Books, Reading and Libraries! – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 13, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Happy National Library Week! All our toddlers and caregivers who came to storytime were celebrating without even knowing. I used our theme this week to honor it.

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

MOVEMENT: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

SIGN: ASL sign for BOOK and LIBRARY

BOOK:

10 am: Book! by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith
11 am: Lola Loves Stories by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Pigs

FLANNELBOARD:
Wiggleworm, Wiggleworm

(taken from itsybitsymom – Thanks for sharing this great idea!)

Hide the worm behind one of the books before you start. Then say this rhyme:

Wiggleworm, wiggleworm, hiding in a book.
Wiggleworm, wiggleworm, where should we look?

Then ask for the color of the book and look under to see if the worm is there!

We played this two different ways – first I recited them rhyme, had the kids tell me the color of the book, and we peeked underneath. Repeat until the worm was discovered. After that, the worm wanted to hide in another book and, without the rhyme, I just had the kids tell me different colors to look under. I played stupid asking if blue was green, etc. It was fun both ways!

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

BOOK:

Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt, illustrated by Sarah Massini

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

VIDEO:

“The Library” from Peppa Pig: School Bus Trip

MOVEMENT: Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye taken from jbrary

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Four Friends Together by Sue Heap
Book: Baby Bear’s Books by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Book: Lola at the Library by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
Book: I Like Books by Anthony Browne
Book: Books for Me by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Mike Laughead
DVD: “Iggy’s Book” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: Nighttime
Flannelboard: Five Little Books

OTHER HELPFUL BLOG POSTS:
Storytime Katie: Flannel Friday – Five Little Books
YSO Storytime: Libraries
Rebecca Person – Atlee Branch, Pamunkey Regional Library: Five Little Bunnies Flannelboard, Snuggle up with a Book
What Happens in Storytime: Flannel Friday – Five Little Books

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Reading books about books and reading seems pretty meta. This was a fun theme with lots to do. The kids seemed to enjoy the Wiggleworm flannelboard – and, of course, they always have fun when they are smarter than you are (like with the color naming).

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 43 people 11 am: 41 people

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

Books & Reading – Infant Storytime

Posted on April 12, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

It’s National Library Week! Even infants should celebrate it, so we read books and stories about books and stories!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

MOVEMENT: Peek a Boo*

BOUNCE: To Market, To Market*

SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “BOOK” & sign for “LIBRARY”

BOOK:

My Book Box by Will Hillenbrand

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Little Books

(Rhyme taken from Toddle on Over by Robin Works Davis)

Five little books, sitting on a shelf.
Look inside, and see a little elf.
Four little books, all in a row.
Look inside, and see it start to snow.
Three little books, still on the shelf.
Can you take one, and read it to yourself?
Two little books, left on the pile.
Find one now, and read it with a smile.
One little book, all that is there.
Found itself a reader, who was happy to share.

As we said this rhyme, I encouraged parents to do similar movements to “This Little Piggy” on their baby’s fingers or toes.

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake

BOOK:

I Like Books by Anthony Browne

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Little Bo Peep

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

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone
And they’ll come home
Wagging their tails behind them.

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: Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
taken from jbrary

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Book! by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith
Flannelboard: Wiggleworm, Wiggleworm

OTHER BLOGS TO CHECK OUT:

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme, and I especially liked showing the families the ASL signs this week because I knew they were something that they could use together.

ATTENDANCE: 37 people

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

Pigs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 5, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Pigs were BIG at storytime this morning!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

MOVEMENT: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

SIGN: ASL sign for PIG

from My Smart Hands

BOOK:

This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Pigs

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald

from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book 2nd Edition by Judy Sierra. You can find the pattern for the flannelboard here.

