Tag Archives: toddler

The Birds and the B’s: A Storytime About the Letter B

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Early Literacy Tip: Books with repeated phrases that kids can easily remember (like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) help them associate the printed word with the spoken one, and helps build their basic sight word vocabulary.

This week we continued our journey through the alphabet by focusing on the letter B in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

I’ve been trying to use this alphabet series as a fun way to focus explicitly on letter sounds and early literacy skills. As part of that focus, I’ve also started offering caregivers the opportunity to make a name tag for their child (I use small mailing labels) at the beginning of storytime. I tell them that it’s optional, but that we are trying to promote print awareness, and get their kids used to seeing their names written in print.

I started both of my storytimes by drawing a capital and lowercase letter B on a whiteboard and asking the kids what sound B makes. Then we drew the letter B (capital and lowercase) together in the air (I did silly sound effects while we did it: a descending pitch “woooo!” for the straight line down, and a “whoop!” for each curved line).

After that, I asked the kids if they knew any words that started with B, and wrote them on the whiteboard. They came up with “bird,” “banana” and “bat.” I also pulled some items out of a paper bag: a bag, a ball, a book, and a container of bubbles (I blew some for fun). For my Family Storytime (which is in the evening, and draws a much smaller crowd), I had kids take turns pulling the items out of the bag.

I had such a good time picking books for this storytime, because there are so many classic titles featuring the letter B, and the kids were excited to see some of their favorites.

Books:

I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black; illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

This is one of my favorite books to read aloud: a story about a bored little girl and her conversation with a potato. The girl is shocked to learn that the potato thinks kids are boring, even after she describes all the amazing things that kids can do. The kids loved joining in on the repeated “boring’s.”

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

Another all-time favorite of mine. I’m always surprised to find families who haven’t read it yet, and delighted to share it with them for the first time. When George’s mother asks him to bark, he meows, quacks, oinks, and moos until she takes him the vet, who discovers a variety of animals inside of George. The surprise ending always gets a laugh.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean

This is one of my favorite Pete the Cat books. Pete loves his yellow jacket with its four big colorful groovy buttons. He even has a song about it! But one by one his buttons pop off and roll away until he is left with just his belly button. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Pop! Oh no!” each time.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle

There’s a reason why this book is a classic, and it made me happy to hear so many kids squeal, “I have that book at home!” when I held it up. It works well for so many reasons: the repeated pattern makes it perfect for beginning readers; the call and response structure makes it perfect for read-alouds. Plus, it teaches color and animal names. My only minor gripe is that I wish the teacher was a bit less frumpy looking, but at least teachers are in good company here, since librarians are usually portrayed the same way. At least she looks friendly!

Songs:

The Sleepy Bunny Song

I don’t know what it is about songs where you start on the ground and then jump up, but the kids always LOVE them! This one is a particular favorite.

See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch or lie down and pretend to sleep)
‘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! (jump up)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (hop!)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

We Bounce and We Bounce and We Stop

One of my all-time favorite storytime songs because it’s so versatile and works for almost any age. You can substitute almost any other action for bouncing (clapping, leaning, twirling, running, etc.), slow it down or speed it up, add in extra bounces on the third line, and put in a long pause between the words (we…bounce). For Outdoor Musical Storytime this week, we sang it with the parachute. I put cotton balls on the parachute so the kids could watch them bounce, and added more each time we sang it.

[C] We bounce and we bounce and we stop!
[C] We bounce and we bounce and we stop!
[C] We bounce and we bounce and we bounce and we bounce,
[C] And we bounce and [G7] we bounce and we [C] stop!

I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

There are a lot of versions of this old camp song, including the disturbing one about killing and squishing the poor baby bumblebee. The version I use is closest to the one in this video by Dr. Jean. I always ask the kids to suggest other animals to bring home, and then we try to come up with a line (usually rhyming) to describe what “my Mommy” does, which is a fun, and sometimes hilarious challenge. This time we had “I’m bringing home a baby bunny…won’t my Mommy think that’s really funny;” “I’m bringing home a baby cat…what will my Mommy think of that.” I got stumped by “I’m bringing home a baby puppy.” All I could think of on the spot was “Won’t my Mommy turn into a guppy,” which got some laughs from parents.

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!

Bananaphone by Raffi

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. It’s got some unusual chords and lots of lyrics, so I don’t do it often, but it’s always a big hit that gets stuck in my head for days.

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[E7] Bananaphone
[Am] I’ve got this feeling, [G] so ap-[Em]pealing
[A7] For us to get together and [D7] sing, sing!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Ding dong ding dong [D] ding dong ding
[E7] Donanaphone!
[Am] It grows in bunches. [G] I’ve got my [Em] hunches.
[A7] It’s the best! Beats the rest
[D7] Cellular, modular, interactivodular!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone!
[G] Ping pong ping pong [D] ping pong ping
[E7] Pananaphone
[Am] It’s no baloney. [G] It ain’t a [Em] phony,
[A7] My cellular [D7] Bananular [G] phone.

Don’t [F#] need quarters, don’t need dimes,
To [Bm] call a friend of mine!
Don’t [F#] need computer or TV
To [Bm] have a real good time!
I’ll [E7] call for pizza, I’ll call my cat
I’ll [A] call the white house, have a chat!
I’ll [A7] place a call around the world.
[D7] Operator get me Beijing-jing-jing-jing!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Yin yang yin yang [D] yin yang ying
[E7] Yananaphone.
It’s a [C] real live mama and [C#dim7] papa phone,
A [G] brother and sister and a [E7] dog-aphone,
A [A7] grandpa phone and a [D7] grandmaphone too! [E7] Yeah!
My [A7] cellular, [D7] bananular [G] phone!

[G] Bananaphone, ring [D7] ring [G] ring!
[G] Bananaphone, ring [D7] ring [G] ring!

Stay & Play: Beaded Bracelets

This simple Stay & Play is always popular, and the kids get really into it. It’s always great for building their fine motor skills. I just put out bowls of Pony beads and pipe cleaners and let them thread away. The grown-ups usually have to help them connect the ends of the pipe cleaner to make it into a bracelet at the end.

Do you have any favorite books, songs, or activities featuring the Letter B? Or any early literacy tips? Please share them in the comments below.

