Hibernation - A Storytime Outline

Here in Texas we've hit winter early to the point of saying, "What happened to Fall?!?". So it was more than perfect for us to do a program on hibernation! I wanted to try to not have all hibernating bear stories, and didn't do too badly.

BOOKS
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons written and illus. by Il Sung Na
Some of the children brought up a good, little discussion about

Old Bear written and illus. by Kevin Henkes 
Such a nice book. I used flannel pieces for the children to put on the board so that they could be part of the story.

Time to Sleep written and illus. by Denise Fleming 
As the children said, "Silly animals!"

SONG & RHYME
Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

The Mitten in the Snow
The mitten in the snow
The mitten in the snow
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

A mole squeezes in
A mole squeeze in
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

A rabbit squeezes in
A rabbit squeezes in
Help us please so we won't freeze!
The mitten in the snow.

Continue with the other animals:
Hedgehog
Owl
Badger
Fox
Bear (yes, even a bear!)
Mouse

The bear says, "A-choo!"
The bear says, "A-choo!"
All the animals fly out of
The mitten in the snow!
Source: Mrs. Jones Room 

ACTIVITY
Freeze Dance
I had the children dance to one or two songs and every time the music stopped I asked if a certain animal hibernated or not.

FLANNEL BOARD
The Mitten in the Snow 
This flannel board was made ages ago for my Cool Winter Fun storytime.

Old Bear 
This flannel board was made together with a coworker for a Kevin Henkes storytime!

CRAFT
Paper Bag Cave 
I found this craft on the web via Pinterest (again!) a while back and I finally was able to do it! The children had a little difficulty understanding how to make the cave, but it worked out very well in the end! I found the clipart for the bear on The Mailbox and did a little computer magic to shrink the image a little. For the tree, I found it on Microsoft Publisher.

Paper Bag Cave craft, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

MORE BOOKS
Bear Snores On written by Karma Wilson and illus. by Jane Chapman
Over and Under the Snow written by Kate Messner and illus. by Christopher Silas Neal
Ouch! written by Ragnhild Scamell and Michael Terry
Sleep Big Bear, Sleep! written by Maureen Wright and illus. by Will Hillenbrand

Food! - A Storytime Outline

FOOD! I love you! Who doesn't love food. Seriously? There were several ways I could've gone with this program, such as a "Big GULP!" type theme. But in the end, I had a mixture of books that I love (the best way to go, in my opinion), and it turned out great!

BOOKS
Creepy Carrots! written by Aaron Reynolds and illus. by Peter Brown 
This book is amazingly awesome, especially if you read it in a very dramatic and suspicious way. The children loved it! 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illus. by Eric Carle 
How can you have a Food-themed storytime and not read The Very Hungry Caterpillar?

Stone Soup written and illus. by Marcia Brown 
I didn't have another version on hand - not that it matters too much. The story is pretty much the same. This version was a little long for my children so I paraphrased most of it and had the children put the flannel pieces on the board. 

The Watermelon Seed written and illus. by Greg Pizzoli 
Another read that has to be done with some drama. Some of the children thought - yes, indeed, a watermelon will grow inside of you. While some explained that you would have swallow dirt, water, and sunlight in order to have a melon grow inside of you.

SONGS & RHYMES 
 Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Pizza Man, Pizza Man
Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, touch the ground

Pizza man, pizza man, smell a rose
Pizza man, pizza man, touch your toes

Pizza man, pizza man, touch the sky
Pizza man, Pizza man, wave goodbye

Pizza man, pizza man, turn around
Pizza man, pizza man, sit back down

Pizza man, pizza man, shake your head
Pizza man, pizza man, go to bed
Source: SurLaLune Storytime

Bananas Unite
Watch the video linked before for the actions! 
Banana Unite!
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas,
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas

Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,
Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,

Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,
Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,

Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,
Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,

Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Source: Jbrary 
Note: For this group, I went over the actions, and made sure they knew what to do with going bananas. We did three time, each time a little faster. This group loves doing speedy stuff!

Touch Your Nose

follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES 
"Pizza Man, Pizza Man" pizza box balancing
To make the "Pizza Man, Pizza Man" ever more interactive, I used pretend pizza delivery boxes that I made last year. They were out of square pieces of cardboard. To decorate them, so that they are recognized as a pizza box, I simply glued on a piece of paper that had a logo printed on them. The children loved doing the rhyme while holding the boxes in one hand.You can read the original description and see the photo here.

FLANNEL BOARD 
Stone Soup 
I really wanted a flannel board for this program, and my totally awesome Library Assistant Jennifer suggested this. I could believe that my library system did not have a flannel version of the Stone Soup story. Wow! So, with inspiration from Miss Mary I set Jennifer to the task of making me a flannel board. She did an amazing job and totally matches what I had envisioned!

Flannel Boar, Stone Soup, created by Jennifer,
WPCC 2014.

CRAFT 
Creepy Carrots 
I found this craft over at Miss Meg's Storytime blog and new it was the perfect craft for my group. I freehand everything - from the carrot body, the leafy tops, the eyebrows, mouths and teeth. For the eyes I simply used some of eye stickers I had on hand. At the end of the program we had an entire crop of creepy carrots!

