Rainbow Drop-In Story Time, 9/27/13

 Rainbow Drop-In Story Time, 9/27/13

Friday morning's session was my last drop-in story time before my resignation goes into effect on October 4. Though I am excited for my next chapter in life as a stay at home mom, it was still bittersweet to realize I was doing all of these familiar things for the last time. The theme was colors, and to keep the kids interested, I hid each book behind its corresponding color until it was time to read. Maybe it was because they knew it was my last one, but this group was respectful and quiet, and  they actually listened to every book and participated in every song and rhyme. I'm glad to have ended on such a high note.

Song with ukulele: I Can Sing a Rainbow  
I practiced and practiced this song, but then got nervous and didn't perform it as well as I would have liked. Still, I am proud of myself for trying since it was probably the most complicated song I've tried playing in story time, and it was my last chance to give it a shot!

Book: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
I have had mixed results with this book over the years, but today it ended up being a great choice. 

Song: Bumpin’ Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon
I have always liked this song, and the kids got really into the motions. 

Book: Little Green by Keith Baker
I wasn't sure about this book, but I decided to try it and I was glad I did. This seemed to be the book with which the kids were most engaged.

Song with Puppet: I’m a Little Green Frog 
I almost forgot the words to this song, but once I got started, they just kind of came back to me. This is the advantage of doing story time multiple times a week for three years  - some things become second nature!

Book: Have You Seen My New Blue Socks? by Eve Bunting
This book seemed longer than it actually is, which is never a good sign. No one seemed to like it that much, even though I put as much personality into the reading as possible. It's not a good a story time book as I guessed.

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake

Book: This is NOT a Pumpkin by Bob Staake
Since I won't be here for Halloween, I wanted to sneak in just one favorite pumpkin book. I originally intended to tell it with a prop, but decided against it when I realized I had taken all my flannel board pieces home and didn't want to bring just one item back. No one seemed to get the punchline, which was too bad, because they were all paying attention and it usually gets a big laugh. Maybe it's just too early for jack o'lanterns. 

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 
This has kind of become my signature song. I will miss the sun puppet - hopefully, I'll be able to buy or make one of my own! 

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep


Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: Chickadee
I asked the group to sing this with me because it's one of my favorite story time songs. No one was that into it, which was a disappointment, but I couldn't resist singing it one last time. 

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.

Fun with Nursery Rhymes Drop-In Story Time, 9/20/13

 Fun with Nursery Rhymes Drop-In Story Time, 9/20/13

This group is never completely silent, and never totally responsive, so it's often hard to gauge the success of a particular set of activities just by their reaction. Throughout the room, I noticed pockets of engaged kids and distracted ones, quiet nannies and chatty ones, and there were moments where I don't think anyone was really listening to me. Still, though, this set of books and songs is a keeper. 

Song with ukulele: Nursery Rhyme Rap
We sang the ABCs as the chorus for this song, and each verse was one of the nursery rhymes for which I had a book version.

Book: Hickory Dickory Dock by Keith Baker
I had a bad experience with this book early on in my tenure at this library (so long ago, that it's not even in this blog, or on Goodreads), but I don't think it was the book's fault. Today's reading was much better received, and even though the text is a bit on the long side, most of  the kids were with me until the end. 

Song: Go In and Out the Window
I like this song, and I came up with some basic motions that even the smallest kids can do so that everyone could participate. We sang all three verse twice through.

Book: To Market To Market by Anne Miranda
One nanny was very excited to discover this book, and she checked it out at the end of story time. I tried to make it interactive by asking everyone to make animal sounds with me, but that didn't really catch on.

Song with stick puppets: Mary Had a Little Lamb
The preschoolers like to call out the names of colors, so this song - where Mary has various lambs of assorted colors - is always a hit.

Book: Row Row Row Your Boat by Iza Trapani
The adults pay better attention when I sing, so I sang this entire book. They seemed confused by the new verses, even though I warned them they would be different.

Rhyme with Cow Puppet: Hey Diddle Diddle

Book: 1 2 Buckle My Shoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Song: I’m a Little Teapot
Since this was my second-to-last story time, and this song is an old favorite of this group, I decided to sing it at least one more time. The kids were really into it, so we sang it three times.

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

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.

Off We Go! Drop-In Story Time, 9/6/13

Off We Go! Drop-In Story Time, 9/6/13

Song with Ukulele: Down by the Station 
The verses of this song that I sang at this story time came from the book version by Jennifer Vetter. I asked the kids to name each mode of transportation before we sang each verse. 

Book: Window Music by Anastasia Suen
I stopped using this book for a while, but it was the right amount of text for this antsy group, so I gave it another shot. The kids seemed interested in it, and I did my best to help them understand that the "window music" was the scenery going by outside the rain.

Rhyme: Here is the Engine
This is a decent fingerplay, and a great alternative to songs when you don't want to sing the entire story time.

Book: The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom
I opted for this book over School Bus by Donald Crews because I hoped the interactive element might engage the kids a bit more (and I already had a . Some of the kids did answer me when I asked if each vehicle was a bus, but most were a bit young for that. 