Say Ahh! A Storytime About the Letter A

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Early Literacy Skill: Point out letters and letter combinations in books and in the world around you, and talk about the sounds they make. This helps promote phonological awareness, an essential skill for learning to read.

A few years ago, I did a series of storytimes based on each letter of the alphabet. It was a lot of fun, both in terms of planning, and because the families enjoyed trying to guess which letter we were focusing on each week.

Lately, I’ve been making more of an explicit effort to promote early literacy skills in my storytimes, and, after reading this Reading Rocket article about phonological awareness as a predictor of reading skills, I decided that revisiting the alphabet would be the perfect way to introduce letter sounds in a fun way.

For both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, I started out by asking the kids to suggest words they knew that started with the letter A. I wrote these down on a white board. They came up with Apple, Alligator, and Ant. We also added any kids’ names who started with A, like Aaron and Ava.

I also had a paper bag with three objects beginning with the letter A (a toy Albino Alligator, an Apple and an Avocado (actually shakers shaped like an Apple and an Avocado). I pulled these out of the bag one at a time. (For my Family Storytime, which is a much smaller group, I had kids reach in to pull things out of the bag).

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Axolotl and Axolittle by Jess Hitchman; illustrated Sarah Rebar

The story of Axolotl and Axolittle, two axolotl siblings, is a cute, colorful, tongue-twisting read. When Axolotl starts quacking a lotl, it upsets her little brother, Axolittle, and the two get into an axo-squabble that Dad has to help resolve. I read this book at Family Storytime, and also at several local preschools.

Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena; illustrated by Jessica Gibson

Cute story about an acorn who loves adventure. Even when a squirrel picks him up and carries him away, he loves the thrill of racing through the trees, and can’t wait for more. But then another squirrel buries him the ground, and he finds himself changing in ways he never expected. This story was perfect for our Outdoor Musical Storytime at the park.

Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max

I love this simple, sweet story about a girl who wants to be an astronaut. Her father asks her if she is ready to do all of the things astronauts have to do: eating food from packages, spinning around in space, sleeping alone on the rocket ship. Finally, they go to meet her mother, who is just returning from her own voyage as an astronaut.

All Aboard the Alaska Train by Brooke Hartman; illustrated by John Joseph

I gave out egg shakers before we read this one, since it’s a rhythmic chant describing a trip on a train through Alaska. Each rhyme leads to a different animal: moose, otters, caribou, etc. and ends with the Northern Lights.

Rhymes & Song:

The Alphabet Song

We sang this at the beginning of storytime, to kick off our journey through the alphabet. I usually repeat it two or three times, getting faster and faster.

[C] A – B – C – D – [F] E – F – [C] G
[F] H – I – [C] J – K – [G7] LMNO – [C] P
[C] Q – R –[F] S –[C] T – U –[G7] V
[C] W – [F]X –[C] Y and [G7] Z
[C] Now I know my [F]AB[C]C’s,
[F]Next time [C] won’t you [G7]sing with [C] me.

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

We did this rhyme to go along with Acorn Was a Little Wild. For Family Storytime, I gave each child two play scarves to bundle up in their hands like apples. For both groups, I asked them to suggest other foods they would like to pick from a tree. They suggested pears, bananas and cookies.

Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could!
Down came the apples.
Mmmm! They were good!

The Ants Go Marching

We sang this song with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I put small pom-poms on the parachute each time we sang it to represent the ants. The kids loved watching them bounce up and down.

[Am] The ants go marching one by one, [C] Hurrah, Hurrah!
The [Am] ants go marching one by one, [C] Hurrah, Hurrah!
The [C] ants go marching [G7] one by one,
The [Am] little one stops to [E7] suck his thumb,
And they [C] all [G7] go marching [Am] down to the ground to get out of the rain,
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ants go marching two by two…the little one stops to tie her shoe…

The ants go marching three by three…the little one stops to climb a tree…

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We sang this to go along with Astro Girl, although I do it every week at Outdoor Musical Storytime as my second parachute song. The kids LOVE running underneath the parachute when we lift it up in the air.

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!

Apples and Bananas

This is such a great song, particularly for helping kids learn the different vowel sounds. It’s also a lot of fun, and works well for almost any age group.

I like to [C] eat, eat eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and ba-[C]nanas.
I like to [C] eat, eat eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and ba-[C]nanas.

I like to eat, eat, eat ayples and baynaynays…

I like to eat, eat, eat eeples and beeneenees…

I like to eat, eat, eat īpples, and bīnīnīs… (the ī symbol is for the long “i” sound, which sounds like “eye”)

I like to eat, eat, eat oh-pples and boh-noh-nohs…

 I like to eat, eat, eat ūpples and būnūnūs… (the ū symbol is for the long “u” sound, which sounds like “ooh)

Letter A

I wrote this song to showcase the different sounds that Letter A makes. The kids enjoyed repeating the “Aaaah! Ahhh! Ayyy!” sounds in the chorus. Feel free to use it if you like. Also, if you are ever having trouble coming up with a song for a particular theme, please send me a message. I really enjoy the challenge of writing new songs.

Letter [D] A,
Letter [A] A,
Has so [D] many sounds to a say,
You say, [D] “Aaaah!”
You say, [A] “Ahhh!”
You say, [D] “Ayyy!”

You’re the [D] apple of my eye.
You’re the [A] airplane in the sky.
Astro-[D]nauts and arrows [A] fly
With letter [D] A.

You say “Aaah” in hat and rat,
And in cat and acrobat.
The whole world would be flat
Without A.

You put the a in cake and bake,
And in acorn and mistake.
When we say those words you make
Our faces smile.

You give water its ahhh,
And you make the sheep say “Baaa!”
There could be no Arkansas
Without A.

Letter A, Letter A,
You make everything okay,
You say, “Aaah!”
You say, ” Ahhh”
You say, “Ayyy”

Stay & Play: ART!

For our Stay & Play, I announced we were going to be exploring one of my favorite Letter A words: ART! I just put out white paper, markers and dot markers, and let the kids go wild.

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

Building Up: A Storytime About Construction

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Early Literacy Tip: Books with “sound words” like “Crash” and “Bang” are a fun way to help build phonemic awareness (the knowledge of the sounds that make up words). As an added bonus, these words are often prominently displayed, making them great for helping kids build the connection between the sound of the word and the way it looks on the page.

