Celebration story time

This month was my last to do story time for the year. I had a great time and will miss the kids until school starts up again in the fall. The theme for this story time was celebrations, so it was fun coming up with things I could do to fit this theme. I decided to do a book about a mother for Mother's Day and then focus the rest on birthdays.

Before I began, I placed this hat on my head:

I thought it was pretty cute! We sang the "Hello Time" song, then I pulled out a special friend who I have brought out before--Mr. Monkey!

He had on a birthday hat, so he was ready to celebrate, too!

This first book called, Hazel's Amazing Mother, by Rosemary Wells, is such a cute story. Hazel's Mother does so many things for her, and at the end of the tale, shows her courage in a way that demonstrates loves to her daughter. So sweet....

Then I did a finger play about cakes:

A delicious cake

Mix the batter, stir the batter (stirring motion)

Shake some flour in. (shake one hand)

Mix the batter, stir the batter (stirring motion)

Place it in a tin. (pour into pan)

Sprinkle little raisins on, (sprinkling motion)

Pop it in to bake. (put "cake" in oven)

Open wide the oven door,

And out comes a cake! (open oven)

Bunny Cakes, by Rosemary Wells, is another cute and funny book about Max and Ruby. They set out to make cakes for their grandmother and surprise her at the end.

Then we played a balloon game where the kids had to hit their balloon in the air and try not to let it fall on the ground. We played a second round where we sang the Alphabet Song while we did it.

I read a poem called, "The End" by A.A. Milne. It's one of my favorites!

The End

When I was one,

I had just begun.

When I was two,

I was nearly new.

When I was three,

I was hardly me.

When I was four,

I was not much more.

When I was five,

I was just alive.

But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever.

So I think I'll be six now forever and ever.

The last book was called The Secret Birthday Message, by Eric Carle. It is a simple story about a boy who has to find his birthday present by following clues.

For our last activity, I used these adorable cupcake cutouts that I purchased at the Dollar Tree for an alphabet game. I wrote a letter on each one, then put some velcro on the back to attach to the flannel board. I left several letters out, so the object of the game was that they had to figure out what letter came next. If they did, then I placed it on the board and put a real birthday candle behind it.

When we were done, we sang, "Happy Birthday" to everyone. Then, I brought Mr. Monkey out again and we sang, "The Good-bye Song" to end our time together.

We had fun at our celebration! Hope this gives you some ideas to use for a story time or learning activities at home.