dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants todo the same. It shall be our family’s duty to keep this forest strong.” And so they did. Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, andso did their children, and their children after them. And for centuries, the forest remained ... Read more
Reading comprehension, writing exercises and critical thinking all in one worksheet which can also be used as the basis for conversation or a classroom discussion. Suitable for group work as well. REMARK: THE PREVIEW OF THIS HANDWRITTEN WORKSHEET LOOKS A BIT UNTIDY, BUT ONCE YOU DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE QUALITY IS ACCEPTABLE. Students can be ask to tell their story to the class in order to practice speaking or presentation skills. - ESL worksheets
Rev up reading skills - no matter what level your child's at - with our favorite reading worksheets for preschoolers through fifth graders.
A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father
Have you ever had the vibes of your story figured out but no plot? This post gives you an easy process to find out what actually happens in yor novel
How to write a book in 30 days? Is it really impossible? A feat on par with slaying a dragon? Maybe so, but writers engage in this adventure every single year
Ergh, money. Money is problematic enough when you're single and alone and trying to make rent and eat dinner and have the most fabulous dress at the party or the newest gadget to play with on the subway, but throw another person into the equation…
My Resource Room students have been reading several short stories in our literature book and I have been teaching/reviewing story elements and conflict. These are the notes they pasted in their jou…
The lizard looks up and says “Hey, what are you doing?” The monkey says “Smoking a joint. Come up and join me.” So the lizard climbs up and sits next to the monkey, and they have another joint. After a while, the lizard says his mouth is ‘dry’, and that he’s going to get a drink from the...
So, where exactly is your plot taking you? What happens next? What is this story about? It’s time to think about plot. Plotting Worksheet
Uplifting Tumblr Story About A Selfless Farmer - The internet has generated a huge amount of laughs from cats and FAILS. And we all out of cats.
Last week we began a series discussing structure and, if you haven’t read last Monday’s blog, I strongly recommend checking it out. Each of these blogs will build upon the previous lesson. By the e…
Social Media Marketing Podcast 193. In this episode Park Howell will explore the mechanics of storytelling, a craft every marketer should master.
When my children were young, we all loved story time. I loved cuddling with my little ones and they loved hearing stories of colorful characters and adventures. There is something about reading a story book aloud to children that calms their bodies, yet allows their minds to go wild at the same time. Bedtime books were always a must in our house. We always made time for that. Story time during the day was always welcome, but we didn’t always have time in the busy schedule. I often thought I needed someone to read to the children during the day while I cleaned, worked, and ran errands. Related: lots of literature posts from HomeschoolingToday.com Story Time YouTube Channels We all have phones and devices that can contain apps for games and videos for children. While these are nice distractions and some can be very educational, they do not replace reading a book. Little ones need and love books. When children are too young to read, having books read aloud to them is very beneficial for many reasons. Of course nothing can replace cuddling up with a parent or grandparent, to read a book, when that is not possible we can turn to technology and those apps on our devices. Here are seven awesome story time YouTube channels I discovered that read classic books to children. These channels contain fun, dramatic reading of books while the child can follow along page by page. Shannon Linville - dramatized classic children's books and poetry, as well as Bible verse songs Storybook Nanny - high quality audio and video along with a great selection of storybooks Storytime Anytime - a large selection of classic story books and new favorites Storytime With Miss Yumi - fun, dramatization of storybooks along with occasional props to make the stories come alive Nana's Story Time - stories read to students by what could actually be their Nana Children's Books - large selection of books read by a veteran 1st grade teacher KidsStoryTime - stories read with the help of puppets and stuffed animals Do you have a favorite story time YouTube channel? Share it with us in the comments.
There are a lot of things that go into a successful storytime, but planning is a huge part. Whether you are doing a storytime with kids at a library or in your classroom, having a plan in your mind beforehand will eliminate those engagement killing moments where you putz with a CD player or ponder […]
Storytime Theme: Laughter whether a quick little giggle or a great big guffaw, I love to laugh! Check out these laugh-out-loud stories!
