann McGovern version with old lady and young man - script and songs here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/02/school-age-storytime-soups-on.html)

Song/Flannel:  "Alphabet Soup" by Tom Chapin (reinforces alphabet) 

Book: Mean Soup – Betsy Everitt (A great idea for a difficult day – could also make "Mean Cheerios!") (Alternative: That is NOT a Good Idea -- Mo Willems)

Song:  "If you are happy and you know it…" .. sad, angry, excited, etc.

Book : Monkey Soup – Louis Sachar – author of Sideways Stories from Wayside School  (child makes her father a special kind of soup to help get him well – silly!)   Don't try this at home! 

Book/Cards/Song: Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak, tune by Carole King from “Really Rosie” concept: the names of the months (Watch on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSJ0FDplzjk , more tracks from the musical here: https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=really+rosie)

Book (1st & 2nd grade):  Armadilly Chili – Helen Ketterman (Armadillo fails to get help from her friends in chili preparation but when they return with "sackfulls of apologies plus apple cider, cornbread, and brownies, she finds sharing dinner with friends is best of all. This is a  folktale variant of "Little Red Hen" – which I challenged students to identify midway through the story.)

Song/Action: “Doing the Chocolate Shake” (chocolate soup)

1/20/2020

School Age Storytime–Bears & Snow

Storytime presented the week after the 2016 Caldecott Awards were announced on the day preceding the blizzard of 2016.

Opened with the 2016 Caldecott Winner:
Finding Winnie: the True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear (Winnie-the-Pooh) by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Song/Stretch: Boots, Jacket, Scarf & Hat (for lyrics to this and other songs used in this program, see: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/01/singalong-winters-day.html)

Toys Meet Snow by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky – pointed out 6-sided snowflakes, booktalked another Caldecott winner Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian

Song/Stretch: I’m a Little Snowman

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert (had kids look at the collage art – possible art project or inspiration for their own snowfolks this weekend)

Song/flannel: In the Freezer by Joe Scruggs

Coming full circle to another bear story --  an environmental cautionary tale:
The Last Polar Bear by Lindsay George, illustrated by Wendall Minor

ended with an indoor snowball fight – directions: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2014/01/let-it-snow-winter-storytimecraft-ages.html

(Some groups also heard Snowmen at Night – Caralyn & Mark Buehner (mentioned another great story of a snowman at night made into a beautiful video: Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dYQNAl48E0), Frosty the Snowman illustrated by Richard Cowdrey, and/or Trouble with Trolls – Jan Brett, Blizzard by John Rocco didn’t arrive in time.)

Bedm K-2 1/2016