Category: Family Storytime

Rainy Days!

Thanks, Chicago weather, for thoroughly confusing all my storytime kids. When I announced this morning that the theme would be rain, my kids immediately told me all about the snow outside. (Yes, we have just the smallest amount of a sprinkling outside.) But, I still continued on with my theme!

First up, “Raindrop, Plop!” by Wendy Cheyette Lewison.

My crowd of kids really enjoyed this read — counting is always a big hit! But I also liked that it had a great rhythm to it without having rhyming words in the text. Most of the kids joined in the counting at one point or another. After this bright and colorful book, I switched things up and used a classic, “Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car” by John Burningham.

I wasn’t sure this story was going to catch the attention of my large group this morning, but I gave it a go. Folks, there is a reason this book is classic — the kids LOVED it. I mean, I should have known — animals, mud, spinning wheels…sure-fire hit.

Then, we practiced our session stretcher — fingerplay: “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” (It really does fit this theme, but we’ve been using it all session.)

After, I went straight into our flannelboard.

Flannelboard: “Ten Little Umbrellas” & “Ten Little Raindrops”
One little, two little, three little umbrellas
Four little, five little, six little umbrellas
Seven little, eight little, nine little umbrellas
Ten umbrellas up for the rain
Repeat with raindrops going on top of umbrellas – last line, “Ten raindrops falling down.” Pull raindrops away, counting down – last line, “No raindrops out today.” Pull umbrellas away, counting down – last line, “Everything’s put away!”

(I did make the flannel for this week using clip art, and I do promise a post on all the flannels I’ve made recently after this storytime session is done next week.)

Next, I read “Red Rubber Boot Day” by Mary Lyn Ray.

(I love this cover image — pure joy!) I choose this one because not only does it show the splashing in puddles part of a rainy day, but it also shows what kids do inside (blocks, reading, drawing, building a cave) during rainy days. My favorite part of this read-aloud was when all my little boys showed me their boots that they were wearing. I had to ask everyone who was wearing boots to raise their hands really high, and then I segued back into the book by saying, “Well, this little boy is wearing RED RUBBER BOOTS.”

Time to shake some sillies out! I led the group in back-to-back action rhymes to calm everyone down.

Action Rhyme: “Splash! Fall the Raindrops”
Splash! Fall the raindrops, (Clap hands softly)
To the ground they go; (Point to the ground)
We need the raindrops, (Wiggle fingers down from head to waist)
To help the flowers grow. (Make cup of hands for flowers)
Credit: KIDiddles

Action Rhyme: “Rain Is Falling Down”
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
[Repeat until kids are worn out.]
Credit: Modified from King County Library System

Next up, “Rain” by Manya Stojic.

This was one of those books that started off so well, but then the kids got too excited naming all the animals and kind of stopped paying attention to the story. So, what’s a librarian to do? Turn the page and say, “Which animal is this?” “MONKEY” “Okay, do monkeys like rain?” “YES!” Next page, rinse, repeat.

I’m not a fan of going off-book, or skipping words or pages, but sometimes the kids just need a different story. They loved the pictures, the colors are so bright and vivid, but they got overexcited. It happens!

A nice calming song…

“It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”
It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and bumped his head
And couldn’t get up in the morning
Credit: Childhood

And then, I read out last book, “Wow! Said the Owl” by Tim Hopgood.

This was another hit, and their reactions today are very similar to when I read this book in bird storytime. (Again, I don’t have any overlap between my morning and afternoon groups which is so surprising to me since I plan separate storytimes in case of overlap!) A great way to end storytime what with the pretty rainbow and the last nighttime page spread.

For craft this week, we made a rain picture — a take on this Rainy Day Collage from Busy Bee Kids Crafts.

Instead of messing around with food dye, I just used pompoms. All of the umbrellas were pre-assembled.

March 24, 2011 17 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Hello, Goodbye!

This was a new and interesting theme — I really enjoyed using all these great hello/goodbye books. Of course, my storytime (and craft) was completely inspired by my first book…”Say, Hello!” by Rachel Isadora.

