The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear

I adapted Don and Audrey Wood's classic into a short and simple puppet/flannel board combo. I like to use our mouse glove puppet, since the legs are easily manipulated.

Puppet:
mouse

Props:
a large red strawberry (pre-cut in half) 

strawberry leaves (for easy removal)
a square of dark felt, larger than your strawberry
A pair of those silly nose/mustache glasses with hinges and temples removed; add velcro

Here goes:

Oh, little mouse; whatcha ya doing? (Little mouse points to the strawberry on the flannel board.)
Wow, you found a red ripe strawberry! (Little mouse nods his head.)
Whatcha going to do with strawberry? (Little mouse pretends to pull at the strawberry.)
You're going to pick that red ripe strawberry and take it home? (Little mouse nods and jumps up and down.)
Hmmm . . . little mouse haven't you heard about the big brown bear who lives in these woods? (Little mouse shakes his head.)
Oh, (very dramatically) he's this big--arms up high--he sniffs like this (big bear sniffs), and he is VERY HUNGRY (rub your belly).
Little mouse scurries behind my back and peeks out.
So, little mouse, if you take this strawberry home, the big brown bear will know where you live. AAH!

It won't matter if you to try to hide it (cover strawberry with larger felt piece). Then remove the larger piece.

And it won't matter if you try to disguise it (put the glasses on the strawberry).
That big 'ol hungry brown bear will sniff it right out! (All sniff together.)

Did you hear that? (Pretend to hear something way off in the distance. Ask children if they hear it.)
I think that may be the big brown bear sniffing his way here now!

The best thing to do little mouse, is to cut that red ripe strawberry in two; give half to me and you keep half. (Pull the strawberry in two and remove from board.) Hurry! Let's eat.

(Rub your belly.) That's one less red ripe strawberry that big brown bear will get! Mm-hm.

THE END

Fireworks Jackson

A silly and calming puppet skit. I used this for my preschool group, but there were older siblings in the audience and they enjoyed it just as much.

Puppet:
small monkey hand puppet

No props needed.

I carefully took Fireworks Jackson from my tote bag. Wow, he was very shy! The children were off their feet and crowded around me to get a glimpse of him, so I pretended he whispered in my ear and said he'd be a little less scared if everyone was sitting down.
Once the children were settled back on the story time carpet, Fireworks Jackson whispered in my ear that he was sad because he was going to miss the Fourth of July fireworks--the noise was so loud, it frightened him. I asked the children if any of them were also afraid of the sound of fireworks. (Some were.)

So I told FJ and the children that even if they were anxious about the fireworks, they didn't have to miss them! Instead, I showed them how to make pretend fireworks with our hands.

It's easy!

I've adapted my own version from Billy Jonas' wonderful applause idea, and it brings smiles every time.

First, clap your hands together.
Next, hands together, shoot your pretend fireworks into the air with a whoosh!
Clap your hands above your head!
Now, sprinkle your firework fingers down to your right side, then your left--all the while saying "ooh," 'aah," "pretty colors!" Do this a few times and really play it up! Sometimes, I ask children to call out the colors of their fireworks as they descend; they come up with interesting combinations!

Once we were finished, FJ clapped (he has great little hands for clapping) and jumped up and down on my lap. He was so excited to try pretend fireworks!

Happy Fourth!

A brief video of Billy Jonas' "fireworks" can be seen here:

Who's in the Red Barn? Toddler Song

I fell in love with this FAO Schwarz plush toy and saw the opportunity to use it for a simple toddler story time stretcher. 

It has a set of double barn doors that close with Velcro and the back opens via a zipper. It's the perfect size for a small glove puppet or finger puppet. 

I use it with a song:  "Who's in the Red Barn?"

Who's in the red barn, the red barn, the red barn?

Who's in the red barn?

I don't know. 

Let's find out!

Then I open the doors to reveal the puppet. The children really enjoy it when an unexpected animal is inside, like a dinosaur or iguana. Then I can segue into a dance song to get us moving. 

Super simple. Super effective. Best used with a small audience. 

Lunch!

Super-simple way to incorporate a puppet into story time. Based on Denise Fleming's book, Lunch.

Puppet:
mouse

Props:
I made simple felts of :
a turnip
a carrot
pea pod
an ear of corn
an apple
a bunch of grapes
a slice of watermelon

Mouse is hungry. AAH! Mouse spies our picnic while we're napping! She eats through:
a crisp white, turnip; a crunchy orange carrot; a sweet green pea pod; a crisp ear of yellow corn; a juicy red apple; a sour bunch of purple grapes; and a slice of pink watermelon. Then, she takes a nap until DINNERTIME!

The kids thought this was funny and enjoyed guessing the fruit and vegetables as I pulled them out of our picnic basket.

