Here’s another post that I was delayed on posting.  But the theme is evergreen.

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The first full week in October is Public Power Week!  I was contacted by a colleague in the department of Water and Power who wanted to come be a guest reader at this week’s storytime to celebrate!

We focused on an Earth theme and talked about what we can do to help take care of our Earth.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT:

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

MOVEMENT:
My Thumbs are Starting to Wiggle
(to the tune of: “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”)
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
and now so are my hands.

Other verses:
Hands → arms
Arms → toes
Toes → feet
Body is starting to wiggle…. around and around and around.

This time, I ended things with
My ears are starting to listen….
because now it’s time for a story!

Take from: jbrary: https://youtu.be/AAmsnpMQlpw

BOOK:

The Earth Book by Todd Parr

MOVEMENT:
See the Little, Pick it Up
(to the tune of: “London Bridge”)
See the litter? Pick it up!
Pick it up! Pick it up!
See the litter? Pick it up!
Keep the Earth clean.

Make sure to recycle, recycle
recycle, recycle.
Make sure to recycle, recycle
Keep the Earth clean.

Since The Earth Book talks about some other ways of keeping the Earth clean, we added those to the song too:

taken from Canton Public Library: https://www.cantonpl.org/content/share-story-earth-day-storytime 

MOVEMENT:

“Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Bottles of Juice

5 bottles of juice on the wall
5 bottles of juice
Put one in
the recycling bin
4 bottles of juice on the wall….

Continue counting down until all bottles are recycled!

Taken from: yogilibrarian – https://yogibrarian.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/earth-day-preschool-storytime/

MOVEMENT:

If You Love the Earth
(to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If you love the Earth, clap your hands.
If you love the Earth, clap your hands.
If you love the Earth, love it for all its worth,
If you love the Earth, clap you hands.

Other Verses:
…plant new trees
…then recycle
…turn off the light
…stop the drip

Taken from Preschool Education – https://preschooleducation.com/searth.shtml 

 MOVEMENT:
“Two Little Blackbirds”

BOOK:

Earth Hour: A Lights Out Event for Our Planet by Nanette Heffernan, illustrated by Bao Luu

MOVEMENT:
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
Book: Love Your World by Dawn Sirett
Book: My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Francesca Sanna

HOW IT WENT:
It was a fun storytime!  Sometimes, having a small group is great because you can interact with them and adapt the storytime to them.  We had a little one who was very excited about Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes, so we decided to do that one today.

ATTENDANCE: 4 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Thursday, October 7, 2021 @ Lamanda

*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

I thought I had posted this storytime, but I just saw it in my Drafts folder!  So, while Fat Bear Week has already passed, I hope you enjoy this Bear themed storytime post anyway.

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It’s almost FAT BEAR WEEK!! This is my favorite bracket competition of the year.

It’s a celebration of the bears in Katmai National Park getting chunky for the winter in preparation for hibernation.  The public can vote on which bear they want to crown the Fat Bear Champion.

I’m probably way too into Fat Bear Week.  But it did inspire this week’s Preschool Storytime

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT:

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

MOVEMENT:
My Thumbs are Starting to Wiggle
(to the tune of: “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”)
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
My thumbs are starting to wiggle,
and now so are my hands.

Other verses:
Hands → arms
Arms → toes
Toes → feet
Body is starting to wiggle…. around and around and around.

Take from: jbrary: https://youtu.be/AAmsnpMQlpw

FLANNELBOARD:

Bears

(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.

BOOK:

Horrible Bear! by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora

MOVEMENT:

Little Brown Bear
A little brown bear (pat lap)
Went in search of honey (put hand like visor above eyes)
Isn’t a funny?  A bear looking for honey? (shrug)
He sniffed at the breeze (sniff)
And he listened for bees (cup hand behind ear)
And, would you believe it, (waggle finger)
He even climbed trees! (pretend to climb tree)

MOVEMENT:

“Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

FLANNELBOARD:
5 in the Bed

There were five in the bed,
and the little one said,
“It’s crowded!
Roll Over!”
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.

