Baby Storytime--Winter/Snow

Leading up to Christmas...and a few weeks after too!

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

You Ought to See My Baby
Baby-O

Hello!
tune: Goodnight Ladies

Hello __________
Hello __________
Hello __________
We're glad you're here today!

Little Bear

Old MacDonald had a Farm
with puppets

Roly Poly

The Elevator Song
Baby-O

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Gingerbread Man
Mix and stir and pat it in a pan
I'm going to make a gingerbread man.
With a nose so neat
And a mouth so sweet
And gingerbread shoes
On his gingerbread feet

Toast

Three Little Snowmen
Flannel
3 little snowmen standing in a row
Each has 2 eyes and a carrot for a nose
Out came the sun and shone all day
1 little snowman melted away.

Jingle Bells
Using CD "Where is Thumpkin?"

Read Aloud

Oh!

by Kevin Henkes; illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Snappy Little Snowtime

by Dugald Steer; illustrated by Derek Matthews

Jingle! Jingle!

by Sebastien Braun

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

illustrated by Yu-hsuan Huang

No Two Alike

by Keith Baker

Shared Reading

A variety of board books about winter/snow for parent and child to share together including:

In the Snow

by Sharon Phillips Denslow; illustrated by Nancy Tafuri

Toddler Storytime--Food!

I am losing one of my two preschool storytimes, but gaining a Toddler Storytime!  I haven't done much with toddlers, so I am super excited for this new adventure!  I'm trying a "theme" series, so we'll see how that goes. (Nov 14-Dec 19)

Week 1

Mouse Mess

by Linnea Riley

Hi, Pizza Man!

by Virginia Walter; illustrated by Ponder Goembel

*Hooray!

At storytime we have __________ today!
We're so glad let's shout "hooray!"

*My Puppet
My new puppet for Toddler Storytime is a Monkey

My monkey is looking all around
My monkey can turn round and round
My monkey is sleeping in his bed
My monkey is sitting on my head!
My monkey is looking at my toes
My monkey can kiss you on the nose!
My monkey is whispering in my ear
What's he saying? Can you hear?
My monkey can hide behind me
But wherever I go my monkey will find me!

If You're Happy and You Know It

with scarves

Shake it high
Shake it low
Shake it fast
Shake it slow

Little Miss Muffet

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Flannel

*One Bright Scarf
One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow
Wiggle it high
Wiggle it low
Shake it fast
Shake it slow
Hide it behind your back
Where'd it go?

Play and Learn

Flannel Pizzas

Scarves

Blocks

Cookie Matching Game

Week 2

All for Pie; Pie for All

by David Martin; illustrated by Valeri Gobachev

Who's Hungry?

by Dean Hacohen and Sherry Scharschmidt

Hooray!

My Puppet

If You're Happy and You Know It
with scarves

Little Jack Horner

Five Little Apples
5 little apples picked from a tree
The 1st one said, "I'm as red as red can be!"
The 2nd one said, "I'm sweet and juicy and round!"
The 3rd one said, "I'm the best that can be found!"
The 4th one said, "I'm ready for some spices!"
The 5th one said, "We'll be cut into slices!"
Someone from the kitchen picked them up
And we know why...
Five little apples became an apple pie!

One Bright Scarf

Play and Learn

Play food
Scarves
Puzzles

Week 3

Chomp Goes the Alligator

by Matthew Van Fleet

Lunch

by Denise Fleming

Guess Who Eats What

by Liesbet Slegers

Hooray!

My Puppet

Beanbag Song
(tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)
Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair
Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair
Put your beanbag on your hair, and leave it right up there
Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair!

Ground--Step and step around
Back--Leave it just like that
Toe--Lift it high and low (we ended up trying to flip the beanbag with our foot)
Belly Button (just for fun!)
Throw and catch

Little Miss Muffet

One Bright Scarf

Play and Learn
Blocks
Bean Bags and buckets
Scarves

Week 4

Crunch Munch

by Jonathan London; illustratrated by Michael Rex

Mmm...Let's Eat!

by Libby Koponen; illustrated by Betsy Thompson

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

Hooray!

My Puppet

Beanbag Song

Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes

One Bright Scarf

Play and Learn
Balls and Cardboard Tube
Bean Bags and buckets
Scarves

Week 5--Baking

Mr. Cookie Baker

by Monica Wellington

Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?

by Karen Beaumont; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

The Best Mouse Cookie

by Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond

Flannel--Five LIttle Gingerbread Men

Five little gingerbread men in a row
Not going to eat one, no, no. no!
But they look so sweet from head to toe
Crunch, munch...oh no!

Continue counting down

No little gingerbread men in a row
Wasn't going to eat one, no, no, no.
But they looked so sweet that it's sad to tell
Crunch, munch...oh well!

Hooray!

