Tag Archives: preschool

Somebunny Loves You: A Storytime About Rabbits

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In honor of Easter and Spring, I did a Rabbit Theme for Family Storytime this week.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Wolfie, the Bunny by Ame Dyckman and Zachariah O’Hora

This one is so much fun to read aloud. When a baby wolf is left on their doorstep, Dot’s parents immediately decide to adopt him. But Dot (a young rabbit) knows that he is dangerous, and warns them repeatedly that “He’s going to eat us all up!” But when Wolfie is threatened by an enormous bear, Dot surprises everyone by defending her new little brother.

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes

Simple, sweet story about a rabbit who imagines what it would be like to be like other things he sees in the world: green like the grass, tall like a tree, still like a stone. A peaceful, beautiful book that the kids seemed mesmerized by.

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

This is one of my favorite books about feelings. When Taylor’s block tower gets destroyed by a flock of birds, all of the other animals offer advice: talk about it, get angry, destroy someone else’s tower. None of it helps, until the rabbit comes along and merely listens.

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

This hilarious first story about Trixie and her Knuffle Bunny, who gets lost on a trip to the laundromat, is always a hit with both adults and kids. It was immediately checked out by one of the families after storytime.

Songs & Rhymes:

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

One of our local daycare providers always used this song with her kids, and I can see why. They love the moment when they get to jump up and hop after crouching down and pretending to be asleep. We sang it through three times.

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

Here is a Bunny

This is a simple fingerplay rhyme, but a fun one:

Here is a bunny (hold up two fingers like bunny ears)
With ears so funny,
And here is his hole in the ground. (make a circle with the thumb and index finger of your other hand)
When a noise he hears,
He pricks up his ears, (move your bunny ears)
And jumps through the hole in the ground! (put your bunny ear fingers into the hole).

The Wishy Washy Washer Woman

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

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

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

Love Somebunny, Yes I Do!

For our instrument play-along at the end, I changed the words to Love Somebody, Yes I Do. There are lots of different versions of the song, but the one I do is closest to the one in the video by Musicaliti found below. We sang it through several times.

Love somebunny, yes I do!
Love somebunny, yes I do!
Love somebunny, yes I do!
Love somebunny and it’s you, you, you! (point to different people)
You, you, you!

Stay & Play: Cotton Ball Rabbits

Before storytime, I printed and pre-cut blank rabbit templates on white cardstock (I used this one from clipartix.com), and cut some small triangles out of pink paper. For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper rabbits and pink triangles, along with cotton balls, gluesticks, markers, and googly eyes.

The kids had a great time gluing the cotton balls to the paper. It’s such a fun, tactile activity.

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

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates!

X is for X-Ray: A Storytime About the Letter X

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At last, the letter I have been dreading through my whole alphabet storytime: the Letter X! It actually wasn’t too bad, even though I had to focus on words that included the letter X, rather than words that started with it.

We started our storytime by asking the kids if they knew any words that contained the letter X. After a few examples, they actually thought of quite a few. Some of the older kids were suggesting words like exoskeleton and excavator, and even phoenix. I also showed them a xylophone, just to have an example of something that actually starts with the letter X, and we talked about how the smaller bars make higher sounds.

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

Books:

My Mom Has X-Ray Vision by Angela McAllister; illustrated by Alex T. Smith

This was my only book featuring a word that started with the letter X, and it was a big hit at Family Storytime. Matthew is convinced that his Mom must have X-ray vision because she always seems to know when he’s getting into trouble, and so he decides to test her. The kids really enjoyed guessing how the Mom knew what Matthew was up to, based on details in the illustrations.

Mix It Up by Hervé Tullet

Several of the kids were familiar with this book, but they all enjoyed following along by tapping the different colors on the page and pretending to mix them together (in my Outdoor Musical Storytime, which gets a bigger crowd) I just had them pretend to tap the pictures by tapping the air. They loved guessing what color each combination would make.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

This is one of those really simple books that works well for lots of ages. A little rabbit is asked why he is sitting in a box. “It’s not a box!” the rabbit insists, and the next page shows him driving a race car. The kids loved guessing what the rabbit is imagining the box is on each page.

Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox; illustrated by Patricia Mullins

A simple story, but full of suspense. When Hattie the hen sees a nose poking out of the bushes, the other animals are not impressed. But then she sees two eyes, two ears, two legs, and a body, until finally a fox leaps out of the bushes. Luckily, the cow scares it away with a loud, “MOO!” (the kids enjoyed joining in on that part).

Songs:

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes

I did this one to go along with My Mom Has X-Ray Vision for Family Storytime. We sang it through three times, getting faster and faster.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes,
Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes,
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

Do You See the Color Blue?

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

Do you see the color red… etc.

The Jack-in-the-Box

Few things are as gratifying as demonstrating a jack-in-the-box at storytime. I brought one out today, and the kids LOVED it! They begged for me to play it over and over again. Then we sang this song together with the parachute.

The jack-in-the-box jumps up!
The jack-in-the-box goes flop.
The jack-in-the-box goes round and round.
The lid comes down with a plop!

A Hunting We Will Go

Oh, [C] a-hunting we will go!
A-[F]hunting we will go!
We’ll [G7] catch a fox and put it in a box,
And then we’ll let it [C] go!

Stay & Play: Letter X Brush Pen Resist Art

I adapted this activity from themeasuredmom.com, only I had the kids use brush pens instead of watercolors. Before storytime, I made X’s out of removable tape on pieces of cardstock. For the Stay & Play, I gave each child a paper with a taped letter X, and a variety of brush pens. They had fun decorating the paper, and then pulling away the tape to reveal their letter X.

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

W is for Watermelon: A Storytime About the Letter W

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As I’ve been planning my Storytime Journey through the Alphabet, I’ve been getting a little nervous about the last few letters, especially X. But the letter W has been a lot of fun!

As usual, we started by asking the kids to suggest words that start with the letter W. They came up with water, wet, weevil, and wolverine. I also brought out my puppy slide whistle, which is always a hit.

Here are the books, songs, and activities we did (a combination of my Family Storytime last week, and Outdoor Musical Storytime today).

Books:

I Went Walking by Sue WIlliams and Julie Vivas

This is such a charming, simple book in the vein of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? The kids loved joining in on the “What did you see?” line every time I said “I went walking,” and enjoyed trying to guess which animal would appear on the next page.

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

This book was a little longer than I ones I usually read, but my Family Storytime (in the evening) has been getting a few early elementary-aged kids, who really enjoyed it. Super sweet story about a mouse named Wemberly who worries about everything, especially starting school, until she meets another worrier. A lot of the story revolves around Wemberly’s stuffed rabbit, so I had the kids each choose one of our storytime puppets to hold as I read the story.

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Very cute story about a crocodile who loves watermelon, but worries that the watermelon seed he swallowed will sprout in his stomach. I had given out play scarves before I read this one, and I had the kids throw them in the air on the page where the crocodile burps out the seed.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

I couldn’t resist reading this classic about Max’s adventures with the Wild Things. The kids LOVED roaring and gnashing their teeth, and the story had them mesmerized.

Songs & Activities

Color Wheel

One of my coworkers recently brought in a large color wheel, so for Family Storytime, I made up a little chart of activities to go with each color: red = clap, orange = stomp, etc. The kids took turns spinning the wheel, and we all did the motions together.

If You’re Happy and You Know It

We did this song as a follow-up to Wenberly Worried. I like to add additional verses about different emotions:

[C] If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [G7] hands! (clap, clap)
If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands! (clap, clap)
If you’re [F] happy and you know it, and you [C] really want to show it,
If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands! (clap, clap)

If you’re sad and you know it, cry, “Boo hoo!”…

If you’re angry and you know it, say, “I’m mad!”… (stomp feet while saying, “I’m mad!”)

