Children

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Childrens Programming Challenge Ideas for
preschool children
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Presented by Helen Kelly HKelly_at_hpl.ca Alicia
Subnaik-Kilgour akilgour_at_collingwood.ca Michele
Hopkins mhopkins_at_library.cambridge.on.ca Jane
Salmon JSalmon_at_city.barrie.on.ca Kimberly
Sutherland-Mills kmills_at_kfpl.ca
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Helen Kelly
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Take a Bus

• A piggyback song to the tune of Twinkle
  Twinkle
• A flannel story
• Theme of Things That Go
• Storytime weekly good-bye song
• Concept tool for shapes, colours and counting

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Take a Bus
Take a bus or take a train Take a boat or take a
plane Take a taxi or a car May be near or may
be far Take a spaceship to the moon But be sure
to come back soon.
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Best Winter Flannel Story Ever Build A Snowman

• Have the children pretend to roll a big, a
  medium and a small snowball
• Place the large flannel ball on the board
• Now place the medium ball under it and have them
  tell you what is wrong with it. Should it be
  higher, lower etc
• Now put the small snowball on top of the large
  one and again have them explain the problem.
  Continue to incorrectly assemble the snowman.
• The children will howl with laughter as you
  fumble your way through.

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3 Little Monkeys Meet A Crocodile

• Hide your crocodile puppet and monkey puppets in
  a canvas/fabric bag
• Describe the animals inside brown, swing in the
  trees, eat bananas
• Shake the bag as you pretend to catch these
  jumping monkeys count each one
• Describe a green animal with sharp teeth who
  lives in the swamp
• Put your hand in the bag and have it bitten
  (ouch), ask everyone to be very quiet while you
  sneak up on the hungry crocodile

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3 Little Monkeys Meet A Crocodile
3 little monkeys swinging in a tree Along came a
crocodile as quiet as can be The first monkey
said, You cant catch me. SNAP 2 little
monkeys 1 little monkey The last monkey said,
You cant catch me. SNAP Ha, ha you missed me.
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Going on a Bear/Dragon/Monster Hunt
Going on a Bear Hunt Going on a bear hunt (Have
the audience echo back each line after you and
tap out the song.) Gonna catch a big one Im not
scared Look at all the flowers. Do you see what I
see? MUD. We cant go over it. We cant go under
it. We cant go around it. We have to go through
it. Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp.    
We're Going on a Bear Huntby Michael Rosen
(Author), Helen Oxenbury (Author) Audio CD (May
1, 2004) Language English Penguin ISBN
0763624292
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Going on a Bear/Dragon/Monster Hunt
Repeat the above verses with GRASS instead of
MUD. Swish, swish, swish, swish.   Repeat again
with a TREE instead of GRASS. Climb, climb,
climb, climb.   Repeat again with a CAVE. We
better go in it. Its dark in here. I feel a
fuzzy face and two fuzzy ears. Everyone run. Its
a BEAR! Run up the tree, through the grass,
through the mud and back to the library. Safe at
last!  
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Le Hokey Pokey (Bilingual Version) (Alternate
English And French)
Le hokey-pokey On met la main devant On met la
main derrière On met la main devant Et on bouge,
bouge, bouge On fait le hokey-pokey Et on tourne,
tourne, tourne Et cest comme ça quon joue ! On
met le pied devant On met le pied derrière
On met la tête devant On met la tête
derrière On met le derrière devant On met le
derrière derrière On met le derrière devant Et on
bouge, bouge, bouge On fait le hokey-pokey Et on
tourne, tourne, tourne Et cest comme ça quon
joue !
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Alicia Subnaik-Kilgour
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Stories in the Park

• This is a drop in storytime programme for
  families. Most of the children were preschool
  age.
• Every Friday morning throughout the summer, the
  library hosted the programme at a local park
  (hosted at the library on rainy days).
• This programme was run by our summer students.
• The programme consisted of stories, songs,
  crafts, games and a snack.
• Families were asked to donate 2/family towards
  the cost of snacks.
• Caregivers had to remain with their child(ren)
  and were active participants.
• The programme was about 1 -1 ½ hours long.
• Hints
• Always have a good supply of stories and
  activities.
• Think about the outdoor elements when organizing
  crafts (i.e. windy days).

