Flowers and Books

I hosted another coffee shop story hour this week.  The theme was flowers.  I had so many books that I wanted to read, but three is definitely the limit with the preschool story hour group.

I read:

Song of the Flowers by Takayo Noda - This is a great bedtime book.  There are many varieties of flowers in the story and each kind asks to be sung a lullaby.  This is a nice way to introduce children to different varieties of flowers.  R (my Wizard of Oz girl) was happy to see poppies in the book!  The artwork is bright and cheerful, and the lyrical text is perfect for quiet time reading.

Jack's Garden by Henry Cole - This is a garden version of the rhyme, "this is the house that Jack built".  Follow the progress of the garden from seeds to flowers, and notice all of the tools, weather, and creatures that help the garden grow. 

Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry - As you read this book, each stage of the life-cycle unfolds until you have a big, yellow sunflower!  Kids love this book!

After story time, each child made a flower to take home.  I had flowers ready for them to decorate.  To make a paper plate flower, I folded a plate in half and cut a hole in the center and flower-like edges around the outside of the plate.  Folding the plate in half makes it easier to cut the hole in the center and it also makes the flower symmetrical.  This is what it looked like after I cut it:

I gave each child a paper plate flower to decorate with crayons, markers, and dot stickers.

I didn't notice this until now, but R's dress matches her flower!  R made a few paper plate flowers, and we are going to tie string around them and hang them in her room.