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.