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V is for Van: A Storytime About the Letter V

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Coincidentally, my Letter V storytime happened to fall on Valentine’s Day last week, at least for my Family Storytime. So I mixed in a few Valentine’s Day stories, and made Valentine’s for the Stay & Play activity at the end. Today, we did the letter V again for Outdoor Musical Storytime, but without the Valentine’s elements.

As usual, I started both storytimes by asking the kids to suggest any words they knew that started with the letter V. They came up with vase, vacuum, and Valentine’s. I also brought a violin, and let the kids hold the bow and try to play.

Here’s a combination of the books, songs, and activities we did for both storytimes.

Books:

A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine by Amy Young

I had actually done this book for our Letter U storytime for Outdoor Musical Storytime the day before, but it made sense to do it for Letter V as well. It’s a sweet story about Sparkle the Unicorn trying to make a Valentine for his best friend, Lucy, but worrying that it’s not nice enough to give to her. The kids all laughed at the line about Sparkle pooping glitter.

This Old Van by Kim Norman; illustrated by Carolyn Conahan

Cute, counting-themed adaptation of This Old Man. A colorful van passes by different types of vehicles, and waves goodbye to each set: one train, two bulldozers, etc. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Goodbye’s” on each page.

Don’t Blow Your Top by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Abhi Alwar

This was my first time using this book for storytime, and I loved it! Two volcanoes are having a happy day in paradise, until a bird accidentally drops a coconut on Little Volcano. Luckily, Big Volcano reminds Little Volcano to breathe, count to 5, and think happy thoughts, and Little Volcano doesn’t blow their top. But then the bird drops two coconuts, and Little Volcano forgets how to stay calm. I had given out play scarves before I read this book, and we all threw them in the air on the page where Little Volcano erupts. The kids laughed out loud each time the bird dropped more coconuts.

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

One of my favorite Eric Carle books. This one features a spider who is too busy building a web to spend time with the other animals. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the animals.

If You’ll Be My Valentine by Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by Fumi Kosaka

I read this sweet, rhyming Valentine’s Day book for Family Storytime. Simple poems explain what a little boy will do for each member of his family if they will agree to be his Valentine.

Songs

This Old Man

I did this one to go along with This Old Van, and the kids loved it so much that I wondered why I haven’t used it more often. Here’s a video of the Wiggles version:

This old man, he played one, (clap in rhythm, then hold up one finger)
He played knick knack on my thumb. (hold up your thumb)
With a knick knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone (clap in rhythm)
This old man came rolling home. (roll your hands)

This old man, he played two,
He played knick knack on my shoe…

This old man, he played three,
He played knick knack on my knee…

Love Somebody

I sang this one at Family Storytime to go along with A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine. The version I do is closest to the one in this Magical Musical Kingdom video:

Love somebody, yes I do! (ASL sign for LOVE, ASL sign for YES)
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody, yes I do!
Love somebody and it’s you, you, you! (point to different people)
You, you, you!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

We sang this with the parachute, lifting it up and down along with the song. I put a spider puppet in the middle of the parachute, and kids thought it was hilarious to see the spider bouncing up and down.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

The Rattlin’ Bog

I was having trouble finding songs featuring the letter V, but then I remembered this Irish song, which has a repeated line about the valley. The version I did was based on this one by Carlyle Fraser:

[G] O-ro the [C] rattlin’ bog, the [G] bog down in the [D] valley-o.
[G] A rare bog, the [C] rattlin’ bog, the [G] bog down in the [D] valley- [G] o.

[G] And in that bog there was a hole, a rare hole, a [D] rattlin’ hole.
With the [G] hole in the bog,
And the bog down in the [C] valley- [G] o.

Now in that hole there was a tree, a rare tree, a rattlin’ tree.
With the tree in the hole and the hole in the bog
And the bog down in the valley-o.

Now on that tree there was a branch, a rare branch, a rattlin’ branch
With the branch on the tree and the tree in the hole,
And the bog down in the valley-o.

(Repeat, adding a line each time)
Now on that branch there was a nest, a rare nest, a rattlin’ nest…..

Now in that nest there was an egg , a rare egg, a rattlin’ egg…..

Now in that egg there was a bird, a rare bird, a rattlin’ bird…..

Stay & Play: Valentine’s and Paper and Popsicle Stick Vans

For Family Storytime, since it fell on Valentine’s Day, I did a very simple Valentine’s craft with colored paper hearts of different colors, glue sticks, white cardstock, and markers. The finished Valentines were adorable.

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I did a Van craft. Before storytime, I printed out a van picture (see below) on different colors of paper and cut out the windows. For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper vans, popsicle sticks, markers, googly eyes, and tape (for taping the popsicle sticks to the backs of the vans). The kids had a great time decorating their vans and drawing faces on the popsicle sticks.

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

U is for Umbrella: A Storytime About the Letter U

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Last Wednesday night and today we focused on the letter U for storytime. As usual, I started by asking the kids if they knew any words that started with the letter U, which was a challenge (a lot of them suggested “you.”) With a bit of prompting though, I got them to guess umbrella, unicorn, and up, and then we drew the letter U in the air together.

Here’s a combined list of the songs and books we did for both storytimes.

Books:

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

This is such a sweet, simple book about an umbrella that welcomes everyone, no matter how tall or different they may appear. I used it a while ago for a Welcoming Week storytime, and it worked perfectly for that theme too. The illustrations are funny, surprising, and adorable.

You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Liz Climo

This one got lots of laughs at my Family Storytime. When a little boy tosses a coin into a fountain and wishes for a unicorn, the narrator warns him that it’s not a good idea. Unicorns, it turns out, cannot be housebroken (and poop cupcakes), and worse, they love to throw unicorn parties, which get very messy.

