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Let the Games Begin: A Storytime About the Olympics

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The Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games was held today in Paris, so this week for Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, I focused on the Olympics and some of its featured sports.

I started out by describing the Olympics and some of the sports the kids might see if they watched it on TV: gymnastics, swimming, diving, cycling, running, etc.

Here are the books and songs that I did:

Books:

Curious George and the Summer Games based on the books by Margret & H.A. Rey

Cute story where George sees kids practicing various sports for an upcoming competition, and tries to join in. Although as usual, he gets in a bit of trouble, he ends up saving the day for a friend who gets stage fright during her gymnastics routine. A good overview of a variety of events like hurdles, the relay race, the long jump, and volleyball. I don’t usually read Curious George books because they tend to be too long for toddlers and preschoolers, but the older kids in my Family Storytime were excited that I was reading one.

Koala Lou by Mem Fox; illustrated by Pamela Lofts

Sweet story about a koala whose mother is too busy to remember to say “Koala Lou, I do love you!” the way she used to, so she decides to compete in and win the climbing competition in the Bush Olympics. She practices and practices, but comes in second instead of first. She is devastated, until her mother finds her and says she loves her and she always will. The kids loved joining in during the parts where the crowd cheers. I always get choked up at the end (an embarrassing occupational hazard!).

Dino Swimming by Lisa Wheeler

Cute, rhyming story about a dinosaur swimming competition. The kids enjoyed pointing out the different types of dinosaurs.

Bike On, Bear! by Cynthea Liu; illustrated by Kristyna Litten

Bear can do absolutely anything, except ride a bicycle. Finally, his mother sends him to the library, where he finds a book that describes the steps involved in learning to ride. He still struggles to get the hang of it until he sees a baby goat in need of a quick rescue, and finds he can ride after all. I love the shameless plug for the library. One of the parents remarked afterwards that you really can learn anything there.

Jubari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

This is such a sweet father and son story, and perfect for storytime because of its large illustrations. Jubari thinks he is ready to try the high dive at the pool, but keeps finding reasons not to climb the ladder. His Dad tells him that sometimes when he is afraid, he takes a deep breath, and finds that the fear turns into a feeling of surprise. Jubari is thrilled to find that it works! Several of the kids had read the book before, but they all seemed to enjoy it.

Songs:

Monkey See, and Monkey Do

We sang this after reading Curious George and the Summer Games. I had a volunteer who mimed the motions with a monkey puppet, and we asked the kids to suggest other motions for the monkey to do.

When you clap, clap, clap your hands,
The monkey clap, clap, claps his hands,
Monkey see, and monkey do,
The monkey does the same as you!

Repeat with other motions: jumping up and down; making a funny face; turning yourself around, etc. I usually end with “When you sit back on the ground…”

Skidamarink A Dink A Dink

We sang this after reading Koala Lou.  I went over the sign language for “I Love You” before we sang the song together. Here’s a link to a YouTube video from Super Simple Songs with the tune:

Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.
Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.
I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon.
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon.
Oh, skidamarink a-dink, a-dink
Skidamarink a-doo
I love you.

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

We sang this after reading Dino-Swimming. It’s always a hit!

[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food on the [Dm] ground.
[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food, and [Dm] then we march [A] around.

[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest at the end of the [Dm] day.
[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest, and [Dm] then you’ll hear us [A] say…

[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[A] And then we RO-AR-OAR!
[A] Because [Dm] we [C] are the [Dm]dino-[D]saurs!

The Bears Are Jumping Up and Down

We did this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I put little plastic bear counters on the parachute. The kids loved watching them fly around. I was a little worried in retrospect that they might hurt if they hit someone though, so I think if I do it again, I will use teddy bears instead.

The bears are jumping up and down,
Up and down, up and down.
The bears are jumping up and down,
At the Olympics today.

The bears are running all around,
All around, all around.
The bears are running all around,
At the Olympics today.

