Construction – Infant Storytime

Posted on May 28, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Today we dug into some great construction stories!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: The Grandfather Clock*

BOOK:

Machines at Work by Byron Barton

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

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.

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:

Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia

TICKLE: Slowly Slowly Very Slowly Goes the Little Snail*

SONG & MOVEMENT: “Babies Little Self” from the album Here I Am! by Caspar Babypants

NURSERY RHYME:
Little Bo Peep

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

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:

Get to Work Trucks by Don Carter
Trucks by Debbie Powell

HOW IT WENT:
Why have I never done a construction storytime before? There are so many good books and activities on this topic. Must do it again soon.
Most things went pretty well at this storytime, but Machines at Work might have been a little long for this group. Also, the flannelboard didn’t work quite as well as I envisioned it. The kids all wanted to come and pull the things off the flannelboard, and I kept hiding the hammer in the lower toolboxes. It took a couple tries to realize that I really should hide it up higher in the area where little hands cannot grab it.

ATTENDANCE: 39 people

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

Bouncing – Toddler Storytime

Posted on May 21, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

This active theme is always a fun one to use with toddlers.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Bouncing Time by Patricia Hubbell

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Rabbits
(presented by our new librarian Jane)

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Green and Speckled Frogs

(Presented by our new librarian, Jane)

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

BOOK:

Who Hops? by Katie Davis

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

VIDEO:

“Puddle Jumper” from Little Bear: Rainy Day Tales

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

Kangaroo and Cricket by Lorianne Siomades
Jump! by Steve Lavis

HOW IT WENT:
This is a fun theme that can sometimes get a little too energetic. Luckily that didn’t happen today. This was my first time reading Who Hops? to a group and it was so much fun. When you say “Cows Hop” you can hear the whole audience go, “say whaaa?”. Such a good book hook. “Puddle Jumper” is also another favorite to show in storytime because kids like the story, and parents like that it features the Zen frog.

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

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

Bouncing – Infant Storytime

Posted on May 21, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Everyone was happy as we went up and down through our bouncing storytime today.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: In the Toaster*

BOOK:

Bouncing Time by Patricia Hubbell

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Green and Speckled Frogs

(Presented by our new Librarian Jane)

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:

The Ball Bounced by Nancy Tafuri

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

SONG & MOVEMENT: “Babies Little Self” from the album Here I Am! by Caspar Babypants

NURSERY RHYME:
Jack Be Nimble

Pieces from Little Folk Visuals
(Presented by our new librarian Jane)

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

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop by Anna Dewdney
Hop, Hop, Jump! by Lauren Thompson

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime, and an especially great theme to use with infants because you can incorporate so many bounces for the parents to do with their babies. I was worried that Bouncing Time would be too long to use with the infants, but it seemed to work fine. I think in the future though I might end the story after the family waves bye to the bouncing animals in the zoo. That would shorten it a little, but still complete the story. I love doing Jack Be Nimble as a nursery rhyme and then as a bounce, so that worked perfectly in with this storytime.

ATTENDANCE: 31 people

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

Dinosaurs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on May 20, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

We had a ROARING good time at last week’s dinosaur storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Dinosaurs

FLANNELBOARD:
All Around the Swamp

(to tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”)
Pteranodons’ wings went flap, flap, flap. (flap arms like wings)
Flap, flap, flap. Flap, flap, flap
Pteranodons’ wings went flap, flap, flap.
All around the swamp.

Other verses:Tyrannosaurus Rex went grr grr grr… (make T-Rex arms and say grr)
Triceratops’s horns went poke poke poke… (make horns on the top of head with fingers)
Apatosaurus’s neck went stretch, stretch, stretch… (stretch arms up)
Stegosaurus’s tail went spike spike spike (place palms together and swing hands back and forth)

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

BOOK:

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs by Byron Barton (read by our new LI)

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

VIDEO:

“Mr. Dinosaur is Lost” from Peppa Pig: Muddy Puddles and Other Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland
I Dreamt I was a Dinosaur by Stella Blackstone
Dinosaur Roar! by Paul & Henrietta Stickland
Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont
DVD: “How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?”

HOW IT WENT:
I love Dinosaur vs. Bedtime but I need to remember that it can be hard on the voice. I need to hold back my roaring just a bit to get through all the storytimes on Tuesdays.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 41 people 11 am: 38 people

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

Dinosaurs – Infant Storytime

Posted on May 20, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

There was a lot of over-sized fun at last week’s dinosaur infant storytime.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: In the Toaster*

BOOK:

Dinosaur Roar! by Paul & Henrietta Stickland

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Four Dinosaurs (I know there are 5 here, but I didn’t use one for the rhyme.)

Templates from Microsoft Word clip art

“Four Dinosaurs”
Four dinosaurs standing in a row
The green one said, “I think I’ll go”
And he walked away so very slow
Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp.
Other verses:
Three… orange
Two… purple
One…yellow
How many dinosaurs are left? Zero!

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:

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

SONG & MOVEMENT: “Babies Little Self” from the album Here I Am! by Caspar Babypants

NURSERY RHYME:
Jack and Jill

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*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland
Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont

HOW IT WENT:
I really need to get better about updating my blog right after the storytimes occur. Things have just been really busy at work and I haven’t had a chance to do that.

