storytime katie

The Plan

Books

A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
I’m Not Cute by Jonathan Allen
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
Whoo? Whoo? by David A. Carter
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Extension Activities

Action Song: “Owl Hokey Pokey”
You put your right wing in
You put your right wing out
You put your right wing in
And you flap it all about
You do the owl pokey and you fly yourself around
That’s what it’s all about! Hoo, hoo!
(left wing, right claw, left claw, beak, whole self)
Credit: Ms. Hegna’s Storyroom

Song: “Owl In the Tree”
Owl in the tree says, “who, who, who?”
Owl in the tree says, “who, who, who?”
Owl in the tree says, “who, who, who?”
Who, who, who are you?
Credit: Ms. Hegna’s Storyroom

Fingerplay: “Wide-Eyed Owl”
There’s a wide-eyed owl (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your “claws”)
He lives way up in the tree (point way up)
And when he looks at you (point to children)
He flaps his wings (flap your wings)
And says, “Whoo! Whoo!” (say “whoo whoo”)
Credit: Wilmette Public Library

Flannelboard: “Five Hoot Owls”
Five hoot owls sitting in a tree
One flew away! How many do you see?
One, two, three, four. (count down)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Craft

I picked this up at Michaels — it came in a kit and was self-stick. It’s supposed to be an owl picture frame, but none of the kids wanted to leave space to put a picture. That was fine by me!

How It Went

Thursday morning
Had a really good, energetic storytime. The kids loved the extension activities for this theme. Their favorite books were “I’m Not Cute!” and “Wow! Said the Owl.” We had a great time!

Friday morning
This was a much rockier storytime than I expected. I had a class of two-year-olds and my class of four-year-olds didn’t show. So, I wound up shortening much of storytime because my two-year-olds had a much harder time paying attention without the four-year-olds to model that behavior for them. No biggie, though, librarians need to be able to adjust, right? We wound up skipping “Owl Babies” and “A Book of Sleep.” Their favorite book was “Whoo? Whoo?”

The Plan

Books

Acorns Everywhere! by Kevin Sherry
The Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner
In My Forest by Sara Gillingham & Lorena Siminovich
Mouse’s First Fall by Lauren Thompson
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes

Extension Activities

Rhyme: “Boing Boing Squeak”
Boing, boing, squeak / Boing, boing, squeak
A bouncing mouse is in my house / He’s been there for a week
He came from out of nowhere / He quickly settled in
I’m thankful that he came alone / I heard he had a twin
He bounces in the kitchen / He bounces in the den
He bounces in the living room / Look, there he goes again
The mouse just keeps on bouncing / Every minute of the day
He bounce, bounce, bounces / But he does not bounce away
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Fingerplay: “This Little Squirrel”
This little squirrel said, “Let’s run and play!”
This little squirrel said, “Let’s hunt nuts today!”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, nuts are good.”
This little squirrel said, “Yes, my favorite food.”
This little squirrel said, “Come climb this tree.” (run fingers up other arm, quickly)
And crack these nuts: one, two, three! (clap hands three times)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Fingerplay: “Two Little Squirrels” (Two Little Blackbirds)

Song: “You Might See Some…” (Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?)
If you’re ever in the forest,
The forest, the forest,
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some deer
(Squirrels, mice, bears, whatever other animal you need to add in!)
Credit: Preschool Education

Flannelboard: “Ouch”

Craft

This was a craft kit from Oriental Trading. I fell in love with immediately, and was so happy that it was well received by my storytime kids! They are HUGE fans of foam sticker crafts.

How It Went

Thursday morning
You know those shy kids that you’re never really sure are enjoying storytime? Well, I have a pair of sisters who listen quietly, who do the motions for fingerplay and songs, and come regularly that almost never give a big smile. There are a few times they giggle or interact, but rarely do they smile. Well, when I brought out my goat puppet to “eat” all of the felt pieces off of Hedgehog, they lost it — laughing hysterically, hugging goat, kissing goat. It was a great moment and I think it overshadows everything that happened this week!

Friday morning
My daycare group had just done a unit on acorns and squirrels, so they really enjoyed “Acorns Everywhere!” And I got just the same amount of joy when goat came out to finish up “Ouch.” I walked him around after our flannel was done and gave the kids the chance to say hello to the furry friend. The reactions from both groups to goat makes me think I ought to get a storytime mascot.