Jump Up by Dan Zanes

This is such a happy song! Years ago, my old manager, Thom Ball, and two volunteers and I recorded an album of Musical Storytime songs that we gave away to our storytime families, and Dan Zane kindly gave us permission to include this one. For my storytimes this week, we did it as our instrument play-along at the end. The kids loved jumping up and down as we sang.

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

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

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

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

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

Stay & Play: Paper Gold Medals

This was a quick and easy Stay & Play activity. Before storytime, I cut circles out of yellow paper and punched a hole in each one. I also cut pieces of red nylon cord roughly 24″ long.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the circles, cut pieces of cord, and markers. I told the kids they could make themselves a medal for whatever activity they would like to win a medal in: running, eating ice cream, etc.

Do you have any favorite books about the Olympics or Olympic sports? Please share them in the comments below.

Out of the Blue: A Storytime About the Color Blue

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This past week, I continued my rainbow color series of storytimes by focusing on the color blue. I started by asking the kids to suggest things that were blue. They enjoyed looking around and pointing at different things around them, including the sky, backpacks, blueberries, and blankets.

Here’s a combination of the books and songs I used for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

Books:

Becoming Blue by Ellen Tarlow and Julien Chung

Blue wants to be more like Red, who seems to be so much more exciting and impressive. But he doesn’t seem to be able to be anything other than Blue. Finally Red tells him stop copying her and be blue, and he discovers the joys of being himself. The kids really liked the bright, colorful illustrations.

Roo Knows Blue by Renée Treml

Cute rhyming book about a kangaroo who says he knows blue, but does he really? The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the correct colors.

Blue vs Yellow by Tom Sullivan

Blue and Yellow both think they are the best colors, until they discover that together they can make something entirely different. The kids had fun calling out the names of the blue, yellow, and green things in the pictures.

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

I was thinking about this book recently, because it was one of my mother-in-law’s childhood favorites, and I wrote a song based on it for her for Mother’s Day. It’s a longer book than I usually read for storytime, but I decided to give it a try with my Family Storytime group, and they loved it. Such a sweet, classic story about a little girl and her mother, and a baby bear and his mother, who all get a big surprise while eating berries on Blueberry Hill.

Songs:

Peanut Butter & Jelly

I sang this one at Family Storytime to go along with Blueberries for Sal. I do a slightly different version of the one in the Super Simple Songs video below. I have the kids mime picking the peanuts and grapes (or whatever other fruit they suggest), mash them, spread them, and eat the sandwich. I usually pretend to have peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth at the end, and then we all mime pouring and drinking a glass of milk.

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

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

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

Shoo Fly

I did this song to go along with Roo Knows Blue. In Family Storytime, I passed out play scarves for the kids to wave on the chorus. I do this version of the song from Greg and Steve, and ask the kids to suggest different animals they would like to be.

Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me! (Wave hands or scarf as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.
I hop, I hop,
I hop like a kangaroo.
I hop, I hop,
I hop like a kangaroo.


Oh, Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me.
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.

I wiggle, I wiggle, I wiggle like a wiggling worm…

The Waves on the Ocean

We did this one with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and put a stuffed animal on top to go up and down with the waves. It’s 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!

Baby Beluga by Raffi

This one was a bit of a stretch, but I used it for our instrument play-along because of the “deep blue sea” line. The kids always love it.

C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free
Heaven above and the sea below
And a little white whale [C] on the go

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] is the water warm?
Is your mama home [G7] with you so happy?
[C] Way down yonder where the dolphins play
Where you dive and [G7] splash all day
Waves roll in and the waves roll out
[G] See the water squirting [C] out of your spout


CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] sing your little song,
Sing for all your friends. [G7] We love to hear you!
[C] When it’s dark you’re home and fed
Curl up snug in your [G7] water bed
Moon is shining and the stars are out
Good night, little whale, [C] goodnight

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] with tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun. [G7] You’ll soon be waking.
[C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale [C] on the go.
[G7] You’re just a little white whale [C] on the go!