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Magic Bag

• This is a fun activity for preschool children.
• Decorate two opaque bags and fill one with
  colourful items.
• Make sure that the item has a distinct colour
  (i.e. green frog, yellow duck,red bird, etc)
• Purchase talking toy. The one I purchased is in
  the shape of a ball, when you bump the ball it
  talks (It says Youre special or Good job).
• Place the talking toy in bottom of one bag, and
  then place the other bag inside so that the
  talking toy is hidden. Place all the other items
  inside the second bag. I tell the children they
  have to be quiet and use their ears to listen to
  the magic bag.
• I go around the circle and each child reaches
  into the bag to select an
• item. We identify the colour of the item and
  then place it back inside the bag. I shake the
  bag and the next child chooses an object. Every
  few minutes, I bump the bag and it talks. The
  children are amazed!

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Magic Bag
Hints This works best during circle time, with
a group of 10 15 children. Make sure the
talking toy is hidden in the bottom bag and the
second bag filled with items is covering the
toy. This way a child will not select the
talking toy and the bag will continue to be full
of Magic. I try to find items to match all the
animals (and their respective colours) in the
story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin, Jr.
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Mixing Colours

• Purchase a couple of cans of whipped cream.
• Place a couple dollops inside a zip lock bag.
• Add food colouring and zip the bag closed.
• Have the kids squish the bag a few times.
• They will be amazed when the white whip cream
  changes into a different colour.
• Use the whip cream with a snack afterwards.
• Hints
• This may become very messy.
• Have lots of wipes on hand.
• Try different colour combinations (i.e. blue and
  yellow to make green).

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Easter Egg Hunt

• We bought 10 - 20 pounds of chocolate Easter
  eggs and hid them inside, throughout the library.
• Many children came dressed in theme.
• I ran 2 sessions at Easter Time (one in the
  morning and one in the afternoon).
• We read Easter stories, made a simple craft and
  then had the Easter egg hunt. This worked well
  with small groups of 20 children.
• Parents/caregivers were asked to remain with
  their child during the egg hunt.
• Over the years, this programme became more and
  more popular. As a result, we had to modify the
  programme. When we reached 100 children, we
  dropped the craft portion of the programme.

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Easter Egg Hunt
Hints If you are running more than one session,
make sure you have enough time to hide the candy
before the second group of children arrive.
Beware of families who come early to scout out
where the candy is hidden. Having a few extra
staff members or volunteers stationed throughout
the library is very helpful for maintaining
order. Even though this programme can become
hectic, it really is a lot of fun!
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Form a Partnership with your Local Early Years
Centre

• We are very fortunate to have a fantastic
  working relationship with our Early Years Centre.
  One of their core services is Early Literacy.
• http//www.ontarioearlyyears.ca/oeyc/oeyc.htm
• Currently, they run our Rhyme Time with Baby
  programme for children 24 months and under. The
  programme runs 4 times a year in 4 -5 week
  sessions.
• They also offer a number of Make and Take
  workshops throughout the year.

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Form a Partnership with your Local Early Years
Centre

• They really enjoy running programmes out of the
  library. Its a great way for them to network and
  meet new parents. It is also a great way to
  promote our library services to families who
  visit the library for the first time.
• If I am doing a special week of programming, I
  let them know. They will often come in and do a
  programme in theme for children 0 6 years of
  age.
• We have a great Childcare collection, and they
  often refer parents.
• We promote their programmes and they promote our
  programmes.

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Michele Hopkins
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Reading Incentives
What are they? Encouragement for program
participants to read library books at home   When
do we use them? As a regular and fun component
of every registered program  
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Reading Incentives

•  Different Types of Incentives that Work
• Homework
• Challenges
• Representational Activities
• Visual Displays
• Active Encouragement
• Games
•   

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Reading Incentives
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Jane Salmon Barrie Public Library
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Tapping Sticks Songs
Make tapping sticks from old fashioned clothes
pegs or use popsicle sticks. Avoid coloured
popsicle sticks colours run on sweaty
hands! Music Tickles and Tunes by Kathy
Reid-Naiman ( Im Passing Out the Sticks, When
Youre One, Time to Put Away) Rhythms on
Parade by Hap Palmer (Tap Your Sticks)
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Tapping Sticks Songs
Lets tap and tap and tap and tap and tap and tap
and stop Lets tap and tap and tap and tap and
tap and tap and stop Repeat faster When Youre
One, one, one tap on your bum, bum, bum Two -
shoe Three knee Four floor Five come on
and jive Six sticks Seven up to heaven Eight
youll have to wait Nine on your spine Ten
begin again
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Fun with Ribbons

