Grumpy – Preschool Storytime

Posted on October 12, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

I saw that my coworkers had each done a grumpy themed storytime awhile ago, and I thought that was such a great idea that I decided to steal it! This is the second time I’ve used this theme, and I’ve got to say it’s one of my favorites. There’s just something so fun about getting to put on your grumpy as you tell a story.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald Felt So Glad

(to tune of “Old MacDonald had a farm”)
Old MacDonald felt so glad
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA
And when he’s glad he sounds like this:
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA
With a HA-HA here and a HA-HA there
Here a HA, there a HA everywhere a HA-HA
Old MacDonald felt so glad.
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA

Repeat this, substituting the following emotions and sounds:
Grumpy = NO NO NO NO NO
Sad = Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
Silly = Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah

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

BOOK:

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

MOVEMENT: “If You’re Happy and You Know It” from Walt Disney’s Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

VIDEO:

“Pete’s a Pizza” from Pete’s a Pizza …and more William Steig Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Grumpy Cat by Britta Teckentrup
Book: I Love it When You Smile by Sam McBratney
Book: Maya was Grumpy by Courtney Pippin-Mathur
Book: Grumpy Goat by Brett Helquist
Flannelboard: Peace & Quiet (because I know if I don’t sleep, then I’m grumpy)

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I decided to use grumpy as a theme because it seemed like there were a lot of new books about that topic coming into the library. Crankenstein was one of these, and I thought this worked well for storytime today. I had a bit older audience than usual, so I think that helped keep the kids from being scared from the “monstery” illustrations. I also had the kids help make the “MEHHRRR!!” noise which got them involved in this story. Grumpy Bird is one of my favorite storytime books. It it so fun to do the voice of the bird, and I like having the kids chime in on the name of the animal he’s walking by. This one got some giggles today. I originally was going to use “Peace and Quiet” as a flannelboard, but the group seemed a little squirmy, so I cut that one out.

ATTENDANCE: 47 (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

Happy Birthday to JenintheLibrary! Now with a giveaway!

Posted on September 29, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Happy Birthday to Jen in the Library!

Today marks the anniversary of my first real blog post!
(My first post was really on July 3, 2012, but it took me until September 29, 2012 to get up the courage to write an official storytime blog post.)

So, to celebrate, I thought I’d run a short little contest.

Now through October 13th, in the comments section of this blog post, write which of the flannelboards I’ve featured on my blog you’d like for your own, and a short reason why. I’ll do a random drawing, and the winner will receive a version of the flannelboard they mentioned in the comment! (Small Print: Delivery may take a bit as I will have to make it for you. Also, please just mention the flannelboards I’ve made, and not ones I’ve purchased from an outside source.)

I know a lot of the people who use this blog are either librarians or teachers, so you probably enjoy making flannelboards on your own. But, I figure, who doesn’t like to save a little time and get one ready-to-go!

Apples – Preschool Storytime

Posted on September 28, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

A few weeks ago I did an apple storytime, but I forgot to post it on here! So, I figure better late than never.

September always makes me think of starting school (even though school starts here now in August!), and fall (even though it’s in the high 80s, mid 90s). So how else could celebrate the first Saturday in September than with a storytime about apples, the most quintessential of fall fruits?

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Ouch! by Ragnhild Scamell

Movement:
A Little Apple Seed
(to tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”)

Once a little apple seed
was planted in the ground.
Down came the raindrops falling all around.
Out came the big sun
Bright as bright could be
And that little apple seed grew up
to be an apple tree.

FLANNELBOARD:
A-P-P-L-E

(to tune of “Bingo”)There is a fruit that’s good to eat
and apple is its name-o.
A-P-P-L-E
A-P-P-L-E
A-P-P-L-E
and apple is its name-o.

Now when we turn the apple over, and you don’t see a letter, you clap instead! (Do this one apple at a time — I just took this photo when two apples were turned over.)