How many were in the bed now?
That’s right!   4!
There were four in the bed…

**Continue counting down until…

There was one in the bed
and the little one said

“I’m Lonely!”
So all the others climbed back into bed.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
And everyone drifted off to sleep.
Goodnight!

I got this flannelboard set from Artfelt.

MOVEMENT:

Two Little Black Bears
(like Two Little Blackbirds.  But different)
Two little black bears sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Run away Jack, run away Jill
Come back Jack, run away Jill
Two little black bears sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill.

Other Verses:
…digging in the snow.
One named Fast and the other named Slow.

..feeling very proud.
One named Quiet the other named Loud.

MOVEMENT:

“Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

BOOK:

Glad, Glad Bear by Kimberly Gee

MOVEMENT:
Bears are Sleeping
(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Bears are sleeping, bears are sleeping
In their lairs, in their lairs
Soon it will be springtime, soon it will be springtime
Wake up, Bears!  Wake up, Bears!

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
Book: Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff (or others in this series)
Book: Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Book: Don’t Worry Bear by Greg Foley

ATTENDANCE: 3 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Thursday, September 23, 2021 @ Lamanda

*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

I’ve done a few storytimes in the past few weeks, but I am catching up on posting them!

For my first in-person Preschool Storytime back at the Library, I decided to go with a chicken theme, mostly because I was excited to read Atinuke’s Catch that Chicken!  Because it’s been so long since I’ve done a storytime, I relied heavily on this blog and some past chicken storytimes I’ve done.  I feel so out of practice!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

INTRO:
When Cows get up in the Morning
When cows get up in the morning, they always say hello
When cows get up in the morning, they always say hello
And what do they say?  MOOOOO!
And that is what they say!

Other verses:
Pig
Horse
Rooster
Hen
Chicken

taken from jbrary – https://youtu.be/AYp0RlHdjNU

I wanted to start things off fun and interactive, so I thought this song would be a good starting point to put the storytime in context of a farm

BOOK:
Catch that Chicken! by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

MOVEMENT/FLANNELBOARD:

5 Eggs and 5 Eggs
 
Template and Rhyme taken from Storytime Katie who got it from Mel’s Desk

Five eggs and five eggs
(Add a clutch of eggs each time you say “five eggs”)
And that makes ten
Sitting on top
(Add the hen)
Is Mother Hen
Cackle cackle cackle
(Clap hands as you say Cackle!)
What do I see?
Ten fluffy chickens
(Flip over each clutch of eggs.)
Yellow as can be.

This one is fun because you can do it as both a flannelboard, and a fingerplay – it works on both levels!!!  We repeated this one a couple of times so that families could get the hang of it.

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Little Chickens
 

Said the first little chicken, with a queer little squirm,
“I wish I could find a fat little worm.”

Said the second little chicken, with an odd little shrug,
“I wish I could find a fat little bug.”

Said the third little chicken, with a sharp little squeal,
“I wish I could find some nice yellow meal.”

Said the fourth little chicken, with a sigh of grief,
“I wish I could find a little green leaf.”

Said the fifth little chicken, with a faint little moan,
“I wish I could find a wee gravel stone.”

“Now see here,” said the mother, from the green garden patch,
“If you want any breakfast, just come here and SCRATCH!”

Start with mother hen on one side of the flannelboard, near the garden. (I noted back when I did this flannelboard in 2015 that I needed to remake my pieces to make the garden patch green instead of brown.  Obviously I still haven’t done that…) Make slits in the garden where you can put the things the chicks are looking for.  Add each chick when you get to it.  Then after you’ve read the poem, see if the children can remember which chick wanted which treat, and match them up accordingly.