When this book came into the library last fall, I made an immediate beeline for it and was determined to plan a storytime around it. I love the book’s concept; I love the illustrations (and also Isadora’s fairy tale retellings); and I love other languages. Followed this one up with a second hello song:

Song: “The Hello Song”
Hello, hello, hello.
It’s time to say “hello.”
Hello, today, to all my friends,
Hello, hello, hello.
Credit: Library Voice

I didn’t really know the tune of this, so I wound up making it up. And I can’t really describe it. I do that a lot when I have no idea how it goes. The kids never notice! And then we did this song as an action rhyme:

Action Rhyme: “How Do You Say Hi?” (Do actions as they are said.)
Hey! Hi! Howdy! Yo!
There are many ways to say hello!
Wave your hand. Nod your head.
Smile big or wink instead.
Blow a kiss. Tip your hat.
Shake your hands. Give a pat.
Of all the ways to say hello,
Here’s the way I like to go…HELLO!
Credit: Transitional Songs

This song worked so well as an action rhyme — the kids had a lot of fun doing all the motions, and I did have them stand up to do it, too. Next up, a funny book for the awesome weather that Chicago had today: “Hello, Sun!” by Dayle Ann Dodds.

This is about a little girl who sees the sun, and goes outside to play only to have the weather spiral away from her, eventually snowing. (Sounds familiar, right, Chicagoans?) Each page spread ends with uh-oh before greeting the new weather, “hello wind!” and the kids really loved it when the uh-oh happened. Afterward, we did this awesome flannelboard that I was inspired to tweak:

Flannelboard: Can We Find? (Tune: The Muffin Man)
(Hide six different items under the houses. Look for each one after singing the refrain. Greet each item with a loud hello after finding.)
Can we find a red cat?
A red cat? A red cat?
Can we find a red cat?
We want to say hello!

We have a flannelboard set — “Color Bears and Other Stories” — that has a ton of different animals and objects in rainbow colors. And inside, it suggested using this song to play a game hiding items behind houses. I changed the ending line to fit out theme.

Next up, “Hello, Is This Grandma?” by Ian Whybrow.

I *adore* this book. It has fold-out pages, and tells a great story about a little boy named Logan who calls a variety of animals while trying to phone his grandma on the phone. It is a little bit scary (when crocodile shows up and wants to cook Logan for lunch), but none of my kids had any problems with it.

We did our session fingerplay — “Itsy Bitsy Spider” followed by “Where is Thumbkin?” (Thumbkin is kind of a hello fingerplay!)

Then I read, “Hello, Day!” by Anita Lobel.

Before I started the book, I asked the kids how they thought animals said hello. And I had one little boy who clucked as his answer. Well, after reading this book all the kids knew how animals said hello! (And I have to say that one of my four-year-olds is an EXCELLENT noise maker. We’re talking pig snorts instead of saying oink — amazing.)

Our last book for the day was another board book that we have purchased multiple in-house copies, “Hello, Animals!” by Smriti Prasadam.

This is a simple black and white book (with shiny color inserts) that the kids easily read along with me because all they had to remember was “hello, [animal on page].” I also really liked that some of my babies were exposed to books that are perfect for them — simple black and white contrast books.

I did sing two goodbye songs this week:

Song: “Shake Hands”
Shake hands with friends cause it’s time to go
Shake hands with friends cause it’s time to go
Shake hands with friends cause it’s time to go
I hope I’ll see you another day.
Credit: Barney…which I did not know until this moment. I learned this in library school.

And then, the goodbye song we sing every week:

Closing Song: “We Wave Goodbye Like This” (Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”)
We wave goodbye like this,
We wave goodbye like this,
We clap our hands for all our friends,
We wave goodbye like this.

Our craft for this afternoon was hello/goodbye hands. My amazing co-workers came up with this one during a brainstorm session. Most of the hellos were in the first book, “Say, Hello!” and the goodbyes were easily Googled. Teens cut out hands, taped popsicle sticks on, and cut out all the words as well. My kids just happily glued.

March 17, 2011 15 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Babies!

This week, I did a baby themed storytime. I mean, who doesn’t love babies? And there are some great books all about babies. I started off with “Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes” by Mem Fox.

Not only is this book very sweet, repetitive (that’s a good thing!), and theme-appropriate, it’s also a great way to show diversity in picture books. All of the babies are different skin colors, and there’s even a sick baby. (The kids were very intent on telling me that the baby’s getting medicine in the picture…well, this is the season for medicine with all the colds we’ve had in storytime the past few weeks!)

After our quiet start, I went straight into a noisy book with “The Baby Goes Beep” by Rebecca O’Connell.

I don’t know what it is about listening to me make noises, but the kids were enamored and fascinated by all the different sounds that the baby makes in this book. I only had kids join in with me during the “beep” and “splash” parts though — not exactly sure why those sounds were better, but oh well.

