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

Penguins!

Weeks ago, I did a penguin storytime for the kids. I just got a little behind on posting my summaries because my library has been closed for the past three Fridays (typically when I have time to write up my summaries). Anyway, here it is!

I started off storytime with “Playful Little Penguins” by Tony Mitton.

A rhyming story with bright pictures, this was a great book to start off with. Mitton’s penguins are cute and expressive — the kids were really able to follow the story easily. Next up, “If You Were a Penguin” by Wendell & Florence Minor.

This was a great switch into realistic looking penguins — and the text is nice and short for a quick read before our first extension activity:

Action Song & Puppet: “Did You Ever See a Penguin?”
Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin?
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Waddle this way and that way, waddle this way and that way
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Credit: Childhood

I paired our song with a really cute penguin puppet, and had the kids hold up their make-believe penguins with me. Next, I found a version of our session song — “I’m a Little Teapot” — with an arctic twist.

Action Song: “I’m A Little Penguin”
I’m a Little Penguin
In the sea.
I can swim as fast as can be!
When I catch a fish, just look at me.
I’m as proud as I can be.
Credit: Step by Step — Penguin Theme

After the kids sat down again, I pulled out “I Like It When…” by Mary Murphy.

This turned out to be a super quiet read, and some of the kids wound up laying down during the book. That led me straight into our flannelboard this week, which turned out to be a big hit!

Flannelboard Song: “Penguin Went Over the Iceberg”
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
To see what he could see,
To see what he could see,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg
To see what he could see.
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see,
Was all that he could see,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see.
Credit: The Best Kids Book Site

The kids could not get enough of the penguin, and I sang this song three times.

Lastly, “10 Little Penguins” by Jean-Luc Fromental.

This is a very small pop-up book. I thought that it might be a big problem because of its size — but the kids were okay as I panned back and forth. The only problem with the book was that I had one little boy who kept trying to help me move the penguins around. I had to repeatedly tell him to sit down, but because of the size of the book I couldn’t hold it any higher to get him away! Last fingerplay before craft:

Fingerplay: “Two Little Penguins”
Two little penguins sitting on the ice (hold up two fingers)
One bows once, the other bows twice (made index fingers bow)
Waddle little penguins. Waddle away. (put fingers behind back)
Come back penguins. Time to play! (bring fingers to the front)
Credit: King County Library System

And the most adorable craft ever – penguin puppet.

This is another one from KidsSoup. Teen volunteers cut everything out, and pre-glued the puppet down so that the kids could immediately slip their hands into their puppets. Super cute craft.

January 3, 2011 15 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Fall Flannelboards

As promised…though I waited until the very last day of Fall to do it…some pictures of the flannelboards that I made for storytime, but didn’t make a giant post on!


“Big, Bigger, Biggest” — Templates from Google Image Search

Big, Bigger, Biggest
A little ball, a bigger ball, and a great big ball I see
Now help me count them, one, two, three!
Credit: Debmonn PB Wiki

I used this with my opposites storytime, back in October.


“Dog’s Colorful Day” — Template from Making Learning Fun

I do this flannel with the book “Dog’s Colorful Day” by Emma Dodd. I actually haven’t used this flannel yet, but I found it and it was too cute (and too simple to make) to pass up.


“Big Green Monster” — Templates from Kizclub.com

This flannel is used to tell “Go Away, Big Green Monster” by Ed Emberley. I used this in my monsters storytime.


“The Penguin Went Over the Iceberg” — Templates from Google Image Search

I used this flannel just this past week, in penguin storytime. I haven’t gotten my post up, but I used the flannel with a song:

Penguin Went Over the Iceberg
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
To see what he could see,
To see what he could see,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
The penguin went over the iceberg,
To see what he could see.
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see,
Was all that he could see,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
The other side of the iceberg,
Was all that he could see!
Credit: The Best Kids Book Site


Shapes — Templates from KidsSoup

I used this flannel with my shapes storytime to not only help the kids identify what shape I was talking about while singing; but I also used them as a flannel game, hiding the dog from “Dear Zoo” underneath each shape.