There is a fruit that’s good to eat
and apple is its name-o.
clap–clap-P-L-E
clap–clap-P-L-E
clap–clap-P-L-E
and apple is its name-o.

Continue singing and clapping until all apples are turned over.

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

FLANNELBOARD:
An Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree (lift hands above head)
Four red apples (hold up 4 fingers)
smiled at me (smile)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could (pretend to shake the tree)
And down came an apple.
Mmm… was it good! (rub tummy).

Continue with the rhyme until all apples have been eaten!

BOOK:

Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray

VIDEO:

“Chicka Chicka 1 2 3” from Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 — and more stories about counting

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: A New House for Mouse by Petr Horácek
Book: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
Book: Little Apple Goat by Caroline Jayne Church
Book: Apple by Nikki McClure

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Though we say this is a preschool storytime, we actually end up with a wide range of ages in the audience on any given Saturday. I started out with the book Ouch! because that is one of my favorites – I love the illustrations, and the kids and the adults both seem to get a kick out of it. However, with the group I had this Saturday, the story felt rather long. That’s why for my second book I chose Apple Pie ABC – it’s still engaging, and the photos are wonderful, but it is a lot shorter and I hoped that would help with the concentration of the audience. I think it worked. Also, the video was a good one – again, slightly long, but since it is one the kids are familiar with I think that helps. I swear I could hear a little voice singing along, but I couldn’t locate where it was coming from.

ATTENDANCE: 67!! (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

Eggs – Storybox

Posted on September 23, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

My library system has one central location and 9 branches. To make storytime programming easier for all involved, we use storyboxes. These are “storytimes in a box”. They contain everything a storyteller would need for a successful storytime including books, videos, fingerplays and crafts. Ideally, there should be enough variety that the box can be used for infants/toddlers, preschoolers, and lower elementary ages. Here’s the latest storybox I put together for rotation.

Eggs – “What will hatch from these egg-cellent stories?”

BOOKS:

Eggs 1 2 3: Who Will the Babies Be? by Janet Halfmann
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett
Chicken Big by Keith Graves

The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
Whose Chick are You? by Nancy Tafuri
The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown

The Egg by M. P. Robertson
Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen
Hunwick’s Egg by Mem Fox

Daisy and the Egg by Jane Simmons
The Cow that Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill
Egg Drop by Mini Grey

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
How Kind! by Mary Murphy
Roly-Poly Egg by Kali Stileman

Duck and Goose by Tad Hills
Foxy and Egg by Alex Smith
The Happy Egg by Ruth Krauss

FLANNELBOARDS:

Little Chick, Little Chick

Pattern from Microsoft Clip Art
I got the idea for this one as a spin-off from the flannelboard Little Mouse Little Mouse

Hide the chick under one of the eggs before you place it on the flannelboard. Place all eggs on the flannelboard.

Repeat this rhyme:
“Little chick, little chick,
Are you in the ___color___ egg?”

Life the egg of the flannelboard to see if the chick is behind it. Repeat until you find the chick. Hide it again, and place once more!

Ten Little Eggs

Pattern and rhyme from Preschool Favorites by Diane Briggs on page 138.
(The animals in this photo aren’t in the correct order as the rhyme.)

There are ten little eggs
And what do we see
They’re about to crack open
“My goodness me,”
said Mother Hen.

The first egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a fuzzy, little duckling
Looking at me.

The second egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a little purple dinosaur
Looking at me.

The third egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a little turkey gobbler
Looking at me.

The fourth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a little fuzzy owl
Looking at me.

The fifth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a funny little platypus
Looking at me.

The sixth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a pretty little bluebird
Looking at me.

The seventh egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a snappy little alligator
Looking at me.

The eighth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a long-necked ostrich
Looking at me.

The ninth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a little green turtle
Looking at me.

The tenth egg cracks open
And what do we see
It’s a little yellow chicken
Looking at me.

“My baby!”
said the mother hen,
as happy as can be.

