Monthly Archives: October 2012

Halloween – Toddler Storytime

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Is there anything more adorable than toddlers in costume?  At today’s storytimes we had a clown (rosy cheeks and all), a lion, a pumpkin, a football player (with padded fabric helmet), Thor (cape and muscles included), and cowpokes!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT:“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them

BOOK:

Pumply, Dumply Pumpkin by Mary Serfozo

MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:

Pumpkins from Artfelt (one side is a pumpkin, one side is a jack-o-lantern)

FLANNELBOARD:
Mouse’s Halloween House

Story and Pattern from Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra

One day in the fall, a little gray mouse found a big orange house.  She nibbled a hole in the middle, to make a door.  And she nibbled two holes up near the top, to make two windows.  And then she nibbled a wide hole near the bottom, so that all her children could run in and out.  Then she put a candle inside to light up the darkness.

The mouse’s little house
was a sight to be seen.
It was a jack-o’-lantern –
Happy Halloween!

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

It’s Halloween Night by Jennifer O’Connell

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“Bat” from Good Night Maisy

MOVEMENT:
Once There was a Pumpkin
Once there was a pumpkin (put hands together to make a circle)
And it grew (separate hands but keep circle shape)
and grew (arms bigger)
and grew (arms bigger)

Now it’s a jack-o-lantern
And it smiles at you (smile and point at audience)
and you (point at audience)
and you. (point at audience)

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over

HOW IT WENT:
Fun!  I like Pumply Dumply Pumpkin, event though at first it seems a bit long.  But the pictures are bright and so fun.  And it’s always great to find a nice new Halloween book for this age group – I read the reviews of It’s Halloween Night! and just got it sight unseen because it seemed like a good fit.  And while the kids were kind of too young to guess, it still made a good read.  Mouse’s Halloween House got a lot of awws.

ATTENDANCE:   10 am: 36 people     11 am: 42 people

Halloween – Infant Storytime

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With today’s date, what else could we do but a Halloween storytime.  I invited the kids to come in costumes, and we had some great ones: a home-crocheted caterpillar costume, a strawberry, lots of Halloween themed shirts, and a cute pumpkin bib.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony

BOOK:

On Halloween by Lark Carrier

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Mouse’s Halloween House


Pattern and Story from Mother Goose’s Play house by Judy Sierra

One day in the fall, a little gray mouse found a big orange house.  She nibbled a hole in the middle, to make a door.  And she nibbled two holes up near the top, to make two windows.  And then she nibbled a wide hole near the bottom, so that all her children could run in and out.  Then she put a candle inside to light up the darkness.

The mouse’s little house
was a sight to be seen.
It was a jack-o’-lantern —
Happy Halloween!

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

BOOK:

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpking by Tad Hills

This is a board book, but it comes in a great larger size that is perfect for sharing with a group.

NURSERY RHYME:
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
 
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
had a wife, and could not keep her.


Put her in a pumpkin shell,
and there he kept her very well.

Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly Very Slowly

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

HOW IT WENT:
I thought this was a pretty fun storytime.  Things seemed to move and flow well.  Since I haven’t done a Halloween storytime for this age group, I was a little hesitant about what books to choose — you never know what will frighten someone.  But neither of these books did, so that was great. It’s so much fun to see all the little kids dressed up!

ATTENDANCE: 36 people

1st Grade Storytime – Halloween

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You really get a different vibe from a class visit than you do with an open storytime.  The children all know and already relate to each other.  Today the first graders and I had some fun with Halloween stories.

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles

BOOK:

The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Furry Bats

Patterns and Rhyme from Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Will Love by Diana Briggs

Five furry bats were flying by the moon,
“Did you know,” said the first,
“Halloween is coming soon?”
“There’ll be ghosts!” said the second,
“floating everywhere!”
“And witches,” said the third,
“With long purple hair.”
“There’ll be goblins,” said the fourth,
“And monsters so I’m told.”
“Awesome!” said the fifth,
“Come on, let’s go!”
So the five furry bats flew out of sight,
But they will all return on Halloween night.

MOVEMENT: “Jump Up, Turn Around” from Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times by Jim Gill

BOOK:

The Three Bears Halloween by Kathy Duval

VIDEO:

“By the Light of the Halloween Moon” from A Very Brave Witch …and More Great Halloween Stories for Kids! DVD

HOW IT WENT:
It was a nice storytime — especially fun hearing the kids interact with the “witch” in The Three Bears Halloween.  I must admit though, with Halloween, I never know how scary to go, so I usually err on the side of less scary.  You never know what will frighten people anyway.  Maybe I’ll try out some of the other stories on the DVD and see how well they go over.

ATTENDANCE: 26 people

Farm – Toddler Storytime

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The farm is a good theme, because even if all of us in the storytime rotation did it, there would still be good books to use each time.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT:“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them

BOOK:

Do Cows Meow? by Salina Yoon

While this book may be a little repetitive, it’s great for getting the kids to participate in storytime.  At the end, with the scene of all the farm animals we went animal by animal and made one last sound for each.

MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:

Pigs 
While I have a few different options for counting farm animals, I thought pigs would be the most recognizable.

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald

Song and Patterns taken from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“Spot Goes to the Farm” from Spot Goes to School
There are some parts of this video I just love: the rabbit tweeting like a bird, and the duck in the pond: “Ducklings! What next?!”

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over

HOW IT WENT:
When I opened the first lift-the-flap mouth of Do Cows Meow? I heard one child go, “scary…”.  And he didn’t seem to disturbed by the book.  Other than that, things went pretty smoothly.  I added in Itsy Bitsy Spider as a movement by popular demand of those attending the 10am storytime —  I didn’t use music for it, just sang on my own.  I will have to remember to keep that one in there.

ATTENDANCE:   10 am: 29 people     11 am: 31 people

Farm – Infant Storytime

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Sometimes, you just want a theme that you know has some good books ready to go for it.  Farms is a great one to use for those days.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo

BOUNCE: In the Toaster

BOOK:

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo by Steve Lavis

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald

Pattern and Song from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

 

BOOK:

 

Peek-a-Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly

NURSERY RHYME:
Hey Diddle Diddle

Flannelboard pieces from Little Folk Visuals

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

HOW IT WENT:
Overall, it was a pretty good storytime.  I liked both books and thought they worked well with the audience.  It’s always nice to do a flannelboard with a song the parents already know so they can join in.

ATTENDANCE: 28 people

Sweet Treats – School-Age Storytime

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This morning I had some Kindergarten classes visit.  I altered the Cookies storytime I did with Preschoolers last week a bit to fit this age group.

MOVEMENT: “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem by Jim Gill

BOOK:

   

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

FLANNELBOARD:

The Gingerbread Man

“The Gingerbread Man” from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

I took the pattern for this from Sierra’s patter for “The Johnny Cake”, since they are essentially the same story, and then did a Google Images search to find a picture of a gingerbread man I liked. 

MOVEMENT: “We Work With One Hammer”

BOOK:

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

VIDEO:


“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” from Disney’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

    

Book: Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont
Book: The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson
DVD: If You Give a Mouse A Cookie Reading Rainbow DVD

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

The kids this morning were very cute and liked participating!  It was fun all around

Attendance: 1st classes: 58 people      2nd classes: 26 people

Date Presented: Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Dance – Toddler Storytime

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When I got in the car to go to work and the first song on the radio was “Land of 1000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett, I decided it was it was a good omen for the day’s storytime theme – Dancing!  And even though we didn’t do the watusi in storytime, it was pretty fun.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them

BOOK:

Duck Sock Hop by Jane Kohuth

MOVEMENT:

“Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD COUNTING SONG:

10 Instruments

Instruments – patterns found via Google Image Search and Microsoft Office

FLANNELBOARD:

5 Ballet Dancers

Rhyme from Storytimes Online via Storytime Katie
Pattern via Google Images Search

Five ballet dancers
Dancing on their toes.
They twirl, spin and jump,
then off the stage one goes!

Continue counting down until…

One ballet dancer
Dancing on his/her toes.
S/He twirls, spins, and jumps,
Then off the stage s/he goes!

How many ballet dancers are left?
0!
And what do we do when the show is over?
(Everyone claps)

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“Barn Dance”, “Mambo”, and “The Swan” from HBO’s Classical Baby: The Dance Show

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
One Little Chicken: A Counting Book by David Elliott
Sailor Boy Jig by Margaret Wise Brown
Ten Go Tango by Arthur Dorros

HOW IT WENT

This was a pretty good storytime, overall.  It was my first time using both these books in storytime, so it’s interesting to see how they went over.  Duck Sock Hop seemed a little bit long for the toddlers, maybe because it’s still so early in the storytime session.  I really like the book though, so maybe I would try it with preschoolers instead.  Dancing Feet worked well, however, especially when you can get the kids to make the different animal feet rhythms with their own feet.
I LOVE the Classical Baby : The Dance Show DVD.  It has some really great episodes on it – I just wish my favorites were all in a row so that they were easier to show together.  That was basically how I selected the chapters I would play for this storytime – which scenes did I like well that were in a row. 

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 42 people    11 am: 38 people

DATE PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Dance – Infant Storytime

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I noticed I had a lot of books that were good for infants and toddlers on dancing, but had never done a dance themed storytime before.  I figured it was about time.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo

BOUNCE:
In the Toaster
Put you in the toaster (sit baby on lap)
It’s getting pretty hot (bounce baby gently)
Tick-tock, tick-tock (sway baby side to side)
Up you POP! (lift baby in the air)

BOOK:

     

Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton (lap edition board book)

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Ballet Dancers

Rhyme from Storytimes Online via Storytime Katie
Pattern via Google Images Search

Five ballet dancers
Dancing on their toes.
They twirl, spin and jump,
then off the stage one goes!

