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