Tag Archives: slow

Dancing – Preschool Storytime

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I just realized I had a bunch of storytime posts that I had saved in draft format and never published!  This is one of them.

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MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Hip -Hop Lollipop by Susan McElroy Montanari, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

FLANNELBOARD STORY:

Five Ballet Dancers

Five ballet dancers
Prancing on their toes
They twirl and spin and jump
Then off the stage one goes.

4 ballet dancers…
3 ballet dancers…
2 ballet dancers…

One ballet dancer
Prancing on his/her toes
S/He twirls and spins and jumps
Then off the stage s/he goes.

No more dancers!  The performance is over.
And what do we do at the end of a performance?
We applaud!  (clap)

(taken from Storytimes Online http://youthliterature.com/storytimes/artslit/dancing.pdf)

MOVEMENT: 

“Freeze Dance” from The Fresh Beat Band: Music from the Hit TV Show by The Fresh Beat Band

We danced to this one with scarves.  It was fun!

BOOK:

Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Suzanne Watts

VIDEO:

“Ballet Lesson” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: I Got the Rhythmby Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
Book: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees (also the video)
Book: Rupert Can Dance by Jules Feiffer
Book: Brontorina by James Howe, illustrated by Randy Cecil
Book: The Cranky Ballerina by Elise Gravel

ATTENDANCE: 24 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Saturday, July 27, 2019 @ Children’s Room

*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

Slow Stories – Preschool Storytime

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Let’s slow things down a little bit with some stories about slow things like sloths and snails.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth by Eric Carle

MOVEMENT:

Fast and Slow
(taken from A Box Full of Tales by Kathy MacMillan)
Running, running, running fast
We’re really moving but it won’t last.

Now running, running, running slow
Go as slowly as you can go.

Other verse:
Clapping
Jumping
Turning
Sitting (I added this one as a transition between movement and our next story)

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
The Tortoise and the Hare
I inherited this Flannel from my mom.  It came with a story and pattern, but I don’t know what book it is from yet.  If/When I find it, I’ll update my source.

MOVEMENT: 
Shake Your Shakers
(to the tune of: “London Bridge”)

Shake your shakers, shake shake shake
Shake, shake, shake
Shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers, shake shake shake
Shake your shakers

Other verses:
Shake your shakers fast
slow
up
down

BOOK:

Hi, Harry! The Moving Story of How One Slow Tortoise Slowly Made a Friend by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth

VIDEO:

“Leo the Late Bloomer” from Is Your Mama a Llama…and More Stories About Growing Up based on the book by Robert Kraus, pictures by José Aruego

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Hurry Up and Slow Down by Layn Marlow
Book: Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni (also the video)

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun and storytime.  It’s fun to read books about slow things, because it makes me slow down the pace at which I read.  Of course, that meant we ended up going a little longer than I probably should have time-wise, but for the most part, listeners stayed engaged.

ATTENDANCE: 23 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Saturday, August 24, 2019 @ Children’s Room

*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

Fast & Slow – Toddler Storytime

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I think I did a slow storytime for preschoolers a while ago, and I thought it might be fun to use with toddlers.  I didn’t have enough good slow stories to round things out, so I decided to make it a fast & slow storytime.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands, Clap Your Hands” from Tickles and Tunes by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

“Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth by Eric Carle

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*
10 Turtles Flannelboard cropped with logo
10 Turtles

FLANNELBOARD:
Fast and Slow
Fast or Slow Flannelboard cropped with logo
(Flannelboard pattern & rhyme from 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes. Art by Janet McDonnell)

Have the vehicles behind the board.  Put one vehicle on the board at a time, and ask the audience if it goes fast or slow. When they answers, move the vehicle across the board at the correct speed.  You can also make the noises the vehicle makes as you move it. Take this piece of the board, and then repeat with the next vehicle.  This is nice one because you can lengthen it or shorten it depending on your audience.  Those are all the flannel pieces I have for this pictured on the board – I didn’t actually use them all.

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee

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

VIDEO:

“The Balloon Ride” from Peppa Pig: The Balloon Ride

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
  
Book: Faster! Faster! by Leslie Patricelli
Book: Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Bridget Strevens-Marzo
Book: Late Nate in a Race by Emily Arnold McCully
Flannelboard: The Giant Carrot (it has a snail!)

HOW IT WENT:
Storytime went so much better this week!  Yay!  You know how when you talk to someone but you’re not sure if it made any difference?  That’s how I was left feeling at the end of last week, but SOMETHING must have happened, because everyone sat with their child and participated today.  Yay!  We are even handing out balloons as a promotion for a future event, and even with those, the kids were awesome.  I did start by telling the parents since I knew balloons could be a distraction that I would need their help today.   Maybe I just need to use that approach more.  It’s a helping environment.  Whatever it was that happened, it was a nicer storytime.

When I was picking materials for this storytime I wasn’t sure that “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly” said the Sloth would work with toddlers.  I did skip over a few of the animals asking Sloth about his habits, but on the whole it seemed to work really well.  I think I would use that again.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  31 people      11 am: 38 people

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

Fast & Slow – Infant Storytime

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Today’s storytime focused on things that are fast or slow.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock*

BOOK:

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Fast or Slow Flannelboard cropped with logo
(Flannelboard pattern & rhyme from 2’s Experience Felt Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes. Art by Janet McDonnell)

Have the vehicles behind the board.  Put one vehicle on the board at a time, and ask the audience if it goes fast or slow. When they answers, move the vehicle across the board at the correct speed.  You can also make the noises the vehicle makes as you move it. Take this piece of the board, and then repeat with the next vehicle.

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

BOOK:

Slow Snail by Mary Murphy

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Little Miss Muffet
LittleMissMuffetFlannelboard
(Felt pieces from Little Folk Visuals)

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

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

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

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:
  
Book: Quick Duck by Mary Murphy (board book)
Book: How Fast can You Go? by Kate Riggs, illustrated by Nate Williams (board book.  I also thing this one would make a good flannelboard.)
Book: Faster! Faster! by Leslie Patricelli

HOW IT WENT:
This was a good storytime.  I like “I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock” as a bounce.  We did it three times in a row, and that didn’t seem like overkill.  Slow Snail is a regular sized board book, but I thought the pictures were simple enough to carry across the room and still be seen.  I love Mary Murphy’s books. I picked Little Miss Muffet as today’s nursery rhyme because if I had a spider sit next to me during my breakfast, I would probably move pretty quickly away.

ATTENDANCE: 44 people

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