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

BOOK:

Ten Clean Pigs by Carol Roth, illustrated by Pamela Paparone

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

VIDEO:

“Iggy’s Pet Friends” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: Pets

MOVEMENT: Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye taken from jbrary

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Pigs Love Potatoes by Anika Denise and Christopher Denise
Book: Day by Day by Susan Gal
Flannelboard: This Little Piggy
Flannelboard: Five Pigs so Squeaky clean

OTHER HELPFUL BLOG POSTS:
Pigs Toddler Storytime 2014/02
Pigs – Storytime Katie
Pig Story Time Toddler – Verona Storytime
Flannel Friday – Clean and Dirty Pigs – Mel’s Desk

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
This was a fun storytime. I think that This Little Piggy might have been a bit long for the group. I was hoping that the kids/parents would play along on their fingers and toes, but that didn’t really happen. Maybe I need to look into the song that comes as a download with the book. Using Ten Clean Pigs as my second book seemed to be exactly the right length. While that book has two stories in one, I think I’ve read the Ten Dirty Pigs for other storytimes, so I thought I’d try something new.

I think that the Baby’s First-Word stories are some of the best for this age group. They are so slowly paced, and the kids get so quiet while watching them. It really holds their attention.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 42 people 11 am: 44 people

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

Pigs – Infant Storytime

Posted on April 5, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Today we celebrated all things porcine in storytime!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

MOVEMENT: Peek a Boo*

BOUNCE: To Market, To Market*

SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for Pig

Taken from My Smart Hands

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martín Larrañaga

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

FLANNELBOARD:
The Tail of a Pig

Pattern taken from clip art. Song from Preschool Education.

The tail of the pig curls round and round
round and round, round and round.
The tail of the pig curls round and round
All through the mud.

…mouth of a pig goes oink, oink, oink.
…snout of a pig goes root, root, root.
…hooves of a pig go run, run, run.
…ears of a pig go twitch, twitch, twitch.

I put up a flannelboard pig and pointed to the different parts as we sang about them.

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake

BOOK:

Piggies by Audrey Wood and Don Wood

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Dickery Dickery Dare

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

Dickery Dickery Dare,
A pig flew up in the air!
The man in brown
Soon brought him down.
Dickery Dickery Dare.

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: Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
taken from jbrary

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Pepo and Lolo are Friends by Ana Martín Larrañaga
Flannelboard: This Little Piggy
Flannelboard: Old MacDonald
Flannelboard: Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean
Book:

OTHER BLOGS TO CHECK OUT:
Pigs – Infant Storytime from 2014/02
Pigs – Toddler Storytime from 2014/02

HOW IT WENT:
Today was a good storytime day. It felt like things went a lot more smoothly than it did last week. Maybe it’s just getting back into the routine of things again, both for me and the babies.

I had made that beautiful pig for the Tail of a Pig flannelboard, but then left it on my desk! So I used a different pig, but we still sang the song.

ATTENDANCE: 33 people

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

Rabbits and Bunnies – Toddler Storytime

Posted on March 29, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Spring session has sprung, so it felt only appropriate to pay homage to bunnies in this storytime!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say hello,
say hello, say hello,
Now it’s time to say hello,
And start our storytime.

MOVEMENT:
10am: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels
11 am: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

10 am: Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Sam Williams
11 am: Peek-a-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice

MOVEMENT: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Bunnies

FLANNELBOARD:
Giant Carrot

(Pattern and story 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

MOVEMENT: Two Little Feet
taken from Preschool Rainbow

Two little feet go stamp, stamp, stamp
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap
One little body stands up straight
One little body turns around
One little body sits quietly down

BOOK:

10 am: Peek-a-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice
11 am: Grandma Rabbitty’s Visit by Barry Smith

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

VIDEO:

“Rebecca Rabbit” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
say goodbye, say goodbye,
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
I’ll see you all next week.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
Book: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Book: Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith, illustrations by Laura Dronzek
Book: Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

Related Blog Posts: Rabbits – Preschool Storytime

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I forgot that sometimes you need to start storytime out with books for really little ones, even if you’re doing the older age group. I find that helps the kids adjust to me and get used to storytime, since they’ve had a different storyteller if they were in the session prior.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 46 people 11 am: 49 people

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

Rabbits and Bunnies – Infant Storytime

Posted on March 29, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Time for a new round of Infant Toddler Storytime! We kicked off the spring session with some hippity hoppity fun.

