Books

The books this week were very interactive. We have a large copy of “Mouse Paint” and adorable mice to go along with it. We also have a flannel board version of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” I’m unsure where it purchased but I have used it more times than I can count. I give each child an object (this week they had 2) and when we reach that part of the book they come up and put it on the board, they get very excited and love interacting with the story.

“Mouse Paint” by Ellen Still Walsh
“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff (flannel board)
“The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear” by Don and Audrey Wood

I Have a Crayon

A few years ago I laminated crayons for a program, I decided to reuse them for this rhyme. I gave each child a color (I have duplicates of each color) and had them bring it up when their color was called.

I have a crayon, I’ll give it to you
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue.

I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow.

I have a crayon, it’s here on my head
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red.

I have a crayon, I found it in town
Here is my crayon, my crayon of brown.

I have a crayon, we can draw a circle
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple.

I have a crayon, what do I see?
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me.

I have a crayon right in my sack
Here is my crayon, my crayon of black.

I have a crayon, I think it’s just right
Here is my crayon, my crayon of white.

I have a crayon, the best ever seen
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green.

Black Cat, Black Cat

Black cat, black cat sneak around (whisper)
Black cat, black cat roll on the ground (roll arms)
Black cat, black cat climb up high (climbing motion)
Black cat, black cat touch the sky (reach arms up)
Black cat, black cat jump down low (crouch)
Black cat, black cat touch your toes (touch toes)

Where is Mousie? (Tune: Where is Thumbkin)

Where is mousie? Where is mousie?
Here I am, here I am
How are you today sir, very well I thank you
Run away, run away

Craft

Although I did not read “Mouse Shapes” by Ellen Stoll Walsh I did quickly flip through the pages with the kids and showed them what we can make by combining shapes. For the craft we created our own mouse out of shapes, some of the kids tried really hard to put all the shapes in the right places but I had a few goofballs who found it funny to switch body parts around.

How it Went: This week kicks off the start of our fall programs, today I had a storytime for 3-5 year olds. I had a small group, only 8 children, and the majority of them were 3. Although they were on the younger side they were all enthralled by the books and very attentive.