storytime katie

The Plan

Books

Be Careful and Stay Safe by Cheri J. Meiners (some pages clipped)*
How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe? by Jane Yolen*
Llama Llama and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney*
Please Play Safe! by Margery Cuyler
Yes, No, Little Hippo by Jane Belk Moncure*

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Little Cat” (with updated hats)

Puppet Glove: “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”

Props: “Green Says Go”

Props: “What Is My Job?” Sung to: “Are You Sleeping?”
What is my job?
What is my job?
Can you guess?
Can you guess?
[_________________]
[_________________]
Who am I?
Who am I?
*Other verses: I help people get well (doctor). I make meals for you (chef). I keep your pets healthy (veterinarian). I put out the fires (firefighter). I grow food for you (farmer). I help you cross the street (crossing guard). I can help you stay safe (police officer).
Modified from: Preschool Education, Music, & Songs

Action Rhyme: “Hurry Hurry”
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!
(Turn the corner, spray the water, climb the ladder, save the people)
Credit: Childhood

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I do two storytimes and each group has their own theme/storytime. Today’s group was the toddler, two-year-old, & three-year-old classrooms. I read to 45 people total.

Topic
This particular facility selects themes for me to do ahead of time to tie into their curriculum.

When I first got the request for staying safe for two-year-olds, I was really concerned about overwhelming the kids with fears instead of reassuring them. Thank you very much to my Twitter friends for offering suggestions. Most of the suggestions went too old for my kiddos, but it got me thinking. I went with a bit of a community helpers theme and that worked great.

I used “Llama Llama and the Bully Goat” to remind kids that they can always find their teachers for help (since we were in a daycare facility that was perfect). “Yes, No, Little Hippo” was by far the best one and the one that the toddlers understood the most. “How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe?” might have been more successful if I didn’t have the CUTEST kid who yelled, “Dinosaur!” every time I turned the page. Most of the kids and teachers dissolved into laughter. I managed to keep a straight face, but it was pretty hysterical.

The Plan

Books

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won
It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “One Elephant Went Out to Play”

Flannelboard: “Seals on the Bus”

Action Rhyme: “Little Monkeys Swinging In the Tree”
Little monkeys swinging in the tree
All hold hands and swing with me
Swing up high and swing down low
Swing in the tree, now don’t let go!
Swing, swing like I do
Swing like the monkeys in the zoo
Credit: Step By Step — Rainforest Theme

Song & Puppets: “You Can Hear” (Tune: She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain)
You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo, ROAR! ROAR!
You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo, ROAR! ROAR!
You can hear the lions roaring, you can hear the lions roaring
You can hear the lions roaring at the zoo! ROAR! ROAR!
(Elephants trumpeting, zebra braying, monkey eeking)
Credit: Perpetual Preschool

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I visit four classrooms total, reading to five classrooms total. The first classroom is a combined two-year-olds classroom. Then I visit two three-year-old classrooms and finally a four-year-old & five-year old classroom. I’m at the facility for about two hours, and my voice is definitely feeling it by the end of the visit!

Topic
This particular facility selects themes for me to do ahead of time to tie into their curriculum.

Two-Year-Olds (Combined classes)
This group was definitely most involved in “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” — I think it more than helped that I encouraged all the toddlers to rock slowly with me. There’s a definite benefit to asking toddlers to do a kinetic motion along with their listening. You get a lot better results! The kids loved the finger puppets that I brought for the song “You Can Hear” and I had nearly every animal that they called out!

Three-Year-Olds (First classroom)
My most enthusiastic participants during “Hooray for Hat!”. “Hooray for Hat” was a wonderful treasure that I ordered and a co-worker pulled off the new books shelf to read aloud to all of us in the department one day. It had fast become the book that we read to each other on particularly difficult days. I was so pleased that the kids seemed to love it as much (if not more) than we librarians do.

Three-Year-Olds (Second classroom)
These kids asked once I finished “It’s a Tiger!” if I could read it again. One of their teachers copied down the book’s information and promised them that she’d buy a classroom copy. Now if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is! They also really enjoyed “From Head to Toe” and following along with the movements in the book. (I still paper-clip the donkey page!)

Four-Year-Olds & Five-Year-Olds (Single classroom)
Another set of kids that really loved “Hooray for Hat!” and “It’s a Tiger!”. This group really appreciated the interactive reads this summer and I will definitely keep that in mind if I’m asked to return next summer. They were also really happy to see the “Seals on the Bus” flannelboard again; they had last seen it at the beginning on June and this was the middle of August at this point. More than enough time to repeat a favorite!