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)

 MOVEMENT:

“Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

BOOK:

Little Chicken’s Big Day by Katie Davis and Jerry Davis

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Chicken Story Time! by Sandy Asher, illustrated by Mark Fearing
Book: The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

OTHER BLOG POSTS I HAVE ON THIS SAME TOPIC:

• Chickens – Preschool Storytime – October 2017
• Chickens – Infant Storytime – August 2015
• Chickens – Toddler Storytime – August 2015 

MORE AWESOME RESOURCES:

• Handley Regional Library System – Chickens Cluck Storytime-at-Home
• Pasadena Public Library – Weird Chickens Preschool Storytime
• storytime katie – Chickens!

HOW IT WENT:
This was the first preschool storytime I’ve done in person in more than a year and a half!  I think I failed to account for the fact that preschoolers now haven’t been able to practice sitting still for a while, since the pandemic.  So, maybe I should be aware of this, and start with some shorter stories and then build up to longer ones a few months for now. For the most part, they were able to sit and listen.

There was a little gasp from the audience when I turned over the eggs and they see the chicks there.  That was fun and satisfying, and a really nice feeling.

ATTENDANCE: 12 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Thursday, September 16 @ Lamanda

*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

It’s be a while since I did a preschool snow storytime, so I thought I would circle back to that again.  It’s the perfect time of year for that (well, as perfect as it can be in Southern California, where it rarely snows), and since it’s an old standby theme it was easy to prep before being away from the library for a few days for the holidays.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT:

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

INTRO:

I used this weather spinner that I found in the Target bargin area to start our storytime off with a conversation about the weather.  First we talked about what the weather was outside today — SUNNY!  Then I mentioned that we were going to have stories about a different kind of weather – snow.  I asked if anyone had seen or been to the snow, since that isn’t always a given with kids in this area.

BOOK:

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

MOVEMENT:

Watch the Snowflakes
(to the tune of “Frere Jacques”)
Watch the snowflakes, watch the snowflakes (flutter hands, starting above head)
Floating down, floating down (bring hands down a little with each line)
Oh so very slowly, oh so very slowly
All the way down
Down to the ground. (touch the ground)

Other verses (use different motions in place of slowly):
Oh so very quickly (wiggle fingers faster)
From oh so very high (stand up on tiptoes)
Oh so very twirly (twirl hands round and around each other)

Nonfiction Moment:

Curious About Snow by Gina Shaw
I used this book to show what snowflakes looked like up close.  I didn’t read anything from this, but just showed some of the photographs

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Little Snowflakes
(taken from Storytime Katie)

1 little snowflake with nothing to do,
Along came another and then there were… 2!
2 little snowflakes laughing with me,
Along came another and then there were… 3!
3 little snowflakes looking for some more,
Along came another and then there were… 4!
4 little snowflakes dancing a jive,
Along came another and then there were… 5!
5 little snowflakes, having so much fun!
Out came then sun (put the sun on the flannelboard
And then there were… NONE!
(at this point I tried to wipe all the snowflakes down my flannelboard, to mimic melting, but it didn’t go very well…)

MOVEMENT:

“Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

BOOK:

First Snow by Peter McCarty

VIDEO:

“The Snowy Day” from The Ezra Jack Keats Collection based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner; pictures by Mark Buehner
Book: Bears in the Snow by Shirley Parenteau; illustrated by David Walker
Book: If it’s Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! by Kim Norman; illustrated by Liza Woodruff
Book: Bear & Hare: Snow! by Emily Gravett
Book: Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara
Book: Waiting for Snow by words by Marsha Diane Arnold; drawings by Renata Liwska
Book: Outside by  Deirdre Gill

OTHER AWESOME RESOURCES:

• ALSC Blog – Bundle Up for Storytime
• Jbrary – Winter Storytime
• Johnson County Library – “Snowy” Preschool Storytime
• storytime katie – Snow!

HOW IT WENT:
Today’s storytime was ok.  I think the books I chose for today were a little bit long for the audience, as we had some young preschoolers in the audience.  But for the most part, they were able to sit and listen — I think I was probably more aware of it then they were.

ATTENDANCE: 13 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Saturday, December 28, 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