Next up, our flannelboard: Baby Animals Matching. I got this fabulous template from Mel’s Desk, and began working on a felt version. Time got away from me though (and I didn’t count on doing three storytimes this week!), so I wound up just using laminated pieces with a felt backing. I started by putting all the mommy/daddy pieces on the board, and pulled out a baby piece. I then moved it around the board, and the kids told me “up” or “down” until all the babies were matched up. A big hit!

A quick fingerplay — “Pat-a-Cake”
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with a “B”
And put it in the oven for baby and me
Credit: Childhood

And then, I moved on to the next book in the pile, “All of Baby Nose to Toes” by Victoria Adler.

Another quieter book with a great refrain of “Who loves baby’s nose?” and an answer of “Me! I do!” The kids loved chiming in on this one. I had the kids continue sitting for the action rhyme. (Normally, I do have them stand up and stretch, but the kids were so calm and well-behaved today that I didn’t want them to move and break their good behavior.)

Action Rhyme: “One Little Baby”
One little baby rocking in a tree (hold up on finger/rock arms)
Two little babies splashing in the sea (two fingers/pretend to splash)
Three little babies crawling on the floor (three fingers/crawl fingers on knee)
Four little babies banging on the door (four fingers/pretend to knock)
Five little babies playing hide and seek (five fingers/cover your eyes)
Keep your eyes closed now…until I say…PEEK! (uncover eyes)
Credit: Perry Public Library

I went with a low-key entrance to our high-energy ending, and started with “Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy” by Denise Fleming.

This book was definitely the biggest part of my inspiration for this theme — I really wanted to build a storytime around this book with its soft pictures, and sweet animals. I am pleased to say that it definitely had a calming effect on all the kids, and so I launched straight into a song: “Rock-A-Bye Baby” and then into our last fingerplay:

Fingerplay: “Baby’s Nap”
This is a baby ready for a nap. (hold up index finger)
Lay him down in his mother’s lap. (place finger on open palm of other hand)
Cover him up so he won’t peep. (wrap fingers around finger)
Rock him till he’s fast asleep. (rock hands back and forth)
Credit: Thomas Memorial Library

And, then, I brought out the loudest book ever created — “Shake It Up, Baby!” by Karen Katz.

This is another one of the board book sets that we have in our in-house storytime collection. I love getting to pass out books to each child so that they can read along with me. The other amazing part of this book is that there are rattle beads in the spine — and cues in the text to shake the book. The kids had a TON of fun shaking these books, and I was very proud when they returned the books to the bookshelf without any tears, too!

(My storytime kids are so good at cleaning up — they always put away their own floor cushions, and pass the glue and crayons back in. I am seriously like a proud mama as they help me clean up.)

Anyway, our craft for today was a simple paper baby bib.

Both templates were just simple Google Image searches, and filtering by line drawings. Teens, once again, cut everything and I did the hole punching/tying.

March 10, 2011 11 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Birds!

I am a glutton for a great storytime theme, and I cannot get enough of using birds. I had a great time using this theme in the fall, and knew that there were enough books to do a completely different storytime for my afternoon kids this spring. (I had no crossover between the two groups…which I still find strange.)

I started off with “How Rocket Learned to Read” by Tad Hills.

While this is a great book, it is very long, and not a book that I anticipated the littlest storytime attendees would sit for well. My average age in storytime yesterday was a little over 5, so I went with the longer book. (I had “Grumpy Bird” prepared and ready to go if we had skewed younger.) The kids did really well with the book, and my older kids were so into it that I definitely would use it again for my older ones.

Next up, a fingerplay to reward the little ones for sitting through the long book. I did “Two Little Blackbirds.” Followed by the book “Wow! Said the Owl” by Tim Hopgood.

Love this book! Love it! I already went ahead and bought it to live permanently in our storytime collection because I can think of a thousand themes (well, maybe not a thousand), but definitely day/night, birds, colors, sleep, exclamations!, rain, rainbows, that the book could be used at storytime. (I will be using it again in just a few weeks for our rain storytime.) And the kids really liked shouting out the colors as they appeared — overall, this was a success with everyone.

Then, the kids got up and stretched and we did this super cute action rhyme, one that I modify all the time to fit different themes:

Action Rhyme: “Little Bird”
I saw a little bird go hop, hop, hop (hop three times)
I told the little bird to stop, stop, stop (hold out hand for stop)
I went to the window to say “How do you do?” (handshake)
He wagged his little tail and far away he flew! (shake tail and fly away)
Credit: Childhood

Next up, one of my most favorite books to read at storytime, “I’m Not Cute!” by Jonathan Allen.