“Mommy!” said the chick.
“Did you meet all my sisters and brothers?”
“What!” shrieked Mother Hen,
“My goodness me.”

Three Eggs in a Basket

Pattern and story found in Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra on page 62.

MOVEMENT, SONGS, AND FINGERPLAYS:
Eggs
Five little eggs (fingers on one hand)
And five little eggs (fingers on second hand)
Are 10 little eggs you see (wiggle fingers)
Break their shells and what do you have? (clap)
Ten little chickens as yellow as can be. (wiggle fingers)

Little Egg
Once there was a little egg
That jumped down to the floor
It started rolling all around
Then rolled right out the door.

Little egg, roll, roll, roll,
Roll all around
Little egg roll, roll, roll
All across the ground.

Eggs in a nest
Here’s an egg in a nest up in a tree.
(make fist with right hand and place in palm of cupped left hand)
What’s inside? What can it be?
(shrug shoulders)
Peck, peck, peck,
Peep, peep, peep.
Out hatches a little bird,
(Wiggle fingers or fisted hand)
Cute as can be!
(from Child Fun)

If You Like Your Eggs Scrambled
(Tune: Happy & You Know It)
If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands
If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands
Yes, they’re yummy and they’re yellow
So you’ll be a happy fellow
If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands

If you like your eggs fried, jump up high…
If you want bacon with your eggs, wiggle your legs…
If you want toast instead, nod your head (Mmm-hmm)…
(from Storytime Source Page)

I’m a Little Birdie
(tune “I’m a Little Teapot”)
I’m a little birdie (crouch down as if inside egg)
In my shell
Trying to crack it open
Peck, peck scratch! (pecking motion)
When I crack it open,
Out I’ll pop. (Pop Up)
And spread my wings (hands in armpits and flap)
And tweet, tweet, tweet.
(From Preschool Favorites by Diane Briggs)

I Love Eggs
(Tune: Frere Jacques)
I love eggs, I love eggs
Yum, yum, yum ; Yum, yum, yum
Scrambled, boiled or fried, any way I’ve tried
Yum, yum, yum ; Yum, yum, yum
(from: Storytime Source Page)

Five Eggs and Five Eggs
Five eggs and five eggs, that makes ten (hold up 2 hands)
Sitting on top is the mother hen. (fold one hand over the other)
Crackle, crackle, crackle; what do I see? (clap 3 times)
Ten fluffy chickens, as yellow as can be! (hold up and wiggle ten fingers)

I’m a Little Chickie
(Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)
I’m a little chickie, (crouch down inside your egg)
Ready to hatch,
Pecking at my shell,(Pecking motion)
Scratch, scratch, scratch! (scratching motion)
When I crack it open,
Out I’ll jump (jump out of shell)
Fluff my feathers,
Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!
(from: Storytime Planners)

Unhatched Egg
Make a noise like a rooster. (Crow)
Make a noise like a hen. (Cluck)
Make a noise like a chick. (Peep)
Make a noise like an unhatched egg. (Silence)
Good!
And now you’re ready to listen to the next story!
(from: Storytime Planners)

Red Hen Red Hen
(Tune: Baa Baa Black Sheep)
Red hen, red hen, have you eggs from me?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. A lot you see.
One to hard boil.
Another one to fry.
One to scramble.
And eggs to dye.
Red Hen, red hen, have you eggs for me?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir a whole lot you see.
(from: Storytime Planners)

I’m A Little Chick
(Tune: “I’m a Little Teapot”)
I’m a little chick inside an egg
I’m always sleeping – snoring away
Soon you’ll hear a pecking, pecking sound
The egg will crack and out I’ll pop.
(from: Preschool Education)

CRAFTS:

Who is in the Egg? Lift the Flap Page

I made the bottom page of this craft in Microsoft Word with clip art illustrations. Then, using the shape too, I created an oval that was large enough in size to cover the illustrations.

