storytime katie

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

Dig In! by Cynthia Jenson-Elliott**
Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn**

(I had additional titles, but they are Caldecott eligible so I won’t be discussing them on the blog.)

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: More, Please!**

Featured Track: #5 Rocks and Flowers

Flannelboard: Planting a Rainbow

Flannelboard: Six Little Bumblebees**

Letter of the Day: G**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree**
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
The last week of the spring session went off wonderfully. We were able to read three books in each class! Unfortunately, two of the books I won’t be discussing on the blog. But what I can tell you is that all books were well-received in Monday’s class. They were disappointed that we didn’t get through all four books that I had pulled and wanted to stay late to finish the last book. But their grown-ups were waiting. We also sang two of their favorite songs “one last time” in class.

Tuesday morning
This group is where I will lose the most friends to kindergarten this year, so this storytime was bittersweet to me. I actually thought as I reminded a friend to sit on their bottom that it was the last time I would be telling this particular friend that! I think their favorite book of the day was Dig In! which is really more of a toddler book, but worked so lovely as an interactive book.

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

ABC Yoga by Christine Engel**
Good Morning Yoga by Mariam Gates*
A Morning With Grandpa by Sylvia Liu*

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Storytime Singalong**

Featured Track: #6 I Am a Yoga Song

Letter of the Day: Y**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree**
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
I’ve been waiting SO LONG to do this theme and I was so excited to be up and moving with the kids. As previously talked about on the blog, I taught yoga in college but do not have an official certification. AHHHH, THIS DAY THOUGH, SO GOOD. The kids absolutely loved being up and moving throughout storytime. I could feel the room getting calmer as we held each pose for five breaths. It was absolutely a joy and I highly recommend it.

Tuesday morning
This group was excited for yoga, but a little bit unfocused at first. I had trouble getting the kids to give each other enough space (which was weird because this group meets in our larger meeting room with more than enough room to spread out) and finally had each friend choose a square on the carpet pattern. But once we started, yoga + kids did come together finally! All of the books worked well in both classes because we were up and moving. My favorite was Good Morning, Yoga.

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

Blackout by John Rocco
How Do You Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle**
Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy*
Say Hello by Rachel Isadora*

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Macaroni**

Featured Track: #3 Alphabet City

Flannelboard: Little Mouse, Little Mouse**

Flannelboard: Seals on the Bus

Letter of the Day: N**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes*
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
Today, we read Say Hello! and How Do You Wokka-Wokka? in this class. The kids liked both books, but I think Say Hello! edged it out to be the favorite. I do have some repeat friends from last session, one of whom remarked the traditional “We read that book!”, but wanted to read it again once I asked. They really enjoyed when we talked about what makes a neighborhood and I was impressed with all of the places that they listed: houses, the park, police station, school, grocery store, the library, etc. A few of the kids didn’t think they lived in a neighborhood, but once we listed all of the places, they did finally agree that they were in a neighborhood!

Tuesday morning
This is my older class (average age is 4.5) and I definitely wanted to highlight Maybe Some Beautiful with this group. And I think they enjoyed the book and liked tracking the changing colors. They were excited once I told them that the story was based on something that had really happened in another state — I think it’s important to share non-fiction with kids and this picture book is a great place to start. Also, it should be noted that this group could not get enough of “Little Mouse”.

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

Five for a Little One by Chris Raschka
Hooray for Hoppy! by Tim Hopgood**
I Hear a Pickle by Rachel Isadora**
Rain by Manya Stojic

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Chicken & ABCs**

Featured Track: #8 Five Senses Blues

Flannelboard: Lunch**

Prop: Texture Beanbag Sort

Letter of the Day: S**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes*
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
This class was really engaged with the theme. I asked them to point to what part of their body they used for each sense and we went through that a couple of times before I started reading the books. I think that really helped them and I was surprised at how many of them already knew the senses, but they didn’t know the word “senses”. This group enjoyed both books equally; there wasn’t a clear favorite book between Hooray for Hoppy! and I Hear a Pickle.

Tuesday morning
On the other hand, this class was kind of all over the place today and I’m not sure why. It seemed like everyone was having a hard time concentrating. I had to utter phrases like, “Please put your tongue back in your mouth, we don’t lick friends in storytime.” So, while everyone was paying attention to the material (which I knew based on their knowledge), they were also fidgeting and rolling around on the ground. Movement activities only seemed to make it worse. Towards the end of I Hear a Pickle, they all lined up to see me their ouches since the book talks about not touching ouches. I guess I can be thankful that they were engaged in the material even if they weren’t on their best behavior.

