STORYTIME FOR: Berwyn Public Library (Outreach)
Hello/Goodbye Song
We Say Hello/Goodbye Like This (with ukulele)
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
D A7
We wave hello like this… with our friends in storytime, we wave hello like this.
D A7
We clap hello like this…with our friends in storytime, we clap hello like this.
D A7
We stomp hello like this… with our friends in storytime, we stomp hello like this.
Why These Books?
Blow Your Nose, Big Bad Wolf. Steve Smallman. Illus. Bruno Merz. The story of the Three Little Pigs is an essential folktale to share for any building storytime. There are a lot of great variations out there, but I liked this one best for preschool. Everybody lives, and it’s a funny take on “I’ll huff and I’ll puff.” I have to say that for any version of the Three Little Pigs (I originally started with James Marshall’s), the kids are ready and willing to chant along when it’s time to say “Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.”
Frank Architect. Frank Viva. Including this book was a great opportunity to talk about the planning stage of building. This book was published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, so it’s all about the unique ways things are built and presented. If I ever read this again, I think I would focus more on the different building experiences and less on the actual story. There’s some character development here that is a little complicated.
Construction Countdown. K.C. Olson. Illus. David Gordon. I had this tucked away in my bag for a while before I actually tried using it. When I first looked at it, I thought it would be better suited for toddlers, and that the simplicity of the text would not be appealing to preschoolers–but I was wrong. They kids immediately became engaged once I started this story, more than they had for the previous two stories. It was a lot of fun to count the trucks. This was a good reminder that sometimes preschoolers just enjoy showing what they know.
Rex Wrecks It. Ben Clanton. This is the perfect book to end a storytime with! Rex loves wrecking things, but his friends are not so pleased to have their hard work destroyed. This story has distinct characters, repetition, and conflict. This kids loved the opportunity to roar out loud with Rex, and they were very attentive while Rex’s friends came up with a solution. I like this story because it talks about building in a very applicable way for preschool: building with blocks.
Extensions
Here is a House (Fingerplay)
Here is a house built up high (hands over head to make a roof)
With two big chimneys reaching for the sky (raise arms up high)
Here is a window (draw a square)
Here is a door (pretend to open a door)
If we look inside (peek through fingers)
There’s a mouse on the floor! (scamper fingers away)
Credit: storytimekatie.com
Wheels on the Bus (Action Song, Ukulele)
C C
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
G C
Round and round, round and round.
C C
The wheels on the bus go round and round
G C
All through the town.
Repeat: wipers, windows, babies, mamas.
A House of Shapes (Flannel)
With square, triangle, and circle flannel pieces, have the kids help build a house on the felt board.
How It Went
I struggled with this storytime theme. Honestly, building is not the most exciting subject for me, which may have been my problem. Even so, I think there was something to be gained here. The extensions went pretty well, but I would have liked to find more books like Rex Wrecks It about imaginative play. The kids had a lot of fun pretending to run away from the mouse in the Here is A House action rhyme, and took charge of the Wheels on the Bus.
The Journey Librarian 