• Cut out approximately foot long ribbons of
  different colours
• Using pinking shears will help stop fraying
• Give each child a ribbon

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Fun with Ribbons

• Circus theme children hold ribbons for their
  circus costume as they walk a masking tape line
• Snakes Use as childs snake for songs like
  Sally the Swinging Snake (Hap Palmer)
• Try with songs like Merry-Go-Round (Shakin It
  by Parachute Express) as colourful props

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Greedy Dog

• Make a cardboard standing dog - cut a round hole
  out where stomach would be
• Attach a paper bag open end up behind stomach
  using strong tape such as duct tape
• Make food using clip art, drawing, paper with
  mac tac over it etc.
• Feed dog as you read poem

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Greedy Dog
This dog will eat anything, Apple cores and bacon
fat Milk you poured out for the cat He likes the
string that ties the roast And relishes the
buttered toast. Hide your chocolates! Hes a
thief. Hell even eat your handkerchief. And if
you dont like sudden shocks, Carefully conceal
your socks.
Leave some soup without a lid, And youll wish
you never did. When you think he must be
full Youll find him gobbling bits of
wool, Orange peel or paper bags, Dusters and old
cleaning rags. This dog will eat anything, Except
for mushrooms and cucumber. Now whats wrong with
those, I wonder? By James Hurley
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Spiders

• Take 2 pipe cleaners
• Cut each in half
• Twist pipe cleaner halves around each other in
  middle forming the spider body with 8 legs

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Spiders

• To Use
• Make ahead OR have a craft time before song so
  that each child has their own spider
• Use the Theres a Spider on the Floor song
  from Singable Songs for the Very Young by Raffi
  and watch the children giggle as they move their
  spiders all over their body!

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Colour Squares

• Cut out 9x9 black bristol board squares
• Cut out 31/2 x 31/2 squares from red, yellow,
  blue and green construction paper (Squares can
  vary in size as long as 4 fit on one side of the
  black square)
• Glue one square of each colour on each side of a
  black square
• Mactac

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Colour Squares

• Give each child their own square with the 4
  colours
• Use song Put a Little Color on You from Can a
  Cherry Pie Wave Goodbye? By Hap Palmer

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Kimberly Sutherland-Mills Kingston Frontenac
Public Library
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Red is best, and big is even better
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What Do You Need?

• 1 sheet of red bristol board
• 5 or 6 sheets red construction paper
• Red cup
• Red felt or cloth
• Large felt scraps
• Black marker
• Assorted buttons or other decorative items

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Mrs. OGrady Goes Shopping
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How do you play?

• Guessing game
• Describe items on her shopping list
• Children make their guesses
• Pull the items out of a basket

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Can you guess Mrs. OGradys first choice?

• Crunchy
• Sometimes sweet, sometimes a little sour
• Sometimes green, red or yellow
• You can pick them in the fall

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You guessed it!
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Can you guess Mrs. OGradys second choice?

• Crunchy
• Full of little white seeds
• Good to eat in chilli and spaghetti sauce
• Could be green, red, yellow or orange

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You guessed it!
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Mr. Whipper Snapper

• Adapted from an oral telling by Canadian
  childrens author Richard Thompson

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Mr. Whipper Snapper

• Every shoe is magical
• What would each shoe make him do?
• Practise your silly dancing, running, etc.
• Works with primary grades too

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Hush Little Baby, a lullaby with props

• Traditional lullaby
• Uses props to help grab childrens attention

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You will need
Hush Little Baby, a lullaby with props

• Toy bird
• Ring made from tinfoil and faux jewel
• Small plastic mirror
• Toy goat
• Toy bull (and a cart, if you can find one)
• Toy dog
• Toy horse

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Mitten Match Game

• Cut out mittens from different colours of
  construction paper
• Decorate to create several different pairs

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One way to play find a friend
Mitten Match Game

• Give every child one mitten.
• Ask them to find the friend with the matching
  mitten.

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Another way to play find your lost mitten
Mitten Match Game

• Hide one mitten from each pair in the room.
• Give every child a mitten.
• Ask them to find the one they lost.