11/30 Story Hour

Theme: Winter Clothes
Book: The Mitten by Jan Brett
Song: The Winter Pokey
Sing using winter clothing such as hat, mittens, boots, and scarf
Flannelboard: Match the mittens
Each child gets a mitten and has to place it with it's match on the flannelboard
Craft: Make a mitten ornament for your Christmas tree. Kits can be purchased from Oriental Trading or make your own at home using construction paper and collage materials.

11/23, 11/24 Story Hour

Theme: Thanksgiving

Book: I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson

Flannelboard: Gobble, Gobble, Turkey

Song: Pumpkin Pie (to “Peanut Butter and Jelly”)

First you take the pumpkin and you pick it, you pick it, you pick it, pick it, pick it.

(Chorus in Deep voices) Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pie-Yummy! Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pie-Yummy!

Then you take the pumpkin and you carve it, you carve it, you carve it, carve it, carve it.

Chorus

Next you take the spices and you mix it, you mix it, you mix it, mix it, mix it.

Chorus

You put it in the oven and you wait, you wait, you wait, you wait, you wait.

Humming Chorus while tapping foot

You take it out the oven and you bite it, you bite it, you bite it, bite it, bite it (sing like mouth full)

Sing chorus like your mouth is full

Activity: Play Duck, Duck, Turkey

Activity: What are you thankful for? Add it to the Thankful tree

Craft (targets Fine Motor Skills): Make a placemat to use at your Thanksgiving feast! Make a picture with magazine cutouts or trace your hand and decorate it like a turkey. Use a laminator or contact paper to turn your artwork into a surface you can eat on!

For Further Reading:

Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Brown (E)

The Best Thanksgiving Ever by Nancy Inteli (E)

Five Little Turkeys by William Boniface (E)

Happy Thanksgiving by Margaret McNamara (E)

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing (E)

11/16, 11/17 Story Hour

Book: I'm A Turkey by Jim Arnosky

Flannelboard: Make a turkey

"The turkey is a funny bird (flap arms like wings). His head goes wobble wobble (roll head in circles). And all he knows is just one word (hold up one finger), 'Gobble, gobble, gobble! (hold hands at mouth like a beak and open/close with each gobble)"

Activity: Play Duck, Duck, Turkey

Activity: What are you thankful for? Add it to the Thankful tree

Craft (targets Fine Motor Skills): Make a turkey centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Try this at home by tracing your child's hand and decorating it with feathers to look like a turkey!

For Further Reading:

I Am the Turkey by Michele Spirn E

One Tough Turkey by Steven Kroll E

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting E

Try at Home:

• Take a walk and gather fall leaves. Cut out two circles from grocery bag about 5 or 6 inches across. On the head glue eyes beak and waddle cut from construction paper. Glue the leaves to the outer edges of one of the circle with most of the leaf sticking out over the edge. Glue the other circle on top. Add two legs from construction paper.

11/9, 11/10 Story Hour

Theme: Leaves

Targeted Early Literacy Skills: Narrative skills (sequencing events, telling stories)

Book: Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson

Flannelboard: 5 Little Leaves

5 little leaves in the autumn breeze tumbled and fluttered from the trees. The first leaf said, “I am red. I shall sleep in the flower bed.” The second leaf, all purple, said, “pick me up, I’m cold and wet!” The third leaf said, I’m yellow, a happy go lucky fellow. The fourth leaf said, I’m green, as I was in the summer sun. The fifth leaf said, I’m brown and I shall blow all over town.

Song: Autumn Leaves (to “Ring Around the Rosie”)

All the leaves, come here

Summer’s gone ‘till next year

Autumn, autumn, we all fall down!

Activity: Scarecrow, Scarecrow

Activity: Add your name to the Thankful Tree

Craft (targets Fine Motor Skills): Paint a leaf. Craft supplies used:

Leaves from Discount School Supply

Liquid Watercolors (could also substitute water with food coloring)

Plastic Eye Droppers

For Further Reading:

Arthur Jumps into Fall by Marc Brown (E)

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall (E)

Fall, Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall (E)

Fall Leaf Project by Margaret McNamara (E)

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (E)

Try at Home:

· Take a nature walk and collect leaves, acorns and seeds. Make artwork with them when you get home!

11/2, 11/3 Story Hour

Theme: Monsters

Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Song: Monster Stomp

If you want to be a monster, now’s your chance, 'cause everybody’s doing the monster dance. You just stomp your feet, wave your arms around. Stretch ‘em up, stretch ‘em up, then put them on the ground. ‘Cause you’re doing the monster stomp! That’s right, you’re doing the monster stomp!

Activity: Monster dress up and wild rumpus dance

Craft (targets Fine Motor Skills): Make a crown for the King of the Wild Things

For Further Reading:

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Michael Emberley (E) No Such Thing by Jackie Koller (E) Billy Monster’s Daymare by Alan Durant (E) Go to Bed, Monster! by Natasha Wing (E) Jeremy Draws a Monster by Peter McCarty (E) Monster Stew by Mitra Modarressi (E)

Try at Home:

• Design your own monster paper plate mask.

• Look at the wild things carefully. They are all so different. Some of them have horns or claws. Others have hair or feathers, toe nails or bird beaks. Draw yourself as a "Wild Thing."

• Max tames the Wild Things by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking. Get a clock or a watch and time how long you can go without blinking.