This month's Story Time is one of our family's favorites - Corduroy by Don Freeman. Crafts Button Necklace - simply string random buttons on a piece of string or yarn. Paper Plate Bear Face
My favorite story time themes for June are all about welcoming warm weather, being outside, and of course, summer reading. The Beach Suggested Books: All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee To the Beach by Thomas Docherty Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Rotner At the Beach by Anne Rockwell Extension Activities: We're Going to the Beach Five Pretty Sandcastles What Can We See At the Beach? Five Little Shells Sunshine Suggested Books: What the Sun Sees / What the Moon Sees by Nancy Tafuri One Light, One Sun by Raffi The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch This is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Donald Crews Extension Activities: Mr. Sun You Are My Sunshine Sunny Day The Big Round Sun in the Summer Sky Just Like the Sun Playing Outside Suggested Books: All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee Into the Outdoors by Susan Gal Play With Me by Marie Hall Ets Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka Extension Activities: Climb a Tree Go In and Out the Window What Shall We Do When We All Go Out? Bicycle Under the Big Chestnut Tree Summer Dance Zoo Suggested Books: 1, 2, 3, to the Zoo by Eric Carle Bruno Munari's Zoo by Bruno Munari The Opposite Zoo by Il Sung Na Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall Extension Activities: Going to the Zoo The Keeper at the Zoo Lots of Lions I Went to Visit the Zoo One Day (Summer) Reading Suggested Books: We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems Book! by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore I Like Books by Anthony Browne Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw Extension Activities: These Are My Glasses I'm Going Down to the Library The More We Read Together
After reviewing my baby story time plans, and attending a number of baby story times as a mom, I’ve pulled together my list of the best materials and activities I have found for this age group. Today I’m sharing my list of the best books for baby story time. Quiet Loud by Leslie Patricelli In this slightly larger-than-average board book, Leslie Patricelli makes a list of things that are quiet and things that are loud. Though the concept of opposites is too advanced for babies, onomatopoeia and repetition make this an ideal read-aloud for this age group. The simple, bold images will catch babies’ eyes, and the fact that there is no overarching plot makes it easy to skip pages if your group is particularly antsy. Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker This large picture book with eye-catching illustrations retells a well-known nursery rhyme, One Two Buckle My Shoe. The huge hens in each picture make this book very visually appealing, even to newborns, and the familar rhyme invites caregivers to participate. The surprise ending also appeals to adults and often recaptures the attention of those whose minds have begun to wander. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury Rhythmic repetitive rhyming text makes this book as fun to read as it is to hear. The cast of babies from different backgrounds reflects the diversity of story time audiences, and the story sneaks in some diverse vocabulary as well, including the word eiderdown, which I have never seen in any other children’s book. This story also lends itself well to child/caregiver interaction, and it’s great to finish it off by having everyone count their fingers and toes. Hello, Baby by Mem Fox and Steve Jenkins When I used to do baby story time in six-week spurts, this was always the book I read first during the first session. This one provides great visual representations of animals and also many opportunities to practice making animal sounds. It also has a built-in mechanism for keeping adults engaged because each line of the text is written as a question. The caregivers will often automatically start to answer no to each silly question, but you can also invite them to do so. Hello, Day by Anita Lobel This is one of the few picture books out there that explicitly teaches animal sounds. Though the text is not that exciting, the illustrations are gorgeous - and perfectly sized for groups of babies. This book works well as the first activity of story time, and it pairs nicely with the song When Ducks Get Up in the Morning. The Baby Goes Beep by Rebecca O'Connell and Ken Wilson-Max I have never had the chance to use this book in story time, but I’ve heard it read by others, and have read it to my daughter one-on-one. Hands down, it’s one of the best books for babies out there. Onomatopoeia, bright colors, repetition - all of these features are present - and because the book is so short and formulaic, parents can easily memorize it and chant it at home, using noises their own babies make. I don’t own this book, but I “read” it to my daughter from memory all the time. Baby Faces by Margaret Mitchell Babies love to look at faces of other babies, and this book gives them that opportunity on every page. The book itself has few words, so it’s easy to make up your own little sayings or phrases to go along with each page, or to lengthen or shorten the amount of time you spend on each face depending on the babies’ interest. The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz Singable picture books are great for babies and they encourage lots of caregiver participation. Since most caregivers know the tune, and the words are printed in a fairly large font, most have no trouble joining right in. The bold, bright pictures of babies on every page also naturally appeal to babies' preference for colorful images. A Good Day by Kevin Henkes If you're looking for more of a story to share at baby story time, this is probably your best bet. It has a simple, straightforward plot, the entirety of which is conveyed in just a few sentences. The images use a lot of bold lines so it's easy for babies to differentiate the different figures in each picture, and some pages show nothing more than a pattern, which is guaranteed to enthrall even the youngest story time attendee. Baby Parade by Rebecca O'Connell and Susie Poole This is another one that I've never personally shared in story time, but I have seen it performed by another librarian, and I wished it had been available to me when I was doing baby story time. This book includes lots of pictures of babies, which are always intriguing to little ones. The text introduces interesting vocabulary, as it lists the many ways babies can be carried and transported. This book is hard to find in my local libraries, but it is a must-purchase! Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli The text of this book includes only five different words, and most pages include just the refrain "Higher! Higher!" The illustrations provide opportunities to comment as much or as little as you want to on the little girl's journey from the swingset into space and back home again. Because the refrain is so easy to learn, caregivers generally pick it up right away and join in with you. It's also fun to encourage everyone to lift their babies into the air each time "Higher! Higher!" is said. A full archive of my baby story times is available here. See a gallery of these books, with links to Goodreads, on Pinterest. Next week, watch for my list of the best action songs and rhymes for baby story time.
