Tag Archives: toddler

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.

Z is for Zebra: A Storytime About the Letter Z

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We made it to the end of the alphabet today! It’s been a fun experiment, and our storytime families really seemed to enjoy calling out the letter each week, and calling out the words they knew. Today they came up with zebra, zoom, zipper and zoo, before we drew the letter Z in the air together.

Here’s a combination of the books and songs we did for Family Storytime last week, and Outdoor Musical Storytime today.

Books:

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham; illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Hilarious alphabet book about an attention-seeking moose, who can’t wait for his turn in the spotlight during the alphabet play. When the director, Zebra, chooses a mouse to represent the letter M, Moose goes on a rampage. The kids loved calling out the objects for each letter.

Zee by Michel Gay

This book appears to be out of print, which is sad, because it was a favorite of my own kids. Zee knows his parents need lots of coffee to wake up in the morning, so he prepares a special tray of coffee and breakfast. Unfortunately, he trips, and spills the tray, leaving only enough coffee to fill two doll’s teacups, which only wakes his parents up a little bit. My Family Storytime kids thought it was very funny.

Zero by Kathryn Otashi

In this sequel to One, the number Zero feels empty inside, and worries that she has no value. She tries to contort herself into different numbers, but nothing works, until she realizes that if she partners with the other numbers, together they can reach 10, 100, 1000, and higher! A wonderful allegory that also works well on the surface. It was perfect for my Family Storytime, which had a wide range of ages, so the younger kids could call out the smaller numbers, and the older ones could try their hand at the big numbers.

Old MacDonald Had a Zoo by Iza Trapani

The kids loved this adapted version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm, which describes Old MacDonald’s encounters with a variety of escaped zoo animals.

Songs:

When Ducks Get Up in the Morning

This is an old-standby of mine. We sang it to go along with Zee. I asked the kids to suggest different animals to sing about, and they came up with mice, alligators, and hippos. I ended with “When kids get up in the morning,” with the kids saying, “I’m hungry!”

[C] When ducks get up in the morning,
[G7] They always say, “Good [C] day!”
[C] When ducks get up in the morning,
[G7] They always say, “Good [C] day!”
[C] They say, “Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!”
[G7] That is what they [C] say.
[C] They say, “Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!”
[G7] That is what they [C] say.

Alphabet Song

We sang The Alphabet Song after reading M is for Moose. We sang it through three times, getting faster each time.

[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.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

We did this one both with our bodies (crouching down and then jumping up on the “Blast Off”) and then with the parachute (I tossed pompoms on the parachute just before we got to the blast off part). Here’s a video from JingleJam with the tune:

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!

Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton

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

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

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

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

CHORUS

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

CHORUS

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

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

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

CHORUS

Stay & Play: Paper Striped Zebras

We’ve had a set of Kids Kraft Edgers (scissors that cut patterned edges) for years, and I’ve always wanted to use them, so for this Stay and Play, I printed out blank zebra templates (like this one from FreeStencilGallery.com), and put out the Kraft Edgers, glue sticks, colored paper, googly eyes, and markers. The kids were fascinated by the different patterns they could create with the scissors, and had a great time cutting and gluing stripes on their zebras.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter Z? Or any topics you would like to see for a future storytime theme? Please share them in the comments below.

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.

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

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.

jazper

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.

itsy-bitsy-spider-iza-trapani-hardcover-cover-art

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.

diary

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.

butterfly

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?

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)

Standing on My Head…Or How to Entertain a Crowd of Kids Under the Age of 3

Posted in Librarianship, Storytime themes by

When I first started as a children’s librarian in Raleigh, North Carolina, I was lucky enough to be apprenticed to a woman who patiently taught me how to do infant and toddler storytimes. I was still terrified.  The hardest thing about doing storytime for this age group was that I was painfully aware that I was mostly performing for the parents, while the babies and toddlers were busy pulling books off the shelves, chewing on their friends’ toys, crying over a lost binky, and basically anything but listening to me.  At first this was so frightening that I would find myself forgetting the words to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”  I started writing my favorite rhymes and songs down on index cards, which would inevitably wander off and get chewed on, but they were still very helpful in those early years. Here are some of my favorites:

CUCKOO CLOCK

Tick Tock, Tick Tock (rocking side to side)
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Now I’m striking one o’clock…
Cuckoo! (lift baby up, or have toddler jump up in the air)

(Repeat for two and three o’clock)

THEY JUMPED IN THE BOAT

(Don’t ask me why the kids love this so much, but they do)

They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the right)
They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the left)
They jumped in the boat, and the boat tipped o-ver! (Lean baby far to the right)
Ten little boys and girls (bounce baby on lap)

GIDDY-UP!

