In short, I am busy: Gardens Grow

Flannelboards, Manipulatives, and Storytelling

• Enormous Carrot
• Fruit slices guessing game
• Grow vs. Made game

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Five fat peas
• Jumping beans

These and more are available online

Vocabulary and concepts

Crafts and extension activities

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Plant the tiny seed by Christie Matheson
• Watermelon seed by Greg Pizzoli
• *Go Go Grapes by April Pulley Sayre
• *Fantastic flowers by Susan Stockdale
• *What will grow by Jennifer Ward
  

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• *Plants can't sit still by Rebecca Hirsch
• *Up in the garden and down in the dirt by Kate Messner
• Do you know which ones will grow? by Susan Shea

School-age Stories (*Nonfiction)

• On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
• *Yucky worms by Vivan French
• *Planting the wild garden by Kathryn Galbraith

In short, I am busy: The Gingerbread Man

Flannelboards, Manipulatives, and Storytelling

• Gingerbread Man (fractured retelling)

Rhymes, songs, and movement

Vocabulary and concepts

• Folktales in different cultures
• Animal names

Crafts and extension activities

• Decorate gingerbread men (die-cut)
• Scavenger hunt for paper gingerbread men (volunteers decorated them and staff hid them during storytime). This goes best with Catch that Cookie by Hallie Durand

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman
• Gingerbread boy by Beatrice Rodriguez

School-age Stories (*Nonfiction)

• Pancake boy by Lorinda Cauley
• Catch that cookie by Hallie Durand

In short, I am busy: Rain

Flannelboards, Manipulatives, and Storytelling

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Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Rain on the Green Grass
• Little Brown Seed
• Five little flowers

Vocabulary and concepts

• Repetition, counting
• Animal habits in the rain

Crafts and Extension Activities

• Elephant ear bookmarks - tie in to having listening ears, listening to the rain, etc.

Toddler Listeners (*nonfiction)

• The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri

Preschool Listeners (*nonfiction)

• Mushroom in the rain by Mirra Ginsburg
• Duck and Hippo in the rainstorm by London
• Boom! Boom! Boom! by Jamie Swenson
• Blue on blue by White

School-age Listeners (*nonfiction)

• *When rain falls by Melissa Stewart
• Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld
• When the rain comes by Alma Fullerton

In Short, I am Busy: Erasing Mistakes

 I use this theme both for school visits and as a theme for outreach storytimes. It works best with a slightly older audience; I usually do it with 1st or 2nd grade.

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Fall is not easy by Marty Kelley (flannelboard)

Crafts and extension activities

• Chalk art
• Black construction paper, chalk, spray bottle of water

Vocabulary and concepts

• Resilience, trying again
• First drafts, editing

Preschool and Kindergarten (*nonfiction)

• Perfect by Amato
• The case of the missing chalk drawings by Richard Byrne
• When pencil met eraser by Karen Kilpatrick
• Chalk by Bill Thomson

School age stories (*nonfiction)

• This is a Whoopsie! by Andrew Cangelose
• Eraser by Anna Kang
• Linus the little yellow pencil by Scott Magoon

In short, I am busy: That's good, that's bad

• Flannelboards, Manipulatives, and Storytelling
• Loud/Quiet by Leslie Patricelli (flannelboard)
• Two little blackbirds (flannel puppets)

• Rhymes, songs, and movement
• Loud and Quiet by Caspar Babypants

• Vocabulary and concepts
• Opposites and comparisons
• Relational thinking

• Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)
• Double take by Susan Hood
• Big and little by Cheryl Pilgrim
• Stop go, Yes no by Mike Twohy

• Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)
• You are (not) small by Anna Kang
• I am (not) scared by Anna Kang
• That's (not) mine by Anna Kang
• Caveman A B. C. story by Trasler

• School-age Stories (*Nonfiction)
• That's good, that's bad by Margery Cuyler
• Goodbye friend, hello friend by Cori Doerrfeld
• That's Good, That's Bad by Joan Lexau
• The little red cat who ran away and learned his ABC's by Patrick McDonnell
• Umbrella by Ingrid Schubert

In short, I am busy: Eggs

• Flannelboards, manipulatives, and storytelling
• Are you oviparous?

