This week, my travels brought me to the main branch of my library system for story time. I had a wonderful time, and so did the kids!
Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?
Book: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tracey Pearson Campbell (2006)
This group was pretty big, and the kids were interested in this book, but so talkative they wanted to tell me something about every page. I was thankful that the book was so short, or we might never have made it to the end!
Song: Moon Moon Moon
Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum
This was my best performance of Aikendrum so far. The more times I tell and sing his story, the more comfortable I become, and the more willing to take chances and be a bit more interactive. I asked the kids to clap as I played and - bingo! at least one daycare group did it! It's way more fun to play when people are enjoying it with me.
Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up
Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
I couldn't get the group to join in on the refrain so this book was the weakest link this time around.
Song: Five Little Martians
I forgot to start with five martians, and started with just one. So we ended up singing the song counting up to five, which basically ruins the whole concept. But I'm the only one who noticed, so I guess it's okay.
Five little martians
Five little martians
Five little martians
Beep! Beep! Beep!
One little martian
went home to bed
Now that martian's
fast asleep!
Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies
I haven't had great luck with this next book as a read-aloud, and I was losing the kids' attention by this point, so I threw this rhyme in here to get them excited about the rabbit character. It mostly worked.
Book: Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith (2012)
I tried not to linger over the pages too much, as we were getting restless. I'm not going to use this book for story time anymore, except maybe for the smaller pajama story time.
Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright
This song is always a success, but this group really made me love it even more. I didn't have velcro on the stars, so I just held them up with my hand, reaching way up with each one as I sang about the star shining above the tree. There was one preschool class who called out the colors in a lovely little chorus which made the song so much fun for all of us.
Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby
I threw in the additional "do the twist" verse, and I saw at least one teacher get really excited about it and start rocking out right in her seat. (Why she was sitting, I don't know, but the kids did stand up.)
Book: I Want to be an Astronaut by Byron Barton (1988)
This one surprised me by going over really well for the first time this summer. I don't think I read it differently; it might just be the dynamic of this particular crowd that made it work.
Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space
Since the kids loved calling out their colors for the star song, I incorporated the colors of the astronauts into this one as well. Every time I put up a new one, we called out the color, and when we put them away, we reviewed the colors and said goodbye to each astronaut.
Song (with ukulele): Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
This is the first story time group ever where the kids actually sang the words along with me. I loved it!
Song: Chickadee
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
I had a coloring sheet and stickers available at the end of story time. More on that after all the "on the road" story times are finished (early next week.)
