Tag Archives: storytime

Ducks – Toddler Storytime

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Ducks seem like a tried and true theme to me, but it looks like I haven’t done a toddler duck storytime since I started blogging!

SONG: 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*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD:
D is for Duck

Today we reviewed the sound the letter D makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a dinosaur, a dog, a dragon, and our storytime theme, a duck.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Duck”

BOOK:

Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Ducks

Today we counted 8 ducks!

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the ducks as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

FLANNELBOARD:
Four Little Ducks

While usually there are five little ducks, sometimes that seems a little long for toddlers.  So today we had four little ducks!

Four little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only three little ducks came back.

Three little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only two little ducks came back.

Two little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only one little ducks came back.One little duck
Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried,
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But no little ducks came back.No little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried, “Quack! Quack! Quack!”
And all her little ducks came waddling back!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Lucky Ducklings” from I Want My Hat Back…and More Happy Stories based on the book by Eva Moore, pictures by Nancy Carpenter

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
     

Book: A Cuddle for Little Duck by Claire Freedman and Caroline Pedler
Book: Little Ducks Go by Emily Arnold McCully
Book: Dimity Duck by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Sebastien Braun
Book: Goodnight, My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri
Book: Duck & Goose: Let’s Dance! by Tad Hills
Book: Firefighter Duckies! by Frank W. Dormer
Book: Quack and Count by Keith Baker

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I like ducks as a theme, and I enjoyed the books I read with this group.  The movie I chose, however, wasn’t as good.  I had never used it before with toddlers, but when I watched it, the slowness of the iconography seemed like it would be a good fit.  Unfortunately, it was not.  I would choose a different video next time, and save this one for a preschool audience.

Also — Why are almost all the duck books for young children about ducklings wandering away from their mothers???  Is this a common problem in the duck world?

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 24, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  37 people      11 am: 39 people

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

Ducks – Infant Storytime

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Things were just ducky at our infant toddler storytime this week!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “duck”

BOOK:

Goodnight, My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Little Duck

Rhyme from: Scott, Barbara A.  1000 Fingerplays & Action Rhymes: A Sourcebook and DVD. New York: Neal-Schuman. 2010.  Image template from Google Search

(to the tune of: London Bridge)
Little duck goes, “Quack, quack, quack, (clap hands when you “quack”)
Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack.
Little duck goes, “Quack, quack, quack.”
Swimming all day long.

Other Verses:
With her feet she paddle, paddle, paddles, (paddle feet back and forth)
With her tail she swish, swish, swishes (shake bottom)
With her wings she flap, flap, flaps ….as she flies away (“flap wings” take duck off flannelboard when she flies away.)

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly, Goes the Garden Snail*

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: “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:

Book: Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry
Book: Duckie’s Ducklings by Frances Barry
Book: Quick Duck! by Mary Murphy (Board Book)

HOW IT WENT:
It was a good storytime.  I liked the flannelboard because it’s very simple, but you can point to the body parts on the duck, and then have parents interact with their child as they paddle, flap, etc.

I wish I had some other good infant duck books though.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 24, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 24 people (adults and children)

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

Sheep – Preschool Storytime

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When it’s my rotation for infant toddler storytime, I’ll often just use the same theme for preschool storytime that week.  It saves time, and helps me by just looking for one theme even if it’s across a slightly longer age range.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Boo and Baa Have Company by Lena and Olof Landström

MOVEMENT:
Little Lamb, Little Lamb
Little lamb, little lamb, turn around (turn around)
Little lamb, little lamb,touch the ground (touch ground with hands)
Little lamb, little lamb, jump up high (jump)
Little lamb, little lamb, reach the sky (stretch with arms overhead)
Little lamb, little lamb, sit right down (sit down)
Little lamb, little lamb, get ready to listen now (say this line quietly)

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Mary’s Many Color Lambs

I found this rhyme via Lisa at Libraryland, who found it from LibrErin, who found it on Recipes for Reading. Recipes for Reading linked to a template that I used to make my pieces at Making Learning Fun.

Start by placing the white lamb on the board.  Ask if anyone knows the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  Then sing:

Mary had a little lamb
little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
its fleece was white as snow.

Then say something like, “But Mary had more than one lamb.” and pull out the next lamb you have.  The unexpected, un-lamb-like colors usually get a giggle.  Ask the kids what color the lamb is, and if they can name something else that is that color.  Then sing your song again:

Mary had a blue lamb
blue lamb, blue lamb
Mary had a blue lamb
its fleece was blue as sky…

Continue using as many lambs as you’d like.

