Monthly Archives: November 2023

L is for Lion: A Storytime About the Letter L

Posted in Storytime themes by

Today at Outdoor Musical Storytime, we shared stories and songs about the letter L. As usual, I started by asking the kids to call out any words they could think of that started with L, and I wrote them on my whiteboard. They came up with lion, leg, lizard, and love. Then we drew upper and lower case letter L’s in the air together.

I did a variation of this storytime for my Family Storytime the following week, so here’s a combination of what we did for both:

Books:

The Little Kitten by Nicola Killen

Adorable book about a girl named Ollie and her cat Pumpkin who discover a little lost kitten. Ollie and the kitten have a great time playing together, until Ollie sees a bunch of posters showing that someone is looking for the kitten. After she helps him find his home, she realizes that she has accidentally left her own cat Pumpkin behind in the woods. Luckily, they find each other, and are soon snuggled up at home together. One of the parents mentioned that they enjoyed this book especially (it helps that it features shiny leaves and cut-outs on some of the pages).

Llama Llama, Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

I had to include this classic rhyming story about Llama Llama, who worries that his mother is gone, when all the time she is talking on the phone in the kitchen. This book does such a great job of capturing the big feelings that young kids can have, especially when they are alone in the dark, but it’s also a sweet story about the bond between parents and kids.

Lion Lessons by Jon Agee

Hilarious story about a little boy’s attempts to earn his Lion Diploma, which requires him to learn how to roar, look fierce, sprint, pounce, and look after his friends. The kids LOVED roaring loudly and making fierce faces.

The Lion and the Little Red Bird by Elisa Kleven

I read this one instead of Lion Lessons for Family Storytime, which is in a smaller setting, so easier for the kids to see the illustrations. It’s one of my all-time favorite picture books, about a little bird who wonders why a lion’s tail is a different color every morning. It’s such a sweet, beautiful book, and the kids were mesmerized.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems

In this Pigeon story, Pigeon tries everything he can to convince the reader to let him stay up past bedtime. I read it for Family Storytime, and one girl adorably tried to explain to the Pigeon why he had to go to bed.

Songs:

Two Little Kitty Cats

We sang this to go along with The Little Kitten. I learned this one years ago from a Music Together class. I had the kids crouch down and pretend to be asleep, and then jump up and run in place. After we sang the kitty cat verse a couple of times, I asked them for other animals, and we wrote our own verses about two little sharks, two little race cars, and two little ducks.

Two little kitty cats lying in the sun (crouch down)
One jumped up and said, “I’d like to run!” (jump up and run in place)
Then said the other one, “I’ll run too!
Running, running, running, and I’ll play with you!
Meow! Meow! Meow!

Two little puppy dogs lying in the park,
One jumped up and said, “I’d like to bark.”
Then said the other one, “I’ll bark too,
Running, running, running and I’ll play with you.”
Woof! Woof! Woof!

Let It Snow by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne

For Family Storytime, I had the kids grab handfuls of play scarves, and throw them all high in the air when we got to the “Let It Snow” line. Then we had a “snowball fight” with the scarves. We only sang the first verse.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful.
And since we’ve no place to go,
“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!”

Do You See the Color Red?

We sang this after Llama Llama, Red Pajama and before The Lion and the Little Red Bird. The kids had a great time calling out things in the library for each color. It’s to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do you see the color blue, the color blue, the color blue?
Do you see the color blue, right here in this room?

Do you see the color red… etc.

London Bridge is Falling Down

I sang this one with the parachute, and told them kids they could go underneath while the rest of us raised and lowered the parachute.

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady!

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. The version I do is closest to the one sung by the Tokens in the video below.

[C] In the jungle, the [F] mighty jungle,
The [C] lion sleeps to- [G7]night.
In the [C] jungle the [F] quiet jungle,
The [C] lion sleeps to-[G7]night.

[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.
[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.

Near the [C] village, the [F] peaceful village,
The [C] lion sleeps tonight.
Near the [C] village, the [F] quiet village,
The [C] lion sleeps to-[G7]night.

[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.
[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.

Hush, my [C] darling, don’t [F] fear, my darling,
The [C] lion sleeps to-[G7]night.
Hush, my [C] darling, don’t [F] fear, my darling,
The [C] lion sleeps to-[G7]night.