A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine by Amy Young

Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, I used this unicorn book for Outdoor Musical Storytime today (what are the odds of finding a unicorn book about Valentine’s Day?). It’s a super sweet story about Sparkle the unicorn deciding to make a Valentine for his best friend Lucy. Even though he puts a lot of thought into it, he’s embarrassed by the results, and throws it away, but Lucy finds it in the trash, and absolutely loves it.

Those Are Not My Underpants by Melissa Martin; illustrated by Troy Cummings

The word “underpants” always gets a laugh, even more than “underwear” for some reason. In this story, Little Bear finds a pair of underpants hanging on a branch, and tries to find its owner, but all of the other animals explain why it can’t be their underpants. Finally, to his embarrassment, Little Bear discovers that they are his underpants.

Underwear! by Jenn Harney

This book is a fun bit of word play between a baby bear and a grown-up bear at bedtime, using phrases like “under where?” There’s one scene where the baby bear jumps out of the bathtub, surprising the older bear, and all the kids in Family Storytime shrieked with laughter.

Songs:

If All the Raindrops

We sang this one to go along with The Big Umbrella. I asked the kids to suggest foods they would like to fall out of the sky, and we sang it again with “If all the raindrops were hamburgers and ice cream…” and “apples and oranges.” It’s always been one of my favorite storytime songs, because not only does it give the kids a chance to suggest ideas for the verses, but it’s easy to get them to join in on the “Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah” line.

[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!

Old MacDonald

We sang this to go along with You Don’t Want a Unicorn at Family Storytime, but I asked the kids to suggest magical animals. I thought they would choose things like dragons or even Pokémon, but instead they started making up hilarious animal combinations, like “unicorn-octopus-whale,” which apparently says, “Eeep!” followed by a “unicorn-octopus-whale-crocodile” which says “Skoo!” You really never know what kids are going to come up with:

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
And on that farm he [F] had a [C] unicorn-octopus-whale,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
With an eep-eep here, and an eep-eep there,
Here a eep, there a eep,
Everywhere a eep-eep.
[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

The Wishy Washy Washer Woman

We did this one at Family Storytime with play scarves, as shown in the video below, to go along with Those Are Not My Underpants.

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.

Under the Umbrella

We did this song with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, using the tune to Frère Jacques:

Rain is falling, (wave parachute up and down)
Rain is falling,
From the sky,
From the sky,
I’m under the umbrella, (lift the parachute up so the kids can go underneath)
Under the umbrella,
Nice and dry!
Nice and dry!

Under the Boardwalk by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick

We sang this song as our instrument play-along for Outdoor Musical Storytime. It was fun because so many of the parents already knew it.

Oh, when the [C] sun beats down and burns the tar up on the [G] roof.
And your shoes get so hot, you wish your tired feet were fire-[C]proof. [C7]
Under the [F] boardwalk, down by the [C] sea,
On a blanket with my [G] baby, is where I’ll [C] be.

Under the [Am] boardwalk, out of the sun.
Under the [G] boardwalk, we’ll be having some fun.
Under the [Am] boardwalk, people walking above.
Under the [G] boardwalk, we’ll be falling in love under the [Am] boardwalk, boardwalk.

From the [C] park you hear the happy sounds of the carou-[G]sel,
You can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they [C] sell. [C7]
Under the [F] boardwalk, down by the [C] sea
On a blanket with my [G] baby, is where I’ll [C] be.

Under the [Am] boardwalk, out of the sun.
Under the [G] boardwalk, we’ll be having some fun.
Under the [Am] boardwalk, people walking above.
Under the [G] boardwalk, we’ll be falling in love under the [Am] boardwalk, boardwalk.

Under a Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner

I always end with this song for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and give the kids egg shakers to shake in time to the beat. This week, since it fit with our letter U theme, I also sang it at the end of Family Storytime (I also used it for the letter T the week before.)

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the breeze blow by?
Can you [C] feel it on your face?
This is our [F] special [G7] place.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the soft cool grass?
Can you [C] feel it with your toes?
We can [F] sit here while it [G7] grows.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

If you want to [G7] close your eyes,
And [C] sleep beneath the tree,
You can [F] rest your head on [G7] me.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Stay & Play: Coffee Filter Umbrellas

This was a cute and easy craft that I adapted from GluedtoMyCraftsBlog.com. Before storytime, I cut coffee filters in half (I cut little half circles along the flat edge, but it works just fine to just cut them in half). For the Stay & Play, I put out the coffee filter halves, along with dot markers, glue sticks, white cardstock, pipe cleaners, scissors (for trimming the pipe cleaners), and Scotch tape for taping the pipe cleaner handles onto the paper.

The kids had a good time assembling their umbrellas on the cardstock, and decorating them with the dot markers. One little girl hilariously offered hers to her Mom to keep the rain off, and the Mom made a big show of holding it over her head.

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

T is for Tree: A Storytime About the Letter T

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We’re getting close to the end of the alphabet, although I’m a little nervous about the letters at the end, especially V, X, Y, and Z. Luckily, today we were on the Letter T, which gave me lots of fun options for stories and songs.

As usual, at both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, I asked the kids if they knew any words that started with the letter T. They suggested tree, toe, turtle, and tiger. I also showed them a tamborine. Then we drew the letter T (both capital and lower case) in the air together.

Here are the stories, songs, and activities we did:

Books:

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Fun read-aloud about Mr. Gilly the garbage man, who drives around Trashy Town collecting trash. The kids loved joining in on the repeated line: Dump it in! Smash it down! Drive around the Trashy Town!” and then calling out “NO!” to the question, “Is the trash truck full yet?”

Little Blue Truck by Alice Shertle; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

This book has it all: animal sounds, a friendly blue truck, construction equipment. I read it earlier in the week a special needs preschool, and one of the students absolutely fell in love with it. In this first book in the series, Little Blue Truck tries to help a rude dump truck who gets stuck in the mud. When he gets stuck too, his animal friends rush to the rescue.

