Dig Into Reading (Construction): Pajama Story Time, 6/12/13

Dig Into Reading (Construction): Pajama Story Time, 6/12/13

Book: Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherry Rinker
This is a long book, and some of the smaller kids were a bit restless listening to it, but most of the kids were around three and they loved it!

Rhyme: Building a Skyscraper
This was a brand-new rhyme, so we went over the motions ahead of  time, then did it twice together. The kids really seemed to like it, and all the grown-ups eagerly joined in, too!

Book: Hush Little Digger by Ellen Olsen-Brown
This is an adorable take-off on Hush Little Baby, and it was the favorite book of the session. A little boy who loves trucks was the lucky one who got to take it home with him!

Flannel Board Rhyme: Goodnight, Builders
Five little builders working at a site
The moon comes up as the day turns to night
One little worker lets out a big yawn.
And he/she goes home to sleep until dawn. 

I wrote this rhyme in the ten minutes before story time and made up the actions on the spot. The kids LOVED it and were quick to learn all the words. I'm going to use this again several times in the near future!

Book: Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by Brianna Sayres
The kids were the most talkative during this book, pointing out lots of great details in the illustrations. I have a hard time reading aloud when a book is written entirely in questions, but I think I did okay without allowing my voice to inch progressively higher on each page.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Goodnight
In keeping with our theme, we sang to a hammer, a saw, and a truck.


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 (Dinosaurs): Pajama Story Time, 6/5/13

Dig Into Reading (Dinosaurs): Pajama Story Time, 6/5/13

Book: Dinosaur, Dinosaur by Kevin Lewis, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
This book has a reference to saying prayers near the very end of the story. I didn't realize it when I skimmed it before story time, and it wasn't a problem for anyone in my group, I don't think, but depending on your story time crowd, it might be a good idea to consider that page a bit before reading this book. Overall, this was a hit, though, and the only book to be checked out at the end of the session.

Flannel Board Rhyme: Five Enormous Dinosaurs
I made this flannel board probably two years ago, and I rarely use it, so it was nice to have a specific reason to bring it out again. The kids helped me out by stomping their feet as each dinosaur stomped away, and they were great about counting, too.

Book: Count-a-saurus by Nancy Blumenthal
We worked a few real dinosaur names into story time with this book. Some parts gave the grandma in the front row the giggles, which was cute, and the kids seemed into it.

Song: Stomp Like a Dinosaur (based on Fly Like a Butterfly)
This was the best part of the whole story time. The kids loved pretending to be dinosaurs!

Book: Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
I find this book kind of difficult to read aloud, but I did the best job with it tonight that I have ever done. The kids seemed puzzled, but the same grandma who laughed during Count-a-saurus laughed even harder during this book.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: ABCs 

Book: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
I think a lot of the little ones knew this book already, but they seemed to enjoy hearing it again.

Song: Moon Moon Moon
 
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: Black & White Pajama Story Time, 5/22/13

Colors: Black & White Pajama Story Time, 5/22/13 

*Because of my allergies, which stole my voice, this turned out to be my only story time this week. The colors theme will pick up where it left off next week!

Book: Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
This was a hit with the grandparents who came to story time, and the kids liked it, too. The older the child, the more he/she seemed to like it.

Song with Stick Puppets: Baa Baa Black Sheep
The kids got the biggest kick out of it when I changed the color of my sheep from black to white, then to red, and then to blue.

Book: Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek
This is the perfect story time book for kids up to about age 4. It has a simple, but exciting plot, and a happy ending that is sweet without being too sugary. This was a new one for me, but I'll definitely use it again!

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Hands Up High
I normally have the kids stand up for this one, but since it was a low-key evening story time, we stayed seated and that worked fine.

Book: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
This book was the only one to get checked out at the end of story time. I wasn't at all crazy about it when it won the Caldecott, but I have to admit it has grown on me the more I have read it to kids.

Song: Moon Moon Moon 
The kids really giggled at the ending of this song, and they don't always, so that was a treat for me!

Book: The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
This was a nice calm book, and it started winding things down for us. The kids didn't react to it much, but they seemed to like the pictures.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Monkeys on the Bed
You can never go wrong with this song. Never ever. 

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to black and white animals - a zebra, a cow, and a cat.

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. (We skipped If You're Happy and You Know It at this story time because I was losing my voice!)

