Opening song: Hello, How Are You?
(This week's actions were clapping hands, tapping knees, and touching nose.)
This is a really simple book, but such a great one. Mr. Gumpy goes for a drive, and all the kids and animals want to come. When it rains, though, they don't want to help push the car out of the mud. The illustrations evoke a strong sense of summer warmth, and the ending, where everyone returns home with the promise to go for another drive another day is comforting and happy. Also, it has a car, which I suspect is what turned so many little boys onto it this morning.
Flannel Board Song: Five in the Truck
This song fit really well with the Mr. Gumpy book - they're both about being squished in a crowded vehicle! I originally found this song here, but decided to adapt it for the flannel board. I borrowed the hens from Mel's Desk and printed out a clip art truck from Google images.
Book: Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by R.W. Alley (2009)
I really love this book. The story begins on the end papers, with four people in streetclothes walking toward the police station. It turns out that they are the police officers, and each one has a specialty. The book has a few nice refrains ("Uniform! Badge! Radio! Officer responding. Go, Mike, go!" and "Situation? Under control. When people need help, we rock and roll!") making it really pleasing to the ear and wonderful to read aloud to babies and toddlers. But there is a lot happening in the illustrations, too, that doesn't show up in the text, so older kids can find a lot to talk about in one-on-one readings with their favorite grown-ups. This is definitely a new favorite!
Flannel Board Song: Who Are the People in your Neighborhood?
I have been wanting to sing this at this story time for months, and finally, it all came together. I used clip art people, and quickly pointed out some of their features - tools and hard hat for the construction worker, mail bag and letters for the mail carrier, and a book for the librarian! Then we sang a simple verse ("The mail carrier is a person in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, etc. etc.") about each one. The adults all knew this one, so it was an automatic hit, and we'll be doing it again soon.
Song: Shake My Sillies Out
This is the perfect song for a quick break between stories because it lasts just a minute, and it gets all that extra energy out.
Song: I'm a Little Teapot
I swore I wasn't doing this song this week, and planned to do Hap Palmer's Turn Around instead, but then I ended up with a large number of babies, and thought this was a song that everyone could take part in. And I saw some kids who normally just stand and watch me actually making handles and spouts!
Book: Red Wagon by Renata Liwska (2011)
This book is a tough read-aloud for little ones because the illustrations portray so much more than the text. A simple walk to the market and back becomes an imaginative adventure when Lucy the fox takes along her new wagon. I tried to comment on the illustrations when I could, but they were mostly too detailed to see from a distance. The book is wonderful, though - it's by the illustrator of The Quiet Book and The Loud Book, and the warm, inviting illustrations really drew me in.
Song: Bumpin' Up And Down in My Little Red Wagon
This is a Raffi song, but I couldn't find or think up hand motions for his original verses, so I quickly wrote some of my own.
Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon
Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon
Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon
Won't you be my darling?
(Bump up and down)
The wheels turn around on my little red wagon
The wheels turn around on my little red wagon
The wheels turn around on my little red wagon
Won't you be my darling?
(Turn your hands)
I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagon
I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagon
I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagonWon't you be my darling?
(Wave)
Flannel Board Song: The Farmer in the Dell
I gave up on using a recording and put my own voice to the test. Thankfully, many adults in the audience knew the song and helped me out. I used the same kizclub.com felt pieces I made for yesterday's story time. There are a lot of variations of this song, but these are the verses I used:
The farmer in the dell,
The farmer in the dell,
heigh-ho, the derry oh,
the farmer in the dell.
The farmer takes a wife...
The wife takes a child...
The child takes a nurse...
The nurse takes a dog...
The dog takes a cat...
The cat takes the rat...
The rat takes the cheese...
The cheese stands alone...
Song: Monkeys on the Bed
Song: The Wheels on the Bus
Song: There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart
A special bonus for session two because I had no idea what time I'd actually started by our wacky, slow clock, and I thought I was running short! This song is the one the parents love the most. I highly, highly recommend it, especially for winding down at the end of the story time.
Goodbye Song: Skinnamarink