Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

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Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!  We celebrated last week at our toddler storytime, and here’s what we did.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD:
T is for Turkey (and Thanksgiving)
Letter-Flannelboard-T-jeninthelibrary

Today we reviewed the sound the letter T makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a tree, a teddy bear, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a train, and a turkey!

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Turkey” and “Thank You”

BOOK:
Over the River and Through the Wood by Child pictures by Westcott
Over the River and Through the Wood: A Song for Thanksgiving by Lydia Maria Child, pictures by Nadine Bernard Westcott

MOVEMENT: “Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett & Elaine Bueffel

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Turkeys
8-Turkeys-jeninthelibrary
We counted 8 turkeys.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the whatevers as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

FLANNELBOARD:
Turkey Feathers
Turkey-Feathers-Flannelboard-jeninthelibrary
Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something!  What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red!  That’s right!  Let’s put it on the turkey.  (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have?  (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

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

MOVEMENT: The Itsy Bitsy Spider*

BOOK:
Hill-Spot's_Thanksgiving
Spot’s Thanksgiving by Eric Hill

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:
Max and Ruby's Halloween DVD
“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max & Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
where-is-babys-turkey-9781534400894_lg Levine-This_is_the_Turkey Dewdney-Llama_Llama_Gives_Thanks All for Pie and Pie for All Thankful Book by Parr

Book: Where is Baby’s Turkey? by Karen Katz
Book: This is the Turkey by Abby Levine, illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye
Book: Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
Book: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Book: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Toddler – November 25, 2014
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Toddler – November 20, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I thought that by singing the book Over the River and Through the Wood that might keep the toddler’s attention a little better than just reading.  I think maybe I should have just chosen a shorter book, which is why I picked Spot’s Thanksgiving for my second read.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 21, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  27 people      11 am: 24 people

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

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

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It’s been two years since my last Thanksgiving storytime for this age group, but I used mostly the same books.  Why aren’t here more awesome Thanksgiving stories for young ones out there?  Do you have any favorites that I’m missing?

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands, Clap Your Hands” from Tickles and Tunes by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:
 
10 am: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
11 am:The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*
10 Turkeys Flannelboard
10 Turkeys

FLANNELBOARD:


Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something!  What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red!  That’s right!  Let’s put it on the turkey.  (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have?  (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:
 Over the River and Through the Wood by Child pictures by Westcott
10 am: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
11 am: Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child, pictures by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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

VIDEO:
Max and Ruby's Halloween DVD
“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max and Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
 
Book: Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, illustrated by Doris Barrette
Flannelboard: We Eat Turkey (you can find it on this post)
Flannelboard: One Whole Pie
Video: “Ruby’s Horn of Plenty” from Max and Ruby: Everybunny Loves Winter!

HOW IT WENT:
I’m thankful that I get to do storytime as part of my job.  I seriously have the best career on the planet.  Who else gets to have as much fun at work?

I felt like the books I used in the 10 am storytime were a little too long for the group, so I switched things over at the 11 am storytime to use shorter ones.  I also need to find a better video — I think Max and Ruby strains the attention span a bit.  But it’s hard to find a good Thanksgiving one for toddlers.  Maybe something food related?

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  27 people      11 am: 34 people

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

Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime

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It’s that time of the year to give thanks for things around us.  That’s what we did today at infant storytime.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock*

BOOK:

Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, illustrated by Doris Barrette

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

FLANNELBOARD:

Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something!  What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red!  That’s right!  Let’s put it on the turkey.  (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have?  (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:
Over the River and Through the Wood by Child pictures by Westcott
Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child, pictures by Nadine Bernard Westcott

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly Very Slowly Goes the Garden Snail*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went wee! wee! wee!
All the way home.

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

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

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:

Book: Biscuit is Thankful by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, pictures by Pat Schories (board book)

HOW IT WENT:
I’m especially thankful that all the parents humored me as I sang instead of read Over the River and Through the Wood.  Since that has a lot of wordless double-page spreads, I did the same thing I did last time and paper-clipped all by the first one together to shorten the book.  I figure this makes a good parent patter moment, and that you can let parents know that there is no wrong way to read a book — starting at the middle, or skipping over things is alright — just follow baby’s cues.

ATTENDANCE: 29 people

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

Flannel Friday – Thanksgiving Edition: We Eat Turkey

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It has been a while since I did a Flannel Friday post, but it seems fitting to do one for Thanksgiving, because I am thankful Flannel Friday led me to blogging!

This tasty song includes all the delectable things we eat for dinner on Thanksgiving.  I don’t know where I got the song, I think it was passed down from my mom’s files. And after doing a google search,I know it’s been included in a previous Flannel Friday (check it out on Story Time Secrets), but here’s my take on it.

We Eat Turkey Flannelboard 2

We Eat Turkey
Templates found via Google Images Search and Microsoft clip art
(to tune of: Frere Jacques)

We eat turkey.
We eat turkey.
Oh so good.
Oh so good.
Always on Thanksgiving.
Always on Thanksgiving.
Yum, yum, yum.
Yum, yum, yum.