Song: The Wheels on the Bus
This song brought down the house, partly because I haven't been using it.

Book: Harbor by Donald Crews
I found this Donald Crews gem in the non-fiction section and decided to try it out instead of Sail Away. I think I'd go back to Sail Away next time, but this was a nice opportunity to introduce some new vocabulary, and a couple of the preschool boys crept up to the front of the room to get a closer look at the pictures.

Song: Sailing Out to Sea in My Number One Sailboat
This song bombed because the kids didn't know their numbers. Most of the time, two- and three-year-olds eagerly shout out the numbers with me, but this was a younger crowd than normal.

Book: I Love Planes by Philemon Sturges
This went over well, probably because it wasn't very wordy and it had some rhyming. I like the moment near the end when it is revealed that the boy's mother is in space.

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Mr. Sun

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

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.

In the Trees Drop-In Story Time, 8/30/13

 In the Trees Drop-In Story Time, 8/30/13

This story time was fun to set up. I drew four trees on the whiteboard then placed a clipart image on each one to indicate what type of tree it was. I introduced each tree with a song, then read a book to go along with each one.

Song with Ukulele: Here We Go 'Round the Apple Tree
We sang four verses of this song, which goes like this:

Here we go round  the apple tree, the apple tree, the apple tree
Here we go round the apple tree gathering the apples!

We gathered leaves from the maple tree and acorns from the big oak tree.

Book: The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
I was disappointed by how little they paid attention to books in general, in this session. This book had almost everyone's attention, but it kind of unraveled from there.

Rhyme: Way Up High in the Apple Tree
The kids got really into this, and some of them seemed to remember the words!

Book: The Red Lemon by Bob Staake
I chose this book because it rhymed, and made the conscious decision to cut out a lot of the text on the red page because I thought the group would be antsy. Unfortunately, even the shortened version didn't really seem to grab anyone this morning. 

Rhyme: Lemons in the Bowl
This was a new rhyme and I really liked how it went over. It might have gone on a little long for the babies, but the bigger kids were with me right to the end.

Book: Red Leaf Yellow Leaf  by Lois Ehlert
I am hereby retiring all Lois Ehlert books from story time. I don't like them, and the kids don't seem to "get" her illustrations.

Song: The Trees Are Growing Tall
The kids were great at showing me how tall their trees could grow, and touching their toes when it was time to sing about roots.

Book: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
I tried to get the grown-ups to join me on the refrain of this book, and to make all the animal sounds, but they pretty much just tuned me out.

Song: Brown Squirrel, Brown Squirrel
We pretended to be brown squirrels, then gray squirrels.

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 

Song with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

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.

Baa Buzz Moo Cluck Drop-In Story Time, 8/23/13

 Baa Buzz Moo Cluck Drop-In Story Time, 8/23/13

(There are no books in this picture because I forgot to photograph them before story time, and all of them were checked out instantly after story time was over!)

For my last few story times, I am stepping things up a little bit. It seems that adults are more engaged and less likely to visit with each other when the actual presentation of story time is more elaborate. So, though I have been using mainly tried and true books and songs, and very few props, I have been taking extra time to turn the white board into a mini-display for each session. This week, I decided to focus on animals, and after finding the Have You Any? song mentioned below, I built the entire story time around the four animals named in that song. I put a picture of each animal on the board, along with its verse from the song and used the images as a guideline for moving through story time, pausing now and then to ask the kids to name the next animal or tell me what sound it makes. To my great surprise, at the end of story time, several adults came up to take a picture of the whiteboard, as though it were a museum exhibit! I have at least one more story time planned for this coming Friday that follows this same format - we'll see how long the novelty lasts.

Song: When Sheep Get Up in the Morning 
Traditionally, I sing this with puppets, but we did it with the ukulele since that seems to get everybody excited about story time. This is actually not difficult to play on the ukulele, as I realized when I quickly learned the chords in five minutes, and I think I might prefer to do it this way from now on.

Book: No Sleep for the Sheep by Karen Beaumont
I had so much fun reading this rhythmic book aloud, but no one else was into it. My reading was fine, so I didn't think it was that. It might just be that  they weren't in the mood for animal sounds.

Song with Stick Puppets: Mary Had a Little Lamb
I used my different-colored lamb flannel board pieces  and held them up one at a time for the kids to call out their colors. Then we sang about Mary's lambs, who were white as snow, red as a rose, blue as the sky, and black as night.

Book: From Flower to Honey by Robin Nelson
I was surprised that the kids seemed into this, as it is non-fiction and the illustrations are photos. I read only the first bolded sentence on each page because the group was pretty young and fidgety, but they were with me the entire time.

Song with Puppet: Buzzing Buzzing Bumblebee

Book: Cows Going Past by Bruce Balan
This book seemed like a better story time book when I first discovered it. As I was reading it, I realized this might be more of an easy reader. The kids were not into it at all, which was a disappointment, but there might be ways to make it more interactive and therefore more interesting. I'll have to look at it more carefully - but it was checked out after story time, so it will be a while before I get to that!

