Monthly Archives: September 2024

Take Care: A Caregiver Appreciation Storytime

Posted in Storytime themes by

This week, our libraries have been observing what we called “Caregiver Appreciation Week,” a celebration of everyone who cares for children in our communities: parents, grandparents, babysitters, nannies, daycare providers, teachers, etc. We have been using it as an opportunity to promote library cards to some of the adults who bring children to storytime, but also as a chance to say thank you.

Here’s what we did this week:

Books:

I Really Want to See You, Grandma by Taro Gomi

Simple, but adorable story about a little girl and her Grandma, who decide to visit each other at the same time, but keep missing each other. The kids at Family Storytime thought it was very funny.

Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter by Reed Duncan; illustrated by J. T. Morrow

Cute addition to the Llama Llama series created by Anna Dewdney. In this one, Llama Llama is upset to learn that he will have a babysitter when Mama Llama goes out for the evening. But the sitter turns out to be someone he knows from their local ice cream shop, and he ends up having a wonderful time.

Saturday by Oge Mora

I love this book so much, even though I usually get choked up at the ending. A little girl and her mother are so excited about their Saturday plans, but the library storytime is cancelled (the horror!), their new hairdos get ruined by a splash from a passing car, their picnic at the park is loud, and they forget the tickets to the puppet show. But they discover that the day is still special, just because they are together. The kids enjoyed the repeated “Zoom’s” and the deep breaths.

Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea

This is one of my favorite Dad stories. A little hippo explains how he is so much smarter than his Dad, who can’t seem to do the simplest tasks. Like when he’s busy getting dressed (the illustrations show him sitting in front of the TV), his Dad asks him “Is this how you get dressed?” while wearing all of his clothes in the wrong places. Then the little hippo has to demonstrate the right way to get dressed. Even the preschoolers in my Outdoor Musical Storytime seemed to get the joke, or at least thought the Dad’s “mistakes” were very funny.

Songs:

Freight Train by Elizabeth Mitchell (Based on the original version by Elizabeth Cotten)

We sang this after reading I Really Want to See You, Grandma, and I asked the kids to suggest different places they would like to go.

[C] Freight train, Freight train [G7] going so fast.
[G7] Freight train, Freight train, [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.

With My Family

Based on a song I found on NoTimeForFlashcards.com. I asked the kids to suggest things they like to do with the caregivers in their life, and we sang about them. One little boy said he liked to run around with his “fun Daddy,” which was adorable!

To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

[C] Tell me what you like to do,
You [F] like to do, you [G7] like to do.
[C] Tell me what you like to do,
[F] With your [G7] fami-[C]ly.

Ollie likes to run around,
Run around,
Run around.
Ollie likes to run around,
With his fun Daddy!

Love Somebody, Yes I Do!

We sang this song with the parachute in Outdoor Musical Storytime, shaking the chute along with the rhythm and getting faster each time we sang it. The version I sing uses the tune in this Magical Musical Kingdom video, but we only sang the second verse.

Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody
And it’s YOU! YOU! YOU!

You Sing a Song by Ella Jenkins

We sang this with play scarves for Family Storytime.

[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
And [C] we’ll sing a [Dm] song toge-[G]ther.
[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
In [G] warm or [C] wintry [G] wea-[C]ther.

You’ll wave a scarf, and I’ll wave a scarf, and we’ll wave our scarves together…

You’ll peek-a-boo, and I’ll peek-a-boo… (put the scarf over your face, then pull it away)

You’ll throw a scarf, and I’ll throw a scarf…

Baby Shark by PinkFong

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C] Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo do
[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: Beaded Keychains & Necklaces

For the Stay & Play, I thought it would be fun to have the kids make necklaces or keychains for their caregivers. We put out lacing strings and pony beads (a mix of colored beads and alphabet ones), along with scissors and keyrings.

I pre-tied some of the lacing strings onto keyrings and then taped the aglets (the ends of the strings) together, to make it easier for the kids. When they finished adding beads, I helped them tie a knot at the end to keep the beads on, and then cut the ends of the strings.

The kids LOVED the beading! One four-year-old was so into it that his grandmother was asking where she could buy pony beads. She had never seen him so focused on an activity before! Some kids made bracelets too.

