Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Spring! Outreach Storytime

I requested we purchase Stuck in the Mud for my mud storytime--however, it is out of print.  I then asked to Inter Library Loan it--well it finally came in...after my mud storytime, of course!  Since I had it I wanted to be sure to use it, as it is one of favorite books.  So mix it in with other spring books for a preschool visit today!

Books

There was an old lady who swallowed a frog
by Lucille Colandro; illustrated by Jared Lee


Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
by Candace Fleming; illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Stuck in the Mud
by Jane Clarke; illustrated by Garry Parsons


Songs/Flannel Board

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.

Run
Tiptoe
Jump
March

Hop (on one foot)

Five Little Piggies
(Flannel Board)

5 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

Continue counting down through one.

No little piggies rolled in the mud
They look so clean after their scrub.
The farmer turned his back...and then...
5 little piggies rolled in the mud again!

Plant a Garden! Storytime

So excited to explore gardening with my storytime children!  I had a wide age range, and I kind of lost the younger kids on Jo MacDonald, but the older kids had fun doing all the action, and of course, singing E-I-E-I-O.

Books

My Garden
by Kevin Henkes

Jo MacDonald Had a Garden
by Mary Quattlebaum; illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Songs/Rhymes/Flannel Board

Out in the Garden
(tune: Down by the Station)

Out in the garden early in the morning
See the red tomatoes all in a row
See the happy farmer coming out to pick them
Pick, pick, pick, pick
Off he goes.

Green beans
Purple cabbages
Yellow squash
Orange carrots


There's Something in My Garden
There’s something in my garden,
Now what can it be?
There’s something in my garden
That I can't really see.
Hear its funny sound….
Ribbit-Ribbit-Ribbit
A frog is what I found!
Ribbit-Ribbit-Ribbit

Mouse (squeak-squeak-squeak)
Bird (tweet-tweet-tweet)
Bumblebee (buzz-buzz-buzz)
Rabbit (thump-thump-thump)




Supercharged
What I did:  I explained that the Jo MacDonald book was based on the Old MacDonald had a Farm, so instead of reading it, we would be singing it!  I went through the actions for each before I read/sang the book and also pointed to E-I-E-I-O each time we got to it.

Parent Tip:  Singing is another good way to add new vocabulary.

Play and Learn

Sensory Table:  A variety of bulk and out-dated seeds from our Seed Library--including beans, peas, okra, and beets.



Plant a Bean Seed

Five Flowers

Gears

There's Something in the Garden Hide and Seek Magnet Board


August 2022 UPDATE
New book to use sometime

Look and Listen
by Dianne White


Baby Storytime Refresher

This month for my "internal blog" post I discussed our training for Baby Storytime.  We hold storytime every week, all year long.  This means that staff members are called on to "fill-in" for storyitmes when the regular person is not there.  Many staff members have been hesitant to fill in for Baby Storytime, so we held training specifically for baby storytime .  Here is part of what I wrote to my fellow storytime presenters:

Over the past several weeks you have had the opportunity to participate in a Baby Play and Learn Storytime Refresher.  Those of us who do (or have done) baby storytime probably can’t think of a better way to spend an hour—while those who may have never done, or even seen, a baby storytime may dread the call to fill in for one.  The goal of the training was to alleviate worry and help you feel prepared to present a storytime to our youngest members and their parents/caregivers.

A great thing about baby storytime is that repetition is great for babies!  So if you plan just one or two baby storytimes you are set!  Be sure to choose songs and rhymes that you like—maybe ones you remember from you own childhood or ones you did with your children!  Remember—everything is new to babies and they love hearing things they recognize!  So “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, and “Old MacDonald had a Farm” are all great choices!

Remember that there are resources available to you on SharePoint!  There are lists of tried and true songs and rhymes, books, and “helpful hints”. 