Song: Have You Any? 
This is the song that inspired the story time, and I played this on the ukulele as well. The adults happily sang along using the lyrics on the whiteboard. 

Book: Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting
We read this book as a call and response, and that worked very well. I'd do this again, especially as the last book in a  session. 

Song: Hands Up High 

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.

Four Seasons Drop-In Story Time, 8/9/13

Four Seasons Drop-In Story Time, 8/9/13

I thought last week's successful drop-in story time may have been a fluke, but I decided to assume it wasn't and went ahead and planned another in a similar format. This  time, I focused on the four seasons. Instead of trying to make everyone look at our one tiny flannel board, I used the entire whiteboard to introduce the theme. I put up clipart images representing each of the four seasons (which I found free on this website) then wrote the verses to a seasons song by Meish Goldish (which I found here) so the adults, at least, could read them. 

Song with ukulele: Seasons of the Year
To kick things off, we sang the song that was written on the board. Most of the adults at least tried to sing along, though I think may have played just a bit too fast. In any case, the song got everyone's attention and introduced the overall story time plan.

Book: Summer is Summer by Phillis and David Gershator, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
The text of this book is more like a poem than a story, but they did pretty well sticking with it. I wished that the adults would have picked up on the refrain and repeated it with me, but it was enough for me that they didn't carry on their own conversations while I was reading.

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 

Book: Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes
This is the book they paid the least attention to, possibly because of the smaller illustrations.

Song: Brown Squirrel

Book: Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara
I have used this book with better results in the past, but some of the kids were really glued to it and it got a lot of applause at the end. 

Song: Five Little Snowmen Riding on the Sled 
I had something else planned, but remembered this song at the last minute and used it instead. 

Book: My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell
They seemed to like this book, though the kids were getting restless by this point. I was glad to follow the story with an old favorite song. 

Song: Chickadee

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

I truly think these past two drop-in story times have gone so well because I have put my foot down about the purpose of story time. It's about books. I have taken away a lot of the puppets and flannel boards and focused more on books, and I think that has minimized everyone's distractions - both kids' and adults'.  I am also more engaged with the material now that I have tried a new structure. I think I was tired of repeating the same old things, and maybe me weariness was rubbing off on the nannies. I'll be off next Friday, but I'm looking forward to trying another new idea in a couple of weeks!

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.

Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain Drop-In Story Time, 8/2/13

 Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain Drop-In Story Time, 8/2/13

This story time has been a source of frustration for the past few weeks, because the adults have been so rude and difficult. In the past, what has sometimes worked is to change the format and structure of the story time so they can't anticipate what comes next and therefore can't figure out when it might be okay for them to talk. (They seem to have the idea that it's okay to talk during books, but they will sing songs. If I'm playing the ukulele, they will be quiet, but if I have a puppet, they talk. It's weird.)

This morning, I ditched the usual themed story time, and instead did something a bit different to change things up and hopefully get us out of our rut.  On the flannel board, I put up four items - a sun, a moon, a sky full of stars, and a raindrop - and as we read books and did activities for each one, I removed that flannel board piece. ("Sun, moon, stars, rain" is a line from "anyone lived in a pretty how town" by e.e. cummings, if you're thinking it sounds familiar.) I was a bit concerned that four books would be pushing it, but it wasn't at all, and this turned out to be one of the all-time best large-group story times I have ever done.

Book: The Sun is My Favorite Star by Frank Asch
I made sure to read this book with a very excited tone, and to stop and point out interesting tidbits in the pictures. I expected to have to scold them for talking, but to my great surprise, no one was saying a word! This book even got applause at the end!

Song with Sun Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song with Ukulele: You Are My Sunshine
I really like playing this song on the ukulele, and it tends to calm the whole room. Some of the kids even started to sing along! 

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson
I find it helps to narrate a little bit of what is happening in the pictures between lines of the poem. This was the book I was most nervous about, but keeping a conversational tone helped the kids get into it, I think.

Song with Ukulele: Aikendrum
There was one adorable little boy in the back of the room who spontaneously started to clap during this song, which made my entire morning!

Book: I Like Stars by Margaret Wise Brown
They started to lose it around this time, but I brought them back by asking the group to tell me what color the different stars were on each page. Unfortunately, a couple of little boys right in front took this as an invitation to yell every line of the book back at me, so we kind of rushed through this one and quickly went into the next song.

Song: Stars Shining Bright

Book: Rain by Robert Kalan
This was a good, simple book to end with. The rainbow caught everyone by surprise and caused spontaneous applause. 

Song: I Like to see the Raindrops Fall
The kids always like this song, and most of the motions are easy enough for even a lot of the babies to do.

Some of the success of today's story time is owed to the fact that people are out of town and some of the problem nannies were not there,  but I think there is also something important about keeping books as the central focus. It might seem foolish to read four books in a session when they often don't allow me to get through two, but I actually think showing them that story time is mainly about stories, and is not just a sing-along with an occasional book does command greater respect from the audience. We'll see if a similar approach works next week!


