Up, Up, and Away! Drop-In Story Time, 3/5/13

Up, Up, and Away! Drop-In Story Time, 3/5/13

This week's theme started out as a wind and kites theme and then expanded to a general theme about things that go up in the air. Today, we focused mostly on space. (Also - despite the fact that it's still Winter and snow is heading my way, I have traditionally considered March the start of Spring as far as story time is concerned, so I'm calling this the first story time of Spring, as reflected in the tags of this post.)


Song: Way Up in the Sky
This was a great opening song - the adults loved it and many of the kids - even little toddlers -  did all the motions with me.

Book: Higher Higher by Leslie Patricelli 
I tried to get the group to repeat the refrain with me, but they just didn't quite catch on. 

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Here We Go Up Up Up

Book: I Want to be An Astronaut by Byron Barton
This book went over better than it ever has before. I didn't see or hear a lot of specific reactions from kids, but the room also wasn't filled with chatting adults and crying babies, so I think that's a sign they were listening.

Song with Flannel Board and Ukulele: Aikendrum 
I couldn't find two of anything to be Aikendrum's eyes (my food flannel board file is getting pretty full) so I just used the first two round things I  could yank out, which turned out to be an orange and a tomato 

Letter of the Day: H

• Song with Puppet: Good Morning, Mrs. Hen
• Song: Hands Up High
  Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies 
• Rhyme: Houses

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / London Bridge / Row Your Boat 
This is a new medley I tried for the first time. It's nice to have some variety now and then!

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Sing a Happy Song

Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Preschool Story Time, 3/1/13

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Preschool Story Time, 3/1/13

Though most of my story times this week were about parts of the body, the official theme was "myself." Thus, the preschoolers got to read about bodies, growing, who they are now, and what they might be when they grow up.

Book: The Growing Story by Ruth Krauss
This is a quiet book, and the kids at this story time were not kids I generally think of as quiet, but they liked this story and really enjoyed the ending. 

Song: Shake My Sillies Out  
I can't remember when this fell in the line-up, but we definitely shook our sillies out at some point. 

Book: I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
Aside from having to explain to a five year old what "ain't" means, this was a fun one. 

Flannel Board Story: Quick as a Cricket by Audrey and Don Wood (from kizclub.com)
My library does not own this book, so I can't use it in story time, but since I was able to find a flannel board version, I turned it into an interactive experience. Many of my read-along story timers were at this story time with preschool siblings, so they were able to help me read some of the words - shy, quiet, happy, etc. - and everyone helped named the various animals. After story time, one of the three year olds set the flannel board up and retold the story to herself, which was adorable. 

Song with ukulele: Sammy by Hap Palmer
I practiced this song for over a week, and thankfully, the first time I played it perfectly was at story time. The kids really got into the movements and did a great job following instructions when it was time to sit down between verses. I originally learned this song at the Wimpfheimer Nursery School and have never forgotten it!

Book: When I Grow Up by Tina Louise
This is a weird celebrity picture book, but I decided to stick with it because of the bright illustrations. Not every part of the text makes sense, which is too bad, but the kids still liked naming the different jobs.

Coloring Page: Self-Portrait
This coloring sheet was a simple but fun activity to end the session. One little girl even gave me her picture as a present!

I use the same hello and goodbye songs at almost every session. Click here for the tunes and words. For descriptions of each of my story times, click here.