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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.

G is for Ghost: A Storytime for the Letter G

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By a happy coincidence, we arrived at the Letter G in the week before Halloween, which allowed me to do my favorite Ghost book for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

As usual, I started by sharing several items that start with the Letter G: a pair of swim goggles, my glasses, and a guiro (a wooden instrument. Mine is shaped like a frog). I also asked the kids for suggestions. They came up with ghost, goat, girl, and gorilla.

Here’s a combination of the songs and books I used for both storytimes:

Books:

The Greedy Goat by Petr Horácek

I don’t know how I missed this one, but it was absolutely perfect for storytime, with large, bright, illustrations, a cute story, and even a plotline involving underpants, which always gets some giggles. The story is about a goat who gets bored with his usual meals and decides to spice up his diet with the dog’s food, the cat’s milk, the pig’s potato peelings, the farmer’s wife’s new plant, the farmer’s daughter’s shoes, and the farmer’s brand new underpants. Not surprisingly, the goat doesn’t feel well after that, and even changes colors (the kids loved calling out the color names).

Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein

The tricky thing about Family Storytime is that I never know exactly what age groups are likely to show up from week to week, so I usually try to have a range of options. I often have slightly older kids (up to age 6), so I had brought a couple of longer books (Gorilla! Gorilla! by Jeanne Willis and The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson), but in the end I had a couple of new families with toddlers, who were just settling in to storytime, so I read this one instead. It’s one of my favorites: a story about a gorilla who everyone in the great green forest loves, until one day he begins to grow and grow and grow into a BIG gorilla. And everyone still loves him.

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara

This is my favorite Halloween book for toddlers and preschoolers, since it’s more whimsical than scary. A girl moves into an old house at the edge of town, which happens to be haunted. Luckily, the girl is a witch, who quickly catches all the ghosts, puts them in the washing machine, dries them on the line, and puts them to work as cheerful looking curtains, tablecloths, and blankets. We had given out play scarves before we read this one, and I had the kids toss their scarves in the air and catch them on the pages where the witch catches the ghosts.

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

This classic story also worked perfectly for both our letter G theme and Halloween. The book describes the multicolored features of Big Green Monster’s face (two big yellow eyes, a long bluish-greenish nose, etc.), and then makes them disappear one-by-one. The kids still had their play scarves, and I had them wave them in the air and say, “Poof!” every time I said, “Go Away!” to one of the monster’s facial features.

Songs & Rhymes:

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

We sang this one after The Greedy Goat. I asked the kids to suggest what Old MacDonald had on his farm for each verse. They came up with a robot, a cow, a pig, a sheep, and a unicorn.

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

Ten Candles on a Birthday Cake

I did this rhyme as a follow-up to Little Gorilla for Family Storytime.

Ten candles on a birthday cake (hold up ten fingers)
All lit up for me (point to yourself)
I make a wish and blow them out.
Watch and you will see! (blow on fingers and quickly close hands into fists)

After we did the rhyme with ten candles, I asked the ages of the kids, and we did it again with six candles, then four, then three, then two, then one. I usually joke about doing my own age, which, of course, would require much more than ten fingers.

We Are Scary Ghosts

We handed out play scarves before singing this one. I had the kids put them on their faces as we sang and pretended to “float” down the street, and then pull them off when we said, “BOO!”

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

Have You Seen the Ghost of John?

This is a deliciously creepy Halloween song, which also works really well as a round if you have two or three strong singers to lead it.

[Dm] Have you seen the [Gm] ghost of [Dm] John?
[Dm] Long white bones with the [Am] skin all [Dm] gone.
[Dm] Oooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh…
[Dm] Wouldn’t it be [G m] chilly with [Am] no skin [Dm] on?

Stay & Play: Cotton Ball Ghosts

For our Stay & Play, I put out black construction paper, cotton balls, glue sticks, googly eyes, and dot markers for the kids to make cotton ball ghosts. I was amazed by the different designs they came up with. In my example, I had made a ghost shape out of the cotton balls, and then put the googly eyes on top, but many of the kids opted to put their eyes directly on the paper, with cotton balls scattered across the page in different ways. Several of them had ghosts with lots of eyes as well. Spooky fun!