[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.
[C] Wee-ee-ee-ee ee [F] ee-ee-ee-ee [C] wee-oh weem a-[G7]way.

Stay & Play: Paper Plate Lions

Before the storytime, I cut small strips of orange and yellow paper. For the storytime, I put out markers, small paper plates, googly eyes, the strips of paper, pom-poms, and glue sticks. All of the lions came out very differently, but the kids had a great time making them!

Do you have any favorite books or songs about the letter L? Please share them in the comments below.

K is for Kindness: A Storytime About the Letter K

Posted in Storytime themes by

It’s Thanksgiving week! And since we are on the Letter K in our storytime series, I decided to feature the word Kind, and have the kids make Kindness Cards to give to friends and family. Coincidentally, one of our regulars gave me a handmade card right at the beginning of storytime (my coworker said she was almost like a plant in the audience).

As usual, at the beginning of storytime, we talked about the letter K and I asked the kids if to suggest any K words they knew. This was a tricky one for them, because they kept coming up with words that started with C, like Cobra. In the end, with a bit of prompting, they suggested kite, kick, kitten, and kangaroo. I also demonstrated a kalimba (a type of thumb piano from Zimbabwe). I only wish I had thought to bring a kazoo!

Because of the holiday closures, I only had Outdoor Musical Storytime this week, but here are the books and songs we did for that:

UPDATE: I did the Letter K again for my Family Storytime the week after I posted this, so I’m adding in the extra book and songs I did for that.

Books:

King Baby by Kate Beaton

Hilarious look at the world from the point of view of a baby, who sees his parents as his royal subjects who always do his bidding (although they don’t always understand what he wants). Eventually, he learns that it’s even more satisfying to do things himself, as he masters crawling, walking, and more, just in time for the arrival of… Queen Baby! This book always gets laughs from both kids and parents.

I Love You Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark

This was one of my daughter’s favorite books when she was little, and my Family Storytime kids loved it too. Very sweet story about a little girl named Lily and her stuffed Blue Kangaroo. When Lily receives a whole bunch of new stuffed animals, Blue Kangaroo worries that there’s no place for him anymore, but Lily proves him wrong.

Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand

Simple story with large, colorful illustrations about a Bear and a Mole who are excited to make and fly a kite on a windy day, only to have it blow away in the storm. To their surprise, it ends up getting stuck in a tree, where it serves to protect a nest of birds from the rain. I used a thunder tube on the page with the thunder, which the kids loved.

How Kind! by Mary Murphy

When Chicken gives Pig an egg, he is inspired to do something kind for someone else, and starts a chain of kind acts that pass from one animal to the other. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the animals.

Songs:

Five Days Old by Laurie Berkner

Although this song title doesn’t start with the letter K, it fit so well with the book King Baby that I had to include it. Plus it does have a verse about “kicking my legs.” It’s a lively, happy song that gets the kids moving.

[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] one day old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] two [G7] days [C] old.
[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] three days old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] four [G7] days [C] old.
[F] One [C] day, I’ll [F] be a [C] year, then [F] I’ll be [C] two, then [G7] three, then four.
[C] As for now I’m [F] sitting here, I’m [C] five days old and [F] no [G7] days [C] more!

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old…

I’m clapping my hands, I’m one day old…

I’m kicking my legs, I’m one day old…

Getting really tired, I’m one day old…

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old…

Popcorn Kernels

I do this song every week with the play scarves at Family Storytime, but this week it actually fit with the letter K theme (for kernels). The kids love bundling up the scarves in their hands and then throwing them in the air at the end. It’s to the tune of Frère Jacques.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels,
In the pot, In the pot.
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop!

My Kite Is Flying High

I found this song on PreschoolEducation.com. We used it with the parachute, lifting the parachute up for the first verse, and then lowering it to the ground for the second. I did it again with play scarves at my Family Storytime.

To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell:

My kite is up so high,
My kite is up so high,
Oh, my! Just watch it fly
My kite is up so high.

My kite is falling down,
My kite is falling down,
Oh, no! It’s down so low.
My kite is falling down.

All Around the Kitchen by Dan Zanes

We did this as our instrument play song at the end. Super catchy and fun, with motions for the kids to follow. The original song is by Pete Seeger, but I used the Dan Zanes version below. You can strum the whole song with Am.