MOVEMENT:
Dancing Sheep
(taken from Susan M. Dailey’s Fingerplays website.  She has a song you can listen to for this one, but I just sort of chanted it and made up my own version.)

Shhh!  It’s time to go to sleep
  (put finger to mouth, pretend to sleep)
But into my bedroom one sheep creeps.
  (creep fingers)

“Don’t go to bed,” the one sheep said.
“I would rather dance instead!”

Soon he was…  (draw these words out)
Dancing on the ceiling!
(move hands above head in “dancing” motion)
He was dancing on the floor!
  (move hands on floor as mentioned above)
He was dancing on the window!
  (move hands to one side)
He was dancing on the door!
  (move hands to other side)

He kept on…

Dancing on the ceiling!
  (sing faster)
He was dancing on the floor!
He was dancing on the window!
He was dancing on the door!
(repeat several times getting faster each time through)

“Stop that dancing, silly sheep.
It is time to go to sleep!”

Soon the sheep lay on the floor.
Soon the sheep began to snore.

So I started …  (draw these words out)
Dancing on the ceiling!
I was dancing on the floor!
I was dancing on the window!
I was dancing on the door!

BOOK:

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple

VIDEO:

“Charlie Needs a Cloak” from Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type…and More Fun on the Farm.  Based on the book by Tomie dePaola

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

 

Book: Pablo in the Snow by Teri Sloat, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
Book: Feeding the Sheep by Leda Schubert, pictures by Andrea U’Ren
Book: The Sheep Who Hatched an Egg by Gemma Merino
Book: Wally Does Not Want a Haircut by Amanda Driscoll

HOW IT WENT:
This was my first time reading Boo and Baa Have Company and I feel like I could have done a better job with that one.  For me, that may be a better one-on-one book instead of a read-aloud.  But there was a kid who said, “That’s a silly book” after I read it, so maybe it wasn’t too bad.

The most Los Angeles moment of this storytime:  As I was doing Mary’s Many Color Lambs I was asking the kids to name something else that was the same color as the sheep, so we could sing about it in the song.  When I brought out the green lamb, and I asked what else was green, I got a couple of kids saying grass, and then one little girl shouts, “Avocado!”  I asked who in the group liked avocado, and almost all the kids raised their hands.  So, of course, Mary’s green lamb was green like avocado.

ATTENDANCE: 30 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Saturday, October 21, 2017

*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

Sheep – Toddler Storytime

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For our second storytime of the Fall session, I realized it had been quite some time since my last sheep storytime.  (So long that I don’t have any blog posts about it!) With some new sheep tricks up my sleeve, I was excited to present this one.

SONG: 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*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD: S is for Sheep

This is an element that I stole from my co-worker AnnMarie, as a way to address letter knowledge.  To introduce the theme of my toddler storytime, I start by talking about what letter it starts with.  I put the letter up, and then we say the name of the letter, draw it in the air with our finger, and then do the sound it makes.  Then we talk about some items that start with that letter.  For this storytime, I picked a snowflake, a sun, a smile (inside the sun), a stegosaurus, and a star.  As my very last element I put up I use what our storytime will be about — this time, a sheep!

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Sheep”

BOOK:

Wee Little Lamb by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by John Butler

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Sheep

I wanted to change-up my counting song, and I did a little bit last time I did storytime in the spring.  So this session, here’s what I’m doing:

I tell the kids:  I have some sheep here.  Shall we see how many I have?

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the sheep as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

And we count sheep again as I take them off the board.

FLANNELBOARD:
Mary’s Many Color Lambs

I found this rhyme via Lisa at Libraryland, who found it from LibrErin, who found it on Recipes for Reading. Recipes for Reading linked to a template that I used to make my pieces at Making Learning Fun.

Start by placing the white lamb on the board.  Ask if anyone knows the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  Then sing:

Mary had a little lamb
little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
its fleece was white as snow.

Then say something like, “But Mary had more than one lamb.” and pull out the next lamb you have.  The unexpected, un-lamb-like colors usually get a giggle.  Ask the kids what color the lamb is, and if they can name something else that is that color.  Then sing your song again:

Mary had a blue lamb
blue lamb, blue lamb
Mary had a blue lamb
its fleece was blue as sky…

Continue using as many lambs as you’d like.  I used four different sheep with the toddlers.

 

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple

I have the large lap-sized board book edition of this title and I love it.  The illustrations are even larger than they are in the hardback version, making it easier to share with a group.

