Baby/Toddler Lap Time (White Theme), 7/27/12

I continued my color-themed series yesterday with a story time all about the color white.

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you? 

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake

Book: The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
This book is too long for toddlers. I didn't think so, but I was wrong.

Song (with stick puppets): Dance Like Snowflakes 
I didn't look up the words prior to story time so I changed the last "in the air" to "everywhere." It worked just as well. 

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies
This worked so well for settling the kids at the main library the other day, I gave it another try. It didn't have quite the same calming effect, but the kids did enjoy doing it. 

Book: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes (2011)

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw (1988)
I was shocked at how much everyone - adults and kids - paid attention to this book. It's so simple and yet, they were nearly silent and clapped loudly at the ending. 

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song (with ukulele and flannel board): Mary Had a Little Lamb
At the last minute, I decided I wanted to use the new set of sheep I made for Baa Baa Black Sheep, so I adapted the words of this song as follows:

Mary had a little lamb,

little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
His fleece was... 

...white as snow

...red as a rose

...green as grass

...blue as the sea

...black as night

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (2010) by Eric Litwin and James Dean
I have read this book several times to this group, and finally, they have started saying "Goodness no!" along with me. 


Song: One Little Finger 

Songs (with ukulele): ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle
Next time, I'll include Baa Baa Black Sheep in this medley too.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Moon-Themed "On the Road" Story Time #3, 7/26/12

This "on the road" story time differed greatly from the others for a few reasons. The children's librarian at the branch was unexpectedly not there, so when I arrived, I was asked to start right away (20 minutes early), and to repeat my story time for an additional group afterward. I had also prepared for a preschool audience, but saw many little ones during the first session for whom many of my books were too complex and long. Here's what I came up for that first session, and then for the second one, which skewed slightly older and included one group that had already sat through session one.

Session One 

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?

Book: What's Up? by Mick Manning, illustrated by Brita Granstrom (1997)
This is actually a science book for beginning readers, but without all the captions and sidebars, the text is perfectly appropriate for a younger audience. I wished for some more feedback from the kids each time the text posed a question, but even without a  response, the kids seemed to be engaged.

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: Higher, Higher by Leslie Patricelli (2009)
I didn't bring this book with me, but managed to grab it from the shelf just before story time started. I could have gone without it, as it turns out, but I panicked when I saw babies! 

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum
The kids thought the broccoli was a tree, which was something I hadn't really anticipated, but they seemed to like the song. 

Book: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2004)
This was too long for a third book.  The kids were not interested. I actually think they didn't understand that the moon looked like milk to the kitten.

Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright

Song (with ukulele): Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space 

Song: Tommy Thumb
I did this song because it takes a long time to sing all six verses, and I couldn't see the clock. I wanted to make sure I wasn't cutting myself too short! (I wasn't. I could have stopped way before this.)

Song: Chickadee 

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

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Session Two
 
Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you?

Book: What's Up? by Mick Manning, illustrated by Brita Granstrom (1997)

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: The Moon Might Be Milk by Lisa Shulman, illustrated by Lee Hillenbrand (2007)
I was hesitant about reading this book because it is so long, but overall, it went over well. This is one I want to keep in mind for the future, especially as we start trying to do more "story breaks" rather than full-fledged story times, after school this Fall.


Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Aikendrum

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Regards to the Man in the Moon by Ezra Jack Keats (1981)
This book is different, and that's what I like about it. I think I could have introduced it better, but I don't know if that would have helped the kids click with it or not. I might try it again to see what improvements I can make because I think the concept of flying to the moon with your imagination is great!

Song (with flannel board): Five Astronauts Went Up in Space

Song (with paper stars): Stars Shining Bright
By the end of the second story time, finally, the kids came out of their shells and practically shouted the name of each color. I actually had to start turning the star around and only revealing the color when I was ready to be assailed by shouts. 
 
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Because of the chaos with the librarian not being there, I skipped the craft. I don't think either group was expecting a craft because they didn't say a thing about it.

Moon-Themed "On the Road" Story Time #2, 7/25/12

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.)