Dads – Toddler Storytime

Posted on July 14, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

I presented this storytime as the second one in the 2015 Summer Session on June 23, 2015.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Mighty Dads by Joan Holub, pictures by James Dean

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Ties

FLANNELBOARD:
D-A-D-D-Y

Idea taken from What Happens in Storytime.

There’s someone who takes care of me
And Daddy is his name-o.
D-A-D-D-Y
D-A-D-D-Y
D-A-D-D-Y
And Daddy is his name-o

For the next verse, replace the D with a hand to represent a clap.
There’s someone who takes care of me
And Daddy is his name-o.
clap-A-D-D-Y
clap-A-D-D-Y
clap-A-D-D-Y
And Daddy is his name-o.

Repeat until you are clapping for all 5 letters.

There are also other ways you can start this song:
I have the best father in the world… (from What Happens in Storytime)
I have a very special friend…
There is a man who I love… (from Briggs, Toddler Storytimes II)

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

BOOK:

Faster! Faster! by Leslie Patricelli

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

VIDEO:

“Knuffle Bunny” from Knuffle Bunny … and more great childhood adventure stories!

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where’s My Daddy? adapted from a story by Shigeo Watanabe, pictures by Uasuo Ohtomo (This would also make a great flannelboard as seen in Diane Briggs’s Toddler Storytimes II)
Book: My Dad by Anthony Browne
Book: Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea
Book: Daddy Hug by Tim Warnes, illustrated by Jane Chapman
Book: Daddies by Lila Prap
Book: Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too by Anna Dewdney (this might work better for preschool, though)
Movie: “Daddy Loses his Glasses” from Peppa Pig: Flying a Kite and other stories

HOW IT WENT:
I really liked Mighty Dads and it seemed to keep the kids’s attention. I would use it again for a dad storytime, or a construction themed one.

After some talk on the Storytime Underground Facebook Page about using ties as a representation of Fathers, I did think twice about using the flannelboard ties as a counting item for this storytime. I did preface it with the fact that not all Dads wear ties, but maybe ?I should consider using a different symbol next time around. Maybe a heart?

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 40 people 11 am: 34 people

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

Music & Song – Toddler Storytime

Posted on July 13, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

I’m a little behind on posting my storytimes lately, so here’s the one I presented for toddlers at the start of this Infant/Toddler Storytime session on June 16, 2015.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Instruments

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald

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

Old MacDonald had a farm.
E-I-E-I-O.
And on that farm he had a sheep.
E-I-E-I-O.
With a baa-baa here and a baa-baa there.
Here a baa, there a baa, everywhere a baa-baa
Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O.

Repeat with other animals and noises.

MOVEMENT: “Clap Along with Me” from Best of Wee Sing by Wee Sing

BOOK:

Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton (Lap Edition)

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

VIDEO:

“Night Music”, “Aquarium” and “Musical Faces” from Classical Baby: The Music Show Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Fiddle-I-Fee: A Farmyard Song for the Very Young adapted and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Book: Sing! Lyrics and music by Joe Raposo, story in pictures by Tom Lichtenheld
Book: Knick Knack Paddy Whack sung by SteveSongs, illustrated by Christiane Engel
Book: Little White Duck lyrics by Walt Whippo, Music by Bernard Zaritzky, Illustrations by Joan Paley
Book: Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan ThomasDouglas Florian
Book: Chuck’s Band by Peggy Perry Anderson
Book: Jazzmatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson, illustrated by Bruce Degen

HOW IT WENT:

I based a lot of this storytime on a previous one I did about singing. Jazz Baby was one of the most fun books I have read in really long time. The beat is so fun to read to, and you can change the pitch of your voice with the book, and snap or clap along and it’s a treat. A lot of the parents seemed to enjoy that one as well. I decided I wanted to try the Wee Sing “Clap Along with Me” song this time, and while I like it, I just don’t think it gives toddlers enough of the full body movement that they need at that point in the storytime. Maybe I’ll play around with the placement of it in the lineup in the future. I was originally going to do a different book than Moo, Baa, La La La with the toddlers, but since this was the first storytime in the series, it felt like a good choice to help them get used to the storytime flow. Plus it’s just so fun!