The Hummingbird Who Chewed Bubblegum

This is based on Artie Knapp's story of a hummingbird who uses bubblegum to build her nest.  I told this to my preschool crowd, and they enjoyed it--who knew hummingbirds could chew bubblegum?!

Puppet:
hummingbird finger puppet

Props:
few pieces of bubblegum (I used large wooden beads instead)
a nest (I made mine of red yarn, to match the red gum)
balloon

The Hummingbird Who Chewed Bubblegum
by Artie Knapp

There was a little hummingbird in my neighborhood that usually perched on my windowsill. I enjoyed hearing her sing, but I hadn't seen the little hummingbird for several days. About a week ago, a bad storm came through and blew all the flowers away. I felt sorry for the little hummingbird. She must be hungry and flew somewhere else to find flowers, I thought to myself. Then one beautiful sunny morning the little hummingbird reappeared on my windowsill.
"Where have you been?" I asked the little hummingbird.
"Just out flying around," replied the little hummingbird.
"Did you find anything to eat?" I asked.
"Oh there's plenty of food, but all the twigs and straw were blown away with last week's storm," said the little hummingbird in a sad voice.
"I am sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?" I asked.
The little hummingbird shrugged her feathers and said, "I'm not sure, but I have a favor to ask of you."
"Sure, anything," I said.
"Can you please give me some bubblegum?" asked the little hummingbird.
I was surprised that a hummingbird would ask for bubblegum, but I was happy to share it with my friend. The little hummingbird chewed the gumballs I gave her, and then blew a bubble bigger than her entire body. She thanked me for the bubblegum and then flew out of sight.
The very next morning the little hummingbird appeared on my windowsill, and asked for a couple more pieces of bubblegum. Like before, I was surprised that a little hummingbird would ask for bubblegum, but I was happy to share it with my friend. The little hummingbird chewed the gumballs I gave her, and then blew a big bubble. She thanked me for the bubblegum and then flew out of sight.
A couple of days passed and I hadn't seen the little hummingbird. I wondered what she was up to. One sunny day I was outside playing when a voice called out my name. I looked around but didn't see anyone. The voice called out my name again, and this time I realized it was coming from the oak tree in my back yard. It was the little hummingbird who was calling out my name, and she was sitting in a red, orange, and blue nest.
"Look what you helped me build," said the little hummingbird.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, since there aren't twigs or straw left from the storm, I had to build something where I could lay my eggs. Because of your willingness to share your bubblegum with me, I was able to build this nest for me and my family. Thank you," said the little hummingbird.
I climbed up the oak tree, and sure enough there were two little eggs the size of jelly beans laying in the nest made of bubblegum. It felt good to share my bubblegum in the first place, and once I realized it helped the little hummingbird build her nest it made sharing feel even better.

THE END

Elmer Elephant's Trunk is STUCK!

Here's a simple skit I incorporated into a recent story time. It was a story timer's birthday (I knew in advance) so I threw this in and it was successful.

Puppet:
elephant

Props:
flower
pepper
**could use a feather
faux cupcake
party hat

I put a party hat on Elmer before I put him in my puppet bag; I also had his trunk pulled all the way in.
When I pulled him out of the bag, I asked the children if something looked different about Elmer. They told me he was wearing a hat--one child asked where his trunk was. I pretended Elmer was whispering in my ear. I pulled the cupcake out of my bag and told the children that today was Elmer's birthday, but he couldn't enjoy his cake because his trunk was stuck!

So we brainstormed ideas. I tried holding a flower under his nose, thinking maybe he was allergic, but that didn't work. I tried shaking pepper (pretending to shake) under his nose, but that didn't work. Then, I tickled him. THAT worked! His trunk popped out and he could enjoy his cake.

(You could use a feather to tickle him; I just used my fingers and it was fine.)

Super simple.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

I'll admit it:  I am wild about Pinterest. I re-pin many craft ideas on a story time pinboard, and this was an idea I ran with, combining the craft with a rhyme I modified.

I made four yarn pom poms (Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob) from the book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas. I went through the rhyme and then handed out our bean bags and had children pretend the bean bags were dust bunnies. We recited the dust bunny rhyme together.

It was very simple and effective. We all got a chuckle out of it.

Props:
four yarn pom poms (instructions found readily online)

Book:
Rhyming Dust Bunnies--Jan Thomas


"Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob are Bouncing on My Head!"
or  "I Met a Little Dust Bunny"

I met a little dust bunny, he said his name was Ed;
and all he ever wanted to do was bounce upon my head!
Bounce upon my head! Bounce upon my head!
All he ever wanted to do was bounce upon my head.

(Bounce the pom pom on your head. Repeat with each one.)

For the tune, see this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOAQakCZbAQ&feature=share&list=PLeQ12HBJmWnBKdwNhgB4EVrvvgVYQRot0

You could also easily add more verses, if your audience was interested. For example, jump upon my bed, bounce beneath my bed, etc.