Story Time Review

Story Time is Egg-citing!

This week we talked about eggs. It was a fun topic to bring in a little Easter without actually doing an Easter theme. We read Oliver by Christopher Franceschelli, Egg Drop by Mini Grey, Ten Eggs in a Nest by Marilyn Sadler, Roly-Poly Egg by Kali Stileman, Egg in the Hole by Richard Scarry, and The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown.

We played with our shaker eggs and we had a game of follow the leader with eggs. I filled plastic Easter eggs with small notes and had each child draw an egg one at a time. I would read the note and then we would do whatever activity it listed. Hopping like a bunny, singing like a frog and spin around 5 times fast were some that we did that were fun.

For our craft I just gave each child a paper with a white oval printed on it. Then I set out sequins, stickers paper shapes and other items that the children could decorate their egg with.

Our take home page was a dice rolling game. It had two rows of eggs each with numbers from one to six. To play the players get six markers like beans or buttons or pennies. They roll the dice and then place a marker over the number they roll. The first one to cover all the eggs wins.

Next week: Bugs
Michele Schumann
Children's Librarians

Story Time Review

Which came first? 

The Chicken or the Egg?

Week two of our Story Time session we devoted to chickens & eggs. This worked out so we could also tie-in Easter eggs and chicks. I read Bumpety Bump by Pat Hutchins, Tillie Lays an Egg by Terry Golson, Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke, An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston, Mama Hen's Big Day! by Jill Latter, and Cluck Cluck Who's There? by Caroline Jayne Church.

I used the flannel board and the rhyme Time for Bed Chicks to introduce our topic. We used the egg shakers to create some noise and active play. Then we did a little activity where the children each took a plastic Easter egg from my basket and tried to guess what was inside. We opened them up one by one to see what each contained. There were things like buttons, coins, rocks, and even a miniature shoe.

Finally, we created our own Easter egg to take home. I had precut egg shapes out of construction paper. Each child chose the color that they wanted and decorated the egg with Easter stickers and sequins. We then cut the eggs in half and glued a paper chick inside. Using a brass brad we attached one corner of the egg halves together. When the egg was closed the chick hid inside then when the egg was opened the chick peeped out. This was the first time in a long time that I let the kids loose with the scissors. The results were

mixed. Some of the kids got the idea that we were trying to cut the egg in half like it had cracked open. Other children cut up their chick instead or just cut random chunks of their egg off. Well they had fun and practiced with the scissors anyway so I guess it's all good.

Next week: Horses
Michele Schumann
Children's Librarian