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face… (cover your eyes, and then uncover them and say, “Peek-a-boo!”

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, “Hooray!”…

Wishy Washy Washer Woman

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

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

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

Waves on the Ocean

We did this one with the parachute, and put a toy cat 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!

Home Again

This was a song I wrote several years ago about Where the Wild Things Are and several other books by Maurice Sendak, so it seemed like a fun way to follow our reading of Where the Wild Things Are for our instrument play-along at the end.

[F] Darling, when you [C] feel afraid,
For [Bb] you can plainly [F] see,
The world is full of [C] monsters
Who look [Bb] just like you and [F] me.
Just [F] jump aboard your [C] tiny boat
Fol-[Bb]low the falling [F] star.
You’ll sail away through [C] night and day,
To [Bb] where the wild things [F] are.

And you will dance and [C] then
Let the [Bb] wild rumpus be-[F]gin.
But I will love you [C] best of all
When [Bb] you come home [F] again.

And darling, when the goblins come,
And no one seems to care,
Climb out your bedroom window
Into outside over there.
Bring your horn, and play a jig,
And charm them with a song.
They’ll set you free, and you will soon be
Home where you belong.

And you will dance and then,
Let the wild rumpus begin.
But I will love you best of all,
When you come home again.

[C] And if you fall into the [F] Night Kitchen,
[C] Just fly your plane up to the [F] Milky Way.
[C] Our world is full of dark and [F] strange visions,
But I [C] know that you will find a [A] way.

And when the moon is in a fit,
And you are in the dumps,
Lost in the rye with one black eye,
And diamonds are all trumps.
I will come and buy you bread,
One loaf or maybe two.
And I will bring you up
Cause happy endings can come true.

And we will dance and then,
Let the wild rumpus begin.
And I will love you best of all
Until the very end.

Stay & Play: Watercolor Painting

The kids always love painting of any kind, and their caregivers usually talk about how grateful they are to have someone else deal with the set-up and clean-up. The beauty of watercolor is that it is much less messy than most other forms of paint.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white construction paper, small cups of water, paint brushes, and watercolor sets. It was a challenge for some of the younger kids to learn to dip their brush in the water before dipping it in the paint, but they all eventually got the hang of it, and had a wonderful time!

What are your favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter W? 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.

R is for Rocket: A Storytime About the Letter R

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

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

Here are the books and songs that we did:

Books:

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

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

Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge

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

Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems

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

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

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

Songs:

See the Little Bunnies Sleeping

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

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

Zoom Zoom Zoom

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

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!

Rain is Falling Down

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

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

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

If All the Raindrops

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

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.
[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,
[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”
[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,
Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

If all the snowflakes were chocolate bars and milkshakes…

If all the sunbeams were bubblegum and ice cream…

If all the raindrops were (ask the kids to suggest other types of foods)…

Stay & Play: Straw Rockets

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

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

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

H is for House: A Storytime for the Letter H

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When I started my series of letter-themed storytimes, I didn’t really take the time to figure out which letter would fall on which week. So it was purely by accident that we ended up featuring the Letter H on Halloween!

For both my Outdoor Musical and Family Storytimes, I started by asking the kids to call out any words they could think of that started with the letter H, so that I could write them on my white board. They came up with hot, hat, hippo, and happy. I had also brought a harmonica, which the kids seemed fascinated by.

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

Books:

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

Very cute story about a bat who wants a hat so badly that he takes one from a baby. Naturally, the baby cries, and eventually, Mr. Bat feels so guilty that he returns the hat, and is given some pink socks as a reward. For my family storytime group, I had given out play scarves before I read this, and I had the kids pretend the scarves were bats whenever Mr. Bat swooped down.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler; illustrated by S. D. Schindler

This is such a simple and hilariously-illustrated book about a common problem: Hiccups! I also read it to a special needs preschool class today, and one little guy laughed out loud every time I read the “Hic! Hic! Hic!” (Protip: I used to always space the “hic’s” out, but the kids seem to find it much funnier when I read them fast and all-together: hic-hic-hic!”)

