Story Time in the Park (MOMS Club), 9/11/14

Story Time in the Park (MOMS Club), 9/11/14 

Since leaving my job at the public library last September, I have been on an extra-long story time hiatus. Before today, my last story time was this one, from September 27, 2013. To say that I was missing it would be a definite understatement! Luckily, my moms club loves story time and was very receptive when I asked if they would like me to perform one for them. 

We met at a local park this morning at 10:00. There were seven kids total - 3 boys, ages 3, 2, and 1 and four girls, ages 13 months, 9 months (that was Little Miss Muffet!), 8 months, and almost five months. This ended up being a perfect age range, and the other 5 moms in attendance were model story time participants. 

Here is what I shared with them:

Hello Song: Say Hello To Your Toes

I decided against using my old stand-by hello song, Hello, How Are You? It has always struck me as clunky, and I always had a hard time getting people to participate when I played the ukulele. Since the uke was sort of my security blanket for this session, I wanted to lead with it to get everyone to pay attention. It was a huge hit - we said hello to our toes, knees, tummy, nose, and all of our friends.

Song with Stick Puppets: When Cows Get Up in the Morning

I made quick and easy stick puppets using clip art from My Cute Graphics and some cardstock so we could sing this song. The oldest two kids were able to name all of the animals and tell me what those animals said, and every mom was singing along by the last verse. 

Book: Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel

Everyone was puzzled, as I usually am, by the suggestion that a rabbit makes a sound like "pr-pr-pr," but we just went with it. The kids were enthralled by the pictures and many of them made the animal sounds with me. We own this book, so I have read it a million times, which also helps with my performance. 

Song: Moon Moon Moon

The final illustration in Hello, Day is a big full moon in a dark blue sky, so I like to pair it with this song. We only sang through it once because people seemed sort of puzzled by it, but the two-year-old boy picked up on the motions right away and stuck right with it to the end.

Book: Monkey See, Look at Me! by Lorena Siminovich

This book is a new favorite that we discovered at one of our local public libraries, and because the monkey in the story looks almost exactly like Miss Muffet's beloved stuffed monkey, it has become a household favorite. A couple of moms commented on how captivated their kids were by the illustrations, and the two older boys were able to make some of the animals' motions with me. 

Rhyme: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

This rhyme is always a favorite with every audience, and this group was no exception. I opted to chant rather than sing as I normally would, just to give us some variety. 

Rhyme: This is Big Big Big 

I love sharing this rhyme with people who haven't heard it before. We did this one twice, and though only one child did the motions, all the grown-ups did. "Fast, fast, fast" was everyone's favorite part. 

Book: Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker 

This was the first book Miss Muffet ever smiled at, which is why we own it. Everyone recognized One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and got a nice laugh out of the additions made by Keith Baker.

Ukulele Medleys:

• Itsy Bitsy Spider / It's Raining It's Pouring / Rain Rain Go Away
• ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

These songs were all familiar, so everyone happily sang along. Moms were especially pleased to have the alphabet song included.

Goodbye Song: Open Shut Them (Goodbye Version)

Doing story time for  moms I know is way easier than doing story time for a room full of strangers. This was a great experience, and I hope to have more to share with you soon!