Continue counting down until…

One ballet dancer
Dancing on his/her toes.
S/He twirls, spins, and jumps,
Then off the stage s/he goes!

How many ballet dancers are left?
0!
And what do we do when the show is over?
(Everyone claps)

I used four ballet dancers with the infants today.  You can also have them do this as a fingerplay, and put down their fingers as they say the rhyme.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

BOOK:

Dance with Me by Charles R. Smith, Jr.

NURSERY RHYME:
Dickery Dickery Dare

Rhyme and pattern from Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra

Dickery, dickery, dare.
The pig flew up in the air.
The man in brown soon brought him down.
Dickery, dickery dare.

I do this as a lifting rhyme as well, so the parents can lift their baby in the air when the pig goes up, and then bring them down when the man in brown brings them down.

TICKLE:

Round and Round the Garden
Round and round the garden (make circles on baby’s tummy with finger)
Goes the teddy bear.
A one-step, a two-step (move hands up towards chin)
A tickle-y under there. (Tickle baby under chin)

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

HOW IT WENT:

I thought this was a good storytime, and that it flowed pretty well.  I’m trying to get into the groove of storytime again, since it has been so long since my last session.  I thought both books worked really well for the group.  Dance with Me was fun because instead of reading it, I tried to sing it.  The beat of the story just cried out to be sung, or at least chanted.  I probably could have done the same with Barnyard Dance, but figured singing one was enough.  I’m really glad that they have made some of the Boynton board books in the lap edition, because they are great for storytime, and in that bigger size the pictures actually carry.
For the flannelboard that I did, I actually changed it up a bit from the original rhyme because I wanted to include boys in my flannelboard pieces.  I try to make my people diverse for my flannelboards, if at all possible.  And I need to keep in mind not to make shoes black for my flannelboards, because it looks like the Man in Brown has no feet at all.

ATTENDANCE: 40 people

Cookies – Preschool Storytime

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I just found out that I would be doing storytime this week on Thursday, in a change-up to our regular rotation.  Since I had short notice to pull things together, I wanted a theme that I already had a lot of the books for in my own personal storytime collection.  Hence, cookies!  I’d done a  sweet treats storytime before that had a variety of desserts, but I found I had enough to just go with cookies, so why not.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem by Jim Gill

BOOK:
    
The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson

FLANNELBOARD:
The Gingerbread Man

“The Gingerbread Man” from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

I took the pattern for this from Sierra’s patter for “The Johnny Cake”, since they are essentially the same story, and then did a Google Images search to find a picture of a gingerbread man I liked. 

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs for the Very Young by Raffi

BOOK:

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

VIDEO:

“Little Bear’s Sweet Tooth” from Feel Better, Little Bear

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

    

Book: Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont
Book: The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
DVD: If You Give a Mouse A Cookie Reading Rainbow DVD

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

I think both books went really well, and it was fun hearing the reactions to why the Cow Loves Cookies so much.  And of course Pigeon and Duckling went over very well, though I think my voices could use a bit more work for those.

I always like it when I show the Little Bear episodes that Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins wrote.  It tickles me to see her name come up with the credit for that, and then think about what she has moved on to.

I’m trying out some new music in my storytimes, since I’ve been using the same ones for quite a while.  This was my first time doing “Can’t Wait to Celebrate”, and I think it’s going to be a nice one to add to my repertoire.

Attendance: 34 people (adults and kids)

Apples – Toddler Storytime

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When I started planning for the fall session of infant toddler storytime I thought I would start off with a seasonal choice and do stories about autumn.  After searching for a bit, however, I couldn’t find many that had a good solid story that would be short enough for the first day of the session.  So I then turned to another great aspect of fall – apples!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT:“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

BOOK:

Ten Red Apples by Virginia Miller
Since ththis works on two levels (it has a story running along the bottom, and a counting aspect along the side), for the most part I just stuck with the story and read that portion, except when it mentions that Bartholomew likes counting the red apples — then the group and I counted together.   

MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNTING SONG:

Apples – pattern found via Google Image Search

Today we did our counting song, of course, with apples.  I added a few green apples to the mix to brighten things up.

FLANNELBOARD:
“The Apple Tree”

Song and Patterns taken from 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes

Way up high in the apple tree (lift hands above head)
Four little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could. (shake hands back and forth)
Down came one apple. 
MMMMmmm… was it  good. (rub tummy)

How many apples do we have left? 3!

Way up high in the apple tree (lift hands above head)
Three little apples smiled at me….

Continue until you’ve eaten all the apples.

For my 10am storytime I actually put five red apples on the flannelboard and we counted that many together.  That seemed to be a bit much, so for the 11am storytime I switched to four and that was much better.

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larranaga

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” from The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories.

I actually thought I would show “Chicka Chicka 1,2,3” as my video, but my hold didn’t come in time.  I remembered the cover of this DVD, and sure enough, the first item that our very hungry friend eats is an apple.  It’s fun to hear the ooohhs and ahhhs when he becomes a butterfly.

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over