• Rhymes, songs, and movement
• Flap little birds (use the tune of "hop little bunnies")
• Here's a little egg

• Vocabulary and Concepts
• Oviparous, amphibian, hatch, nest, tadpole, fledgling
• Learn about creatures that lay eggs
• Cycle of life for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects

• Toddler Listeners (*Nonfiction)
• Peep and Egg: I'm not hatching by Laura Gehl
• Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchinson
• This little chick by John Lawrence
• That's mine by Michel Van Zeveren
• *What will hatch by Jennifer Ward
• Early bird by Toni Yuly

• Preschool Listeners (*Nonfiction)
• *What will I be by Nicola Davies
• Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
• Odd egg by Emily Gravett
• *Eggs 123 by Janet Halfmann
• Chickens to the rescue by John Himmelman

• School age stories (*Nonfiction)
• *An egg is quiet by Dianna Aston
• Egg drop by Mini Grey
• Chicken chasing queen of Lamar county by Janice Harrington
• Argus by Michele Knudsen
• An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni
• *Hatch by Roxie Munro
• Foxy and Egg by Alex T. Smith

In short, I am busy: Get up and move!

 

• Flannelboards and manipulatives
• Scarves or color wands to wave for Mix it up

• Rhymes, songs, and movement
• Hop, hop little bunnies
• 5 fat peas
• Jumping beans
• These and more are available online

• Vocabulary and concepts

• Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)
• Don't push the button by Bill Cotter
• Jump by Scott Fischer
• Get out of my bath by Britta Teckentrup
• Play this book and Pet this book by Jessica Wiseman

• Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)
• Firefighter duckies by Frank Dormer 
• This book is magic by Ashley Evanson
• It's a tiger by David LaRochelle
• Open very carefully, Use your imagination, What's next door by Nicola O'Byrne
• Mix it up by Herve Tullet 

• School-age Stories (*Nonfiction)
• Guess again by Mac Barnett
• *Move! by Steve Jenkins
• Warning: Do not open this book! and Please, open this book! by Adam Lehrhaupt
• *Do you know which ones will grow? by Susan Shea

In short, I am busy: Dinosaurs

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• We are the dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

Vocabulary and concepts

• Size comparisons

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Dinosaur parade by Shari Halpern
• I'm Bad! by Kate McMullan
• I'm big by Kate McMullan
• One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• If you happen to have a dinosaur by Linda Bailey
• Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos
• Tyrannosaurus Rex Vs. Edna, the very first chicken by Douglas Rees
• Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
• Dinosaur kisses by David Ezra Stein

School-age Stories (*Nonfiction)

• When dinosaurs came with everything by Elise Broach
• Pterodactyl show and tell by Thad Krasnesky
• Too many dinosaurs by Mercer Mayer
• Chalk by Bill Thomson
• Goldilocks and the three dinosaurs by Mo Willems
• Edwina, the dinosaur who didn't know she was extinct by Mo Willems

In short, I am busy: Goldilocks

 Flannelboards and manipulatives

• Printed Goldilocks and the three bears flannelboard (see Terri)

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Good Ms. Padgett sings The little red hen and other stories (cd)

Crafts

• Make your own puppets
• Teddy bear die cut, gingerbread man person shape
• Popsicle sticks
• Decorations, tape
• Fractured fairy tale
• For readers - pre-print words and have the kids arrange them and write in their own to create a fractured fairy tale (similar to madlibs)
• For non-readers - cut out photographs, bears, little girls, chairs, etc. and then add in weird stuff. Have the kids arrange them and then "tell" the story. This will work as a flannelboard too.
• STEM - how heavy?
• Small cardboard boxes, weights (rocks? books?)
• Kids stack items on the boxes until they collapse
• Bonus if you can use a scale to weigh the items
• STEM - let's compare
• Collect items to compare - soft vs hard, hot vs cold, etc.
• Snacks
• instant oatmeal (porridge); chocolate pudding; teddy grahams