And that sums up the new flannels at my library. I’ll be updating the “Flannelboards” section on the blog just as soon as I get a chance.

December 20, 2010 36 Comments Short URLHow To

Wild Animals!

For my second afternoon storytime, I decided to do a wild animals storytime. And I had nineteen kids show up to practice their animal noises! (I was floored, given the weather!)

First up, I read “Dancing Feet” by Lindsay Craig.

I used this book in my “Shake Your Sillies Out” program, and promised that I would use it again. It was the perfect book to kick off storytime. The kids love guessing which animal is coming next. I did not have the kids stomp their feet with the animals though, because I didn’t want to get them all riled up at the first book! And since they were sitting so well, I went straight into “Jump!” by Scott Fischer.

This is a great repetitive, cause-and-effect book — the kids quickly caught on to the animals pouncing on each other, happily shouting out “JUMP!” between pages. My favorite part of this book is the vertical spread. Make sure you know when it’s coming, and the kids will be so surprised when you turn the book around! Since they were already such great jump shouters, I gave them a chance to practice their own jumping with this action rhyme:

Action Rhyme: Kangaroo!
Jump, jump, jump (Jump)
Goes the kangaroo (Jump)
I thought only one (Hold up one finger)
But now I see two! (Hold up two fingers)
Momma and her baby
With his head popping out (Make a fist, have other hand pop out)
He holds on tight (Hug yourself)
As they jump all about! (Jump)
Credit: Preschool Education — Animals: Zoo

Next up, I had the kids sit down for our flannelboard: Dear Zoo (Based on the book by Rod Campbell).

All of the kids kept trying to guess what animal was coming next from the zoo — and I had one boy who insisted the zoo should send a dog, which was excellent when I got to the end and he proclaimed, “I WAS RIGHT!”

After that energetic story, I led the kids in a quick round of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” slow, fast, slow to get them prepared for the next book. It actually gave me a great segue for “Whose Nose and Toes?” by John Butler.

Now this book is definitely for the younger crowd, and my older kids dominated the younger kids. But! One of my youngest loved the pictures and kept pointing all the way from the back row, trying to sound out the animal’s names. The only one that she got clearly was dog.

(Another reason why I like to mix things up, and do some younger books is that I often have bilingual families attending. So this simple book can be understood without actually understanding all of the English words I’m saying. The reason I know this? I had some kids guessing Spanish animal names instead of English.)

The book ends with an elephant as the last animal to guess, so that was another great intro to our next action rhyme.

Action Rhyme: “Big Gray Elephant”
The big gray elephant slowly walks.
She doesn’t make a sound.
She swings her trunk from left to right.
When she puts her feet on the ground.
Swing, swing, left and right,
She doesn’t make a sound.
Credit: Alphabet Soup – Zoo Poems, Songs, and Fingerplays

Next up, “My Heart is Like a Zoo” by Michael Hall.

Definitely a great rhyming story; my (and their) favorite page is the page where hippos are drinking apple juice. The kids were very talkative during this story, and I definitely had to lower my voice to sometimes get their attention between rhyming couplets. Overall, this is still one of my favorite books for its bright colors, and almost homage to “Color Zoo.”

Next, I just couldn’t resist using two flannels in one program! So, I pulled out my Seals on the Bus flannel (Based on the book by Lenny Hort) and we sang the book out loud.

One last song before our last book! I pulled out my Manhattan Toy “Sweet Safari” finger puppets for this one, and modified what animals we heard so that the puppets would fit.

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

Last book, I did as an action rhyme/book — “From Head to Toe” by Eric Carle.

Luckily, we own the big book version of this one, so I was able to have all the kids stand (short ones walk towards the middle of the rug to see better, tall ones move to the sides) while I held up the book, panning back and forth and doing (most) of the motions with them. This led to hysterical giggles — I don’t recommend doing this as the opening story!