Here are some "helpful hints"and how I set up for and present a Baby Play and Learn Storytime:
 A variety of board books on a low table.  These are available for babies to look at before, after, and during storytime.  They can also be checked out after storytime.

I use this baby doll to demonstrate actions and bounces and use her while the parents do the actions with their babies.  I usually keep a hold of her for about half the program before a baby comes to take her.  I continue to do the actions with the parents...just holding a pretend baby.

 This idea is from my wonderful mentor Mrs. B!  Print out all rhymes, songs, bounces, etc in extra large font and keep in page protectors in a binder.  This makes it easy to quickly look down if you forget a word and to keep you on track.  It's easy to skip pages if babies need to move onto something different.


 In the binder I also made an "Early Literacy Tip" page.  This is to remind me to share an early literacy tip with parents and caregivers every week.  I borrowed many "tips" from websites Colorado Libraries for Early LiteracyStories in the Streets, and Every Child Ready to Read @ GCLD.  I collected the ones I thought I would use and printed them.  Before storytime I choose a tip to share and slip it into the sheet protector.


 I keep all my supplies for storytime on a cart, which is situated behind me.  Bubbles (to use at the the beginning of the program), CD player and CDs (for background music before the program begins and during play time), my Little Bear puppet, the read aloud book, and the books for shared reading.  The parachute is "hiding" on the 2nd shelf.


 I divide the play and learn toys into two bins.  Each bin has comparable items (scarves, stacking rings, discovery bottles, maracas, balls) and I also rotate different items in each week, such as puzzles, blocks, cars, color/shape boxes, sorting blocks.  I like having two bins for two main reason:

  1. If the group is large this divides the babies so they are not all converging to one place
  2. If the group is small I just bring out one bin and there are still plenty of toys.
Here are some of my favorites for Baby Storytime:

Favorite Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

Hands Are Clapping
(Tune: London Bridges)
Hands are clapping
Clap, clap, clap
Clap, clap, clap
Hands are clapping
Clap, clap, clap
Hands are clapping

Toes are tapping… Tap, tap, tap
Eyes are hiding… peekaboo!

Good Morning to You
(Tune: Happy Birthday)

Good Morning to _______________
Good Morning to _______________
Good Morning dear ____________
It’s nice to see you!

Little Bear (puppet)
Little Bear in the tree
Sitting oh, so still
Won't he come out?
Yes, he will!
He looks to left
He looks to the right
He looks straight ahead
Then he pops out of sight!

Mother, Father, and Uncle John
(bouncing rhyme)
Mother, Father, and Uncle John
Went to Market one by one
Mother fell off (lean baby to one side)
Father fell off (lean baby to the other side)
But Uncle John went on and on and on…(bounce faster and faster)

Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Rub-a-dub-dub, one child in a tub,  (rub knuckles gently up and down child's chest)
Tell me what you see.
One foot with toes, (point to parts of child's body)
A hand, a nose,
As clean as they can be! (rub hands together)

Rub -a-dub-dub, one child in a tub, (rub knuckles gently up and down child's chest)
Tell me what you see.
Two ears, a cheek, (point to parts of child's body)
So clean they squeak, (gently rub child's cheeks)
A chin, a tummy, a knee. (point to parts of child's body)

Rub -a-dub-dub, one child in a tub, (rub knuckles gently up and down child's chest)
Tell me what you see.
Legs and arms, (point to parts of child's body)
So clean and warm.
Do they have a hug for me?

Roly-Poly
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Out, out, out
Roly-poly, roly-poly
In, in, in
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Touch your nose
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Touch your toes.
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Up to the sky
Roly-poly, roly-poly
Fly, fly, fly!

Tick Tock
Tick tock (rock baby side to side)
Tick tock
I’m a little cuckoo clock
Tick tock
Tick tock
Now I’m striking one o’clock
Cuckoo! (lift baby as you say “cuckoo”)

Repeat with two and three o’clock

Our Hands Say Goodbye
Our hands say goodbye with a clap, clap, clap
Our feet say goodbye with a tap, tap, tap
Clap, clap, clap
Tap, tap, tap
We roll our hands around and say “Goodbye!”