Craft, Creepy Carrot
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

MORE BOOKS 
Fast Food written by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Jamberry written and illus. by Bruce Degen
Rah, Rah, Radishes!: A Vegetable Chant written
The Doorbell Rang written and illus. by Pat Hutchins
Whopper Cake written by Karma Wilson and illus. by Will Hillenbrand

Book images were found at www.goodreads.com. 

Colors! - A Storytime Outline

The night of this storytime was, well, dark, but it had been a dark gray day to begin with. It was so old, rainy that the program was rather small, but that was OK. We still had fun!

BOOKS
Mouse Paint written and illus. by Ellen Stoll Walsh 
This was book was just about right in level for the group we had. I made sure to ask the children to guess/announce what color would be made when the mice danced and stirred and mixed the paint puddles together. One boy didn't know that you could make the color green by mixing blue and yellow together! I also use the library's big book version cause the other book is so small!

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! written by Karen Beaumont and illus. by David Catrow
You have to read this in rhythm, and for the older kids, you have to ask them what body part rhymes with the words before.

Press Here written and illus. by Herve Tullet 
I love this book, and this was the second time that I used it in a storytime. To make this more interactive I gave each child an activity page that had four dots (it really should be five) that they had to press instead of having them individually press the dot in the book. The children totally got into it!

A Color of His Own written and illus. by Leo Lionni 
This was a good book to end the program with because it was so simple and it has a happy ending.

SONGS & RHYMES 
Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Color Game 
Take red, put it on your head.
Take blue, put it on your shoe.
Take black, put on your back.
Take yellow, put it on your elbow.
Take white, put it on your right.
Take brown, put it all around.
Take the color of a rose, put it on your nose.
Take the color of snow, put it on your toe.
Take the color of sand, put it on your hand.
Take the color of cheese, put it on your knees.
Take the color of jelly, put it on your belly.
Take the color of bubblegum, put it on your thumb.
Take the color of your skin, put it on your chin.
Take the color of hair, wave it in the air.
Note: See below for details of I mixed this up a bit.
Source: by Jim Gill via Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime

ACTIVITIES 
Color Game 
Since I could not sing the song very well, I decided to just make it into a rhyme. Each child got a little packet of colored squares. They would find the right color and follow the actions. When it came to have them pick the color of a rose, cheese, bubblegum and the likes I let them pick whatever color they think matches. It was great to see them think an decide on their color choices! They were all different! This was such a good activity that I would like to laminate the squares and maybe loop them on a ring so that they could be used more often.

Press Here 
As I mentioned above the each child had an activity sheet to use during the reading of Press Here. To create this I simply used Microsoft Publisher. I had four dots on the page, two yellows (one on the right and one on the left), one red, and one blue. I really should consider adding a white dot (a black outlined circle) to the sheet, but so far I have lucked out and have been able to get the children to press the white dot in the book - one by one. The children did a great job participating the pressing, tilting, and shaking of the their activity as it corresponded with what I had to do with the book. One boy was in complete awe at every change that would happen. I loved his reactions!

Family Storytime, Press Here activity sheet,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

CRAFT
Mouse Paint Pattern Coloring Sheet 
I discovered the coloring sheets online at First Grade a la Carte. Following the prompted patterns were a little hard (I messed up two times while prepping my example!) and time consuming, but the children did a good job at trying! They at least understood the concept of AB, AAB, ABB, and etc. patterns!

Family Storytime, Mouse Paint coloring sheet,
colored by Dorothy, WPCC 2014. 

MORE BOOKS 
little blue and little yellow written and illus. by Leo Lionni
Lemons Are Not Red written and illus. by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Monsters Love Colors written and illus. by Mike Austin
A Rainbow of My Own written and illus. by Don Freeman
Mix It Up! written and illus. by Herve Tullet

Boo! Halloween! - A Storytime Outline

It's that time of year again! I typically panic around this time because I always wanted a good, ol' Halloween storytime with an exciting atmosphere. Perhaps it's because my old library system had them. Anyway! This year I managed to pull off a homemade bat costume (I feel so crafty!). A couple of kids dressed up for the program, but most didn't, which was to be expected. The children enjoyed the program, but I'm still wanting to do more!

BOOKS
Ghosts in the House! written and illus. by Kazuno Kohara 
This is such a fun book! I love the limited use of colors, and the children really enjoyed it too. We all thought it was funny that the cat even had a witch cat costume! 

Ten Little Mummies: An Egyptian Counting Book written by Philip Yates and illus. by G. Brian Karas 
Ever since I saw Philip Yates speak over five years ago, I have always wanted to use this book! It was a good book for the group. Score! 

Boo, Bunny! written by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illus. by Jeff Mack
The children wanted to read this one, and so, obviously, I obliged. It's very simple, and you can totally embrace the emotions and sounds that you come across in the story. 