Do you have favorite books or songs featuring the Letter G? Please share them in the comments below.

The Emerald City: A Song Inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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As a kid, I was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz, to the point that on my first day of Kindergarten, I insisted that my name was Dorothy. Every year, I looked forward to watching the movie on TV with a heady mixture of excitement and dread. I was terrified of the Wicked Witch and the flying monkeys, but also thrilled at the prospect of travelling to a world full of magic and talking animals.

As I got older, I became equally obsessed with the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, which were full of fascinating characters and new ways for Dorothy to find herself back in the magical land.

As a kid, I think my love of the Oz stories was largely about the dream of escaping to a place where magical things could happen. But lately I’ve been thinking about how the world is already pretty magical. At the touch of a few buttons, I can listen to almost any song, watch thousands of movies and TV shows, have incredible food appear right outside my door, and have whole boxes of random items fly across the country just for me. I know I often take all of these things for granted, but I’m sure to someone from an earlier time (even L. Frank Baum himself perhaps), it would all seem like sorcery.

But when I wrote this song, I wasn’t thinking about the magic of Oz, but about the Wizard. At the time, I was frustrated by all of the bigwigs in the news who get so much attention, just for having money and celebrity. And it reminded me of how one of the big lessons of the first Oz book is that the “Wonderful Wizard” Dorothy goes to for help turns out to be a man who ended up in Oz by accident, just like she did– a man who got very good at projecting a larger-than-life persona while hiding behind a screen.

The Emerald City

We travelled to the Emerald City
Through the land of Oz,
Hoping the Wizard would take pity
And rally to our cause.
But despite his booming voice
And shining riches,
He was just a man behind a screen.
Just a man pretending he had all the answers,
In his palace made of green.

We don’t need witches,
And we don’t need wizards.
They cause more problems in the end.
The true magic lies in what we have together
In the company of friends.

When the cyclone came, I was tossed around and twisted,
My whole life was torn away.
Waking up to things I never knew existed,
And colors brighter than the brightest Kansas day.
And strange new people
Who joined me on the journey.
They felt just like my family.
We were wiser, kinder, braver all together
Than any “magic man” could be.

We don’t need witches
And we don’t need wizards.
They’re nothing special in the end.
The true answers lie in fighting for each other
In our company of friends.

There may be golden roads
But they will never lead you home,
They only lead to humbugs
Who are not what they pretend.
And though you may be quite impressed
By witches North, South, East, or West.
Their claims will not hold water in the end.

When we arrived at last
And told him our position,
The Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and me.
The Wizard sent us on a deadly mission,
To fight his greatest enemy.
And when the witch was washed away
Her monkeys had a lot to say:
They were taking orders just like me.
The wizard floated off in his big balloon to nowhere.
And the land of Oz was free.

We don’t need witches
And we don’t need wizards.
They are only serving their own ends.
We will find we have everything we ever needed
In our company of friends.

Thanks for listening! If you have any favorite childhood books you would like me to write a song about, please tell me in the comments below.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=l+frank+baum+wizard+of+oz+books&crid=1A5M5FXFRL31D&sprefix=oz+books+l+%2Caps%2C144&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_11

C is for Caterpillar: A Storytime About the Letter C

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Continuing our Reading through the Alphabet series of storytimes, this week we had fun celebrating the letter C for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

I started by holding up a Cat stuffed animal, Corn, a Carrot, and a Chicken. I wrote the words on a whiteboard and asked the kids what they had in common. Then we drew the letter C in the air together, before reading our first book.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The classic story about a peddler whose caps are stolen by a tree-full of monkeys. Although it’s a longer story than I usually do for my Outdoor Musical Storytime, the kids loved acting out the part of the monkeys: shaking their hands and saying, “Tsz! Tsz! Tsz!”

Chameleon! by Joy Coyley; photographs by Nic Bishop

I did this one for my Family Storytime. The text is very simple, following the adventures of a beautiful chameleon as he looks for food and avoids danger. The kids were mesmerized by the large, colorful photographs.

Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass & Philemon Sturges; illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Fun variation of the classic rhyme, featuring a wide range of animals, including a raven, a beaver, and a turtle. The illustrations are colorful and fun, and the kids loved the ending, where the culprit turned out to be a whole bunch of ants.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

I couldn’t resist including this essential classic about the hungry caterpillar who eats a wide variety of foods on his journey to becoming a beautiful butterfly. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the different fruits.

Songs:

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This is one of my old standbys, which the kids always seem to enjoy. I asked them for suggestions on things the monkey could do, and they came up with jumping, galloping, and shaking their tails.

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: when you jump up and down; make a funny face; turn yourself around; and sit back on the ground.

Do You See the Color Blue?

We sang this one after reading Chameleon! The kids had the best time pointing out everything they could see that matched the color we were singing about. It’s to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do you see the color blue, the color blue, the color blue?

Do you see the color blue, right here in this room?

Do you see the color red… etc.

Butterfly Song

My coworker Angela taught me this one, which we sang after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I handed out play scarves before we sang it, and had the kids bundle them up to be chrysalises and wave them in the air to be butterflies. The song is to the tune of Up on the Housetop. Here’s a video by Colleen Niedermeyer:

First comes a butterfly (Wave scarf)

Who lays an egg. (Make a circle with your thumb and index finger).

Out comes a caterpillar (Wiggle your finger like a caterpillar)

With lots of legs.

Now see the caterpillar spin and spin (Spin the scarf),

A little chrysalis to sleep in (Bundle scarf up in a ball).

Oh, oh, oh, wait and see…

Oh, oh, oh, wait and see…

Out of the chrysalis, my, oh, my!

Out comes a beautiful butterfly! (Wave scarf).

Candy Corn for Dinner

We sang this as our instrument play-along (after handing out the shakers). This was one of the first songs I ever wrote.

This song was also on an album we made a long time ago to distribute to storytime families at the Millbrae Library. Here’s a link to that version on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ashley-larsen-1/sets/musical-storytime-2016

           
[C] Mom and dad put me in charge of our [G] dinner to-[C]night.                                                                
[C] They said I could make anything as [D] long as we ate [G] right.                                                            
[C] I had to serve some vegetables, a [G] salad, and a [C] stew.
I thought a while and cooked a bit, and here is [G] my me-[C]nu.

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

[C] I don’t know why Mom and Dad say [G] cooking is a [C] chore.                                                                
[C] ‘Cause I had such a great time [D] going to the grocery [G] store.                                                            
[C] My Mom said we were out of milk, so I [G] bought a big milk-[C] shake.
And since my Dad likes cheese so much, I bought him a [G] cheese-[C] cake.

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

[F] Life is [C] better [G7] when it’s [C] sweet,
[F] Like a big hot [C] plate of [G7] Rice Krispie treat.

[C] So if you have to cook tonight, I hope you’ll [G] learn from [C] me.                                                          
[C] And make your family carrot cake or [D] cherries jubi-[G]lee                                                            
[C] Even if they don’t approve, you can [G] count it as a [C] win.
You’ll have a yummy dinner and you’ll never have to [G] cook a-[C]gain

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

STAY AND PLAY: DOT MARKER CATERPILLARS

For the Stay and Play, I put out dot markers, white cardstock, markers and googly eyes. As usual, I told the kids they could make caterpillars, or whatever else they wanted with the art supplies. There were some really fun dot marker and line creations.

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

Spidey-Sense: A Storytime About Spiders

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I had planned on doing this storytime way back in March, in honor of National Save a Spider Day on March 14, but since it’s an outdoor storytime, it kept getting cancelled due to rain. I had fun doing it today though, especially because we had a couple of older preschoolers, which allowed for some longer books.

I started by sharing photos of three types of spiders that are common here in the Bay Area: the California Tarantula, the Johnson Jumper, and the Cellar Spider (Daddy Long Legs). I also showed the kids how to do the ASL sign for Spider, which is a fun one to do.