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 37 people 11 am: 45 people

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

Snow – Toddler Storytime

Posted on December 16, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

It it precipitating here today, but it’s not cold enough to snow. (Is it ever?)

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Snowflakes

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Little Snowpals

from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz & Dick Wilmes, art by Janet McDonnell

Five little snowpals standing in a row.
Each has a hat and big red bow.
Out came the sun and it shone all day.
Until one little snowpal melted away.

Repeat with 4…3…2..1 snowpals

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Pip & Squeak by Ian Schoenherr

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

VIDEO:

“Snow” from Peppa Pig: Muddy Puddles and Other Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan
Book: Snow Happy! by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata
Book: The First Snowfall by Anne & Harlow Rockwell
Book: A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann
Book: A Winter Day by Douglas Florian

HOW IT WENT:

There were no AV issues today, so that helped get things off to a good start. I have had Pip & Squeak on my lists for a while as a possible toddler book, I am glad that I tried it out today — it worked really well. I would use it again in the future.

I think it would also be fun to get those fake snowballs that I’ve seen around and do some kind of activity with those during storytime. Though it does say that those are for ages 3 and up, so maybe not.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 27 people 11 am: 24 people

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

Toys – Toddler Storytime

Posted on December 9, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

I wanted to celebrate the season, but not with a holiday-specific themed storytime. So I figured toys would be a good choice. It also goes well with the emphasis on play I am adding to the library, thanks to a recent grant from the California State Library

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Matthew’s Truck by Katherine Ayres, illustrated by Hideko Takahashi

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 (Toy) Boats

FLANNELBOARD:
Here Comes the (Toy) Choo-Choo Train

from Judy Sierra’s The Flannel Board Storytelling Book

Here comes the (toy) choo-choo train,
Puffing down the track.
First comes the engine,
The freight cars are in back.
Now the bell is ringing,
Now the whistle blows.
What a lot of noise it makes
Everywhere it goes!

FLANNELBOARD:
Bears

(forgive me, I cannot remember where I got the words for this rhyme.)

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Grizzly bears are big and brown,
Big and brown, big and brown.
Grizzly bears are big and brown,
And live in the woods.

Polar bears are soft and white,
Soft and white, soft and white.
Polar bears are soft and white,
And live in the cold.

Teddy bears are just my size,
Just my size, just my size.
Teddy bears are just my size,
To cuddle with at night.

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

My Old Teddy by Dom Mansell

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

VIDEO:

“Spot’s Favorite Toy” from Storytime with Spot

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Meeow and the Little Chairs (or any Meeow book) by Sebastien Braun
Book: Book! by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith
Book: Everybody Has a Teddy by Virginia Kroll, illustrated by Sophie Allsopp
Book: Red Light, Green Light written by Anastasia Suen, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max
Book: Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
Book: The Rainy Day Puddle by Ei Nakabayashi
Video: “Spot’s Hobbyhorse” from Storytime With Spot
Flannelboard: The Toy Shop (with all traces of Christmas removed)

HOW IT WENT:

While I had some issues with the cd player and sound, our IT person came out and fixed that between storytimes, so it was better for this one. I got to sing along with the cd. However, I think sound from the DVD is now only coming out of one speaker. Must check into that.

This storytime went pretty well. I originally thought I was going to use a different flannelboard with the older kids, but both of them went so well at the infant storytime that I just decided to continue with it for toddler time. I did a dd a few different rhymes in to storytime today — the kids seemed to have a hard time settling down, and I always feel like My Wiggles creates a nice calm before a story.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 33 people 11 am: 39 people

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

Rain – Toddler Storytime

Posted on December 2, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

I know I did a rain storytime less than a year ago, but I feel like it happens so rarely here in Southern California that we need to celebrate the occassion with stor(m)ytimes when we can!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Rainclouds

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Little Raindrops

(Rhyme found from Recipes for Reading)

Five little raindrops
(hold up five fingers)
Dancing on the walk
(move hand from side to side)
Pitter patter, pitter patter, that’s the way they talk.
(pat hands on legs to make a pitter patter noise)
Out comes the yellow sun, shining in the sky
(raise arms up like the sun, if using a flannel sun piece, hold this up)
And away goes one raindrop
(take away a raindrop, I kind of hid it behind the sun felt piece)
Bye, bye, bye!
(wave goodbye)