SONGS & RHYMES 
Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

The Haunted House (T, P)
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo! Boo!
The ghost in the house goes "Boo! Boo! Boo!"
On Halloween.

continue with:
The mice go "Squeak, squeak, squeak"
The cats go "Meow, meow, meow"
The witches go "ha ha ha"
The monsters go "rawr, rawr, rawr"
The bats go "ee ee ee"
Source: Preschool Education 

ACTIVITIES 
Freeze Dance to the Monster Mash
Knowing the group that I get at this little library I needed something for them to do to get some of their wiggles out, especially since I didn't really have any action songs. So! I whipped out the handy dandy iPod and loaded the song The Monster Mash, and we all did a freeze dance. It would have been more fun if there were movement scarves, but, alas, I did not have any on hand. Next time!

Skeleton Dress Up 
See below for details.

The Haunted House  
I made these many moons ago. If I remember correctly, I simply used Microsoft clip art to use as patterns for the each character. Even the witch, which I'm still impressed that I made - even if she is little ugly looking.

The Haunted House flannel board,
Created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2011

FLANNEL BOARD

Skeleton Dress Up 
I made Sal, that's his name, by the way a few years back. To make a skeleton I found a cartoon template online and blue it up a bit to make him about 18inches in height. His arms, skull, rib cage, and legs are separate pieces, which allowed me more freedom if I ever needed to have more fun. To make it exciting for the children I made clothes and accessories for them to put on him. For a little more detail, check out my Flannel Friday post for Sal.

For this group, I let everyone have a piece and asked them to come up based on color or by where one would typically wear an item of clothing. Here's what they came up with!

Sal dressed by Family Storytime children!,
WPCC, 2014.

CRAFT 
Masking Tape Mummies 
I found this craft on No Time for Flash Cards via Pinterest (Did I ever mention I love Pinterest???), and I have wanted to make this craft ever since. I followed the instructions pretty much to a T, and the children did a really good job at working with the masking tape and the safety scissors. Talk about letting the kids work on their fine motor skills.

Masking Tape Mummy, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014.

Pets! - A Storytime Outline

I took this basic Pets theme and turned it into a humorous pet theme so that I could mix things up a bit. Though I did not have any special activities or flannel boards for this theme, which is a little unusual, the families did not notice and it was a good program!

BOOKS
A Pet for Petunia written and illus. by Paul Schmid 
I loved this book, and you can totally act out Petunia's love and temper tantrum. 

Pigeon Wants a Puppy written and illus. by Mo Willems 
Seriously, how can you not read this book? 

Me and My Dragon written and illus. by David Biedrzycki 
This was a good book, and the children liked it. 

What Pet to Get? written and illus. by Emma Dodd 
Again, how do you not read this book? I love Emma Dodd!   

SONGS & RHYMES
Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Can You? 
follow the actions 
Can you hop like a rabbit?
Can you jump like a frog?
Can you waddle like a duck? (farmers could have pet duck!)
Can you fly like a bird?
Can you swim like a fish?
Can you sit back down and be still like this?
Other Animals 
Can you slither like a snake?
Can you "hoo-hoo" like an owl?  
Source: Library Storytime via Sunflower Storytime   

If You're a Pet and You Know It 
If you're a doggie and you know it,
Say, "Woof, woof."
If you're a doggie and you know it,
Say, "Woof, woof."
If you're a doggie and you know it,
And you really want to show it,
If you're a doggie and you know it,
Say, "Woof, woof."
Repeat with kitty/meow, fishy/blub, hamster/run in place, bird/tweet
Source: Storytime with Miss Mollie  

CRAFT
Pompom Pets 
I wanted the children to have a "pet" so I decided to do the simple craft of a pompom pet. Simply get a good size pompom and glue googly eyes on to it. You can use felt to make teeth or a smile, but this time around I made even simpler by not having that option. The children loved it! 

Family Storytime, Pompom Pet craft,
created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014. 

Clothing! - A Storytime Outline

Oh, clothes! What would we do without you??? For this storytime I went with some "go-to" books (hello, Pete the Cat and Froggy!) but also added in some that I have never read and wasn't quite sure on how they would be received by the families. Everything went swimmingly! I'm finally getting into the Family Storytime groove!

BOOKS
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes written by Eric Litwin and illus. by James Dean 
You can never go wrong with the this book! Most of the children were familiar with the story and song, but even then they all got into the groove and were bopping their head. 

Froggy Gets Dressed written by Jonathan London and illus. by Frank Remkiewicz 
A lot of the boys thought it was hilarious that Froggy had forgotten his underwear! 

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by written by Judi Barrett and illus. by Ron Barrett 
This was a simple, silly, older book that one little girl loved! 

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed written and illus. by Mo Willems 
It took a couple of times to convince the children to listen to this story instead of moving on to our craft, but they finally wanted to read this book. It was fun, but I kept on remember the audiobook version where there was music playing at the very end. I need music! 