The Plan

Books

Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beamont
Dinosaur Kisses by David Ezra Stein
Dinosaur Vs. School by Bob Shea
Here Comes Destructosaurus by Jeremy Tankard
Shape By Shape by Suse MacDonald

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Ten Little Dinos”

Action Rhyme: “Dinosaur, Dinosaur”
Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn around
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch the ground
Dinosaur, dinosaur, reach up high
Dinosaur, dinosaur, wink one eye
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your nose
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your toes
Dinosaur, dinosaur, slap your knees
Dinosaur, dinosaur, sit down please
Credit: Childhood/Modified “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear”

Action Rhyme: “Dinosaurs”
Spread your arms, way out wide
Fly like Pteranodon, soar and glide
Bend to the floor, head down low
Move like Stegosaurus, long ago
Reach up tall, try to be
As tall as Apatosaurus eating on a tree
Using your claws, grumble and growl
Just like Tyrannosaurus on the prowl
Credit: Nancy Klein on The Childrens Museum of New Hampshire’s website

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I do two classrooms. One is a two-year-old classroom and the other is a combined three-year-olds to six-year-olds classroom (basically three classrooms pile into one classroom). I was always directed to the two-year-old room first.

Two-Year-Olds
This storytime should have been an absolutely perfect fit for this age group. Instead, the teachers asked if I would do this storytime outside since it was a gorgeous day. I agreed, provided I had an area. The only area that was fenced in was the playground equipment. You can bet what the toddlers wanted to do instead of listening to Miss Katie. So, I did a very quick storytime where we only read two books “Dini Dinosaur” and “Dino Shapes” and called it a win!

Three-Year-Olds — Six-Year-Olds
This group did much better with everything because a) they’re older and b) we were inside. They had a great time roaring with Bob Shea’s Dinosaur and smashing things with Destructosaurus. I had a great time pretending to be dinosaurs with them. I did wind up using “Shape by Shape” with them, but I should have saved it for just the two-year-olds. I was met with a chorus of “IT’S A DINOSAUR” from the very beginning of opening the book.

The Plan

Books

This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt
Uh-Oh by Rachel Isadora
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn
I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Little Books”

Flannelboard: “Five Little Snowflakes”

Fingerplay: “Dance Your Fingers Up”
Dance your fingers up, dance your fingers down
Dance your fingers to the side, dance them all around
Dance them on your shoulders, dance them on you head
Dance them on your tummy, and put them all to bed
Credit: Best Kids Book Site [Link no longer works]

Fingerplay: “Two Little Snowflakes”
Two little snowflakes sitting on a hill
One named Jack, the other named Jill
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill
(Other verses: cloud/quiet & loud; pole/fast & slow)
Credit: Modified from childhood

Song: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands
Stomp your feet // Shout hooray
Credit: Childhood

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I visit four classrooms total, reading to five classrooms total. The first classroom is a combined two-year-olds classroom. Then I visit two three-year-old classrooms and finally a four-year-old & five-year old classroom. I’m at the facility for about two hours, and my voice is definitely feeling it by the end of the visit!

Topic
This particular facility selects themes for me to do ahead of time to tie into their curriculum. For this theme, I wasn’t given a lot of “don’t use that author” like I had been in the previous theme. Which was good — until I hit a classroom and one of the teachers informed me that “The Snowy Day” was their book project for later that day. Whoops?

Two-Year-Olds (Combined classes)
I chose the book “Uh-Oh” especially for this classroom. I only read it for this storytime, since I knew it was a high-appeal book for toddlers. They loved seeing their normal day-to-day activities. I especially liked this choice because it’s a book that shows everyday diversity, which is so important to expose children to. This group was also pros at singing along with “If You’re Happy and You Know It” which made my heart so very happy.

Three-Year-Olds (First classroom)
This class LOVED “This Jazz Man” so much! They tapped along with me as I sang the book and were really attentive as I told them the names of each of the jazz men once the “story” ended. Also, this group was the only one who absolutely protested when I pulled out “The Snowy Day”. They kept telling me over and over again, “But it’s summer!” I wound up making the executive decision to skip the snowflakes rhyme and flannelboard for this group. (I blame Olaf…somehow.)

Three-Year-Olds (Second classroom)
My quietest class of the four; I can’t even say that this class had a favorite activity. This is the classroom that I keep hearing from their teachers about how they count down the days until Miss Katie comes back because they love storytime so much. Which is lovely and wonderful to hear especially since this is my third class and I’m losing steam at this point in the visit!

