Lift the Flap Baby Storytime

Today we had a smaller group--10 babies and 10 adults.  It was the perfect size!

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

Clap, Clap, Clap
Hello Song
Little Bear
I Have a Little Duck
Tiny Little Babies
Pat-a-Cake
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
If You're Happy and You Know It
Humpty Dumpty
Acka Backa Soda Cracker
One Bright Scarf

Read Aloud

Count with Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!

by Lucy Cousins

I didn't read all the words in this book for the babies.  Although the book is a good size, not all the pictures behind the flaps are large enough for babies to see from a distance.  We made animal noises for all the animals, not just the chicks.

Shared Reading

Roar, Roar, Baby!

by Karen Katz

Who Can Swim?

by Sebastien Braun

Play and Learn

Title 1 Nights @ the library

Each spring we hold a series of Title 1 nights for area schools as their final parent engagement event.  We use the summer reading theme and build a simple program around it.  Since this year's theme is "On Your Mark, Get Set, Read!" we choose to do an Olympic theme.

Some teachers bring snacks or even pizza or ice cream for the families--a good incentive for them to come!  Our most successful events were those held in the evening vs. the afternoon/after school.

Our program:

• Welcome
• Library Basics--how to get a card, how many things you can check out, read away fines, kinds of books (early readers, non-fiction, transitional, etc), and other library materials--DVDs, audio books
• Summer Reading Preview--what programs are coming up this summer and books links
• Read Aloud

Olympig!

The Triumphant Story of a Underdog

by Victoria Jamieson

• Activity--This year we played "The Best Game"  After dividing the group into 2 or more teams (depending on the size of the group) you ask the kids to send up the person on their team who is... (an ambiguous subject) such as: longest..., shortest..., brightest...

After each team has sent up their teammate you reveal the rest of it
The longest...hair
The shortest...name
The brightest...t-shirt
It takes a few rounds for the kids to catch on, but it was fun!

• Craft--We made Olympic medals using cardboard circles, aluminum foil, star stickers, and ribbon
• Book Display--a variety of books related to sports, including picture books, non-fiction, early readers, transitional books, and chapter books.

We had 10+ schools come for a Title 1 evening at the library throughout April, May, and June.

Baby Storytime with Lift the Flap Books!

I'm excited to start our new theme for the month "lift-the-flap" type books!

Songs/Bounces/Rhymes

Clap, Clap, Clap
Hello Song
Little Bear
I Have a Little Duck
Tiny Little Babies
Itsy Bitsy Spider
If you're happy and you know it
Pat-a-Cake
Humpty Dumpty
Acka Backa Soda Cracker
Hug, Hug, Hug

Read Aloud Book

Who's Hungry?

Dean Hacohem and Sherry Scharschmidt

Shared Reading

A variety of board books with flaps including:

Surprise!

by Liesbet Slegers

Spot the Animals

by the American Museum of Natural History; illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Play and Learn
We had a very large group today, so we had to pull out both sets of toys!  Parents, grandparents, and caregivers had a great time visiting with one another.  One mom showed others how to use a Boba Wrap.  I love seeing moms helping moms!

May Book Club

We are trying a lunch book club to see if it fits into our schedules better.

Mysterious Benedict Society

by Trenton Lee Stewart

Check the awesome website!

Front Lines

by Michael Grant

Ratscalibur

by Josh Lieb

Sin Eater's Daughter

by Melinda Salisbury

Infinite in Between

by Carolyn Mackler

For fans of The Fault in Our Stars

Roller Girl

by Victoria Jamieson

The books I shared:

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook

by Leslie Connor

Perry has been raised in a low security prison.  He is a happy and well-like kid-some in the prison refer to him as their "Sun".  When a new county district attorney discovers this highly unusual situation he is determined to help Perry...but does Perry need his help?  A sub-plot: Perry needs to find out the truth of his mother's conviction she won't tell him.  Bonus: Perry is helped by the local librarian.

Time Travelers [Gideon the Cutpurse]

by Linda Buckley-Archer

An older series that's been on my "to-read" list for a long time!  Just after they met Kate and Peter are sent back in time to 1786 England where they meet the notorious Tar Man who steals the anti-gravity machine that had brought the children to the past.  They are befriended by Gideon, cut-purse and gentleman, who assists them in their quest to retrieve their machine and get back to their time.