SONGS & RHYMES 
Open, Shut Them
follow actions
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Boots and Parka, Scarf and Hat
tune: Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
(touch the areas that you wear these items of clothing!)
Boots and parka, scarf and hat (feet, arms, neck, and head)
Scarf and hat
Boots and parka, scarf and hat
Scarf and hat
In wintertime we dress like that!
Boots and parka, scarf and hat
Scarf and hat!
Source: Mel's Desk 

If You're Wearing... 
Before starting the rhyme have the children survey what they are wearing. 
If a child is wearing the coloring, have them stand up and do the action. 
If you're wearing red, shake your head
If you're wearing blue, touch your shoe
If you're wearing green, bow like a king or queen
If you're wearing yellow, shake like Jell-O
If you're wearing black, pat your back
If you're wearing brown, touch the grown
If you're wearing purple, turn around in a circle
Ask the children to come up with other colors and actions 
Source: Modified from the song "If You're Wearing..." via SurLaLune Storytime  

ACTIVITIES 
Matching Flannel Sock Game
See below for details!  

FLANNEL BOARDS  
Matching Flannel Sock Game
I finally got to make a version of the Sorting Socks Game that I saw on Mary's blog Miss Mary Liberry) a while back. For a sock pattern I simply printed out a sock-shaped clip art from Word, then I got to work on making many, many pairs of socks. I also had time to make my own dryer, but it isn't as fancy has Mary's. The children LOVED pulling out a sock and matching the pairs. Of course, I made sure there was one sock that did not have a mate... so true to life.

Matching Flannel Sock Game, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014.

CRAFT 
My Awesome Sweater Coloring Page 
A lot of the crafts out there on the Interweb did not strike my interest or did I think my school-age children love it. So! Inspired by a burst of cooler weather in good, ol' Texas I created my own coloring sheet where the children had to design and color their own sweater pattern. I found the sweater image from Printable Coloring Pictures website that I copied over to a Publisher file where I added a page title and a space below that read "Designed by_______" so that the children could claim their fashion designer talent!

My Awesome Sweater craft, Family Storytime,
created Dorothy WPCC, 2014.

MORE BOOKS

• Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons written by Eric Litwin and illus. by James Dean 
• Too Purpley written by Jean Reidy and illus. by Genevieve Leloup 
• Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job written and photographs by Stephen R. Swinburne 
• Lizette's Green Sock written and illus. by Catharina Valckx 
• Lester's Dreadful Sweaters written and illus. by K.G. Campbell 
• Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do written by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook and illus. by Andy Robert Davies 

Chickens! - A Storytime Outline

Salutations and Happy Almost-Fall!

This fall season I have the privilege of working at one of my library system's smaller branches, and having weekly evening Family Storytimes.Oh, the excitement! Oh, the nervousness! Sure I've done Family Storytime (aka School Age Storytime), but many years and moons have past since then. Plus, I have to mention that the program was preplanned by someone else, and I just did it with my usual excitement and vibrato. And I can't really count my summer preschool storytime, where I get older siblings and kindergarten groups, because those programs were always designed for... well,  preschoolers! So, here I go! Three months of Family Storytime! Whoo hoo!

BOOKS
The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza written by Philemon Sturges and illus. by Amy Walrod
I started with the longest story first. It took a little bit for the children to catch on to the saying "Not I," but they finally did and it worked out great.

Hungry Hen written by Richard Waring and illus. by Caroline Jayne Church
I love this story, especially if you are a expressive reader. 

Chickens to the Rescue written and illus. by John Himmelman 
This was a simple book, and the children got onto yelling "Chickens to the rescue!" I also asked about problems and solutions.  The children thought it was funny how the chickens would cook in the kitchen and do homework and make a mess while doing so. 

 

SONGS & RHYMES 
My Hands Say Hello 

My hands say hello, (wave hands)

My hands say hello,

Everytime I see my friends,

My hands say hello.

Additional lyrics:

Feet (stomp feet)

Nose (wiggle or tap nose)

Ears (wiggle ears) 

Tongue (stick that tongue out!) 

Head Shoulders Knees and Toes 
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Knees and toes
Eyes and ears
Mouth and nose
Head, shouldersm knees and toes
Knees and toes
Note: For this age group you have to do normal speed, fast, super fast, super super fast and super super super fast!

The Hens in the Coop 
Tune: The Wheels on the Bus 
The hens in the coop go cluck, cluck, cluck
Cluck, cluck, cluck
Cluck, cluck, cluck
The hens in the coop go cluck, cluck, cluck
All around the farm .

Other words:
The chicks in the yard go cheep, cheep, cheep
The rooster on the fence goes cock-a-doodle-dooo (you can just use one cock-a-doodle-doo for each line)
Source: HCPL

Little Chick, Little Chick 
 Little chick, little chick
Come out and play
What color barn are you in today?
Source: Storytimes and More

Touch Your Nose 
Touch your nose,
Touch your chin,

That's the way this game begins.
Find your eyes,
Touch your knees,

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

AA-CHOOOO!

Touch your hair,

Touch one ear,

Touch your two red lips right here,

Can you blow a kiss good-bye? (blow a kiss!)