To prepare this craft have 5 eggs cut out for each child you think will attend the storytime. (All eggs are the same size and shape so it doesn’t matter which egg goes where.) Have the children color in the animals and decorate the eggs. Then clue one egg over each animal, using just one stripe of glue away and fold the egg to create a “lift-the-flap” effect for each animal.

Hatched Egg Craft

I used Word clip art to find the image of a duck or a chicken. Then I free-handed an egg large enough to cover the duck. I used a Sharpie to draw a thick jagged line to make it look like the egg “cracked” towards the bottom of the egg.

Have children color the chick or duck and the egg from the templates provided. Then cut down the middle of the “crack in the egg” so that it looks broken. Punch a brad through one end of the egg, so that it can open and close. Tape the bird on the inside so that he “hatches” when the egg is opened.

Bread and Butter – Preschool/Family Storytime

Posted on August 9, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Since my Loafing Around program was a couple of weeks ago (things have been busy… sorry I haven’t updated!), I don’t remember the exact agenda I used for the storytime. But I did want to record the books and flannelboards that I used here.

BOOKS:

FLANNELBOARDS:

The Little Red Hen
from: Sierra, Judy. The Flannel Board Storytelling Book 2nd Edition. 1997. pg 152

A traditional retelling of the tale, but I changed the object being baked from cake to bread to fit in with the theme better.

Yellow Butter, Purple Jelly, Red Jam, and Brown Bread Tongue Twister
rhyme and template taken from Miss Mary Liberry (though I altered the pieces just a little)

Yellow butter
Purple jelly
Red jam
Brown Bread

Spread it thick, say it quick!
Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
Now repeat it, while you eat it!
Yum!

Fred Fed Ted Bread Tongue Twister
Inspired by Miss Mary Liberry, and since I thought I might have a wide range of ages at this program, I wanted to do something that would work for older children at the program too. I found this tongue twister online and thought it would make a cute flannelboard. I got the pattern for the man from “The Three Pigs” in Judy Sierra’s The Flannel Board Storytelling Book 2nd Edition (pg 151) and just drew in the bread in his outstretched hand.

Fred fed Ted bread and Ted fed Fred bread.
We tried a couple of times to say this, and then I asked for volunteers to try out loud.

Movement:

Bread and Butter
Clap and and slap thighs in rhythm to this chant

Bread and Butter
Marmalade and Jam
Let’s Say Hello
as __quietly__ as we can.
Hello
Other verses: loudly, slowly, fast, high and low.
(Taken from Preschool Storytime Outlines)

Peanut, Peanut Butter (and Jelly)
I added a couple of verses at the beginning of this song about kneading the dough, baking the bread, and slicing the bread.

ACTIVITY:
Making Butter! (See this post for instructions.)

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: What to Do? What to Do? by Toni Teevin
Book: Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette by Frank Asch
Book: Bread is for Eating by David and Phillis Gershator
Book: The Tortilla Factory by Gary Paulsen
Book: Loaves of Fun by Elizabeth M. Harbison

ATTENDANCE: 71 (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

Making Butter at Storytime!

Posted on August 8, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Since we are doing the “Reading is Soooooo Delicious” theme for this summer, my library celebrated with a system-wide Fun Food Week. Each branch chose a food-related program to highlight at their location.

My program was a bread storytime where we made our own butter! I got the idea for this program because I remembered making it in preschool (kindergarten? it was a long time ago…), and I thought it was so cool then. Apparently, science still amazes now, because the program (that my coworker coined “Loafing Around”) was a hit with both kids and parents — some even wanted to go home and try making more butter.

And making it is really simple!

Make Your Own Butter

You need a jar with a lid that closes tightly and heavy whipping cream.

That’s it!

Pour the whipping cream into the jar. Leave some room so the cream can move around. Of course, you can vary the amount depending on how much butter you want to make.

Shake! Shake! Shake!

