Frogs – Preschool Storytime

Posted on April 13, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

What did the frog say when the librarian suggested a book?
“I already READIT, READIT, READIT”

Here’s hoping people thought this storytime was better than that joke.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira

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

FINGERPLAY:
Here’s Mr. Bullfrog (make a thumbs up with hand)
sitting on a rock.
Along comes a little boy (make a walking motion with the index & middle finger of other hand)
Mr. Bullfrog jumps, KERPLOP! (thumb makes a diving motion down)

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Green and Speckled FrogsFive green and specked frogs
Sat on a hollow log.
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum! Yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs.
Ribbit! Ribbit!

Continue counting down until no green speckled frogs are left.

THEMED MOVEMENT:
“Gunk Gunk”
Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog one day,
Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog.
Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog one day,
and his eyes went blink, blink, blink.

Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog one day,
Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog.
Gunk, Gunk went the little green frog one day,
And his knees went wiggle, wiggle wiggle.
And his eyes went blink, blink,blink.

Continue, adding on the lines:
And his tongue went stretch, stretch, stretch.
And his legs went hop, hop, hop.
And his ears went listen, listen, listen. (if you are doing a story after).

BOOK:

The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner

VIDEO:

“The Foolish Frog” from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom…and lots more learning fun!

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson
Book: Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan
Book: Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London (or any other Froggy book)
Book: The Rainy Day Puddle by Ei Nakabayashi (for younger children)
Flannelboard: The Fearsome Beast

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
This was a fun storytime! The kids seemed to have a lot of energy today, so I decided to focus more on songs and activities than on stories. The Wide-Mouthed Frog is always a hit, though. And since we just got in

ATTENDANCE: 42 (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

1st Grade Storytime – Buggy Bugs!

Posted on April 10, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

When I’m on Infant/Toddler Storytime rotation, and I also have school-aged class visits coming in during the same time period, I’ll often take the same theme and adapt it to fit the different audiences. That’s what I did for today’s first grade visit. I carried the bug theme through, and just switched it up a bit.

BOOK:

Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson

FLANNELBOARD:
Bug in a Rug

Template & Story from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes

I used this flannelboard for my infant and toddler storytimes, but I changed it up a bit for the first graders. I put each bug on the flannelboard and, without my prompting, the kids named each one. Then I told them I was going to hide one of the bugs under the rug, and they would have to tell me which one. They closed their eyes, and I recited:

“Bug in a rug
Bug in a rug.
Who is that
Bug in a rug”

The kids opened their eyes and told me which was missing. Since they all wanted to participated, I had them say it all together. We played this way for a few times. Then I made it a little harder by hiding one bug, but mixing the other bugs on the board up. We did it that way a few times. Then to make it a bit harder, I hid two bugs, but didn’t tell them I was going to. I think to make it even better for older kids, I would add more bugs.

MOVEMENT: We Work With One Hammer*

BOOK:

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

BOOK:

The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner
VIDEO:

“Diary of a Fly” from Giggle, Giggle, Quack … and More Stories by Doreen Cronin

OTHER MATERIALS TO USE:

“Clever Cricket” from Little Bear’s Band DVD

HOW IT WENT:
This was a pretty fun (and rowdy!) storytime. The great thing about first graders is that they want to tell you everything that they have going on, and engage with every story you read. We had a lot of fun this time, especially with Can You Make a Scary Face? (Which is great with audiences of all ages). And when we went to stand up, all the kids knew we would be doing, and were looking forward to, We Work With One Hammer. I think the video was a bit too old this time around, though, so next time I might switch it up for a Little Bear story.

ATTENDANCE: 18 people

Bugs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 9, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

While I don’t like real bugs, storytime bugs are pretty cute.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano

MOVEMENT: “Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Ladybugs

FLANNELBOARD:
Bug in a Rug
Template & Story from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes

Place all the bugs on the board and name each one. Then put the rug up. Tell the kids that you are going to play a game and hide one of the bugs under the rug. They close their eyes, and you hide one bug. Tell them to open them, then say,

Bug in a Rug
Bug in a Rug
Who is that
Bug in a Rug?