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.

Imagination Drop-In Story Time, 7/26/13

 

Imagination (Fantasy) Drop-In Story Time, 7/26/13

My manager addressed the group at the start of story time asking them to please be quiet during my presentation. They managed to keep themselves under control for both books, but once I brought out the ukulele, they pretty much lost focus. 

Book: King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood and Don Wood
This is probably the book I read aloud  the best in my entire repertoire. The kids like the repetition and the illustrations. I love imagining the king's silly, jovial voice.

Flannel Board: Royal Crowns
We sang the usual "The king wore his orange crown all day long" then repeated the song with a slightly different twist as the figures left the board:

The king took off his orange crown, orange crown, orange crown
The king took off his orange crown and went to sleep.

I asked the kids to help me name the colors and to help name the people (king, queen, princess, and prince) as we removed them.

Rhyme: Fierce is the Dragon

Book: The Foggy Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt
We had a good number of preschoolers at this story time, and they were eager to guess what each shadow represented. One little girl guessed the witch correctly. The ogre doing yoga usually gets a bigger reaction, but this is a tough crowd.

Rhyme: One is a Giant  

Songs with Ukulele: 

• Fairy Dance
  This was the best of the songs we did today. I probably could have played all six verses I came up with several more times, except that I got sick of it after a while.
• Do You Know the Muffin Man?
  For future reference, this group does not know the muffin man.
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• You Are My Sunshine
• ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

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.

My Body (My Hands) Drop-In Story Time, 7/19/13

My Body (My Hands) Drop-In Story Time, 7/19/13

Book: Hands! by Virginia Kroll
This book is an ideal read-aloud, because the text is tiny, but the illustrations are large and bold and easily seen from a distance. I used the illustrations to generate interest in each page, and asked them to do motions (shaking hands, clapping, etc.) where appropriate to keep them interested. It worked really well, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the book much more than I would have guessed.

Song: Hands Up High
I am convinced we could do this song fifty consecutive times and they'd still love it. This one really is a magic weapon.

Book: Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambeault
As with the first story, I again made this one interactive, asking them to point to each part of the body as we read. It wasn't as successful with this book, but thankfully, this one was shorter!

Rhyme: Dance Your Fingers
I like how excited the kids get during this  rhyme, waiting to see what the next movement is.

Ukulele Sing-Along: 
I decided to skip the magic envelope  today, as people have been telling me all week how much they want to hear more ukulele. (Some people actually left my colleague's story time on Tuesday because there was no ukulele, which is supposedly a compliment to me, but actually seems kind of rude.) I decided since it's so hot and we're all so restless, a sing-along was probably the most productive use of our time anyway, so we sang a bunch of songs with the ukulele right in a row.

• Itsy Bitsy Spider
• You Are My Sunshine
• Aikendrum
• ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big 
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.

Wild for Animals! Drop-In Story Time, 7/12/13

 Wild for Animals! Drop-In Story Time, 7/12/13

Book: Kitty's Cuddles by Jane Cabrera
This book has traditionally  been well-received, and it was fairly well-received today. A little girl in the front row was in one of my Pre-K classes this past school year, and she kept jumping up in front and calling things out, as we often had lots of discussion during read-alouds in her class. It's too bad there weren't a few more kids her age to keep that vibe going. As it was, most of the other kids seemed uncomfortable with her outbursts.

Rhyme with Puppets: Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Where Have You Been?
This was a last-minute addition, but it went over so well! This version of the nursery rhyme sends the cat to the zoo where she sees a monkey, so I kept a monkey puppet hidden behind my back as I interviewed my cat puppet. Then I took the puppets off and showed the kids how to do the entire thing with just their bare hands. Huge success! 

Book: I Love Animals by Flora McDonnell
This book is pretty basic, and I chose it for that reason, as my audiences haven't been the most attentive lately. They weren't that into it, but they were quiet.

Song: Old MacDonald

Book: Are You a Cow? by Sandra Boynton
I knew there was a chance I'd ask the kids questions from this book and they wouldn't answer, and that is exactly what happened. So I just kept saying "noooo" and shaking my head in the silliest way possible. 

Magic Envelope: Cowboy 
We put a hat, boots, spurs, lasso, and horse in the envelope and pulled out a cowboy.

Rhyme: Cowboys All Dressed
I had a small daycare or preschool class, and they liked this rhyme, so we did it twice so they could learn it a little better. 

Song: Hands Up High 

Ukulele Medley: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Mr. Sun

Song: Chickadee
We haven't done this song in so long, mostly because the last few times it didn't go over so well. This time, it was great, and a lot of the kids actually sang along!


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.

Wild for Animals! Drop-In Story Time, 7/9/13

Wild for Animals! Drop-In Story Time, 7/9/13 

Book: Bark George by Jules Feiffer
Usually, this book holds everyone's attention so well, none of the adults would even dream of talking over me as I read it. Not so this morning. I could barely hear myself, and if not for the few adults in the front who were laughing, I might have assumed no one was listening.

