Baby/Toddler Story Time, 12/13

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

 

Book: Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (2007)
This book is always a hit, because of the lift-the-flap format, and the cute ending.

Rhyme: Clap, Slap, Tap, Lap
I'm liking this rhyme more and more. So far, we've only done it fast and slow, but I want to try loud and soft and high and low as well. It might also be neat to try different rhythms once we've all got it down. 

Rhyme: Fingers
This one is really cute. It's still new so not everyone is participating just yet, but once we get it down, I think it will be a definite favorite.

Book: Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka (2004)
I like this book a lot. The text is really simple, the vocabulary for winter clothes is great (where else will kids learn that a scarf is also called a muffler?) and the humor  a la Randy from a Christmas Story - of not being able to get up in all those winter clothes - makes me laugh every time. I think this would also make a great flannel board.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out 

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart
I love Laurie Berkner. This song is just perfect. And I've already heard requests to do it again!

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (1988)
A repeat from yesterday. I wanted to see how this younger group would like it. And it was not very well-received, honestly. Maybe it would actually go over better as a flannel board. I will keep that in mind next time I get ambitious!

Song: Rum Sum Sum 
This is the stand-out favorite of this new Winter repertoire. I introduced it over the summer, and it seems like everyone really missed it!

Song: Numbers Are Our Friends

Song: One Little Finger

Song: Chickadee

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

There is a holiday baby/toddler story time this Thursday, and then I'm done until January! I hope to have some year-in-review posts in the two weeks off. Stay tuned...

Preschool Story Time, 12/12 (Cookies Theme)

Today's story time - the last Monday preschool story time I will ever do - had a theme of cookies. I like everything I did, but I did wish two particularly wild boys could have settled down just a bit more to let the other three kids who attended enjoy themselves. Then again, even with their shenanigans I managed to do five books, which is a record, so maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Either way, here's how it all went down.

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.

Book: Cookie Count by Robert Sabuda (1997)
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.

Book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (1985)
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

Book: The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins (1989)
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!

Book: Cookies by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (2006)
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!

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (1988)
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:

• Kids' Bibliotheque
• Sunflower Storytime
• Rain Makes Applesauce