There is nothing more wonderful than watching reactions when I read this book aloud. The kids LOVE this one, and I do too. There’s also a great chance for audience participation here — I always ask the kids several times if Baby Owl is cute. They always think so, and I always respond, “He is not cute!”

After I was done, I went straight into the flannelboard: “Ten Fluffy Chickens”, which I used at the last Bird storytime.

Then, the library purchased a ton of finger puppets and puppets with money we received for a Target Family Reading Grant written by one of my fabulous co-workers, and I finally got to use the hummingbird puppet this storytime!

Poem & Puppet: “Hummingbird’s Sound”
A hummingbird gets its name from the sound
Of its hum – hmm – as it darts all around.
The sound is not a song that it sings
But the fast flapping of its tiny wings!
Credit: Artfelt

Next book, “Riki’s Birdhouse” by Monica Wellington.

I actually previewed this one the first time I did bird storytime, but passed on it because it was too long for my ages 0-5 storytime. But it was perfect for ages 3-7 storytime. This is a sweet story about a boy who builds birdhouses and feeds the birds and watches them throughout the seasons. It was a great read for this time of year, as the seasons are slowly getting ready to turn.

Another repeat from last time:

Action Rhyme: “Little Birds, Little Birds”
Little birds, little birds, jump up and down.
Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound!
Little birds, little birds, tip-toe to me.
Little birds, little birds, bend your knees!
Little birds, little birds, peep, peep, peep.
Little birds, little birds, sleep, sleep, sleep.
Little birds, little birds, fly to the leaves!
Little birds, little birds, sit down, please.
Credit: Greatest Resource Education Child Care

Before finishing up with “Little Quack” by Lauren Thompson.

This story is so bright and lively, and I love the counting meter at the bottom of the page spreads. This was a natural segue into our closing song: “Five Little Ducks.”

Afterwards, we made plastic cup blue birds using a kit from Oriental Trading.

The kit called for a paper cup, and to decoupage tissue paper squares to make the bird blue. I was not having ANY of that, so I just bought regular cups from the party store. (The cups were not sold with the kit anyways.)

March 9, 2011 14 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Sheep!

Today, in honor of spring ALMOST creeping up on Chicagoland (well, it’s in the upper thirties, heh), storytime theme was sheep! And on a special note, I woke up with a very hoarse voice — this was my first storytime without the ability to really change my voice and let me say I don’t ever want that to happen again!

After our welcome song, I went ahead and held up my first book, asking the kids if they knew what animal we would be reading about today. Of course, I had one of my boys shout out, “SHEEP,” so I was good to go with “Wee Little Lamb” by Lauren Thompson.

This is a super cute story about a shy lamb who keeps hiding behind his mother despite other animals asking him to play. This book turned into a “who can shout the new animal the loudest” game, and while I think everyone enjoyed the book, I couldn’t raise my voice to be heard over them, so I had to whisper, which did get them to calm down.

Next up, I read “Counting Ovejas” by Sarah Weeks.

This is a bilingual book, and a great choice for my community. I wish I could read in Spanish more often, but most of my Spanish is just basic vocab — which worked for this story (colors, numbers, sheep, “goodbye” and “good night” were the only words needed)! I really think that my Spanish-speaking families REALLY appreciated this, and the kids all had a great time identifying colors regardless of their preferred language.

A quick song with one of our adorable finger puppets: “Baa Baa Black Sheep” before moving on to “Sheep in a Jeep” by Nancy Shaw.

This silly, rhyming story went over well — I have got to try and find this book in a larger format thought, because our little picture book is not big enough for a large group. (Thankfully, we were on the small side group-wise today.) This series is one of the reasons that I wanted to do a sheep storytime!

And then, I did our flannelboard: “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” followed by this super cute fingerplay that I modified from Hubbard’s Cupboard’s post about Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Fingerplay: “The Lamb Went”
The lamb went…
Around the cow in the corn (trace circle in palm)
Under the haystack (go under the hand)
Up the hill and down the hill (go up the arm and down the arm)
Over the fence (go above the hand)
Through the door (slide hands and clap)
And was back in time to meet the teacher (trace circle in palm)

Originally this was a storyboard idea, with pictures introduced to tell the story. I just added some fingerplay actions instead! Next book, “No More Blanket for Lambkin!” by Bernette Ford and Sam Williams.

I love this book about some friends who set out to play laundry, and wind up putting holes in a beloved blanket. The day is saved, of course, by the end of the book. Such sweet illustrations, nice big text for little eyes (or the storytime librarian reading on an angle!), and a great story.