CHORUS:

[Am] All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Put your hands in your hair (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Put your arms in the air (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Spin around in a circle (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Make your arms into trees (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Then you wave them in the breeze (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Walk and wobble your knees (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Make your arms into wings (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Then you flap those things (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Fly around in a circle (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

Stay & Play: Kindness Cards

This was such a simple project, but the results were adorable. I just put out white cardstock, markers, dot markers, and googly eyes, and told the kids to make cards to give their friends, families, teachers, or anyone else. Some of the adults helped the kids write messages inside.

If you have favorite books or songs featuring the Letter K, please share them in the comments below.

J is for Jungle: A Storytime About the Letter J

Posted in Storytime themes by

We had a lot of fun with the Letter J this week in both Outdoor Musical, and Family Storytime.

As usual, I started by asking the kids if they knew any words that started with the letter J. They came up with jeans, jump, jam, and jelly. I wrote those on my dry erase board, and then we drew the letter J (both capital and lower case) together in the air. I also demonstrated a jaw harp, which the kids seemed fascinated by (it’s a really convenient instrument, because you can carry it in your pocket).

Here’s a combination of the books and songs we did for both storytimes:

Books:

Jamberry by Bruce Degen

This was one of my own kids’ favorite books when they were little, and a number of the kids were excited to see it. A catchy rhyme describes a boy and a bear’s adventures gathering “billions of berries” and featuring elephants skating on raspberry jam, a train full of blackberries and more.

Jazzy in the Jungle by Lucy Cousins

I used this one for my Family Storytime, which is in the evening and gets a smaller group. It’s a cute story about a mother lemur trying to find her baby (Jazzy) in a game of hide-and-seek. The book has lots of irregularly-shaped pages that the kids took turns flipping to see if Jazzy the lemur was there.

Good Job, George by Jane O’Connor; pictures by Andrew Joyner

This one was new to me, but my Family Storytime group really enjoyed it. George is a boy who loves to be helpful, so when his parents decide to paint one of the rooms in the house, he is eager to jump right in. Unfortunately, he accidentally lets the family dog into the room with the paint, and causes a huge mess!

Jump! by Scott M. Fischer

This is an older title, but it’s always a big hit. It starts with a bug chanting, “I’m a bug, I’m a bug, I’m a snug little bug, and I’m sleeping on a jug, until I see a frog and I….JUMP!” The book continues with the frog jumping to escape a cat, the cat jumping to escape a hound, etc. For my Family Storytime group, I had given out play scarves, and I had the kids throw them into the air on the “JUMPs!” (for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I just had the kids jump).

Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler

This is a beautifully illustrated adaptation of the “Over in the Meadow” song, but about animals in the jungle preparing for bedtime. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the animals.

Songs:

Peanut Butter & Jelly

This is an old camp song that I remember learning as a kid. Somewhere along the way, our library acquired a toy set with peanuts, grapes, and bread, which I used as props. I do a slightly different version of the one in the Super Simple Songs video below, and have the kids mime picking the peanuts and grapes (or whatever other fruit they suggest), mash them, spread them, and eat the sandwich. I usually pretend to have peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth at the end, and then we all mime pouring and drinking a glass of milk.

First you take the peanuts, and you pick ’em,
You pick ’em, you pick ’em, pick ’em, pick ’em.
Then you smash them, you smash them,
You smash ’em, smash ’em, smash ’em.
Then you spread ’em, you spread ’em.
You spread ’em, spread ’em, spread ’em.
Singing, “Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!
Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!”

Then you take the grapes and you pick ’em,
You pick ’em, you pick ’em, pick ’em, pick ’em.
Then you smash them, you smash them,
You smash ’em, smash ’em, smash ’em.
Then you spread ’em, you spread ’em.
You spread ’em, spread ’em, spread ’em.
Singing, “Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!
Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!”

Then you take the sandwich and you bite it,
You bite it, you bite it, bite it, bite it.
Then you chew it, you chew it, you chew it,
Chew it, Chew it.
Then you swallow it, you swallow it,
You swallow it, swallow it, swallow it.
Singing, “Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!
Peanut, Peanut Butter…and Jelly!”

Down in the Jungle

For Family Storytime, I gave out play scarves before we sang this one, and then we mimed washing them. I asked the kids to suggest different animals each time we sang it.

Down in the jungle where nobody goes,
There’s a little baby elephant washing his clothes.
With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there.
That’s the way he washes his clothes!