The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey

Adorable story about Oscar, a dachshund who is often called “Wiener Dog” by the other dogs in his class. Things get even worse when his mother buys him a hot dog costume for Halloween. But when the other dogs are frightened into a pond by a scary monster, Oscar saves the day by revealing that it is really just a couple of cats in a costume. He paddles out to help the other dogs to shore, and earns a new nickname: Hero Sandwich!

There is a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers

This is my new favorite book! It features a little girl in a spooky old house saying that she has heard the house is haunted, but she has never seen a ghost. In between the regular pages, which show the girl in different parts of the house, are white filmy pages with pictures of adorable ghosts on them. When you flip these pages so that they cover the regular paper pages, it looks like the ghosts are in the room with the girl, lurking on the staircase, hiding under the table, bouncing on the bed, etc. I also read this to two second grade classes, who were completely enthralled by finding and counting all the ghosts.

Songs:

My Hat, It Has Three Corners

This is an old camp song, where you start by doing motions to accompany each word, and then gradually leave the words out and only do the motions. It’s a fun challenge that gets harder and harder each time, and usually leaves the kids laughing. I use the ASL sign for hat, instead of the motion shown in this YouTube video by Miss Nina:

The motions are:

My: point to yourself
Hat: pat your head
Three: hold up three fingers
Corners: point to your elbow

The first time through, sing the whole song with both the words and the motions:

My hat, it has three corners.
Three corners has my hat.
And had it not three corners,
It would not be my hat.

The second time through, leave out the word “My,” and only do the motion (pointing to yourself). The third time through, leave out the word “My” and “Hat,” and only do the motions. The third time through, leave out “My,” “Hat” and “Three,” and the fourth time through, leave out “My,” “hat,” “three,” and “corners.”

On Halloween

This is a fun, easy Halloween song set to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. For each verse, I asked the kids for suggestions of Halloween things they might see in the house. We had pumpkins, mummies, cats, bats, and witches. I always end with “The kids at the door say, ‘Trick or Treat!’”

[C]The ghosts in the house say, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
[G7] “Boo! Boo! Boo! C] Boo! Boo! Boo!”
The ghosts in the house say “Boo! Boo! Boo!”
On Hallo-[C]ween!

Oh, A-Haunting We Will Go

For our instrument play-along, we did a Halloween version of “A-Hunting We Will Go!” I asked the kids for things that we might catch, and then we came up with rhymes on the spot. They came up with “we’ll catch a dinosaur and put it in a store,” and “we’ll catch a ghost and put it on some toast.” Here’s a Lingokids video with the original song, which is also a favorite of mine.

Oh, [C] a-haunting we will go!
A-[F]haunting we will go!
We’ll [G7] catch a witch and put her in a ditch,
And then we’ll let her [C] go!

Stay & Play: Paper Shape Halloween Houses

Before the storytimes, I cut a bunch of colored paper squares (about 5″ x 5″) for the house base, and large triangles for the roof. I also cut some 4″ squares out of white paper, and folded them in half lengthwise, to make small doors, and some 3″ x 5″ rectangles out of white paper, which I folded in half widthwise to make windows.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white cardstock, glue sticks, the colored paper squares and triangles, the white paper windows and doors, and some markers, googly eyes, and Halloween stickers (with ghosts, cats, vampires, etc.). I showed the kids how to glue the triangles and colored squares on their cardstock to make a house, and then glue half of their white paper doors and windows on so that they would open like a “lift-the-flap.” Then they decorated their houses with markers, googly eyes, and the stickers.

What are your favorite books or songs for Halloween or other words that start with the letter H? Please share them in the comments below.