Have the children guess. Repeat the game until it gets old. (I did it with three different bugs.) Then have kids name all the bugs again as you put them away.

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

BOOK:

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

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

VIDEO:

“Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!” from The Wheels on the Bus …and More Musical Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodds
Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley
Daddy is a Doodlebug by Bruce Degen

DVD: “Fleas” from Good Morning, Maisy

HOW IT WENT:

I went back to the beginning for my welcome song, and decided to use “Clap Your Hands”. I really like this one, and doing it again after a break made me realize how much. One Little Blueberry went over really well, and I especially think Can You Make a Scary Face? was a good choice because the groups were very active today. That provides a nice way to channel energy.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 47 people 11 am: 29 people

* For these songs, please see my Storytime Movements & Music page

Bugs – Infant Storytime

Posted on April 9, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

BOOK:

I Love Bugs by Philemon Sturges

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Bug in a Rug

Template & Story from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes

Bug in a Rug
Bug in a Rug
Who is that
Bug in a Rug?

Have the children guess. Repeat the game until it gets old.

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:

Snug as a Bug by Michael Elsohn Ross

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME:
Little Miss Muffet

Flannelboard 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*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme. I really liked using I Love Bugs! but Snug as a Bug didn’t seem to work as well. It was a good book, but a more quiet one. I need to find some other good books to use for this theme.

ATTENDANCE: 41 people

* For these songs, please see my page Storytime Movements & Music

Dogs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 8, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

We had fun with dogs at our first toddler storytimes of the Spring session. (How is it already spring?)

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: 10am –“Clap Your Hands, Clap Your Hands” from Tickles and Tunes by Kathy Reid-Naiman
11am: “Jump Jump” (Storytime Edit) from I’m a Rock Star by Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Maggie’s Ball by Lindsay Barrett George

MOVEMENT: “Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNTING SONG:*

Dogs

FLANNELBOARD:
Dog’s Colorful Day

Based on the book by Emma Dodd. Template from Storytime Magic: 400 Fingerplays, Flannelboards, and Other Activities by Kathy MacMillan and Christine

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

BOOK:

Dogs by Emily Gravett

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

VIDEO:

“Dee Dee’s Dog” from Baby’s First Word Stories: Pets

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
That Pup! by Lindsay Barrett George
I Don’t Want a Posh Dog! by Emma Dodd
One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray
DVD: Any Spot Movie

HOW IT WENT:
As you can see, I was playing around a little bit with what my opening song should be for the toddler storytime this session. I tried two new ones today, and while I liked both of them, they felt a little long for the audience. I think these will be better for preschoolers, maybe. I’ll try something different for next week’s.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 42 people 11 am: 39 people

* For these songs, please see my Storytime Movements & Music page

Dogs – Infant Storytime

Posted on April 2, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

We kicked off the Spring storytime session today with man’s best friend – dogs!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

BOOK:

Domino by Claire Masurel

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Dog’s Colorful Day

Based on the book by Emma Dodd. Template from Storytime Magic: 400 Fingerplays, Flannelboards, and Other Activities by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker

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:

One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME:
Hey Diddle Diddle

Flannelboard 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*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill
Dogs by Emily Gravett

HOW IT WENT:
After a session off, it always takes one to two storytimes to get into the swing of things again, and into the routine. I think most of this presentation went really, especially the book choices – One Two That’s My Shoe is short enough that it is great for infants who aren’t yet used to coming to storytime. And the pictures are wonderful. This was my first time telling “Dog’s Colorful Day” as a flannelboard story, so I think it was the least successful in this group. I actually used all ten colors on Dog, but I think if I was doing it again, I’d half that.

ATTENDANCE: 37 people

* For these songs, please see my page Storytime Movements & Music

Saint Patrick’s Day – Preschool Storytime

Posted on March 16, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Hope you’re wearing green, because today we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day at storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley

FLANNELBOARD:
Leprechaun’s Lucky Charms

Story inspired by K at Storytime ABC’s and her Leprechaun, Leprechaun, What Do You See? and Lucky Charms breakfast cereal (which makes this flannelboard magically delicious!)
Patterns via Google Images search and Microsoft Shapes tool on Word
I also found some glittery gold foam at Michael’s and stuck that on to some felt to make the gold in the pot sparkle.

