Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Bees!

We want some warm weather here---we want the bees out and buzzing about before all the blossoms fall off the trees. So we tried to get them some better weather today by talking about bees and doing a bee rhyme and a bee craft.

Both books had bees in them: What Did You Do Today? by Kerry Arquette, and Wiggle, by Doreen Cronin. The kids had lots of wiggles in them, and we tried to get them out by singing and dancing, but it just made them more wiggly. As Katie Couric has reported, shaking your sillies out just makes you sillier. You can't wiggle your waggles away.

Our flannelboard rhyme went like this:

Ten buzzing bees, flying near a gate,
Two flew away and then there were eight.
Eight buzzing bees, flying near some sticks,
Two flew away and then there were six.
Six buzzing bees, flying near a flower,
Two flew away and then there were four.
Four buzzing bees, flying in the blue,
Two flew away and then there weretwo.
Two buzzing bees, flying near the sun,
Two flew away and then there were none!

Our craft was a clever little circular bee. I wish I could remember where I got this idea so I could acknowledge it.  You will need:

1 large strip of yellow construction paper (3" x 12")
Several small strips of black paper for stripes and one cut with a point for a stinger
2 wiggly eyes
wax paper wings
string for hanging
glue, stapler

Lay the yellow piece of paper down on the table and glue on the stripes, leaving room in the middle to put a face. You can glue on the stinger on the bottom at the same time.

Roll the paper up and glue or staple the ends together. Bend the stinger so it points straight out.

The wings were cut out of one piece of folded wax paper. Cut one set of wings, then spread them apart and staple them on top of the bee. Staple on a loop of string or yarn at the same time.

Run around flying the bee behind you or hang up somewhere around the house. And don't forget:  Bee smart! Bee a reader!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Leprechauns for St. Patrick's Day

Here's a fingerplay for St. Paddy's Day

Five Little Leprechauns

Five little leprechauns with lots of gold in store,
One jumped down the hill and then there were four.
Four little leprechauns tricky as can be,
One jumped down the hill and then there were three.
Three little leprechauns tapping at a shoe,
One jumped down the hill and then there were two.
Two little leprechauns dancing in the sun,
One jumped down the hill and then there was one.
One little leprechaun---Turra lurra liro,
He jumped down the hill, and then there was zero!

You don't need the felt leprechauns to enjoy this fingerplay, but they do add to the fun!

A New Baby in the Family

I missed storytime last week. Instead I went to Livermore and helped my son and daughter-in-law with their new baby. Her name is Adrienne Juno Leek, and here she is-----

I actually spent most of my time helping with her two big sisters, Sujin and Yuna. They got to spend time with Grandma, so mom could concentrate on Baby Juno. I walked Sujin to school, took Yuna to the park, made breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and read books. We read Little House of the Prairie and lots of picture books. And of course, we went to the library!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dr. Seuss and more

I honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday today, we read What was I scared of? from The Sneetches, and My Many-Colored Days. That second book has words by Dr. Seuss, and pictures by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, in a very un-Seussian style, though I like the illustrations anyway.

The flannelboard rhyme was Willy O'Dwyer Jumped into the Fire, a "don't try this at home" nursery rhyme.  Here are the words:

Willy O'Dwyer jumped into the fire,        
The fire was so hot, he jumped into the pot,
The pot was so wee, he jumped into the sea,
The sea was so big that he jumped on a pig,
The pig was so small that he jumped on a wall,
He got there so soon that he jumped to the moon,
He had so much fun, he jumped to the sun,
The sun was so hot, he jumped back in the pot.
Out of the pot and into the fire,
And that was the end of Willy O'Dwyer.








In my version, Willy O'Dwyer is a leprechaun. I always like to use this rhyme around St. Patrick's Day.
Here he is in his closeup.










Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!


When you think of great American authors, who comes to mind?  Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, Willa Cather?  All great writers, no doubt, but for brilliant use of words, long-lasting influence, and sheer number of books sold, no one can hold a candle to Dr. Seuss.

If you are under the age of 75, you grew up reading And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. If you are under 50, you learned to read with The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. No author in America is more widely read than Dr. Seuss. Very few children’s books from the 1930’s, ‘40’s, and ‘50’s are still on library bookshelves, but every library has a shelf-full of Dr. Seuss’s books, and always will.

Today is the 107th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, born on March 2, 1904. Today is also celebrated as Read Across America Day, in honor of the doctor. He died on September 24, 1991, but his books and his memory live on. So here’s to you, Dr. Seuss:

It’s your Day of all Days! It’s the Best of the Best!
So don’t waste a minute! Hop to it! Get dressed!
Today you are you! That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

And though he is gone, there is no one alive like Dr. Seuss. Happy Birthday to you!