Stay & Play: Glow Glue Painting

We happened to have a lot of blue glow-in-the-dark glue, along with other colors, left over from a STEAM program last summer, so I decided to use it for a very simple process art activity. For the Stay & Play, I put out paper plates with small quantities of different colors of glue, along with cotton swabs (Q-tips), and black construction paper. The kids had fun drawing with the glue on the paper, and were excited to take it home to see their paintings glow in the dark. My Family Storytime kids, who tend to be a bit order, had a great time mixing different colors of glue on the plates to make different colors.

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

Yellow Pages: A Storytime About the Color Yellow

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Last week we continued our colors of the rainbow series of storytimes by focusing on the color Yellow. I started by asking the kids to suggest things that are yellow. They came up with bananas, lemons, flowers, and school buses.

Here are the books and songs we did for Family Storytime and Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Books:

The Duckling Gets a Cookie?! by Mo Willems

One of the Pigeon books by Mo Willems, this one features the Duckling, who gets a cookie (with nuts), and upsets the Pigeon, who complains that he never gets anything he asks for. But for once the Pigeon has a happy ending, when the Duckling gives him the cookie.

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger

This book was a bit out of season, since it’s almost summer, but the kids enjoyed it. It’s about a yellow leaf that doesn’t want to let go of the tree, until it meets a red leaf who agrees to let go at the same time. I gave out play scarves before we read it, and the kids enjoyed waving them through the air and dropping them like leaves.

Counting to Bananas by Carrie Tillotson; illustrated by Estrela Lourenço

A funny, rhyming counting book, featuring a banana who complains that the narrator keeps putting animals in a book about fruit. He gets even more upset when the animals include baboons and apes, who love to eat bananas.

Yellow Copter by Kersten Hamilton; illustrated by Valeria Petrone

Very cute rhyming story about a yellow helicopter who rescues a teacher stranded at the top of a ferris wheel. I read this one at Family Storytime, and gave out play scarves for the kids to spin around like propellors as I read.

Songs:

Do You See the Color Yellow

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

Do you see the color blue… etc.

Leaves Are Falling on the Ground

To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. I got this one from PreschoolExpress.com, who credits Jean Warren as the author. We handed out play scarves before we sang it, and pretended they were leaves falling through the air, then swished them in the air like rakes for the second verse:

The leaves on the trees are falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
The leaves on the trees are falling down,
All through the town.

Let’s rake the leaves into a mound,
Into a mound, into a mound.
Let’s rake the leaves into a mound
All through the town.

The kids in the town jump up and down,
Up and down, up and down.
The kids in the town jump up and down,
All through the town.

Yellow Bird

This is a traditional song called Little Bird. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I sang it with the parachute, and had the kids walk underneath the parachute as if they were flying through the window.


[C] Yellow Bird, Yellow Bird,
[C] Fly through my window.
[G7] Yellow Bird, Yellow Bird,
[G7] Fly through my window.
[C] Yellow Bird, Yellow Bird,
[C] Fly through my window.
[G7] Find molasses [C] candy.

Chorus:

[G7] Fly through my window, my sugar lump!
[C] Fly through my [G7] window, my [C] sugar lump!
[G7] Find molasses [C] candy!

Black Bird, Black Bird, Fly through my window…

I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas

The kids always love this silly camp song, which goes through all of the long vowel sounds. Here’s a video from Super Simple Songs:

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: Flower Painting

This is such an easy process art activity, but it’s always a big hit. Before storytime, I gathered a bunch of flowers from my yard (I try to stick to edible flowers like nasturtiums, oxalis, lavender, and geraniums). For the Stay and Play, I put out white card stock and the flowers. The kids had a great time squishing the flower petals onto the paper to make different colors.