Snug as a Bug in a Book: Creepy Crawly Storytime

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Bumblebee with Tissue Paper Wings

My son loves bugs and spiders and all manner of creepy crawly things.  So I was excited to trot out some insect books, especially after I was given this premade craft set by his former preschool teacher, Pauletta Cravotto, a personal hero of mine.  Here’s an article that appeared in our local paper when she retired.  My favorite quote is about why she enjoys working with young children:

“They don’t have agenda and they don’t have a plan,” Cravotto said. “If you forgot something, or your dog has eaten up part of your planned event and you have to invent on the spot, they don’t care. Nobody knows where ‘this’ day is going. Maybe it will be magic.” “I think kids need to know that they are perfect exactly the way they are,” Cravotto continued. “They don’t fit into a mold, nobody does. Give them some space and who knows what they will accomplish?”

So, with that in mind, here was my storytime.

BOOKS:

I was surprised last night because, along with my regular kids, who are rapidly approaching Kindergarten, I had one VERY young toddler and three MUCH older kids–they looked to be 9 or 10 year olds.  I tried to incorporate a range of books to accommodate them all, but it was tricky.

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Jazper by Richard Eglieski

This is one of those bizarrely original stories that stick in your head.  When Jazper (who is some kind of green insect) learns that his father has been injured in his job at the tomato plant, he offers to take a job of his own until his dad gets back on his feet.  He ends up working as a housecleaner for five moths, whose house is filled with books of magic tricks.  Jazper uses the books to create his own astounding magic act, until the angry moths come after him.  Filled with bright, quirky illustrations of Bugtown, this one had the kids mesmerized.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani We sang “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” before I read this book, and one of the older kids said, “Did you know there’s more to the song?”  I asked him how the next part went, and to my surprise, he started singing the next verse from this book.  So go, Iza Trapani!  Your additional verses are catching on.  This really is a lovely book, with wonderful illustrations.

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Diary of a Fly by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss The kids fought over who would get to take this one home.  Most of them knew the series already, but the books are always a hit, even though some of the humor goes over the heads of the younger ones.  The part about eating “regurgitated food” got a gratifyingly number of “yucks!,” once I explained what it meant, and it really does teach a lot about flies while being very silly and entertaining.

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Are You a Butterfly? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

My favorite nonfiction series for preschoolers, these books teach amazing facts about different creatures in an easy, accessible, story-like format with great illustrations.

RHYMES:

Itsy Bitsy Spider 

(I usually do a second verse with the “great big hairy spider.”)

Here is the Beehive

Here is the beehive  (make a fist)
Where are the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive.
1,2,3,4,5  (open fingers one at a time)
They’re alive!!!  (fly bees around and tickle kids)

I didn’t get around to it last night, but if I had had time, I would have done “Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee” (I like to have the kids suggest other animals they would like to bring home, and we make up rhymes like, “I’m bringing home a baby li-on.  Won’t my mother really start a-cryin'”).

I had also thought about doing “Ants in Your Pants.”  If you haven’t seen the video by Eric Herman, check it out.  It’s one of my daughter’s favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYWycl8vR5c

INSTRUMENT PLAYALONG WITH A CD:  Under a Shady Tree by Laurie Berkner, from her Under a Shady Tree album.

CRAFT: Paper Bumblebees

The craft set I had used the tissue paper wings and card stock bee bodies already cut out, so the kids just had to glue on the eyes and wings, and add the pipe cleaner antenna.  I was originally planning to do this, much simpler version, where the bodies are made out of construction paper loops: http://lizziejanebaby.blogspot.com/2012/06/20-bug-crafts-to-make.html  Incidentally, this site has LOTS of great bug crafts.

OTHER CREEPY CRAWLY BOOKS:

I did a spider storytime not too long ago, but one of my absolute favorite books is Aarrgghh!  Spider! by Lydia Monks, about a spider who wants to be a family pet.

What are your favorite insect and spider books?

Hang On To Your Hat!