Touch your elbow where it bends

Can you touch your other elbow?

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES 
Little Chick, Little Chick Guessing Game
See below about the flannel board.

FLANNEL BOARD 
Little Chick, Little Chick Guessing Game
I found this almost to the last minute. I rediscovered some felt chickens that I made a few years ago that were perfect for this game. I quickly used a barn die cut to create my different color barns to use. It was that simple. The children loved it, but they were too excited to say the rhyme before guessing the color. They also were so smart they guessed all three barns that the chickens were behind.

"Little Chick, Little Chick" flannel board, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

 CRAFT 
Clucking Chicken Cups 
I struggled to find a craft that the children would like, especially the older ones. This was just the ticket! I found idea through several pins on Pinterest. When it came to gluing the googly eyes and the paper beak, I recommend applying the glue to the cup itself first then a little to each item so that you know you're making a good sticky connections.The children liked it. The parents liked it. My fellow library workers... LOVED it! I hadn't seen them laugh so much. It was great! Source: Fancy Shanty

Clucking Chicken Cup, Family Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy, WPCC 2014.

Chicken Life Cycle Activity Page 
I also had an activity page that I discovered online over at www.sparklebox.co.uk. The children could color them after their craft or take it home where they have more craft supplies. PDF LINK.

EDUCATIONAL MOMENT 
Clucking Chicken Cup 
I briefly explained the children how sound worked with the cup, and how the cup is needed so that we could hear the sound. A better explanation can be found over at Science Bob. Hey! I think I just did my first STEM element, right!?

Feelings - A Storytime Outline

Salutations! Do you have one of those days where you have you've lacked preparation for your storytime and you feeling unsure, worried, frustrated, tired, and almost to the point of giving up? I'm sure all Children's Librarians do. I was like that the other evening in the few hours before my second Family Storytime program. Last minute decisions and a throwing-hands-up "It will be what it will be" moment got me going, however. And you know what.... this program was AWESOME!

At the beginning of the program I ask the children what they knew about feelings/emotions, and had them help identify the emoticons I had taped to our wall. They did an extremely good job, especially on the ones that could have had multiple answers. What was great, and completely unintentional, but these faces kept on falling off the wall (oh, scotch tape on painted brick walls) during the program, which made the children laugh so hard! Music to my ears!

I felt HAPPY at the end of this program!

BOOKS 
Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day written by Jamie Lee Curtis and illus. by Laura Cornell 
I love this book! Not only was it perfect for starting the program, but it also let the children to say that sometimes they felt the same way. 
 
Mouse Was Mad written by Linda Urban and illus. by Henry Cole 
The children really liked this book. I tried to have them sit very, very, very still like the mouse, but it was rather hard. They did their best, which is all that mattered.
 
Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things that Make Me Happy written and illus. by Scott Menchin 
I'm so happy that I came across this book! It was perfect for the group. The children were in awe at how many things made Sweet Pea happy! 


"I'm Not Scared!" written and illus. by Jonathan Allen 
A "classic" go to for a program about emotions or feelings. 

SONGS & RHYMES
If You're Happy and You Know It 
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands
Clap, clap
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands
Clap, clap
If you're happy and you know it then your hands (or face) will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands

Other lyrics we came up with:
Mad... stomp your feet
Sad... sign like this (Note: we did the ASL sign for sad, but you can also do "wipe your eyes")
Scared... make a face like this (make a scared face!)
Surprised... make a face like this (make a surprised face!)
Happy... say ya-hoo! (make sure you jump in the air!

Bananas Unite
Watch the video linked before for the actions! 
Banana Unite!
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas,
Peel, bananas, peel, peel, bananas

Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,
Chop, bananas, chop, chop, bananas,

Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,
Mash, bananas, mash, mash, bananas,

Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,
Eat, bananas, eat, eat, bananas,

Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Go, bananas, go, go, bananas,
Source: Jbrary 
Note: For this group, I went over the actions, and made sure they knew what to do with going bananas. We did three time, each time a little faster. This group loves doing speedy stuff! 

Skidamarink
Skidamarink a dink dink. (put right elbow in left hand and wiggle fingers)
Skidamarink a doo. (put left elbow in right hand and wiggle fingers)
I love you. (point to eyes, hug yourself, and point to others)

Skidamarink a dink dink.
Skidamrink a doo.
I love you.

I love you in the morning. (make a big circle over your head like the sun)
And in the afternoon. (hold arms in circle in front of you)
I love you in the even. (move arms in circle down)
Underneath the moon (release arms and make another big circle above your heard)
Note: Even one of the mom's started singing this. Love! 

ACTIVITIES 
Emotions Identification aka Feeling Faces
I really wanted to create my own Feeling Faces after seeing them over on Miss Mary Liberry, but I discovered at the last minute that I had no clothespins! So, instead, I made larger faces and taped them to the wall. I asked the children tell me what the feelings each face was expressing, and when they got it right I taped the feeling's name underneath. Some of the faces were could have had multiple answers, such as the "confused" face, which the could have also looked liked a "thinking" face. The children loved it and they had some really good answers and even expanded with stories of why the face could be feeling like it is.