Clarabella’s Teeth by An Vrombaut

Adorable, funny, simple story about Clarabella the crocodile, who has so many teeth that by the time she finishes brushing them, her friends are getting ready for bed. Luckily, her friends come up with a gift idea to help her brush much more quickly.

Three Grumpy Trucks by Todd Tarpley; illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

I love this story about three colorful toy construction vehicles who don’t want to stop playing, and keep asking to stay longer until they finally wear themselves out. The kids really liked all of the truck noises, and the grown-ups got a kick out of the line “I think you need a wiper change.”

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Beautiful, interactive book that asks the reader to do different things (tap the tree trunk, touch the flower buds, wiggle their fingers, etc.) to help a tree go through the different changes that happen throughout the year. The kids loved joining in on the different actions.

Songs & Rhymes:

Old MacDonald

We sang this as a follow-up to Little Blue Truck. I asked the kids to suggest different animals for each verse:

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
And on that farm he [F] had a [C] cow,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
With an moo-moo here, and an moo-moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
Everywhere a moo-moo.
[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Construction Song

I sand this as a follow-up to Three Grumpy Trucks. It’s to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell:

The backhoe scoops the dirt,
The backhoe scoops the dirt,
Hey-ho, look at them go!
The backhoe scoops the dirt.

The crane goes up and down…

The cement mixer stirs…

The dump truck bumps away…

Brush Your Teeth

We sang this as a follow-up to Clarabella’s Teeth. It’s always a hit!

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to one,
And you want to have a little fun,
You brush your teeth,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
You brush your teeth,
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to two,
And you just can’t think of something to do,
You brush your teeth…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to three,
And your mind starts humming,
“Fiddle-dee-dee,”…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to four,
And you think you hear a knock on the door,
You get a little scared,
And then you brush your teeth…

When you wake up in the morning,
It’s a quarter to five,
And you just can’t wait to come alive!…

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

We did this rhyme with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime. I put two shaker eggs on the parachute, and we pretended they were apples (it would have been even better with the apple-shaker instruments!).

Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could!
Down came the apples.
Mmmm! They were good!

Under a Shady Tree

This is my traditional closing song for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and we always sing it with egg shakers. This week, since it fit with our tree/Letter T song, I also did it at the end of Family Storytime.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the breeze blow by?
Can you [C] feel it on your face?
This is our [F] special [G7] place.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Can you [G7] feel the soft cool grass?
Can you [C] feel it with your toes?
We can [F] sit here while it [G7] grows.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

If you want to [G7] close your eyes,
And [C] sleep beneath the tree,
You can [F] rest your head on [G7] me.

[C] Under a shady tree, you and me.
Under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.
Under a shady tree you and me.
Lying under a [G7] shady tree you and [C] me.

Stay & Play: Mixed Media Trees

This was a really simple craft, but the kids had a good time with it. I printed out tree templates from Crafts on Sea on cardstock. For the Stay & Play, I put out the tree templates, crayons, markers, dot markers, glue sticks and squares of colored tissue paper. Some kids also glued actual leaves onto their trees.

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

S is for Slug: A Storytime About the Letter S

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Letter S may be my favorite storytime letter so far (and not just because Storytime starts with S). One of our regular families who comes to Outdoor Musical Storytime, always comes early to see how many banana slugs she can find in the park (today she found 27!). In her honor, I ordered a banana slug puppet, and featured banana slugs in our Stay & Play activity, and our instrument play-along song at the end.

I started the storytime by asking the kids if they knew any words that started with the letter S. They suggested seal, snake, and sand. I also demonstrated a slide whistle (one of my favorite instruments!), and held up my slug puppet, and a large spider that one of our library staff made on our 3D printer. Then we drew the letter S in the air together.

Here are the books and songs I used in either Outdoor Musical Storytime, Family Storytime, or both:

Books:

Shake the Tree by Chiara Vignocchi, Paulo Chiarinotti, and Silvia Borando

I read this one for Family Storytime, and it was a big hit. A mouse tries to shake a nut out of tree, but accidentally shakes down a hungry fox. The mouse escapes into the tree branches, and when the fox shakes the tree, he shakes down an angry warthog, who ends up shaking down a big bear. The bear shakes down all the animals, and the nut, which he eats. The kids enjoyed pretending to shake the tree along with the story. The book opens vertically, which is also fun.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

When I held this one up, a number of the older kids yelled, “I have that book!” It’s such a classic, simple story about a boy’s adventures in the snow. I had the kids try walking with their toes pointing outward, and then inward along with the story. They were very engaged all the way through.

Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks

One of my favorite read-alouds! An adorable spider wants to be a family pet, but keeps getting put outside. The kids loved joining in on the “Aarrgh, Spider!” line, which is written in large enough text that the older preschoolers could pick it out whenever I got to that page. It made me really happy to see that they were paying attention to the written words.

Slug in Love by Rachel Bright and Nadia Shireen

This is such a cute, rhyming book about a slug named Doug who really wants a hug, but no one wants to hug him.

Songs & Rhymes

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

I did this one in Family Storytime to go along with Shake the Tree. I asked the kids to suggest other fruits, and we did the rhyme again with an orange tree and a banana tree.

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up)
Two little apples smiled at me. (make circles with the thumb and fingers of each hand)
I shook that tree as hard as I could! (shake imaginary tree)
Down came the apples (lower arms quickly)
Mmmm! They were good! (rub stomach)

Five Little Snowmen

This is one of my favorite winter-time songs. The kids LOVE pretending to melt to the floor, and then pop up again.

Five little snowmen standing in a row, (hold up five fingers)
Each with a hat (touch head), and a brightly colored bow (adjust imaginary bowtie).
Five little snowmen dressed up all for show.
Now they are ready,`
Where will they go?

Wait! (hold out hands in a “Stop!” motion) Till the sun shines. (move hands in a circle)
Wait! Till the sun shines.
Then they will go
Down through the fields
With the melting, melting snow (“melt” all the way down to the floor, then pop up for the next four snowmen).