After shaking for a little while, the cream will turn into whipped cream. You won’t hear liquid sloshing around anymore.

Keep shaking more, and the mixture will look like it is turning back to liquid in your jar. It’s actually becoming butter and buttermilk. In the photo below, you can see the lump of butter in the center of the jar, and then buttermilk surrounding it.

Pour off the buttermilk to separate it from the butter. (At home I just poured it out of the jar, when I did the program at the library we dumped it out into a bucket covered with cheesecloth. You can see that on the right. Also, at the library, we scooped up the butter each child made and put it into a plastic take-out sauce container, and handed them a popsicle stick for spreading.)

If you are making a lot of butter at home that you will want to enjoy for a while, rinse off the butter under cold water to get rid of the buttermilk — this will make the butter last longer. At the library, since we were enjoying the butter right away and only made a small amount, we skipped this step.

Put your butter on bread, and enjoy! For the Loafing Around program we created sandwich baggies that had a small sample of various kinds of bread: tortilla, French bread, lavash, challah, Irish soda bread and pumpernickel. Each kid received a baggie to go with the butter they made.

TIPS IF YOU DO THIS AS A LIBRARY PROGRAM:

– WIDER MOUTH JARS WORK BETTER.
Jars like the one pictured with the cream in the first photo work better than narrow mouth jars (like the ones you see in the shaking photos). It is easier to get the butter out from these, and it just seemed to work better overall. (We got our jars from The Container Store. The 4 oz ones worked best.)

– TEST THE JARS FIRST TO MAKE SURE THEY DON’T LEAK
Since we couldn’t get enough of the good 4oz jars, we used smaller 3 oz ones for the program, and they were not leak-proof. To solve this problem, we just put the jar with the cream in it inside a sandwich baggie. This helped keep our carpet clean and worked just fine.

– DON’T USE SPICE SHAKER INSERTS ON TOP OF THE JARS
Since we couldn’t find enough of the 4 oz jars, we went with 3 oz narrower jars that were meant for storing spices. In addition to a twist on lid, these came with snap off inserts that had holes for shaking out spices. I thought, “Oh this might be a great way to drain the buttermilk without having to take the butter out of the jar!” BUT NO. The cream didn’t like having the lid their during shaking, and the holes just ended up causing a problems instead of a solution.

– HAVE MORE THAN ONE BUTTERMILK DRAINING STATION
If you have all the children in the program start making butter at the same time, they will probably all be ready around the same time. We had two draining stations to pour off the butter set up, and we probably could have used one more.

– HAVE SOMETHING TO PUT THE BUTTER IN SO KIDS CAN TAKE LEFTOVERS My coworker came up with the great idea to use take-out restaurant sauce containers with lids and they were perfect. This way, we didn’t have to give away the more expensive jars to the kids, and we could save them to use at another program in the future.

– USE VOLUNTEERS TO HELP OUT
If I did this program again, I would get more people to help me out. Volunteers could help with the draining of the buttermilk and putting the butter into the sauce containers. They also would have been useful for clean-up afterwards.

– MAKE DIFFERENT FLAVORS WITH OLDER CHILDREN
If I was going to do this program with an older audience, I might add some different flavor elements that kids could use to make flavored butter: herbs like chives or dill, sugars, salt, etc.

But, even for doing it the first time around this was a really fun program, and it was a great success as well. I would definitely do it again!

Berries – Preschool Storytime

Posted on June 8, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

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)
FiveRedStrawberriesFlannelbaord
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

Let’s Eat – Toddler Storytime

Posted on June 4, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Since Reading is Soooo Delicious this summer, I decided to finish up the Spring Storytime session with an eating theme!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Tickle Tum by Nancy Van Laan

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Ice Cream Scoops

FLANNELBOARD:
Lunch

Based on the book by Denise Fleming, with inspiration from Roving Fiddlehead and LibrarianLindz. I didn’t make a template for this one, just free-handed it.