The Jack in the Box

It’s great to show the kids a Jack in the Box if you have one (I couldn’t find mine!). For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I had the kids do the song with the motions in the video below a couple of times, and then we did it with the parachute.

The jack-in-the-box jumps up!

The jack-in-the-box goes flop.

The jack-in-the-box goes round and round.

The lid comes down with a plop!

Jump Up by Dan Zanes

We did this as our instrument play-along at the end. It’s such a happy song!

[C] Jump up day is breaking
[G7] Jump up let’s get shaking
[C] I know you’re lying down
[F] Jump up and we’ll dance a-[C]round

Jump up bells are ringing
And i hear friends are singing
Oh yea, it’s a crazy sound
Jump up and we’ll dance around

Jump up stand on your tip toes
Reach out grab a rainbow
Turn it upside down
Jump up and we’ll dance it around

Jump up clouds are passing
Look up the sky is laughing
I know we’ll be laughing too
Jump up I want to dance with you

Jump up you know i love you
That’s right i love love love you
A new day is shining down
Jump up and we’ll dance around

Stay & Play: Tissue Paper Jungles

Before storytime, I cut a bunch of colored tissue paper into small pieces. For the Stay & Play, I put out the tissue paper squares, white cardstock, some sponge brushes, cups of water, and animal stickers. (For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I also provided glue sticks, so the kids could add leaves or grass to their pictures). They had a great time painting their paper with the water, and then putting the tissue paper squares on top, and watching the color spread onto the page. They also had fun adding the animal stickers.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the Letter J? Please share them in the comments below.

I is for Ice Cream: A Storytime About the Letter I

Posted in Storytime themes by

This week, we had fun with the Letter I in both Outdoor Musical and Family Storytime. The kids have really gotten into our letter series, and love to try to guess which letter we are doing each week. One Mom told me that she and her preschool-aged son have started something similar at home, tackling two letters a week.

As usual, I started by asking the kids to suggest words that started with the Letter I (they suggested igloo, ice, ice cream, and insect). I wrote them on my white board, and then we drew the letter I (both capital and lower case) in the air together.

Here are the books and songs that we did:

Books:

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

We were lucky enough to have a big book version of this on hand. It’s one of my favorite books for toddlers: an extended version of the traditional song, which depicts the spider climbing up (and falling from) lots of other surfaces. The big book version is even better (even though I always struggle to hold the book and turn the pages!) because it’s easier for the kids to see the spider in the pictures.

It’s a Tiger! by David LaRochelle; illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

This is a favorite of one of my storytime families, and it was huge hit with both of my storytime groups. It features a little boy in the jungle, who keeps having run-ins with a tiger: in a cave, hidden in a pile of leaves, on a boat, and in a treasure chest. Luckily, the tiger turns out to be friendly. The kids loved joining in on the “IT’S A TIGER!” parts, and a number of the parents with kids on their laps would bounce them up and down as if they were running away.

Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

Before I read this book, I held up a picture of an inchworm, and talked about how they move. I had the kids pretend their finger was an inchworm, and bend and straighten it as if it was crawling. I also showed them a yardstick, to show how big an inch is. The story is about an inchworm who escapes being eaten by a hungry robin by offering to measure its tail. He then ends up measuring several other types of birds, until a nightingale insists that he measure his song. At first the inchworm doesn’t know what to do, but then he tells the bird to sing and he will measure, and he quickly inches away.

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems

One of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books, where Gerald can’t decide whether or not to share his ice cream with Piggie. Claire and I read this one together for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and it got a lot of laughs.

Songs & Rhymes:

Itsy Bitsy Spider

When I do this song with toddlers and babies, I usually tell them that they can do the traditional finger motions (as shown here in this video by Katie Cutie Kids TV), or just wiggle their fingers like spider legs, or creep their hands up their bodies. I also held up a large 3D Printed spider, and we sang “The Great Big Hairy Spider” as the second verse.

The [C] itsy bitsy spider went [G7] up the water [C] spout.
[C] Down came the rain and [F] washed the spider [C] out.
[C] Out came the sun and [G7] dried up all the [C] rain,
and the [C] itsy bitsy spider went [G7] up the spout [C] again.

Inchworm

This is such a pretty song. I had the kids pretend their fingers were inchworms and creep them up their arm as we sang. I don’t sing the “Two and Two are Four” at the beginning of this video.