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

We sang this with the parachute, lifting it up and down along with the song. I put a large 3D-printed spider in the middle of the parachute, and kids thought it was hilarious to see the spider bouncing up and down.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

Spider on the Floor

To the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It. This is an old Raffi song (video below) although I usually change the lyrics a little. I used the 3D printed spider to act out the words, while the kids made pretend spiders out of their hands. (In Family Storytime, I had the kids pretend their play scarves were spiders).

There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.
There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.
Who could ask for any more than a spider on the floor?
There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

Now the spider’s on my leg, on my leg.
Now the spider’s on my leg, on my leg.
Oh, he’s really, really big, this old spider on my leg.
There’s a spider on my leg, on my leg.

Now the spider’s on my tummy, on my tummy…
Oh, I feel so very funny with this spider on my tummy!…

Now the spider’s on my neck, on my neck…
Oh, I’m gonna’ be a wreck, I’ve got a spider on my neck!…

Now the spider’s on my face, on my face…
Oh, I’m such a big disgrace. I’ve got a spider on my face!…

Now the spider’s on my head, on my head…
Oh, it fills my heart with dread to have this spider on my head!…

Spoken: But it jumps off!

Now the spider’s on the floor, on the floor…

Who could ask for any more than a spider on the floor?…


Banana Slug Song by Bungee Jumpin’ Cows

I was happy to see that this song has been used in our local Outdoor Ed program, where every fifth grader in the public schools spends a week at a camp learning about nature. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end. The kids loved the BA-NA-NA Slug, Slug, Slug, Slug! part (the motions are in the video below). Here’s a link to the original song recording by Bungee Jumpin’ Cows, in case that’s easier to follow for the tune: https://bungeejumpincows.bandcamp.com/track/the-banana-slug-song

To the tune of Twist and Shout.

BA (pat legs)
NA (pat shoulders)
NA (pat head)
SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! (Pump hands up and down in the air).

You know I love my [G] baby
([C] Love my [D] baby).
I like the [C] way that she [G] hugs
(The [C] way that she [D] hugs).
People [C] don’t [G] understand
([C] Don’t [D] understand).
She’s a [C] banana [G] slug.
([C]Banana [D] slug).

BA (pat legs)
NA (pat shoulders)
NA (pat head)
SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! (Pump hands up and down in the air).

She’s got just one foot
(Just one foot).
But she ain’t got no toes
(Ain’t got no toes)
She just hangs out in the forest
(In the forest).
Helpin’ it decompose
(Decompose).

BA (pat legs)
NA (pat shoulders)
NA (pat head)
SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! (Pump hands up and down in the air).

The way you shake your antenna
(Shake your antenna).
You know it gives me such bliss
(Gives me such bliss).
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon banana slug
(Banana slug).
And let me give you a kiss
(Give you a kiss).

BA (pat legs)
NA (pat shoulders)
NA (pat head)
SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! SLUG! (Pump hands up and down in the air).

Stay & Play: Liquid Chalk Marker Painted Slugs

These was a super simple Stay & Play activity, but the kids were really into it.

Before storytime, I printed out the slug templates from LearnCreateLove on white cardstock and cut them out. For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed templates, along with googly eyes, and liquid chalk markers, paint brush pens, and dot markers. The kids were having such a great time decorating their slugs that some of them didn’t want to leave.

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

R is for Rocket: A Storytime About the Letter R

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This week, we featured the letter R in both Family Storytime and Outdoor Musical Storytime.

As usual, I started by asking the kids to name any words they knew that started with R. They suggested rain, rabbit, roar, and rainbow. Then we wrote the letter R (upper and lower case) in the air together.

Here are the books and songs that we did:

Books:

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

This is a fun book to read, especially for two voices, so Claire and I read it together for Outdoor Musical Storytime. Two people argue about the creature they see. One says it’s a duck. The other insists it’s a rabbit. The argument continues until the creature runs away. But now they both have doubts about what it actually was.

Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge

A story that describes an exciting journey into space in a tiny red rocket ship. The kids loved joining on the “scream!” and calling out things they saw in the illustrations. I had a pretty lively group of preschoolers at Outdoor Musical Storytime, and I was worried this would be a bit too long, but they were very engaged.

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems

One of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books. In this one, Gerald and Piggie are excited to run, skip, and jump outside on a beautiful day, until it starts to rain. Piggie complains that she hates the rain, but then they see two worms having fun, and decide to try having fun too. But just as Piggie realizes how much she loves the rain, it stops. Luckily, Gerald has a plan to keep the fun going.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

Colorful, animal-filled adaptation of the classic song, with lots of opportunities for the kids to join in on the animal sounds. I gave out instruments before we read this one at Family Storytime.

Songs:

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

I learned this song from a local daycare provider, and it’s been a big hit. I have the kids crouch down and pretend to be asleep, then pop up and hop. We usually sing it three times.

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!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We sang this one with the parachute at both storytimes (I have a little parachute that we used for Family Storytime. The kids put puppets on top, and thought it was hilarious to watch them fly up in the air at the end).

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!

Rain is Falling Down

We did this one with play scarves, throwing them up in the air and catching them. I use the tune from JBrary in the video below:

Rain is falling down. SPLASH!
Rain is falling down. SPLASH!
Pitter patter, Pitter patter,
Rain is falling down. SPLASH!

Snow is falling down. SHHH!
Snow is falling down. SHHH!
Swirling, twirling, swirling, twirling,
Snow is falling down. SHHH!

If All the Raindrops

We sang this one as our instrument play-along. I asked the kids to suggest foods that they would like to have fall from the sky. They came up with macaroni and broccoli, bananas and juice, and chicken wings and carrots.

