Black and White Spanish and Bilingual StoryTime and Craft: October 25th and October 27th, 2012

For this week's set of story times, I put on a special shadow puppet show featuring a Spanish version of I Know An Old Lady. The children's department of the Stanislaus County Library has a large, very nice puppet theater that is easy to put together, which I used, although it could be done without it (a large cardboard box with an opening would do just fine). I just hung a white sheet over the theater, placed a lamp with a bendy neck on a chair to position it higher up, and turned out all the lights after turning the lamp on. It worked magnificently. In another post, I will share the resources I used for the shadow puppet show and pictures of my puppets. 

As part of the special black and white theme for the week, I also had an ultra simple art project for the kids to work on after the stories and songs: drawing on black construction paper with chalk. How easy is that? Hardly any preparation is needed, and clean-up is a cinch!

Hora de Cuentos Plan:
Theme: Black and White
Literacy Skill: Print Motivation

Walk-in song: Quiéreme Por Lo Que Soy/Charlotte Diamond (Soy Una Pizza)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Haciendo su propio teatro de titeres de sombra usando una sábana y lámpara es un modo sencillo, barato, y divertido para hacer cuentos emocionantes.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: La Primera Luna Llena de Gatita/Kevin Henkes

Activity song: Cabeza y Hombres/Sarah Barchas

Fingerplay: Lunita

2nd story: Parecía Como Leche Derramada (It Looked Like Spilt Milk)/Charles G. Shaw *flanneboard

Standing fingerplay: La Araña Pequeñita

3-D story: Conozco Una Viejita Que Se Comió una Mosca (I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly *shadow puppet show

4th story: ¿Qué es Negro y Blanco? (What Is Black and White?)/Petr Horáček *I translated this story as I read it as it's quite short.

Instrument song: Lluvia de Estrellas/Terri Hendrix (Putumayo: Latin Playground) *with bells

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Caballito Blanco/José-Luis Orozco (De Colores)

Bilingual Story Time Plan:
Theme: Black and White
Literacy Skill: Print Motivation

Walk-in song: If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake/Sharon, Lois, and Bram (Elephant Party)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Haciendo su propio teatro de titeres de sombra usando una sábana y lámpara es un modo sencillo, barato, y divertido para hacer cuentos emocionante. Making a shadow puppet theater of your own using a sheet and a lamp is a simple, cheap, and fun way to make stories come alive.

 Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: La Primera Luna Llena de Gatita/Kevin Henkes

Activity song: Bodies 1, 2, 3/Peter and Ellen Allard (Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Vol. 2)

Fingerplay: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

2nd story: It Looked Like Spilt Milk/Charles G. Shaw *flannelboard

Standing fingerplay: La Araña Pequeñita

3-D story: Conozco Una Viejita Que Se Comió una Mosca (I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly *shadow puppet show

4th story: What Is Black and White?)/Petr Horáček *I translated this story as I read it as it's quite short.

Instrument song: Lluvia de Estrellas/Terri Hendrix (Putumayo: Latin Playground) *with bells

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: I Know an Old Lady/Learning Station (Here We Go Loopty Loo and Songs to Make You Move)

The Craft: Drawing with Chalk on Black Construction Paper

You'll need:
-Black construction paper (I did full sheets of the long construction paper, but one could easily cut them in half)
-Chalk (I broke all the chalk pieces in half to have more pieces and also because it's easier for the little ones to handle)

Instructions for the kids:
-Draw!

Mud Spanish and Bilingual StoryTime: October 18th and October 20th, 2012

I had to get a little more creative with my book selections for this story time program. While the English story telling collection has ample choices, the Spanish story telling collection is much smaller. It wasn't until our library ordered Marco Flamenco in the Jungle, a bilingual story, that I could feasibly do mud as a theme (Marco rolls in the mud with elephants). I checked out Tacos de Lodo from the circulating collection (there is also an English version, Mud Tacos), and while it's a longer story, summarizing bits and clipping back pages seemed to make it more story time friendly. However, I think it'd be better as a prop/flannelboard story. I don't think I will use this particular story if I decide to do another mud-themed program, though.

Typically, I read Yummy Yucky and have the kids call out yes/no or yummy/yucky, but I had the idea to make it a prop story. I used props/materials from other prop/flannel board stories available in the English story time collection (Sam's Sandwich, Rattletrap Car, etc.) Instead of blueberries and a blue crayon, I adapted the story and used a small apple puppet (with a worm that can poke out) and first asked the kids if an apple was good or bad to eat, and then I popped the little worm out and asked if an apple with a worm in it was good or bad to eat. For the spaghetti, I got a paper plate, wound some beige yarn, and threw some red pom-poms on top. For boogers, I used bright green yarn that fell out during my pretend sneeze (it was a hit!), and for ear wax, I used a goldenrod-colored yarn and "picked" it out of my ear. Because I also used pieces from other stories, I made a list of everything I used and where it came from, so that my colleagues could do Yummy Yucky as a prop story if desired. I definitely plan to do Yummy Yucky as a prop story again.