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Sheep” from Maisy’s Friends on Play Time Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
Book: Counting Ovejas by Sarah Weeks, art by David Diaz
Book: When Sheep Sleep by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by David McPhail
Book: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Jane Cabrera
Book: Sheep Asleep by Gloria Rothstein, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
Book: No More Blanket for Lambkin! by Bernette Ford, illustrated by Sam Williams

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
one little librarian – toddler time: feeling sheep-ish today!
Miss Mary Liberry – Flannel Friday: Counting Sheep
The Wielded Pen – Baa – Sheep! – A Storytime Outline

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

This was a fun storytime!  I think the letter flannelboard is a great way to incorporate those early literacy skills and ease us in to storytime, allowing for the late arrivals to get here too.

After I read Sheep in a Jeep I asked the crowd if sheep should drive.  A parent in the audience responded, “No, they’re BAAAAA-d drivers.”  I love a good sheep pun.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  37 people      11 am: 37 people

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

Sheep – Infant Storytime

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For my second infant storytime of the fall session I decided to focus on sheep.  I can’t believe I have not had sheep themed storytime since I began this blog!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “sheep”

BOOK:

Sheep Asleep by Gloria Rothstein, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

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

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.

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Baa Baa Black Sheep

Patterns found in Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra.

Baa baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir
Three bags full.
One for the master.
One for the dame.
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Place the bags next to each person in the rhyme as you name 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: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

 
Book: Counting Ovejas words by Sarah Weeks, art by David Diaz
Book: Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! by Mo Willems
Book: One Little Lamb by Elaine Greenstein
Book: Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Book: Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple
Book: Baby Can’t Sleep by Lisa Schroeder ; illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

HOW IT WENT:
This is so bad, but since this storytime was a whole week ago, I don’t remember!  I blame that I was still getting over being sick.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 43 people (adults and children)

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

Apples – Toddler Storytime

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As this was the beginning of the Fall storytime session, and due to vacation/illness I didn’t have a lot of planning time, so I pulled out an old storytime standard: apples!

SONG: 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*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD: A is for Apple

BOOK:

Tap the Magic tree by Christie Matheson

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

FLANNELBOARD:
The Apple Tree

(I know there are 4 apples in the image, but I just used three with the group when I did it, hence the rhyme starting with 3…)

Way up high in the apple tree (raise arms up into the air)
3 little apples smiled at me (hold up number of fingers, and smile)
I shook that tree just as hard as I could (use both hands to pretend to shake the trunk of a tree)
And down came an apple! (take an apple off the flannelboard)
CRUNCH! (pretend to eat the apple)
Mmmmm… was it good! (rub belly)

How many apples are left?  2!

Way up high in the apple tree
2 little apples smiled at me….

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larrañaga

VIDEO:

“Max’s Apple” from Springtime for Max & Ruby

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
 

Book: Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Book: Brownie & Pearl Grab a Bite by Cynthia Rylant, pictures by Brian Biggs
Book: Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett
Book: Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
Book: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Book: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins (I want to make this one into a flannelboard as well)
Flannelboard: I Gave My Horse an Apple
DVD: “Chicka Chicka 1 2 3” from Chicka Chicka 123 …and more counting fun!

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
storytime katie – Toddlers: Apples
Library Village – Toddler Storytime – A is for Apple
Pasadena Public Library Kids Blog – Toddler Storytime: Apples
Jen in the Library – Apples – Toddler Storytime (from 2012)

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
There are a lot of good books for toddler apple storytime, but a lot of these had been used recently in storytime, and I didn’t want to repeat them.  So, I thought I would take a try at something new with Tap the Magic Tree.  It was rather long, but I think the interactivity of it made it okay for toddlers.  Rather than bringing the book around and having the kids tap on the page individually, I have them all do it from their seats so everyone can participate at once.  I think this would work better with toddlers if I had used it a little later in the storytime session, when they were used to sitting for longer periods of time.  It wasn’t a bad choice, and I would totally use it again.

One of my colleagues for her toddler storytimes does a letter flannel to get started, and I decided to steal that idea and start using it for some of my storytimes.  I hope she doesn’t mind (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?), and I’m excited about adding this knew letter knowledge element to storytime.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  45 people      11 am: 44 people

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

Apples – Infant Storytime

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It’s hard to believe it, but it’s my rotation again for infant toddler storytime!  This storytime marks the beginning of my Fall Storytime session.  I was on vacation and then sick until the day before this storytime, so I used a Fall standby theme.  My storytime wasn’t quite as polished as I would have wished, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes, right?

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

BOOK:

Apple by Nikki McClure

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

FLANNELBOARD:
The Apple Tree

(I know there are 4 apples in the image, but I just used three with the group when I did it, hence the rhyme starting with 3…)

Way up high in the apple tree (lift baby up into air)
3 little apples smiled at me (smile at baby)
I shook that tree just as hard as I could (lower baby to lap and gently bounce)
And down came an apple! (“drop” baby between knees)
Mmmmm… was it good! (rub baby’s belly)

How many apples are left?  2!

