Monthly Archives: October 2024

Up in Arms: A Storytime for World Octopus Day

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World Octopus Day was actually on October 8, but I was out with laryngitis that week, and one of my coworkers covered my Outdoor Musical Storytime. I got to revisit it this past week for my Family Storytime though. There are so many wonderful picture books about octopus!

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Mysterious, Marvelous Octopus by Paige Towler

I love this beautiful rhyming, nonfiction picture book featuring colorful photographs of different types of octopus. I asked the kids to point out their favorite octopus species from the collection of pictures at the end.

Octopants by Suzy Senior; illustrated by Claire Powell

This rhyming story about an octopus’ search for suitable underwear got lots of laughs from the kids.

Roof Octopus by Lucy Brannan; illustrated by Rogerio Coelho

The illustrations in this book are absolutely gorgeous! Nora and her family are astonished to discover a giant octopus on the roof of her apartment building. Luckily, the octopus turns out to be very friendly and helpful.

Octopus’ Garden by Ringo Starr; illustrated by Ben Cort

Colorful, illustrated picture book adaptation of the classic Beatles song by Ringo Starr. I gave out our egg shakers and other simple rhythm instruments before I read/sang it, and we did it as our instrument play-along at the end.

Songs:

Slippery Fish

I usually put out a variety of animal puppets for my family storytime, so for this song, I encouraged the kids to find the different animals mentioned in the lyrics (fish, octopus, shark, whale) and hold them up. They had a great time adding in other animals: an alligator, an angler fish, a sea monster, etc.

Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Swimming in the water.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by an octopus, octopus,
Swimming in the water.
Octopus, Octopus,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

He was eaten by a great white shark,
Great white shark,
Swimming in the water,
Great white shark, Great white shark.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by a humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Swimming in the water,
Humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
BURP!! Pardon me!

Down in the Deep Blue Sea

I found this song from this list of 31 Ocean Songs for Preschoolers on preschooleducation.com. It’s to the tune of Shoo Fly. The kids suggested different things that they might see in the ocean.

Down in the deep blue sea,
Down in the deep blue sea,
Down in the deep blue sea,
What will we see?

We’ll see a swimming fish,
We’ll see a swimming fish,
We’ll see a swimming fish,
That is what we’ll see.

We’ll see an octopus…
We’ll see a great big whale…

Wishy Washy Washer Woman

We sang this one with the play scarves after reading Octopants. I use the version in this video from Imagine More Story Adventures:

Way down in the valley where nobody goes,
There’s a wishy washy washer woman washing her clothes.
She goes “Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh! Oooh! Ahhh!”
And that’s the way she washes her clothes!

Repeat with drying her clothes (blowing on the scarves), folding her clothes, and wearing her clothes.

Stay & Play: Paper Octopus

I found this simple octopus craft on SimplyFullofDelight.com. Before storytime, I printed the template on white paper. For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed templates, kids scissors, dot markers, and regular markers. The kids had fun decorating their octopus, and then cutting along the black lines to make the arms. I had a stapler on hand to staple the octopus together into a cylinder once they were done decorating.

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

Scary Stories: A Storytime About Fear

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It’s been a busy month at work, especially because I lost a couple of days to laryngitis. But since spooky Halloween decorations have been popping up all over town, I thought it might be fun to do a storytime about fear, featuring some of my favorite not-so-scary picture books.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds

I love all of the Creepy Tales books, but this one always gets the biggest laughs. When Jasper Rabbit discovers that the glowing green underwear he bought at the store is a little too creepy, he tries lots of different ways to get rid of it, only to find that it somehow always returns. When he finally buries it in a deep hole, he discovers that he misses its comforting greenish glow. The kids loved all of the creepy underwear illustrations.

The Scariest Thing of All by Debi Gliori

Cute story about a rabbit who is scared of lots of things. When he is chased into the deep words by a terrifying RAAR sound, he realizes that the sound is coming from his own stomach, making him the scariest thing of all. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “RAAR’s.”

Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas

Jan Thomas has so many wonderful read-aloud books, and this is one of my favorites. A cowboy tries to lull his cows to sleep with a soothing lullaby, but he keeps getting interrupted by things that scare him: a stick that looks like a snake, a flower that looks like a spider. When he comes face to face with a large hairy wolf though, he learns that wolves love lullabies as much as the cows do. The kids had a great time joining in on the “EEK!’s.”

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Kids (and even grown-ups) always seem fascinated by this classic picture book, which shows all the different parts of a monster’s face, and then makes them disappear one by one. I had given out play scarves before I read this one, and I had the kids wave them like magic wands each time we said “Go Away” to a different part of the monster.

Songs:

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

We sang this after reading Creepy Pair of Underwear. Even the elementary school kids at my family storytime enjoyed pretending to be asleep on the floor and then popping up and hopping up and down.

See the little bunnies sleeping
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

If You’re Happy And You Know It

I love to sing this song and add in verses for different emotions.

[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!”…

We Are Scary Ghosts

One of my favorite songs to do this time of year, especially with play scarves. The kids love suggesting other scary things to be: bats, witches, vampires, etc.

We are scary ghosts floating down the street,
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street.
We are scary ghosts floating down the street,
We’ll scare you…BOO!

Aiken Drum

We sang this as our instrument play-along after reading Go Away Big Green Monster. The kids suggested different types of foods for each part of Aiken Drum’s face.

[C] There was a man lived [F] in the moon,
[C] In the moon, [G] in the moon.
There [C] was a man lived [F] in the moon,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

Chorus:

[C] And he played upon a [F] ladle, [C] a ladle, a [G] ladle,
He [C] played upon a [F] ladle, and his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

[C] And his eyes were made of [F] lemons,
[C] Lemons, [G] Lemons.
His [C] eyes were made of [F] lemons,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

And his nose was a banana…etc.

Stay & Play: Monster Process Art

For this simple Stay & Play, I put out markers, googly eyes, paper, foam shapes, cotton balls, and glue sticks, and the kids used the supplies however they liked to create their own monster designs.

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

Going Batty: A Storytime for Bat Appreciation Month

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October is Bat Appreciation Month, so I was excited to devote a couple of storytimes to celebrating bats.

I started by sharing photos of three different kinds of bats: two that are common in the Bay Area (the Mexican free-tailed bat and the large brown bat), and one that families can visit at the Oakland Zoo (the Malayan flying fox, a large fruit bat). I talked a little bit about how bats eat a lot of the bugs that we don’t like, including lots of mosquitoes, but that some of them eat fruit, and some even drink blood (although they are small, and rarely target people).

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Superbat by Matt Carr

Funny story about a bat who makes himself a costume in order to become Superbat. The problem is that all of the superpowers he has (amazing hearing, the ability to fly, and echolocation) are things that all of his other bat friends can do too. He is about to give up his dream, when his bravery helps him save a family of mice. The kids enjoyed yelling, “Superbat!”

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

A cute, colorful picture book about a bat who decides he would like a hat. He takes an especially nice one from a baby, who gets understandably upset. Eventually he feels bad and returns the hat, and is thrilled to receive a pair of socks in return. I had the kids make “Wah!” sounds along with the baby.

I Am Bat by Morag Hood

This is such a simple book, but I really enjoy reading it aloud in my super squeaky “bat voice.” Bat talks about his love for cherries, and is greatly upset when some of them disappear. Luckily, a pear appears in their place. The kids enjoyed naming the different types of animals who are stealing the cherries.

Kit and Caboodle by Anna Pignataro

Sweet story about a witch named Kit, who rescues an injured bat named Caboodle. Her attempts to fix his wing with magic don’t work out, but she cares for him until he recovers, and eventually he ends up rescuing her in return.