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

Without Missing a Beet: A Storytime About Vegetables

Posted in Storytime themes by

September is National Fruits and Veggies Month, so I thought it might be fun to do a storytime about vegetables.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers

This is an older title, but the adorable faces made from various fruits and vegetables always draw the kids in. The text is a rhyme about feelings. I also love the newer book Foodie Faces by Bill and Claire Wurtzel, although it features several other types of food (oatmeal, bagels, etc.). The kids love naming the foods in each picture.

Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell

Sweet, colorful, rhyming book about a family visiting their Grandpa on a rainy day, and having a great time picking a wide variety of vegetables from the garden to make his famous Rainbow Stew.

Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller & Anne Wilsdorf

This one’s a bit longer than the ones I usually read, at least for Outdoor Musical Storytime, but it’s such a sweet story, and it held the kids’ interest in spite of the length. When Sophie picks out a butternut squash from the farmer’s market, it becomes her new best friend, until it begins to get mushy. The kids loved the ending.

Carrot and Pea: An Unlikely Friendship by Morag Hood

This is a very short, simple book, but even the older kids at Family Storytime enjoyed it. Even though Carrot looks nothing like Pea and his other pea friends, he has special qualities all his own that make him a wonderful friend.

Songs:

If You’re Happy And You Know It

We sang this after reading How Are You Peeling?

[C] If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [G7] hands! (clap, clap)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands! (clap, clap)
If you’re [F] happy and you know it, and you [C] really want to show it,
If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands! (clap, clap)

If you’re sad and you know it, cry, “Boo hoo!”…

If you’re angry and you know it, say, “I’m mad!”… (stomp feet while saying, “I’m mad!”)

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face… (cover your eyes, and then uncover them and say, “Peek-a-boo!”

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, “Hooray!”

Popcorn Kernels

I usually sing this every week with play scarves for Family Storytime. This week, though, we sang it with a parachute in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime (we have a few different parachutes for outdoor or indoor use). I threw cotton balls on the parachute, and the kids LOVED watching them bounce around.

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!

I Like to Eat Vegetables

This song was inspired by one in a list of vegetable songs from preschooleducation.com. I used the tune to Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. For each verse, I asked the kids to name a vegetable that they like, and we sang about them.

[C] I like to eat vegetables,
[G7] Vegetables, [C] vegetables.
I like to eat vegetables,
[G7] Each and every [C] day.

Ishan eats some onions,
Onions, onions,
Ishan eats some onions,
Each and every day.

Eat a Vegetable by Gary LaPow

We used to sing this song years ago in Musical Storytime, and I had forgotten how much fun it was!

Chorus:
[C] Eat a vegetable for [G7] dinner.
Eat a vegetable for [C] lunch.
Cut ‘em up and [F] cook ‘em in a pot,
And [C] eat ‘em [G7] by the [C] bunch!

[C]Now a tomato’s red and [G7] juicy,
But be careful for your [C] shirt.
You’d better watch out on the [F] very first bite,
To-[C]matoes [G7] like to [C] squirt!

Chorus

Corn is bright and yellow.
You can eat it right on the cob.
Melt some butter along the top.
Look out! That corn is hot!

Chorus

Now a carrot can be soft,
When you cook it in a stew.
But if you eat a carrot raw my friend,
You better chew and chew and chew and chew and chew and chew and chew!

Stay & Play: Painting with Vegetables

One of the simplest Stay & Play activities I’ve ever done. Basically, the idea was just to provide vegetables (celery and asparagus) and plates of tempera paint and let the kids use the veggies as brushes. The only problem: I somehow forgot to bring white paper to the park for Outdoor Musical Storytime! Oops! Luckily, I had brought a stack of paper plates to put the paint out on, and miraculously we had enough for each child to paint the back of a plate. They had a wonderful time.