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say hello,
say hello, say hello,
Now it’s time to say hello,
And start our storytime.

MOVEMENT: Peek a Boo*

(to tune of Frere Jacques)
Peek-a-boo, Peek-a-boo (play peek-a-boo)
I see you, I see you (point at baby)
I see your little nose (touch baby’s nose)
I see your tiny toes (touch baby’s toes)
Peek-a-boo. Peek-a-boo. (play peek-a-boo again)

BOUNCE: To Market, To Market*

(Bounce baby on lap as you recite the rhyme)
To market to market to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again jiggity jig.
To market, to market to buy a fat hog
Home again, home again jiggity jog.
To market, to market to buy a plum bun
Home again, home again market is done.

SIGN LANGUAGE: Make the sign for Rabbit

Taken from My Smart Hands

BOOK:

Grandma Rabbitty’s Visit by Barry Smith

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Run Run Rabbit

Pattern and Rhyme from 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun written by Liz & Dick Wilmes, illustrated by Janet McDonnell

There once was a fox.
A sly, silver fox.
Who was looking for a rabbit.

Run, run rabbit
Run, run rabbit
Run, run rabbit fast as you can.

Don’t let him catch you
Don’t let him catch you
Don’t let him put you in the rabbit stew.

We did this one as a bounce, so as the rabbit was running, the caregivers bounced their little ones on their laps.

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake

BOOK:

Bedtime Bunnies by Wendy Watson

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

Round and round the garden (circle finger around baby’s bellybutton)
Goes the teddy bear
A one step, a two step, (move fingers up the chest)
A tickle-y under there. (tickle under the chin)

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

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Jack and Jill

Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

Jack and Jill
went up the hill,
to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after

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

MOVEMENT:
Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
say goodbye, say goodbye,
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
I’ll see you all next week.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Flannelboard: Little Mouse, Little Mouse
I thought I could adapt my Little Mouse house flannelboard set and hide a bunny instead of a mouse and say:
“Little Rabbit, Little Rabbit
What color house do you inhabit?
Are you in the ______ house?”

This seemed slightly ridiculous, so I didn’t do it, but maybe it could work?

HOW IT WENT:
In the future, I probably shouldn’t take a vacation right before infant toddler time without a little more prep. It worked out fine, but I think I would have been more together if I had started a little earlier.

We have an AppleTV hookup in our storyroom, so I was playing around with the idea of seeing if I could play my music over my iphone, so that I didn’t have to rush up and down the stairs to turn the cd player on and off. But it doesn’t seem like we can play music with the projector turned off. I’ll have to chat with our tech guys about this and see if they know some way of doing it. Do you?

ATTENDANCE: 38 people

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

Trains – Preschool Storytime

Posted on March 12, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Today was my library’s One City, One Story day, with a lot of programming centered around Christina Baker Kline’s Orphan Train. Including a Lionel Train set-up and running, complete with sounds and lights, in our library’s main hall. Doing a train storytime seemed the only way to go. Also it gave me a great reason to use my train whistle!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Whoosh and Chug! by Sebastien Braun

SONG:
The Wheels on the Train
(Taken from: Verona StoryTime)

(to the tune of: The Wheels on the Bus)
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack
All along the track

Other verses:
The whistle on the train goes toot, toot, toot…
The conductor on the train says, “Ticket, please!”…
The people on the train go bounce, bounce, bounce…
The engine on the train goes chug, chug, chug…

FLANNELBOARD:
Clickety Clack

(Pattern and Idea taken from Mel’s Desk)

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
Here comes the train on the railroad track!

Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn,
Here comes ENGINE number one.

Clickety-clew, clickety-clew,
Here comes COAL CAR number two.

Clickety-clee, clickety-cluee,
Here comes BOX CAR number three.

Clickety-clore, clickety-clore,
Here comes TANK CAR number four.

Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn,
Here comes ENGINE number one.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
Here comes the train on the railroad track!

