Duck Story Time featuring a Rabbit

Of course, following April Showers has to be ducklings to swim in those puddles. (I'm obviously really working hard thinking of Story Time themes...) I really wanted to try the Duck Rabbit Craft that's all the rage right now. Pair that with multiple staff out due to sickness or vacation and crazy double shifts on every desk and that's how this year's Duck Story Time theme was born.

The Books:

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld

Duckie's Ducklings by Frances Barry

The Duckling gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

Chicken, Chicken, Duck! by Nadia Krilanovich

The Favorite: It was a tie between Duck! Rabbit! and The Duckling gets a Cookie!? I really liked Duckie's Ducklings because it was just a cute counting book that was easy with the toddlers. Sometimes the Pigeon's rants go over 2 year old heads.  They really like counting ducks though.

Flannelboard: I'm doing really well with having an extra activity ready every week for story time and that's all thanks to this blog, which was the whole point. Since Story Time at my library was just books & a craft with the occasional flannelboard before I took over, I had spent a lot of time making flannelboards since we don't really have a collection of them.  I look forward to the day that I already have something made and don't have to make one quickly 15 minutes before Story Time!

I just went with the traditional Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play from childhood this time. You know the rhyme!

Five little ducks went out to play
Over the hill and far away.
The Mama Duck said,
Quack, quack, quack, quack!
But only four little ducks came back.

Repeat with 4, 3, 2...

One little duck went out to play
Over the hill and far away.
The Mama Duck said,
Quack, quack, quack, quack!
And no little ducks came back!
So the Mama Duck said,
QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK!!
And five little ducks came back!

While looking for cute clip art of ducks, I came across this adorable printable from Picklebums blog and knew I couldn't do anything as cute in such a large, easy capacity as I wanted! They are the cutest ducks I have ever seen! And since it was an easy printable, I printed enough for 20 ducklings. This worked out great since I could give every child a duck to take from the flannelboard. I only had to sing about 18 ducks that "went out to play." It worked really well for a big group and it was a blessing to be able to print them out. I love printables!! 

What's in the Memory Box?
A felt bunny! Of course, everyone had to "pet" the bunny which I wasn't expecting and now I invite the kids up to "pet" everything I hid in the box if it is an animal or bug.
 

The Craft:
We made the Duck/Rabbit Craft to go with the book Duck! Rabbit! which was really fun. I just used the template that I found on Pinterest, added a popsicle stick and Bam! Duck! Rabbit! Craft.

Early Literacy Reading Log

In my library system, there isn't anything in place for promoting early literacy during the summer reading program. This is usually left up to the branch libraries to customize since we just have an "all ages" summer reading program. Since I've started the baby story times, in addition to my regular toddler and preschool story times, I wanted to focus more on those babies this summer.

I read the Early Literacy Manual available through the Collaborative Summer Library Program website and wanted to create an activity/reading log similar to the examples given in the manual. I took what I liked best from all the examples listed and made my own!

Pemberton Library's Early Literacy Summer Activity Log

It prints both sides & is only half sheets! I love saving paper. :) 

My favorite part about the reading log was from the Wee Readers Log from Boone County Public Library in Kentucky because if all activities were completed, the log would be entered into a drawing to win a dinner for two! I added this to mine because it is a nice incentive for parents. I also used their "What Makes a good book for Wee Readers" part of their activity log. Its simple to understand and right to the point, which is helpful for parents. I changed a few things to fit my library, but I kept it the same. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

I also really liked the Ready Reader Gameboard (no library mentioned) and how it was color-coded based on literacy skill, so I added that. It really helps with the "why" parents should do the activity log. 

There aren't that many examples of early literacy activity logs, so I thought I'd share what I've come up with!