Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
This hello song is so perfect for my babies and toddlers, but I think the older kids, especially once they've been to school, just think it's cheesy. Time to think about how to start things off a different way next month.
This book is very short, but the pop-ups are gorgeous, and I loved seeing the depictions of the different types of cookies. This book is the reason I read five and not four - it was mostly just a prop to kick things off.
I find this book hard to read aloud. I feel like my voice gets higher and higher pitched as I go, and I don't have many comments to make on what happens. But the kids did seem to love it, as it was an old favorite for them.
Rhyme: I Am Making Cookie Dough
A better action rhyme than I expected! The preschoolers got right into it, trying to copy my moves exactly. I need to come up with some more rhymes like this that will grab the attention of restless little boys (and girls.)
Rhyme: Blue is the Lake
This book was not previously a big story time hit, but today I made it interactive, asking the kids to say ding-dong every time the doorbell rings. Suddenly, it became much less of a boring math lesson and much more of a fun experience as we all anticipated the next chime of the bell.
Song: Who is Knocking at my Door?
The best thing about this song is that a little girl was heard singing it throughout the library about 20 minutes after story time ended. She was singing, "Who is knocking at my roof?" but still. It was a nice moment.
Rhyme: Five Little Cookies
I changed this one slightly from the way the King County librarian in this video does it. I wanted to use my thumb as the little man, but I can't make a thumbs up with my left hand, so I opted to use a stick puppet. And I decided I was tired of grown-ups having all the fun and made it a little boy instead. Not at all a huge hit, but it was worth a shot!
To my great surprise, the two wild little boys who couldn't sit still during anything else, sat and stared at this book like they were mesmerized. It was a true shock, since there is no real plot, and the text is essentially just a lesson in manners!
I have never done this book in story time for fear the kids wouldn't like it. I know that's silly now, though, because they had a great time guessing at what each shape was before I read it. One very small girl came up to tell me thank you at the end and said she loved this one the most!
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Other books I considered reading at this story time include:
- Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass & Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Ashley Wolff
- Fortune Cookies by Albert Bitterman, illustrated by Chris Raschka
Find more Baking story times on these other blogs:
I love your I Am Making Cookie Dough rhyme! I'll be using it with my preschoolers in our If You Give a Mouse a Cookie unit! Thank you!
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