Song with Puppets: When Cows Get Up in the Morning
This song always works well. Though the tune is not familiar, the adults pick up on it fairly quickly and the kids love making the animal sounds.

Book: Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
This is another book I specifically chose because it never fails, and it pretty much failed. The kids were happily calling out the names of the animals but I could barely hear them over their chatty adults.

Flannel Board Song with Ukulele: We’re On Our Way to See the Zoo (thanks, Mel!)
I decided at the last minute to play this on the ukulele (the tune is Grandpa's Farm) and I'm glad I did, because this was the only part of the story time that held everyone's attention.  We sang about a polar bear who growled, a lion who roared, a zebra who brayed, a snake who hissed, and a leopard who snarled. All the animal sounds came from Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Book: Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek
I should not have done a third book. The flannel board  was such a  success, and I thought I could go for it, but I knew halfway through the story it was a mistake. I considered scrapping it, but a handful of older preschoolers were really into it, so I made it to the end for their sakes.

Magic Envelope: Pig
The magic envelope portion of story time was rushed today, and I wish I had been able to slow down some more and linger over my discussion of each piece. As it was, I felt like I had to talk quickly to get everything in before they got noisy again. We used a pink crayon, snout, curly tail, mud, and an "oink oink" speech bubble to create a pig. 

Flannel Board Song: P-I-G-G-Y
We did this the exact same way we did B-I-N-G-O last month. 

Ukulele Medley: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep
Somehow, story time was running long by this point, and we only had time left for the usual goodbye routine. It went by so fast! 


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.

Play Time!: Drop-In Story Time, 7/5/13

 Play Time!: Drop-In Story Time, 7/5/13 

I was really looking forward to this theme, but after three days off, and with such a small group this morning, I felt really shaky about the story time itself. I think I performed the same as I always do, and the kids were more engaged than normal because there weren't as many climbing all over  each other trying to see, but the parents came instead of the nannies and they did not participate, or seem that impressed with me. It was just a weird feeling. But the kids seemed to have fun, and lots of them came up to see me afterward!

Book: Mahjong All Day Long by Ginnie Lo
This is not a book I would have read to a huge group, but since there were only about 45 kids in the room, I gave it a try. The kids seemed puzzled by the book, but also curious.

Flannel Board: Play With Me!
This flannel board was based on a poem I found in Highlights High Five magazine. The kids got really into naming the animals, but everyone seemed confused by my delivery of the ending. I'll have to think some more about how to improve it.

Book: This is Baseball by Margaret Blackstone
This book was too basic and I could have read something longer.

Song: Baseball Player 
The kids loved this one, as always!

Book: Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka
I like this book and I thought it was a good one for some of the bigger kids who might be learning to ride two-wheelers. It got a lukewarm response, but this was also just a lukewarm group.

Magic Envelope: Sandcastle
I'm starting to run out of magic envelope ideas, but this was a good one suggested by Kathryn in the Flannel Friday Facebook group. The kids helped me by calling out the names of everything, and this portion of story time got the most applause.

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep 

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Rhyme: Five Little Monkeys
I was losing my singing voice by this point, so we chanted about the monkeys. They didn't like it as much as when we sing it.

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers

As hectic as it is, I'll be glad to see the big crowds again next week. I feel weird when the groups are small and silent. 

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.

My Community: Drop-In Story Time, 6/28/13

My Community: Drop-In Story Time, 6/28/13

Flannel Board Song: Who are the People in your Neighborhood?

Book: Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook
I think this book works whether kids can guess or not, and in a way, it seems to follow the same concept as the magic envelope - using clues to add up to a bigger picture. I like the way the illustrations tell a secondary story, where the mail carrier delivers an invitation to each community helper, and in the end, they have a party to celebrate the astronaut's launch into space.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus
When in doubt, sing The Wheels on the Bus and end with a verse that shushes grown-ups.

Book: Look What I See! Where Can I Be? In the Neighborhood by Dia L. Michels
I have always loved this book, and I think some of the kids enjoyed it, though the room was somewhat chaotic and it was hard to tell. 

Song: Bumpin’ Up and Down in My Little Red Wagon

Magic Envelope: Firetruck
I forgot to sing hello to the magic envelope, and I actually think that might have worked out for the better. I felt like  the adults paid better attention without the song, but that could have been for any number of reasons, I suppose. In any case, the kids seemed interested in what was happening, and they were pleased when the firetruck emerged. 

Song: Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck
I asked all the kids to help me drive the firetruck and they did a great job singing and moving along with me.

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song: Hands Up High

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.

Dig Into Reading (Gardening): Drop-In Story Time, 6/21/13

 

Dig Into Reading (Gardening): Drop-In Story Time, 6/21/13

We had a bit of a difficult morning, because two nannies in a row complained to me on their way into story time that the other adults are too noisy so they can't hear me when I'm reading. So I did try to crack down a bit more on the chattiness during the first book, only to find one of those self-same nannies talking to her neighbor not five minutes later. Honestly, I think I do a good job of keeping the chaos to a minimum in a room of 100 toddlers, and it annoys me when someone acts like I'm not trying. But aside from the somewhat contentious start, this story time was perfectly fine, and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun.

