January 25, 2024, By Library Staff in Early Literacy.
The Youth Services team at ImagineIF Libraries plans and implements early literacy programs for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in Kalispell, Bigfork, and Columbia Falls. Our goal in every Storytime is to connect with young children and their caregivers through books, songs, and interactive activities that foster early literacy and social emotional skills.
Explore the Storytime Schedule
Chirp! Meow! Who-hoo! What’s making those sounds? This Storytime is all about Nocturnal Critters! We learned about what kinds of animals stay awake at night and how they see in the dark.
Books Read:
- The Cat at Night
- by Dahlov Ipcar
ISBN: 9781958394229 - Hello, Bumblebee Bat
- by Darrin Lunde
ISBN: 9781570913747 - Owl Babies
- by Martin Waddell
ISBN: 9780763695200
Songs & Interactives:
- Puppet Play: “There’s Something in the Nighttime”
- Kids guess what animal is lurking in the night based on the sounds they make. Puppets are a great way to get kids engaged in a theme. We used cat, owl, bat, mouse/rat, and raccoon puppets.
- “I’m a Little Kitty Cat”
- (to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”)
I’m a little kitty cat, nice and sweet,
Here are my whiskers and here are my feet.
When I go out hunting, mice beware,
Or you might just get a SCARE! - “Ten Little Fireflies”
- (count up and down using fingers, wiggle fingers to “shine”, close fist to “sleep”, open fist to “blink”)
One little, Two little, Three little fireflies,
Four little, Five little, Six little fireflies,
Seven little, Eight little, Nine little fireflies,
Ten little fireflies shining bright!
They sleep all day and they blink all night,
They sleep all day and they blink all night,
They sleep all day and they blink all night,
Ten little fireflies shining bright!
Ten little, Nine little, Eight little fireflies,
Seven little, Six little, Five little fireflies,
Four little, Three little, Two little fireflies,
One little firefly says, “Good night!” - Fingerplay Rhyme: “Two Little Fruit Bats”
- (a version of “Two Little Dicky Birds”)
Two little fruit bats hanging by their feet, (point both forefingers downwards)
One named Polly (wiggle one forefinger), one named Pete (wiggle other forefinger)
Fly away Polly (wiggle finger away behind your back), Fly away Pete (ditto other finger)
Come back Polly (bring first finger back to front), Come back Pete (ditto other finger)
Other verses: Two little fruit bats flying in the sky, One named Low (pitch voice low and move finger down) and one named High (pitch voice high and move finger up)
Two little fruit bats way up in the cloud, One named Soft (speak softly) and one named Loud (speak loudly)
Two little fruit bats flying to and fro, One name Fast (move quickly) and one named Slow (move slowly) - Flannelboard: “Five Little Bats”
Five little bats came flying in the door, one flew away and that left four.
Four little bats hiding in a tree, one flew away and that left three.
Three little bats looking down at you, one flew away and that left two.
Two little bats hiding from the sun, one flew away and that left one.
One little bat hanging all alone, he flew away and then there were none.- “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
Activities:
- Build A Bat
- Laminated bat body parts made from construction paper (torsos, heads, ears, wings) on our giant mag wall.
- Puppet Play
- Nocturnal animal puppets on the storytime rug.
- Art Craft: Night Eyes
- Black paper, paint pens, and googly eyes.
- Sensory Play: Night Forest
- Black beans, glow-in-the-dark stars, bottle brush trees, and nocturnal animal toys.