Way up high in the apple tree (lift baby up into air)
2 little apples smiled at me….

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larrañaga

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

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:

Book: Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Pasadena Public Library – Infant Storytime: Apples
Library Village – Baby Story Time – Welcome Fall!
Jen in the Library – Apples – Infant Storytime (from 2012)

HOW IT WENT:
As I mentioned, since I was sick right before this storytime, it wasn’t as well-thought out as I would like it to be.  I forgot to look up the ASL sign for apple before storytime, so I left that part out, and I also forgot my Nursery Rhyme flannel at my desk, so I didn’t do that element either.  I figured since this was the first storytime of the session, and I usually spend some time introducing myself and going over storytime guidelines, that took up enough time and I didn’t really need the other elements.

I chose McClure’s Apple because I really liked the black and white images and thought they might carry well for a storytime group.  After reading it to the group though, I’m thinking it may have been a little long.

Here’s hoping next week’s storytime will be better.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 52 people (adults and children)

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

Chickens – Preschool Storytime

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Here’s a post I wrote, but forgot to actually post!  This is from a storytime I did in September.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know my system has storyboxes: kits with everything in them (books, songs, dvds, craft ideas, etc.) that you’d need to do a storytime.  I was feeling uninspired when thinking about putting together a storytime, and decided to use a storybox.  The storybox we had was CHICKENS!  And, after searching this blog it seems I’ve never done a Preschool Storytime before!  Storyboxes to the rescue!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clark, illustrations by Garry Parsons

MOVEMENT:
If You’re a Chicken and You Know It
(to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If you’re a chicken and you know it flap your wings: flap flap!
(hands near armpits, elbows out, flap “wings” twice)
If you’re a chicken and you know it flap your wings: flap flap!
(hands near armpits, elbows out, flap “wings” twice)
If you’re a chicken and you know it, and you really want to show it
(hands near armpits, elbows out, flap “wings” twice)
If you’re a chicken and you know it, flap your wings: flap flap!

Other Verses:
Fly up high: fly fly (jump up in air)
Scratch with your feet: scritch scratch (drag one foot along ground, then other)
Go peck peck: peck peck (Make a beak with hand, tap it on the other hand)
Say bok bok: Bok! Bok! (say bok bok)
Settle into your nest: settle settle (sit down and wiggle bottom)

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
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)

BOOK:

Chicken Story Time by Sandy Asher, illustrated by Mark Fearing

VIDEO:

“The Red Hen” from 20 Stories for Spring  Based on the book by Rebecca emberley and Ed Emberley

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:


 

Book: Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman
Book: Peepsqueak! by Leslie Ann Clark
Book: Scary Mary by Paula Bowles
Book: Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
Book: Little Chicken’s Big Day by Katie Davis and Jerry Davis
Book: The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza
DVD: “Rosie’s Walk” from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom …and lots more learning fun!
DVD: “The Most Wonderful Egg in the World” from Giggle, Giggle, Quack … and more funny favotires
Flannelboard: Little Red Hen

HOW IT WENT:
I was really glad we had the storyboxes on hand to help me get in the mood for storytime.  While I used some of my own ideas for the storytime, it was nice to have something to jump-start my ideas.  A week prior to this my coworker actually did a wolf and fox storytime — it turns out there is a lot of overlap between wolf and fox stories and chicken stories.  So, while some of those may have been go-tos for me, I didn’t use them because I didn’t want to repeat what he had done.

It was a pretty small group today — I think because it is finally not sweltering outside anymore.

ATTENDANCE: 17 (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

Owls – Preschool Storytime

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It’s been a while since I’ve done an owl storytime, and it looks like I’ve never done one for preschoolers that I’ve posted about on here.  Seems about time!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Hoot Owl Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien

MOVEMENT:
Just Like an Owl
(to the tune of “London Bridge”)

Flap your wings and fly around,
fly around, fly around.
Flap your wings and fly around.
Just like an owl.

Other Verses:
Open your eyes big and wide…
Land on the ground and hop along
Turn your head and say “hoo hoo!”

rhyme taken from: Literary Hoots

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Good-Night Owl!
 
based on the book by Pat Hutchins, flannelboard patterns taken from Read Rabbit Read and Studio Window

Since the tree had to be fairly large to fit all those birds, I made the trunk separately, and then just made three large poofs of flannel to be the “fall leaves” in the tree:

Here are all the other pieces on their own:

MOVEMENT:
The Owl Pokey
(to the tune of “The Hokey Pokey”)

You put your right wing in, you put your right wing out
You put your right wing in, and you shake it all about
You do the owl pokey and you fly yourself around
That’s what it’s all about!
Hoot! Hoot!

