Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Ms. Eileen's Storytime: Eggs!!!



I discovered a new theme for storytime that is super fun - eggs! I've done chickens and spring and bunnies before, but a whole storytime on eggs was a new one. I wondered if I could find enough books at first that didn't have to do with "Easter eggs" but ultimately I did. The theme just lends itself to other themes like chickens and even patterns if tying in the Easter egg theme.

For our craft, I saved the shells from Easter eggs my family had dyed, and separated them by color scheme. I cleaned the shells and let them dry, then peeled off the dried paper-like membrane. Be sure to break them into small pieces (like the size of a fingernail or so) because if they are too big, the curve won't stick in the glue well. I drew out a basic flower picture on paper, and had the kids glue the shells to the flower in any arrangement they wanted. They could do patterns or even one color. They did a great job! And that was just the 3-5 year olds. We'll do the same on Friday for the 4-6 year olds. Older kids with more patience could make a nice mosaic with the shells.

Here are some books I used, depending on the age group:


Eggs and Legs: Counting by Twos by Michael Dahl

One Little Chicken by Elka Weber

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston (beautiful!)

Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What are Patterns? by Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts

Good Egg by Barney Saltzberg