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Sam Williams

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

VIDEO:

“The Hippo Dance” and “Dancing in the Rain from Classical Baby: The Dance Show

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrated by Pam Paparone
Book: Here Comes the Rain by Mary Murphy
Book: Rain by Manya Stojic
Book: Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson, illustrated by Steve Björkman
Book: Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
Book: The Rainy Day Puddle by Ei Nakabayashi
Video: “Spot’s Umbrella” from Where’s Spot? And Other Stories

HOW IT WENT:

This was a nice storytime. Since I did the same theme a little while ago, I wanted to make sure that I read different books. While I didn’t really do that with the infant storytime, I succeeded with Toddler. I really liked The Thingamabob and would use that again with the group. Bunny Fun was also a good read, and even though I used it second, the kids all still seemed well engaged. I especially liked the new flannelboard rhyme — it was fun to do, and it sounded neat when all the kids patted on their laps to make the rain sound.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 30 people 11 am: 34 people

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

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 25, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

It’s been two years since my last Thanksgiving storytime for this age group, but I used mostly the same books. Why aren’t here more awesome Thanksgiving stories for young ones out there? Do you have any favorites that I’m missing?

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

10 am: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
11 am:The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Turkeys

FLANNELBOARD:

Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something! What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red! That’s right! Let’s put it on the turkey. (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have? (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

10 am: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
11 am: Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child, pictures by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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

VIDEO:

“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max and Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, illustrated by Doris Barrette
Flannelboard: We Eat Turkey (you can find it on this post)
Flannelboard: One Whole Pie
Video: “Ruby’s Horn of Plenty” from Max and Ruby: Everybunny Loves Winter!

HOW IT WENT:
I’m thankful that I get to do storytime as part of my job. I seriously have the best career on the planet. Who else gets to have as much fun at work?

I felt like the books I used in the 10 am storytime were a little too long for the group, so I switched things over at the 11 am storytime to use shorter ones. I also need to find a better video — I think Max and Ruby strains the attention span a bit. But it’s hard to find a good Thanksgiving one for toddlers. Maybe something food related?

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 27 people 11 am: 34 people

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

Fast & Slow – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 11, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

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:
Fast and Slow

(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

Birds – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 4, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

Books about birds are fly!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Baby Bird by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Russell Ayto

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Birds
These birds were actually from an Easter garland I found at Michael’s. I pulled of the ribbon that was hot glued to the back, and — voila! — insta-adorable-flannelboard!

FLANNELBOARD:
Here Comes the Little Bird

(Flannelboard pattern & rhyme from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz & Dick Wilmes. Art by Janet McDonnell)

Rhyme from the Book:
Here comes little bird. (Your fist is the bird.)
He’s landing on my HEAD. (Land where you want.)
Bye, bye little bird. (Fly bird away.)
Bye! Bye! Bye! (Wave to bird.)

Way I do the Rhyme:
Here is a little girl
and here is a curious little bird.
Here comes the little bird.
He’s landing on her HEAD.
Where’s your head? Can you show me?
(Have bird land on various other body parts.)
Here comes the little bird.
He’s landing on her tummy.
And when he’s there he likes to give a tickle, tickle, tickle (give tummy a tickle.)
And then he flies away.
Fly, fly little bird. (remove bird from flannelboard.)
Bye! Bye! Bye!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

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

VIDEO:

“Let’s Look for Birds” from Baby’s First-Word Stories Outside

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

HOW IT WENT:
The 10am storytime was really hard. Harder than last week. I have three children who just enjoy running around.. The parents do not try to curb this behavior, and often are just chatting among themselves. It causes a distraction for those who want to participate in storytime — I even had one parent tell me that she was thinking about dropping storytime because she didn’t like it so much. Also, English is not their native language, so even though I talked to them after storytime today, it made it difficult to know if my point was getting across. I usually try to go with the flow in my storytimes and am fairly lenient when it comes to discipline, and only interject when safety is an issue — after all, I am not the parent. But I may need to get a little more rigorous about rules in that storytime. How do you handle this in your storytimes? Any advice would be welcome.

