Early Literacy Tip: Before reading a book together, talk with your child about what they think the story will be about (based on the title and the cover), and ask them about any experiences they’ve had that are related to that topic. For example, for a Halloween book, you could ask them what they are looking forward to doing on Halloween.
After 26 weeks of letter-themed storytimes, I was excited to get back to other themes this week.
Since Halloween is in a couple of weeks, this week I chose books and songs about wearing costumes and pretending.
Usually, I organize my blog posts into separate categories for Books and Songs, but this week, I thought I’d just provide the whole outline for Family Storytime. My Outdoor Musical Storytime group lately has been tending towards babies and toddlers, and I may start deviating from themes sometimes with them. I will try to include any relevant variations that I used for that group though.
Family Storytime
My Family Storytime this week included mostly three and four year-olds, with a couple of older siblings. Here’s what we did (the book links go to the Amazon listing, only because it’s the easiest way to find reviews and additional info):
Opening Song: Wheels on the Bus
For Family Storytime, I always put out lots of different animal puppets. When I first restarted this storytime after the COVID lockdown, one of the kids asked if we could put the animals on the bus, and that’s been the tradition ever since. The kids love holding up an animal puppet for each verse. The only downside is that sometimes I worry we’re going to spend the whole storytime singing that song!
[C] The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] Round and round,
[C] Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
[G7] All through the [C] town.
The cat on the bus goes, “Meow! Meow! Meow!… etc.
The shark on the bus goes, “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!…etc.
I always end by repeating the first verse, but we sing and make our “wheels” go really fast!
Introducing the Theme: I asked the kids if they had a Halloween costume, and what they were planning to be. Apparently, Elsa is very popular this year, as well as firefighters (I think because of Paw Patrol), and Spiderman.
Book: Dress-Up Day by Blanca Gomez
This is a sweet, relatable story about a little girl who is excited to wear her rabbit costume for dress-up day at school. But the day of the party, she is too sick to go. Her Mom suggests that she wear it the next day instead, and she does, but she feels embarrassed and sad to discover no one else at school is wearing a costume. Then a boy named Hugo shows up dressed as a carrot, and they have such a great time playing chase on the playground that all of the other kids want to join in. I love the illustrations, which feature a charming and diverse cast of characters. I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime too, since it is simple enough for toddlers.
Song: The Sleepy Bunny Song
This song worked well as a follow-up to Dress-Up Day, since the book featured a rabbit costume. Plus, the kids always love it! The version I do is similar to the one in this Little Baby Bum video:
[C] See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch or lie down and pretend to sleep)
[F]‘Till it’s nearly [C] noon.
[F]Come, let us [C] wake them [G7] with a merry tune?
[C]They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
[C]Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (hop!)
[F] Hop little bunnies,[C] hop, hop, hop!
[F]Hop little bunnies, [C] hop, hop, hop!
[G7] Hop little bunnies, [C] hop and stop!
Book: Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas
I love Jan Thomas! Her books are all so simple, but clever and funny, with large, colorful illustrations that are perfect for storytime. In this one, Duck accidentally falls into a pumpkin while carving a jack-o-lantern, and gets stuck walking around with the pumpkin on his head. Mouse and Pig run screaming from the “Pumpkin Monster,” and Duck, not realizing that he is the monster, runs after them. The kids thought this book was hilarious. The many pumpkin pictures on the inside cover provided a great opportunity to ask the kids if anyone had a pumpkin at home, and the jack-o-lantern pictures inside the back cover made a great lead-in to our next rhyme. I read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime too.
Rhyme: Pumpkin Patch
I learned this one from an Orff music training years ago. I asked the kids to crouch down and pretend to be pumpkins, while I walked around them, and when I said, “Just like THAT!” to make a scary face. We did it a second time making a silly face instead.
Pumpkin patch, pumpkin patch, (crouch down like a pumpkin)
Walking all around in a pumpkin patch.