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

Blueberries for Sal: A Song for Mother’s Day

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Several years ago, my mother-in-law sent us some of her old children’s books, including an old copy of Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey. It was a book that I enjoyed reading to my own kids, about a girl named Sal who goes blueberry picking with her mother, and ends up trailing behind a mother bear, while the bear’s cub ends up trailing behind Sal’s mother. Luckily, everyone gets sorted out in the end, and Sal and her mother go home to can berries for the Winter.

This year, for Mother’s Day, I decided to write a song based on Blueberries for Sal. It such a sweet, timeless story, and it brings back my own memories of picking blackberries with my own Mom when I was little. Thinking back on the little adventures I had with my kids when they were little, I thought it would be fun to write a song from the perspective of the mother in the story.

Sal and I went up the hill
With our silver pails.
The sun was high, the world was still
As we wandered up the trail.
And I watched her eyes grow wide and bright
At the treasures all around,
Plucking berries one by one,
Shiny, blue, and round.

And the morning was a treasure too,
Though I didn’t know it then.
Wish I could seal these memories in a jar,
So I could live them all again.

She dropped the berries in her pail,
Then ate them one by one.
She sat beside the largest bush,
Munching in the sun.
I thought of all the jam we’d share
In the Winter days ahead.
Sipping cocoa by the fireside,
Reading stories in her bed.

And the morning was a treasure too,
Though I didn’t know it then.
Wish I could seal these memories in a jar,
So I could live them all again.

I felt a tug and turned around
To see her golden head,
To my surprise, a little bear
Was watching me instead.
The nightmares flooded through my mind,
Of Sal alone, so small and frail,
Until I heard the happy plinking sound,
Of berries in her pail.

And as we left that afternoon,
I saw the mother bear,
With that bear cub trotting close behind,
Romping in the autumn air.

I wondered if that mother bear
Carried the same fear,
That the world would not be safe or kind
To the one she held so dear.
I thought of mothers everywhere,
And my own so far away,
Wishing they be blessed with happy times,
And peaceful dreams at end of day.

And the morning was a treasure too,
Though I didn’t know it then.
Wish I could seal these memories in a jar,
So I could live them all again.

What are your favorite classic picture books? Please share them in the comments below.

A Whale of a Time: A Storytime About Whales

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Our coastal town is having a Whale Fest this weekend, so I thought it would be fun to do a storytime about whales.

Here are the books and songs that I did (a combination of Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime). I also printed out this brochure of whales and other marine mammals from savethewhales.org.

Books:

Oona in the Arctic by Kelly DiPucchio; illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

This is a stunningly beautiful book, with a sweet story about Oona the mermaid coming to the rescue of a lost baby beluga whale. It was a bit too long for my usual Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, but a big hit at Family Storytime.

The Whale in My Swimming Pool by Joyce Wan

Cute, funny story about a boy who finds his swimming pool occupied by a very large whale. He tries everything he can think of to get it to move, but then discovers that having your own whale isn’t so bad after all. One family asked to check this one out after storytime.

I Love You, Blue by Barroux

Sweet, simple story about a lighthouse keeper who makes friends with a whale named Blue. When he finds Blue at the bottom of the ocean feeling sick, he asks him to open his mouth, and sees that the whale has swallowed hundreds of bags. Taking the bags away makes Blue feel much better. This was a great book for Whale Fest, which focuses a lot on the importance of keeping trash out of the ocean.

Breathe by Scott Magoon

This is a beautiful book, with very little text, showing a baby beluga whale’s day with his mother. The kids enjoyed taking breaths together on the pages that said “Breathe.”

Songs:

Slippery Fish

We sang this one with a fish, octopus, shark, and whale puppet. Lots of swimming schools around here use this song, and it’s always a big hit.

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 Sea

We did this one with the parachute, and put a whale puppet on top to go up and down with the waves. It’s 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!

Baby Beluga by Raffi

We sang this as our instrument play-along at Outdoor Musical Storytime.

[C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free
Heaven above and the sea below
And a little white whale [C] on the go

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] is the water warm?
Is your mama home [G7] with you so happy?