Leprechaun’s Lucky Charms
Start with the leprechaun on the flannelboard. Add the other pieces where mentioned in the story.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have a red heart here with me.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have an orange star here with me.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have a yellow moon here with me.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have a green clover here with me.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have a blue diamond here with me.

Leprechaun, leprechaun
What lucky charms have ye?
I have a purple horse shoe here with me.

Let’s see what colors we have – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
What does that make?
A Rainbow!

And what can you find at the end of the rainbow?
Leprechaun’s pot of gold!

THEMED MOVEMENT:
“Dance, Dance Leprechaun Dance”
(to tune of “Skip to My Lou”)
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance.
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance.
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance,
Do a dance for me.

Bow…
Clap…
At this point I asked the kids in storytime what were some other things leprechaun’s did. Some of the answers I got were:
Search, search, search for gold…
Jump…

And I like to finish with…
Sit, sit, leprechaun sit.
Sit, sit, leprechaun sit.
Sit, sit, leprechaun sit.
Sit for our next story.

BOOK:

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Leprechaun Where’s Your Gold?

Inspiration and Story from Imagination Station.
Patterns via Google Search.

Before you start this flannelboard, hide the gold behind one of the colored pots
Leprechaun knows he has some gold, but he has so many different pots, he doesn’t know where it is! Let’s see if we can help him find it!

Leprechaun, leprechaun, tiny and bold.
Where, oh where is your gold?
What does the _(color)_ pot hold?

Leprechaun, leprechaun, tiny and bold.
I’m out looking for your gold.
What treasures does the _(color)_ pot hold?

VIDEO:

“Ruby’s Rainbow” from Max & Ruby: A Visit with Grandma

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute
Book: The Leprechaun Under the Bed by Teresa Bateman
Book: St. Patrick’s Day Countdown by Salina Yoon (I should also make this into a flannelboard)
Book: Lucky Leprechaun
Flannelboard: Five Little Leprechauns
Flannelboard: Five Green Shamrocks

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
You know how sometimes you have a storytime where everything comes together and feels really good? That’s what this storytime felt like. It went really well, and helped give me that rush that comes from really connecting with the audience. We had a lot of younger children at this storytime (even though we call it Preschool, we usually end up with some toddlers at every storytime), so I chose stories that were on the younger side to tell. Foley’s Bear stories always entertain. I had never used Green before, and was a little bit worried about how it would work since there wasn’t a lot of text on the pages. I started by prepping the audience that there were a lot of different types of green and that they could guess what sort of green was coming up. It actually turned out to be a great choice for a storytime, because there were so many great opportunities for dialogic reading and audience interaction. Also I think the reason this storytime worked well was because of the flannelboards. I had made these last year, and was happy to have them to use. That’s the thing about flannelboards — they may take a while to make up front, but you will have them forever.
Also I had some familiar faces in the audience – a librarian friend brought her son, a friend who used to page here and her children, and a lovely family who used to attend my infant toddler storytimes – and that always helps make storytime better!

ATTENDANCE: 48 (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

Flannel Friday Birthday Extravaganza: Five Birthday Candles

Posted on March 15, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

This week we’re celebrating Flannel Friday’s 2nd Birthday!! I think instead of terrible twos we are in for some terrific twos.

To celebrate I’m sharing a flannel inspired by fellow Flannel Friday participant Katie.

Five Birthday Candles

5 Birthday Candles
wish there were more
Blew out one,
then there were 4.

4 birthday candles,
pretty as can be.
Blow one out,
then there are 3.

3 birthday candles,
Hope my wish comes true.
Blow one out,
then there are 2.

2 birthday candles
Birthday cakes are fun
Blow one out,
Then there is 1.

1 birthday candle,
the party’s almost done.
Blow out one,
Then there are none.

Today’s Flannel Friday roundup is hosted by Flannel Friday originator Melissa at Mel’s Desk. For more information on Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday blog or Pinterest page.