I love reading books about construction vehicles, because there are a few toddlers who get so excited just seeing pictures of them. So, I thought it would make for a fun theme this week for Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. Here’s what we did:

Books:

Baby Builders by Elissa Haden Guest; illustrated by Hiroe Nakata

Cute, rhyming picture book describing all the steps a crew of adorable babies go through to build a house together. The kids loved the line about the babies enjoying mint ice cream, and everyone liked the picture of the house at the end, which has a big slide in the middle.

Cats in Construction Hats by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen & Leeza Hernandez

Colorful cats in different colored construction hats work together to build a building, with the help of some rats. This one reminds me a bit of the Busy Town books by Richard Scarry.

Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney

Super cute, rhyming picture book by the creator of the Llama Llama books. In this one, a helpful excavator called Little E tries his best to help the other construction vehicles, but always ends up falling over or getting in the way. In the end, though, there is one task that only he can do. Filled with lots of great sound words that the kids enjoyed repeating.

Smashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

I handed out the egg shakers before we read this one at Outdoor Musical Storytime. By the creators of Trashy Town, this book features Mr. Gilly as the driver of a wrecking ball, hired to knock down an old building so a new one could go up. The kids enjoyed joining in (and shaking their egg shakers) for the repeated “Swing the ball, hit the wall! SMASH, SMASH, SMASH! Swing the ball, hit the wall! CRASH, CRASH, CRASH!

Songs & Rhymes:

The Wheels on the Trucks

We have a set of plastic construction vehicle toys that we put out for Stay & Play sometimes, so for this song, I held up each truck and we sang about it to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The wheels on the trucks go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the trucks go round and round,
All day long.

The drum on the concrete mixers goes round and round…

The bucket on the excavator goes up and down…

The bed on the dump truck goes up and down…

Bumping Up and Down in an Excavator

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. It’s to the tune of Bumping Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon. I put cotton balls on the parachute, so they would fly up and down while we shook the parachute in time to the song.

Bumping up and down in an excavator,
Bumping up and down in an excavator,
Bumping up and down in an excavator,
Won’t you be my darlin’?

I Have a Cat

We did this rhyme after reading Cats in Construction Hats. I usually have the kids echo each line of this rhyme as I say it. They especially like the part where they get to pretend to catch a rat.

I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
My cat lies flat (put one hand flat on top of the other).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
She wears a hat (pat the top of your head).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
She caught a rat (grab imaginary rat).
I have a cat (pet imaginary cat).
Purr, Purr, MEOW!

If I Had a Construction Crew

I was having trouble finding songs for this theme, so I wrote this one, which I may expand into a longer song (if you ever need a song for a theme, please let me know. I love a challenge!). Each time we sang it, I asked the kids to suggest things they would like to have in their house. We had “rooms of cows and kittens too,” “bouncy houses and slides too,” and “rooms of cake and cookies too.”

[C] If I had a [E7] construction crew,
I’d [F] build a house for [G7] me and you,
With [C] rooms of toys and [E7] candy too,
Just [F] like a fairy tale [G7] come [C] true.

[F] And we’d ride uni-[G7]corns all [C] day,
And [F] dream of games we’d [G7] like to [C] play.
So [F] many things that we [G7] could [C] do,
If [F] I had a [G7] construction [C] crew.

Repeat, asking the kids to suggest things they would like to see in their dream house for the third line (Example: With rooms of cats and kittens too).

Stay & Play: Painting With Legos

This was so messy, but the kids LOVED it! I just put out Duplo blocks and trays of tempera paint in different colors, and they had a blast stamping the blocks in the paint and then onto the paper.

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

Hold Your Horses: A Storytime for the Year of the Horse

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For the last few weeks, our libraries have been celebrating Lunar New Year, which this year fell on February 17, but is often celebrated through the Lantern Festival on March 3. We’ve been lucky enough to have a Lion Dancers come to both libraries, which has been a blast (the first one was absolutely packed!).

Since this year is the Year of the Horse, I focused my last two storytimes on a combination of horse books and songs, and books about the Lunar New Year. Here’s what we did:

Books:

Tomorrow is New Year’s Day by Aram Kim

Most of the picture books we have about the Lunar New Year are focused on the Chinese traditions surrounding the holiday. I liked that this one centered around the traditions practiced by people from Korea. It’s also relatively short, and works well for storytime. In this story, Mina can’t wait to show off her beautiful hanbok to her class, and share tteokguk, a delicious rice cake soup. But she’s embarrassed when her little brother shows up crying and complaining about his own hanbok being itchy. Luckily, the compliments of her classmates calm him down. Includes a glossary of terms (with pronunciation), and instructions on how to make an origami hanbok.The kids like joining in on the “Waaahh!” when the little brother cries.

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

This is one of my favorite Lunar New Year picture books that focuses on Chinese traditions. It describes how one family celebrates the holiday by sweeping out the old year, getting haircuts, eating dumplings, and waking up the dragon. Sometimes I hand out pieces of bubble wrap (the kind that still pops) for the kids to pop when we get to the page with the firecrackers.

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee

This simple, funny picture book works well for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. All the animals want to go for a ride with Mr. Horse, but when they complain that he’s going too fast, he skids to a stop, and they all fly into a haystack. Mr. Horse is very worried, but then they all beg to do it again. Lots of opportunities for kids to join in on the “Clippedy-Clops” (or stomp their feet), and make different animal sounds.

Horse Meets Dog by Elliott Kalan & Tim Miller

Funny story about an encounter between a horse and a dog, who are both confused about each other’s identity. The horse thinks the dog is a tiny baby horse, and tries to give him a bottle of hay. The dog thinks the horse is a very big dog, and tries to teach him to play fetch with a ball. The kids loved the part at the end, where they argue back and forth: “Tiny baby horse!” “Very big dog!” and the ending, when a bird thinks they are “two weird looking birds.”

If You Want to Ride a Horse by Amy Novesky & Gael Abary

This one is a bit too long for my Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, but it worked well for the early elementary kids at my evening Family Storytime. It invites the reader to imagine what kind of horse they might like to have, the different ways they could ride it, and the different tools they would need to take care of it. It’s the kind of book I would have loved when I was a horse-obsessed girl.

