Preschool Craft: Flying Butterfly

I planned this craft kit for a summer storytime- it's so fun to flutter around! This is the die cut I used.

 Here's what I put on the bag for instructions:

 Included: popsicle stick, stickers, chenille stems, butterfly 

 Not included: glue stick 

 1: Open the bag to see the included supplies. 

 2: Add stickers to butterfly wings as desired. 

 3: Glue paper butterfly shape to one end of the popsicle stick. Bend wings up. 

 4: Twist chenille stems together most of the way, leaving antennae at one end. 

 5: Glue the stems to the abdomen area on top of the popsicle stick and paper wings. 

 6. Wait to dry... then shake popsicle stick to FLY!

Preschool Storytime: Mice are Nice!

This is a fun storytime filled with lots of action and rhyming! A mentor once told me that the key to a good storytime is using books you love; that enjoyment comes through in the sharing. House Mouse is a book I want to hug every time I read it:

There's something very hygge about this book! Perfect for Autumn. I had the kids act out the mouse's actions with me- thump thump thump, knock knock knock, tap tap tap.

These days, I put my storytime plans in a Google doc like this. I find the simple layout helps me balance the different activity types (Song, Book, Rhyme, Activity, Discussion) included during a typical storytime. I usually make these "game plans" available for the parents too. 

When I don't have a craft, I like to substitute a group activity. In this case, we brought out 2 giant totes of megablocks for some creative play after our goodbye song.