Circle Time, 8/7/12

Of all the programs I have done this summer - which I know is a lot, even without counting - I really think Circle Time has been the most fulfilling. No other program has challenged me to really up the ante and take risks, and no other group of kids has been more attentive, engaged, and adorable (except maybe my baby lap time babies). There is only one session left, and I can already tell I'm going to miss  these guys.

Today, I did a fairy tale theme, and to give the program some structure, I created a chart for the kids to help me complete. The inspiration for the chart came from a blog called Chalk Talk, which is filled with ideas for early childhood educators. I took the ideas I found there and adapted them.

When we started out, the only things on the chart were the items we might find in the fairy tales I planned to read. The chart paper on the left side has a castle, a giant, and a wolf, and the chart on the right-hand side has a princess, a prince, magic, a forest, and a happy ending. We identified each one before we started, then got down to the business of reading. After each book, we stopped to go over the chart and see which elements were included in the story we read.  We assigned a symbol to each story and placed that symbol next to the elements that story had.

Our chart, when finished, looked like this:

As I go through the story time below, I will share the symbols associated with the books, as well as the elements they did/did not include.

Opening Song (with ukulele): Hello, how are you? 
I had the ukulele on hand, so I decided to sing the hello song with it. That was a good decision - discussing the ukulele broke the ice, and  the kids seemed to like the change of pace.

Book: Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox, illustrated by Lydia Monks (2003)
I think this is the most hilarious picture book ever, but not one of the kids laughed. I don't know if they just don't think it's funny, or if the original story wasn't familiar enough for them to understand. I think they liked it, it was just weird that they were dead silent through the entire story.

Our symbol for this book was Rapunzel's braid. The fairy tale elements we found were a castle, a princess, a prince, and a happy ending.

Song: There is Clapping in the Castle
I sang one verse then asked the kids what else we could do in the castle.

Their responses:

• Pat your knees (There is patting in the castle...)
• Drum (There is drumming...)
• Guitar (There is playing...) - Strumming would have been a better action word. I'll have to remember that. 
•  Stomp your feet (There is stomping...)
• Turn the lights on and off (I took this as a real suggestion because of the child it came from and said we couldn't really do that one.)
• Turning around (There is turning...)
  

Book: The Very Smart Pea and the Princess-to-Be by Mini Grey (2003)
Well, thanks to SuperWhy, some of the kids at least had heard of  this story. They were still kind of quiet, but seemed slightly more relaxed and interested in what was happening.

Our symbol for this book was a pea. The fairy tale elements we found were a castle, a princess, a prince, magic (because the pea could talk to us), and a happy ending.

Book: Jack and the Beanstalk by Nina Crews (2012)
I am not crazy about this story, but it was the traditional tale with modernized illustrations, which is why I included it. The kids didn't understand the ending, but they did like the golden eggs.

Our symbol for this book was a beanstalk. The fairy tale elements we found were a giant, magic, and a happy ending.

Song: One Seed by the Laurie Berkner Band

Book: Red Riding Hood by James Marshall (1987)
I forgot about the violence at the end of this book (the wolf is killed and cut open) and skipped quickly past it when we got there, so it wouldn't be too traumatic. The joke on the last page, where Red Riding Hood does not talk to the alligator in the woods, got a good laugh.

Our symbol for this book was a basket of goodies. The fairy tale elements we found were a wolf, a forest, and a happy ending. 

Song (with flannel board): The First Pig Built His House Out Of Straw
I saw the idea for this song at an early education discussion board. I happened to know "The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock" from my own childhood copy of  Wee Sing Bible Songs, and immediately started practicing the tune. For the flannel board, I used the pieces (in color) from this set at preschoolprintables.com. I didn't know whether the kids would like it or not, but it turned out to be a big hit - lots of the kids sang along with me!

Our symbol for this story was a pig face. The fairy tale elements we found were a wolf and a happy ending.

Book: Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Caralyn and Mark Buehner (2007)
Wow, this book is long. But the kids really stuck with it, possibly because of the promise of bubble time ahead. The story is also in really fun, fresh rhyming text, which really grabbed the kids' attention.