Songs:

Ribbon Dancing

In honor of Lunar New Year, we handed out ribbon wands, and invited the kids to wave them in time to the song Gongs and Drums to Welcome New Year performed by the Taipei Municipal Chinese Classical Orchestra. This was a big hit!

Giddy-Up!

This is one of my all-time favorite baby/toddler storytime songs. It’s to the tune of the William Tell Overture (Lone Ranger Theme). For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we sang it with the parachute, shaking the chute in time to the song, and getting faster each time.

Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-UP-UP-UP! (bounce baby or toddler, or have older kids “gallop” in place)
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-UP-UP-UP!
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-UP-UP-UP!
WHOA, Horsey! (Lean back with baby/toddler, or have older kids stop and put their hands out)

Hop Up, My Ladies

There are lots of recordings of this traditional song, but the one by Dan Zanes is my favorite. It’s such a fun and happy song. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C] Did you ever go to meetin’, [G] Uncle [C] Joe, Uncle Joe?
Did you ever go to [G] meetin’, Uncle Joe?
Did you [C] ever go to meetin’, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe?
Don’t [F] mind the weather [G] so the wind don’t blow.

CHORUS:

[C] Hop up, my ladies, three in a row,
Hop up, my [G] ladies, three in a row,
Hop up, my [C] ladies, three in a row,
Don’t [F] mind the weather [G] so the wind don’t blow.

Will your horse carry double, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe…

CHORUS:

Is your horse a single-footer, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe…

CHORUS:

Say, don’t you wanna’ gallop, Uncle Joe, Uncle Joe…

Stay & Play: Paper Dragon Puppets

A teacher friend of mine gave me a whole envelope full of wooden chopsticks and New Year envelopes (we put stickers in these, and gave them out at the end of both storytimes).

Before the storytime, I cut out the dragon head and tail from krokotak.com (for some reason, I couldn’t get the template to load when I went back to the site, but here’s a photo of it).

I also cut sheets of red paper in half lengthwise to make the bodies.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper templates, markers, chopsticks, the half sheets of red paper, glue sticks, and Scotch tape. I showed the kids how to fold the red paper accordion style (the adults helped the kids with this too). Then they colored their dragons, and glued the head and tail onto either end of the folded paper. We taped a chopstick at the front and the back. The kids had a great time making their dragons dance.

Do you have favorite books, songs, or crafts related to Lunar New Year or horses? Please share them in the comments below.

Whatever Floats Your Boat: A Storytime About Floating and Sinking

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Early Literacy Tip: Find ways to play with rhyming words together by changing the words to favorite songs, or coming up with your own verses. Rhyming and music are both powerful tools for teaching the sounds that make up language, which will make it easier for kids to learn to decode words when they are learning to read later on.

Last week, I did a storytime focused on things that float/things that sink, mostly so we could do a little STEM activity with water play at the end. I started by asking the kids what things they could think of that float. They suggested boats, rubber ducks, and soap. I didn’t get into any of the science behind it, but in retrospect, I wish I had done a little demonstration where we tried seeing if different things floated or sank in a container of water.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

I Want a Boat by Liz Garton Scanlon; illustrated by Kevan Atteberry

I read this one for Family Storytime. The text is simple (“I have a box. I want a boat. I have a boat. I want a crew, etc.”) but the magic is in the adorable illustrations of a little girl on an imaginary adventure.

Truck Full of Ducks by Ross Burach

This one is always a hit. When the ducks eat the address of the customer who called for a “Truck full of ducks,” the owner drives around town looking for them. He finds surfers who called for an ice cream truck, a construction worker who called for a dump truck, and even someone who called for a duck removal truck. Finally, in the deep dark woods, he finds the fox who called for a truck full of ducks–for his bathtub! The best page is the one showing all of the ducks in a public restroom, with their little feet showing under the doors.

Swim, Swim, Sink by Jenn Harney

Rhyming (sort of) book about a family of three baby ducks. Two of the ducks swim without any problem, but the third one always sinks. He tries everything to cope: SCUBA gear, a jet-ski, water wings, and then finally uses his eggshell as a boat. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Swim, Swim, Sink!” part.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera

Adorable adaptation of the classic song, with additional verses featuring a wide variety of animals (and animal sounds). We sang it with the egg shakers at the end of both Outdoor Musical and Family Storytime.

Songs:

The Goldfish Song

We sang this after reading Swim, Swim, Sink. I handed out ribbon wands for the kids to wave around during the choruses.

[C] Lots of little fish were sleeping on a rock
In the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
They lifted up their heads,
And they shook out their tails,
And they [G] said let’s go [C] swimming.

CHORUS
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming,
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.

[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired
That they [G] swam back to the [C] rock.
And they [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And when they woke up, they were a little bit dirty,
So they took a shower.
And they washed their [C] hair,
And they washed their [G] ears,
And they washed their tummies,
And they washed their very long fishy beards.
And they washed their [F] noses,
And they washed their [C] toeses,
And then they [G] said,
“Wait a minute, we’re fish!
We don’t take showers!”

CHORUS:
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming,
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.

[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired
That they [G] swam back to the [C] rock.
And they [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And when they woke up,
They decided to brush their teeth.

So they got out their tooth [C] brush
And their [G] toothpaste.
And they squeezed a little on,
They really liked the [C] taste.
Then they put it in their [F] mouth,
They brushed north and [C] south.
Ch-ka-ch! Ch-ka-ch! Ch-ka-ch!
And then [G] they said,
“Wait a minute, we’re fish!
We don’t brush our teeth!

CHORUS

[C] Then the little fish got so very, very tired,
That they [G] came back to the [C] rock.
They [C] put down their heads,
And they put down their tails,
And they [G] took a little [C] nap.
And [C] when they woke up,
They decided to ride their bicycles.

So they rode to the [C] left,
And they rode to the [G] right,
And they rode all day,
And they rode all [C] night-night-night-night-night.
They rode down the [F] hill,
And then faster [C] still,
And then they said,
“Wait a minute, [G] we’re [C] fish!
We don’t ride bicycles!”