[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: Straw Rockets

For this easy Stay & Play, I precut these paper rocket ships from Playdatebox.com. I also rolled some strips of paper into pencil-sized tubes, and taped one end of each one to seal it closed.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper rockets, markers, tapes, the rolled paper tubes, and some paper straws. After the kids colored the rockets with the markers, I showed them how to tape a paper tube on the back, with the sealed end on the top. Then they made the rockets fly by putting their paper straw into the tube and blowing (it helps not to push the straw too far in).

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

Q is for Quail: A Storytime About the Letter Q

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It’s been cold and rainy the past few days, and I had to cancel my Outdoor Musical Storytime last Tuesday. Today we were back in time to celebrate the letter Q. I had also done an abridged version of this storytime last Wednesday night, when most of the families arrived late due to the weather.

Since Q is almost always paired with the letter U(in English anyway), I wrote the two letters together on a piece of paper at the beginning (I’ve misplaced my little whiteboard!). Then I asked the kids if they knew any words starting with Q. They suggested quarter, queen, quack, quick, and quiet.

Here are the stories, songs, and activities we did:

Books:

Quackers by Liz Wong

Adorable story about a cat named Quackers who thinks he is a duck, like all of the other ducks that he lives with, even though he sometimes struggles to fit in. He is very surprised to meet another cat named Mittens, who introduces him to foods and activities that cats like, but soon finds he misses his duck friends. In the end, he finds a way to enjoy both worlds. The kids thought it was enormously funny that the book starts out by saying that Quackers is a duck.

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up by Jane Whittingham; illustrated by Emma Pedersen

Sweet book about a young quail who always falls behind her large family, because she often stops to look at treasures along the way. The family is constantly fussing at her to keep up, until one day her curiosity saves them from a sneaky cat. The repeated “bob, bob, bobbing,” “tap, tap tapping” and “hurry, hurry, hurrying” kept the kids engaged, as did the cute, colorful illustrations.

Be Quiet, Mike by Leslie Patricelli

I gave out egg shakers and the other instruments we use for our instrument play-along before reading this book, and had the kids shake along in rhythm. It’s a cute, rhyming story about a monkey who is always being told to “Be Quiet!” until he creates his own drum set. The kids enjoyed chiming in on the repeated, “Be Quiet, Mike!” refrain.

Songs:

Five Little Ducks

I did this song to go along with Quackers. I used the Monkey Mitt, which comes with five bright yellow ducks that stick to the glove with Velcro. I had a small enough crowd for my Family Storytime that the kids could take turns removing a duck from the mitt each time, although we had to double up for some of the ducks. I sing the Raffi version, which you can find here.

Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck cried, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!”
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day…

Three little ducks went out one day…

Two little ducks went out one day…

One little duck went out one day…

Sad Mother Duck went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck cried, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!”
And all of the five little ducks came back!

Two Little Blackbirds

I did this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime to go along with Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up, as well as the Q word “Quiet.” Always a hit!

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (Hold up both thumbs)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one thumb behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other thumb behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first thumb out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second thumb out in the front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate.
One was early,
And the other was…late!…  (I like to drag the pauses out as long as possible before saying “Late!” until the kids are all yelling it out.)

I’m a California Quail

We sang this one with play scarves at Family Storytime, and I had the kids put their scarves on their heads to mimic the feathers of the California Quail, which happens to be the state bird (it’s also a very common sight at the park where we have our storytime). I held up a picture of the bird for the kids to see before we sang this song, which is to the tune of I’m a Nut.

I’m a California Quail,
See me walking on the trail.
Got six feathers for a crown (put the back of your hand on your forehead and wiggle your fingers),
See it bobbing up and down (bob your head up and down).

Caw-CAW-Caw! Caw-CAW-Caw!

This is Quick, Quick, Quick

I did this simple rhyme with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime:

This is quick, quick, quick, (shake parachute quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow, (shake parachute slowly)
This is high, high, high, (raise parachute up)
This is low, low, low. (lower parachute down).

Letter Q

I was struggling to find a good Letter Q song, so I wrote this one to sing for our instrument play-along.

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Without U, there is no [F] Question.
[G7] Without U, no qualit-[C]y.
No Quiet walks [F] along the shore,
No [G7] Quests of braver-[C]y.
No Quilts to keep you [F] warm at night,
No [G7] Quick trips to the [C] zoo.
There’s nothing quite as [F] lonesome
As [G7] Q is without [C] U.

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Q is such a quirky [F] letter.
[G7] It is useless on its [C] own.
Without U it cannot [F] Qualify,
It [G7] cannot stand a-[C]lone.
Q would be in such a [F] Quandary,
Without [G7] you to make it [C] sound.
I Quake to think what [F] Q would be
[G7] Without U [C] around!

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

Stay & Play: Sticky Note Quilts

For this easy Stay & Play, I put out different colors of sticky notes, large white paper, and markers. I had brought a quilt to show the kids how they featured different patterns. They seemed to enjoy arranging their sticky notes on the paper, and then decorating them with the markers.

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

P is for Paint: A Storytime About the Letter P

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Happy New Year!

This week we had a lot of fun with the letter P in our Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. As usual, I started by asking the kids to suggest words that started with the letter P, and I wrote these on my whiteboard. They came up with polar bear, park, pig and penguin. Then we drew the letter p in the air together. I also showed them two musical instruments: pan pipes and a penny whistle.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Peek-a-Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti; illustrated by Stephanie Peterson

Really simple, but adorable lift-the-flap book, featuring different farm animals playing peek-a-boo. The kids enjoyed calling out the name of each animal before I lifted the flap to reveal which one it was.

A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Shawn Harris

Beautiful, simple story about a polar bear who emerges from the snow. Where is he going? The kids were mesmerized by the artwork and enjoyed roaring with the bear.

I Am Invited to a Party by Mo Willems

In this Elephant and Piggie book, Piggie is excited to receive a party invitation, but isn’t sure what to wear, so she asks Gerald to come with her. Gerald says they “must be ready” for it to be a fancy party, a pool party, or a costume party, and they end up dressing for all three. My coworker Claire and I read this one together and it got a lot of laughs.