Four-Year-Olds & Five-Year-Olds (Single classroom)
This class had the best time dancing along to “I Got the Rhythm”. They were amazing little dancers, pulling all kinds of rhythm and hip twists and dance moves that I wasn’t sure that four-year-olds had! (I mean, they beat my moves times 1,000, which um, is easy to do to begin with.) They also loved the Five Little Books flannelboard a lot!

The Plan

Books

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Flannelboard: “Seals on the Bus”

Fingerplay: “Two Little Tigers”
Two little tigers sitting on a hill
One named Jack, the other named Jill
Run away Jack, run away Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill
(Other verses: cloud/quiet & loud; pole/fast & slow)
Credit: Modified from childhood

Song: “Red and Yellow, Green and Blue”
Red and yellow, green and blue
These are the colors over you
Red as a flower, blue as the sea
Yellow as the sun, green as a green
Red and yellow, green and blue
These are the colors over you
Credit: Read Sing Play

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I visit four classrooms total, reading to five classrooms total. The first classroom is a combined two-year-olds classroom. Then I visit two three-year-old classrooms and finally a four-year-old & five-year old classroom. I’m at the facility for about two hours, and my voice is definitely feeling it by the end of the visit!

Topic
This particular facility selects themes for me to do ahead of time to tie into their curriculum. They were doing an author study each day this week: Eric Carle, Kevin Henkes, Leo Lionni, Tomie dePaola, and Beatrix Potter. I was asked to do classic authors without reading books by these authors. (You can see I did use an Eric Carle flannelboard and a Bill Martin Jr. book that Carle illustrated, but I felt that was okay.) So I took it in the direction of “new” classics.

Two-Year-Olds (Combined classes)
I’m going to be really honest here — I was shaky as heck as I started this storytime because I was dealing with a medical issue and had spent the first hour of my day trying to get in to see the doctor before I went to ALA Annual on Friday. I do not know how I managed to pull this off, but the toddlers were absolute angels. I sang “Brown Bear” and that was definitely their favorite. They also loved when I passed out the scarves!

Three-Year-Olds (First classroom)
This classroom is my least favorite in terms of set-up. I’m right next to the door and was interrupted a few times by attendance checks and meal counts. I did my best as putting that aside. One of the girls in this classroom knew the book “Dear Zoo” by heart and I had to ask her not to reveal the animals to everyone. This group loved getting to be quiet and loud during “Two Little Tigers”.

Three-Year-Olds (Second classroom)
This group made a lot of great connections between the tiger and “Color Zoo” and our “Two Little Tigers” rhyme. I was impressed that also knew hexagon and octagon as shapes! They absolutely loved “Bark George” and I got the biggest laughs of the day when George said hello at the end. This was also the group that told “Very Hungry Caterpillar” with me since they knew it so well!

Four-Year-Olds & Five-Year-Olds (Single classroom)
These kiddos became my best friends immediately since I was carrying my books in an Elephant and Piggie tote bag. It was a natural segue to start with “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” which they loved. This was also the class that made me laugh the hardest. During “The Seals on the Bus”, I always ask what everyone thinks the boy and girl will say. One little boy stood up and shouted, “LET ME OFF!” which I decided to sing instead of the traditional HELP HELP HELP.

The Plan

Books

The Three Bears by Byron Barton
The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett
The Foggy, Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Five Knights in Shining Armor”

Flannelboard: “Princess Wore a Red Dress”

Fingerplay: “Two Little Dragons”
Two little dragons sitting on a hill
One named Jack, one named Jill
Fly away Jack, one named Jill
Come back Jack, come back Jill
Credit: Modified from childhood

Prop Story: “Three Little Pigs”

How It Went

Site Information
At this location, I do two classrooms. One is a two-year-old classroom and the other is a combined three-year-olds to six-year-olds classroom (basically three classrooms pile into one classroom). I was always directed to the two-year-old room first.

Two-Year-Olds
For this room, I did not read either of the princess books. We stuck with the Barton version of “The Three Bears” for its simplicity and repetition. And “The Foggy Foggy Forest” because it’s a great little guessing game. The kids really liked the “Princess Wore a Red Dress” flannel since I let them get up and dance it out.

Three-Year-Olds — Six-Year-Olds
I specifically brought both “Falling for Rapunzel” and “The Princess and the Pig” for this classroom mix because I knew the older kids would love these stories. I typically do a longer storytime for this group because they are very attentive. Perhaps the most memorable event of the day was that it was one of the hottest days of the summer and the power went out during storytime. I kept going (there was enough light from windows) with “The Three Bears” while some of the teachers left the room to set-up the backup generator. Everything was fixed by the time I finished the book, but it was memorable, that’s for sure!