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Counting
• Comparison and degrees (hot, warm, cool, cold)

Classic retellings

• Goldilocks and the three bears by Jim Aylesworth
• Goldilocks and the three bears by Caralyn Buehner
• Goldilocks and the three bears by Lauren Child
• Three bears by Paul Galdone (long)
• Goldilocks and the three bears by Valeri Gorbachev
• Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson (long)

Fractured retellings

• Yours truly, Goldilocks by Alma Flor Ada
• Papa Bear's page fright by Wade Bradford
• Red Riding Hood meets the three bears by Charlotte Guillain
• Goldilocks and just one bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
• Goldilocks and the just right potty by Leigh Hodgkinson
• Three bears ABC by Grace Maccarone (needs to be replaced - no longer own)
• Once upon a slime by Andy Maxwell
• Goldi Rocks and the three bears by Corey Schwartz
• Goldilocks and the three dinosaurs by Mo Willems
• 3 bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Willey

Other books

• Goldilocks variations by Allan Ahlberg (pop-up)
• Truth about bears by Maxwell Eaton III (nonfiction)
• Goldilocks and the three bears: a make and play production by Christopher Harbo (puppets)
• Cook me a story by Brian Kozlowski (cook book)

In short, I am busy: Back to school storytime

Flannelboards and manipulatives

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• ABC Stop song
• Loud and Quiet

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Basics of storytime behavior
• Social-emotional elements (transitions, self-regulation)

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Time for school little blue truck by Alice Schertle
• What does little crocodile say by Montanari
• Play day school day by Toni Yuly

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Choo-choo school by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• It's your first day of school busy bus by Jody Jensen Shaffer
• Lena's shoes are nervous by Keith Calabrese
• Color monster goes to school by Anna Llenas

School age stories (*Nonfiction)

• We don't eat our classmates by Higgins
• My crocodile does not bite by Joe Kulka
• Pterodactyl show and tell by Thad Krasnesky
• Argus by Michelle Knudsen
• Picture day perfection by Deborah Diesen

In short, I am busy: Autumn storytime

 

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Baby bear counts one (felt numbers)
• Squeaky door by McDonald (storytelling)
• Fall is not easy by Marty Kelley
• Apples in a basket
• Leaf rhymes
• Apple rhymes
• Leaf streamers
• Die cut paper leaves, ribbons, popsicle sticks
  

Vocabulary and concepts

• seasonal changes, autumn, fall
• hibernation, migration
• counting

Toddler listeners (*nonfiction)

• Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes (laminated big book version)
• Time to sleep by Denise Fleming
• Tap the magic tree by Christie Matheson

Preschool listeners (*nonfiction)

• *Every Autumn comes the bear by Jim Arnosky
• *Rainy, Sunny, Blowy, Snowy by Jane Brocket
• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
• *Hush up and hibernate by Sandra Markle
• *Snuggle down deep by Diane Ohanesian
• *Snack snooze skedaddle by Laura Purdie Salas

School-age stories (*nonfiction)

• Winter is coming by Tony Johnston
• Round Robin by Jack Kent
• Goodbye summer, hello autumn by Kenard Pak
• Those darn squirrels by Adam Rubin

In short, I am busy: Chomp! Storytime

 

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• 5 fat peas
• 5 hungry ants
• Jumping beans
• These and more are available online
• Craft: Cardboard circles to decorate as cookies, pancakes, etc.

