Daddies Storytime
Scott Bahlmann
Opening: Shake My Sillies Out – Raffi
Book: Knuffle Bunny – Mo Willems
(It was a pretty vocal group today, which worked great with this story. Some kids were already familiar with the book so I didn't even have to prompt for responses about the bunny getting left behind! Very well received.)
Activity: D-A-D-D-Y (B-I-N-G-O)
(I taped the letters around a paper towel roll, and slid them around for the letters to disappear. When the first D was gone one child wanted to know what the new word was, so we sounded it out each time a letter disappeared. Very fun.)
Book: Oh Daddy – Bob Shea
(Silly daddy keeps doing things wrong! Even the older elementary kids that sat in were having a good time with this one.)
Activity: If You're Happy and you Know It
from the CD Get Ready, Get Set, Sing! by Sarah Barchas
(Introduced this by asking if the kids daddies loved them when they were happy 'Yes!' and when they were angry 'No!' [oops!] We reiterated that daddies love us all the time, whether we are hungry or sleepy or sad. Then sang the great version with a bunch of different emotions.)
Book: A Wild Fathers Day – Sean Callahan
(The kids were excited by the cover of this book 'They're turning into monkeys!' and had fun throughout. One proclaimed after the story, 'That was a book about imagination.')
Flannel Board: Matching Families
(I was going to do a flannel version of 'The Fathers are Coming Home' but ended up using the images for a matching game instead. We put all the daddies on our flannel board and talked a little about the animals, then I held up the baby animals and the kids told me what they matched with. This one seemed to fizzle out a little bit, maybe 8 was too many pairs?)
Book: My Dad is Big and Strong, but... – Coraline Saudo
(Such a fun new book! I worried that it might feel a little long, but the kids were engaged throughout. )
Craft/Activity: Shirt cards
(I had a bunch of 'shirt' cards ready for the kids to color, with a poem printed inside.)
With my fingers I dance a beat,
that tickles through my daddy's shirt.
He helps me eat a tasty treat,
that drips drops down my daddy's shirt.
When I get scared, he's where I look,
hold tight onto my daddies shirt.
Then nod off after one last book,
snuggled against my daddies shirt.