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Dining hat colored by Sophie

Dining hat colored by Sophie

Okay, so I kind of cheated on this one.  My coworker, Gwen M. had ordered a bunch of dining hats from iRead, the company that provides the materials for our Summer Reading Program, and she gave me all the ones she had left over.  They featured cute little fruits and vegetables for the kids to color in.  Hello!  Easiest craft project ever.

But coincidentally, there seem to be dozens of great picture books about hats, including this year’s Caldecott Award Winner, This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen.   (Oddly, Klassen has another book called I Want My Hat Back, which is strikingly similar in its well…disappearance of hat thieves.  I guess Klassen really likes his hats).

Here are the ones I read tonight:

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Milo’s Hat Trick by Jon Agee

I love the wacky originality of Jon Agee, especially this book, and My Rhinoceros.  This one features a magician who sets out to find a rabbit for his hat trick, and instead happens upon a very talented bear.

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This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

This year’s Caldecott Award winner.  I’ve read it to a wide range of age groups, from toddlers to second graders.  It’s always interesting to see how differently they interpret and react to the story, which is about a brazen little fish who brags about stealing a big fish’s hat.  Some younger kids don’t pick up on the implied ending, but a second grader in a class I read to clearly knew where the whole thing was headed from the beginning, because he spent the whole book saying, “No!  Don’t say that!  The big fish is going to eat you!”

tornado

Tornado Slim and the Magic Cowboy Hat by Brian Langdo

A longer story, but it held the kids’ interest, and was fun to read.  A coyote entrusts Tornado Slim with a letter and a magic hat that can hold the water from a broken dam and a whole tornado.

magritte

Magritte’s Marvelous Hat by D.B. Johnson

I took a chance on this one, because the artwork is full of Magritte-style surrealism and references to his paintings.  A dog painter named Magritte buys a magical hat that floats above his head and inspires him to paint better than he ever has before.  The kids seemed to enjoy this one, and the parents were intrigued by the illustrations.  I brought it home to share with my daughter because I think it would work even better as a one-on-one book.  It has those clear plastic overlays I remember being fascinated by as a kid.

SONGS:

Slippery Fish

My Hat It Has Three Corners

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: This Hat by Laurie Berkner, from her Under a Shady Tree album.

CRAFT: Coloring diner hats

There are lots of wonderful hat crafts online.  If I hadn’t had the paper diner hats already, I probably would have done a paper hat like this: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Paper-Hat.  Given the age range of my storytime group, I think I would have made the hats ahead of time (and maybe printed out instructions for the parents in case anyone wanted to try making their own at home), then had the kids decorate them with stickers, markers and glue-on gems.

OTHER HAT STORIES:

Midway through the storytime, it hit me that I had forgotten my favorite hat book: Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slodbodkina.  One of the best read-alouds for any age group.  The kids always love joining in on the “TSZ!  TSZ!  TSZ!

Any other favorite books about hats?

Father (Story)Time

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My three-year old decided she wanted to draw a dog and a cat and a vacuum cleaner instead of Daddy

My three-year old decided she wanted to draw a dog and a cat and a vacuum cleaner instead of Daddy

Tonight, in honor of Father’s Day, I did books about Dads.

It was an interesting storytime for me, because there was a tremendous range of ages–from babies to grade school.  I skewed the books a bit younger, to hold the attention of the youngest ones, hopefully without losing the older guys, but I tried to throw a couple of longer books in too.

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Higher! Higher!  by Leslie Patricelli

Leslie Patricelli is one of my favorite authors for babies and toddlers.  My kids own several of her board books, and they never seem to tire of Yummy, Yucky.  This book has literally only a handful of words, but engages kids of all ages because of the bright, colorful, wacky illustrations.  A girl begs her Daddy to push her “Higher! Higher!” in the swing at the park, until she is swinging above skyscrapers, mountain peaks, the planet earth, outer space, and finally meets an adorable green alien on a swing of its own, before coming back down to earth.