Our symbol for this book was a family of bears. The fairy tale elements we found were a forest and a happy ending.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

This entire program, with bubbles, took 50 minutes. I was amazed at how quickly that time went!

Baby/Toddler Story Time (Blue Theme), 8/7/12

After Friday's group was so badly behaved, I was worried about doing two story times today, but both were surprisingly excellent.

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

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

Book: Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff (2012)
This book is more wordy than most of  the books I share with babies and toddlers, but the length wasn't a problem. They really stuck with it, and the rest of my books were so so short, they sort of balanced each other out.

Song (with flannel board and ukulele): Bluejay, Bluejay, Through My Window
I used the Elizabeth Mitchell tune for Little Bird, Little Bird, but changed her words slightly based on another version I found online. In the end, it went like this:

Bluejay, bluejay, through my window

Bluejay, bluejay, through my window

Bluejay, bluejay, through my window

You make me so happy. 

I used the birds I cut out of Highlights High Five Magazine and sang verses about four different ones. This was maybe the best flannel board / ukulele combination I have done so far. Every adult sang along, and when I asked them to say the name of each bird with  me, they happily repeated bluejay, robin, goldfinch, and pigeon. 

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Blue Sea by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Donald Crews (1979)
I had terrible luck with this book at a previous story time (a baby lap time back in February), but decided it wasn't the book's fault and gave it another shot. I was right - it went over much better this time, and seemed to enthrall most of the kids.

Song: This is the Way My Fingers... (from Hartstrings Preschool Ideas; Session 1 only)
I had higher expectations for this one, but it was really kind of a flop. I think I need to work on making the movements more interesting. For the second session, I skipped it and went right ahead to One Little Finger, which got a much stronger response.

Song: One Little Finger

Book: Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett (2010)
This was the weak link in the line-up today, which kind of surprised me, even if this isn't my favorite Emily Gravett title. I think the pictures are eye-catching, but a lot of the kids lost interest quickly. 

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby
I am starting to get sick of this song since we've done it every week all summer, but I was amazed when I looked out at the kids today and saw so many of  them finally doing the motions with me. I will keep doing it through August just for that reason. 

Song: Sunny Day
This song somehow just commands silence. I like to use it right before the last book so everyone can calm down and listen. 

Book: Blue Sky by Audrey Wood (2012)

The last time I shared this at story time, I said I didn't think it was a great story time book, but as with Blue Sea, I wanted to give it another chance. The first session adults didn't pay a bit of attention to it, so in the second session I had  them repeat each line of text back to me as a way of keeping them engaged and helping the kids get interested too. Still not a huge success, but it was sort of nice to involve everyone in that way. 

Song: Did You Ever See? 
I sang this song about a ladybug, a bumblebee, and a butterfly, changing the words slightly to go with the blue sky story we had just read.

Did you ever see a ladybug, a ladybug, a ladybug?

Did you ever see a ladybug flying in the blue sky?

Flying this way, and that way, and this way, and  that way.

Did you ever see a ladybug flying in the blue sky?

Everyone really liked this one. I think next time I'll ask everyone to sway back and forth - I saw one little girl doing just that, and it was the perfect movement to go along with the song. 

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
Lately, I have stopped announcing that we're going to sing this one, and I just started with a long note on the "If" to build some suspense. 

Song: ABCs
We clapped along with our ABCs. Just that simple action fills the room with such happiness - it's fantastic.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Summer Baby Lap Time #4, 8/2/12 and 8/3/12

This week, the second session varied quite a bit from the first. I took out some of the things I didn't feel confident in and threw in some more of our old lap time favorites. Here are the two sessions: 


Thursday Session

Opening Song: Please Tell Us Your Name 
I was going to try singing a hello song where I didn't actually have to ask anyone their child's name, but there were a few kids I was shaky on so I did this is this way one more time.