Waiting is hard. I think we can all universally agree on that. Waiting is especially hard when you are a little kid. This story is all about the waiting struggle. It will not solve the issue or truth that waiting is hard, but I think it helps kids feel seen when you state things like […]
Today we had a bubble themed story time for our toddlers and we had so much fun! We read Rabbit Ears by Amber Stewart, Who’s in the Tub? by Sylvie Jones, and Bubble Trouble by Joy N. Hulme. Rabbit Ears is about a little bunny who doesn’t want to wash his ears until he realizes that in order to grow up and stay at his cousin’s house, he needs to learn how to wash his ears. Who’s in the Tub? is about a little boy who is hesitant to get in the tub for his bath, but once he’s finally in, he’s having too much fun to get out! And Bubble Trouble is a quick Easy Reader that talks about blowing bubbles and how they POP! We also sang 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (a crowd favorite among the toddlers) and we shook our Shaker Eggs to the music of the Rubber Duckie song from Sesame Street. I also taught two American Sign Langauge , signs to the kids today the sign for “bubbles” and the sign for “bath.” After we read all of our stories, I blew bubbles for the kids for a few minutes. It was absolutely adorable to see them having so much fun with the bubbles! I forget how much fun something so simple could be!
Okay, so really some of these are sub-Saharan critters. Lions, zebras and giraffes don't live in jungles, right? Monkeys do...and crocodiles, and jungle elephants. But anyway, on with the rhyme! I realize my giraffe is missing some important parts. They're going on tomorrow! You can read the background story below if you're interested, but if not, let's just cut to the chase! Choose five of your animals and line 'em up. Put your sub-Saharan scene a bit away from your animals, and commence your chant: This little monkey went to market. This little lion stayed home. This little zebra ate grass. And this little elephant ate none. And this little crocodile went "snap snap snap snap!" all the way home! Move the crocodile to the picture as you're saying the last few lines, then move him back to the front of the line of animals and start over. Always put your returning animal at the front of the line, so that the next time you do the rhyme you'll have a new animal at the end of the line--that's the one that goes "all the way home". You can really use this rhyme with any set of five animals--farm, zoo, jungle, pets, etc. You could do it with bugs, even. And sea creatures! Just make sure you know what everyone eats and what noise or movement they make before you get started :) And guess what? This set is for sale at my Etsy shop! The Flannel Friday roundup is being hosted this week by Kate at Felt Board Magic! You'll also find other Flannel Friday goodies at Pinterest, Facebook, and the FF blog--check them out! _________________________________________________________________________________ Background Story:A few weeks ago I was playing with one of my two year olds with these sorting farm animals: We were lining them up, building homes for them, making them slide down ramps, and just generally having a good old time with them. (They are great, and most sorting toys are too small for below age three, so I especially love these guys!) At one point I started doing the This Little Piggy rhyme, but the row of animals I was pointing at had only one piggy, so I substituted the other animals names and sounds, and did the rhyme that way. It was a hit--I had to do it at least 17 times before I was allowed to play anywhere else! Yesterday when I pulled out my Herman the Worm flannel board story, I recalled the hacked version of This Little Piggy rhyme and tried it with the Herman and his friends. It worked, and I decided I wanted a set to devote to it. I went for jungle animals because there are already so many farm songs and poems swimming around in my head, and I wanted to change things up a bit.
Keep children on the edge of their seats with felt board stories. These musical stories are a powerful way to teach during circle time or group time!
The best no-fail circle time books to read to kids during circle time.
Adorable rainbow stew felt board set from Flannel Board Fun!