But for me and my kids, it was time for the craft. They made lion masks that I found on my new favorite website, KidsSoup. (Again, it’s paid, but for me it has been WORTH it so that I’m not struggling to find a craft to fit my theme.)

Nothing beats little ones running out of the program room roaring at one another.

December 15, 2010 4 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

Shapes!

I had a second successful storytime! My numbers were consistent for a second week — I am as shocked as you are! Especially given Chicago’s *freezing* temperatures this week. And it snowed yesterday night, causing more chaos! Anyway, this week I tackled shapes in my storytime. This turned out to be such a great storytime — both material wise and kid wise.

I started off with “Dog’s Colorful Day” by Emma Dodd.

A great book about counting, and colors that can easily be used in a shapes theme. Before I started the book (but after I had told the kids the title and author), I pulled out my circle shape from my flannelboard, and asked the kids what shape I had. After they told me it was a circle (yay!), I said that we were going to read a book about a lot of circles making a dog very messy.

This one is always a great read-aloud, and a definite success in shapes storytime. Next up, a cute song!

Song: “I Can See Shapes” (Tune: London Bridge)
I can see a circle shape, circle shape, circle shape
I can see a circle shape, how about you?
(Little square, triangle, rectangle, diamond)
Credit: The Story Place

When each shape came up, I put it on the flannelboard, leaving all the shapes up. I asked the kids to tell me the color the shape after each verse. (Really, this could have been a color & shapes storytime.)

Then, I read “Color Zoo” by Lois Ehlert.

(Side story: This is the first book that I remember hearing read to me in a library, in kindergarten.)

Since this is a super simple book (just animal names, and shape names), I did elaborate by saying, “Take the square away and we get…a…” and waited for the kids to shout out the animal names. Huge success, I had one little boy ask me to read it again, right away. But instead, I asked if he wanted to play a game…which, of course, he did! So I did our flannelboard, a play on “Little Mouse, Little Mouse, What House Are You In?” except with a little dog and my shapes.

Then, I read “Whoo? Whoo?” by David A. Carter.

This one is very similar to “Color Zoo,” except that the shape cut-outs join together to make an animal. The kids and I shouted out what shapes were on the page before turning it to reveal an animal. They *loved* participating with this one. I followed it up with a revamp of a classic fingerplay:

Action Song/Fingerplay: “Where Is…?” (Tune: Where Is Thumbkin?)
Where is triangle? Where is triangle?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you.
Run away. Run away.
(Circle, rectangle, square, diamond)
Credit: KidsSoup

And then, I led the kids in “I’m a Little Teapot” and “The Wiggles” before sitting down to read “Not a Box” by Antoinette Portis.

This was one of those books that I LOVED the minute I saw it, but kind of feared that I’d never use it in a storytime. But — a box is totally a rectangle! And with such a repetitive text, I easily had every kid chiming in by the end, proclaiming that the box was not a box! One last song:

Song: “Make a Circle, Draw a Square” (Tune: Oh My Darling Clementine)
Make a circle, make a circle, draw it in the sky
Use your finger, use your finger, make it round as pie
Make a square, Make a square, make the lines so straight
Draw a square, draw a square, draw one or draw eight
Draw a triangle, draw a triangle, always start at the top
Make a tent, make a tent, use three lines and then stop!
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

And then, I read our last book — “It Looked Like Spilt Milk” by Charles G. Shaw.

We have this in big book form, so the pictures were *so* big and the kids kept shouting out what they saw in the cloud. For such a simple concept, this is a great storytime book.

And then, our craft was a shape hanger that I got from KidsSoup. One of my moms told me that this was my cutest craft yet. (You can’t see it in the picture, but on the other side of the “My Shapes,” it says “Mis Formas” for my Spanish speaking households!)

