An Old Favorite & A New Favorite!

Ms. Eileen here - just wanted to continue with what Patty posted about my storytimes this week and the theme "Outdoors". I have sooo enjoyed it as a theme and the books are ALL just great storytime books! But I wanted to specifically mention 2 that I love- the old favorite being "We Were Tired of Living in a House" by Liesel Moak Skorpen.  Originally released in 1969 with illustrations by Doris Burn, here it is:

 And here is the 1999 version illustrated by Joe Cepeda that I used:

It is a beautifully written book, so lyrical and full of alliteration. The children move to various locations like the sea, a tree, and a pond, where they truly enjoy living until someone or something happens, and they ultimately end up back home.
"So we packed our bag with sweaters and scarlet leaves and gold, and a frog who was a particular friend, and precious stones that caught and held the sun.  And we moved to the sea. We liked the sea."
My 4 & 5 year olds were entranced!

My newish favorite is this one by Susan Gal:

For something that is really a spacial-relationships concept book, this book is pretty and funny and reads like a dream!  Check it out and be sure to follow the cutest bear ever through the pages!

Storytime Week Two: Lions and Outdoor Fun

Ms. Eileen is focusing on Outdoor stories this week, while Ms. Patty is tackling Lions as a theme.  Ms. Eileen and her 4 to 6 year old friends are doing scratch-off leafs as a craft, and reading "Are You Ready to Play Outside" by Mo Willems, and "Acorns Everywhere" by Kevin Sherry, among other books.  The two and three year olds have been making lion masks, a beginner cutting exercise, and roaring up a storm with this little action rhyme:

Lion, lion, jungle king
Doesn't whisper, doesn't sing
Doesn't yell, and doesn't snore
The only sound he makes is ROAR!!!!

We've also read "We're Going on a Lion Hunt" by David Axtell, and interpreted the very gorgeous "The Lion and the Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney.

Storytime Week One:

We began this Storytime season with Friends for the 2s and 3/4s and stories about Harvest for the 4-6 year olds.  In Ms. Patty's groups we played "Round and Round the Village" and decorated friendship cut-outs while Ms. Eileen's groups did potato printing and read about the wonderful vegetables being harvested now.  Here's a glimpse of some of the books we read.