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson*
Puddle by Hyewon Yum**
Rain by Linda Ashman
Wave by Suzy Lee**

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Wiggleworms Love You**

Featured Track: #18 Rain, Rain Go Away

Flannelboard: I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean**

Flannelboard: Ten Little Umbrellas & Ten Little Raindrops*

Prop: Slippery Fish*

Letter of the Day: W**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree*
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
My class was very quiet this morning. But I sure did pick the right theme for this week — we’ve got nothing but rain happening here in Illinois. I started with Puddle since I thought the kids might relate to being stuck inside at this point in our weather. It was a hit! They were really enthralled even though they all knew that there would be a puddle at some point because of the title. All the Water in the World was kind of a flop today, but it has worked for me in the past at storytime. They also really liked counting “Ten Little Umbrellas & Raindrops” with me!

Tuesday morning
This morning’s class was a bit disrupted. We had to switch classrooms because of election day in our state, so we were in a small group study room. It was a bit weird. But the kids came alive during “I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean” and I had one friend who had already read the book. I asked him to keep it a secret until the end, but I let him say the last line with me. But my favorite part of this class was when I became “too tired” to read our last book — Wave — and had the kids read it to me. They loved being able to tell me what was happening in the pictures. I had one friend who kept tracking the path of the seagulls and letting me know where they were. I had another friend who liked speaking for the little girl: “Don’t do that, ocean!” “::raspbery::” “Ahhhhh runnnnn!” It was a great experiment and I would definitely use a wordless book again in storytime!

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

Clarabella’s Teeth by An Vrombaut*
One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom**
Snip Snap What’s That? by Mara Bergman**
Turtle Island by Kevin Sherry

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Mr. Jon & Friends**

Featured Track: #6 Snake in the Grass

Flannelboard: Five Little Turtles*

Prop: Alpha-Gator*

Puppets: I Have a Little Turtle**
I have a little turtle (put hands on top of one another)
He lives in a box (make box)
He swims in a puddle (swimming motion)
He climbs on the rocks (climbing motion)
He snapped at a mosquito (clap)
He snapped at a flea (clap)
He snapped at a minnow (clap)
And he snapped at me (clap)
He caught the mosquito (cup hands together)
He caught the flea (cup hands together)
He caught the minnow (cup hands together)
But he didn’t catch me! (shake finger “no”)
Credit: Childhood

Letter of the Day: R**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree*
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
Well, folks, it happened. I did a reptiles storytime after swearing for years never to do one. And it was wonderful! The kids absolutely loved the two books that we read Snip Snap, What’s That? and One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree. But! I will say that I think you need to know your group very well to read two “scary” books in a row. Since the library does registration, I not only know the names of patrons, but also the ages. And my classes are skewing towards a 4.5 year-old average age.

Tuesday morning
I had five extra kids (two six-year-olds, a five-year-old, and two four-year-olds) in class today because of spring break. I picked a good week to read the “scary” books! This group were very patient listeners and really wanted to engage with books this week, so we managed to read three books. All of the books are propped up on a table so the kids can see the titles as they come into class. My Tuesday class loves trying to guess the letter of the day based on the books I’ve got out. I also let them vote to pick what books to read this morning and that worked out great. We had some great discussions about covers and how they chose what book to vote on. They picked Clarabella’s Teeth because “it looks funny”. I asked them what made them think the book was funny and got a variety of answers: the toothbrush, her smile, “it just does”. It was just wonderful to hear their predictions and let them have some choices.

For more information on how I plan and prepare my preschool storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one class.

The Plan

Books

All Year Round by Susan B. Katz*
Hap-Pea All Year by Keith Baker
An Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston*
Today is Monday by Eric Carle**

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: H.U.M. All Year Long**

Featured Track: #6 Like a Windy Day

Flannelboard: Thanks a Lot

Flannelboard: What’s the Weather**

Letter of the Day: C**

Repeating Extension Activities

• Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree*
• Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
• Icky Sticky Bubble Gum*
• Movement Cube

How It Went

Monday morning
I have to admit that the Calendar theme was planned for the middle of last session. But when a cold knocked me out for a week, I recycled it into this session. I scheduled it first because winter is rapidly leaving Illinois, but that a mistake. The theme is a bit too quiet for a first week and I had one kiddo that absolutely refused to sit down after we sang our opening song. (I generally pick a guaranteed hit — dinosaurs, alphabet, colors, etc. as a week one theme.) That being said, they paid great attention during An Orange in January and made great predictions about what would happen next. And they were DELIGHTED when I read Today is Monday because it was Monday when I read it!

Tuesday morning
On the other hand, this group was baffled that I read Today is Monday because it wasn’t Monday. (There’s a good segue between groups for you!) This group really enjoyed tracing shapes in the air during All Year Round. All Year Round does a nice job of staying away from holidays, but it does have a heart as February’s shape and does talk about changing pumpkins to jack-o-lanterns in October’s spread. A heads-up for those wanting to remain 100% holiday free at storytime.