As usual, the 11am storytime was a lot better though. And there were even more people in that group. It’s nice to finish on an up note, because 10 am was really hard you guys.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 41 people 11 am: 48 people

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

Halloween – Toddler Storytime

Posted on October 28, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

I love doing Halloween storytime with the toddlers, because they are SO CUTE when they come in costume.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin by Mary Serfozo, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Pumpkins (from Artfelt)

FLANNELBOARD:
Little Mouse’s Halloween House

(Pattern & story from Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra)

One day in the fall, a little gray mouse found a big orange house.
She nibbled a hole in the middle to make the door.
She nibbled 2 holes near the top to make windows.
She nibbled a wide hole near the bottom so her children could run in and out.
Then she put a candle inside so the house was never dark.

The mouse’s little house
was a sight to be seen.
It was a jack-o’-lantern —
Happy Halloween!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills

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

VIDEO:

“Goblin Night” from Little Bear Halloween Stories

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: 10 Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage
Book: What Am I? Halloween by Ann Margaret Lewis, pictures by Tom Mills
Book: Mouse’s First Halloween by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan
Book: It’s Halloween Night by Jennifer O’Connell, illustrated by Jennifer Morris

HOW IT WENT:
The 10am storytime was really hard. Infant today was difficult too, and I just think that carried over. As I mentioned in my infant post, I think that wearing a costume has a freeing effect — it gets the kids excited. But it also is adorable, so I don’t want to do away with it.

I feel like sometimes I am running the program with two different minds — one is focused on reading the books, and following the agenda for the storytime. The other is taking stock of what is happening in the room, and wondering if I should be doing something about, or modifying behavior, or things like that. If two kids are running around, do I just ignore it and focus on the ones who are listening? I don’t know. I need to become better at crowd management/control.

The 11am storytime was a lot better though. And there were not as many children in costume. Coincidence?

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 40 people 11 am: 48 people

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

Mice – Toddler Storytime

Posted on October 21, 2014 by jeninthelibrary

I know that cats usually follow mice, but I decided to do things the other way around for this storytime session.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

INTRODUCTION: with Mouse Puppet from Folkmanis

My friend this time was my brown mouse puppet. I had him come out and be shy to the audience (really, this is the only puppet-y thing I know how to do.) Then I pretended I didn’t know what he was and we went over his features together: 2 ears (where are your ears?), a little nose (show me your nose!), etc until they told me he was a mouse!

BOOK:

Mice by Rose Fyleman, illustrated by Lois Ehlert

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

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Mice

FLANNELBOARD:
Little Mouse, Little Mouse
(Pattern & Rhyme from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz & Dick Wilmes)

Little mouse, little mouse
Are you in the (insert color here) house?

I know I use this rhyme a lot, but it is one of my favorites. I like hiding other animals in the different houses so that it is a surprise when things are uncovered. The ones picture above are from some of my ArtFelt sets. I also like to leave one house empty with “nobody home”.

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Thank You Bear by Greg Foley

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

VIDEO:

“Playground” from Play Time Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Mouse’s Birthday by Jane Yolen illustrated by Bruce Degen
Book: Pip & Squeak by Ian Schoenherr
Book: Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley
Book: Lunch by Denise Fleming

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fairly good storytime. I am finding that the puppets seems to be a good way of kicking off the show. I don’t know if I will have puppets for all my different storytime themes, but so far it works alright. Mice was a great book to read. At the 10 am storytime, I didn’t do a very good job of emphasizing who it was that liked mice, so I made sure at the 11 am storytime to point that out. It was fun, and I think the colors carry very well. The groups were having trouble sitting still towards the end of storytime, so I shorted Thank You Bear by skipping a few of the pages. It worked just fine.

I originally meant to show the Dancing episode of Maisy – after the short episode the song was “The Wheels on the Bus” and I thought that might appease the heckler from last week. However, I didn’t cue the DVD correctly, so we watched Playground instead. Since the kid didn’t have a breakdown about “The Wheels on the Bus” I’m thinking we’re good.

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

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

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Tag Archives: toddlers

Dads – Toddler Storytime

Music & Song – Toddler Storytime

Snow – Toddler Storytime

Toys – Toddler Storytime

Rain – Toddler Storytime

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

Fast & Slow – Toddler Storytime

Birds – Toddler Storytime

Halloween – Toddler Storytime

Mice – Toddler Storytime