CHORUS
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [C] ocean.
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming
[G] Yeah, let’s go [C] swimming
Let’s go [C] swimming, let’s go swimming in the [G] bottom of the [F] o-[C]cean

Six Little Ducks

We sang this with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime. I threw six small rubber ducks onto the parachute. The kids loved watching them bounce around.

[C] Six little ducks that I once [G7] knew,
Big ones, little ones, [C] fair ones too.But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus:
[G7] “Quack! Quack! Quack! [C] Quack! Quack! Quack!”
[G7] He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

[C] Down to the river they would [G7] go,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, [C] to and fro.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

[C] Home from the river they would [G7] come,
[C] Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho hum hum.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

When I Was One

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I asked the kids for words that rhymed with each number for the additional verses: When I was two, I tied my shoe. When I was three, I saw a bee, etc.

When I was one, I had some fun,
When I travelled out to sea. (move hand in a wavy motion)
I jumped aboard a pirate ship (jump)
And the captain said to me. (salute)

He said, Go this way! (lean right) 
That way! (lean left) 
Forward! (lean forward) 
Backward! (lean backward) 
When you travel out to sea!”

When I was two, I tied my shoe…

Stay & Play: Nature Boats

Before storytime, I collected a bunch of small sticks. I also brought some small pieces of a cauliflower plant from my garden that I hadn’t harvested in time, although flowers would have worked just as well.

For the Stay & Play, I put out the sticks, cauliflower pieces, rubber bands, ribbon, and scissors, along with a large tub of water so the kids could see if their boats would float. The kids had a great time assembling the sticks into bundles fastened with the rubber bands and testing them out in the water (I showed them how they might have to flatten them out into a kind of raft shape to make them float). They then decorated them with the cauliflower pieces and ribbon, along with leaves and other things they found around the picnic area. For Family Storytime, we used pipe cleaners instead of rubber bands.

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

A Long Winter’s Nap: A Storytime About Animals in Winter

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Early Literacy Tip: Point out repeated words and phrases in the books you read together, and have your kids say them with you each time you read them. This helps build the connection between written and spoken language, and helps develop their sight vocabulary.

Happy New Year!

For storytime this week, I decided to do a theme about animals in Winter. I talked a little about hibernation, and shared a chart from animalspot.net showing common animals that hibernate.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Harold Hates to Hibernate by Vern Kousky

The sequel to Harold Loves His Woolly Hat, this one features Harold trying to avoid hibernating, because he’s afraid his friends the crows will forget about him. With the help of his friends, he tries to stay awake eating a big meal, wearing warm clothes (stolen from a clothesline), and resting his aching paws in something soft. When he is no longer able to stay awake, the crows promise they will remember him until he wakes up. The kids loved joining in on the repeated “CaCaws!”

The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth; illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Although I love the Jan Brett version of The Mitten, I find this adaptation a bit easier to read to younger kids. The story is essentially the same: a young boy’s lost mitten becomes a shelter for a series of animals escaping the cold. The mitten stretches to hold a squirrel, a rabbit, a fox, and then a bear. But when a little mouse tries to crawl in, the mitten bursts into pieces. I like the repeated rhyme each animal says, and it’s fun to do different voices for each animal.

I Don’t Want to Go To Sleep by Dev Petty; illustrated by Mike Boldt

A sequel to I Don’t Want to Be a Frog. In this story, Owl explains to Frog all of the reasons he can’t do the fun things that his other animal friends enjoy in the Winter, and that instead he will have to bury himself in the mud and sleep. Eventually, Frog decides to hibernate, but only if his friends will join him in the mud. I didn’t actually get to read this one at Family Storytime, like I had planned, but I did read it to a transitional Kindergarten class, and two second grade classes. The second graders especially enjoyed the humor.

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

My favorite of the Froggy books, in this story, Froggy decides he doesn’t want to sleep through the Winter, and goes out to play in the snow. But his mother keeps reminding him about the different articles of clothing he forgot to put on: his pants, his shirt, his coat, and finally, his underwear. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Froggys!” (Before I read it, I talked about how they could keep an eye out for repeated words like that in the books they read with their grown-ups). I read to a couple of special needs preschools once a month, and have found that the kids there often enjoy repeating the different sound effects in this book (zum, zap, zip, znap, etc.). The kids at my storytimes this week did too.

Songs:

Two Little Blackbirds

One of my favorite storytime songs. It words well as either a finger play or a scarf song. You can also adapt it to other types of birds (ducks, geese, crows, etc.).

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!…

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

Mitten Song

Cute, simple song about mittens. I use the tune from this video, but only do the first verse.

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.

The Little Bunny Song

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we did this one with the parachute. We started with the parachute on the ground, and I threw cotton balls in the middle. We sang the beginning of the song, then shook the parachute up and down when the bunnies “woke up.” The kids loved watching the cotton balls fly into the air.

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!

If All the Raindrops

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, our Winter’s are full of rain rather than snow, so we sang this song as our instrument play-along at the end. I asked the kids to suggest different foods they would like to fall from the sky for each verse.

[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 raindrops were ice cream and carrots… etc.

Stay & Play: Paper Mittens

Before storytime, I printed out blank mitten templates (there are lots of options online, but here’s a free one from MondayMandala.com). For the Stay & Play, I put out the printed templates, kids scissors, markers, dot markers, tape, and yarn. The kids enjoyed coloring their mittens with the markers and dot markers, and the grown-ups helped them cut the mittens out and tape a long piece of yarn on the back of each one to connect them.

Do you have favorite picture books about hibernation and animals in Winter? Any storytime themes you are interested in trying this year? Please share them in the comments below.

Get Your Ducks in a Row: A Storytime About Ducks (And Chickens!)

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I haven’t had as much time to write up my storytimes lately, but this was one I had fun with recently. I used the theme for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime, so here’s a combined list of the books and songs that I did.

Books:

Guji Guji by Chih-Yuen Chen

This is an older title, and a bit too long for my Outdoor Musical Crowd, but my Family Storytime kids were mesmerized. When a strange egg rolls into a duck’s nest, it hatches into a crocodile named Guji Guji, who grows up believing he is just like the other ducks. When a trio of crocodiles tells him the truth, Guji Guji has to decide whether to join them or save his adoptive family.

