Today is the first day of our Reading is Soooooo Delicious Summer Reading Club so we had to celebrate with a food themed storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Jump Jump” from I’m a Rock Star by Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

BOOK:

Jamberry  by Bruce Degen

Movement:
Pop! Goes the Berry
I took this idea from the ladies over at jbrary.  You can see their YouTube video of this song here.

(to tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
Have children start the song crouching down.
All around the strawberry field
I picked some juicy berries (motion like you are picking berries from bushes)
Brought them home
And washed them off
Pop! Goes the berry. (have children pop up from crouch)

At the end of each verse ask the children to name different berries and then do the action over with that berry.

FLANNELBOARD:
Bear’s Feast
taken from page 7 of Ready-to-Go Storytimes: Fingerplays, Scripts, Patterns Music and More by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis.

Mama bear and Little Bear woke up hungry after their long winter’s nap.  They went to the stump where they usually ate.  “Mama,” asked Little Bear, “Where’s the food?”  Mama laughed.  “We have to go find it.”  she told Little Bear.  “Why don’t you see if you can find us some blueberries.”

So Little Bear set off and soon came back.  “Here Mama!” he said, placing his find on the tree stump.  “A berry!”  “Oh Little Bear, that’s not a berry!  That’s an… (pause here to wait for the children to answer) acorn!”

Continue the story this way with Little Bear continuing to bring back the wrong types of food, including a fish, an apple and an orange.

“Ok Mama, I’ll try one more time.”  said Little Bear.  And off he went again to find the berries.  Soon he came back and said, “Mama! Mama! Look what I found!”

“DAD!”

“And he helped me find berries!”  So the whole Bear family sat and ate the giant feast of food that Little Bear had found.

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Red Strawberries
Taken from Mel’s Desk (Her’s are much more beautiful)

Five red strawberries, sweet to the core.
Bear came and ate one and then there were four.

Four red strawberries, growing near a tree.
Bear came and ate one and then there were three.

Three red strawberries, for you and you and you.
Bear came and ate one and then there were two.

Two red strawberries, sitting in the sun.
Bear came and ate one and then there was one.

One red strawberry, left all alone.
Bear came and ate it and then there were none.

BOOK:

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

VIDEO:

“Grandma’s Berry Patch” from Max & Ruby: Berry Bunny Adventures

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: One Little Blueberry by Tammy Salzano
Book: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush by Iza Trapani
Book: Blackberry Banquet by Terry Pierce
Video: “Blueberries for Sal” from Make Way for Ducklings … and Other Robert McCloskey Stories

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Like the last preschool storytime I did, this one had a wider range of ages than usual.  All the kids responded really well to The Little Mouse…, young and old alike.  I think Jamberry works better with younger kids, but the older ones seemed to listen as well.  That book has such a great cadence for reading aloud.  All the listeners also had a good time with “Bear’s Feast”.  I’ll have to remember how well that one went over and use it again.
Since today was the beginning of our Summer Reading Club I thought it might be easier on the desk staff if I explained the program as a whole to everyone in storytime, instead of doing it individually at the desk.  After I finished the stories, but before the movie, I used an example bag to show everyone what the program was about.  Then I passed out registration cards during the movie that the parents (or children), could fill out.  All the patrons had to do them was go to the desk, hand in their card, and get their bag.  It worked fairly well that way.

ATTENDANCE: 27 (adults and children)

*To see the words to these movements and activities I use frequently, please visit my A-capella Movements Section on my Storytime Movements and Music Page