Repeat the song with other foods including: mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and pie.

I like to do this as a sing and repeat with my groups.  I sing one line, and they sing it back to me.  I also start with my flannelboard empty, and only put on the food we are singing about.  When we start another verse, I bring out the food from behind the flannelboard and ask “What food is this?”  The green beans and the cranberry sauce always throw the kids, but they join in the singing once they learn what they are.  You also can open it up at the end by asking kids what their favorite Thanksgiving foods are and singing about those!

Thank you very much for reading Jen in the Library today!

Today’s Flannel Friday roundup is hosted by Tracey at 1234 More Storytimes.  For more information on Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday blog or Pinterest page.

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

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Today, I am very thankful I get to do infant/toddler storytimes at my library.  It is one of the most rewarding parts of my job — getting to see early literacy skills develop, seeing the children grow from the beginning of the session to the end.  Today I had one toddler run up and give me a leg hug, and her dad said that when he told her it was storytime day, she got excited.  I overheard another little toddler say, “storytime!”and then “Miss Jennifer” when she saw me.  Interactions like this warm my heart, and remind me to be thankful that I get to do work that can inspire a loving of reading and the library, and hopefully make a difference in these young lives.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT:“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider*

COUNTING SONG:*

Turkeys

FLANNELBOARD:
Turkey Wore His Rainbow Feathers
(filed under Turkey Feathers in my flannelboard files)

Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something!  What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red!  That’s right!  Let’s put it on the turkey.  (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Last Verse:
Turkey wore his rainbow feathers, rainbow feathers, rainbow feathers.
Turkey wore his rainbow feathers all day long.

You can use as many feathers of different colors as you would like.  Since I was doing this with toddlers, I just did the generic rainbow colors as seen in the first photo.  It might also be fun to give out the feathers to the children in the audiences, but I thought that would take too much time with my group.

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

BOOK:
 
10 AM: Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr
11 AM: Over the River and Through the Wood: A Song for Thanksgiving by Lydia Maria Child.  Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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

VIDEO:

“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max and Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:
  
All for Pie Pie for All by David Martin
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes
Gobble Gobble by Cathryn Falwell
I’m a Turkey! by Jim Arnosky
Flannelboard: We Eat Turkey

HOW IT WENT:
Over all this was a good storytime, though I still feel like there has to be some better Thanksgiving stories out there for young ones.  The Thankful Book is a new one I used this time, and it was pretty good, especially once I started inviting the children to participate in the story (“I’m thankful for my ears..  Where are your ears?).  I find that technique can help take a book that might just be ok to a lot better.  Turkey Wore His Rainbow Feathers went really well too.  Originally I thought I would just use this at the infant storytime, and use another flannelboard I have (We Eat Turkey) for the toddlers.  But it worked so well with the infants that I wanted to do it again.  At the 10am storytime I tried using Run, Turkey, Run! which is probably my favorite Thanksgiving book.  I had used this in a storytime a few years ago, and thought it might work again.  However, I think it is better with a slightly older audience, which led to me singing Over the River and Through the Wood for my second story in the 11am storytime.  “Max’s Thanksgiving” also probably isn’t the best video to use with this group, since it is a bit long, but it is so hard finding a good toddler thanksgiving story.  Anyone have any suggestions?

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  32 people      11 am: 34 people

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

Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime

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With two days left until Thanksgiving, this was a wonderful day to celebrate all that we are grateful for.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

BOOK:

Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Turkey Wore His Rainbow Feathers
(filed under Turkey Feathers in my flannelboard files)

Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something!  What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red!  That’s right!  Let’s put it on the turkey.  (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Last Verse:
Turkey wore his rainbow feathers, rainbow feathers, rainbow feathers.
Turkey wore his rainbow feathers all day long.

You can use as many feathers of different colors as you would like.  Since I was doing this with infants, I just did the generic rainbow colors as seen in the first photo.

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

BOOK:

Over the River and Through the Wood: A Song for Thanksgiving by Lydia Maria Child.  Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

TICKLE: These Are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went wee! wee! wee!
All the way home.

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:
 
Biscuit is Thankful by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Down on the Farm by Marrily Kutner  (It has a turkey in it)

HOW IT WENT:
I liked Thanks for Thanksgiving as a story, but I did paper clip two of the pages together to make the story a little bit shorter.  While I usually try not to alter the books in any way, for these rhyming stanza books sometimes I find they work better for the younger crowd that way.  This was my first time using the Turkey Wore His Rainbow Feathers flannelboard, and that was a really great one.  I like finding new ways to incorporate concepts into my storytimes.  Over the River and Through the Wood is another book that I clip the pages on — this time the double page spreads that show grandfather and grandmother getting read for Thanksgiving dinner.  I show the first one, but then clip the others.  If I were sharing this book one-on-one with a child, I wouldn’t do that, but I think it flows better for me to now show the images in between.  I also sang that book, so that was fun.

ATTENDANCE: 25 people

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