Book: This is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer and Donald Crews
This book is always a crapshoot. Today was one of its better days, even though I did have to stop twice to ask the adults to stop talking.

Flannel Board Song: My May Garden
I put the sun, rain, and seed up on the flannel board and also showed the kids some motions to do for the sun shining, the rain dripping, and the seed growing. They did so well, we did it twice.

Book: Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
I have always liked this book, and the kids seemed mostly into it. I might even think about using it again in this afternoon's toddler session instead of What Does Bunny See?

Song: So Many Plants (based on Stars Shining Bright)
So many plants growing in the ground!
Tell me what color plant I found.

I neglected to come up with a suitable verse to sing after the color had been identified, so we sang: 

Red plant grow! Red plant grow! 
Red plant grow in the deep, deep ground.

That's pretty awful. I will come up with something else before I use this again. The kids did like identifying the different colors, though, and the only tricky ones for them were orange and yellow.

Book: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
This book is another one that can sometimes flop, but not today! I saw a couple of moms who even seemed to be enjoying it.

Song: Sunny Day
Part of me just wanted to keep doing this song over and over, because it has such a calming effect on the whole room - adults and kids. But we just did it three times.

Magic Envelope: Bird
Today, we had a bird come out of  the magic envelope. We put in feathers, wings, a nest, a beak, and a "tweet tweet!" sound. The kids couldn't quite name the objects  this time, but I don't think that's a problem, as it gave them some exposure to some new vocabulary. The nannies also actually helped me name the objects the kids didn't know, which made it feel more like a group effort.

Song: Way Up in the Sky
I feel like the "big reveal" in the magic envelope has been pretty anti-climactic, and that there hasn't been a real sense of what we're doing with the final product once it comes out of the envelope. This time, the item that came out of the envelope - the bird - was actually a flannel board piece, so I was able to put it on the board and we sang this bird-related song. After  the song, we put the bird away and sang goodbye to the envelope. It wasn't perfect, but it's getting closer to working the way I want it to.

Songs with Ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Hands Up High 

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: The More We Read Together 
I have to start out this song higher because I'm hitting the low notes at a point lower than my singing range, and I don't think everyone can hear me.  They also don't listen when I talk, so half  the room thought we were singing The More We Get Together.


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.

Dig Into Reading (Mud): Drop-In Story Time, 6/14/13

 Dig Into Reading (Mud): Drop-In Story Time, 6/14/13

What an amazing story time! It was a huuuge group, but a lot of nannies I haven't seen all year are back for the summer, as well as a lot of preschoolers who are in that in-between stage after school lets out and before summer camp begins. I can't remember the last time an audience sat quietly for books and actually seemed to enjoy them, and this was, by far, the best reception I have had for the magic envelope. I hope this is a sign of pleasant Friday mornings all summer long! 

Book: Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car by John Burningham
Since the group was so interested in this book and the adults were so well-behaved, I was able to really get into reading it with a lot of expression and  a lot of dramatic pauses. I can always tell when I'm performing a book well, and this was probably one of my top ten read-alouds ever.

Song: I Like to See the Raindrops Fall
I added a verse to this song to make it more suitable for the mud theme.


I like to feel the squishy mud, 
the squishy mud, the squishy mud. 
I like to feel the squishy mud 
on a stormy day.

Book: One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root
I wish I had remembered to ask everyone to quack at the end of each page. That's a tip I picked up from Saroj Ghoting and have used in the past, but I was so shocked by how well things were going, I basically just forgot. 

Song: Pigs in the Mud
This is not my favorite song, but it has simple motions that I find most of the kids pick up pretty quickly. They really got into it, and the adults actually seemed to think the song was cute.

Magic Envelope: Dog
I think it was hugely helpful that all the kids know what a dog is. Sometimes I think they might not know what to expect from the magic envelope even when I tell them what is supposed to come out, but this time, there was excitement all around. We put a collar, a dish, a leash, a doghouse, a bone, and "woof woof!" inside the envelope and pulled out... Bingo the dog!

Flannel Board Song: BINGO
I used yellow letters to spell BINGO then changed them to purple one by one. We clapped the purple letters and sang the yellow ones. It was definitely the best performance of BINGO we have ever had.

Ukulele Medley: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song: The Wheels on the Bus


Song: If You're Happy and You Know It


Song: The More We Read Together
I have decided to definitely keep using this at the end of the story time, but possibly not in place of If You're Happy. I know it might not make a difference, but ending on a reading-related note makes me feel like I'm doing more of my part to remind the adults that story time is as much about reading as it is about singing, etc.


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.