Inchworm, inchworm,
Measuring the marigolds.
You and your arithmetic
Will probably go far.
Inchworm, inchworm,
Measuring the marigolds.
Seems to me you’d stop and see
How beautiful they are.

Inside the Space Shuttle

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we did this rhyme with the parachute. The kids loved running underneath as soon as we lifted it up in the air.

Inside the space shuttle, (lower parachute to the ground)
Just enough room.
Here comes the countdown:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (shake parachute as you count)
Blast-off! (lift parachute up high)

Icky Sticky Bubblegum

For Family Storytime, I did this song with play scarves, and had the kids pretend the scarves were bubble gum, stretching them out and then pretending the scarves were sticking to different body parts. I asked the kids to suggest parts of the body for the gum to stick to each time we sang. They suggested arm, eye, neck, and leg. I sing a slightly different version from the one in the JBrary video below:

Icky sticky sticky bubble gum,
Bubble gum, Bubble gum,
Icky sticky, sticky bubble gum,
Sticking my hands to my knee…
1,2,3, UNSTICK!

If All the Raindrops

We did this song as our instrument play-along at the end. After singing the original three verses, I had the kids suggest other foods they would like to fall from the sky (my favorite was tofu stir fry!).

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

If all the snowflakes were chocolate bars and milkshakes…

If all the sunbeams were bubblegum and ice cream…

If all the raindrops were (ask the kids to suggest other types of foods)…

Stay & Play: Pony Bead Inch Worms

This may be one of my absolute favorite Stay & Play crafts! I found the idea on Craftulate.com.

For the Stay & Play, I put out pipe cleaners, pony beads, and googly eyes (the kind with adhesive backs). At first I wasn’t sure if threading the beads onto the pipe cleaners would be too challenging for the toddlers and young preschoolers who come to my storytimes (I was also a little worried that someone might stick a pony bead up their nose, based on personal experience with my daughter!). But the kids absolutely LOVED the beading. And they loved the worms. I had been a little worried that they wouldn’t understand the concept behind the book Inch by Inch, until I heard one little girl hold up her worm and say to her mother, “The Measure Worm can measure my dress!”

Do you have any favorite books or songs that work well for a Letter I theme? Please share them in the comments below.

Growing Community: Starting a Seed Library

Posted in Uncategorized by

Several of our library branches recently started offering seed libraries, where patrons can take home free seeds, and also donate seeds of their own.

Although I was eager to offer this program in the two small libraries I work in, I wasn’t sure how to make them work, since our space is very limited. Most of the other libraries were organizing the seeds into drawers or even giving out seedlings in pots. But I found a suggestion online of organizing the seeds into a large binder full of plastic sleeves with four pockets on each page.

It’s a very low-tech set up, but it allows us to display the binder on a shelf with our Library of Things (the place where we display other items like ukuleles, sewing machines, karaoke machines, and laptops). There are small envelopes provided in the front pocket of the binder so that patrons can take only the seeds that they need.

At first I wasn’t sure if anyone was taking advantage of the seed libraries, since I rarely see anyone looking at the binders. But every time I checked, I noticed that a lot of the seeds and envelopes were gone. Then, a few weeks ago, I received an email from a local high school teacher who was thrilled to have been able to take free seeds for her classroom. She sent me these photos of the plants her students had been growing for a science unit.

The funniest thing about starting the seed library is that it’s changed my own interest in seeds. I now find myself saving seeds from fruits and vegetables at home and sticking them in small pots to see if they will grow. I’m hoping to see which ones are the most successful, so that I can save those seeds in the future to add to the seed binder.

All in all, I’ve been so surprised and excited to see how well-received this initiative has been, even with our very low-key set-up.

If you have run or used a seed library, I would love to hear what things worked best for you. Please share your experiences and ideas in the comments below.

H is for House: A Storytime for the Letter H

Posted in Storytime themes by

When I started my series of letter-themed storytimes, I didn’t really take the time to figure out which letter would fall on which week. So it was purely by accident that we ended up featuring the Letter H on Halloween!

For both my Outdoor Musical and Family Storytimes, I started by asking the kids to call out any words they could think of that started with the letter H, so that I could write them on my white board. They came up with hot, hat, hippo, and happy. I had also brought a harmonica, which the kids seemed fascinated by.