I placed all the fruits and veggies on the board and had the kids name them. Then I said I had a friend who was very hungry and brought out the mouse puppet. I asked the kids to name the color of the food the mouse was eating. Then after each thing he gobbled I asked the audience if they thought it was full yet. After everything was finished being eaten, I made the mouse yawn and hid him behind the flannelboard. I finished the way the book ends, “And then mouse took a nap until it was… Dinnertime!”

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

BOOK:

Brownie and Pearl Grab a Bite by Cynthia Rylant

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

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

Rah, Rah Radishes! by April Pulley Sayre
One Little Spoonfulby Aliki
“Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” DVD

HOW IT WENT:
I was surprised at how well Tickle Tum went over – the kids got strangely quite during that one. I guess all the rhyming words sound fun. I was pleasantly surprised with that one. I liked counting Ice Cream Scoops, and the flannelboard was really fun with the puppet as well.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 35 people 11 am: 26 people

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

Let’s Eat – Infant Storytime

Posted on June 4, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Today at infant storytime we celebrated the joy of eating!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*
Ride a Little Pony*
In the Toaster*
The Grandfather Clock*

BOOK:

One Little Spoonful by Aliki

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Lunch

Based on the book by Denise Fleming, with inspiration from Roving Fiddlehead and LibrarianLindz. I didn’t make a template for this one, just free-handed it.

I placed all the fruits and veggies on the board and had the kids name them. Then I said I had a friend who was very hungry and brought out the mouse puppet. I asked the kids to name the color of the food the mouse was eating. Then after each thing he gobbled I asked the audience if they thought it was full yet. After everything was finished being eaten, I finished the way the book ends, “And then mouse took a nap until it was… Dinnertime!”

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:

Brownie and Pearl Grab a Bite by Cynthia Rylant

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*
Slowly Slowly Very Slowly Goes the Little Snail*
Chicken in the Barnyard*
These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
This Little Piggy

I got this template from a co-worker a long time ago and have no idea where it was frum

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:

Spoonful by Benoit Marchon
Tickle Tum by Nancy Van Laan

HOW IT WENT:
This was the last storytime in my infant Spring Session. It’s amazing how quickly ten weeks go by. At the end of each session, I enjoy doing a refresher with all the bounces and tickles that we have done throughout the series, so parents can remember them and continue it at home. Because we did all that I took out “Baby’s Little Self” from the routine. I think One Little Spoonful worked really well with this age group because the parents can touch their babies where things are mentioned in the story. I don’t know that the flannelboard was a very good one, I think it was better suited to older children. Overall I think this storytime went pretty well, and I think the session as a whole was a good one too. As always, I think I need to find some new songs/movements to use next time around.

ATTENDANCE: 29 people

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

Construction – Toddler Storytime

Posted on May 28, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Why have I never done a construction themed storytime before?! There are so many great books and ideas out there for one.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

The Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Tools

FLANNELBOARD:
Find Bruno’s Hammer

Taken from RovingFiddlehead KidLit

Bruno built so many toolboxes that he cannot remember in which one he put his favorite hammer. Can you help Bruno find his missing hammer? In what toolbox should we look first?”

After a color is chosen, say the following phrase before removing that color toolbox.

Bruno needs his hammer lots and lots.
Is it hiding in the (color) toolbox?

Repeat until the hammer is found.

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

BOOK:

The Construcion Crew by Lynn Meltzer

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

VIDEO:

“Changes, Changes” from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom …and Lots More Learning Fun!

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

BOOKS:
Get to Work Trucks by Don Carter
Dinosaur Dig! by Penny Dale
Machines at Work by Byron Barton
Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia
Roadwork by Sally Sutton
One Big Building by Michael Dahl
VIDEO:
“I’m Dirty” from I’m Dirty… And More Stories of Adventure and Science

HOW IT WENT:
A really fun theme! I think I need to make my toolboxes smaller for the flannelboard, because they are just too tempting for small hands at this size.