Truck Full of Ducks by Ross Burach

Hilarious story about a company called Truck Full of Ducks, who sets out one day in search of a customer whose address was accidentally eaten by the ducks. Along the way, they meet a number of other odd truck-based businesses: a tow truck towing a flying saucer, a duck removal service, and a mail truck requested by a girl who wants to ship her brother far away. They finally find their customer deep in the forest: a fox who wants a few ducks for his evening bath. The book got laughs from both kids and grown-ups, especially the page showing a row of bathroom stalls, with a set of duck feet showing under each door.

Ducks Away! by Mem Fox, illustrated by Judy Horacek

Cute, simple story about a mother duck who is dismayed when each of her five babies slip off of a bridge into the water below. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I used the ducks from the Monkee Mitt and tossed a duck into the crowd each time a duck in the story fell off of the bridge. For Family Storytime, I read this book after our play scarf songs, and had the kids toss their scarf in the air each time a duck fell.

The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog by Mo Willems

My coworker and I read this book together at Outdoor Musical Storytime. The first Mo Willems book featuring The Duckling, this story involves the Pigeon preparing to enjoy a hot dog he just found, but being repeatedly interrupted by the Duckling’s questions.

Chicken Butt! by Erica S. Perl; illustrated by Henry Cole

I couldn’t resist including this book for Family Storytime, even though it’s about chickens rather than ducks. I’ve been having a great time reading it at my preschool and Transitional Kindergarten outreach classes. It’s basically an extension of the old “Guess What?” “Chicken Butt!” joke, in the context of a young boy joking with his father. The line “Guess where?” “Chicken underwear!” got an even bigger laugh than “Chicken butt!”

Songs

Five Little Ducks

We sang this song with the five little duck set and the Monkee Mitt. Although the song always seems sad to me (at least until the last verse), the kids seem to enjoy singing the “Quack Quack Quack Quacks.”

Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck cried, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!”
But only four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out one day…

Three little ducks went out one day…

Two little ducks went out one day…

One little duck went out one day…

Sad Mother Duck went out one day,
Over the hills and far away.
Mother Duck cried, “Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack!”
And all of the five little ducks came back!

Six Little Ducks

We actually have two different Monkee Mitt sets for the Five Little Ducks, so for Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put six of the ducks on the parachute and we waved the chute up and down in time to the song.

[C] Six little ducks that I once [G7] knew,
Fat ones, skinny ones, [C] fair ones too.But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus:
[G7] “Quack! Quack! Quack! [C] Quack! Quack! Quack!”
[G7] He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

[C] Down to the river they would [G7] go,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, [C] to and fro.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

[C] Home from the river they would [G7] come,
[C] Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho hum hum.
But the one little duck with the [G7] feather on his back.
He led the others with his [C] “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Chorus

Two Little Duckies

We sang this with the play scarves at Family Storytime. I gave each child two scarves, so they could hold one in each hand to be the two duckies. Adapted from the traditional Two Little Blackbirds fingerplay.

Two little duckies 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 duckies 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 duckies sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little duckies sitting on a gate.
One was early, and the other was…late!…

Rubber Ducky by Jeff Moss

I couldn’t resist ending with Rubber Ducky as our instrument play-along song at the end. The song uses some less-known chords, so rather than including the lyrics and chords here, I’m just attaching the link to ukulele-tabs.com, which helpfully provides the chord charts: https://www.ukulele-tabs.com/uke-songs/sesame-street/rubber-ducky-uke-tab-67701.html

Stay & Play: Duck Collage

For the Stay & Play, I put out some paper duck templates (that I had pre-cut before storytime (I used this one from SimpleMomProject.com), along with glue sticks, dot markers, eye stickers and googly eyes, and craft feathers. The kids had a great time decorating their ducks.

What are your favorite books or songs about ducks? Please tell me in the comments below.

Going Batty: A Storytime for Bat Appreciation Month

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October is Bat Appreciation Month, so I was excited to devote a couple of storytimes to celebrating bats.

I started by sharing photos of three different kinds of bats: two that are common in the Bay Area (the Mexican free-tailed bat and the large brown bat), and one that families can visit at the Oakland Zoo (the Malayan flying fox, a large fruit bat). I talked a little bit about how bats eat a lot of the bugs that we don’t like, including lots of mosquitoes, but that some of them eat fruit, and some even drink blood (although they are small, and rarely target people).

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Superbat by Matt Carr

Funny story about a bat who makes himself a costume in order to become Superbat. The problem is that all of the superpowers he has (amazing hearing, the ability to fly, and echolocation) are things that all of his other bat friends can do too. He is about to give up his dream, when his bravery helps him save a family of mice. The kids enjoyed yelling, “Superbat!”

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

A cute, colorful picture book about a bat who decides he would like a hat. He takes an especially nice one from a baby, who gets understandably upset. Eventually he feels bad and returns the hat, and is thrilled to receive a pair of socks in return. I had the kids make “Wah!” sounds along with the baby.

I Am Bat by Morag Hood

This is such a simple book, but I really enjoy reading it aloud in my super squeaky “bat voice.” Bat talks about his love for cherries, and is greatly upset when some of them disappear. Luckily, a pear appears in their place. The kids enjoyed naming the different types of animals who are stealing the cherries.

Kit and Caboodle by Anna Pignataro

Sweet story about a witch named Kit, who rescues an injured bat named Caboodle. Her attempts to fix his wing with magic don’t work out, but she cares for him until he recovers, and eventually he ends up rescuing her in return.

Fiona, the Fruit Bat by Dan Riskin; illustrated by Rachel Quiqi

Full disclosure: I was planning to read this one for Family Storytime, but we ran out of time. I think it’s a great book for describing how echolocation works, through a simple story about a young bat flying alone in the dark for the first time.

Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat by Tracy C. Gold, illustrated by Nancy Leschnikoff

Adorable rhyming Halloween book full of facts about bats. The kids enjoyed making “Eww!” sounds whenever the book described all the yummy bugs the bat is excited to eat.

Songs:

I’m A Bitty Bitty Bat by Stephanie Leavell

I really like this bat-themed movement song, and the kids enjoyed flying around like bats as we sang it. You can add in your own motions.

I’m a [Am] bitty, bitty bat,
A [Dm] bitty, bitty [Am] bat.
[Dm] Flying a-[Am]round,
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty [Am] bat.

