Monthly Archives: August 2023

Taking Flight: A Storytime for National Aviation Day

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This Saturday (August 19) is National Aviation Day, so we had a fun time celebrating airplanes and other flying machines at today’s Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Bearplane! by Deborah Underwood; illustrated by Sam Wedelich

Super cute, rhyming book about a little bear’s first airplane ride. The author includes a lot of common experiences, including going through the metal detector, putting items in bins in security, finding the bathroom on the plane, and dealing with popping ears during landing by chewing gum. This would be a great book for kids who are preparing for a first plane trip, but is also just a fun read, with adorable illustrations.

Little Plane Leans to Write by Stephen Savage

Cute, short story about a little plane learning to skywrite. He easily masters dives and arc, but loopity-loops make him dizzy, so he keeps leaving out the letter O. I had the kids draw the shapes in the air as I read.

Today I Will Fly by Mo Willems

This one doesn’t actually feature a flying machine (Piggie ends up flying with the help of a friendly pelican), but it’s one of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books. Claire and I read it together (she read Gerald, and I read Piggie). The kids especially loved Piggie chanting, “Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!” while flapping her arms.

Songs:

The Airplane Song by Laurie Berkner

This one was a lot of fun. Here’s the video by Laurie Berkner with the motions:


[C] Get in your airplanes, and [F] off we [G] go.
[C] Going to the park is [F] first, you [G] know.
[C] Now slow it [C7] down and [F] land on the [Fm] ground,
And when you [G] get out,
You’re gonna jump all [C] around.

Get back in your airplanes and off we go.
Going to the California is next, you know.
Now slow it down and land on the ground,
And when you get out,
You’re gonna spin all around.

Get back in your airplanes and off we go.
Going to the New York City is next, you know.
Now slow it down and land on the ground,
And when you get out,
You’re gonna gallop all around.

Get back in your airplanes and off we go.
Going to the playground is next, you know.
Now slow it down and land on the ground,
And when you get out,
You’re gonna dance all around.

Get back in your airplanes, it’s time to go home,
Your family and friends are waiting you know.
Now slow it down and land on the ground,
And come sit down in your own hometown.

I’m a Little Airplane

To the tune of I’m a Little Teapot:

I’m a little airplane on the ground. (crouch down with arms outstretched)

Watch my propeller spin round and round (move your hand in a circle).

Racing down the runway, time to fly (run in place)

Up! Up! Up! Into the sky! (“fly” around with your arms outstretched)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

My coworker, Rachel, recently ordered us a 20 foot parachute for storytime, and it’s a been a big hit so far. I found this idea on Early Impact Learning, and the kids loved it, especially running underneath the parachute at the end. It’s a shorter version of the traditional Zoom, Zoom, Zoom song:

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! We’re going to the moon! (shake the parachute in rhythm)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! We’re be there very soon! (shake the parachute in rhythm)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (shake the parachute for each number)

Blast Off! (raise or throw the parachute as high as you can, then let it fall back down).

Airplane (based on the song Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten)

I love the song Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten, and frequently do the more kid-friendly version by Elizabeth Mitchell for storytime (see the YouTube video below). For today’s theme, I just changed the train into an airplane, and asked the kids to suggest places they’d like to go for each verse. We went to Hawaii, Tokyo, Ireland, and Disneyland, before coming back home.

[C] Airplane, Airplane [G7] going so fast.

[G7] Airplane, airplane, [C] going so fast.

[E7]Please don’t tell what [F] plane I’m on,

So they [C] won’t know [G7] where I’ve [C] gone.

Going to Hawaii, going so fast!

Going to Hawaii, going so fast!

Please don’t tell what train I’m on,

So they won’t know where I’ve gone.

Stay & Play: Paper Airplanes

Before storytime, I folded a bunch of paper airplanes out of white paper. (I wanted an easy design, without a sharp point, so I used The Bumble design from HGTV). For the Stay & Play, I put out the pre-folded planes, markers, and dot markers, along with some blank paper in case anyone wanted to fold their own plane. The kids had a great time decorating their planes, and then testing them out in the park.