Concepts: ABCs Pajama Story Time, 5/8/13

 

 Concepts: ABCs Pajama Story Time, 5/8/13

Book: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambeault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert
I have never clicked very well with this book, and tonight, the kids didn't either. I don't know what it is, but even when I read it in my absolute best reading voice, it tends to fall flat.

Song: ABCs

Book: LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this book lately. The rhyme scheme was good for this mostly-two-year-old group, but the concept of the book may have gone over their heads.

Flannel Board: Alphabet Soup
Thank you, Lucy at In the Children's Room, for posting this. I was looking for a simple way to use my felt letters, and this was perfect! My word was "sleepy" and thankfully, two kids in the room actually knew their ABCs!

Book: Sleepy ABC by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Karen Katz
This is not the book I wanted to use. I wanted Sleepy Little Alphabet. And I had it set aside and everything, but it disappeared! So I chose this as a replacement, even though not all of the letters actually corresponded to words that begin with those letters. (X, for example, is for all the things you can play. Ugh.)

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon

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.

Yummy in my Tummy Pajama Story Time, 4/24/13

 Yummy in my Tummy Pajama Story Time, 4/24/13

Book: Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon
I have mixed feelings about this book. The rhyming text is a bit clunky, and at times, the structure of certain lines favors the rhyme, rather than the meaning of the text. Still, the overall message about the many people involved in the process of baking a cookie, is positive, and the kids responded well to the illustrations.

Song: Bake Some Cookies
I was on the hunt for a cookie-themed song, and a colleague told me that Saroj Ghoting had a cute one. I don't know if this is  the one she was referring to, but it worked surprisingly well for being such a strange take-off on a popular song. I wouldn't have done this song with a larger group, but with this small group filled with involved parents, it was a perfect choice. 

Book: Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass and Philemon Sturges
I had forgotten how long this book drags on. I think we could have cut out three or four "verses" and been just fine, but since I didn't remember the ending, I didn't want to take out anything mid-story without knowing if it would ruin the ending. (As it turns out, I don't think it would have.) 

Flannel Board Rhyme: Down Around the Corner
I have done variations of this flannel board a few times, but this time, I changed how I manipulated the pieces. I normally put up the cookies and trade them for quarters one at a time. This time, I had the kids on the board the whole time, holding the quarters, then traded quarters for cookies, then had them "run away." It sounds complicated, but the kids were a lot more attentive to it than usual.

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
The parents always seem a little mystified by this book, because it just repeats the same thing over and over again. This group of kids really connected with it, though, and they were surprised and pleased by the ending.

Rhyme with Cow Puppet: Hey Diddle Diddle
I connected this rhyme to the book by asking the kids where milk comes from.

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Monkeys on the Bed  

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to a cow, cat, and dog. The group was larger and more active than normal, so I had to let a couple of busy toddlers hold some of the puppets in order to keep them from destroying  the room.

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.

Signs of Spring Pajama Story Time, 4/3/13

Signs of Spring Pajama Story Time, 4/3/13*image from mycutegraphics.com

I haven't done this story time in a few weeks, and we have some new kids! I was surprised by how active two of them were - we almost never have kids jumping around and dancing at this story time! These books were not the greatest choices - they would have been fine individually, but together they didn't really work. 

Book: Hurray for Spring! by Patricia Hubbell

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake 

Book: Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu
I like this quirky little story about bunnies who get muddy and dusty and lose their tails, only to have order restored each time by a knowledgeable bear.

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies

Book:  Spring Blossoms by Carole Gerber
I suspected that this book was too fact-focused with not enough  story and I was absolutely right.

Flannel Board Rhyme: My Garden 

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Book: Sleepy Places by Judy Hindley
I asked the kids "Where do you sleep?" One boy took one look at the cover of  this book and announced "In the roses!" This book would normally have gone over well, but they were an antsy bunch tonight, so we quickly read to the end.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon 

Song: Goodnight 

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 Pajama Story Time, 2/27/13

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes Pajama Story Time, 2/27/13

Only one of the regulars -  a little girl - showed up to this story time, but we were joined by another family - a preschooler girl and a toddler boy - after the third book. They were a quiet bunch, and they seemed to like the songs better than the stories, but it's hard to know for sure, since they didn't really interact very much.

Book: I am a Backhoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Book: We've All Got Bellybuttons by David Martin
This book got some nice giggles, but the little girl didn't feel like doing the movements. Her dad did them with me anyway, though! He is always a great participant.

Song: Moon Moon Moon  
This is the little girl's favorite song, and she sang all the words with me the second time through. (This is why I always repeat things - not only do the kids learn it better, but the kids who already know it need time to get warmed up.)