Nursery Rhymes
Humpty Dumpty
Jack and Jill
Jack be Nimble


Favorite Books

The Babies on the Bus  Karen Katz
Image result for babies on the bus


Who Says Woof?  [and other books] by John Butler

Brown Bear, Brown Bear  by Bill Martin Jr.
Time for Bed  by Mem Fox

All Kinds of Kisses [and other books] by Nancy Tafuri

All of Baby Nose to Toes  Victoria Adler

Monday, May 25, 2015

Super Hero Mural

We had the kids help us decorate for summer this year!  Life-size super heroes!


We traced the kids on large sheets of white butcher paper and they then colored/decorated themselves into a super hero!  Here is our finished mural at my small library!  Totally cute, huh?!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Mud Storytime


Ooey, gooey, mud!  One of best things about spring!

Books

One Duck Stuck
by Phyllis Root; illustrated by Jane Chapman


Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do
by Eileen Christelow


Songs/Rhymes/Flannel Board

5 Little Piggies
(flannel board)

5 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

4 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

3 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

2 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

1 little piggy rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! Heneed a scrub!
The farmer took that piggy out
"Oink! Oink! Oink!" that pig did shout!

No little piggies rolled in the mud
They look so clean after their scrub.
The farmer turned his back...and then...
5 little piggies rolled in the mud again!

The Tempo Marchs On
(on Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on his Toe Leg Knee CD)
Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on his Toe Leg Knee

Play and Learn

Sand and sand toys

Duplos

Puzzles

Coloring Page

Between the sand and the Duplos I didn't need much else for the kids to happily play for 30 minutes!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

On the Go Baby Storytime (Take 2)

Babies and cars and trucks...all on the go!

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces
Here is the post to (most) of the rhymes.

Come Along and Sing With Me
We Say Hello!
Little Bear
Rub-a-dub-dub
Mother, Father and Uncle John
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Tick Tock

Parachute

Read Aloud Book


Baby Parade
by Rebecca O'Connell; illustrated by Susie Poole

Shared Reading

A variety of picture books about transportation including:

Say & Play: Things That Go

Babies on the Bus
by Karen Katz

Play and Learn

At baby storytime training I "discovered" a toy we have that babies love...and I'd never used, until today!
Lakeshore's Tub of Cars and Trucks

Hodgepodge Outreach Storytime

I wasn't feeling well yesterday and was just spinning my wheels trying to plan a different storytime for today's outreach since yesterday's went kind of flat.  In finally just decided to do a hodgepodge of books I had on my desk--loosely tied together.  Today's storytimes went much better than yesterday!  Whew!  I visited four classes.  Let's see if I can come up with an outreach for next week...I might just use this one again!

Preschool Classes

Preschool to the Rescue
by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Image result for Preschool to the Rescue by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

Flannel Board: Five Pigs in the Mud

5 little piggies rolled in the mud
Oh, my goodness! They need a scrub!
The farmer took one piggy out
"Oink, oink, oink!" the pig did shout.

Continue counting down to zero.

No little piggies rolled in the mud
They looked so nice after their scrub
The farmer turned his back...and then...
Those piggies rolled in the mud again!

Twenty Hungry Piggies: A Number Book
by Trudy Harris; illustrated by Andrew N. Harris

Stand-up Song: 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.

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

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

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

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

I can hop on one foot, on one foot, on one foot
I can hop on one foot, all day long.