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Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

One of my new favorite books to read aloud, especially because I get to trot out (or unearth–I grew up in Georgia) various southern accents.  A tired rooster is reading stories to his daughter, who promises not to interrupt, but she just can’t resist helping out characters like Hansel and Gretel (“Don’t go in!  She’s a witch!”) and Chicken Little (“Don’t panic!  It was just an acorn!”)  This is a longish book, but even the littlest guys hung in there because it’s such a fun story.

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Just Like Daddy by Frank Asch

A really simple, older book for toddlers.  A little bear describes all the things he does “just like Daddy”: yawning, getting dressed, eating breakfast, picking a flower for his mom.  The whole family goes fishing, and he catches a big fish, “just like Mommy.”  The Moms in the crowd enjoyed this one.

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Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea

A newer toddler book, and another one that works for multiple age groups.  A little hippo explains all the ways he has to help his Dad, who can’t seem to figure out how to do the simplest tasks like getting dressed, getting in the car, and eating dinner.  The subtext, which the older kids and parents pick up on, is that the Dad is feigning ignorance in order to get his son to do all of these things.  The kids laughed at this one.

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If My Dad Were a Dog by Annabel Tellis

Silly rhyming book where a child imagines all the things she would do with her Dad if he could be a dog for a day.  The illustrations mix photos of a big black lab with brightly colored drawings, and it includes (yes) dog poo and “sprinkling the flowers.”  This author clearly knows the preschool audience.

SONGS:

 Two Little Blackbirds (the kids love this song, especially the quiet/loud and early/late verses)

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (hold up two thumbs)
One named Jack and the other named Jill.
Fly away Jack (put one thumb behind back), fly away Jill (put other thumb behind back).
Come back, Jack (bring thumb out in front), come back, Jill (bring other thumb out in front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud, One was quiet (whisper), and the other was loud (yell)…

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow, One was fast and the other w…a…s…s…l…o…w…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate, One was early, and the other was… (pause)…late….

1,2,3,4,5, I Caught a Fish Alive

1,2,3,4,5
I caught a fish alive.
I let him go, and it bit my toe–OUCH!
1,2,3,4,5

The Hippopotamus 

(This is a catchy rhyme I got from my friend Barbara B.  The kids love squishing their cheeks in at the end).

The hip-the hip-the hippopotamus! (pat rhythm on your legs)
Got on, got on, got on the city bus.
And all, and all, and all the people said,
“You’re squishing us! (squish your cheeks together with your hands)

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH A CD: Little Red Caboose by Sweet Honey in the Rock from 20 Great Kids Songs

CRAFT TIME: ALL ABOUT MY DADDY (Click on the link for printable template)

One of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts was a simple questionnaire my daughter filled out at preschool, where her teacher asked her questions like “How old is your Mommy?”  My daughter hazarded a guess, and said, “4.”  (A few weeks later she asked me, very shyly, “Are you 4?”)

I made a similar questionnaire for Father’s Day, based on some I found online, and included a box for the kids to draw pictures of their dads.  (I was prepared to make an alternative form if anyone wanted to make it about another family member or a friend).  When I brought one home for my daughter to fill out, I learned that she thinks her Daddy is the worldly age of 10!

OTHER BOOKS:

These books were recommended by my friend Shelley, a children’s librarian in the UK:

My Daddy is a Giant by Carl Norac (I’m not familiar with this one, but it looks wonderful, and it has been printed in lots of different languages.  Our library system has bilingual copies in both Hindi and Chinese).

I Love My Daddy by Giles Andreae (author of Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs)

Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz (also known as Daddy Hugs 1 2 3; Karen Katz is another favorite author for babies and toddlers.  She writes wonderful sturdy lift-the-flap books that both my kids loved).

Daddy is a Doodlebug by Bruce Degen (author of Jamberry, and illustrator of the Magic School Bus series)

We Help Daddy by Mini Stein (A Little Golden Book, which is unfortunately out of print and not in our library system, but available used from some dealers on Amazon).