I also found this action rhymes at Hubbard’s Cupboard, and it can be sung to “Five Green and Speckled Frogs,” but since my voice was only getting hoarser as I went, I opted just to say it. I made up my own actions for this one as well.

Action Rhyme: “Five White and Fluffy Sheep”
Five white and fluffy sheep (hold up five fingers)
In the pasture fast asleep (hands under head, lean over)
Their wool kept them cozy all night long (hug yourself)
Snore! Snore! (make snore sounds)
The farmer slipped away with one (hold up one finger)
And sheared the wool till he was done (clap)
Then there were 4 white fluffy sheep (hold up four fingers)
Baa! Baa! (baa!)
Credit: Hubbard’s Cupboard

A quick nursery rhyme of “Little Bo Peep” before our last book, “Where Is the Green Sheep?” by Mem Fox.

I’ve used this book in storytime before (and we have a big book version of it), and I have to say, it is easily one of my faves. The kids enjoy the suspense, they like trying to identify the sheep by the pictures, and the ending is so adorable that it obviously leads to giggles and choruses of “Silly sheep.”

Our handprint lamb/sheep craft comes from First School today.

My teens had everything cut out (including a trace of my hand for each child), and kids just assembled and glued some cotton balls to make their sheep fuzzy. Super cute!

March 3, 2011 6 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Love!

After quite a journey — storytime break of three weeks, but the library’s phone was out last night so I couldn’t do reminder calls and was pretty much convinced that storytime *wouldn’t* happen — SEVEN of my regulars showed up without fail and I got to do my storytime!

Wonderfully ironic that I feel such love for them for coming, and my theme was love today! (I actually modified a storytime from Afternoon Storytime about Valentine’s Day, but…Chicago got hit with a blizzard and the library closed, so no storytime. And rescheduling after the holiday seemed silly.)

First book up, “Sweethearts” by Jan Carr.

This is the only Valentine’s Day book that I did read at storytime. I love this sweet story about a little panda leaving valentines all over his house for his family. And the kids really enjoyed counting how many valentines he hid on each page spread. We talked about loving our families, and then I asked the kids if they could love anything else. One girl answered with her bear, which was super cute. And I replied that you could love some bugs, which led us into the next book, “I Love Bugs” by Emma Dodd.

I *LOVED* reading this one during this particular storytime! I had a little boy who kept saying, over and over, “Spider? Does he love spiders?” and when we got to the spider page, he said, “ACK I HATE SPIDERS.” I almost fell out of chair laughing. So adorable. Other than that, this book offers a great opportunity for kids to name the bugs in the pictures — vocabulary! I quickly talked about hearts and love before launching into this version of BINGO.

Flannelboard: “H-E-A-R-T”
There is a shape and it means love
And heart is its name-o.
H-E-A-R-T, H-E-A-R-T, H-E-A-R-T,
And heart is its name-o!
Credit: Everything Preschool

I made a quick flannel with five hearts and the letters glued on to help the kids keep track of when to clap and when to say the letter. And using the heart shape led us straight to the next book, “My Heart is Like a Zoo” by Michael Hall.

I adore this book, and used it at wild animal storytime last year, as well as at a zoo storytime over the summer, and will probably use it again at jungle storytime this summer! I was thrilled to work it into a love theme. After seeing all the animals made of hearts, I invited the kids to learn to make their own hearts with this fingerplay:

Fingerplay: “Heart”
I put my hands together,
This is how I start
I curve my fingers right around,
And I can make a heart!
Credit: Perpetual Preschool

And then, I went straight into the theme song, “Skinnamarink” by Sharon, Lois, and Bram, which is from my childhood, and I did not have to refresh my memory on any of the motions or lyrics. For those unfamiliar, the song ends with a kiss — which was a perfect segue into the next book, “I Kissed the Baby” by Mary Murphy.

This book has a great call-and-response that one of my kids immediately picked up on. After every “I [saw] the baby, did you [see] the baby?” he responded, “YES, YES, I DID!” except for one case when he responded, “No, but my sister did.” Cue heart melt! A quick action rhyme:

Action Rhyme: “Little Heart”
I have a little heart, (place hand over heart)
And it goes thump, thump, thump (pat chest three times)
It keeps right on beating,
When I jump, jump, jump (jump three times)
I get a special feeling, when I look at you. (point to child)
It makes me want to give you a hug or two. (hug yourself)
Credit: The Best Kids Book Site

Which led us to our very last book, “Henry in Love” by Peter McCarty.