My favorite themes for January are related to winter weather (snowmen), the new year (calendar/seasons), Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (friendship), and flu season (sickness.) Snowmen Suggested Books: All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle Making a Friend by Alison McGhee Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner Pip and Squeak by Ian Schoenherr Extension Activities: Snowman, Snowman Five Little Snowmen Riding on the Sled Friendly Snowman Friendship Suggested Books: Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira Enemy Pie by Derek Munson Little Bitty Friends by Elizabeth McPike How to Grow a Friend by Sara Gillingham Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka Extension Activities: May There Always Be Friendship Ten Little Friends Make New Friends Calendar/Seasons Suggested Books: Snowy Flowy Blowy by Nancy Tafuri A Year with Friends by John Seven and Jana Christy Parade Day by Bob Barner Calendar by Myra Cohn Livingston Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak Extension Activities Seasons of the Year Twelve Months Song We Skate on the Lake Get Well Soon Suggested Books: Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead Imogene's Antlers by David Small Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans Extension Activities Wash Your Hands Monkeys on the Bed This is Dr. Bell
dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants todo the same. It shall be our family’s duty to keep this forest strong.” And so they did. Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, andso did their children, and their children after them. And for centuries, the forest remained ... Read more
One of the most common ways for parents to spend time with their children is …
Storytime Theme: All Things Green is a celebration of really fun stories, songs, and crafts that celebrates the color green!
Hyena has lost his laugh and can't find it anywhere. Luckily there's a tickly monkey friend to help him find it ! Read free picture books, short stories for kids, bedtime stories, kids poems, online comics and more at Storyberries - hundreds of stories for free!
My list for December includes both holiday and non-holiday story time ideas! Enjoy! Christmas Suggested Books: Fa La La by Leslie Patricelli Christmas Parade by Sandra Boynton Christmas Tree! by Florence Minor and Wendell Minor Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani I'm Not Santa! by Jonathan Allen Extension Activities: Rudolph, Rudolph Let's All Do a Little Clapping Christmas Alphabet Five Little Presents Hanukkah Suggested Books: How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen On the First Night of Hanukkah by Cecily Kaiser The Eight Nights of Chanukah by Leslea Newman Eight Winter Nights by Laura Krauss Melmed The Golem’s Latkes by Eric A. Kimmel Extension Activities: I am Lighting all the Candles L-A-T-K-E (to the tune of Bingo) Spin Little Dreidels One Menorah Candle Winter Suggested Books: Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor Owl Moon by Jane Yolen Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming Extension Activities: Frozen is the Lake A Hat Goes On My Head Five Little Snowmen Riding on a Sled Skate on the Frozen Pond One Red Mitten Stars Suggested Books: Stars by Mary Lyn Ray I Like Stars by Margaret Wise Brown This Little Light of Mine by Raffi The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch Extension Activities Stars Shining Bright Twinkle Twinkle Little Star One Little, Two Little, Three Little Stars At Night I See the Twinkling Stars Bears Suggested Books: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. Old Bear by Kevin Henkes Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky Otto the Book Bear by Katie Cleminson Extension Activities: Book Bear, Book Bear Two Little Black Bears Where is Bear? Ears, Snout, Knees, and Claws Here is a Cave Cookies Suggested Books: The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Laura Numeroff Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass Cookies by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Extension Activities: Cookies Cookies in a Dish Five Little Cookies in the Bakery Shop The Doorbell Rang flannel board Bake Some Cookies
Story baskets are a fabulous hands-on way to extend, engage and enrich. Be it language, fine motor skills, thinking, mathematics the list goes on.The question is how do you create one? What do you include in it and how do you share it? Here are a number of tips and tricks to help. If you want more details and support then my story basket mini-course may be for you!!Creating one starts with noticing an interest in a book or a general interest and sometimes a resource that sparks your or a child
The Napping House by Audrey Wood is one of my grand daughter's favourite books at the moment. I love the sequence of the story and how it adds on as you read. It inspired me to make these building blocks, each with a character on them. She was excited to see the blocks all set in a tower. But her favourite is the 'flea'. We knocked down the blocks and then started reading the story, adding the matching block for each page, till we got to the top. The back side of the blocks have the reverse picture, when they are awoken by that 'wakeful flea'. Down comes the tower again as we finish the book. Only to be built again, this time without the book.
This one is kinda like my opposite storytime, which I’ll write about later, but talking about size is another easy theme. And talking about perception is a great way for kiddos to learn abou…