Feeling Faces, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014

ASL Signs 
Laced throughout the program I shared with the children different ASL signs for emotions, such as "happy," "sad," and "mad." They did a great job making the signs! My "go-to" source for ASL instruction is ASL University.

CRAFT
Today I Feel...
This was the perfect craft. It's simple, but still allowed the children to think about emotions and work on their drawing skills. Oh! I can't forget to mention their identification and deciding skills! Basically, ladies and gents, this helps encourage the children to share how they are feeling.
Source: The Loudest Librarian!

Today I Feel craft, Family Storytime,
created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014.

EDUCATIONAL MOMENT
Echoes 
During the story Mouse Was Mad a boy had asked what an echo was. So we paused the story so that I could explain what it was and, for the most part, how it worked.

MORE BOOKS
What Are You So Grumpy About? written and illus. by Tom Lichtenheld  

I'm Not written by Pam Smallcomb and illus. by Robert Weinstock

Storytime Skit - Jan Thomas

We came. We made scary faces. We jumped, danced, wiggled. We ran. We hopped. We sang. We screamed. And... we napped!

Today my partner in crime (PiC) and I did our library's second ever Storytime Skit storytime day.  This is when we bring story characters to life and act out our stories, and try to get the kids involved as much as possible. We decided to do joint stories as a way to show the families that instead of just reading the stories in a book they could just act it out, which creates a whole new level of fun and learning! Plus, it's a great excuse for two Children's Librarians to get completely silly and to put their acting skills to the test.

At the end of each program we also took the time to say that this is one way to get more involved with their child. It's play! Make it fun! Dive into those stories and live them instead of just reading them once or twice. We explained to the caregivers that it is really easy to make costumes with things from home, and felt is super inexpensive and easy to work with to make headbands. We hope that they will become more involved in their child's reading and exploration of stories.

Today we celebrated the amazingly awesome author Jan Thomas! 

HOW DID IT GO?
It was GREAT! AWESOME! The best one yet! It was a wonderful way to for us to finish the summer storytime season with the families and one daycare that have been coming to our program the whole season. We moved our Preschool Storytime to our large program room so that all the children (especially the daycare group) had plenty of space to be active. Also, it allowed PiC and I to run around the entire group. We even got to use the stage for one of our stories (now I know how our special summer performers feel... which is awesome! P.S. you can probably tell by now that I love the word "awesome"... everything is awesome!). I can't wait till we get to do this again.

BOOKS
Can You Make a Scary Face? written and illus. by Jan Thomas (T, P)
We started with this book first. It helped get the wiggles out, but also it helped explain why PiC and I were dressed as ladybugs (see Props below). In Toddler Storytime we were in our normal storytime room, so we didn't run around as much. However, in the Preschool program we were in our large room, which allowed me (acting as the giant frog with a puppet) and PiC to run completely around the room and the group of children, which all of them loved. I would stop every so often to ask a child if s/he could make a scary face, which they would and I would go on screaming again. 

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? written and illus. by Jan Thomas (T, P) 
This was our second book. I wore my cow ear headband while PiC wore a yellow hoodie and a chicken comb headband. We used a large piece of red felt for my sofa. We also handed each child a sofa that was printed on red paper. They were suppose to be cows too and jump on a sofa. This was so much fun! 

Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy written and illus. by Jan Thomas (P) 
We only did this story with the Preschool group because we knew that Toddlers wouldn't last through two stories. Even though we practiced it to be just like the book, we ad-libbed a bit on this one to stretch it out and make it even funnier. I was the "brave" cowgirl and PiC and the children were the little cows. I used my ukulele and sang the lullaby (the first time I've played and sang with my uke in a storytime!!!). We used a giant sunflower, a dowel rod, and a coyote puppet as our props. When it came to have the large lumbering bear, I simply got close to the audience so that CiP was behind me. It worked out great!

SONGS & RHYMES
Open, Shut Them (T, P)

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Give them a little clap.

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap.

Creep them, creep them,

Up to your chin,

Open your mouth wide,

But don't let them in!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Give them a really big clap!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap.

My Hands Say Hello (T, P)

My hands say hello, (wave hands)

My hands say hello,

Everytime I see my friends,

My hands say hello.

Additional lyrics:

Feet (stomp feet)

Nose (wiggle or tap nose)

Ears (wiggle ears) 

Tongue (stick that tongue out!) 

Five Little Ladybugs (T, P) 

Five Little ladybugs climbing up a door,
One flew away then there were four.
Four little ladybugs sitting on a tree,
One flew away then there were three.
Three little ladybugs landed on a shoe,
One flew away and then there were two.
Two little ladybugs looking for fun,
One flew away then there was one.
One little ladybug sitting in the sun,
She flew away and then there were none.
Source: rhyme found by colleague. Small Town Story Time Lady has also shared it.

FLANNEL BOARDS
Five Little Ladybugs (T, P)
This flannel board was created by another Children's Librarian in our library system.