This book is adorable, and a great example of sweet, first love. But because it’s an older read, I was prepared to substitute it if the kids were wiggly or done with storytime. But I had amazing behavior during storytime — like remarkable best behavior ever, with kid participation and no running around, and clapping and singing; storytime librarians will understand what I mean! So, this was a great way to end our program for the day!

And our craft for the day was an Oriental Trading kit left over from the Afternoon Storytime that didn’t happen — bear plates with hearts!

February 24, 2011 8 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Mice!

I have a lot of posts to catch up on, but I am now on a four-week storytime break! Plenty of time to prepare for the next session of storytimes, and plenty of time to write-up the posts I’ve been remiss on.

I opened up storytime with “Busy, Busy Mouse” by Virginia Kroll.

I really enjoyed the storyline in this book — and so did the kids! I thought it was very clever to have the mouse and people each sleeping and being awake at different times. And the pictures are so warm and welcoming, too.

Next up, I improvised a quick “Where is Mousie?” (Where Is Thumbkin?) with two of the fingerpuppets from the Hickory Dickory Dock set from Manhattan Toy. (It came with a boy mouse and a girl mouse and it is positively adorable.) I’ve been doing a lot of adaptations of Thumbkin over this storytime session, and the kids are definitely recognizing it and humming along!

Next up, “Back to Bed, Ed!” by Sebastien Braun.

I wasn’t sure how this story was going to go because it’s a bit longer than my usual pick for a second book, but the kids were absolute angels during this one. I am going to have to try to pick longer books to mix things up if the kids continue to sit for them!

I really wanted to do my “Mouse Paint” flannel, but I didn’t have enough to make it for storytime, so I pulled out my “Where is Maisy Mouse?” game for a second go-round instead. Immediately, I went into one of our fingerplays:

Fingerplay: “Baby Mice”
Where are the baby mice?
Squeak, squeak, squeak
I cannot see them
Peek, peek, peek
Here they come out of their hole! (bring your fist forward)
One, two, three, four, five, and that is all! (open your fingers one at a time)
Credit: Perry Public Library Storytime

And then I read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff.

I am so happy when I get to share books that *I* read as a child with my storytime kids. And both this one, and “Squeak-A-Lot” are classics from my childhood. The kids loved guessing what would happened next, and I had a lot of kids who said, “He’ll want another cookie” to almost every question. So adorable.

Next, another book from Miss Katie’s childhood: “Squeak-a-Lot” by Martin Waddell.

When you read this book, encourage them to make the animal noises with you. Your storytime will be so much fun, and the kids will be really involved with the book. This next fingerplay/rhyme, I used for my Maisy Mouse program and I knew that I had to use it again, because the kids love boinging and squeaking.

Rhyme & Fingerplay: “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

Last up, “Cat and Mouse” by Ian Schoenherr.

What really sold me on choosing this book was the chance to use “Hickory Dickory Dock” without having the long-drawn extra verses. I also loved the addition of “Eeeny Meeny Miney Mo.” A great combination!

To close up, we sang “Hickory Dickory Dock” together before our goodbye song.

And as for craft, we made little mice finger puppets from KidsSoup.

A great way to close out the winter storytime session! I am looking forward to planning new storytimes for the first of two spring sessions during my break.

January 31, 2011 6 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Bathtime!

Another catch-up — a few weeks ago, I did bathtime storytime!

Started off storytime with “Squeaky Clean” by Simon Puttock.

This is a fabulous story about a Mama Pig who gets her three piglets clean, only to have them want to mess themselves up again — to take another bath! There’s also a cute twist where Mama Pig gets her own bath that had plenty of my adult attendees chuckling.

Next up, the book that inspired bathtime storytime — “Who’s In the Tub?” by Sylvie Jones.

I found book while shelf-reading one day, and was immediately in love with the concept. As it happens in many tub stories — the child’s imagination gets away from him and his bathtub toys are bought to life. But what makes this one extra special is the tiny pages/flaps that move the story along. The kids really liked this one, there were a lot of gigglers. Next up, our flannel:

Flannelboard: “Elephants in the Bathtub”
One elephant in the bathtub
Going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
Come on in! (motion with both hands to come in)
Five elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim
Knock, knock (clap twice)
Splash, splash (slap knees twice)
It all fell in! (knock the felt pieces down)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

I think that I had to repeat this flannelboard four or five times before the kids were ready to move on. Utter hysterics, and pure anticipation. They LOVED this one. (I did another clip-art flannel for this one; I will make a post about it soon!) The next book was a favorite of mine: “Dog’s Colorful Day” by Emma Dodd.

