I presented this storytime on January 31, and with Groundhog Day later in the week, it was only fitting to use the theme of Groundhogs & Shadows


Books We Shared
 

Our first book was a guessing game with shadows.  Guess Whose Shadow? by Stephen R. Swinburne, begins with an explanation of what shadows are, then shows different shadows and have you see if you can guess what made that shadow.  Some are trickier than you think!

Switching from the shadows part of Groundhog Day to the animal, our second book was A Greyhound, a Groundhog by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Appelhans.  This energetic story shows what can happen when a round, grey dog meets a round, brown groundhog –  lots of fun!  It’s a bit of a tongue-twister story, but the rhymes and repetition makes it a great read aloud to share with toddlers.

 


Flannel Board Story

Shadows

Pattern and Rhyme taken from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz & Dick Wilmes, art by Janet McDonnell

Like Guess Whose Shadow?, this is another fun shape naming story.  We repeated this rhyme, and then when it was time to say the animal’s name, the children got to name it.

Look to the left. (Look left)
Look to the right. (Look right)
Always keep the whale’s
shadow in sight.

Repeat with :
shark
snake
frog
fish
alligator


Counting Song Flannelboard

10 Groundhogs

Counting time, it’s counting time
So let’s all sing a simple rhyme

Ten little groundhogs, here we go
Let’s all count them as I put them in rows.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little groundhogs, again we go
Now let’s count them nice and slow
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little groundhogs, in neat rows
Let’s count them as away they go
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Video We Watched

“Max’s Shadow” from Max & Ruby’s Halloween

Ruby and her friend are working on a poster announcing their ballet show.  Max is getting in the way, so Ruby encourages him to play with his shadow.  But when Ruby’s poster isn’t turning out well, can Max and his shadow save the day?


Rhymes & Bounces & Songs We Shared without Music

We sing a lot of songs during storytime!  You’ll find lyrics to those songs without music here.

Welcome 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
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Give a little clap, clap, clap. (Clap hands on “clap”)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Place them in your lap, lap, lap (Pat lap with hands on “lap”)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up stomach to chin)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up stomach to chin)
Right up to your chin, chin, chin (tap chin with hands on “chin”)
Open up your little mouth (open mouth wide and pretend to put fingers in)
But do not let them in! (Hide hands behind your back quickly)

For a video of me (Jennifer) doing this rhyme, watch the video below

The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands.  Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the water spout.   (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)
Down came the rain and (wiggle fingers and bring then downward)
Washed the spider out. (make baseball “safe” motion)
Out came the sun and (hands above head in a circle)
and dried up all the rain. (hands out at side of body)
And the itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands.  Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the spout again. (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle little star (open and close fingers into fist to make star)
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high, (move hands up)
Like a diamond in the sky. (make a diamond shape with hands)
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are. (open and close fingers into fist to make star)

Storytime’s Over
Hands up high! (Put your hands in air)
Now give a big sigh (sigh and bring hands down)
Our storytime’s over
So wave bye-bye (wave)


Music from CDs We Shared

Sometimes it’s fun to sing along with music.  Here are some of the songs and cds used in today’s storytime.


“Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels


“Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett & Elaine Bueffel; musical arrangements by Dennis Buck


“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music


“Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays for Fun and Learning by by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass


Continue the Fun

Want more shadow stories?  Check out some of these books at your Pasadena Public Library branch: