Tuesday Toddler Tales

I haven't really talked too much about it on here {because I've been so gosh darn busy} but about six months ago I took a second job, working in a small town library.  It has been such an amazing experience- I have never actually loved a job before; I've liked them just fine, but between the other employees and the patrons to the library, my job is just plain awesome.

What does that have to do with the title? One of my favorite responsibilities at the library is Storytime. Every week we hold a Storytime for the community to come with music, stories, and even a little craft. I thought it might be fun to share what we are up to each week and for some of you mamas out there, you might get some ideas for some crafts {although lets face it, isn't that what Pinterest is for ;-) }

Most of my little storytime kids are under the age of 4, which limits the length of stories and also the difficulty of the craft. Last week our theme was Apples! We read some great stories: Apples & Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, Apples, Apples Everywhere by Robin Koontz, and Up, Up, Up, It's Apple Picking Time by Jody Shapiro. These were all great for the younger crowd- especially Apples & Pumpkins. In between two of the stories we did a felt board rhyme. For this week: Five Little Apples. Now, I have found a few versions of this one around, but I like this one best:

Five little apples hung on a tree

The farmer didn't care

So guess who came to eat?

A CATERPILLAR.......MUNCH, MUNCH

Four little apples hung on a tree

The farmer didn't care

So guess who came to eat?

A BIRD.........MUNCH, MUNCH

Three little apples hung on a tree

The farmer didn't care

So guess who came to eat?

A PIG..........MUNCH,MUNCH

Two little apples hung on a tree

The farmer didn't care

So guess who came to eat?

A HORSE.......MUNCH,MUNCH

One little apple hung on a tree

The farmer didn't care

So guess who came to eat?

A SCARECROW......MUNCH,MUNCH

Now the tree is bare

There are no more apples there

But when next fall comes around

Guess who'll be there?

THE CATERPILLAR

THE BIRD

THE PIG

THE HORSE

and the SCARECROW

YUM!YUM

I made the apples for the felt board using the pattern found on The Purl Bee {actually a pattern for coasters, but totally adorable for storytime} and the animals were just random clip art ones I found online. The kids LOVED the repetition of this rhyme and they helped me put the animals on the board.

Our craft for the day was the classic Apple stamping. If you cut the apples in half horizontally, you can print stars, vertically it looks like an apple. We did the stamping on reusable grocery bags, so now the kiddies have a lovely bag to bring home all the books they get at the library!!!