A caveat about this project: I know there’s considerable debate about using food in art activities (and sometimes policies prohibiting it) because of food insecurity that may be impacting local families, and also the risk of appearing to encourage food waste. For that reason, I don’t often use it. But since this storytime was intended as a celebration of vegetables (which often get a bad rap among children), I wanted the kids to have the opportunity to explore them in a fun, hands-on way, which hopefully might make them more inclined to try eating something like asparagus. I think if I do this theme again, though, I might bring something like carrots with the greens still attached, so the kids can see how they grow, and then do a project (like painting or leaf rubbings) with the parts of the plant that we don’t usually eat. I really wish we could serve snacks, because it would be really fun to have kids “paint” paper plates with something like a veggie dip and then eat the brushes.

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

Chicken-Hearted: A Storytime for National Chicken Month

Posted in Storytime themes by

At our libraries, we just learned that September is National Chicken Month, which has led to some adorable “book book book” displays. It made for a fun storytime theme this week too.

Here is what we did:

Books:

Chicken Story Time by Sandy Asher; illustrated by Mark Fearing

Just like the title says, this book is about chickens coming to storytime at the library. At first there is only one, but then more and more chickens come every week, until there is too much clucking and noise for the librarian to be heard. But she finds a solution that works for everyone: having the children each read to a small group of chickens. The kids loved making chicken noises.

Chicken in Space by Adam Lehrhaupt; illustrated by Shahar Kober

Very cute story about a chicken who wants to go into space with her friends, but only Pig will go with her. The two fly in a basket carried by balloons, and encounter an asteroid (a baseball), a comet (kite), and birds (alien space ships).

Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Cute, simple story about a flock of chickens who rushes to the rescue each time a member of the Greenstalk family runs into trouble: dropping a watch in well, feeling too tired to make dinner, or needing help with a last minute book report. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Chickens to the Rescue!” line.

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

This is a great book for storytime because the kids can join in on the actions. Three cows declare that it is time to jump up and down on Chicken’s sofa. When Chicken objects, they decide it’s time to dance, and then wiggle on his sofa instead, and eventually, to nap.

Songs:

I Bought Me a Rooster

I love this cumulative traditional song because the kids can suggest a new animal and animal sound for each verse, and it gets longer and longer each time. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, they suggested a dog, a cow, a crocodile, a goat, and a duck.

[C] I bought me a rooster and the rooster pleased me
I fed my rooster on the [G7] bayberry tree
[C] My little rooster goes, [F] “Cock-a-doodle doo!
Dee [C] Doodle, Dee [F] Doodle, Dee [G7] Doodle, Dee [C] Doo!”

[C] I bought me a dog and the dog pleased me
I fed my dog on the [G7] bayberry tree
[C] My little dog goes, [F] “Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”
[C] My little rooster goes, [F] “Cock-a-doodle doo!
Dee [C] Doodle, Dee [F] Doodle, Dee [G7] Doodle, Dee [C] Doo!”

I bought me a cow and the cow pleased me…etc.

The Chicken Dance by Werner Thomas

I’ve never done this before, but for this song, I brought a bluetooth speaker and connected it to my phone to play a recording. The kids loved doing the motions in the main part of the song (as seen in the YouTube video below), and then doing their own dance in the parts in between. We danced with play scarves at Family Storytime.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We do this song with the parachute every week in Outdoor Musical Storytime, but this week it fit perfectly with the book Chicken in Space. I put a chicken puppet on the parachute so the kids could make it fly in the air. We sang it with play scarves at Family Storytime.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!

Shaky Egg Song by Laurie Berkner

We did this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] fast!
Shake them [F7] fast!
Shake them [C7] fast!
[G7] Shake your eggs!
[C7] Shake them [G7] fast!

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] slow!
You know how it [F7] goes.
Shake them [C7] slow,
[G7] Because you know how it goes.
[C7] Shake them [G7] fast! Oh, shake those eggs!

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] in a circle.
Shake them [F7] round and round.
Don’t let them touch the [C7] ground.
[G7] Now shake them up and down.
[C7] You’ve got to shake them up and [G7] down.

Stay & Play: Paper Plate Chickens

I got this idea from AllFreeKidsCrafts.Com , although I used paper plates instead of paper circles. I mostly wanted it to be an opportunity for kids to practice cutting, so I brought a variety of scissors, including different sizes of loop scissors, which can be easier for little hands.