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont; illustrated by David Catrow

One of my very favorite storytime books, about a boy whose mother tells him “you ain’t gonna paint no more,” but he can’t resist painting different parts of his body. It’s a parody of the song It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More, so I sing it to that tune. It’s fun to have the kids try to guess which body part the boy is planning to paint next, based on the rhyme. I gave out play scarves before I read this one, and had the kids pretend they were paintbrushes.

Songs:

Old MacDonald

We sang this one after reading Peek-a-Moo. I asked the kids to suggest different animals for each verse.

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
And on that farm he [F] had a [C] cow,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
With an moo-moo here, and an moo-moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
Everywhere a moo-moo.
[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Going on a Bear Hunt

I read this to go along with A Polar Bear in the Snow. This was one of my favorite activities when I was a kid, and I love to throw it into a storytime.  The kids echo most of the lines (the ones in parentheses).  I like to play up wiping grass off my pants, and the mud off my feet, and shaking off the water from the lake.  It’s always a hit:

We’re going on a bear hunt!
(We’re going on a bear hunt!)
It’s a beautiful day!
(It’s a beautiful day!)
We’re not scared!
(We’re not scared!)

We’re coming to some grass.
(We’re coming to some grass).
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go through it.
(Have to go through it.)
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! (Rubbing hands together)

We’re coming to some mud.
(We’re coming to some mud.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go through it.
(Have to go through it).
Squilch! Squelch! Squilch! Squelch! (Clapping hands together).

We’re coming to a lake.
(We’re coming to a lake.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to swim across it.
(Have to swim across it.)
Splish! Splash! Splish! Splash!

We’re coming to a cave.
(We’re coming to a cave.)
Can’t go over it.
(Can’t go over it.)
Can’t go under it.
(Can’t go under it.)
Have to go inside.
(Have to go inside.)
Tiptoe…tiptoe…tiptoe…tiptoe…
It’s dark in here…
(It’s dark in here…)
It’s cold in here…
(It’s cold in here…)
Two yellow eyes…it’s a bear!

Run!
Swim across the lake!
Run through the mud!
Run through the grass!
Into the house!
Slam the door!
Lock it!
We’re never going on a bear hunt again!

Popcorn Kernels

I do this song every week with play scarves (like the JBrary video below) in my Family Storytime. But today, for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put some colored pom-poms on our parachute and had the kids shake the parachute together along with the beat. They LOVED watching the pom-poms bounce up and down.

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!

Polly Wolly Doodle

We sang this as our instrument play-along song at the end. It’s a traditional folk song with lots of variations, but the lyrics I used are below. Here’s a YouTube video from The Countdown Kids, in case you don’t know the tune:

Well, I went down [C] south for to see my gal,
Sing polly wolly doodle all the [G] day.
My Sal, she is a spunky gal,
Sing polly wolly doodle all [C] the day.

CHORUS

[C] Fare thee well, Fare thee well,
Fare thee well my fairy [G] fay.
For I’m going to Lou-siana for to see my Susi-anna,
Sing polly wolly doodle all [C] the day.

Behind the barn [C] down on my knees,
Sing polly wolly doodle all the [G] day.
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze,
Sing polly wolly doodle all [C] the day.

CHORUS

[C] Fare thee well, Fare thee well,
Fare thee well my fairy [G] fay.
For I’m going to Lou-siana for to see my Susi-anna,
Sing polly wolly doodle all [C] the day.

A peanut sat [C] on a railroad track,
His heart was all a- [G] flutter.
Around the bend came a train,
Toot! Toot! Peanut [C] butter!

CHORUS

[C] Fare thee well, Fare thee well,
Fare thee well my fairy [G] fay.
For I’m going to Lou-siana for to see my Susi-anna,
Sing polly wolly doodle all [C] the day.

Stay & Play: Painting

This was probably the most open-ended Stay & Play Activity I’ve done: free painting with washable paint. I just put out white cardstock and brushes, and then put a dollop of several different colors of paint on small plastic paint palettes.

Some of the caregivers told me it was the first time their kids had ever painted before, since they were nervous about the mess it would make at home. The kids had such a great time exploring the colors on the paper, and mixing them together. (One tip: I’ve learned to always provide a large plastic bag for people to put their brushes and palettes in when they’re done, so they don’t end up getting left on the table or falling on the floor).

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

O is for Octopus: A Storytime About the Letter O

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This week we celebrated the letter O in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

I started by asking the kids if they knew any words starting with the letter O. This was a little tricky, but they came up with owl, octopus, and open. I wrote these on my white board. Then we drew the letter O in the air together.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell; illustrated by Patrick Benson

One of my all-time favorite picture books, this simple story is about three adorable baby owls who wake up to find that their mother is gone. The kids loved joining in on the repeated line, “I want my Mommy!”

I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Hilarious story about a giant squid who brags about being the biggest thing in the ocean, until he is eaten by a whale. But no worries! He’s just as proud to be the biggest thing in this whale. The ending always gets a laugh.

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman; illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby

Clever, rhyming counting book about book dinosaurs hiding from Ten-Osaurus Rex…because they are playing hide-and-seek. The kids loved joining in on the big “Roar!”

Octopus Shocktopus by Peter Bently; illustrated by Steven Lenton

This was my first time reading this book at storytime, but the kids seemed to like it a lot. When an octopus lands on the roof of a family’s house, everyone is surprised. But the family soon learns that an octopus can be very useful, and a lot of fun to have around.

Songs:

I’m a Wide Eyed Owl

You can sing this to the tune of Turkey in the Straw, or just chant it as a rhyme:


I’m a wide-eyed owl (make circles with your fingers to look like eyes)
With a pointed nose (make a V with your index fingers and hold it up to your nose),
I have pointed ears (hold your index fingers up on either side of your head),
And claws for toes (wiggle your fingers like claws).
I live in a tree,
And I’m looking at you (point your finger).
When I flap my wings (flap arms),
I say, “Whoooo! Whooo!”