Here’s a combination of the books and songs I used for both storytimes:

Books:

Mr. Bat Wants a Hat by Kitty Black; illustrated by Laura Wood

Very cute story about a bat who wants a hat so badly that he takes one from a baby. Naturally, the baby cries, and eventually, Mr. Bat feels so guilty that he returns the hat, and is given some pink socks as a reward. For my family storytime group, I had given out play scarves before I read this, and I had the kids pretend the scarves were bats whenever Mr. Bat swooped down.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler; illustrated by S. D. Schindler

This is such a simple and hilariously-illustrated book about a common problem: Hiccups! I also read it to a special needs preschool class today, and one little guy laughed out loud every time I read the “Hic! Hic! Hic!” (Protip: I used to always space the “hic’s” out, but the kids seem to find it much funnier when I read them fast and all-together: hic-hic-hic!”)

The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey

Adorable story about Oscar, a dachshund who is often called “Wiener Dog” by the other dogs in his class. Things get even worse when his mother buys him a hot dog costume for Halloween. But when the other dogs are frightened into a pond by a scary monster, Oscar saves the day by revealing that it is really just a couple of cats in a costume. He paddles out to help the other dogs to shore, and earns a new nickname: Hero Sandwich!

There is a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers

This is my new favorite book! It features a little girl in a spooky old house saying that she has heard the house is haunted, but she has never seen a ghost. In between the regular pages, which show the girl in different parts of the house, are white filmy pages with pictures of adorable ghosts on them. When you flip these pages so that they cover the regular paper pages, it looks like the ghosts are in the room with the girl, lurking on the staircase, hiding under the table, bouncing on the bed, etc. I also read this to two second grade classes, who were completely enthralled by finding and counting all the ghosts.

Songs:

My Hat, It Has Three Corners

This is an old camp song, where you start by doing motions to accompany each word, and then gradually leave the words out and only do the motions. It’s a fun challenge that gets harder and harder each time, and usually leaves the kids laughing. I use the ASL sign for hat, instead of the motion shown in this YouTube video by Miss Nina:

The motions are:

My: point to yourself
Hat: pat your head
Three: hold up three fingers
Corners: point to your elbow

The first time through, sing the whole song with both the words and the motions:

My hat, it has three corners.
Three corners has my hat.
And had it not three corners,
It would not be my hat.

The second time through, leave out the word “My,” and only do the motion (pointing to yourself). The third time through, leave out the word “My” and “Hat,” and only do the motions. The third time through, leave out “My,” “Hat” and “Three,” and the fourth time through, leave out “My,” “hat,” “three,” and “corners.”

On Halloween

This is a fun, easy Halloween song set to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. For each verse, I asked the kids for suggestions of Halloween things they might see in the house. We had pumpkins, mummies, cats, bats, and witches. I always end with “The kids at the door say, ‘Trick or Treat!’”

[C]The ghosts in the house say, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
[G7] “Boo! Boo! Boo! C] Boo! Boo! Boo!”
The ghosts in the house say “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
On Hallo-[C]ween!

Oh, A-Haunting We Will Go

For our instrument play-along, we did a Halloween version of “A-Hunting We Will Go!” I asked the kids for things that we might catch, and then we came up with rhymes on the spot. They came up with “we’ll catch a dinosaur and put it in a store,” and “we’ll catch a ghost and put it on some toast.” Here’s a Lingokids video with the original song, which is also a favorite of mine.

Oh, [C] a-haunting we will go!
A-[F]haunting we will go!
We’ll [G7] catch a witch and put her in a ditch,
And then we’ll let her [C] go!

Stay & Play: Paper Shape Halloween Houses

Before the storytimes, I cut a bunch of colored paper squares (about 5″ x 5″) for the house base, and large triangles for the roof. I also cut some 4″ squares out of white paper, and folded them in half lengthwise, to make small doors, and some 3″ x 5″ rectangles out of white paper, which I folded in half widthwise to make windows.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white cardstock, glue sticks, the colored paper squares and triangles, the white paper windows and doors, and some markers, googly eyes, and Halloween stickers (with ghosts, cats, vampires, etc.). I showed the kids how to glue the triangles and colored squares on their cardstock to make a house, and then glue half of their white paper doors and windows on so that they would open like a “lift-the-flap.” Then they decorated their houses with markers, googly eyes, and the stickers.

What are your favorite books or songs for Halloween or other words that start with the letter H? Please share them in the comments below.