LOVE Storytime

  

STORYTIME FOR: Dowagiac District Library (In-House)

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?

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell.  One of the things that drew me to this story is how it tries to defy stereotypes, putting a boy in a pink book.  And did I mention he loves giving hugs?  He hugs his parents, his pets, and even random objects on the street.  I think that’s what made this book such a big hit, even with the little boys (correction: ESPECIALLY with the little boys).  It’s silly, and it also makes you feel great.  This is a great book for valentine’s day…or any day, because it’s all about sharing love and joy!

Love Monster by Rachel Bright.  This is another book that puts two opposing ideas together.  Love and monsters?  Monster lives in a world filled with cute things, which makes him stand out, and not in a good way.  So he goes searching for someone to love him.  This worked well for storytime, because we did actions with monster (he looked high, he looked low), and also, even though the author tells you differently, monster is adorable.  He really tugs at your heart strings.  He even wears a little purple heart.  This is sure to be a storytime favorite.

My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall.  We ended storytime by getting back to basics.  Who doesn’t love the zoo?  Animal books are always a hit with my storytime kids, and all the animals in this book are made up of heart shapes!  The text is simple, so we spend more time enjoying the illustrations and talking about sounds that animals make.

Extensions

The More We Get Together (sign language song)
The more we get together, together, together,
the more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
When your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friens.
The more we get together the happier we’ll be!

See my awesome mentor for Skokie Public Library, Holly Jin, teach this song in sign langauge.

Skinnamarink (ukulele song)
Skinnamarink-y-dink-y-dink, skinnamarink-y-doo, I love you.
Skinnamarink-y-dink-y-dink, skinnamarink-y-doo, I love you.
I love you in the morning, and in the afternoon,
I love you in the evening, underneath the moon,
Skinnamarink-y-dink-y-dink, skinnamarink-y-doo, I love you.

If You’re Happy and You Know It (Egg shakers)
If you’re happy and you know it, shake your egg.
If you’re happy and you know it, shake your egg.
If you’re happy and you know it, and you really wanna show it,
If you’re happy and you knot it, shake your egg.

How It Went

We had a good balance of boys and girls today, who really got into the books and songs.  I was a little wary of using Hug Machine, because I thought it might be too long or too pink, especially for the boys, but they really engaged with it.  We talked a little before storytime started about what you do on Valentine’s Day, like giving presents or hugs, which lead nicely into Hug Machine.  The shaker eggs were a hit, and the parents and kids also loved the sign language song.  I did it once at the beginning and once at the end, and the kids picked it up quickly.  Those who didn’t just clapped their hands, which was totally ok!

Storytime for Little Builders

    

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.

Fall Into Storytime

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?

Mouse’s First Fall, by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Edogan – This is a sweet, simple book that talks about the excitement of fall, as well as colors and shapes.  Kids love looking for Minka’s tail when she’s hiding.  It’s really great for younger three and four-year-olds at the beginning of the year.

I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen – I have to confess, this is my favorite storytime book.  Possibly ever.  I paired it with fall books, because we can talk about forest animals that are common during the fall.  The humor in this is dry, but kids don’t miss it.  One of my groups this week giggled every time the bear asked, “Have you seen my hat?”  They love the repetition, the drama, the mystery.

The Busy Little Squirrel, by Nancy Tafuri – This is another sweet book, and a great way to end a storytime.  It has bright colors and an assortment of animals.  I like to ask the kids to make the animals sounds when they come up.  For example, the frog says, “Croak, croak.”  There’s also repetition here (“He was so busy!”), which encourages the kids to predict what the squirrel is doing.

Stretchers

All the Leaves Are Falling Down (tune: London Bridge)
C
All the leaves are falling down,
G                   C
falling down, falling down.
C
All the leaves are falling down,
G       C
I see [color] ones.

Pass different colored felt leaves to each kid, make sure they know what their color is. Then sing about each color, and have the kids put their leaves on the felt board.

Here Comes a Bear, by the Wiggles (#8 on Let’s Wiggle CD)

Have the kids act out the motions of each animal.

Animal Bag

Pull animal puppets out of a bag.  Ask questions like, “What noise does this animal make?”  This activity leads really well inot The Busy Little Squirrel, where there are a lot of animals that make different noises.

How It Went

Each group I visited responded very well to this storytime.  Only a couple sang along with me, but the others were still involved in acting out the songs (hello/goodbye, as well as the felt).  They really liked being able to come up and put leaves on the felt board.  I did the Wiggles song and the animal bag consecutively, so they were able to move around and talk before the last story.  Next time, I might read slower to give them the opportunity to talk about what they see on the page.  Overall, I was very pleased and I had a lot of fun!