I’m a [Am] great big bat,
A [Dm] great big [Am] bat.
[Dm] Flying a-[Am]round,
I’m a [E7] great big [Am] bat.

Chorus:

I’m [Dm] flying, I’m [Am] flying.
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.
I’m [Dm] flying, I’m [Am] flying.
I’m a [E7] bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty [Am] bat.

I’m a balancing bat,
A balancing bat.
Flying around,
I’m a balancing bat.

Chorus:

I’m flying, I’m flying.
I’m a bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.
I’m flying, I’m flying.
I’m a bitty, bitty, bitty, bitty bat.

I’m a bouncing bat…

The Bats in the Sky

We sang the first verse (below) with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, raising it up and down as we sang. For Family Storytime, I extended it into a longer song about Halloween, and asked the kids to suggest different things they might see on Halloween. It’s to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The bats in the sky fly up and down,
Up and down, Up and down.
The bats in the sky fly up and down,
All night long.

Halloween version:

The [C] bats in the sky fly up and down,
[G7] Up and down, [C] Up and down.
The [C] bats in the sky fly [G7] up and down,
On Hallo-[C]ween.

The witches in the house go, “Hee, hee, hee!
Hee, hee, hee! Hee, hee, hee!”
The witches in the house go, “Hee, hee, hee!”
On Halloween.

The ghosts in the house go, “Boo! Boo! Boo!”…

The children at the door say, “Trick or Treat!”…

Soooky Bats

We sang this variation of Scary Skeletons with the play scarves for Family Storytime. I had the kids take two scarves each, and wave them like bat wings.

We are spooky bats
Flying down the street,
Flying down the street,
Flying down the street.
We are spooky bats
Flying down the street.
We’ll scare you…BOO!

Apples and Bananas

We sang this as our instrument play-along, after reading I Am Bat. It’s a silly traditional camp song, but the kids love it, and it’s a great way to focus on the different vowel sounds. I usually change all of the vowels in each line (including the “I like to eat” part), which is different from the way they sing it in this Super Simple Songs video:

I like to [C] eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[C]nanas.
I like to [C] eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[G]nanas.
I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and ba-[C]nanas.

Ay lake to ate, ate, ate, ayples and baynaynays…

Ee leek to eat, eat, eat, eeples and beeneenees…

I like to īte, īte, īte, īpples, and bīnīnīs… (the ī symbol is for the long “i” sound, which sounds like “eye”)

Oh, loke to oh-te, oh-te, ohte, oh-pples and boh-noh-nohs…

 Ū lūk to ūte, ūte, ūte, ūpples and būnūnūs… (the ū symbol is for the long “u” sound, which sounds like “ooh)

Stay & Play: Sponge Painted Bat Pictures

I based this one on a craft from Tiny Teaching Shack. This was messy, but a fun way to give the kids a chance to try relief art, which is always a bit magical.

Before storytime, I printed lots of bat templates on white cardstock and cut them out (there’s a great collection of them here on OneLittleProject.com). For the Stay & Play, I put out black construction paper, the bat templates, removable restickable glue sticks, paper bowls with different colors of tempera paint, and sponge brushes. I showed the kids how to glue a bat or two onto their black paper ,and then paint the whole paper (including the bat) with the sponge brushes. They loved peeling the bat off at the end to see the shape appear in black in the middle of their painting.

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

Chicken-Hearted: A Storytime for National Chicken Month

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At our libraries, we just learned that September is National Chicken Month, which has led to some adorable “book book book” displays. It made for a fun storytime theme this week too.

Here is what we did:

Books:

Chicken Story Time by Sandy Asher; illustrated by Mark Fearing

Just like the title says, this book is about chickens coming to storytime at the library. At first there is only one, but then more and more chickens come every week, until there is too much clucking and noise for the librarian to be heard. But she finds a solution that works for everyone: having the children each read to a small group of chickens. The kids loved making chicken noises.

Chicken in Space by Adam Lehrhaupt; illustrated by Shahar Kober

Very cute story about a chicken who wants to go into space with her friends, but only Pig will go with her. The two fly in a basket carried by balloons, and encounter an asteroid (a baseball), a comet (kite), and birds (alien space ships).

Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman

Cute, simple story about a flock of chickens who rushes to the rescue each time a member of the Greenstalk family runs into trouble: dropping a watch in well, feeling too tired to make dinner, or needing help with a last minute book report. The kids enjoyed joining in on the “Chickens to the Rescue!” line.

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

This is a great book for storytime because the kids can join in on the actions. Three cows declare that it is time to jump up and down on Chicken’s sofa. When Chicken objects, they decide it’s time to dance, and then wiggle on his sofa instead, and eventually, to nap.

Songs:

I Bought Me a Rooster

I love this cumulative traditional song because the kids can suggest a new animal and animal sound for each verse, and it gets longer and longer each time. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, they suggested a dog, a cow, a crocodile, a goat, and a duck.

[C] I bought me a rooster and the rooster pleased me
I fed my rooster on the [G7] bayberry tree
[C] My little rooster goes, [F] “Cock-a-doodle doo!
Dee [C] Doodle, Dee [F] Doodle, Dee [G7] Doodle, Dee [C] Doo!”

[C] I bought me a dog and the dog pleased me
I fed my dog on the [G7] bayberry tree
[C] My little dog goes, [F] “Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”
[C] My little rooster goes, [F] “Cock-a-doodle doo!
Dee [C] Doodle, Dee [F] Doodle, Dee [G7] Doodle, Dee [C] Doo!”

I bought me a cow and the cow pleased me…etc.

The Chicken Dance by Werner Thomas

I’ve never done this before, but for this song, I brought a bluetooth speaker and connected it to my phone to play a recording. The kids loved doing the motions in the main part of the song (as seen in the YouTube video below), and then doing their own dance in the parts in between. We danced with play scarves at Family Storytime.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We do this song with the parachute every week in Outdoor Musical Storytime, but this week it fit perfectly with the book Chicken in Space. I put a chicken puppet on the parachute so the kids could make it fly in the air. We sang it with play scarves at Family Storytime.

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!

Shaky Egg Song by Laurie Berkner

We did this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] fast!
Shake them [F7] fast!
Shake them [C7] fast!
[G7] Shake your eggs!
[C7] Shake them [G7] fast!