My Puppet

Jingle Bells

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

One Bright Scarf

Play and Learn

Playdough
Pom-pom matching cookies
Cookie Matching Game

The Bookworm

I recently discovered a great new resource for stoytime—The Bookworm, a monthly publication from the Idaho Commission for Libraries.  They offer three newsletters each month focusing on Babies and Toddlers; Preschoolers; and Kindergarteners.  Each 2-page newsletter has book suggestions, rhymes or songs, and using the 5 practices—singing, talking, reading, writing, and playing with children.  Each month they focus on a specific practice and uses terms from Every Child Ready to Read 1^st Edition—narrative skills, print awareness, print motivation, vocabulary, letter knowledge, and phonological awareness—to teach parents and caregivers about the importance of early learning.  I love the “Here’s How…” section that gives easy, everyday ways parents can help foster early learning.  These would make great parent tips during storytime!

Here is the link to check-out this great resource!

Cozy Reads!

Books

Pouch!

by David Ezra Stein

So Cozy

by Lerryn Korda

Flannel

One baby penguin makes a wish
Two baby penguins catch a fish
Three baby penguins slip and slide
Four baby penguins run and hide
Five baby penguins look around
Calling, "Mama, Mama, Mama!"
Now they are found!

Play and Learn

Puppets
Keva Planks
Button Sorting
Counting Cars
Coloring

Bedtime

Playing catch up on my blog is no fun when I don't have a copy of my storytime...here's what I know

Books

Bear Can't Sleep

by Karma Wilson; illustrated by Jane Chapman

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Car

by 

Bath Time

Time to get cleaned up!

Books

Sloppy Takes the Plunge

by Sean Julian

How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth

by Michelle Robinson and Kate Hindley

Flannel  
I Have a Little Turtle
I have a little turtle
His name is Tiny Tim
I put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim
He drank up all the water
He gobbled up the soap
And when he tried to talk
He had a bubble in his throat
Oh, bubble, bubble, bubble
Bubble, bubble, POP!
Bubble, bubble, bubble
Bubble, bubble, POP!

Play and Learn

Special activity--Bubbles

Spiders

A pre-Halloween storytime

Itsy Bitsy Spider

by Keith Chapman, illustrated by Jack Tickle

Walter's Wonderful Web

by Tim Hopgood

Aaaarrgghh! Spider!

by Lydia Monks

Play and Learn
Spin a Spider Web

Toddlers

The Very Busy Spider

by Eric Carle

I'm Not Scared

Books

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd

Aaaarrgghh! Spider!

by Lydia Monks

Graph Question

I am very brave!  I am definitely not afraid of:
Spiders, Monsters, Snakes, the Dark
{winner:  Monsters}


Backup Book

Oh So Brave Dragon

by David Kirk

Last Minute Preschool Storytime--FALL

The person assigned to do storytime today had no voice so I quickly pulled an autumn storytime together.

Books

Little Elliot Fall Friends

by Mike Curato

One Red Apple

by Harriet Ziefert; illustrated by Karla Gudeon

WonderFall

by Michael Hall

Flannel

Apple Basket

The first apple in the basket was bright and shiny red
The second apply in the basket said, "My what a cozy bed!"

The third apple in the basket said, "Make room for me, you pair!"
The fourth apple in the basket said, "Please move over there!"

The fifth apple in the basket said, "Oh dear, oh me, oh my
This basket looks like a pastry--I think we're in a pie!"

Songs

Autumn Leaves
(tune: Have you ever seen a Lassie?)

Autumn leaves are hanging, are hanging, are hanging
Autumn leaves are hanging, are hanging today.

Autumn leaves turn colors, turn colors, turn colors
Autumn leaves turn colors, turn colors today

Autumn leaves are blown down, blown down, blown down
Autumn leaves are blown down, blown down today.

Autumn leaves are dancing, are dancing, are dancing
Autumn leaves are dancing, are dancing today.

Autumn leaves get raked up, get raked up, get raked up
Autumn leaves get raked up, get raked up today.

Autumn leaves get jumped in, get jumped in, get jumped in
Autumn leaves get jumped in, get jumped in today.

Scarecrow, Scarecrow
Scarecrow, scarecrow turn around
Scarecrow, scarecrow touch the ground
Dance on your toes
Touch your nose
Reach up high
Touch the sky
Bend down low
Touch your toe
Jump up now
Take a bow
Stomp your feet
Take a seat. 

Slightly Spooky Storytime

The Saturday before Halloween we had a "Slightly Spooky Storytime" where kids could wear their costumes and we could read Halloween books and do some Halloween crafts

Mother Ghost:  Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters

by Rachel Kolar; illustrated by Roland Garrigue

Boys and Girls Come Trick-or-Treat

Zombie Miss Muffet

Twinkle, Twinkle, Lantern Jack

Wee Willie Werewolf

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd

Click, Clack, Boo!

by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

Activities

Witch's Brew

Song (tune: Farmer in the Dell)
The brew is boiling up
The brew is boiling up
Simmer, stew, this nasty goo
The brew is boiling up.