December 10, 2010 10 Comments Short URL, Family Storytime

The Polar Express

Program Plan
1. Read “The Polar Express.”
2. Sing carols.
3. Play “Conductor Says” — Simon Says with a Polar Express twist.
4. Do crafts: Reindeer hats & “Magic Reindeer Food.”
5. Give presents. (Candy canes and Jingle Bells on leather cords.)

This is the simplest program that I have ever created for 3 to 7 year olds — and I’ve done it three times in the five holiday seasons that I’ve been at my current job. It’s such a great way for little ones and their families to participate in the holiday season! Here’s a few things I’ve learned through my years of doing this program:

1. The book is a long book; make sure to engage children with questions throughout. Tuck a bell in your pocket and when the boy receives his bell, pull yours out. It *will* grab any kid not paying attention back to the story.

2. No one will really care who wins “Conductor Says.” And it’s not worth it to try and get a three-year-old to sit out after they’ve “lost” the game.

3. Making “Magic Reindeer Food” will inevitably leave you with a gigantic mess of sprinkles, sugar, and oats on the floor. Remember to have a broom nearby!

4. Give the candy cane presents to the parent; give the bell to the child. At my first year doing this, I mistakenly gave the children the candy and I had several meltdowns on my hands when parents demanded the candy to wait until after dinner.

December 8, 2010 1 Comment Short URL, Special Programming

“Dear Zoo” Flannelboard


From KizClub; direct link for the “Dear Zoo” flannelboard.

I know that this book has been around since I was a kid, but I had never seen it until I found the flannel template for it. It was a super cute template, so I inter-library loaned the book to see the story. I was immediately sold on making this one!

Since I’ve been making flannelboards for about a year now, I’ve been looking for ways to up my ante, for lack of a better term. So while making this flannel, I experimented with ribbon, sewing, and paint pens.

For the ribbon, I just cut for the length of the piece to make a box stripe and overlapped the ribbon onto the back, gluing it down. The ribbon kept popping up, unless I held the piece down for a couple of minutes — which was difficult to do on desk. So I wound up gluing a backing piece of felt over the ribbon, which will probably preserve the flannel for longer anyways.

(I also tried a different way of doing this — gluing the ribbon down on a base color, and then layering the felt over it. While I kept the piece I did this on — the giraffe house, you can see it in the second to last picture — I decided I much preferred the look of the ribbon directly on the felt.)

As for the paint pens, my normal painting technique (paper clip & tempera paint) did not go over well when I tried to write with it. I just didn’t have the control I wanted. So I found these paint pens at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and thought I’d give it a go.

Still got to poke the felt instead of dragging it along, and I found I needed to dot out the letters so that I kept them consistent as I worked. I also dabbed at a piece of paper between each dot to keep the paint going steadily.


The finished piece (with ribbon and lettering), compared to the book. (And yes, I have the pop-up edition!)

Next up, sewing!

I had to do the whiskers on the lion — it would have looked funny without them. So I tied some knots behind the felt, and pulled it through. Absolutely the most basic sewing ever.

(Although, I doubt it will take me long to try out some other sewing techniques…)

After pulling all six whiskers through (and thoroughly gluing them behind the felt), I just trimmed them so that they would be even.

Just some pictures of the final project below. Enjoy!

December 5, 2010 30 Comments Short URLHow To

Winter!

It’s the start of my winter storytime session!

This is an experimental session, as I’ve never done storytime in the winter before. (Our attendance always dropped out significantly during November.) So far, I’ve got four weeks planned, but whether or not I’ll do another four weeks depends on whether or not my families keep showing up!

For this session, I have switched things up and started using “The More We Get Together” as my opening song, and “We Wave Goodbye Like This” as my closing song. Our stretcher for this session is “I’m a Little Teapot.”

I started off storytime with “A Kitten’s Tale” by Eric Rohmann.

This was a nice quiet start for the first storytime since October. It might have been almost too quiet, because I had wigglers up until the snow fell in the story. But the minute the snow appeared, everyone sat down and listened up. It was a nice moment, after I had been mildly worried that things were going south. (I can’t be the only librarian who frets during storytime!) Followed this up with a great transition into our flannelboard: “The Three Little Kittens.”

