so tomorrow

Here's another fun project I put together for the Forest Friends storytime we are debuting in the winter. This one was inspired by Tara's super cute flannel board from a few years ago.

Instructions:
Before storytime, layer the pairs of sock. I put a novelty sock on first (in this case a pizza print) so that it would be the last pair revealed, some plain colors in the middle, and then black on the outside (suggested by a coworker) to hide the game.

During storytime, have the kids pat the rhythm on their legs.

A-Hunting We Will Go
A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go,
We'll catch a fox
With _____COLOR_____ socks
And then we'll let him go!

The socks are from a 10 pack of toddler girls' low cuts by Fruit of the Loom (size S, 6-18 months) from Meijer. The pizza socks are from Dollar Tree. Both are easily stretchy enough to accomodate layering them on a fox puppet (this one is Folkmanis's red fox.)

Where Are the Baby Mice? 
Where are the baby mice? Squeak, squeak, squeak
I cannot see them
Peek, peek, peek
Here they come out of their hole! 
One, two, three, and that is all! 

Words: Adapted from the traditional finger play Prop source: Amazon (dog toy, has squeaker)

One Little Bunny
(Adapted from the Learning Groove's song on the CD Outrageous Orange)
*Original version uses 4 bunnies*
One little bunny hopping in the snow. Along came another, and he said "Hello!" Hop hop hop and away they go.  How many bunnies? Do you know?... TWO
Two little bunnies hopping in the snow Along came another, and he said, "Hello!" Hop hop hop and away they go.  How many bunnies? Do you know? THREE
(Can adapt for as many bunnies as you have)
End with: It's a bunny party!
You could use any stuffed bunnies you have handy, but since I am a developing a Forest Friends theme from scratch for an entire library system, I invested in this bunny and carrot set from Amazon. It is actually a dog toy set and the bunnies squeak if you pinch down too hard. 

Three Little Pandas Three little pandas eating bamboo They chomp, chomp, chomped and they chew, chew, chewed; One little panda rolled away, But two furry pandas decided to stay!
Two little pandas eating bamboo, They chomp, chomp, chomped and they chew, chew, chewed; One little panda skipped away But one furry panda decided to stay!
One little panda eating bamboo, He chomp, chomp, chomped and he chew, chew, chewed; This little panda decided to play, So he ran to join the others that day!

Words excerpted from: Toddler Storytime Panda set source: Amazon (dog chew set, squeaks) 

Instructions: Hide the fox in one of the boxes and chant the rhyme below. Open each box until you find him!
Little Fox, Little FoxLittle fox, little fox, are you in the (color) box?

I made my version for an upcoming forest friends storytime. I used treat boxes from Amazon and a bulletin board cutout I trimmed.  Inspired by my good friend, Erin!

Last week I did a half-hour toddler/preschool storytime for a local farmers' market and I see a lot of people looking for ideas for farmers' market storytimes so I thought I would share my program outline. It was really a lot of fun and went over very well! We had 22 people and it was a great collaboration! There are a few other markets in the county and I'm planning on reaching out to them to see if we could rotate this program around the area next season. (My calendar is booked for this fall already.)

I read:
Orange Pear Apple Bear by Gravett
Every Color Soup by Hurley
Vegetable Garden by Florian
Growing Vegetable Soup by Ehlert

Flannel Board stories:
Lunch by Denise Fleming

Rhymes:
Shake, Shake the Mango Tree
Rain on the Grass

Game:
Fruit Balancing Game (I set this up as a station following the reading portion)

Other books to consider:
Edible Colors by Bass
Pignic by Phelan
Up Down and Around by Ayres
Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market by Latham
The Surpri…