And here’s a book I didn’t get to read at storytime, but enjoyed reading with my daughter:

Giddy-up, Daddy by Troy Cummings (incredibly wacky story about a Dad who is so exceptional at giving horseback rides that he is kidnapped by horse rustlers who want to enter him in their rodeo).

Also, I could do a list of favorite Dad stories without including Knuffle Bunny: a Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems, a book which captures perfectly the drama of searching for a missing favorite toy.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Hungry Children

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Strawberry Mice! The adorable one on the left was made by Sarah.

Tonight I continued the food theme, since our Summer Reading Program has officially started.  Plus there are so many wonderful food books!  These are some of my favorites:

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The Sweet Touch by Lorna and Lecia Balian

A childhood favorite of mine that I thought had disappeared into the mists of time until I found a single copy in our library system (according to Amazon it’s back in print.  Woohoo!).  When a tiny genie grants a little girl a single wish, she asks for the ability to make everything she touches turn into something sweet.  Her bed becomes gingerbread, her rug chocolate, her pillow full of cotton candy.  The kids were mesmerized.

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Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean

To be honest, I don’t enjoy all of the Pete the Cat books, but I LOVE this one and Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  This book got horrible editorial reviews when it came out, but the simple story of the cat with white shoes who keeps stepping in different things (strawberries, blueberries, and mud) has tremendous kid appeal, and is always a big hit at storytimes.

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Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells

My favorite Max and Ruby book.  Max wants to buy Red-Hot Marshmallow Squirters for his Grandma’s birthday cake, but no matter how hard he tries, the grocer can’t read his writing on the grocery list, until he hits on a solution.

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The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

A classic, with the most luscious strawberry, and the most adorable mouse, ever drawn.  Also a great book for a range of ages.  Younger kids can empathize with the little mouse’s terror at hearing about the big hungry bear, while older kids can discuss whether or not there really is a hungry bear at all.

SONGS AND RHYMES:

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree (Raise arms high)
Two little apples smiled at me (Make circles with fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could. (Shake imaginary tree)
Down came the apples! (Lower arms)
MMMM! They were good! (Rub tummy)
The kids suggested other kids of trees, including cupcake trees, pear trees, and ice cream trees.

Three Little Kitty Cats

Three little kitty cats
Lying in the sun.
One jumped up and said, “I’d like to run!”
Then said the other one, “I’ll run too!
Running running running and I’ll play with you!”
MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!

I asked the kids for suggestions, and we sang the song as lions, kangaroos, and then kitty cats again.  The jumping up and running in place is a great way to work off some energy in the middle of storytime.

Little Bunny FooFoo  

Yes it’s one of the many violent children’s songs. I also regularly do the Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly with a puppet that the kids “feed.”  I do kill her off at the end (Hey, you can’t eat a whole horse without consequences!), but then I revive her and pump her stomach.  The infamous Bunny FooFoo has always been one of my favorites though, and tonight there was an adorable two year-old doing all the motions.

INSTRUMENT PLAY WITH CD: Rhubarb Pie by Laurie Berkner (from Under a Shady Tree)  

CRAFT TIME: Strawberry Mice

I washed and stemmed the strawberries ahead of time, then pulled apart strips of string cheese for the tails.  The kids stuck the tail in the hole at the back of the strawberry, then broke banana chips to make ears, and stuck mini chocolate chips into the strawberry for the eyes and nose.  Yummy fun, and definitely healthier than the marshmallow monsters we made last week!

What are your favorite food books?  Also, next week is Father’s Day, so I’ll be hunting down some good Dad stories.  I always love recommendations!

OTHER BOOKS:

My friend and wonderful children’s librarian Barbara B. recommends:

What Did You Put in Your Pocket? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (illustrated by Michael Grejniec), a fun rhyming book that goes through the days of the week with all kinds of messy substances kids can imagine putting in their pockets.

Chocolatina by Erik Kraft (one of my favorites as well, about a girl who loves chocolate so much that she wakes up as a chocolate girl)