ACTIVITIES
Egg Shakers (T) 
Shake 'em eggs!

Animal Movement and Sounds with the Giant Die (P)
We borrowed a giant inflatable die from a fellow Children's Librarian and taped pictures of animals and an associated movement or sound. PiC and I rolled the die between the two of us and which ever animal was on top the children had to do. The kids loved it! We had "Hop like a Bunny," "Howl like a Coyote," "Wiggle like a Worm," "Flutter like a Ladybug," "Snap like an Alligator," and "Moo like a Cow." 

CRAFT
Ladybug Has Four Dots coloring page (T, P) 
This was a simple craft for both storytime groups. We made our own ladybug image after being inspired by a clip art found that a Michelle Webster created on Clker.com. For the spots we used a little circle die cut. All the children had to do was color and glue their dots on!

Ladybug Has Four Sports, storytime craft,
created by Dorothy (and PiC) WP-CC, 2014

PROPS
When doing storytime skits...  you need props and costumes!

A selection of our costumes, Dorothy WP-CC, 2014

Ladybug Shirts 
Just wear a red shirt and tape black spots (construction paper works wonders!) on to it! 

Animal Headbands 
I made the cow ear headbands from a pattern I got from Ashley's Craft Corner blog, which has great templates! As for the chicken comb... I just made it up! I cut the red felt folded in half so that the waves were matching. Before I glued the sides together I glued a pipe cleaner down the center so that it could bend to the wearer's head. Now, like with the cow ears (and horns) I made it so that the pieces could be slipped off the headbands. For the children comb I simply cut a slit in the middle of the piece and slipped it onto the headband. Think mohawk style!

Brave Cowboy or Cowgirl Props 
For this story I work an old baggy westerny style shirt and CiP's hat for my costume. I was really glad that I had my ukulele because it was a perfect touch!

As for the items that the Brave Cowboy was afraid off, we used a large sunflower and a dowel rod as our props. Super simple. For the wolf, we placed our puppet on a podium at one end of the room.

Ukulele 
As I mentioned before I played my ukulele and sang the lullaby during the Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy skit. I didn't do any major strumming, but you really didn't need to because you're playing a lullaby melody. I saw the sheet music for the lullaby posted to the Missouri Building Block Award's board for the book. Sometimes translating guitar chords works well for ukulele, but this time around it didn't work for me. So, I created my own! Here's what I did:

The Brave Cowboy Lullaby

  C                C               F            C
It's time for little cows/us to rest their heads.
      C                 C              F       G7
It's time for little cows/us to go to bed.
      C                 C               F          C
It's time for little cows/us to sleep so tight.
   C         C      F     G7   C
It's time for us to say goodnight. 

Obviously, you have to go through the "EEEEEK! Is that a huge hairy spider over there?" and so on, but it's so awesome. You can obviously changed the uke chords to something that works better for you and your singing ability. 

TIPS 
If you're interested in doing a storytime skit or something more along the lines of a skit, here are some tips that will hopefully help you be prepared!

Practice and get silly! You need to be silly and moveable during a program like this. You are not just sitting in a chair or on the floor or simply standing there. You are talking and moving like the character in the story. I need to work on this part, by colleague did a wonderful job as Gerald the Elephant (I was Piggie). You are going to be an actor!

Have plenty of books on hand. If you are doing such a program with more than one person, get more than one copy of the books you will use.

Dress accordingly. PiC and I decided that we would simply where the same colors for

After effect. After the program, especially when it was a success, be prepared to be tired but extremely pumped. The Storytime High is in full effect! Enjoy it. Love it. Bask in it. You deserve it!

Let's All Go to Hawaii! - A Storytime Outline

I had initially called this storytime "Going on Summer Vacation," but since it's close to the end of summer I was tired of doing the same ol' stories, songs, and rhymes. I needed something new. Something different. Something exciting! During my daily Pinterest vegging, I came across a Hawaiian/Tropical storytime from a fellow blogger. I found my inspiration! At first I was worried that I didn't have enough books to go with the theme, especially for the toddlers, but it all worked out in the end. I even got to dress up in a grass skirt and a flower lei (thanks to the party section at my local craft store!). In the end, this became one of my most favorite themes so far this summer and perhaps ever!

 Even Strawberry the Tiger got to dress up! 

LETTER OF THE DAY 
Vv is for Vacation 
I used the letter V for storytime because you don't see V a lot in other letters. Describe the letter, two straight lines that leaning to the side a little bit and only touch at the bottom. What are other words that start with V? Well... violin, van, volcano, vacuum, volleyball, vest, and veterinarian. 


BOOKS
Hula Lullaby written and illus. by Erin Eitter Kono (T) 
I had to ILL this book, but it was so worth it! The lullaby is all about cuddling and looking, listening, and feeling the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of hula dancing and storytelling. Hawaiian words are laced into the book, which is great. There is an Author's Note that talks about the traditions and the words used. If I had rhythm sticks or little drums I would have had all the children play them while I read. This book would be good for preschool children too. 