Fiona, the Fruit Bat by Dan Riskin; illustrated by Rachel Quiqi

Full disclosure: I was planning to read this one for Family Storytime, but we ran out of time. I think it’s a great book for describing how echolocation works, through a simple story about a young bat flying alone in the dark for the first time.

Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat by Tracy C. Gold, illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

Adorable rhyming Halloween book full of facts about bats. The kids enjoyed making “Eww!” sounds whenever the book described all the yummy bugs the bat is excited to eat.

Songs:

I’m A Bitty Bitty Bat by Stephanie Leavell

I really like this bat-themed movement song, and the kids enjoyed flying around like bats as we sang it. You can add in your own motions.

I’m a [Am] bitty, bitty bat,
A [Dm] bitty, bitty [Am] bat.
[Dm] Flying a-[Am]round,
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty [Am] bat.

I’m a [Am] great big bat,
A [Dm] great big [Am] bat.
[Dm] Flying a-[Am]round,
I’m a [E7] great big [Am] bat.

Chorus:

I’m [Dm] flying, I’m [Am] flying.
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.
I’m [Dm] flying, I’m [Am] flying.
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty [Am] bat.

I’m a balancing bat,
A balancing bat.
Flying around,
I’m a balancing bat.

Chorus:

I’m flying, I’m flying.
I’m a bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.
I’m flying, I’m flying.
I’m a bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.

I’m a bouncing bat…

The Bats in the Sky

We sang the first verse (below) with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, raising it up and down as we sang. For Family Storytime, I extended it into a longer song about Halloween, and asked the kids to suggest different things they might see on Halloween. It’s to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The bats in the sky fly up and down,
Up and down, Up and down.
The bats in the sky fly up and down,
All night long.

Halloween version:

The [C] bats in the sky fly up and down,
[G7] Up and down, [C] Up and down.
The [C] bats in the sky fly [G7] up and down,
On Hallo-[C]ween.

The witches in the house go, “Hee, hee, hee!
Hee, hee, hee! Hee, hee, hee!”
The witches in the house go, “Hee, hee, hee!”
On Halloween.

The ghosts in the house go, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”…

The children at the door say, “Trick or Treat!”…

Soooky Bats

We sang this variation of Scary Skeletons with the play scarves for Family Storytime. I had the kids take two scarves each, and wave them like bat wings.

We are spooky bats
Flying down the street,
Flying down the street,
Flying down the street.
We are spooky bats
Flying down the street.
We’ll scare you…BOO!

Apples and Bananas

We sang this as our instrument play-along, after reading I Am Bat. It’s a silly traditional camp song, but the kids love it, and it’s a great way to focus on the different vowel sounds. I usually change all of the vowels in each line (including the “I like to eat” part), which is different from the way they sing it in this Super Simple Songs video:

I like to [C] eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[C]nanas.
I like to [C] eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[C]nanas.

Ay lake to ate, ate, ate, ayples and baynaynays…

Ee leek to eat, eat, eat, eeples and beeneenees…

I like to īte, īte, īte, īpples, and bīnīnīs… (the ī symbol is for the long “i” sound, which sounds like “eye”)

Oh, loke to oh-te, oh-te, ohte, oh-pples and boh-noh-nohs…

 Ū lūk to ūte, ūte, ūte, ūpples and būnūnūs… (the ū symbol is for the long “u” sound, which sounds like “ooh)

Stay & Play: Sponge Painted Bat Pictures

I based this one on a craft from Tiny Teaching Shack. This was messy, but a fun way to give the kids a chance to try relief art, which is always a bit magical.

Before storytime, I printed lots of bat templates on white cardstock and cut them out (there’s a great collection of them here on OneLittleProject.com). For the Stay & Play, I put out black construction paper, the bat templates, removable restickable glue sticks, paper bowls with different colors of tempera paint, and sponge brushes. I showed the kids how to glue a bat or two onto their black paper ,and then paint the whole paper (including the bat) with the sponge brushes. They loved peeling the bat off at the end to see the shape appear in black in the middle of their painting.

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