Science Storytimes Week #3: Fizz, Boom, Grow!

So far at our science themed storytimes for toddlers and preschoolers we have learned about movement and water. The theme of this week's science storytime was growing.  I was definitely inspired by Abby's the Librarian's preschool lab on the same topic! We learned about living things and how, like this baby panda, they all grow and change.

For the preschoolers this week I chose "Do you know which ones will grow?" by Susan Shea. I love how this book provides many examples of living and non living things and asks children to participate in deciding which will grow.

After our story we did a variety of songs and crafts related to living and nonliving things. I even created a new flannel board to use. For a listing of the exact songs and activities please head over to my storytime blog.

Our centers this week included:

Painting with plants: I've been trying to include at least one craft related to our theme each week. For this theme I thought "What could be more fun than painting with vegetables?" I bought a variety of vegetables that might make neat impressions when dipped in paint, cut them up and let the kids have fun.

Living or Non-Living: I had my wonderful volunteers and pages cut out pictures of various objects for the kids to sort and glue onto a worksheet.

Plant a Flower Bulb: I bought a small bag of potting soil, pots and flower bulbs for the kids to plant. I saw this in Abby's preschool lab post and figured this would be a fun and messy way for the kids to learn about how a plant grows. Plus, the supplies were all on sale this time of year, so it worked out perfectly.

Baby Animal Matchup: To focus specifically on animals, I had the kids matchup pictures of animal parents and babies.

Measure yourself: I hung up a few of the "measure yourself" handouts that have been hanging around the library for quite awhile. I encouraged parents and kids to measure themselves, because people are growing things too! I also included a sheet for the kids to record their measurements and make a handprint.

This storytime went very well. Both groups had a good turn out and seemed to have lots of fun. More than one parent has told me how much their child is enjoying the storytimes this summer, which of course makes it all worthwhile.

Would love to hear any feedback you have or ideas for additional science based storytimes! In addition to the comments section you can reach me on Twitter and Pinterest.