When I’m on Infant/Toddler Storytime rotation, and I also have school-aged class visits coming in during the same time period, I’ll often take the same theme and adapt it to fit the different audiences.  That’s what I did for today’s first grade visit.  I carried the bug theme through, and just switched it up a bit. 

BOOK:

Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson

FLANNELBOARD:
Bug in a Rug

Template & Story from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes

I used this flannelboard for my infant and toddler storytimes, but I changed it up a bit for the first graders.  I put each bug on the flannelboard and, without my prompting, the kids named each one.  Then I told them I was going to hide one of the bugs under the rug, and they would have to tell me which one.  They closed their eyes, and I recited:

“Bug in a rug
Bug in a rug.
Who is that
Bug in a rug”

The kids opened their eyes and told me which was missing.  Since they all wanted to participated, I had them say it all together.  We played this way for a few times.  Then I made it a little harder by hiding one bug, but mixing the other bugs on the board up.  We did it that way a few times.  Then to make it a bit harder, I hid two bugs, but didn’t tell them I was going to.  I think to make it even better for older kids, I would add more bugs.

MOVEMENT: We Work With One Hammer*

BOOK:

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

BOOK:

The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner
VIDEO:

“Diary of a Fly” from Giggle, Giggle, Quack … and More Stories by Doreen Cronin

OTHER MATERIALS TO USE:

“Clever Cricket” from Little Bear’s Band DVD

HOW IT WENT:
This was a pretty fun (and rowdy!) storytime.  The great thing about first graders is that they want to tell you everything that they have going on, and engage with every story you read.  We had a lot of fun this time, especially with Can You Make a Scary Face? (Which is great with audiences of all ages). And when we went to stand up, all the kids knew we would be doing, and were looking forward to, We Work With One Hammer.  I think the video was a bit too old this time around, though, so next time I might switch it up for a Little Bear story.

ATTENDANCE: 18 people