Tag Archives: dots

Spots and Dots – Preschool Storytime

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Since this storytime was the same week as my last infant and toddler storytimes, I just decided to carry on with the Spots and Dots Theme I used for those, but change it up slightly.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd

MOVEMENT:
I’m a Little Ladybug
I’m a little ladybug on the go (fly finger around)
Landing on an arm and then an elbow (touch arm, then elbow)
See me fly around and around your hand (circle hand with finger)
Then watch as on your thumb I land (touch ladybug finger to thumb)

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Five Green and Specked Frogs

Five green and speckled frogs
Sat on a hollow log
Eating the most delicious bugs.
Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool (remove one frog from the flannelboard)
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs.
Ribbit Ribbit!

Other verses:
Count down until there are no more frogs left.

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs for the Very Young by Raffi

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Press Here by Hervé Tullet

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider*

VIDEO:
 
“The Most Wonderful Egg in the World” from Giggle, Giggle, Quack …and more Funny Favorites. Based on the book written and illustrated by Helme Heine

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
    
Book: Abigail by Catherine Rayner
Book: Roly-Poly Egg by Kali Stileman
Book: Spots in a Box by Helen Ward
Book: Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Flannelboard: Pretty Ladybug
Video: “Giraffes Can’t Dance” from Shrinking Violet… and More Stories for Young Performers based on the book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
Video: “The Dot” from The Dot…and More Stories to Make You Feel Good based on the book by Peter H. Reynolds (I think this would work better with school aged audiences, but putting it here so I remember)

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS
slc book boy – The Most Wonderful Egg in the World Flannelboard
Jen in the Library – Spots and Dots – Infant Storytime
Jen in the Library – Spots and Dots – Toddler Storytime

HOW IT WENT:
I love that there are enough books on this topic that you could do it for such a wide range of ages.  Plus enough additional materials to make it work too.  You could also add in books on any type of animal with dots – cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, etc.  Yay for variety.

This was my first time reading Press Here in a group setting, and I wasn’t exactly sure how it would go.  I did have a gaffe where I pressed a dot to my left, instead of to the audience’s left, so I need to make sure and remember that the next time I tell the story.  It did make a few kids want to come up and touch the pages, but for the most part having the kids do the activities with me from their seats worked just fine.  I would use it again.

ATTENDANCE: 30 (adults and children)

*To see the words to these movements and activities I use frequently, please visit my A-capella Movements Section on my Storytime Movements and Music Page

Spots and Dots – Toddler Storytime

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Spots and dots!  We had fun with these two elements during our last Toddler storytime of the Winter session.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Polka Dots”

taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:

Spectacular Spots written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale

MOVEMENT: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNT & RHYME SONG:

10 Ladybugs

Counting time, it’s counting time
So let’s all sing a simple rhyme

Ten little ladybugs here we go
Let’s all count them as I put them in rows.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little ladybugs, again we go
Now let’s count them nice and slow
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little ladybugs, in neat rows
Let’s count them as away they go
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

FLANNELBOARD:
Dog’s Colorful Day

Based on the book Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd

Dog has an adventurous day!  Each interaction he has gives him another color dot on his usually white fur.

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“Spots” from Good Morning Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
 

Book: Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
Book: Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup
Book: Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Book: Spots: Counting Creatures from Sky to Sea by Carolyn Lesser, illustrated by Laura Regan
Book: Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri
Flannelboard: 5 Green and Speckled Frogs

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
The Wielded Pen – Polka Dotty Monster – Flannel Friday
Storytime ABC’s – Flannel Friday: Monster Mania Fun
Storytimes and More – Spots and Dots Storytime
Literacious – Sensory Story Time Theme: Polka-Dots
Story Time Secrets – 12 Picture Books about Spots and Dots

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

I really liked this theme for storytime.  I went back and looked at the list I keep of books that I think would work for infant or toddler storytimes, and I saw that I had Spectacular Spots on the list, but had never used it.  Since I want to incorporate more nonfiction into my storytimes, it seemed like a fun one to use and there are a lot of other great spot and dot books to go along with it.

I thought Dog’s Colorful Day might be too long as a flannelboard, but I cut the storytelling down to bare bones, and it seemed to work ok.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  47 people      11 am: 28 people

* For these songs, please see my Storytime Movements & Music page

Spots and Dots – Infant Storytime

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For our last storytime of the Winter session, we had fun with spots and dots!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*
Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Polka Dots”

taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:

Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Pretty Ladybug
  
taken from Storytime Katie, who got the idea from Mollie at What Happens in Storytime, who found the song at Preschool Education.

(to the tune of “The Muffin Man”)
Ladybug has 1 black spot,
1 black spot, 1 black spot.
Ladybug has 1 black spot,
Pretty ladybug!

I put the ladybug up on the flannelboard without any spots at all.  Then, as we add each spot, we sing the song and replace the number 1 with however many spots the bug has at that time.  Fun!

If you click on the blogs that gave me the idea for this, you’ll see they also put numbers up on the board with the song.  I didn’t have a chance to do that before this storytime, but I want to make them for next time.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*
These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
Hey Diddle Diddle

Pieces from Little Folk Visuals

Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed, to see such a sight.
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Miss Meg’s Storytime – Flannel Friday: Ladybugs 

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme.  I liked both books that we read and thought they worked well with the age group.  I know Spots, Feathers, and Curly Tails doesn’t have a TON of spots in it, but hey, it’s in the title.  I say that counts.

At the end of each of my storytime sessions, I like repeating all the bounces and tickles that we’ve learned throughout the weeks.  That’s why you see two in each of those slots for storytime, when there’s usually just one.

ATTENDANCE: 34 people (adults and children)

* For these songs, please see my page Storytime Movements & Music