Church Mothers Group Story Time, 9/17/14 (Noah's Ark Theme)

I decided that, since story time worked so well for my MOMS Club, it might also work nicely for my church mother's group. There were five moms in attendance including me, and six kids including mine. (The age range was 7 months to four years.) Because the group has a religious focus, I opted for a Noah's Ark theme.

Hello Song: Say Hello to Your Toes
Somehow I have lost affection for my old standby, Hello, How Are You?  This one is more fun because it's interactive, and it is better for small groups.

Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book
I had a couple of preschoolers in my audience, so I threw this in there. It was a hit! 

Book: On Noah's Ark by Jan Brett
The text in this book is just the right length for a mixed-ages story time. The illustrations aren't great for big groups, but we were all gathered so closely together that it was fine.

Rhymes: Two Little Animals
I used Two Little Blackbirds as my model and made up some new rhymes. (This was to tie in with the fact that the animals went onto the ark two by two.)

Two little rabbits munching lettuce leaves
One named Sally, the other named Steve.
Hop away, Sally. Hop away, Steve.
Come back, Sally. Come back, Steve.

Two little ducklings going for a swim
One named Jane, the other named Jim.
Swim away, Jane. Swim away, Jim.
Come back, Jane. Come back, Jim.

Two little monkeys playing in the zoo. 
One named Sam, the other named Sue. 
Peel a banana, Sam. Peel a banana, Sue.
Eat the banana, Sam. Eat the banana, Sue. 

These were fun. I have some others written but I'll save them until I can use them.

Song with ukulele: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
We sang this song to connect with the rain stopping after 40 days and 40 nights.

Book: Whose Nose and Toes? by John Butler
John Butler's Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? was a staple of my Toddler Lap Time during my time at the library, so I  was thrilled to find this simple guessing game book - and the kids were great about calling out each animal's name.

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
I had not planned to do this song, but I thought it connected well with the book. I was also losing the big kids at this point so wanted to grab  their attention. 

Book: All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir by Bill Staines, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Though this is a singable picture book, I opted to just read it. The illustrations are so eye catching, even the babies were enthralled!

Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
We finished up our animal theme by singing about Old MacDonald's farm. I let the kids choose the animals, so we wound up with a monkey on the farm and other silly ideas. 

This audience seemed like a tougher crowd, and I think the unfamiliar (to me) theme put me off my game.  I plan to do a story time for this group again near Thanksgiving and I think I'll avoid choosing overtly religious books. There are so few to choose from, and many of them tend not to be well-written.