Vocabulary and concepts

• Counting and substraction
• Movement and regulation (wait to jump)
• Rhyming sounds and rhythms

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Shake the tree by Silvia Borando
• Monsters don't eat broccoli by Barbara Jean Hicks
• Cow loves cookies by Karma Wilson

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Poor little guy by Elanna Allen
• One day in the eucalyptus eucalyptus tree by Daniel Bernstrom
• Barnacle is bored by Jonathan Fenske
• Plankton is pushy by Jonathan Fenske
• Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic

School-age stories (*Nonfiction)

• Woodpecker wants a waffle by Steve Breen
• A Hungry Lion by Lucy Ruth Cummins
• Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman
• I will not eat you by Adam Lehrhaupt
• *My awesome summer by P. Mantis by Paul Meisel
• Wild boars cook by Meg Rosoff
• Little Red and the very hungry lion by Alex T. Smith

In short, I am busy: Animals in the snow storytime

 

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• 5 little penguins
• Funny little snowman
• Hibernating bear
• I am Mrs. Penguin
• I am Mrs. Polar Bear
• These and more are available online

Vocabulary and concepts

• Hibernation, migration, torpor
• Rhythm
• Counting

Toddler listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Bunny slopes by Claudia Rueda

Preschool listeners (*Nonfiction)

• Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear by Monica Carnesi
• *Bear report by Thyra Heder
• *Little fox in the snow by Jonathan London
• *Over and under the snow by Kate Messner
• *Best in snow by April Pulley Sayre
• *Under the snow by Melissa Stewart

School-Age stories (*Nonfiction)

• Rabbit's snow dance by Joseph Bruchac
• Loud winter's nap by Katy Hudson
• Mina's white canvas by Hyeon-Ju Lee

In short, I am busy: Folktales

 Flannelboards, Manipulatives, and Storytelling

• Enormous Carrot (Flannelboard)
• Red Hen by Emberley (Flannelboard)
• Gingerbread boy - fractured (Flannelboard)
• Squeaky Door by Margaret Read Macdonald

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Being clever and kind
• Rhythms and repetition

Toddler Listeners (*nonfiction)

• Let's play in the forest by Claudia Rueda
• Huff and Puff by Claudia Rueda

Preschool Listeners (*nonfiction)

• Give up Gecko by Margaret Read MacDonald
• How many donkeys by Margaret Read MacDonald
• Party Croc! by Margaret Read MacDonald
• Goldilocks and the three dinosaurs by Mo Willems

School Age Stories (*nonfiction)

• The great race by Nathan Scott
• No dinner by Jessica Souhami
• Foxy by Jessica Souhami

In short, I am busy: Frogs

Flannelboards, manipulatives, and storytelling

• The Biggest thing in the world

Rhymes, Songs, and Movement

• Five green and speckled frogs
• Hop Hop Little Froggies
• These and more are available online

Vocabulary and Concepts

• Amphibian, cold-blooded, oviparous
• Self-regulation, anticipating narratives

Toddler listeners (*nonfiction)

• *Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley
• Wide-mouthed frog by Kevin Faulkner (Pop-up)

Preschooler listeners (*nonfiction)

• *Being frog by April Pulley Sayre
• Frog and Fly by Jeff Mack
• No frogs in school by A. LaFaye
• I don't want to be a frog by Dev Petty
• *Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins
• Pokko and the drum by Matthew Forsythe
• That's mine! by Michel Van Zeveren

School-age stories (*nonfiction)

• Frog with the big mouth by Teresa Bateman
• Ribbit by Rodrigo Folgueira
• *Frog Song by Brenda Guiberson

In short, I am busy: Chickens

 

Flannelboards, manipulatives, and storytelling

• Little red hen by Rebecca Emberley (Flannelboard)
• Are you oviparous?

Rhymes, songs, and movement

• Here's a little egg

Vocabulary and concepts

• Chicken life cycle, promote chick hatching

Toddler listeners (*nonfiction)

• Little chicken's big day by Katie Davis
• This little chicken by John Lawrence

Preschool listeners (*nonfiction)

• Catch that chicken by Atinuke
• Chickens to the rescue by John Himmelman

School-age stories (*nonfiction)

• Fox and the hen by Eric Battut
• I got a chicken for my birthday by Laura Gehl
• Chicken big by Keith Graves
• Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Edna the very first chicken by Douglas Rees