Penguin On Vacation written and illus. by Salina Yoon (T) 
This book is uber cute and simple enough for toddlers. Even though this is about a general beach vacation trip, I tied it to Hawaii because Penguin is wearing a flower lei. 

Froggy Goes to Hawaii written by Jonathan London and illus. by Frank Remkiewicz (P) 
I love this book! So do the kids! When you read it, make sure you sing Froggy's vacation song and totally hold that "Hawaiiiiiiii" note because everyone thinks it's so funny! The preschoolers also thought it was gross and funny that Froggy had to wear his dolphin underwear to go to swimming! 

Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawai'i written and illus. by Gerald McDermott (P) 
This was a good book to read. I told children that this story came from Hawaii as a legend/ folklore and is about a magic pig, which they understood. I had forgotten parts of the book mentioned Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, who I had to explain to worried children that she was a "princess of volcano lava." Just remember, Pig-Boy is a magic pig! There were also some Hawaiian words that I stumbled on or gave up trying to say in the middle (children weren't the wiser). A caregiver visited with me after the program to tell me I did a wonderful job and she taught me how to say the humuhumunukunukuapau'a (whew!), which is the name of the state fish.

SONGS & RHYMES
Open, Shut Them (T, P)

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Give them a little clap.

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap.

Creep them, creep them,

Up to your chin,

Open your mouth wide,

But don't let them in!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Give them a really big clap!

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them,

Lay them in your lap.

My Hands Say Hello (T, P)

My hands say hello, (wave hands)

My hands say hello,

Everytime I see my friends,

My hands say hello.

Additional lyrics:

Feet (stomp feet)

Nose (wiggle or tap nose)

Ears (wiggle ears) 

Tongue (stick that tongue out!) 

A-L-O-H-A (aka The Aloha Song) (P)
Sung to: Bingo
In Hawaii, you hear a word, and this word is aloha!
A-L-O-H-A
A-L-O-H-A
A-L-O-H-A
Aloha means hello.
continue signing, but remove a letter each time and clap instead. 
Source:  The Mailbox

Touch Your Nose (T, P)
Touch your nose,
Touch your chin,

That's the way this game begins.
Find your eyes,
Touch your knees,

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

AA-CHOOOO!

Touch your hair,

Touch one ear,

Touch your two red lips right here,

Can you blow a kiss good-bye? (blow a kiss!)

Touch your elbow where it bends

Can you touch your other elbow?

And that's the way this touch game ends.

FLANNEL BOARD
What Will I Take on Vacation? (T, P) 
One thing that I really liked from my original vacation theme was the idea of asking the children what they would bring on vacation with them. I made a felt suitcase from my collection of felt-by-the-yard and used our die cutter to create the shapes of all of the items that one may pack. For Toddler Time

What Will I Take on Vacation? Flannel Board,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014.

A-L-O-H-A (aka The Aloha Song) (P)
This was a simple flannel board for me to make because all I had to do was use our alphabet die cut to create the letters. I also made little hands (another die cut) that I would place on each of the letters when we had to clap instead. If you can't make a hand, you could use a flower instead, which would be easier to make by hand or with a die cut.

A-L-O-H-A flannel song, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014

ACTIVITIES
Hula Dancing (T, P) 
What's a Hawaiian storytime without hula dancing? I downloaded the songs "He Mele No Lilo" and "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from the movie soundtrack for Disney's Lilo & Stitch animated film. All the children got to have at least one movement scarf and we tried to dance from side to side and moved our arms like a hula dancer. Remember to say that boys can also hula dance (it's not just for girls!). During the songs I also let them jump and move anyway they wanted. For Toddlers I also did a freeze dance.

Introduction to the Ukulele (T, P)
I decided that it was time to bring out my ukulele. I've had my uke for a while, but am an extremely slow learner (aka a slow learner of strumming and rhythm - it's so different from violin and piano!) and have been too nervous and inexperienced to bring it out for a storytime. However, when in Hawaii... you must play some music. I didn't play any songs, but I did let the children all take a turn strumming it. I helped them hold it and even used the frets to make different cords. The children loved it! The caregivers loved it! It was all good!

CRAFTS
I am bringing on vacation... coloring page (T)
I saw a similar craft on Pinterest and loved it instantly. If I had done a regular vacation storytime I would have done this for all ages, but with a Hawaiian theme I decided that it'd be perfect for toddlers still learning about the concept of vacations. The suitcases were made from construction paper, and the clip art that the children had to glue and color to their suitcase I got from The Mailbox. Idea source: House of Baby Piranha.

"I am bringing on vacation...", Toddler craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014

Flower Lei (P)
Everyone needs to have a lei when in Hawaii! To make this I used a die cut to create the flowers. My hole punch couldn't reach the center of the flowers so I had to take an x-acto knife and sliced a star in the middle of each one. I also chopped up some straws. The preschoolers got three flowers and two straws and they had to alternate each and thread them onto a length of yarn. When I told the children that they would make a lei I got cheers of excitement!

Flower lei, Preschool craft,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2014