PJ Storytime: Winter Theme

PJ Storytime is an event I host annually at the library. Children wear their pajamas and bring stuffed animals, pillows and blankets to listen to stories, sing songs and play.

Half the room before I began

This year, I planned a winter themed extravaganza.

Robert Sabuda is an amazing pop-up book master. The Christmas Alphabet is a beautiful rendering all in white. It is an excellent choice for a large group because it becomes interactive with the children trying to guess what's behind each letter.

Lift-the-flap books also work well as a participatory book experience. What could be baking in the oven or wrapped under the tree? Maisy is a recognizable character for library patrons.

I opted for a simple flannel activity with movement this year. Add a couple of fingerplays, the "Winter Pokey" and some singing with rhythm instruments and you have a complete storytime. Then, it's time for crafts and games!

The penguin toss game is a favorite with all ages. The toddlers love to go right up to the penguin and feed him.

Ice fishing with laminated fish covered in paperclips and fishing poles with strong magnets attached to the end. The packing peanuts are the ice.

Let it snow with a parachute and white cotton balls and loofahs.

I found some nutcracker soldier ornaments at Hobby Lobby. The black outlines and details are made from a fuzzy, velvety texture. You just color them with markers.

The paper plate snowman lacing, which I found on Pinterest, proved too difficult for most of the crowd. The Christmas magnets I found at the Dollar Tree last minute were just right, though.

I also invited the big man for a visit. I have him come during the last half hour of the evening when the games are still going strong. Then, if children are frightened or too old to visit with Santa, they have a pleasant alternative. Another fantastic PJ Storytime!

Sharing with TGIF and For the Kid's Friday.

Flannel Friday: The Snow is Falling Down

"The Snow is Falling Down"

Sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

By Miss Courtney

The snow is falling down,

The snow is falling down,

Add one snowflake for each line

It's like a blanket on the ground,

The snow is falling down.

Add snowy blanket

We roll it in a ball,

We roll it in a ball,

We make a great big circle,

When we roll it in a ball.

Add large circle

We make a smiley face,

We make a smiley face,

We add eyes, nose and mouth,

To make a smiley face.

Ask children, "What did we make?"

The end.

I'll be sharing this Winter flannel song next week for our annual PJ Storytime. I'm having a snow theme this year! Flannel Friday Holiday Round-Up Here!!!

Tot School: Superheroes

Month: January
Theme: Superheroes

I held off on the Superheroes theme until we got into school and now I'm not sure why that was a good idea. We are having so much fun with the superhero theme. Bobo constantly asks to do school or projects. We've been using preschool packs from Carisa and Michelle (no longer available).

The Lessons

From left to right, top to bottom:
Sorting Batman characters (cut from the back of a coloring book)
Sorting letter "S"
Building firetruck
Tag Ben 10
Lacing foam stars
Playdough letter "S" with stamper


Pre-writing exercise helping the good guys catch the bad guys.
Superman magnet page with homemade pom pom magnets
Stamping with letter "S" and star and smiley face
Counting to 5 with superheroes
Cutting help good guy get to supercar
Color by number Batman symbol

The Activities

Bobo received lots of building blocks and Legos for Christmas. I am very bad at following directions and putting things together. I can do it, but it takes FOREVER. Bobo said he was proud of me for helping him with this firetruck. After we put it together, we played for an hour or so with it and the superheroes.


Bobo loves magnets and rainbows, so these letter magnets I ordered from Oriental Trading are just perfect. We sorted upper and lowercase letters, matched colors and made a rainbow snake on the big magnet board.


More letter "S" fun with stamping. Play dough is one of Bobo's favorite activities. I can't imagine a week without it. He had fun making a mustache with the green dough.



As soon as he got the Batman coloring/activity book, Bobo has been begging to do the activity on the back. He had fun sorting and pretending with all the Batman characters.


You may notice some of our pictures taking place out of the school room. There is a simple reason. Bobo couldn't wait to get to these lessons, so as soon as I was putting something together, he would ask to do it. I said yes.


I did not plan this photo opp, but it did turn out cute! Superbobo magnet dotting superman.

The Projects

Bobo prefers the black suit of Ironman, but the costume he has did not come with gloves or boots. He asked if we could make some and I said yes. I'm still working out the logistics of the boots. I want to use spray paint and rain boots, but have not found any boots yet. We cut out white circles from felt and glued them on black gloves. As a side note, I'm going to have to sew the circles to get them to stay on because the gloves are very large on little hands.



Paint is still new and exciting. He just loves the powder tempera paint. I set out the dropper to put water on the tray. I'm going to have to set up an invitation just with the droppers and some water. He was more interested in that at first.


After mixing blue and yellow, he turned into the Hulk. I guess that shade of green just screamed, "Smash, smash, smash!" This was just the beginning of painting the body activities.


He also became Wolverine. I'm not sure why this was Wolverine, but I went with it. He played like this for about an hour and was so sad to wash it off. I was afraid the paint would irritate his skin. "Aww, mama."

Since Bobo enjoys painting himself so much, I looked up how to make homemade body paints. This led to the WORST PROJECT EVER!!! If a recipe calls for shortening, DON'T USE IT. It is not water soluble and impossible to get off dishes let alone a squirming child. Plus, something in the recipe burned Bobo's face. His cheeks were so red. I don't know whether to buy some paints or try a different recipe.

Sensory Bin

Superhero Sensory Bin: rainbow links, Legos, tiny superhero figures and tweezers

We've had hours of fun with this bin. The links have become ropes, bridges and ladders. The Legos have become houses, hide-outs and evil robots. This is my favorite sensory bin so far and it was the easiest to make. It's just so colorful and inviting.