Our set was damaged in the flood that we had this summer, so I actually wound up remaking it, using the existing flannel pieces as the templates. After that, it was on to another great transition from kitten mittens to “One Mitten” by Kristine O’Connell George.

This is a great rhyming story about a girl who can’t find her second mitten until it’s found under her cat. (Third cat related winter activity in a row — maybe my theme was really cats and winter!) The kids really enjoyed this one, I had a couple of them shouting out places to look for her mitten. No one guessed under the cat. Once she finds her mittens, she goes out into the snow, which led to a great discussion about playing in the snow. And then, to a great fingerplay once someone mentioned sledding!

Fingerplay: “Here’s a Hill”
Here’s a hill (tilt left arm so that it forms a hill)
And here’s a hill (tilt right arm so that it forms a hill)
All covered with snow (raise hands up, bring down in snow motion)
I’ll put on my coat, (put coat on)
And jump on my sled (hold the rope of a sled)
And ZOOM, down the hill I will go! (clap hands, slid hands down)
Credit: The Holiday Zone (with a little tweaking)

Next, I went through the actions in “I’m a Little Teapot” (i.e. – “Can you make a handle? Can you make a spout? Can you tip yourself over? Great! Now you can do this song with me!”) since it was our first time. This is how I introduce most of my songs, so the kids are familiar with it.

Afterward, the kids were definitely ready to sit down and listen to “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats.

I am always REALLY excited when I get to share a book that I read when I was a kid. The parents always chuckle when I say that this book is old (because most of my parents are just older than me), and the kids are always wide-eyed, like it’s a dinosaur age book. So funny. Anyway, they really liked reading about Peter and his adventures, though they didn’t get that the snow in his pocket had melted. Had to explain that one a bit. But after that discussion, a great segue into an extension activity:

Action Song: “Dance Like Snowflakes”
Dance like snowflakes,
Dance like snowflakes
In the air, in the air
Whirling, twirling snowflakes
Whirling, twirling snowflakes
Here and there, everywhere
Credit: BellaOnline

I didn’t have a seemless transition into “Duck Skates” by Lynne Berry though I had thought about trying to explain freezing snow and ice…but that seemed way too difficult to me.

This series is so cute, and the kids really like the rhyming. I’m not sure if they understand what’s going on, though, and I find myself explaining a lot of the pages to them. That sometimes messes with the rhythm of the story, but I don’t mind.

I wanted the kids really worn out for my last book (which is a very quiet one), so we did this:

Action Song: “Winter Hokey Pokey”
You put your mitten in, you take your mitten out
You put your boots in, you take your boots out
You put your hat in, you put your hat out
You put your coat in, you put your coat out
Credit: Step by Step – Winter Theme

We did several rounds before “Polar Bear Night” by Lauren Thompson.

I must really like bears, but this book is fast becoming a favorite of mine — right up there with “Old Bear.” The kids were pretty settled down after several rounds of Hokey Pokey, and were very content to listen. A great way to end storytime.

This craft was off of KidsSoup, which is a paid membership site. ($25.00 for a year; my Christmas present to myself and my staff!)

I printed off the template. My teens cut out the mittens, hole-punched the mittens, and tied them up. The kids added the foam shapes. A very successful return — I had eleven kids attend!

December 3, 2010 10 Comments Short URL, , Family Storytime

Maisy & Friends

This month, I was very excited to be able to do a Maisy themed program for my 3 to 7-year-old age group. The kids at my library are crazy about Maisy, and her books are rarely on the shelf. I knew that this would be a successful program, and was pleased that I could devote a whole hour to one of their favorite characters.

I began storytime by laying down expectations for kids and parents — something new I’m trying to see if we have some better behavior. (Which we totally did!) And then, went ahead and read “Maisy Goes On Vacation” by Lucy Cousins.

