On November 1st, we read books about mice. We watched a cat and mouse play “cat & mouse”, we read about a mouse who was “nobody’s mouse” AND we followed a mouse to his patch. Below are the books, songs & activities we shared.
Our Books
During our infant storytime, we read Cat & Mouse by Ian Schoenherr. In this fun tale, Mouse runs up the clock to get away from Cat to the tune of Hickory Dickory Dock. Then the tables are turned as Mouse taunts Cat with a little Eenie Meenie Miney Mo…Catch a Tiger by it’s Toe! This is a great book for infants – the illustrations are bold and colorful and the cat and mouse chase each other to the tune of some classic nursery rhymes. We also shared a board book by Sarah Gillingham titled In My Patch. We see a mouse going through his day, scurrying through autumn leaves, nibbling seeds and finally making it home to his patch where his family is waiting for him. A great board book for a lap sit storytime at home or in the library.
During toddler storytime, we shared the book Whose Mouse are You? by Robert Kraus. In this classic story, we meet a mouse who is “nobody’s mouse – his mother is inside the cat, his father is caught in a trap, his sister is far from home and his brother, well he doesn’t have a brother. What starts out as a sad tale ends well as Mouse saves his mother and father, finds his sister and discovers that he has a NEW baby brother. Clean, clear illustrations and mouse’s emotional journey make for an engaging tale. Since the kiddos were a little squirrely after the Halloween festivities, we settled on In My Patch for our second book. It works for both infants and toddlers.
Flannel Board Story
INFANT STORYTIME
Hickory Dickory Dock!
Credit: The Little Puddins Blog
Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory dickory dock!
TODDLER STORYTIME
Little Mouse
Directions: Place all of the houses on the flannel board, hide the mouse behind one of the houses, then chant the following until the mouse is found:
Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the red house?
Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the yellow house?
Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the blue house?
Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the green house?
Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the orange house?
Watch this video to see this flannel story in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0zcXeXLeuA
Rhymes & Songs We Shared
INFANT STORYTIME
Welcome Song (tune: 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.
Dickery Dickery Dare (tune: Hickory Dickory Dock)
DickeryDickery, dickery dare, (bounce baby on lap)
The pig flew up in the air. (lift baby up in air)
The man in brown
Soon brought him down! (bring baby back down to lap)
Dickery, dickery, dare. (bounce baby on lap)
The Grand Old Duke of York (See video of Grand Old Duke of York)
The grand old Duke of York (bounce baby on lap)
He had 10,000 men, (bounce baby on lap)
He marched them up to the top of the hill (lift baby up in the air)
And he marched them down again. (bring baby down onto lap)
When they’re up, they’re up (lift baby up in the air)
And when they’re down, they’re down, (bring baby down onto lap)
And when they’re only halfway up, (bring baby halfway up)
They’re neither up nor down. (lift baby up and bring baby down again)
TODDLER STORYTIME
Welcome Song
(to 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.
This is Big, Big, Big
This is big, big, big (hands outstretched to the side)
This is small, small, small (bring hands together)
This is short, short, short (hands pressed down vertically)
This is tall, tall, tall (arms outstretched vertically)
This is fast, fast, fast (roll hands in a circle quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow (roll hands in a circle slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes (nod head yes quickly three times)
This is no, no, no (move head from side to side three times)
Credit: Mel’s Desk
INFANT & TODDLER STORYTIMES
(For infants we replace friends with “babies”)
Goodbye Friends (in sign)
Goodbye friends, goodbye friends, goodbye friends, It’s time to say goodbye.
Click here to watch video: Goodbye Friends
Music We Shared
Singing is a great way to share words and rhythms with your baby. While you don’t need a music cd to do this, we do share some songs from cds in our storytimes.
INFANT & TODDLER STORYTIMES
“Ladies Ride”, “Trit Trot” & “Trot, Trot, Trot” from Wee Sing for Baby
from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 Walt Disney
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
“You are My Sunshine”
“Goodbye, Goodbye”
Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music
“Clap Everybody and Say Hello”
Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman
“Roll Your Hands”
Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett & Elaine Bueffel
“I’m a Little Teapot & Two Little Blackbirds”
“My Little Hands”
“We’re Going to the Market” (with our egg shakers) from the CD:
I Love to Hear the Sounds by Kathy Reid-Naiman
Film We Watched in Toddler Storytime
Continue the Fun
Want more stories about mice? Check out these books at your Pasadena Public Library Branch.
