Our fifth storytime of the summer session was all about Butterflies!  We even got a visit from Mary Mariposa, our Monarch butterfly.  (See below).

She charmed us as she flitted about the room to prepare us for the stories, songs, rhymes, flannels and video we shared.

Books We Shared

  

In Julie Sebastien’s Where’s My Mom? we are introduced to a little monkey and a blue butterfly.  This baby monkey has lost his mom and the butterfly wants to help him find her.  Unfortunately, there is a bit of miscommunication as the butterfly doesn’t really understand that little monkey’s mommy looks like him.  After all, butterfly’s momma doesn’t look like him at all!  (She was a caterpillar.)

A great story to keep toddlers engaged as the butterfly points to a snake, an elephant, and all sorts of other creatures that are definitely NOT monkey’s momma!  The wee ones are quick to tell you that little monkey’s momma definitely cannot be any of those animals.  A bit wordy for toddlers but can be easily paraphrased without losing a bit of the story line.

In Butterfly Butterfly by Petr Horacek, a young girl named Lucy encounters a beautiful butterfly in her garden.  The next day she comes out to see her butterfly but she can’t find it anywhere!  While she’s looking she runs into a pink earthworm, a brown spider, a red ladybird and many more creatures. When she finally gives up her search and lies down on the grass, the beautiful butterfly reappears in all of it’s 3-D glory!

Flannel Boards We Shared

Clap for a Butterfly

   

Five little caterpillars spun cocoons (spin your hands)

Hoping spring would be here soon (fingers crossed)

With a little bit of magic (wiggle fingers in the air)

And some warm sunshine (arms overhead for round sun)

Clap, clap, clap for a butterfly!

(Pull a butterfly out of a basket and place on flannel board)

  • Repeat until you have five butterflies on your flannel board

Credit:  Miss Sarah’s Storytime

Five Little Butterflies

Five little butterflies on flowers galore,

One flew off and then there were four.

Four little butterflies among the sweet peas,

One flew off and then there were three.

Three little butterflies with nothing to do,

One flew off and then there were two.

Two little butterflies resting in the sun,

She flew off and than there were none!

Credit:  Jean Warren

Finger Puppet Activity We Shared

Surprise Butterfly in a Box

   

The fuzzy little caterpillar

Crawled up to look at me.

He wiggled and I giggled,

Friends we soon would be.

So I put him in a box, I did!

“Don’t you crawl away”, I said.

But, the next time I opened up the lid,

Out flew a butterfly instead!

Credit:  ArtFelt

Rhymes & Songs & Fingerplays We Shared

We share a lot of songs & rhymes during storytime!  You’ll find lyrics/words to those songs & rhymes (without music) here.

Welcome Song (song)
(to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

Welcome, welcome everyone
Now we’re here, let’s have some fun!
First we clap our hands just so
Then we bend and touch our toes
Welcome, welcome everyone
Now we’re here, let’s have some fun!

Open Shut Them (fingerplay)

Click her for video:  Open Shut Them

Open shut them, open shut them (open hands wide, close them tight)
Give a little clap, clap, clap (clap 3x)
Open shut them, open shut them (open hands wide, close them tight)
Place them on your lap, lap, lap (bounce hands on lap)
Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them (crawl fingers up to chin)
Right up to your chinny, chin chin (tap chin with fingers)
Open up your little mouth BUT (open mouth)
Do not let them in! (quickly place hands behind your back)

This is Big, Big, Big

This is big big big
Hold arms out to side

This is small small small
Cup hands together

This is short short short
Hold hands with palms facing each other

This is tall tall tall
Reach one hand above head

This is fast fast fast
Circle fists quickly

This is slow slow slow
Circle fists slowly

This is yes yes yes
Nod

This is no no no
Shake head

Credit:  Mel’s Desk

You are My Sunshine (song)

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
And I love you more every day…

“Goodbye Friends” (in sign)

Click here for video:  Goodbye Friends 

Goodbye friends, goodbye friends
Goodbye friends, it’s time to say goodbye.

Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye (tune:  Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Now it’s time to say goodbye, say goodbye, say goodbye,
Not it’s time to say goodbye, we’ll see you all next week!

Music from CDs We Shared

Children love to sing and dance to music.  Here are some of the songs/bounces on CD that we used in storytime.

“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman

Clap everybody and say hello, (clap hands)
Clap everybody and say hello,
Clap everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Stamp everybody and say hello, (stomp feet)
Stamp everybody and say hello,
Stamp everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Wiggle everybody and say hello, (wiggle baby)
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Jump everybody and say hello, (lift baby up high)
Jump everybody and say hello,
Jump everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Sing everybody and say hello, (wave hi)
Sing everybody and say hello,
Sing everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

“Wheels on the Bus” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round,
The wheels on the bus go round and round ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, swish swish swish,  swish, swish, swish,
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!
Repeat with:
The horn on bus goes beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep…
The driver on the bus says move on back, move on back, move on back…
The babies on the bus go wah wah wah, wah wah wah, wah wah wah…
The fox on the bus says I won’t go, I won’t go, I won’t go…
The mamas and the daddies say shhh shhh shhh…
The mamas and the daddies say I love you, I love you, I love you…
The people on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down…
The wheels on bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammet & Elaine Bueffel

Click here for video:  Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

“Roll Your Hands” from  Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammet & Elaine Bueffel

Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Clap, clap, clap your hands as loud as loud can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Tap, tap, tap your feet as softly as can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Shake, shake, shake your feet as quickly as can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Disney’s 100 Favourite Songs for Children

Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,
How I wonder what you are.

Video We Watched

Waiting for Wings

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