Here is a pumpkin, nice and fat, (stretch out your arms)
Turn into a jack-o-lantern, just like THAT! (make a scary or silly face)
Book: Something Smells by Blake Liliane Hellman; illustrated by Steven Henry
This one is a little too subtle for the toddlers in my Outdoor Musical Storytime, but I have really been enjoying sharing it with the preschool and transitional kindergarten classes I visit. Most of them giggle even at the title. A little boy in a skeleton costume narrates the story about his quest to find the source of a terrible smell in his house. It isn’t his father, his dog, his hamster, his cockatoo, his little sister, his baby sister, or his grandmother’s mysterious gerfartzenschanffel, but what could it be? Before he can solve the mystery, his Mom insists that he finally take off his costume and take a bath, and something goes down the drain and disappears, taking the smell with it.
Scarf Song: We Are Spooky Ghosts
One of my very favorite Halloween songs. I originally learned it when I was a music volunteer at my kids’ elementary school, where it had the title, We Are Scary Skeletons, but I adapted it to work with play scarves. We usually sing it a couple of times as ghosts, and then I ask the kids to suggest other spooky things (or things they are planning to be for Halloween) they would like to be, and we pretend to walk like skeletons, or creep like spiders, etc. I made the video below during lockdown, which is why I’m wearing a cloth napkin on my head!
We are spooky ghosts (put scarf on your head)
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street,
Floating down the street.
We are spooky ghosts
Floating down the street.
We’ll scare you!
BOO! (pull scarf off quickly)
We are scary skeletons walking down the street…
Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels
At Family Storytime, I always do two songs with the play scarves: one that is loosely related to the theme or a book we just read, and this one, which the kids always love. They especially enjoy grabbing handfuls of scarves to throw up in the air. I sometimes do it with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime, and put cotton balls on the chute. It’s to the tune of Are You Sleeping (see the JBrary video below for a demonstration).
Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels, (Wave scarves)
In the pot, In the pot. (bundle the scarf into your hand)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em. (shake your hands)
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop! (throw the scarf in the air)
A Dog Is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan
This is a funny, simple, rhyming book full of surprises. A dog is a dog, whether it’s naughty or nice…unless it turns out to be a cat in a dog costume, which turns out to be a squid in a cat costume, which turns out to be a moose in a squid costume, which turns out to be a dog in a moose costume! I think there may be an “a” missing in the line “A cat is cat,” which threw me off for a second, but the book is a lot of fun to read aloud, and the kids enjoyed trying to guess what animal was coming next.
Instrument Play-Along Song: Shoo Fly!
I always end my storytimes by handing out egg shakers and maracas for the kids to play. This is an old traditional song, with lots of different versions, but the one I use is closest to the one in the Greg and Steve video below. I always ask the kids to suggest different things they would like to be for each verse.
CHORUS:
[C] Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [G7] me! (Wave hands as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [C] me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother [G7] me,
I’ll tell you what I want to [C] be.
[C] I fly, I fly,
I fly like a butter-[G7]fly.
I fly, I fly,
I fly like a butter-[C]fly.
CHORUS
I wiggle, I wiggle, I wiggle like a wiggling worm…
Closing Song: The More We Get Together
I always end Family Storytime with The More We Get Together, using ASL signs (as in the Sing & Sign video below). It’s so cute to see toddlers doing the signs, and I love that it uses basic signs that I try to use whenever they come up in storytime, like more and happy.
Stay & Play: Paper Masks
Before storytime, I printed a variety of animal mask templates, and asked one of our VolunTEEN participants to cut them out. I wanted to print them on card stock, but the printer was being difficult, so I used regular computer paper, and asked the volunteer to glue the mask template to a piece of cardstock before cutting them out. FirstPalette.com has some really cute designs: https://www.firstpalette.com/craft/printable-animal-masks.html
For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed masks, some jumbo craft sticks, markers, and tape (to tape the craft stick on the back). The kids had a great time decorating their masks and then holding them up to their faces.
Do you have any favorite books or songs about costumes? Please share them in the comments below.