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Book: Goodnight Goodnight Sleepyhead by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Jane Dyer (2004)

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band (sung a cappella)

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Tony Chestnut 

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Book: Itsy Bitsy Babies by Margaret Wild and Jan Ormerod (2010)

Rhyme: This Little Baby

Bounce: All the Little Babies

Rhyme: Jack Be Nimble

Song: Mary Had a Little Lamb

I used my different colored sheep again and sang about five different lambs.

Song with Shaker Eggs: ABCs

Song with Shaker Eggs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Song with Shaker Eggs: Can You Shake Your Egg with Me?

Goodbye Song: Shaker Egg Goodbye Song

---

Friday Session

Opening Song: Hello, _________

To the tune of Goodnight Ladies, I sang hello to every child by name. I have finally learned most of these kids' names so it was easy to do and much quicker!

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Book: Goodnight Goodnight Sleepyhead by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Jane Dyer (2004)

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band (sung a cappella)

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Tony Chestnut 

Book: Itsy Bitsy Babies by Margaret Wild and Jan Ormerod (2010)

Bounce: All the Little Babies

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Rhyme: Jack Be Nimble

Song: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Song with Shaker Eggs: ABCs

Song with Shaker Eggs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Song with Shaker Eggs: Shake My Sillies Out

Song with Shaker Eggs: Can You Shake Your Egg with Me?

Goodbye Song: Shaker Egg Goodbye Song

I was especially touched on Friday when a mom told me, "I never knew my daughter liked books until we came to story time. Now we read at home." This is why we have story times for babies. If anyone ever asks, I now have that anecdote to share. Just a lovely thing for a librarian to hear. 

Baby/Toddler Lap Time (Green Theme), 8/3/12

We're trying to really get our library patrons back on board with our guidelines and rules of behavior. Therefore, on Friday morning, every adult coming in to story time got a list of the rules on a colorful handout, as well as a kind, but firm spiel from me. Within 10 minutes of the start of my story time, though, they were right back to breaking all the rules. I don't know what else to do!

In any case, though the adults made it difficult for the kids to enjoy the books, here is my green-themed story time.

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

Book: Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2012)
This was a better story time than I imagined. I just wish the adults could try to focus, even if the book isn't their favorite, because the kids enjoyed it.

Song: One Seed by the Laurie Berkner Band

Book: Stanley Mows the Lawn by Craig Frazier (2005)
I like the snake in this book. Again, the kids were interested,  but not the adults.

Flannel Board: The King of Green

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Song: One Little Monster 

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley  (1993)

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle  (1969)
I had two more songs planned, but I just couldn't take the rudeness anymore, so we ended after this book.

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Pajama Story Time, 8/1/12

Last week's Pajama Story Time attracted a pretty decent audience - 6 kids altogether, I think - but they were of such disparate ages if was hard to keep them engaged. The first book was great; the others were a bit of a struggle.

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Book: What's Looking at You, Kid? by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Renee Graef (2012)
This was the hit of the session. All of the kids enjoyed naming the animals - even the biggest ones.

Book: Alice the Fairy by David Shannon (2004)
This is shockingly not a great read-aloud, and especially not for such a mixed age group. 

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tracey Pearson Campbell (2006)


Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Book: A Summery Saturday Morning by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Selina Young (1998)
I still think I could make the repetition and rhythm of this book work for me, but it didn't on this particular day. 


Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Moon-Themed "On the Road" Story Time #4, 7/30/12

This is the first in a backlog of story times I have yet to post about, and it's the last in the series of moon-themed story times I performed at other branches in my system this July. All of my experiences were wonderful, but this one especially impressed me because there were so many kids in the 3 to 5 age range and because they were so attentive and so engaged. I had a great time! 

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

Book: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tracey Pearson Campbell (2006)

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song (with ukulele and flannel board): Aikendrum
This is the only group where everyone clapped and pretended to strum all the way through this song. I think this was partly because I have gotten way more comfortable playing it since the summer started. 

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

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


Song: Five Little Martians (based on One Little Monster)

Song: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Book: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene W. Field, illustrated by Giselle Potter (2008)

Song: Stars Shining Bright 

Book:  Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon by Dan Yaccarino (1997)
The best part of this story was having everyone count down with me from five.


Song: Five Astronauts Went Up in Space

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This