Program for Toddlers
ABC Garden / ABC jardin
By Paula Gonzales
Books to Share
Four Friends in the Garden by Sue Heap
How Are You Peeling?: Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
El jardín de Bessey, la desordenada by Pat McKissack and Fredrick McKissack
!Ten cuidado catarina!: Look Out Ladybug! by David Crossley
Una sandía bien fría / One Cool Watermelon by Hannah Tofts
¿Vegetal como eres: Alimentos con sentimientos? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Books to Show or Booktalk
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
La semilla de zanahoria by Ruth Krauss
A sembrar sopa de verduras by Lois Ehlert
There's a Billy Goat in the Garden by Laurel D. Gugler
Nametag
Ladybug
Use the pattern provided at the end of this program to create ladybug nametags.
Decorations
Cover a display table with a bright green or yellow plastic table cloth. Set up a garden watering can, gardening gloves, seed packs, gardening tools, and bug puppets or plastic bugs on the table. Display books related to gardening and allow the audience to check them out after the program.
Costumes and Props
Greet the children with a ladybug hand puppet as they enter the storytime program. A very nice puppet is available from Folkmanis, http://www.folkmanis.com/.
Fingerplays
La Hormiguita
(From Dígame un cuento / Tell Me A Story : Bilingual Library Programs for Children and Families by Elida Guardia Bonet, Paola Ferate-Soto, Josefina Rodríguez-Gibbs, Nohemi López and Maricela Moreyra-Torres Published by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission at http://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/bilingual/toddlers/animales.html.)
Por aquí va una hormiguita. (Use your index and middle fingers as the ant climbing up the child's arm)
Buscando su casita. (Continue climbing up and down the child's arm)
Por aquí pasó, por aquí pasó, (Move your fingers to the other arm of the child and climb up and down)
¡Y aquí la encontró! (Tickle the child's armpits)
The Little Ant
(Translated by Paula Gonzales)
A little ant goes in search of his house. (Use your index and middle fingers as the ant climbing up the child's arm)
He looks up and (Continue climbing up and down the child's arm)
He looks down. (Move your fingers to the other arm of the child and climb up and down)
Searching and searching,
Until…Surprise!
I found it! (Tickle the child's armpits)
Songs
"Los Hormiguitas" on Lirica Infantil Vol. 9: De Colores by José-Luis Orozco
"Pajarito" on Lírica Infantil Vol. 13: Canto y Cuentoby José-Luis Orozco
La araña pequeñita
(Tradicional)
La araña pequeñita subió, subió, subió.
Vino la lluvia y se la llevó.
Salió el sol y todo lo secó.
Y la araña pequeñita
Subió, subió, subió.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(Traditional)
The Itsy bitsy spider
Went up the water spout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up
All the rain and the Itsy Bitsy
Spider ran up the spout again.
Flannel Boards
Diez calabacitas
(Adapted by Paula Gonzales from the traditional fingerplay, "Ten Fluffy Chickens".)
Prepare this flannel board activity before storytime, so that the children are surprised by the magic trick at the end. First place the strip of ten small pumpkins on the flannel board. Cover the pumpkins completely with the strip of ten seeds. When the gardener sprinkles water on the seeds, cover the seeds sheet with the water droplet sheet. Remove the two layers of water and seeds to reveal the pumpkins. The patterns are provided in this program. Pattern I and Pattern II are provided for this flannel board at the end of this chapter.)
Cinco semillas y cinco semillas son diez. (Cuente las semillas)
El granjero cuida las semillas cada día por un mes.
Echando agua. (Ponga agua de la hoja de gotitas arriba de las semillas).
¿Qué ves? Diez calabacitas esta vez. (Quite las hojas que tiene el agua y las semillas para revelar las diez calabazas)
Ten Little Pumpkins
Five little seeds and five little seeds make ten. (Count all seeds together, up to ten)
The gardener takes good care of the seeds.
He sprinkles water on them. (Place the water droplets felt strip on top of the seeds strip)
What now? Ten pumpkins appear! (Carefully remove the first two felt strips simultaneously which are the seeds and water droplets to reveal ten orange pumpkins that are hiding.
Crafts
Flower Headband
Materials
- Construction paper (various colors)
- Glue
- Poster board
- Crayons
- Stapler
Directions
In advance, use a die cut machine to cut out flowers. If you don't have access to a die cut machine, use the patterns provided at the end of this chapter to trace and cut out flowers. Cut strips of white poster board for headbands. Let the children color and glue the flowers onto the headband. After the craft is complete, the adult caregivers and parents will measure the child's head and assist with stapling the band to fit.
Games and Activities
Sensory Tables
Every Child Ready to Read @ your library® and What's the Big Idea? Science and Math for Children in Public Libraries are model programs that libraries are encouraged to implement. They are aligned with research and evaluation findings on child development which show that children learn through their five senses, and that sensory experiences are key factors in early literacy and learning to read.
Sensory tables fulfill a child's need to feel, smell, hear, see, and, sometimes, taste the media they are using. Almost all programs can be enhanced with a sensory table. According to Early Childhood News at http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=227, sensory activities also function as great exercises for the development of fine motor skills. Sensory tables also allow children to experiment with important pre-math skills such as sorting, pouring, measuring, and estimation. They stimulate brain development, and research shows that they help strengthen the connection between the left and right sides of the brain. Instructions for making a sensory table may be found on the Earth Kids website at http://www.earthskids.com/sensorytable.aspx.
Sowing Seeds Sensory Activity
Fill two sensory tables or large plastic containers with two inches of oatmeal or sand. Place five large brown pom-poms, representing seeds, in the sand. Adults should supervise and allow the children to take turns hiding and finding the seeds (pom-poms) under the sand. If desired, include plastic toy shovels and plastic toy hand rakes to encourage use of fine motor skills by scooping and shoveling.
Professional Resources
El Día de los Niños / El Día de los Libros on the Texas State Library website at http://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/projects/ninos/programs.html includes bilingual songs, rhymes, and fingerplays.
Craft Materials
Ladybug Nametag Pattern
LadybugPatternPrinter Friendly PDF Version (155 KB) (Full Page)
Diez Calabacitas Flannel Board Pattern I
Printer Friendly PDF Version (176 KB) (Full Page)
Diez Calabacitas Flannel Board Pattern 2
Printer Friendly PDF Version (147 KB) (Full Page)
Flower Headband Craft pattern
Printer Friendly PDF Version (165 KB) (Full Page)