Slippery Fish

We sang this one after reading I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. It’s one that a lot of the kids know (I think they often learn it in swim classes), and they are always happy to join in.

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!

The Waves on the Ocean

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we sang this with the parachute to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The waves on the ocean go up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down,
The waves on the ocean go up and down,
All day long.

The waves on the ocean are big, big, big…

The waves on the ocean are small, small, small…

One Bright Scarf

I got this one from the Jbrary video below. We sang it with play scarves for Family Storytime, to go along with One-osaurus, Two-saurus. The kids loved the part where you hide the scarf behind your back.

One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow. (hold in hand)
Wiggle it high, (wiggle scarf above head)
Wiggle it low, (wiggle scarf by knees)
Shake it fast, (wiggle scarf quickly)
Shake it slow, (wiggle scarf slowly)
Put it behind your back,
Where did it go? (bring out empty hands)

Octopus’ Garden by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)

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

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] He’d let us in,
[Am] Knows where we’ve been,
[F] In his octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[Am] I’d ask my friends
To come and see
[F] An octopus’ [G] garden
With me.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] We would be warm
[Am] Below the storm,
[F] In our little hideaway
Beneath the [G] waves.

[C] Resting our head
[Am] On the seabed,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
Near a [G] cave.

[Am] We would sing
And dance around,
[F] Because we know
We [G] can’t be found.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
In an [F] octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] We would shout,
[Am] And swim about
[F] The coral that lies
Beneath the [G] waves.

[C] Oh, what joy
[Am] For every girl and boy,
[F] Knowing they’re happy
And they’re [G] safe.

[Am] We would be so happy
You and me,
[F] No one there to tell us
[G] What to do.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
With [G] you.

[F] In an octopus’ garden
With you.
[F] In an octopus’ garden
With [G] you.

Stay & Play: Paper Tube Octopus

This project was a variation of one from craftprojectideas.com. They used cardboard tubes, which would probably be easier, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I gave the kids colored paper and Scotch tape, and showed them how to roll the paper up and tape it into a tube.

Then I put out scissors, white glue, pony beads, markers, and googly eyes. The grown-ups had to help the youngest kids cut the bottom of the tube into eight tentacles, but many of the kids enjoyed trying the scissors themselves (I provided loop scissors for kids who don’t have the fine motor skills to use the regular ones yet). Then they glued pony beads onto the tentacles, and added googly eyes and a mouth drawn with markers. It was a more complicated project than I usually do, but the kids (and grown-ups) seemed to enjoy the process.

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

Happy New Year!

N is for Nest: A Storytime About the Letter N

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Last week, I stumbled across an abandoned hummingbird nest in the library garden, which seemed like the perfect tie-in for our Letter N storytime this week. It was beautifully constructed, with moss and tree bark on the outside, and the kids loved looking at it.

As usual I started by asking the kids to suggest words that start with the letter N, and writing them on my whiteboard. They came up with: no, not, nose, and note. Then we wrote the letter N (both capital and lower case in the air together.

Here’s the rest of what we did (this is a combination of both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime):

Books:

No, David by David Shannon

Whenever I read this book, I like to tell the families that the author wrote a version of it when he was five years-old, because he was always in trouble. It’s a simple book, full of hilarious illustrations, and the kids LOVED it, especially the picture of David running down the street naked.

Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and Steve Jenkins

Beautiful rhyming book showcasing the nests of a wide range of birds: woodpeckers, hummingbirds, hornbills, eagles, flamingos, owls, etc. The kids enjoying calling out the birds they recognized.

I Will Take a Nap by Mo Willems

This is one of the more surreal Elephant and Piggie books, where Gerald decides he is cranky and needs to take a nap. Piggie decides to nap too, but her snoring keeps Gerald awake…or does it? Suddenly, Piggie is floating in the air and has the head of a turnip, and Gerald realizes he is dreaming. My coworker Julia and I read this one together.

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

One of the Nuts series by Eric Litwin (the author of some of the original Pete the Cat books). In this one Hazel and Wally Nut are having too much fun to go to bed, and keep ignoring Mama Nut’s requests. The kids loved joining in on the “We’re nuts!” chant.

Songs:

The No Song

I think this song is also called The Argument. It’s basically the tune to Reveille, but you sing, “No, no, no, no, no” all the way through the first half, while shaking your head no, then “yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,” for the second half while nodding. If you have an older group, you can divide them up and have them sing both parts at the same time.

No, no, no, no, no, no,
No, no, no, no, no,
No, no, no, no, no, no no!
No, no, no, no, no, no,
No, no, no, no, no,
No, no, no, no, no, no no!

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,
Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!

The Noble Duke of York


We did this song with the parachute, lifting it up and down to match the lyrics. Here’s a video from BarneyClassics, in case you’re not familiar with the tune.

The noble Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them all to the top of the hill, (stretch up high or lift parachute)
And he marched them down again. (crouch down low or lower parachute)
And when you’re up, you’re up. (stretch up high)
And when you’re down, you’re down. (crouch down low)
And when you’re only halfway up,
You’re neither up, nor down. (stretch up high, then quickly crouch down)

Two Little Blackbirds

We sang this with play scarves (pretending they were birds), as a follow-up to Mama Built a Little Nest.

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (Hold up both thumbs)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one thumb behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other thumb behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first thumb out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second thumb out in the front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate.
One was early,
And the other was…late!…  (I like to drag the pauses out as long as possible before saying “Late!” until the kids are all yelling it out.)

I’m a Nut

This is an old camp song. The version I do is similar to the one in this JBrary video, although I add some additional verses:

[C] I’m a little acorn round,
Lying on the [G7] cold, cold ground.
[C] Everybody steps on me.
That is why I’m [G7] cracked you [C] see!