Here’s are the books and songs that we did:

Books:

The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani

This is one of my favorite nursery rhyme adaptations. It takes the traditional “Itsy Bitsy” song and adds additional verses about the spider’s attempts to climb a wall, a pail, and a rocking chair, before finally spinning a web at the top of a maple tree. The illustrations are adorable.

Aaaargh, Spider! by Lydia Monks

Another all-time favorite picture book of mine. In this one, a lovable spider tries to become a family pet, but keeps getting put outside, until finally one of the family members notices her beautiful sparkling webs. The kids enjoyed joining in on the repeated “Aaaargh, Spider! Out You Go!” refrain. (The large text provides a great opportunity to point out the big words on the page, and help them make the text to speech connection). The ending got lots of laughs (and shudders!).

Are You a Spider? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

I love this Backyard Books series, which uses a simple conversational approach to teaching young kids about the life-cycle of small creatures like spiders and snails. In this one, the author explains that if you’re a spider, you will hatch out of an egg, spin a web, eat flies, and have to be very careful to avoid birds and wasps. It was a much longer book than I usually read for this storytime, but I was happy to hear the families talking about how spiders have eight legs and eight eyes during the Stay & Play at the end.

Songs:

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

When I do this song with toddlers and babies, I usually tell them that they can do the traditional finger motions (as shown here in this video by Katie Cutie Kids TV), or just wiggle their fingers like spider legs, or creep their hands up their bodies (it’s fun to have the grown-ups do this with babies, which gets lots of giggles). I usually do a second verse about the “Great Big Hairy Spider,” which we sing in a low voice, and sometimes add in a verse about the “Teensy Weensy Spider” in a high voice.

The [C] itsy bitsy spider went [G7] up the water [C] spout.
[C] Down came the rain and [F] washed the spider [C] out.
[C] Out came the sun and [G7] dried up all the [C] rain,
and the [C] itsy bitsy spider went [G7] up the spout [C] again.

I’m a Hungry Spider

To the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot” (If you don’t know the tune, here’s a video by Sing With Bella). We used the ASL sign for Spider for the first line.

I’m a hungry spider (Sign for Spider)

Look at me! (Point to yourself)

Eight legs to walk on, (Wiggle eight fingers)

And eight eyes to see (Point to your eyes).

When a bug gets caught in my web (Move your finger in the air like a fly),

Here I come!

I wrap it up tight (Move your hands in circles),

And YUM! YUM! YUM! (Mime eating).

There’s a Spider on the Floor

To the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It. This is an old Raffi song, although I usually change the lyrics a little. Claire mimed the actions with a spider puppet, while the rest of us made spiders with our hands.

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?…

Un Elefante

This is a traditional Mexican children’s song, which you can hear below in this video from VideoKids TV Canciones. The Spanish lyrics mean “An elephant balanced on a spider’s web. When he saw that it ‘resisted’ (held his weight), he called another elephant.”

If you’d like an English version of the song (with a slightly different meaning to the lyrics), here’s a video of a cute one from Canticos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1XC8cuio24)

[C] Un elefante se balanceaba,
sobre la tela de una a-[G]raña.
Como veía que resistía,
fue a llamar a otro ele-[C]fante.

Dos elefantes se balanceaban,
sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veían que resistía,
fueron a llamar a otro elefante.

Tres elefantes…

Stay & Play: Paint Splotch Spiders

This was really simple and fun! Before the storytime, I folded pieces of white cardstock in half lengthwise (like a book). For the Stay & Play, I put out the folded cardstock, two colors of tempera paint, googly eyes (the kind with sticker backs), and markers.

To make the spider shape, the kids opened their folded cardstock and dropped a small drop of paint of each color along the center fold (it helps to have an adult supervise this, so they don’t end up with too much paint). They then folded the cardstock again, and pressed down on it to spread the paint. When they opened the cardstock again, they had a symmetrical shape that they decorated with googly eyes and markers.

In the two examples above, the kids (both preschoolers) were making an effort to count out eight eyes, although they got a little carried away on the legs. It was great to hear them counting though!

What are your favorite books about spiders? Please share them in the comments below.