Book: Growing Like Me by Anne Rockwell
When I was weeding our 500s I found  this poor neglected book. I decided to keep it and start using it at story time

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Sing a Happy Song

Book: The Greatest Gymnast of All by Stuart J. Murphy
This is a book about opposites - over and under, in and out, up and down.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Five in the Bed

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Goodnight

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.

Sending You My Love Pajama Story Time, 2/13/13

  Sending You My Love Pajama Story Time, 2/13/13

 (This week's theme is Valentines and mail.)

Book: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
This story is almost too sweet, but this group loved it. They especially enjoyed reaching up to show how big their love was. 

Song: Love Somebody
Yet another song from my mom's Girl Scout repertoire. I changed the words from "Love somebody, yes I do. Love somebody and I won't tell who." to "Love my mommy yes I do. Love my mommy and she loves me, too." I stuck my family finger puppets, plus the puppy, into a brown paper bag marked love, then took them out one at a time, asking the room who has a sister, a brother, a mommy, a daddy, or a puppy. Amazingly, all four of  the kids were only children, but they loved the daddy in the tie.

Book: My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
Always a hit. One little girl in particular got a lot of giggles out of this one. 

Song: Will You Be My Valentine?

Book: Hug Time by Patrick McDonnell
This one was a tad long, but they stuck with it almost to the end. 

Song: Love Grows

Book: Panda Kisses by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon 

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to three animal finger puppets - duck, frog, and cow.


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.

1 2 3 Count with Me! Pajama Story Time, 2/6/13

 1 2 3 Count with Me! Pajama Story Time, 2/6/13

Book: Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood and Bruce Wood
One of the moms in the room is expecting a baby so the ending of this one - where the mother and father fish have their babies - got a big "aww" from her. The kids were not that into it, but they were also still warming up to me. Both girls in attendance will be two this Spring. 

Song: Three Little Fish

Book: Hardworking Puppies by Lynn Reiser
This is a longer one, with a lot of references to subtraction, so I was hesitant about using it, but both girls kept getting up to come over and point at the puppies. They were very fond of the illustrations even if I think the text went mostly over their heads.

Song: Counting Dog  
I couldn't listen to the tune when I was at the desk, so I just sang these words to the tune of Froggie Went a Courtin'. 

Book: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
This was a huge hit as I knew it would be. All the adults knew it, and the kids picked up some of the words and sang them with me when we did  the song.

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

Book: Ten Little Sleepyheads by Elizabeth Provost, illustrated by Donald Saaf
On every page, instead of finding the sleeping bug, the girls pointed to the ladybug. Interesting that he is the one who caught their attention.

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Goodnight

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.

Let's Read About Pets! Pajama Story Time, 1/30/13

 Let's Read About Pets! Pajama Story Time, 1/30/13

Book: Mr Merlin and the Turtle by Seymour Chwast
This is why I like doing themed story times - I find books I never would have known about otherwise. This is an older title, and doesn't look like much from the cover, but the kids got really excited about watching me lift the flaps and show them what Merlin turned his turtle into. It's a nice alternative to Dear Zoo, which sometimes gets old after reading it too many times.

Rhyme: There Was a Little Turtle
I've always heard this presented to kids as a song, but it works much better for me if I do it as a rhyme. So that's what we did. A little boy who normally comes to Read-Along and Preschool story time was out in the library when we started this  rhyme. By the time we finished, he was inside the door.

Book: Jack’s Rabbit by Yvonne Jagtenberg
This was the quietest of all the books, and the least engaging for a toddler, but their attention did come back to the book even they briefly got distracted.

Song: Five Little Rabbits Hopping on the Bed
I revamped Five Little Monkeys - this is the song that brought that little boy who liked the turtle rhyme all the way into the center of the room. He got a kick out of changing monkeys to rabbits.

Book: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
This book was a little over the two youngest kids' heads, but they got into making the animal sounds anyway. The parents of one of the girls loved it. The other dad didn't think it was funny! Oops!

Song: Do you know the little dog/cat?
This one is just like The Muffin Man, but instead of Drury Lane, we sang the name of our neighborhood. Then we sang that yes, we do know this dog and this cat who live here.

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and Dean Martin
This book never lets me down. It is the only one of the four that got checked out at the end of the session.

Song: Moon Moon Moon 

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to our dog and cat, and then, for  the heck of it, a frog. 