Here are a pictures of some of the items I used:

Yarn Spaghetti 

No cute apple puppet with a worm?  Make an apple out of felt! 

Hora de Cuentos Plan:
Theme: Mud
Literacy Skill: Print Motivation

Walk-in song: Yo Quiero/Rubén Rada (Putumayo: Latin Playground)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Algunos niños tienen dificultad permanecer sentados el tiempo suficiente para disfrutar un libro entero. Si su niño disfruta de una sola pagina y luego sale corriendo para hacer otra cosa, esta bien. Lo importante es que su hijo tenga una experiencia positiva con los libros. Si le obliga a su hijo que se sienta por una lectura completa, tal vez tendra una mala experiencia.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: Las Aventuras de Marco Flamenco en la Jungla/Sheila Jenkins

Activity song: Las Hormiguitas/José-Luis Orozco (De Colores)

Fingerplay: Al Subir Una Montaña

2nd story: ¡Tacos de Lodo!/Mario López y Maria López Wong

Standing fingerplay: Dos Manitas, Diez Deditos

3-D story: ¿Es Bueno o Malo? (Yummy Yucky)/Leslie Patricelli *with props

4th story: ¡Lodo!/Charman Simon

Instrument song: Los Gusanos/Colibri (Papalóapan: River of Butterflies) *with rhythm sticks

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Somos Como Las Flores/Charlotte Diamond (Soy Una Pizza)

Bilingual Story Time Plan:
Theme: Mud
Literacy Skill: Print Motivation

Walk-in song: If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake/Sharon, Lois, and Bram (Elephant Party)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Algunos niños tienen dificultad permanecer sentados el tiempo suficiente para disfrutar un libro entero. Si su niño disfruta de una sola pagina y luego sale corriendo para hacer otra cosa, esta bien. Lo importante es que su hijo tenga una experiencia positiva con los libros. Si le obliga a su hijo que se sienta por una lectura completa, tal vez tendra una mala experiencia. Some children have difficulty staying seated for an entire book. If your child enjoys just one page and then runs off to do something else, it's okay. The important thing is that your child have a positive experience with books. If you force your child to sit through an entire reading, he or she may have a negative experience.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: Las Aventuras de Marco Flamenco en la Jungla/Sheila Jenkins

Activity song: Spaghetti Legs/Jim Gill (Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)

Fingerplay: The Little Turtle

2nd story: Stuck in the Mud/Jane Clarke

Standing fingerplay: Dos Manitas, Diez Deditos

3-D story: ¿Es Bueno o Malo? (Yummy Yucky)/Leslie Patricelli *with props

4th story: Mud is Cake/Pam Muñoz Ryan

Instrument song: Los Gusanos/Colibri (Papalóapan: River of Butterflies) *with rhythm sticks

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Mud/John McCutcheon (Summersongs) *check out for story time

Cats Spanish and Bilingual StoryTime: October 11th and October 13th, 2012

Hora de Cuentos Plan:
Theme: Cats
Literacy Skill: Letter Knowledge

Walk-in song: Yo Quiero/Rubén Rada (Putumayo: Latin Playground)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Esta hora de cuentos esta traida por la letra...? (Enseñe la letra "g," y preguntales por el nombre de la letra). Vamos a dibujarla en el aire con nuestro dedo magico. La palabra "gato" empiezacon la letra "g." (Enseñe las letras "g," "a," "t," y "o.") Gato se escribe g-a-t-o.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: La Semana de Cookie/Cindy Ward
*Goodreads doesn't have the Spanish version of Cookie's Week, but it exists. 

Activity song: Marcha de las Letras/Francisco Gabilondo Soler (100 Años de Cri-Cri)

Fingerplay: Estos Son Mis Dedos Pulgares

2nd story: Plumas Para Almorzar/Lois Ehlert

Standing fingerplay: El Nido de Abejas

3-D story: ¡Ay, Ese Gato Gordo! (Drat That Fat Cat!)/Pat Thomson

4th story: Cucú ¡Te Veo!/Francesa Ferri

Instrument song: Michi Michín/Colibri (Papalóapan: River of Butterflies) *with maracas

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: El Señor Don Gato/José-Luis Orozco (Canto y Cuento)