5th Grade Storytime – St. Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 14, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Yesterday a group of fifth graders came into the library for a class visit. Since Saint Patrick’s Day is coming soon, I thought we should celebrate with some Irish folktales and leprechaun stories.

BOOK:

Fin M’Coul by Tomie de Paola

BOOK:

VIDEO:

“Amazing Bone” from Strega Nona …and More Stories About Magic

There aren’t a lot of good Saint Patrick’s Day videos for kids. So I decided to show “The Amazing Bone” because it features a magical creature as well.

OTHER MATERIALS TO USE:

HOW IT WENT:
Because I have been working more frequently with younger kids lately (my colleague does the older class visits), fifth graders seem like they are adults to me. This storytime went pretty well, and Fin M’Coul got a few laughs. The kids really seemed to like “The Amazing Bone” as well. Though the audio in our storyroom was giving a lot of reverb and the deep stringed instruments in the soundtrack made them laugh and think of farts. Maybe that’s why they liked the video.

ATTENDANCE: 18 people

Flannel Friday: What Flannel Friday Means to Me

Posted on March 8, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

To celebrate the second anniversary of Flannel Friday, bloggers who to post or use Flannel Friday are answering the question:

I haven’t been active with Flannel Friday as a blogger for that long, but I have been a user of Flannel Friday posts and pinterest for a while. For me, what I get from Flannel Friday is:

INSPIRATION, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, COMMUNITY, and CONFIDENCE

This may seem like a lot from weekly blog postings, but it’s all true. It’s nice to know small things like sharing ideas can have such a large impact. (In fact, the idea that sharing ideas can have a large impact is one of the reasons I became a librarian in the first place.)

Doing children’s programming is wonderful, but after a while it can become stale if you do the same thing time after time. Flannel Friday helps expand my repertoire of storytelling ideas and themes. I get great ideas not only for flannelboards to make, but also different prop stories I may not have tried before, different books to use that work well, and different themes. It was Flannel Friday posts, in fact, that made me want to try my hand out at blogging. I thought if I was getting so much out of posts that others were writing, maybe someone out there would benefit from my ideas.

This, in turn, leads to my growth as a professional. Be it growing as a storyteller to try new things I may not have thought of without the group, or growing as a blogger who writes about her day-to-day work with youth, Flannel Friday is making me better at my job.

And it’s nice to realize that there are others out there who are concerned with the same things you are. The community around us librarians who want to make the library a fun, exciting place for children is great. I’m fortunate that I work at a library location where I am with a staff of great people who are dedicated to serving youth. But sometimes it’s nice to look outside our own organizations to grow, and Flannel Friday helps do that for me. It lets me know that as much as we are encouraged (and I want to) grow and develop and pursue and advance up the library ladder, there is beauty and satisfaction in the day-to-day of working with books and youth. And I’m not the only one who sees that.

Finally, Flannel Friday helps give me confidence. I posted my first Flannel Friday post on January 4, 2013 (I told you I’m new at this!). As anyone who has posted to the group knows, you wait with bated breath that first time to see your post go live, and then see how many people are visiting your blog. Then you get comments saying that your ideas will be useful to others! There’s a fantastic rush that goes along with that. And it’s also nice to hear others say, even if they don’t comment on your blog, that they like it and use what you’ve posted there. Another reason I like being a librarian is because I enjoy helping others, my blog feels like an extension of that in some way.

So thanks, Flannel Friday, and all you bloggers, readers and commenters out there. You’ve inspired me, helped me grow, expanded my community, and helped me gain confidence. I am so so grateful to you! You are awesome!

Today’s Flannel Friday roundup is hosted by Sharon at Rain Makes Applesauce. For more information on Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday blog or Pinterest page.

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Yearly Archives: 2013

Frogs – Preschool Storytime

1st Grade Storytime – Buggy Bugs!

Bugs – Toddler Storytime

Bugs – Infant Storytime

Dogs – Toddler Storytime

Dogs – Infant Storytime

Saint Patrick’s Day – Preschool Storytime

Flannel Friday Birthday Extravaganza: Five Birthday Candles

5th Grade Storytime – St. Patrick’s Day

Flannel Friday: What Flannel Friday Means to Me