ATTENDANCE: 33 people

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

Mothers – Toddler Storytime

Posted on May 13, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

We celebrated moms in last week’s storytimes.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Piglet and Mama by Margaret Wild

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Hearts

FLANNELBOARD:
Mothers & Babies Match Game

From A Storytime Year by Susan M. Dailey.
See information on the flannelboard story on my flannel friday post here

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

BOOK:

Mommy Mine by Tim Warnes

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

VIDEO:

“Is Your Mama a Llama?” from IsYour Mama a Llama?… and more Stories About Growing Up

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

My Mother is Mine by Marion Dane Bauer
Mommy Hugs by Karen Katz
Mommy, Carry Me Please! by Jane Cabrera
The Mommy Book by Todd Parr
Where Is My Mommy? by Julie Downing

HOW IT WENT:
Pretty well. Since I’m late in posting this one, I don’t have too much to say about it, but I wanted to make sure to get it up before my next storytime.

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

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

Mothers – Infant Storytime

Posted on May 13, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

I did this storytime last Tuesday as an early Mother’s Day theme. I’m just getting around to posting it now though.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: In the Toaster*

BOOK:

I Love My Mom by Anna Walker (read by our new LI)

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Mothers & Babies Match Game

From A Storytime Year by Susan M. Dailey.
See information on the flannelboard story on my flannel friday post here

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:

I Love My Mommy by Sebastien Braun

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

SONG & MOVEMENT: “Babies Little Self” from the album Here I Am! by Caspar Babypants

NURSERY RHYME:
1, 2 Buckle My Shoe

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

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:

I Love Mommy by Lizi Boyd

HOW IT WENT:
Well. Since it was a week ago now, I don’t have much to say, but I wanted to make sure I included in my blog.

ATTENDANCE: 37 people

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

Flannel Friday – Mother and Babies Match

Posted on May 3, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

I was looking through my flannelboards to find something for my Mother’s Day storytime and came across this one handed-down to me by my now-retired librarian mother. It was taken from A Storytime Year by Susan M. Dailey. The templates for the patterns were from that book and others.

Mother and Babies Match

Start with one baby animal on the flannelboard.
This baby makes a mooing sound
When his mother’s not around.
Calf is the name of this baby.
What is his mother called?
COW!
Add the mother to the flannelboard after the audience answers.

Continue the rhyme, substituting the correct animal sounds and names.

Barking, puppy, dog.

Meowing, kitten, cat.

Quacking, duckling, duck.

Oinking, piglet, pig.

Growling, cub, bear.

Roaring, cub, lion.

Cheeping, chick, hen.

Soon you’ll have so many mothers and babies on your board they won’t all fit! (Or at least they didn’t all fit on mine!)

And if you have a bigger board, you can continue this with all sorts of different animal matches. Make up new pairs until you do run out of room, or the audience is tired of guessing.

Today’s Flannel Friday roundup is hosted by Library Quine at Loons and Quines. For more information on Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday blog or Pinterest page.

Wake Up & Good Morning! – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 30, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Nothing gets you up and at ’em in the morning like a good toddler storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Wake Up, Me! by Marni McGee

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

COUNTING SONG:*

Suns

FLANNELBOARD:
Millie Wants to Play

Story from Millie Wants to Play by Janet Pedersen.
Pattern for figures from “Good Morning Cow” in 2′s Experience Felt Board Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes

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

BOOK:

Waking Dragons by Jane Yolen

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

VIDEO:

“Good Morning” and “Night Music” from Classical Baby: The Music Show

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IDEAS:

Wake Up Engines by Denise Dowling Mortensen
One Magical Morning by Claire Freedman
A Child’s Good Morning Book by Margaret Wise Brown
Polar Bear Morning by Lauren Thompson

HOW IT WENT:
I really love books like Wake Up, Me! that encourage interaction with the audience. It makes the book go really nicely. Waking Dragons was a newer book, so I thought that might be fun to try out. And I absolutely adore the Classical Baby series of DVDs. So pretty, calming, and engaging.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 53 (!) people 11 am: 32 people

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

Wake Up & Good Morning! – Infant Storytime

Posted on April 30, 2013 by jeninthelibrary

Since the infants and toddlers I share stories with on Tuesdays make my mornings good, I thought this would be an appropriate theme.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

BOOK:

Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Millie Wants to Play

Story from Millie Wants to Play by Janet Pedersen.
Pattern for figures from “Good Morning Cow” in 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes

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:

Llama Llama Wakey-Wake by Anna Dewdney

TICKLE: Chicken in the Barnyard*

SONG & MOVEMENT: “Babies Little Self” from the album Here I Am! by Caspar Babypants

NURSERY RHYME:
Hickory Dickory Dock

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

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:

Good Morning Toucan by Dwell Studios
Wake Up, Me! by Marni McGee

HOW IT WENT:
I thought this was a fun theme to use. We made a lot of animal noises with both Hello, Day! and the flannelboard. I liked Llama Llama, Wakey-Wake, but I think the board book might have been too small to use successfully. And it was very short, so I added the song “Baby’s Little Self” in there. I put on the music and then had the parents touch the different parts mentioned in the song. It worked really well. It also helped because the children were a little antsy and the song seemed to be soothing to them. Maybe I will add that in.

ATTENDANCE: 44 people

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

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Construction – Infant Storytime

Bouncing – Toddler Storytime

Bouncing – Infant Storytime

Dinosaurs – Toddler Storytime

Dinosaurs – Infant Storytime

Mothers – Toddler Storytime

Mothers – Infant Storytime

Flannel Friday – Mother and Babies Match

Wake Up & Good Morning! – Toddler Storytime

Wake Up & Good Morning! – Infant Storytime