Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Baby/Toddler Story Time (Red Theme), 7/24/12

I made the decision a few weeks ago to stop worrying about the summer theme when I got sick of my Dream Big, Read stuff. That time has come. For the next few weeks of story time, I'll be doing different color themes, as a way of showcasing some of my "greatest hits." Today's color was red.

Things started out strong, and then just... I don't even know. This cloudy, humid weather has got to go!

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

After this rhyme, I asked the kids to think about the red apple for a minute. Then I opened the cover of Lemons Are Not Red and showed them all the red things on the front endpaper.

Book: Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2004)
Sharing this book has proven somewhat difficult in the past, so this time, I held up the book and said, "Look! A red lemon! Wait a second... Lemons are not red!" Then I turned the page to reveal that lemons are yellow, but apples are red. Talking through the first page like this made reading the story more of a conversation, and by the end, I had all of the adults helping me out with the text and pointing out the silly "mistakes."

Instead of clapping after the book, I guided us right to the last page, where the end papers have more red items. I named each one, saving the red wagon for last. Then I said, "Hey, I know a red wagon song!" And I picked up the ukulele.

Song (with ukulele): Bumpin' Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon 
We sang each verse twice, and everyone actually did the motions even though I was playing and not modeling for them.  I made sure I sang "The wheels turn around..." as the last verse so I could segue right into my next book, about something else with wheels that is also red. 

Book: Fire Truck by Peter Sis (1998)
I guess this is probably where I started to lose them, but the book itself seemed to get them back on track. Then I followed it up with a great action song.

Song: Hurry, Hurry Drive the Firetruck
This was more fun than I ever expected. I'm going to use it more often.

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby
This is where story time took a turn for the worst. They did great with this song, but I could not get anyone's attention back for the next book.

Book: Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Felicia Bond (1985)
I skipped almost the entire book. It was just a disaster. So afterward, I announced we would just be singing for the rest of the time.

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
Thankfully, singing this seemed to get us back on track. Though I didn't dare try another book, I did manage to keep their attention almost to the 20-minute mark.

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up 

Rhyme: Ladybug, Ladybug (from Yorba Linda Public Library)
This was great. Some of the three year olds thought it was hilarious when I put the ladybug on my own head.

Song: Four Red Cherries
During this song, a little girl in the front asked me to play my "guitar." I'm concerned that the ukulele is now becoming a distraction.

Song: ABCs
We clapped along as we sang. That seemed to work well. I could have played the ukulele, but I just wanted to be done.

Song: Chickadee 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This 

Baby/Toddler Lap Time (Music Theme), 7/20/12

I lost my notes from Friday, but this is close to what I think I did. 

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Song with Puppet: Sing a Song of Sunshine 

Book: Sing a Song of People by Lois Lenski, illustrated by Giles Laroche (1965)

Song: Sunny Day 

Book: Little Pig Joins the Band by David Hyde Costello (2011)

Song with Flannel Board and ukulele: Aikendrum
This was a huge hit. They had a much easier time recognizing the pieces in my new flannel set, than in the old, and they even clapped and sang along!

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up


Book: Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb by Al Perkins (1969)
I got the adults to repeat some of the silly sound words with me, but even with their help, this book wasn't much of a success. I probably should have read it closer to the beginning of the session.

Song: Five Little Monkeys 

Song: One Little Finger 


Book: Knick Knack Paddy Whack by Steve Songs, illustrated by Christiane Engel (2009)

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Summer Baby Lap Time #2, 7/19/12 & 7/20/12

Opening Song: Please Tell Us Your Name

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Song with Puppet: Sing a Song of Sunshine

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
This was surprisingly not well received. I couldn't get the adults to join in on the refrain at all!

Song: Tony Chestnut
I think it's hilarious that the moms have started calling my baby doll prop "Tony" because of this song.

Song: Head and Shoulders Baby

Rhyme: Jack Be Nimble
We recited this nursery rhyme three times, emphasizing the rhythm, and each time we said "over" we lifted the babies up into the air. This is my new favorite story time concept. We used the same idea with Hey Diddle Diddle the last time.

Book: Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming (2010)
Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band (sung a cappella)

Song with Stick Puppets: Baa Baa, Black Sheep
We sang about the black sheep, then several sheep in other colors.

Song: Where is Big Toe?

Song with Shaker Eggs: ABCs

Song with Shaker Eggs: Shake My Sillies Out 

Song with Shaker Eggs: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me? 

Goodbye Song: Shaker Egg Goodbye Song

Pajama Story Time, 7/18/12

Last Wednesday, Pajama Story Time started at 6:30, and there was just one family in the room. When I came in, the little boy asked me if I would read Bats at the Library.  I was happy to oblige, so we read that story first. By the time I was done, there were six kids in the room, and by the end, we had a total of 8. Here's the list of books we shared.

Book 1: Bats at the Library by Brian Lies (2008)

Book 2: The Bunnies Are Not in Their Beds by Marisabina Russo (2007)
This is a really good one to share with families because both parents and kids laugh, but for different reasons.

Book 3: Mother, Mother, I Want Another! by Maria Polushkin Robbins, illustrated by Jon Goodall
This was a huge hit. Three is just about the right age to enjoy the humor of this one, and the parents giggled along.

Book 4: Good Night Pillow Fight by Sally Cook, illustrated by Laura Cornell (2004)
This really looks like a good read-aloud, but it is not. I was glad the group was small - in a larger story time, it definitely would have been a flop.

After we were finished with our books, one of the moms asked if she could please hear the moon song. I couldn't say no!

Song: Moon Moon Moon
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