Dig Into Reading (Beach): Drop-In Story Time, 6/11/13

Dig Into Reading (Beach): Drop-In Story Time, 6/11/13 

Book: To the Beach by Thomas Docherty
I kicked off the summer with this book two years ago, and it was a huge hit. It's a real eye-opener to  realize how much my crowds have changed in that time, because these people were totally non-responsive. I actually had to silence them before the story even started, as the fact that I was about to read a book provided no indication for them that it wasn't time to chat with their neighbors. (I think the kids liked the book, but the adults made it hard for them to hear me.)

Flannel Board Song: What Can We See (At the Beach)?
I was going to use "We're Going to the Beach" which is sung to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell, but I changed my mind at the last second and came up with a song to the tune of  Are You Sleeping?

What can we see? What can we see?
At the beach?  At the beach?
We might see a seashell. We might see a seashell.
At the beach. At the beach.

Short, sweet, simple, and successful. 

Book: All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle
I really thought I could include one longer book, but no one was listening. I thought about cutting it short, but I knew it wouldn't make a difference what I did. These adults don't think reading books aloud is worth listening to. Period. Some of the kids were into it, at least. And they did clap for the final page where it is revealed that "you" are all that is needed for a beach.

Flannel Board Rhyme: Five Pretty Sandcastles
This went over better today than the last time I used it. The kids right up front, who were mostly three, were the most interested, but everyone looked like they were watching the board the whole time, even though the ending of the rhyme didn't seem to make sense to them.  (Again, two years ago, this exact same flannel board got cheers from the nannies. Go figure.)

Book: Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Rotner
I didn't necessarily intend to use this book, but I had it and another choice on hand, and went with this one because I thought the pictures were more engaging. 

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Magic Envelope: Ice Cream Sundae
We used photos of a dish, a scoop of ice cream, a container of hot fudge, a can of whipped cream, and a cherry to make an ice cream sundae. The kids were attentive, but not amazed when the sundae came out of the envelope. Still, there is something about this idea - talking directly to the kids, asking them questions, introducing new vocabulary - that really works. I initially worried that the "magic" would get old, or that the kids would figure it out and no longer be interested in seeing what comes out of the envelope. That has not been the case at all. The true "magic" of the envelope is how the kids tune into me talking to them and call out answers to questions where they would otherwise sit mutely and watch me. I'm liking what this is doing for my story time, even if the kids don't believe I have magic powers!

Ukulele Medley: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Song: Hands Up High

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: The More We Read Together 
I might decide to replace If You're Happy with this song for the summer. This was an experiment, and I'll try it once more on Friday before I decide.

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.

Dig Into Reading: Drop-In Story Time, 6/4/13

 Dig Into Reading: Drop-In Story Time, 6/4/13

Summer has begun! This was my first story time of the summer reading program, which means it was a bit on the crazy side. This group was not the largest we've had, but they were very, very noisy, and rude, through the entire story time. On the plus side, though, we were able to sign up about 50 of the kids for summer reading, with more to come on Friday.

Book: Underground by Denise Fleming
My groups typically like Denise Fleming, and one enthusiastic little girl in the front was eagerly repeating each word I read right after I said it. The rest of the room basically acted like I wasn't there, though, which was really annoying.

Flannel Board: Worm Friends (Credit for this adorable idea goes to K from Storytime ABCs. Thanks, K!)
One mom continually sits right up front with her little girl, who then has a need to touch everything. None of the other kids could see the flannel board worms because she kept taking them off. Somehow, though, we managed to make it  to the end of  the rhyme.

Book: Potato Joe by Keith Baker
This is one of my favorite books, which I have never been able to really sell at a story time. I crack up every time Watermelon Moe comes on the scene, but I am always laughing alone.

Song: Hands Up High 

Book: Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Haskins Houran
This book got the best response, but even through this one, two women in the front just talked and talked despite repeated pointed glances from me.  The kids got into the rhythm of the text and I heard some of them  trying to chant it with me.

Song with ukulele: Stomp Like a Dinosaur (based on Fly Like a Butterfly)

Magic Envelope: Build a Library

• Ingredients:
• Book
• Computer
• DVD
• Librarian (There's also a male librarian image here.)
• Story Time

Learn about magic envelopes on Sharon's blog.

Song with Underground Animals: I’m Going Down to the Library
We sang about a worm, rabbit, groundhog, chipmunk, and ant going to the library.

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

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.

Colors: Blue Drop-In Story Time, 5/31/13

 Colors: Blue Drop-In Story Time, 5/31/13

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

Book: Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff
This book is long and the text is somewhat poetic, which can cause it to be a flop. This group was pretty interested, though, and I think it helped that this was the only long book.

Flannel Board Song with Ukulele: Bluebird, Bluebird Through my Window
We sang about each color twice, because I had two birds of each color.

Book: Blue Sky by Audrey Wood
This book has never done well in story time, but today it hit the right notes with this particular group. They oohed and aahed over the illustrations and generally seemed to enjoy it. What might have helped is that  I kept my pace slow and let myself linger over each page a little bit.