(Chorus)
[C] I’m a nut (clack your tongue twice)
[C] I’m a nut (clack your tongue twice)
[C] I’m a nut (clack your tongue twice)

[C] Called myself on the telephone,
Just to see if [G7] I was home.
[C] Asked myself out for a date,
Didn’t get home ’til [G7] half past [C] eight.

(Chorus)

[C] I’m a little piece of tin.
Nobody knows just [G7] where I’ve been.
[C] Got four wheels and a running board
I’m a Ford, yeah, [G7] I’m a [C] Ford.
(Honk honk, rattle rattle, crash crash,
beep beep, a-oo-ga)

Stay & Play: Paper Nests & Pom-Pom Birds

I meant to bring little paper plates for this project, but I forgot them. Luckily, I had some cardstock for the kids to use a base.

Before the storytime, I shredded some brown and white paper, and cut small triangles out of yellow paper for beaks. For the Stay & Play, I put out the shredded paper pieces, the yellow triangles, small pieces of yarn, some white glue and gluesticks, pom-poms of different sizes, and googly eyes. The kids had fun putting googly eyes and beaks on their pom-poms to make birds (some of them glued smaller pom-pom “heads” onto larger pom-pom bodies). Then they made their nests by gluing the shredded paper and yarn onto the paper.

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

M is for Mitten: A Storytime About the Letter M

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We are halfway through the alphabet in our storytime series about letters. I’m still enjoying the challenge, and the kids seem to like the weekly letter themes too.

As usual, today at Outdoor Musical Storytime I asked the kids to suggest words that start with the Letter M. They suggested Mommy, monkey, and mouse. Then we drew the letter M in the air together.

UPDATE: I did a slightly expanded version of the storytime below tonight for Family Storytime, so I’ve added in the additional book and song that we did.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Mouse was Mad by Linda Urban; illustrated by Henry Cole

Adorable book about handling big emotions. Mouse is so mad that he hops and stomps and screams and rolls around on the ground, but he can’t do any of these things as well as his friends Hare, Bear, Bobcat, and Hedgehog, and he keeps ending up in mucky mud puddles. Finally, he tries standing still and just breathing, and finds that he isn’t mad anymore.

The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth; illustrated by Barbara McClintock

I decided to do this longer version of the classic story about a lost mitten that becomes a refuge for a bunch of cold animals, rather than the more well-known one by Jan Brett (which I also love!), because the illustrations are a bit larger and easier for the kids to see in our outdoor setting. It also has a cute, repeated refrain that each animal says as they ask to be allowed to squeeze into the crowded mitten for warmth. This was a much longer book than I usually read, but the kids really seemed to like it.

Mooncake by Frank Asch

This is one of my long-time favorites: one of the Moonbear series by Frank Asch. In this one, Bear wonders what the Moon tastes like, so he builds a rocket, but falls asleep while counting down to lift off. He wakes up on a snowy day (something he’s never seen before), and thinking he is on the Moon, makes and eats a little Mooncake (made out of snow) and explores until he is frightened by strange footprints (his own). He gets back in the rocket, but again falls asleep, waking up when it is Spring again. The kids enjoyed joining in on the countdowns.

Moose Tracks by Karma Wilson and Jack E. Davis

Hilarious rhyming book about a house that is suddenly full of mysterious moose tracks. The twist at the end is the best!

Songs:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

I did this one to go along with the book Mouse Was Mad, since it’s all about feelings. I added in verses about other 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!”…

Mitten Song

Really simple but cute song about mittens. This video from HeadHz includes an additional verse that I haven’t used before. I just do the chorus:


Thumb in the thumb’s place, (wiggle your thumb)
Fingers all together, (squeeze your other fingers together)
This is the song we sing in mitten weather.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock

For our parachute activity, I brought out a mouse puppet and tossed it into the middle of parachute as we sang this song. Here’s a video from Super Simple Songs, in case you aren’t familiar with the tune:

Hickory dickory dock, (shake the parachute)
The mouse ran up the clock. (lift the parachute in the air)
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down. (lower the parachute)
Hickory, dickory, dock. (shake the parachute)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

We actually do this one every week with the parachute (it’s a shorter version of the traditional Zoom, Zoom, Zoom song). The kids LOVE running underneath when we raise the chute in the air.

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).

Mairzy Doats by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston

I loved this song when I was a kid, so I was happy to have an excuse to use it for an instrument play-along at the end of storytime. Here’s a link to the ukulele chords with chord charts from Doctor Uke, which is a wonderful site for learning how to play the ukulele, and finding the chords to popular songs.

[C] Oh, mairzy doats and [Cmaj7] dozy doats and [C6] liddle lambsy [C#dim] divey.
A [Dm7] kiddley divey, [G7] too. Wouldn’t [C] you?
[C] Oh, mairzy doats and [Cmaj7] dozy doats and [C6] liddle lambsy [C#dim] divey.
A [Dm7] kiddley divey, [G7] too. Wouldn’t [C] you?


If the [Gm7] words sound [C7] queer and [Gm7] funny to your [C7] ear,
A [F] little bit jumbled and [F6] jivey.
Sing, [Am7] “Mares eat [D7] oats and [Am7] does eat [D7] oats
and [G7] little [F] lambs eat [Em7] i-[G7sus] vy.”

[C] Oh, mairzy doats and [Cmaj7] dozy doats and [C6] liddle lambsy [C#dim] divey.
A [Dm7] kiddley divey, [G7] too. Wouldn’t [C] you?
[C] Oh, mairzy doats and [Cmaj7] dozy doats and [C6] liddle lambsy [C#dim] divey.
A [Dm7] kiddley divey, [G7] too. Wouldn’t [C] you?

Stay & Play: Paper Mittens

This was a really easy craft, but the kids had a lot of fun with it. I just put out paper in different colors, along with markers and dot markers. They needed a grown-up’s help to trace their hands to make a mitten shape, but then they spent a lot of time decorating their mittens.

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