My first official story time was nerve racking and exciting all rolled into one! I started towards the end of summer reading so the themes were already picked out all I had to do was fill in the rest.
Since toddler story time is an in between point from lapsit to preschool story time, i'm trying to encourage parents and children to sit on the floor. In order to get the parents to feel comfortable sitting on the floor I am trying it out myself! I made a fake campfire out of cardboard tubes and tissue paper to make a focal point to sit around. The kids loved it and several of them knew that fires mean "hot!" (With several of them blowing on it to cool it down... adorable and smart.)
Once everyone joined me we started off by shaking out our sillies! Some kids were hesitant but with repitition several were willing to join in the next go 'round.
Next we jumped right into our first book, Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer. The reception was okay for this book but it has lots of hidden things you can point out to the kids which they did seem to enjoy.
After that we used the pretend campfire to further our lesson in a version of the Campfire Hokey Pokey.
Campfire Hokey Pokey
You put your marshmallow in,
You take your marshmallow out,
You put your marshmallow in and you shake it all about,
You do the campfire pokey,
and you turn yourself about,
And that's what it's all about!
After the first time I asked if there was anything else that we could roast over the fire. Some suggestions were hot dogs, and s'mores.
Our next story was Maisy Goes Camping by Lucy Cousins. The kids loved when the campers POPPED out of their tent!
Finally it was time for our craft:
Cutout campfires
3 Paper cutouts of red, orange, and yellow flames
2 Popsicle Sticks painted to look like wood (Not necessary but I was overly excited!)
1 Blank Cardstock
2 Cotton Balls
Glue (Glue sticks don't work as well with this as the sticks don't stick well)
Crayons
1. Arrange the cutouts to look like fire.
2. Criss cross sticks on page to look like logs.
3. Add cotton balls to look like marshmallows roasting around the campfire.
4. Allow the kids to add other camping supplies/ people around the fire by drawing them using crayons.
Crayons
1. Arrange the cutouts to look like fire.
2. Criss cross sticks on page to look like logs.
3. Add cotton balls to look like marshmallows roasting around the campfire.
4. Allow the kids to add other camping supplies/ people around the fire by drawing them using crayons.
Some other suggestions for stories with this theme include:
Monk Camps Out by Emily Arnold McCully