Who Has These Feet
by Laura Hulbert; illustrated by Erik Brooks


Toddler Class

Hello Puppy
by Jane Cowen-Fletcher


Song:  Itsy Bitsy Spider

Mrs. Wishy-Washy
by Joy Cowley

Song: Old McDonald Had a Farm

Repeat Mrs. Wishy-Washy

Hands Can
by Cheryl Willis Hudson; photographs by John-Francis Bourke

Hands and Feet Outreach Storytime

I was excited to do this storytime--but it fell pretty flat.  I don't know if it was because I wasn't feeling well...but later I figured out that I didn't share a book with an actual plot--you know, beginning, middle, end.  Instead they were more just "concept" books--which are all great in and of themselves, but just three of those did not make the best storytime.

Here's what I did

Books

Handiest Things in the World
by Andrew Clements; photographs by Raquel Jaramillo

Who Has These Feet?
by Laura Hulbert; illustrated by Erik Brooks

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
by Al Perkins; illustrated by Eric Gurney

2nd classroom I did this book instead

Hands Say Love
by George Shannon; illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Songs

If You're Happy and You Know It
Clap your hands
Stomp your feet
Shout hooray
Do all three

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.

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

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

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

I can jump on two feet, on two feet, on two feet
I can jump on two feet all day long

I can march on two feet, on two feet, on two feet
I can march on two feet all day long

I can hop on one foot, on one foot, on one foot
I can hop on one foot all day long.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Outreach Storytimes--Food!

I have done several outreach storytimes with the food theme--which has been a lot of fun!  But it's time to move onto another theme for the rest of the month.

Books

20 Hungry Piggies
by Trudy Harris; illustrated by Andrew N. Harris

Mouse Mess
by Linnea Riley

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Flannel Board

4 Hungry Ants
Four hungry ants marching in a line
Came upon a picnic where they could dine.
One marched into the salad
He marched into the cake
He marched into the pepper
But that was a mistake!
Aaaa, Aaaa, Achoooo!

Continue counting down through 1 hungry ant.

Songs

D-O-N-U-T
(sung to tune of Bingo)

I am a non-traditionalist when it comes to the Bingo song.  I have found that removing the letters from the end makes it much easier for the children to say the letters and clap the right number of times and at the right time.  It also helps to emphasis the beginning letter of the word--which is one of the first things children 'figure' out as they are learning about reading.  

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-O-N-U-T
D-O-N-U-T
D-O-N-U-T
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-O-N-U-(clap)
D-O-N-U-(clap)
D-O-N-U-(clap)
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-O-N-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-N-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-N-(clap)-(clap)
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-O-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
D-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
D-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
Save a bite for me--munch!

There is a treat I like to eat
And donut is it's name-o
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)-(clap)
There's no bites left for me!

If we needed a "wiggle song" we'd skip the Donut song and do Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes instead.


We've Got Mail!

Several months ago we got rid of our AWE computers for children (because their warranty was out and they were starting to give us a lot of trouble).  So the small table that held the computer turned into a "Writing Station".  Unfortunately, it turned quickly into a coloring station.  To encourage more writing we got a little mailbox so kids could leave us notes and letters.  It has been so fun to get mail from our youngest members!

Flowers for Henrietta

A special storytime girl brought flowers for Henrietta!  Ava told us all about how she made the the white flowers blue by putting them in blue water for a few days.  So sweet!

Kids Club: Titanic!

This was a very fun event planned by a colleague.  I was relieved when two families showed up (the library had been very slow all afternoon--probably due to the nice spring weather).

Read Aloud Book

Pig on the Titanic
by Gary Crew; illustrated by Bruce Whatley

Stations

Leak-proof Bag
Did you know you can fill a heavy-duty Ziploc bag with water and then poke pencils all the way through without water coming out?  Give it a try--just make sure your pencils are very sharp and that you poke the pencil straight through (not at an angle).

Here's some proof:


Build a Boat
The kids were asked to make a boat using a variety of miscellaneous supplies.  If only glue dried faster...


Cargo
After building a boat the kids got to float them...and then add "cargo" (unit cubes) to see how much weight their boats could hold.


2 liter bottle with three holes down the sides experiment (find instructions here)