This is one of those “First Experience” books, so it walks Maisy through packing, getting to the beach, and her first day on vacation. I love the Maisy “First Experience” books because they do such a good job of explaining these new places and activities to preschoolers. After we finished this book, the kids had a lively discussion of where they had each gone on their last vacation. Super cute.

Next up, “Maisy Big, Maisy Small” by Lucy Cousins.

Introducing this book was SO easy, because the kids had seen the cover of this book in the last one. (Maisy reads one of her own books on the way to her vacation.) The kids were pumped that we had Maisy’s book here! This tale of opposites led to a lot of laughter with the kids, especially the “Maisy fluffy and Maisy spiky” page layout.

After such a rousing success, I had to follow it up with my flannelbaord: “Maisy Mouse, What House Are You In?”

Talk about another instant-hit, they LOVED guessing which house Maisy was in. I was successfully able to re-hide Maisy twice before kids started to peek. I followed this with a quick fingerplay:

“Hickory Dickory Dock”
Hickory, dickory, dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down
Hickory, dickory, dock

Afterwards, I asked the kids about what kind of animals Maisy and her friends were. They kept telling me that Maisy was a mouse, but I had one little girl rattle off the other animals (crocodile, elephant, etc.) very proudly. I asked if Maisy had any fish friends, and the kids shook their heads, and that led us into “Maisy Goes to the Library” by Lucy Cousins, where Maisy searches for a fish book.

This was an accidental hilarity — THREE of the kids before the program asked me where the fish books were, so that naturally led to the kids shouting out that they were like Maisy. Then, the non-fish-asking kids all said that they asked for a fish book too, to which I nodded and let it go, asking everyone to raise their hands if they wanted to find a fish book with Maisy. That let us finish our story, thankfully. We needed the next action play to help discharge some energy:

Action Play: “The Old Grey Cat”
The old gray cat is sleeping, sleeping, sleeping,
The old gray cat is sleeping in the house
The little mice are dancing, dancing, dancing (children dance)
The little mice are dancing in the house
The little mice are nibbling, nibbling, nibbling (children nibble)
The little mice are nibbling in the house
The little mice are resting, resting, resting (children rest their heads on hands)
The little mice are resting in the house
The old gray cat comes creeping, creeping, creeping (cat begins to creep)
The old gray cat comes creeping in the house
The little mice go scampering, scampering, scampering (children run in place)
The little mice go scampering in the house (cat can surprise Maisy and meow!)
Credit: Everything Preschool Mice Games

Then, our next story, “Maisy Cleans Up” by Lucy Cousins.

This one is super quick, and easy, and the kids loved guessing what kind of chores Maisy and Charley would do next. The kids clapped when Maisy and Charley finally got to eat their cupcakes after such hard work. Another quick fingerplay:

Fingerplay: “Mouse Fingerplay”
Chorus: 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
And 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
That mouse just keeps on bouncing
Every minute of the day
He goes bounce, bounce, bounce
But he does not bounce away
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

This was by far one of my favorite fingerplays ever. The kids were so happy to bounce their finger-mouse up and down, and we had a lot of gigglers. And a couple of them picked up the chorus by the end of the chant!

And to finish up, our grand finale was “Maisy’s Show” by Lucy Cousins.

My co-workers tease me about how much I enjoy pop-up books that don’t require you to fix the pop-up before moving on. This book is easily my new favorite pop-up book! The actions are thoughtful and appropriate, the kids are wow-ed by them, and I don’t have to fix the book before turning the page!

Lastly, the kids played a quick game of “Pin the Tail on Maisy” that I printed off from the official Maisy website.

Followed by a quick craft of making Maisy ears (also on the official site) and a puppet coloring craft of Maisy riding a bicycle.

(Teen volunteers cut everything out, and had already attached the popsicle stick to the back of the puppet so that no one’s Maisy went flying suddenly.)

A hugely successful program, with no headaches, and a great afternoon spent at the library.

November 23, 2010 0 Comments Short URL, , , Special Programming

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