[C] Way down yonder where the dolphins play
Where you dive and [G7] splash all day
Waves roll in and the waves roll out
[G] See the water squirting [C] out of your spout

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] sing your little song,
Sing for all your friends. [G7] We love to hear you!

[C] When it’s dark you’re home and fed
Curl up snug in your [G7] water bed
Moon is shining and the stars are out
Good night, little whale, [C] goodnight

CHORUS
[F] Baby Beluga, [C] Baby Beluga, [D] with tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun. [G7] You’ll soon be waking.

[C] Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you [G7] swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale [C] on the go.
[G7] You’re just a little white whale [C] on the go!

Down By the Bay by Raffi

We had so much fun doing this song as an instrument play-along at the end of Family Storytime that I may make it a regular ending song. We sang the first verse the way it’s written below, but I asked the kids for suggestions for the additional verses. They came up with “Did you ever see a shark going to the park?” and “Did you ever see a mouse burning a house?”

https://youtu.be/jAjhLexlrDc

[C] Down by the bay, where the watermelons [G7] grow,
Back to my home, I dare not [C] go,
For if I [F] do, my mother will [C] say,
“Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail
[G7] Down by the [C] bay?”

Stay & Play: Whale Puppets

I got this idea from OutUpontheWaters.com. It was a bit more involved than my usual crafts, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Before storytime, I pre-folded blue construction paper. Unlike the directions, I didn’t cut the paper. Instead, I folded it half lengthwise (hotdog style), and then crosswise (hamburger style). Then I folded the top layer on one side back, so that the end of the paper lined up with the fold. I flipped it over and folded the other top layer the same way. In the end, the sheet was folded in half lengthwise, with crosswise folds that made the shape of a capital letter M.

I also cut several tear-drop shaped pieces of construction paper for the flippers, and semi-circles out of red paper for the inside of the mouth. Finally, I cut some white paper into rectangles to make the water spouts (I let the kids cut the small lines to make it look like water spray).

For the Stay & Play, I put out the folded papers, the paper flippers, the paper mouths, the white paper rectangles, kids’ scissors, googly eyes, markers, and glue sticks. The kids had fun gluing the parts of their whale together and cutting the white paper rectangles to make the spray coming out of the top of the whale’s head. A few kids put the fish stickers I had given out at the end of storytime in the whale’s mouth, which was hilarious.

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

Go Wild: A Storytime for National Wildlife Week

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Last week was National Wildlife Week, which seemed like a fun theme opportunity, especially for our Outdoor Musical Storytime at the park. For that one, and for Family Storytime, I asked the kids what kinds of animals and insects they have seen outside. They mentioned rabbits, deer, turkeys, and birds. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I also handed out a Scavenger Hunt featuring animals and plants that are commonly found at the park, so that the kids could look for them after storytime.

Here are the books and songs we did for both storytimes.

Books:

What About Worms by Ryan T. Higgins

One of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading books, featuring an adorable tiger who is not scared of anything, except worms. His fear of worms leads him to break a flowerpot (which might be full of worms), drop an apple (in case it contained a worm), and run away from a book (that seemed to be about worms). Unfortunately, a group of grateful worms is so happy to find the things he left behind that they all decide to give him a “worm hug.” SO much fun to read aloud, and always gets a lot of laughs.

Can I Keep It? by Lisa Jobe

A little boy catches a variety of animals (a frog, a squirrel, a bird) and asks if he can keep them. Each time, his Mom asks where he thinks those animals would prefer to live, and he reluctantly sets them free. But then he finds a stray cat, who prefers to live with him. Very sweet, simple story, with large illustrations. A family asked to check it out after storytime.