Before the storytime, I had cut out paper hearts and triangles for the crown and beak. For the Stay & Play, I put out the scissors, glue sticks, paper plates, googly eyes, and paper shapes. The kids enjoyed exploring the scissors, and also putting a variety of googly eyes on their chickens.

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

The Cat’s Meow: A Storytime About Cats

Posted in Storytime themes by

I just learned that September is Happy Cat Month, so it seemed like the perfect time to share some of my favorite cat books and songs at our storytimes this week.

I started by teaching the kids the ASL signs for Happy and Cat. Here’s are the books and songs we used:

Books:

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean

This is the original Pete the Cat story, which is still my favorite. The kids got excited as soon as I held up the book. Pete loves his white shoes so much, he sings a song about them, and still loves them even when he steps in things that make them change color. Always a hit!

Kat Writes a Song by Greg Foley

I love this sweet story about a cat who writes an “Amazing Song to Make Things Better.” At first, singing the song seems to make magical things happen (the sun comes out, Dog doesn’t bark at her, and Turtle finds his missing sock), but it doesn’t solve every problem, and she begins to doubt her song. But then her friend Bird shows her that the song really does make everything better. The kids loved singing the little song (all “meow’s”) along with the story.

Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman

Adorable story about a dog who just can’t keep herself from howling with excitement and frightening the three new kittens her owner just brought home. Finally, she feels so badly that she lies down in her bed and goes to sleep. When she wakes up, she finds the kittens curled up on top of her. The kids had a great time joining in on all the howling parts.

No Fuzzball! by Isabella Kung

Hilarious story about a cat who is convinced her name is “NoFuzzball!” because that’s what her family always calls her. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “NoFuzzball!” parts.

Songs & Rhymes:

Do You See the Color Red

We sang this song to go along with Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes. This song always gets the kids excited, as they look around the room pointing to things that match each color. It’s to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do you [C] see the color red,
The [F] color red, the [G7] color red?
Do you [C] see the color red,
[F] Right here [G7] in this [C] room?

Do you see the color blue… etc.

I Have a Cat

I usually have the kids echo each line of this rhyme as I say it. They especially like the part where they get to pretend to catch a rat.

I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
My cat lies flat (put one hand flat on top of the other).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
She wears a hat (pat the top of your head).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
She caught a rat (grab imaginary rat).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
Purr, Purr, MEOW!

You Sing a Song

We sang this song after reading Kat Writes a Song. We did it with the parachute and a cat stuffed animal for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and with the play scarves for Family Storytime.

[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
And [C] we’ll sing a [Dm] song toge-[G]ther.
[C] You’ll sing a song, and [Am] I’ll sing a song,
In [G] warm or [C] wintry [G] wea-[C]ther.

For Play Scarves

You’ll wave a scarf, and I’ll wave a scarf, and we’ll wave our scarves together…

You’ll peek-a-boo, and I’ll peek-a-boo… (put the scarf over your face, then pull it away)

You’ll throw a scarf, and I’ll throw a scarf…

For Parachutes

You shake the chute, and I’ll shake the chute, and we’ll shake the chute together…

You shake it fast, and I’ll shake it fast…

You lift it high, and I’ll lift it high…

The Cat Went Fiddle-I-Fee

We did this as our instrument play-along at the end. I love the Sam Hinton version of this song (see below). It’s perfect for storytime, because you can ask the kids to suggest animals and sounds for each verse.

[G] I had a cat and the cat pleased me,
And I fed my cat under [D] yonder [G] tree.
And the cat went [D] fiddle-i-[G] fee.

I had a wolf and the wolf pleased me,
And I fed my wolf under yonder tree.
And the wolf went “Arrrrroooo!”
And the cat went fiddle-i-fee.

Stay & Play: Paper Cats

Before storytime, I printed and cut out blank cat templates from clipartbest.com and cut some small triangles out of pink adhesive foam to make noses (some kids used them for the ears, as in the picture above). For the Stay & Play, I put out the cat templates, markers, googly eyes, the pink foam triangles, markers, and crayons. The kids had fun sticking the eyes and noses on their cats, and decorating them with the markers and crayons.

What are your favorite books or songs about cats? Please share them in the comments below.