My kids know this one, but love counting Dog’s messy spots and shouting out colors — this is one book that they never tire of. Dog’s messy actions led in perfectly to this action rhyme:

Action Rhyme: “After My Bath”
After my bath…I try, try, try
To rub myself till I’m dry, dry, dry (pretend to rub body with a towel)
Hands to dry and fingers and toes (point to body parts)
Two wet legs and one shiny nose (point to body parts)
Just think how much less time it would take
If I were a dog and could shake, shake, shake! (shake whole body)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Afterwards, I led the kids in our session stretcher after this, “I’m a Little Teapot” before reading the next book “Scrubba Dub” by Nancy Van Laan.

This book has a lot of adorable sounds to make as you read aloud this story about a momma bunny washing her baby bunny. The only sad thing is that it is kind of small, which means a lot of panning during storytime. Next up, a favorite song from childhood:

Song: “Rubber Duckie” (Yep, you know where this one is from, but I’m not printing the lyrics due to copyright.)

Followed by the last book, “Big Red Tub” by Julia Jarman.

I love this book, and it was a great way to end storytime for the week. A quick action rhyme:

Action Rhyme: “Rub-A-Dub-Dub”
Rub-a-dub-dub, one child in the tub (hold up one finger)
Tell me what you see. (point to eyes)
One foot with toes, (point to body parts)
A hand, a nose,
As clean as they can be. (rub hands together)
Rub-a-dub-dub, one child in the tub (hold up one finger)
Tell me what you see. (point to eyes)
Leg, and arms (shake legs and arms)
So clean and warm,
Do they have a hug for me? (hug yourself)
Credit: Perry Public Library — Bathtime Storytime

And storytime was over! Our craft was a simple paper craft, gluing things on the page. My teen volunteers cut everything out, and punched a million bubble circles using a craft punch for the kids to really go crazy with. I had some kids who didn’t glue any bubbles, and I had some cover their page in nothing but bubbles.

(I’m proud to say that I came up with this one on my own! And that the kids REALLY enjoyed it!)

January 20, 2011 11 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Bears!

This winter, I definitely wanted to revisit bears as a theme and I knew that I could shake things up enough that kids who were around last year wouldn’t be bored this session.

I had to start off with my favorite storytime book, period — “Old Bear” by Kevin Henkes.

I really like reading this for all the different seasons, especially when the kids get so excited when the season we’re in shows up — and the winter spread is my favorite of the four. (Even though winter is my least favorite season!) Next up, an action rhyme to get the kids pumped:

Action Rhyme: “Bears Eat Honey”
A bear eats honey (pretend to eat)
He thinks it’s yummy
In his tummy (rub tummy)
But the bees don’t think it’s funny!
Buzzzzzzzzzzzz! (make buzzing noise)
Credit: King County Library System

Next up, “Bears on Chairs” by Shirley Parenteau.

My kids love ANYTHING that has counting involved, so needless to say — they were HUGE fans of this one. Afterward, I brought out a special friend (read: bear puppet) to help me do the next song:

Song & Puppet: “Sleepy Bear” (Tune: “Thumbkin”)
Where is bear? Where is bear?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you this winter?
Very tired, thank you.
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.
(Have kids shout “WAKE UP BEAR” to do the song again.)
Credit: Preschool Education Music & Songs : Animals > Winter

I’ve been doing a lot of “Thumbkin” twists this storytime session, and the kids are really responding to the familiar tune at this point — definitely have some kids humming with me. This song/puppet works out great. Our bear puppet is pretty big, and really expressive, so I pull in his snout and curl him on my knee when he “sleeps” and ask the kids, “Should we wake him to sing again?” We sang this four or five times until one of my little boys said, “LET HIM SLEEP.” So cute!

Next, a book that I invite the kids to read with me — “Orange Pear Apple Bear” by Emily Gravett.

Before I start reading, using the cover, I teach them the four words and what letters that the words start with — and then I go into the books, pointing at the beginning letters to help them figure out which word they should be saying. Sometimes, I wind up with a chorus of answers, sometimes I’m the only one reading. (Especially as the fruits change their colors — trips some of my little guys up.) I followed this book up with the flannel of the day.

Flannelboard: “Ten Teddy Bears Sleeping in the Bed”
Ten little teddy bears sleeping in the bed,
Five at the foot and five at the head.
One little teddy said, “This bed is TOO full!”
So he grabbed the blanket and started to pull.
He pulled and he pulled and he pulled some more,
Until two little teddies went BOOM to the floor!
(Make pulling motions with PULL and clap with the BOOM)

(Count down until…)

One little teddy bear sleeping in the bed,
Zero at the foot and one at the head.
This little teddy said, “This is not right!
I don’t want to sleep alone tonight!”