Bilingual Story Time Plan:
Theme: Cats
Literacy Skill: Letter Knowledge

Walk-in song: If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake/Sharon, Lois, and Bram (Elephant Party)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: Esta hora de cuentos esta traida por la letra...(enseñe la letra "g," y preguntales por el nombre de la letra)? This is the letter...(show the letter "g," and ask for the name of the letter)? Vamos a dibujarla en el aire con nuestro dedo magico. Let's draw the letter "g" in the air with our magic finger. La palabra "gato" empieza con la letra "g" (enseñe las letras "g," "a," "t," y "o.") Gato se escribe g-a-t-o. In Spanish, the word "cat" is "gato." Gato starts with the letter "g" (continue to show the letters "g," "a," "t," and "o"). Gato is spelled g-a-t-o. How about the word "cat" in English? It starts with the letter "c" (show the letter "c") It's spelled c-a-t (show the letters "c," "a," and "t"). ¿Y la palabra "gato" en ingles? Es "cat," y empieza con la letra "c" (enseñe la letra "c"). Se escribe c-a-t (enseñe las letras "c," "a," and "t").

 Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: La Semana de Cookie/Cindy Ward
*Goodreads doesn't have the Spanish version of Cookie's Week, but it exists. 

Activity song: Hands Are For Clapping/Jim Gill (Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)

Fingerplay: The Little Mice Go Creeping

2nd story: Feathers for Lunch/Lois Ehlert

Standing fingerplay: El Nido de Abejas

3-D story: ¡Ay, Ese Gato Gordo! (Drat That Fat Cat!)/Pat Thomson

4th story: Do Crocodiles Moo?/Amanda Leslie

Instrument song: Michi Michín/Colibri (Papalóapan: River of Butterflies) *with maracas

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Bought Me a Cat/Simply Suzi (Music for Kids)

Neighborhoods Spanish and Bilingual StoryTime: October 4th and October 6th, 2012

For this story time program, my literacy tip would have made for a great craft/activity. How easy would it be to cut different shapes from construction paper that form a house and have the kids make something from those shapes (kind of like a puzzle). I think if I do a house/neighborhood program again, I will get a house pattern, cut pieces from construction paper, laminate them, and then put the shapes into plastic sandwich bags for each child. The pieces will last longer this way. :-) 

Hora de Cuentos Plan:
Theme: Neighborhoods
Literacy Skill: Arts/Creativity

Walk-in song: Yo Quiero/Rubén Rada (Putumayo: Latin Playground)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: En los cuentos de vecindarios que voy a leer hoy, hay muchos dibujos de casas. Los niños pueden imaginar y hacer muchas cosas de un patrón de una casa. Buscando diferentes usos de una cosa ayuda a estimular la creatividad.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: El Vecindario de Quinito/Ina Cumpiano

Activity song: Las Ruedas del Camión/José-Luis Orozco (Diez Deditos)

Fingerplay: Dos Manitas, Diez Deditos

2nd story: ¿Qué Puedes Hacer con una Paleta?/Carmen Tafolla

Standing fingerplay: Una Boquita

3-D story: Los Centavos de Benny (Benny's Pennies)/Pat Brisson *flannelboard/prop

4th story: Oso en la Ciudad/Stella Blackstone

Instrument song: Al Tambor/Charlotte Diamond (Todo el Mundo Come Banana!) *with rhythm sticks

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Conejos Panaderos/Francisco Gabilondo Soler (100 Años de Cri-Cri)

Bilingual Story Time Plan:
Theme: Neighborhoods
Literacy Skill: Arts/Creativity

Walk-in song: If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake/Sharon, Lois, and Bram (Elephant Party)

Welcoming comments

Literacy tip: En los cuentos de vecindarios que voy a leer hoy, hay muchos dibujos de casas. Los niños pueden imaginar y hacer muchas cosas de un patrón de una casa. Buscando diferentes usos de una cosa ayuda a estimular la creatividad. In today's stories about neighborhoods, there are lots of pictures of houses. Children can imagine and make so many things from a simple house pattern. Looking for different uses of an item helps stimulate creativity and inventiveness.

Activity song:  El Baile de las Manos/Jorge Anaya (¡A Bailar! Let's Dance!) 

Fingerplay: La Familia

1st story: El Vecindario de Quinito/Ina Cumpiano

Activity song: Wheels on the Bus/Raffi (Rise and Shine)

Fingerplay: Tommy Thumb

2nd story: What Can You Do with a Paleta?/Carmen Tafolla

Standing fingerplay: Una Boquita

3-D story: Los Centavos de Benny (Benny's Pennies)/Pat Brisson *flannelboard/prop

4th story: Bear About Town/Stella Blackstone

Instrument song: Al Tambor/Charlotte Diamond (Todo el Mundo Come Banana!) *with rhythm sticks

Stamp hands and bubbles

Hand stamp song: Good Morning Neighbors/Parachute Express (Circle of Friends)