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Window Music by Anastasia Suen, illustrated by Wade Zahares

VIDEO:

“Grandpa’s Little Train” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
Book: Trains Go by Steve Light (a good toddler pick)
Book: And the Train Goes by William Bee
Book: Freight Train by Donald Crews
Flannelboard: Rainbow Express
Movie: “Max’s Toy Train”, “Max’s Train Ride” or “Max and Ruby’s Train Trip” from Max & Ruby Sweet Siblings!

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Storytime Katie – Trains!
Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives: Trains Resource Guide
Never Shushed: Preschool: Trains

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
It was hard to compete with the real toy train set up in our library’s main hall. But, eventually we did get a good turnout for this storytime. I put it together in a short amount of time — I think I might have had a better selection of books if I had thought more ahead of time. But it went well, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

I remembered my lesson after last storytime and did a calming down rhyme (Grandma’s Spectacles) after Shaking our Sillies out. It helped some, but I think I need to come up with more.

ATTENDANCE: 38 (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

Fruit – Toddler Storytime

Posted on February 13, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

I filled in for a colleague who was out sick this week for infant/toddler storytime. We had a fresh fruit theme that was bananas!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano, illustrated by Kat Whelan

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Rainbow Stew
idea taken from Storytime ABC’s

Start this flannelboard with the 6 different fruit on your board, and the 6 rainbow colors in your pot.

Take an strawberry put it in the pot

Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot (stir, not letting the kids see inside the pot)
Take it out now
What will it be? (pull out the color band that matches the fruit)
The prettiest red I ever did see.

Continue doing this for all the fruits/colors, until you have a full rainbow on the board:

Then I recited the other rhyme mentioned by Storytime ABC’s

Rainbow Colors
(to tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”)
Rainbow purple,
Rainbow blue,
Rainbow green,
And yellow too.
Rainbow orange,
Rainbow red.
Rainbow smiling overhead.
Come and count the colors with me.
How many colors do you see?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!

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

MOVEMENT: I’m a Little Teapot from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 4 performed by Larry Groce and the Disneyland Children’s Sing-along Chorus

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

VIDEO:

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle

MOVEMENT: Goodbye Friends

MOVEMENT: Tickle the Clouds*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Book: Apple by Nikki McClure
Book: Lunch by Denise Fleming (or as a flannelboard)
Counting Flannelboard: Apples
DVD: “Grandma’s Berry Patch” from Max and Ruby Berry Bunny Adventures
DVD: “Each Peach Pear Plum” from The Napping House…and more stories that rhyme

Related Blog Posts: Berries – Preschool Storytime

st.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 39 people 11 am: 38 people

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

Fruit – Infant Storytime

Posted on February 13, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

We do infant/toddler storytimes in 10 week sessions at my library, which is why you usually see a bunch of those posts together. This time, however, my colleague was sick, so I just filled in for her (hence this one-off post). To keep things the same for those that were coming to her session, I tried to stick to her routines, which was fun because it allowed me to learn some new songs!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

BOUNCE: Tiny Little Babies* (this was a new one for me I got to learn! Fun! Make sure to check it out on my Acapella rhymes page)

BOUNCE: The Grand Old Duke of York*

BOOK:

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett

MOVEMENT: “My Little Hands” from Diaper Gym: Fun Activities for Babies on the Move by Priscilla Hegner & Rose Grasselli

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Red Strawberries

Taken from Mel’s Desk

I was thinking about doing the flannelboard Lunch with this group, so I had my mouse puppet ready. I changed the Bear in this rhyme to Mouse so I could use my puppet to gobble up the berries as they came off the board.

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

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

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

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

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

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Guess What? – Fruit by Ysuke Yonezu
This one is a really fun board book where fruit turns into animals with a lift of the flap!

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Little Miss Muffet

Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

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:
Goodbye Babies with ASL signs
(to tune of: “Goodnight Ladies”)
Goodbye babies
Goodbye babies
Goodbye babies
It’s time
to say
Goodbye.

This video from Champaign Public Library is really helpful for learning the signs!

