Spring Storytime

"First you have brown, all around you have brown."

Spring starts on Tuesday. Whether it's brown or green, it's official. For storytime yesterday we read books celebrating the springtime and for a craft we made wind chimes from recycled keys.

Spring Storytime Lineup:

When Blue Met Egg by Lindsay Ward

A charming book about a bird named "Blue" and her friend, a snowball she mistakes for an egg.

The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

If my mom is reading this blog post, she would easily recognize this book. We read it a lot growing up. The kids enjoyed reading it too.

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Also, a good book for beginning readers, First the Egg is a clever story inspried by the old chicken or the egg debate.

Green Grass Grows All Around

Song and Flannel Board, Traditional Song, Adapted by Jane Willis Johnston

There was a hole in the middle of the ground
The prettiest hole that you ever did see.
Well, the hole in the ground
And the green grass grew all around and around
And the green grass grew all around.

Additional Verses:
And in this hole there was a root
And on this root there was tree
And on this tree there was a branch
And on this branch there was twig
And on this twig there was a nest
And in this nest there was an egg
And on this egg there was a bird.
And from that bird there came a song.
Then all the world was filled with spring.

Ending:
Then all the world was filled with spring,
The prettiest spring you ever did see.
Well, the world full of spring,
And the song from the bird,
And the bird on the egg,
And the egg in the nest
And the nest on the branch,
And the branch on the tree,
And the tree on the roots,
And the roots in the hole
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grew all around, all around
And the green grass grew all around.

My co-worker, Jane, made a springtime adaption to this song that I really like. She also made the incredible flannel board above.

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Personally, this was my favorite book read for spring storytime. Going to throw this out there now... I think it has Caldecott potential.

Jo MacDonald Had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum, illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

The same old tune everyone knows, adapted into a song about planing a garden. A very sweet book the kids really enjoyed.

Wind Chime Craft:

Like most places in the spring, Kansas is extremely windy this time of the year. So, for our springtime craft we made wind chimes from sticks and old keys, which when strung together make the sweetest tinkling sound from the gentlest of breezes.

Materials used include: old keys and key rings donated by Mobile Locksmith, sticks from the backyard, string, scissors, and gardening sheers.

First, I cut a bunch of sticks down to about 10 inches long give or take. I also pre-cut the string into pieces about a foot in length.

First, we started by making the hanger, tying one end of the string to an end of the stick and then other end of the string to the other end. Double knots are more effective. If you don't have a key ring, don't worry about using one because it isn't a necessity.

I rinsed off the keys beforehand removing any grime they might have had.

Also, before making the windchimes I warned both kids and parents that keys are made of metal and they are not toys. The wind chimes are meant for decoration only.

The fun part was selecting the keys to use. I gave them a limit of 6 keys per person. And in case a caregiver did not want them handling keys, I left out  jingle bells (left over from sing-a-long storytime in December).

Using the string, they tied one end of string to a key and the other end to the stick, spacing them out one or two inches on the stick.

When explaining the craft to the kids, I encouraged them to make the string for the keys a similar length. They're more apt to cling together.

The trees are blooming, the wind is rising.

"Ding, ding, ding".

Hello, Spring.

image sources: and then it's spring image, when blue met egg, the best nest, first the egg, and then it's spring, jo macdonald had a garden