What are your favorite picture books about airplanes and other flying machines? Please share them in the comments below.

All in the Family: A Storytime for Family Fun Month

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I recently learned that August is Family Fun Month, which I was excited to try as a storytime theme for Outdoor Musical Storytime. Here’s what we did:

Books:

The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House by Eric Litwin; illustrated by Scott Magoon

I had never read this one aloud before, but it was a big hit! Simple story about Wally and Hazel Nut, who are too busy singing their song (“We’re Nuts! We’re Nuts! We’re Nuts!”) to hear their mother’s repeated refrain, “All little Nuts need to go up to bed!” Most of the kids and grown-ups were singing along by the end.

Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root; illustrated by Jill Barton

This book is so much fun to read aloud, and I was able to borrow a Big Book version from another library, which made it even better for storytime. When Junie, Jakie, and the Baby beg to go to the lake on a hot, hot day, their Poppa worries that their rattletrap car won’t be able to survive the trip. Sure enough, they are met with one disaster after another: a flat tire, a missing floorboard, a detached gas tank, and finally a missing engine! Luckily, with some quick thinking, and their supply of chocolate raspberry fudge delight, they are able to make the journey. The joy of the book is in the sound effects: fizzelly sizzelly, wappity bappity, lumpety bumpety, etc.

Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney

I wanted to include grandparents in my family theme, and this Llama Llama book is so sweet! When Llama Llama goes for his first overnight alone at his grandparents’ house, he enjoys getting to try new things, like building a chair for his Little Llama stuffie. But he can’t stop thinking about Little Llama, who he has accidentally left at home. He is especially upset at bedtime, until Grandpa shares the special toy that HE had when he was a young llama.

Songs:

No More Monkeys

I love this lively, musical version of the traditional Five Little Monkeys rhyme, written and performed by  Caribbean singer-songwriter Asheba. The kids really enjoyed all of the jumping up and down!

[C] Five monkeys were playing on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his [G7] head.
Mama called the doctor, and [F] the doctor said,
[C] “No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the [C] bed!”
[C] “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!
No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the bed!
[C] No more monkeys [F] jumping on the bed!”
[C] That is what the [G7] doctor [C] said.

Four monkeys were jumping on the bed…
(Repeat, counting down to one…)

One monkey was playing on the bed,
She fell off and bumped her head.
Mama called the children, and the children said,
“YES! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”
“Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”
That is what the children said.

The Wheels on the Bus (with parachute)

My coworker, Rachel, recently surprised me with a 20 foot parachute, which I was excited to try with our Outdoor Musical Storytime group. We did The Wheels on the Bus, which was a nice follow-up to Rattletrap Car, and gave us lots of opportunities to move the parachute in different ways. Some kids wanted to hold the handles, while others just wanted to run underneath, but they all had fun:

[C]The wheels on the bus go round and round. (Walk the parachute around in a circle)

[G7]Round and round, [C] Round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

[G7]All over [C] town.

The doors on the bus go open and shut… (Step in towards the middle of the parachute, then out again)

The windows on the bus go up and down… (Raise the parachute up in the air, then lower it)

The people on the bus go bumpety bump… (Shake the parachute).

Baby Shark

I couldn’t resist throwing in the quintessential preschool ear-worm, about a family a sharks. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end:

C] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[F] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[Am] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

[G] Baby shark!

Mommy shark…

Daddy shark…

Grandma Shark…

Grandpa Shark…

Let’s go hunt!…

Run Away…

Safe at last…

That’s the end…

Stay & Play: Craft Stick Families

For the Stay & Play, we put out jumbo craft sticks, pieces of yarn in different colors, glue sticks, googly eyes, and markers, for the kids to make families (their own, or one they invented). Some of them were very determined to make sure every member of their family was represented.

Do you have favorite books about families having fun together? Please share them in the comments below.