Song with Puppet: Flutter Flutter Butterfly
This song is the only song I know that brings complete and utter quiet to the entire room. I think it must be the puppet that just mesmerizes them - but adults and kids alike act like they're under a spell while I'm singing this song. 

Book: Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
I need to remember that this book doesn't work. It just doesn't. The plot of the story is not clear, and the kids get distracted easily. Next time I do this theme, I do not want to use this book.

Magic Envelope: Little Boy Blue

We recited the Little Boy Blue nursery rhyme, then made Little Boy Blue in the magic envelope using a horn, a cow, a sheep, a haystack, and corn. Not all the kids understand fully what is happening when we do a magic envelope, but they are really into it nonetheless. I also notice that he adults are more attentive to this part of story time than to any other. 

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun 

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Hands Up High


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.

Colors: Brown Drop-In Story Time, 5/28/13

Colors: Brown Drop-In Story Time, 5/28/13

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake

Book: Moo Moo Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk? by Phyllis Gershator, illustrated by Giselle Potter

Rhyme with Puppets: I Went to Visit the Farm

Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle

Song: Where is Brown Bear?
I wrote a piggyback song on my way into story time, to the tune of Where is Thumbkin? I sang about a different animal from the book for each finger - brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, green frog, and white dog - and we ended with "Where are the animals?" It was the perfect song to follow the book, and I think it would be fun to make a flannel board of it, too, perhaps with all the animals from the book, not just these five.

Magic Envelope:  Make a Painting
I originally learned about Magic Envelope from Sharon at Rain Makes Applesauce, but it took me a long time to work up to trying it. But I'm tired of doing a letter of the day every session, so I've decided to try using magic envelopes instead. This is how I presented my first one:

First, I made an announcement: "I brought something new and different to story time this morning. It's my magic envelope! My magic envelope helps me make things at story time. Today, we're going to use the magic envelope to make a painting. But this is my very first time using the magic envelope, so I need everyone to listen and help me out!"

Then we sang what I called the "Magic Envelope Song," to the tune of London Bridge.

Here's my magic envelope, envelope, envelope
Here's my magic envelope - let's do magic!

I reminded them we'd be making a painting, then started showing them the ingredients. I told them that for the magic to work, we all have to say the name of each item together. So I would say "piece of paper" and ask them to repeat after me. We put in a piece of paper, a paintbrush, a glass of water, and four different kinds of paint - red, blue, green, and yellow. 

After all the ingredients were in the envelope, I asked everyone to help me sing the magic words:

ABCDEFG
Abracadabra
1...2...3...!

Then I said, "Let's see! Did we make a painting?"

I reached into my envelope and pulled it out. Half the room erupted into spontaneous applause, but I just went on talking.

"Wow, look at that! We did it! And let's see what it's a painting of. Oh, flowers. Here's what used to be the plain piece of paper, and look, the red paint made the petals, the green paint made the stem, and the blue paint made the pot. Give yourselves a hand - you are great magicians!"

Then we sang goodbye  to the magic envelope.

Goodbye, magic envelope, envelope, envelope
Goodbye, magic envelope - see you next time!

I was not overwhelmingly impressed with the nannies' response to the magic envelope, but those who were into it were really into it, which was nice. The kids' ages varied, so not all of  them got what was going on, but they were all very attentive, and involving them by having them repeat the name of each object, and by helping me name the colors was hugely helpful for keeping their attention as well.

Songs: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song: Hands Up High

Song with Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

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.

ABCs: L is for Library Drop-In Story Time, 5/17/13

 ABCs: L is for Library Drop-In Story Time, 5/17/13

Book: Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
This was a big hit - to the point that a nanny came up and snatched it before story time was over so she could check it out. Since books don't often get checked out after my story times, this was exciting - even if it was also rude.

Song: Llamas on the Bed
Just like monkeys on the bed - but with llamas! I don't do a lot of piggybacking with this song, because it works so well on its own, but I think it's fun to change things up every once in a while to match a book. The kids responded very well to the change, and sang along - some of them very loudly and with great enthusiasm!

Book: I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel
Ordinarily I look to use this book with Pre-K kids to practice retelling a story - which we do with the song that follows. It's just short enough, though, that this mixed age group could appreciate it, too.

Song: I'm Going Down to the Library
Lark, lamb, lion, lizard and leopard all went to the library! Everyone sang along - it was amazing!

Letter of the Day: L 

• Rhyme: Blue is the Lake
• Rhyme with Puppet:  Ladybug, Ladybug
  This rhyme works really well when you ask the kids to make ladybug legs with their fingers and land  their ladybugs on their own arms, heads, knees, etc.
• Flannel Board Song: Mary Had Some Little Lambs
  Mary had a white lamb, a red lamb, a blue lamb, a green lamb, and a black lamb.One little boy in the front row loved this song and sang it at the top of his lungs!

Songs with ukulele: ABCs / Twinkle Twinkle Little Star / Baa Baa Black Sheep

Song with ukulele: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Mr. Sun 
Mr. Sun is now a required presence at story time - all the kids give him high fives at the end! 

Song: Hands Up High

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.