Summerlost

by Ally Condie

A tender story of Cedar Lee facing living in a new town a year after the death of her father and brother.  She befriends Leo and they "work" at the local college's Summerlost Festival (similar to a Shakespeare on the Green).  Together they set out to earn enough money for Leo to take a trip to England and to solve a mystery surrounding a former Summerlost actress.  

Baby Storytime

I was scheduled for a morning meeting today...but we finished early so I got to do Baby Storytime after all!! Made my day!  I am "in-between" themes since we ended Spring last week and I didn't quite have all the books for June.  It was fun anyway...and we probably really don't need a theme, but it keeps my creative juices flowing.

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

Clap, Clap, Clap
Hello Song
Little Bear
I Have a Little Duck
Tiny Little Babies
The Rain is Falling Down
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Hey Diddle Diddle
Jack and Jill
Acka Backa Soda Cracker

Parachute with Jim Gill's Alabama, Mississippi

Read Aloud Book

Baby Party

by Rebecca O'Connell; illustrated by Susie Poole

Shared Reading
An assortment of board books

Play and Learn

We ended with the parachute which was a ton of fun!  The babies loved shaking it, putting our puppets in it, and crawling under it!  I've found myself putting out less toys during our play and learn part--they babies are happy and content with what's there and it seems to help them focus on one thing a bit longer.

ECEAP Outreach Storytime for May

I visited oodles of ECEAPs (Early Childhood Education and Assistant Program~~State-funded Head Start) this month!  Since they were all Pre-K I did the "Hiccups, Burps, Sneezes, and Snores" theme. So fun and popular with the kids!

Books

Bear Snores On

by Karma Wilson; illustrated by Jane Chapman

Little Penguin gets the Hiccups

by Tadgh Bentley

Hiccupotamus

by Steve Smallman; illustrated by Ada Grey

Songs

Let Everyone Clap Hands Like Me

Let everyone clap hands like me (clap, clap)
Let everyone clap hands like me (clap, clap)
Come on and join in the game
You'll find that it's always the same (clap, clap)

Let everyone hiccup like me (hic, hic)

Let everyone sneeze like me (aaah! choo!

Let everyone snore like me (zzzzz)

Let everyone jump up like me (jump, jump)


I Can Walk on Two Feet

I can walk on two feet, on two feet, on two feet
I can walk on two feet all day long.

Additional verses:
Run
March
Jump
Tiptoe
Hop on one foot
Walk

My Hands

My hands upon my head I'll place
Upon my shoulders, on my face
At my waist and by my side
And then behind me they will hide
Then I will raise them way up high
And let my fingers fly, fly, fly
Then clap, clap, clap
And 1, 2, 3
Let's sit down quietly.


Magnet Board

Four Hungry Ants
I found clipart on Google of an ant, a salad, a cake, and a pepper shaker; printed, laminated, put magnet on the back, used while reciting the rhyme.

Four hungry ants marching in a line
They came upon a picnic where they could dine
One marched into the salad
Then he marched into the cake
Then he marched into the salad...
But that was a mistake!
Aaaah! Aaaah! Choo!

Continue down to through 1.

Baby Storytime--Spring!

One last spring storytime before it starts feeling too much like summer around here!

Songs/Bounces/Rhymes

Clap, Clap, Clap
Hello Song
Little Bear
I Have a Little Duck
Tiny Little Babies
The Rain is Falling Down
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Pease Porridge Hot
Acka Backa Soda Cracker
One Bright Scarf

Read Aloud

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

By Eric Carle

Shared Reading

A variety of board books that have a "spring-ish" feel including:

Butterfly: Colors and Counting

by Jerry Pallotta; Shennen Bersani

Charley Harper's Count the Birds

by Zoe Burke

Play and Learn

It's always fun to see a little one go through the tunnel for the very first time!  Such pride on their faces when they get all the way through!  It's been awhile since we had a big enough crowd that we needed two bins of toys--it was great to have so many!