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Book: Lunch by Denise Fleming (book or flannelboard)

HOW IT WENT:
For planning in less than a day, this came together really well. I enjoyed the fruit theme and would do it again. Guess What? – Fruit was a really great read, I think I’ll have to look into the others in that series. I was worried it might be a little small, but with the fold out pages it worked really well.

ATTENDANCE: 33 people

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

Soup – Preschool Storytime

Posted on January 30, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

It’s January, so that means National Soup Month! Which in turn means, if there’s a storytime to do, I’ll probably do one about soup! Here’s this year’s:

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

MOVEMENT:
Pea Soup
(hold hand up with all five fingers extended)
1 little pea jumped into the pot (fold one finger down)
And waited for the soup to get hot.
2 little peas jumped into the pot (fold one finger down)
And waited for the soup to get hot.
3 little peas jumped into the pot (fold one finger down)
And waited for the soup to get hot.
4 little peas jumped into the pot (fold one finger down)
And waited for the soup to get hot.
5 little peas jumped into the pot (fold one finger down)
And waited for the soup to get hot.
Finally the soup got so very hot
All the little peas jumped out of the pot. (quickly open hand and extend all fingers.)

SONG:
Vegetable Soup Song

(Song adapted from Harford County Public Library storytime handout. Veggies from Ikea play sets)

Before we started singing this song, I passed out a toy vegetable to each child at storytime. When we sang about the veggie they were holding, they came up and dropped it in the small pot I had.

(to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The soup is boiling up
The soup is boiling up
Stir slow — around we go
The soup is boiling up.

First we add the broth
First we add the broth
Stir slow – around we go
The soup is boiling up.

Next we add the tomatoes
Next we add the tomatoes
Stir slow – around we go
The soup is boiling up.

Continue adding different veggies, and substitute for tomatoes: zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, cabbage leaves, carrots, eggplant, green onion, pasta, etc…

It’s time to eat it up
it’s time to eat it up
Sip slow – but with gusto!
It’s time to eat it up.

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

BOOK:

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic

VIDEO:

“Birthday Soup” from Little Bear Season 1, Episode 2

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Community Soup by Alma Fullerton
Book: Soup Day by Melissa Iwai
Book: Chicken Soup by Jean Van Leeuwen, illustrated by David Gavril
Book: Gazpacho for Nacho by Tracey Kyle, illustrated by Carolina Farías (this one might be better for audiences a little older. Plus I’d need to brush up on Spanish pronunciation before I read it to a group.)
Book: 10 Hungry Rabbits by Anita Lobel (I also want to make this one into a flannelboard)
Book: Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Flannelboard: Stone Soup
Movie: “Chicken Soup with Rice” from Where the Wild Things Are… and other Maurice Sendak Stories

My other soup storytimes:
Preschool Storytime 1/18/2014
Class Visits1/24/2014

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
This was a squirrelly storytime, I don’t think I did a very good job today of getting a handle on it. I think I should have swapped the books around, since Duck Soup is a little bit longer. Or told a different, shorter story, because this storytime ran a bit long. Also, I really like doing the song where the kids bring up the veggies, but the squirrelly-ness seemed to happen a lot after that. So after “Shake My Sillies Out” I should have done a different calm down rhyme to help the transition into the story.

I wanted to do something a little different with the movie this time, since I showed “Chicken Soup with Rice”. I found that Little Bear has some episodes for free with Amazon Prime, and since I’m a Prime subscriber, I have an iPad, and our storyroom has AppleTV, I just played it through my iPad. I hadn’t done that before, but that turned out just fine. Yay for innovation in techniques.

ATTENDANCE: 33 (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

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Category Archives: Storytimes

Books, Reading and Libraries! – Toddler Storytime

Books & Reading – Infant Storytime

Pigs – Toddler Storytime

Pigs – Infant Storytime

Rabbits and Bunnies – Toddler Storytime

Rabbits and Bunnies – Infant Storytime

Trains – Preschool Storytime

Fruit – Toddler Storytime

Fruit – Infant Storytime

Soup – Preschool Storytime