Monkeying Around: A Storytime About Monkeys

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Among the little known celebrations I’ve discovered while trying to come up with themes for storytime is World Monkey Day, a celebration of all things monkey on December 14. So today we did stories and songs about monkeys. Here’s what we did:

Books:

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

This is a longer story than I typically read for my toddler-heavy storytime crowd, but it worked because of all of the motions. It’s a classic story about a peddler, who takes a nap under a tree, and wakes to find that all of his caps have been stolen by monkeys. At this point I asked the kids if they were ready to be monkeys, and had them act out all of the monkey motions: shaking one fist, shaking both hands, stamping one foot, etc., all while saying “tsz tsz tsz!” They loved it! Sometimes I’ve done this one with play scarves, and had the kids pretend the scarves were caps.

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell

Another fun, interactive book, with large colorful illustrations. In this one, the narrator is ready to count the monkeys, but they keep getting scared away by different animals: one king cobra, two mongooses, etc. The kids are asked to help out by yelling, “scram!”, moving their hands in a zig-zag, and other silly motions. The asides (like wondering about the plural of mongoose) are hilarious. Always a hit!

Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

This simple rhyming book was one of my daughter’s absolute favorites as a toddler. The repeated chant goes “Monkey and me, Monkey and me, Monkey and me, we went to see, we went to see some…” and then reveals a different animal (penguins, kangaroos, bats, elephants, etc.). The kids loved shouting out the different animals each time.

Songs:

Monkey See and Monkey Do

I don’t remember where I learned this song, but it’s one I’ve been doing for years.

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: when you jump up and down; make a funny face; turn yourself around; and sit back on the ground.

No More Monkeys by Asheba

Claire held up the Monkey Mitt, while I sang this joyful adaptation of the traditional Five Little Monkeys rhyme by Caribbean singer-songwriter Asheba.

Here’s a video of Asheba’s version:

[C] Five monkeys were playing on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his [G7] head.
Mama called the doctor, and [F] the doctor said,
[C] “No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the [C] bed!”

[C] “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!
No more monkeys [G7] jumping on the bed!
[C] No more monkeys [F] jumping on the bed!”
[C] That is what the [G7] doctor [C] said.

Four monkeys were jumping on the bed…

(Repeat, counting down to one…)

One monkey was playing on the bed,
She fell off and bumped her head.
Mama called the children, and the children said,
“YES! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”

“Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!
Yes! More monkeys jumping on the bed!”
That is what the children said.

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

We did this song as our instrument play-along at the end. Here’s the tune:

Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow (C)
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow. (G7)
Daddy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow, (C)
And we can stay all day. (C  G7)

CHORUS:
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!  (F)
How about you, you, you? (C)
You can come too, too, too! (G7)
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo! (C G7 C)

See the elephants with the long trunk swinging,
Great big ears and a long trunk swinging.
Snuffing up peanuts with the long trunk swinging,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

See all the monkeys, they’re scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Jumping all around and scritch, scritch, scratchin’.
Hanging by the long tails scritch, scritch, scratchin’,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Well, we stayed all day, and I’m getting sleepy,
Sitting in the car getting sleep, sleep, sleepy.
Home already and I’m sleep, sleep, sleepy,
‘Cause we have stayed all day!

We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!
So have you, you, you!
You came too, too, too!
We’ve been to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

But Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, Zoo tomorrow.
Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow,
And we can stay all day!

CHORUS

Stay & Play: Jungle Collage

This was a really simple activity, but the kids got really into it. I printed and cut out pictures of two different types of monkeys: an emperor tamarin and a macaque. For the Stay & Play, I put out green card stock, glue sticks, the monkey pictures, markers, and some leaves and small plants (mostly oxalis) from my yard.

The kids enjoyed gluing the monkey pictures to the paper, and then sticking the plants around and on top of them to make a kind of jungle scene, and decorating with markers. As a funny aside, I mentioned that the emperor tamarin is one of my very favorite animals, and I used to love watching them at the San Francisco Zoo. And then one of the Moms said that she used to work with the emperor tamarins there, before they got rid of that exhibit a few years ago. I was so excited to talk to her about them, especially since she said they were a lot of fun to work with.

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