So…
One little teddy bear sleeping in the bed,
Zero at the foot and one at the head.
This teddy said, “This bed is NOT full!”
So he put out his paw and started to pull.
He pulled and he pulled and he pulled some more,
Until four little teddies climbed up from the floor!

(Count up until…)

Ten little teddy bears sleeping in the bed,
Five at the foot and five at the head.
One little teddy said, “This is JUST right!”
So ten little teddy bears said, “Good Night!”
Susan Pflug, Copyright 1990
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Then I had the kids do “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” until I got them to sit down for the next story, “Bear In the Air” by Susan Meyers.

This one is on the longer side, and I wasn’t sure that it would hold their attention so late in the storytime. But, I had nothing to fear as usual — the kids were very worried about what was happening to Bear, and were very patient to find out the answer. One last song:

Song: “If You’re a Bear and You Know It”
If you’re a panda bear and you know it, clap your paws
If you’re a polar bear and you know it, show your teeth
If you’re a grizzly bear and you know it, growl real loud
Credit: Childhood

And our last book — “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Eric Carle.

My library has multiple board books copies of this one in the storytime collection — so each child and caregiver got a copy to read along with me reading our big-book copy. Our parents love when we do this, and I think it serves such a great literacy skills purpose (teaching both print motivation and print awareness!) that the minor cost (about $75-100 for each set) is worth it.

Our craft was once again from KidsSoup and was very well received.

January 13, 2011 28 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Friends!

Two weeks ago, I did friends storytime before rushing off to San Diego for ALA’s Midwinter meeting. (Loads of fun!) This is the first time I’ve had a moment to breathe since coming back, and that means finally catching up on the blog — here we go!

I started off with one of my favorite storytime books, “A Splendid Friend Indeed” by Suzanne Bloom.

This story is so simple, and the ending makes my heart melt. The kids also enjoyed this one, proudly proclaiming at the end of the book, “They’re friends!” (This will be a trend throughout the post, by the way.)

Fingerplay: “Where Is Thumbkin?”
Where is thumbkin? Where is thumbkin? (put hands behind back)
Here I am! Here I am! (bring hands around from behind the back)
How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you! (wiggle thumbs, one at a time)
Run away, run away! (hide hands behind back again)
(Repeat for each finger; I did leave out middle finger. It was too early in the morning and I feared I would burst into giggles.)
Credit: Childhood

Next book, “Katie Loves the Kittens” by John Himmelman.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I kept asking as I went “Do the kittens like Katie?” and the kids went, “NOOOO!” until we got to the end where several of them shouted in unison, “They’re friends!” This storytime had amazing participation. Which worked *great* for the flannel I had planned: “Friends Match.” I had laminated popular book character pairs (Arthur and D.W.; Max and Ruby; Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat; Dora and Diego; Elmo and Big Bird; and Clifford and Emily Elizabeth) and the kids matched the pairs of friends on the flannelboard. Super cute, super easy to make.

Next, I read “Bear’s New Friend” by Karma Wilson.

This book is a little on the older side, but my storytime is pretty skewed towards 4/5s this session. Afterwards, the kids needed to move around so we did our movement activity:

“Let’s Be Friends” (Tune: London Bridge)
Let’s be friends with one another
One another, one another
Let’s be friends with one another
Let’s be friends today
(You can sing with a friend, you can shout with a friend, you can hum with a friend, you can jump with a friend, you can clap with a friend, you can hop with a friend)
Credit: Step By Step – Friendship Theme

A quick book that I share at many of my storytimes, “Pepo and Lolo Are Friends” by Ana Martín Larrañaga.

Everyone loves this book with its bright, colorful pictures and simple text. A great pick for friends storytime. Our fingerplay was super simple and we did it several times for effect:

Fingerplay: “Two Little Friends” (hold up fingers as you go)
Two little friends are better than one,
And three are better than two
And four are much better still
Just think! What four little friends can do!
Credit: King County Library System

Next up, I read the book “Will You Be My Friend?” by Nancy Tafuri.

I really liked this book, and the kids were very attentive during it. It was a great closer to the storytime. And that was left was our craft, which I got again from KidsSoup.

(That’s my best friend Jessica and me.)

The kids LOVED this craft and went craft gluing tissue paper squares to make their friends. A very successful craft and a very successful storytime theme!

January 6, 2011 11 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

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