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] slow!
You know how it [F7] goes.
Shake them [C7] slow,
[G7] Because you know how it goes.
[C7] Shake them [G7] fast! Oh, shake those eggs!

[C7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
Oh [F7] I know a chicken, (I know a chicken)
And she [C7] laid an egg. (And she laid an egg)
[G7] Oh my goodness! (Oh, my goodness)
It’s a [C7] shaky egg! (It’s a shaky egg!)

Now shake them [C7] in a circle.
Shake them [F7] round and round.
Don’t let them touch the [C7] ground.
[G7] Now shake them up and down.
[C7] You’ve got to shake them up and [G7] down.

Stay & Play: Paper Plate Chickens

I got this idea from AllFreeKidsCrafts.Com , although I used paper plates instead of paper circles. I mostly wanted it to be an opportunity for kids to practice cutting, so I brought a variety of scissors, including different sizes of loop scissors, which can be easier for little hands.

Before the storytime, I had cut out paper hearts and triangles for the crown and beak. For the Stay & Play, I put out the scissors, glue sticks, paper plates, googly eyes, and paper shapes. The kids enjoyed exploring the scissors, and also putting a variety of googly eyes on their chickens.

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

Life Lessons: A Back to School Storytime

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Our local high schools started back this week, and the elementary and middle schools start next Wednesday, so I decided to do a school-theme for both Outdoor Musical and Family Storytime.

Here is what we did:

Books:

Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous by Keith Calabrese and Juana Medina

This was a favorite book of my coworker, Angela, who just retired, and it was a big hit with my storytime families too. Lena is excited to start Kindergarten, but her favorite pair of shoes is too nervous to go! After talking to her father about the best way to convince her shoes to go to school, she finally warns them that she’s going to have to wear her slippers instead, and they decide to be brave after all.

It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus! by Jody Jensen Shaffer; illustrated Claire Messer

Our local school district can’t afford school buses, but the kids here are fascinated by them anyway (perhaps even more than in other places!). This is a cute story about Busy Bus getting ready for the first day of school, and worrying that the children won’t like him. There are lots of opportunities for kids to make sound effects as Ben the driver checks the different parts of the bus.

Hurry Kate, Or You’ll Be Late! by Janice N. Harrington; illustrated by Tiffany Rose

This is such a beautiful, sweet story about a little girl named Kate who is late for preschool. The book describes every step of Kate’s morning routine, from drinking a glass of chocolate milk, to having her Daddy brush her hair into big puffs, to going to the bus stop, riding the bus, and waiting at the crosswalk. Along the way she is excited to see emergency vehicles and construction equipment and point them out to her Daddy, but none of things made her late. She is late because her Daddy gives her a big, long hug at the doorway into preschool (I had to take a deep breath before reading the last page, so I wouldn’t get choked up!).

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

I read this one for Family Storytime, which tends to have slightly older kids. It’s one of my very favorites to read to elementary school classes: a hilarious story about a dinosaur named Penelope who can’t stop herself from eating the children in her class, even though her teacher always makes her spit them out again. But when the class goldfish, Walter, bites her finger, she realizes that it’s no fun to be eaten, and finally learns to make friends with her classmates instead.

Songs:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

We sang this to go along with Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous.

[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!”

The Wheels on the Bus

We sang this to go along with It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus. We did all of the usual verses (wipers, driver, horn, door, babies, etc.). I also included a dinosaur on the bus “Roar, Roar, Roar!” and ended by singing the first verse again, making our wheels (and the song) go as fast as we could. At Outdoor Musical Storytime, we followed it up by singing the “people on the bus go bumpity bump” with the parachute. It’s really easy to play on ukulele with the chords below:

[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 over [C] town.

This is the Way We Go to School

I adapted this from the Kiboomers version in the video below. We sang with play scarves in Family Storytime, using the scarves to mime the actions. It’s to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.

This is the way we wash our face,
Wash our face, wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face,
Early in the morning.

This is the way we wash our hair…

This the way we wear our clothes…

This is the way we wave goodbye…

We Are Gonna Be Friends

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C] Fall is here, hear the yell,
[C] Back to school, ring the bell.
[F] Brand new shoes, walking blues,
[C] Climb the fence, books and pens.

[G7] I can tell that [F] we are gonna be [C]friends.
[G7] I can tell that [F] we are gonna be [C]friends.

[C] Walk with me, Suzy Lee,
[C] Through the park and by the tree.
[F] We will rest upon the ground,
[C] And look at all the bugs we found.
[G7] Safely walk to school [F] without a [C] sound.
[G7] Safely walk to school [F] without a [C] sound.

[C] Here we are, there’s no one else.
[C] We walk to school all by ourselves.
[F] There’s dirt on our uniforms,
[C] From chasing all the ants and worms.
[G7] We clean up and [F] now it’s time to  [C] learn.
[G7] We clean up and [F] now it’s time to [C] learn.

[C] Numbers, letters, learn to spell,
[C] Nouns and books, and show and tell.
[F] At playtime, we will throw the ball.
[C] Back to class, through the hall.
[G7] Teacher marks our [F] height against the [C] wall.
[G7] Teacher marks our [F] height against the [C] wall.

[F] And we don’t notice any [C] time pass
[F] We don’t notice any [C] thing
[D] We sit side by side in every class.
[F] Teacher thinks that I sound funny,
[G7] But she likes the way you sing.

[C] Tonight I’ll dream while I’m in bed,
[C] When silly thoughts go through my head.
[F] About the bugs and alphabet,
[C] And when I wake tomorrow I’ll bet
That [G7] you and I will [F] walk together a-[C] gain.
Cause [G7] I can tell that [F] we are gonna be [C]friends.
[G7] I can tell that [F] we are gonna be [C]friends.
 

Stay & Play: Decorated Paper Lunch Bags

The kids had a great time with this simple activity, which you can really do with any kinds of decorating materials (markers, stickers, stamps, etc.) and paper lunch bags. I happened across a set of Ooly Double-Sided Stampable Markers recently, so for the Stay & Play, I put those out, along with some regular markers, animal stamps, ink pads, and gem stickers.

Do you have any favorite Back to School picture books or songs? Please share them in the comments below.