(A bouncing rhyme, to the tune of the Lone Ranger part of “The William Tell Overture”)

Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP! (Bounce baby on lap)
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP!
Giddy-up, Giddy-up, Giddy-up-UP-UP!
Whoa! Horsey! (Lean back)

INSIDE THE SPACE SHUTTLE

Inside the space shuttle (hold baby on lap, or have toddler crouch down)
Just enough room (hug baby or show toddler how to hug knees)
Here comes the countdown (holding up five fingers)
5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!  (Raise baby in the air, or have toddler jump up)

ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!

(Similar to Inside the Space Shuttle, start with baby on lap or toddler crouching)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! (rub hands together on each “zoom”)
I’m off to the moon!
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast off!!!

TEN CANDLES ON A BIRTHDAY CAKE

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

MY BALLOON

This is the way I blow my balloon (hold hands in front of your face in the shape of a balloon)
Blow! (blow air, and bring hands apart)
Blow! (blow air, and spread hands wider)
Blow! (blow air, and spread hands very wide)
This is the way I break my balloon
Oh, oh NO! (clap hands together)

SLOWLY, SLOWLY

Slowly, slowly, very slowly goes the garden snail (walk fingers slowly up baby’s arm, or have toddler walk very slowly in place)
Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden rail
Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly
Goes the Little Mouse (run fingers up to baby’s chin, or have toddler run in place)
Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly
All around the house!

HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

Here is the beehive (make a fist)
Where are the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Watch, and they’ll all come out of their hive
1-2-3-4-5 (open up fingers one at a time)
They’re alive! (tickle baby or toddler)

DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY

(hold baby or toddler on lap and bounce them from leg to leg)

Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With a hip, hop, a hippity hop
Jump off the lily pad (lift baby up)
And kerplop! (lower baby back down)

THE ELEVATOR

(To the tune of “Bouncing Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon”)

Riding up and down in an elevator (lift baby up and down, or have toddler stand and crouch)
Riding up and down in an elevator
Riding up and down in an elevator
First floor
Second floor (lift baby up, or have toddler stand)
Third floor (lift baby higher, or have toddler stretch up high)
DOWN! (lower baby, or have toddler crouch back down)

MERRY-GO-ROUND 

(To the tune of “This Old Man”)

Merry Go Round (lift baby up and down, or put her on your knees and bend and straighten them)
Merry Go Round
We all ride on the merry-go-round
Now we’re UP
And now we’re DOWN!
We all ride on the merry-go-round.

Down to town, down to town
We go riding down to town
Better be careful you don’t fall DOWN (lean baby far to the right)
We go riding down to town.

RAISIN BREAD

(Have baby or toddler lie on her back on the floor)

How do you make raisin bread?
You roll it (roll baby gently to one side)
And roll it (roll baby to the other side)
And roll it
And roll it
And then you put the raisins in (gently poke baby’s stomach in several places)

SEE MY PONY 

(a bouncing rhyme; thanks to Laura Siegel)

See my pony, jet black pony
I ride him each day
When I give him oats to eat
Clippity clappaty go his little feet!
See my pony, jet black pony
I ride him each  (long pause holding tension)
day (simultaneously open knees and child drops down- while holding on of course)

I HAVE A CAT

I have a cat (stroke imaginary cat on lap)
My cat lies flat! (clap one hand on top of the other)
I have a cat (stroke cat)
He wears a hat (pat the top of your head)
I have a cat
He caught a rat (clap your hands together quickly in the air)
I have a cat (stroke cat)
Purrrrrrr….Purrrr…..
ME-OWWWW!

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

(pat hands on lap in time to the rhyme)

The hip-, the hip-, the hippopotamus
Got on, got on, got on the city bus
And all, and all, and all the people said
You’re squishing us! (put your hands on the sides of your face and squish your cheeks forward)