Worth A Thousand Words

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle

Rather than use the same old colors, a child paints animals and objects in a variety of different hues. Includes biographical information about the German painter Franz Marc, who created unconventional animal paintings in the early 1900s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This is the Way" Action Song:

This is the way we stir the paint, stir the paint, stir the paint

This is the way we stir the paint, so early in the morning

 

Additional Verses:

dip our brush

paint the paper

blow it dry

frame the picture

 

Art by Patrick McDonnell

A rhyming tribute to a budding young artist whose name just happens to be...  You guessed it:  Art!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Color Rhyme" Action Poem:

Blue is the sky, yellow is the sun

Silver are the twinkling stars when the day is done

Red is the bird, green is the tree

Brown are the cupcakes, for you and me!

 

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

 Introduces colors and shapes with illustrations of shapes on die-cut pages that form animal faces when placed on top of one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at these gorgeous artists' palettes we made for our craft!

 

Making Music

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Farmer Joe and the Music Show by Tony Mitton
With the help of his instrument-playing friends, Farmer Joe has his hens clucking, his pigs dancing, and his cows mooing to a country music show.








"The Drums in the Band" Action Song:
To the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus"

The drums in the band go bam, bam, bam
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam
The drums in the band go bam, bam, bam
All through the room!

Additional verses:
bells -- ring
horns -- beep

Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.








For our second action song, we played "The Body Part Game" from the album Shake, Rattle and Rock by Greg and Steve.  I could not touch my nose to my toes!!!!

Tanka Tanka Skunk! by Steve Webb
Uses animal names to introduce rhythmic language and rhyme, as Tanka the elephant and his friend Skunk play drums to keep the beat.

Tambourines!
We had a blast making this noisy craft.

Independence Day!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Olivia Forms a Band by Ian Falconer
Olivia decides there has to be a marching band at the fireworks display, even if she has to do it herself.









"Fireworks" Action Song:
Fireworks go snap, snap, snap
Crack, crack, crack
Zap, zap, zap
Fireworks make me clap, clap, clap
On Independence Day!

My America by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
An illustrated children's poem which celelbrates the diversity of America.







"This Land is Your Land"
by Woodie Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

Summer Beat by Betsy Franco

Two friends celebrate the sounds and sights of summer. Clackity-clack, clackity-clack. A skateboard flies over sidewalk squares. Whoosh pumf, whoosh pumf. Water balloons tossed through the air. Bizzle-bzzz, bizzle-bzzz. A bumblebee comes zipping by. Tzooooooooooo bang. Tzooooooooooo bang. Fireworks start for the Fourth of July! The sounds of summer sizzle and pop in this bouncing, swinging tribute to the best beats of every child's favorite season.

 

 

We rocked Craft Time with this patriotic windsock!

 

A Day at the Beach

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The best thing about books is their ability to transport you to a new place!  Today, we explored the beach...

Beach Day by Karen Roosa
Rhyming text describes a perfect day at the beach, complete with sandy knees, deviled eggs, and a castle with a moat.






"Five Little Ocean Friends" Action Rhyme:
Five little ocean friends, on the ocean floor
The starfish walks away, and now there are four
Four little ocean friends living in the sea,
The crab slides away, and now there are three
Three little ocean friends, looking for a clue
"Glub, glub," says the lobster; now there are are two
Two little ocean friends, not having too much fun
The seahorse swims away, and now there is one
One little octopus, sad and all alone
Back swims the starfish, back swims the crab,
Back swims the lobster, back swims the seahorse
And they played in the seafoam, safe in their home!

What If? by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

What if a boy found a beach ball and kicked it into the ocean? What if two seals found it and began to play? What if a third seal appeared on the beach looking for a friend? Enjoy this visit to the beach and the chance to guess what happens when different choices are made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Waves in the Sea" Action Song:

Sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus"

The waves in the sea go up and down, up and down, up and down

The waves in the sea go up and down, all the day long

The shark in the sea goes snap, snap, snap...

The fish in the sea go swish, swish, swish...

 

Fun Dog, Sun Dog by Deborah Heiligman

Although Tinka the dog can be described in many ways, she is always the right kind of canine for her owner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the jellyfish we created at craft time!
I named mine G-Whiz the Jellyfish.

 

March of the Penguins

Wednesday, June 16, 2013

A Sick Day For Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead
Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day--'Ah-choo!'--he woke with the sniffles and the sneezes. Though he didn't make it into the zoo that day, he did receive some unexpected guests.


"Two Little Penguins" Fingerplay:
Two little penguins sitting on the ice
One bows once, the other bows twice
Waddle, little penguins, waddle away
Come back penguins; time to play!

If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence Minor
Pictures and rhyming text present some of the many extraordinary things penguins can do!  Introduces different kinds of penguins and fun facts about penguins.



"I'm a Little Penguin" Action Song:
Sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"
I'm a little penguin in the sea
I can swim as fast as can be
When I catch a fish just look at me
I'm as proud as I can be!

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
Tacky the penguin does not fit in with his sleek and graceful companions, but his odd behavior comes in handy when hunters come with maps and traps.

Penguin Puppets for Craft Time!

Summer Reading!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

My favorite thing to do when it's too hot to play outside?  Visit the library and read a good book!

The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore
When various forest animals discover a mysterious object in the woods, they each use it for a different purpose, until a boy reads stories aloud from it, much to the animals' delight.







"If You're Happy and You Know It" Action Song:
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

Additional verses--
stomp your fee
shout, "Hooray!"
do all three 

 Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea
Dinosaur is going to one of his favorite places, the library, and on the way he encounters a series of animals, including a cow, baby chicks, a turtle, and an owl, and shares his roars with each. 







"Old MacDonald" Action Song:
Old MacDonald had a farm
EIEIO
And on that farm he had a cow
EIEIO
With a moo-moo here
And a moo-moo there
Here a moo, there a moo
Everywhere a moo-moo
Old MacDonald had a farm
EIEIO  

 Book!  Book!  Book! by Deborah Ross
When the children go back to school, the animals on the farm are bored, so they go into the library in town trying to find something to do.












We colored our very own READ bookmarks and added a swanky ribbon at craft time today!

Frogs Galore

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

One Frog Sang by Shirley Parenteau
Introduces the numbers one through ten as more and more frogs join in the evening song. Count on these frogs for a luminous read-aloud bursting with lyrical sound play and visual surprises. 







"Ba-rump Went the Little Green Frog" Action Song:
Ba-rump went the little green frog one day
Ba-rump went the little green frog
Ba-rump went the little green frog one day 
And his eyes went glunk, glunk, glunk!
But we know frogs go (clap) la-de-da-de-da
(Clap) la-de-da-de-da
(Clap) la-de-da-de-da
We know frogs go (clap) la-de-da-de-da
They don't go glunk, glunk, glunk!

 Down by the Cool of the Pool by Tony Mitton
Frog and the other animals have a dancing good time both in and out of the water in the cool of the pool.








"Five Green and Speckled Frogs" Action Rhyme:
Five green and speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious flies...  Yum!
One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool
Now there were four green and speckled frogs!
(Repeat until no frogs remain!)

 

 Stick by Steve Breen
An independent young frog goes on a wild adventure when he accidentally gets carried away by a dragonfly.

Isn't he cute?  We hopped into craft time and made these adorable frogs!