The Lost Little Bird by David McPhail

When a bluebird hits his head, he finds that he can’t remember what kind of bird he is. He asks a nightingale, an owl, and a crow, but none of those seem right. Finally, he meets another bluebird, who not only helps him figure out what kind of bird he is, but helps him find a new home as well. I was happy to read this book because years ago, I had a library patron named Howard Rathlesberger, who built and posted bluebird houses all over San Mateo County. I think of him whenever I see a bluebird.

Kitty by Rebecca Jordan-Glum

Funny story about a grandmother who misplaces her glasses while pet-sitting, and mistakes a raccoon for the family cat. Naturally, the “kitty” makes a huge mess! I read this one for Family Storytime. The kids especially enjoyed the illustrations.

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

When a pigeon flies into a window and breaks its wing, a little boy brings it home and cares for it until it is ready to fly again. Sweet story, and a nice reminder that wildlife can be found in cities as well as more rural areas.

If Only by Mies van Hout

Simple story about a child who wishes he could be a butterfly, not knowing that the butterfly wishes it could be a stick insect, and the stick insect wishes it could be a whirligig beetle. Each insect wishes it could be something else, until the dragonfly wishes it could be a child. The kids enjoyed pretending to be the different insects: fluttering like a butterfly, buzzing like a bee, etc.

Shoo Fly

We sang this song after reading If Only. I had the kids suggest different animals they would like to be for each verse. They came up with a dancing giraffe, a butterfly, a snake, and a cat. There are lots of versions of this traditional song, but the one I do is closest to the one in this YouTube video by Greg and Steve.

Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me! (Wave hands or scarf as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.
I wiggle, I wiggle,
I wiggle like a wiggling worm.
I wiggle, I wiggle,
I wiggle like a wiggling worm.
Oh, Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me.
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

Another song with lots of versions. This one by Dr. Jean is closest to the one I do. We sang it for Family Storytime, after reading Can I Keep It?, and I asked the kids to suggest different animals to bring home. It’s always a fun challenge to come up with a rhyme for each animal: “I’m bringing home a baby lion. Won’t my Mommy really start a’crying?” etc.

I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C]bumblebee.
[G7] Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?
‘Cause I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C] bumblebee.
[G7 ]Ouch! It stung me!

Two Little Bluebirds

We sang this one with scarves at Family Storytime, and just with hand motions at Outdoor Musical Storytime.

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!…

Rockin’ Robin by Jimmie Thomas

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. The original song has LOTS of verses, but I just did the first two.

Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
[G] Tweet, tweet, tweet tweet.

[G7] He rocks in the [G] treetops all day long,
[G7] Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and [G] a-singin’ his song.
[G7] All the little birds on [G] J-Bird Street,
Love to hear the robin go [G7] tweet, tweet, tweet.

Rockin’ [C] robin (tweet, tweet, tweet);
Rockin’ [G] robin (tweet, tweedle-dee);
[D] Blow rockin’ robin, cause we’re [C] really gonna [G] rock tonight. (Tweet, tweedle-dee!)

[G7] Every little swallow, [G] every chickadee,
[G7] Every little bird in the [G] tall oak tree,
The [G7] wise old owl, the [G] big black crow,
[G] Flappin’ their wings [G7] singin’ go bird, go.

Rockin’ [C] robin (tweet, tweet, tweet).
Rockin’ [G] robin (tweet, tweedle-dee);
[D] Blow rockin’ robin, cause we’re [C] really gonna [G] rock tonight. (Tweet, tweedle-dee!)

Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
Tweedily deedily [Am] dee, [D] Tweedily deedily dee.
[G] Tweet, tweet, tweet tweet.

Stay & Play: Bead Earthworms

I adapted this idea from Little Lifetime Learners. For the Stay & Play, I put out plastic beads, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. I showed the kids how to fold the end of the pipe cleaner over to make “head” that would also keep the beads from sliding off. They had a great time threading beads onto the pipe cleaners, and then adding googly eyes (although one kid reminded me that “worms don’t have eyes.”)

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

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.

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.

Growing Community: Starting a Seed Library

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

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

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

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

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

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

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