Taken from storytime katie, who got the idea from Ms. Hegna’s Storytime

BOOK:

Little Owl’s Orange Scarf by Tatyana Feeney

VIDEO:

“The Happy Owls” from I Want My Hat Back…and more happy stories  Based on the book by Celestino Piatti

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
     
Book: I’m Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen
Book/DVD: Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
Book: Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
Book: Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin and Rob Dunlavey (especially for toddlers)
Book: Good Night Owl by Greg Pizzoli
Book: A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
Book: Little Owl’s Day by Divya Srinivasan
Book: Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan
DVD: “Party at Owl’s House” or “Owl’s Dilemma” from Little Bear: Search for Spring

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS
Adventures in Storytime (And Beyond) – Owl Preschool Storytime
Laugh Out Loud Storytime – Owl Storytime – Who Hoots!
North Mankato Taylor Library Storytime – Owl Miss You!
Johnson County Library – “Who, Who, Who Like Owls?” Storytime
Sunflower Storytime – What a HOOT (Owls)

Jen in the Library – Owls – Toddler Storytime
Jen in the Library – Owls – Infant Storytime

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime, where I tried a lot of new things.  I’m so glad I finally made a Good-Night Owl flannelboard, because it turned out pretty fun, and the kids had a lot of fun repeating “Owl tried to sleep”. to it with me.  I really love Hoot Owl, and it seemed to work well with this group (the bird bath page especially got a lot of giggles), but I’m wondering if it would be even better with a group of Kindergartners.  I was also a little unsure about how the DVD of “The Happy Owls” would go over, since it was rather slow.  But the younger children there enjoyed seeing and naming the different animals that show up in the video.  I’m not sure that will be a go-to one for storytimes, but it worked well enough this time.

ATTENDANCE: 30 (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

Giraffes – Preschool Storytime

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When I was putting together my Spots and Dots storytime a while ago, I realized that a lot of the books I found were about giraffes!  I pulled them out and decided to give giraffes a whole storytime of their own.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

BOOK:

Giraffes Ruin Everything by Heidi Schulz, illustrated by Chris Robertson

MOVEMENT:
I’m a Giraffe
I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
A big tall giraffe, I almost reach the sky (stand up on tip toes)
I eat the leaves from the tallest of trees (pretend to eat like giraffe, rub tummy)
And when I run I move with ease (run in place)
I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
Way… up… high! (stand on tip toes)

rhyme taken from: Mansfield/Richland County Public Library

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Count and Color Giraffes

idea taken from Making Learning Fun

Bring out one giraffe and ask the audience: “What color spots does this giraffe have?”
After the children answer sing this song:

(To the tune of “Mary Wore Her Red Dress”)
This giraffe has red spots,
red spots, red spots.
This giraffe has red spots.
Count them with me now.

Count the spots on the giraffe, then bring out another giraffe and repeat.

When you finish, bring out a blank giraffe and sing:
This giraffe has no spots,
no spots, no spots.
This giraffe has no spots.
No more spots to count.

But then I say, I do know one more thing we can count!  And we count the giraffes as I take them off the board.

It’s hard to see from my photo, but the spots my giraffes have are:
red
blue
green
orange
purple

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

BOOK:

Abigail by Catherine Rayner

VIDEO:
 
“Giraffes Can’t Dance” from Shrinking Violet… and more stories for young performers.  Based on the book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
   
Book: How Do You Say? ¿Cómo se dice? by Angela Dominguez
Book: One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail
Book: Oh Dear, Geoffrey! by Gemma O’Neill
Book: The Short Giraffe by Neil Flory, illustrated by Mark Cleary
Book: The Starry Giraffe by Andy Bergamann
DVD: A segment from Disney’s Animal World: Giraffes and Zebras
Flannelboard: I Saw a Giraffe Drive Flannelboard

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS
Fun with Friends at Storytime – Giraffe Wants a Snack! 
The Lion is a Bookworm – Storytime: Giraffes
storytime katie – Jungle!
Madison Public Library – PSST Zebras and Giraffes
Just Call Me Jamin – Giraffe Felt Board Story

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime!  Sometimes we get a pretty young group for our preschool storytimes, so I wasn’t sure if Giraffes Ruin Everything would be too old, but the kids and the adults seemed to laugh and enjoy themselves along with it. And all the dancing animals in Giraffes Can’t Dance brought giggles from the audience.

ATTENDANCE: 34 (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