First we'll add the ___________
First we'll add the ___________
Simmer, stew, this nasty goo
The brew is boiling up.

Now we'll add the __________
Now we'll add the __________
Simmer, stew, this nasty goo
The brew is boiling up.

Bat Poop--Coco Puffs
Dried Flies--Chocolate chips
Drops of Dragon's Blood--M&Ms
Fish Guts--Goldfish crackers
Ghost Boogers--Mini-marshmallows
Cat Claws--Candy Corn

Scavenger Hunt

"Eyeball" Race

Spin a Spider Web

Bean Bag Toss 

Paper Plate Ghosts

Mr. Rogers

Internal Blog Post

With a newly published book “The Good Neighbor” and the recent documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I have been thinking about Mr. Rogers and the impact and influence he has had on the education of young children and the example he has set for those of us who work with children. 

I remember watching Mr. Rogers as a preschooler and then off and on again with my younger siblings.  One of my favorite parts of the show was when he would use Picture, Picture so I got to see how things were made, such as colored constructions paper and crayons.  Those real life things fascinated me!  So I enjoyed when we went on a “field trip” with him too.

As I have reflected on Mr. Rogers and his television show I have come to truly admire him and thought about how I can emulate some of his traits during my own storytimes.

1. Slow  Mr. Rogers was never in a hurry.  He took his time—his speech was slower, his words in his song were slow and clear, he took his time showing us something. I never felt rushed during my time with Mr. Rogers.
2. Pause  Mr. Rogers would pause.  He would make a statement and pause so it could “sink in”.  He would ask a question and he would pause, waiting for me to respond.  He would pause while he was showing us something.
3. Quiet  Mr. Rogers wasn’t afraid of letting it be quiet for a few moments.  He didn’t fill every moment with action or talk, which goes right along with slowing down and pausing. 
4. Eye Contact  Mr. Rogers would talk to me and look straight in my eyes.  He would pause and look at me and wait. 
5. Words  Mr. Rogers put feelings and thoughts into words.  He acknowledges feelings—sometimes you feel angry, sad, or confused.  He taught me that those feelings are not wrong or bad but instead to learn to acknowledge those feelings and learn how to express them appropriately.  Mr. Rogers didn’t talk down to me.  He used clear, concise language but never in a demeaning way.  He also “narrated” what he was doing or thinking.  “Let’s feed the fish.”  He also expressed words of affirmation to each child—“You are special” and “I like you just the way you are”.

How can we apply some of these principles as we conduct storytime at the library? 

Two ways I am going to follow Mr. Rogers’ example:

1.       Slow down during storytime.  Give the children time to digest the story or song.  I’ll try not rush from one book, song, activity to another.  Enjoy the moment of learning!

2.       Be more attentive to children by looking them in the eye and pausing to let them say what they would like to say.  This may be easier during play and learn if the storytime is large.

How has Mr. Rogers had an influence on your own interactions with children?

Big Books and Babybug

To mix things up a bit I did a four week series called "Big Books and Babybugs", in which I read aloud a big book from our staff collection and the babies and adults read Babybug magazines together.

Songs/Rhymes/Bounces

Clap Your Hands (from Baby-O CD)

Good Morning

When Cows get up in the Morning

This is Me!

2 little eyes to look around

2 little ears to hear each sound

1 little nose to smell what’s sweet

1 little mouth that likes to eat!

Toast

The Grand Old Duke of York (from Baby-O CD)

The Wheels on the Bus

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes

The Elevator Song (from Baby-O CD)

May There Always be Sunshine (from Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem)
At Jim Gill's workshop I attended in August he talked about using this song and putting in the names of the children.  I'm not the best singer, so I didn't like doing that without some music.  But I'm glad I gave it a try!

Read Aloud Big Books

What's the Shape?

by Judy Nayer

I like the big, sharp photographs in this book

Where's Spot?

by Eric Hill

I Love Animals

by Flora McDonnell

Time for Bed

by Mem Fox

Shared Reading

A variety of Babybug Magazines

Pigs

Books

Hogwash

by Karma Wilson; illustrated by Jim McMullan

The Three Little Pigs

by Ed Byran

Flannel

Five Little Pigs

Five little pigs 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

The farmer turned his back and then...
Five little pigs rolled in the mud again!

Touch-a-Fire-Truck Storytime

We had a great time at our annual "Touch-a-Fire-Truck" storytime with our neighbors Otis Orchards Fire Station 4!

Books

The Little Fire Truck

by Margery Cuyler; illustrated by Bob Kolar

Fire Engine Man

by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

Song

The Wheels on the Fire Truck

Wheels

Lights

Siren

Hose

Ladder

Wheels

Pictures