Tag Archives: storytime

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.

scanDownload

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.

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)

When Marshmallow Snowmen Attack: A Foodie Storytime

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The adorable and VERY sweet Mr. Bill, created by Jonas (and Ria)

The adorable and VERY sweet Mr. Bill, created by Jonas (and Ria)

One of my storytime moms suggested that I should compile a list of the stories I read each week for Family Storytime, so that families who can’t attend could still check out the books.  So, here is my first entry:

As a teaser for the Summer Reading Program, which has a Reading is SOOOOO Delicious Theme this year, I did books about food.  They were:

monkey

Monkey Soup by Louis Sachar

An old favorite by one of my favorite children’s authors (and a Newbery winner for Holes), this is a simple story about a little girl who wants to make soup for her Daddy, who is sick.  She puts into it all the things that make her feel better: Band-Aids, bubbles, buttons, tissues, and her toy monkey.  At least two kids wanted to check this one out when I was done.

 

chickaChicka123

Chicka-Chicka-1-2-3 by Bill Martin, Michael Sampson & Lois Ehlert

I wasn’t actually planning to read this one, but one of the kids requested it, and it did have an apple tree in it.  Very similar to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, except with numbers up to 100.  The kids liked the quirky illustrations: number 5 with its big top hat, and 70’s long, sandy hair (which got some chuckles from the parents).

 

ice cream

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems

I throw a Gerald and Piggie book in whenever I can, and kids love this one where Gerald faces a major ethical dilemma.

tomato

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

The original Charlie and Lola book, and my favorite.  Charlie convinces his picky little sister to eat orange twiglets from Jupiter (carrots), greendrops from Greenland, and cloud fluff from the pointiest peak of Mount Fuji (mashed potatoes).

SONGS:

Monkey See and Monkey Do

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

INSTRUMENT PLAY:  On the Good Ship Lollipop performed by the Persuasions, who really liven it up.  From the 20 Great Kids Songs CD, which is one of my very favorite children’s albums.  It has a wonderful version of This Land is Your Land featuring Willie Nelson, along with Tom McCutcheon’s version of Big Rock Candy Mountain, and many more.

CRAFT TIME:

Tonight we made marshmallow snowmen, with some Jumbo marshmallows I found at Safeway (they would work just as well with regular marshmallows).  We stuck the head and body together with pretzel sticks, which also served as arms, legs, hair, and even buttons (one of the moms came up with that one).  I had small tubes of icing for the face (I tried to find food coloring pens, which would have been easier).  They were fun, quick, and not nearly as messy as you might think, although I’m afraid most of the snowmen were devoured before they left the library.

Three unrelated books I was happy to get hold of this week were:

The Dark by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen

I loved the idea of the dark as a living thing that hovers in closets and corners during the day and comes out at night.  I haven’t quite figured out what age group to share it with yet, but I enjoyed it for myself.

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

A book that works on multiple levels: as a teaching tool for punctuation and a wonderful story about finding your unique talents.  Exclamation Mark is dismayed that, no matter how hard he tries, he always stands out among the periods.  But then he meets a very curious new character who show him how to make his mark.

The Sweet Touch by Lorna and Lecia Balian

One of my favorites as a child, I was thrilled to find the single copy we have in the library system.  When a little girl named Peggy buys a real gold ring made of genuine plastic and rubs it, a tiny genie appears and grants her a single wish: everything she touches will turn into something sweet.