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.

Here We Go! Pajama Story Time, 1/23/13

It's been bitterly cold here this week, so only two kids came to this story time. One of their moms seemed annoyed with me that the group was so small, and when it was over, she actually said to me, "That's it?" That didn't make me feel great, but the kids were sweet and the story time itself went fine.

Here We Go! Pajama Story Time, 1/23/13

Click here to download this week's handout.

[No one showed up until 10 minutes after the story time was meant to start, so I didn't take a photo because I didn't think the program was happening.]

Book: Traffic by Betsy and Giulio Maestro
I had this book on hand in case babies and toddlers came, since it's kind of basic and has no real plot, but the mom of the first girl to show up told the little girl she could choose the book, and this is what she picked. *sigh*

Book: The Bus For Us by Suzanne Bloom
This was the favorite of the kids. They liked guessing and the older of the two girls kept saying, "Let's turn the page and find out!" which is something I frequently say during story times she attends, so it was nice to see her picking up on that.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Book: Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car by John Burningham
I think Mr. Gumpy's Outing is a more engaging story. The girls spent this entire book sprawled on the floor giggling.

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to a car, a truck, and a bus.

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.

We Love to Read! Pajama Story Time, 1/16/13

 We Love to Read! Pajama Story Time, 1/16/13

Click to download this week's handout. 

There were only three kids at this story time, but it was wonderful. All were regulars at either this or other story times, and all the grown-ups were happy to sing, clap, and participate. They also loved all of the books and there was just a nice, cozy bedtime atmosphere.

Book: Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Song: Tommy Thumb

Book: Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Two of the three kids were too young to really point out the characters in each "I Spy" picture, but they loved it when I pointed them out.

Song: Nursery Rhyme Rap
For the verses, we sang "To Market, To Market", "Little Bo Peep" and "Horsey, Horsey", and I placed images of a pig, sheep, and horse on the flannel board. 

Book: It's a Little Book by Lane Smith
The kids like the repetiton of the word "no." The adults laughed out loud, especially at the cute ending.

Song: Sing a Happy Song

Song: Goodnight
I put the sheep, pig, and horse on stick puppets and we sang goodnight to them. Halfway through, a little girl suddenly started crying and trying to sing at the same time. From what I could gather,  this was similar to my own reaction to "You Are My Sunshine" when I was around three. I would burst into tears for no reason every  time I heard it. The little girl's grown-up gave her a snuggle and she bounced back, and it was all very sweet.

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.

Welcome to Winter! Pajama Story Time, 1/9/13

On yesterday's post, I typed the date as "1/8/12" -whoops! It's fixed now, and today's post has the correct date in the title. Pajama Story Time has been very small since we turned the clocks back this Fall. I'm hoping it will pick up again when we get to Spring - or even sooner! In the meantime, we keep on plugging along, even if it's just me and one family.

Welcome to Winter! Pajama Story Time, 1/9/13

Click to download this week's handout. 

 
Note: The picture shows the set-up for "Little Snowball, Little Snowball, Are You Under the ______ Mitten?" but since only one child was there at the start, and she was a bit young to be interested in a guessing game, I skipped it.

Book: The Mitten by Jan Brett
This is wordier than I remembered, and for most of the first part of the book, there was only a toddler in the room, so we skipped over some of  the words. She giggled through the whole story so she definitely enjoyed it whether she understood it or not.

Flannel Board Song: Sarah’s Scarves (based on Daddy's Ties)

Book: Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
The parents liked this one, and the dad who came in with his two year old halfway through the first book made the connection for his son that this book was by the same author as "Mickey and the Night Kitchen."

Flannel Board Song: I Like Soup (based on Laurie Berkner's "I Feel Crazy so I Jump in My Soup" )
Both kids liked this one. The toddler girl swayed to the beat of my singing, and the little boy helped me name the veggies and stir my soup pot.

Book: Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner
The boy liked this one, the little girl was too restless to pay attention.

Song: Five Little Snowmen Riding on the Sled 
I heard the little boy singing along to this one - I love it when they start to learn the songs! 

Book: Pip and Squeak by Ian Schoenherr
One of the few picture books with dialogue that seems to work with younger kids. I think it might help that the group was small and I had  time to go slow and look at the illustrations with them.

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band
Tonight, we sang goodnight to a mouse, a lion, and a dog.

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.

Pajama Story Time, 12/12/12

Pajama Story Time had great attendance when it was still light out after 5:00. This time of year, I think a lot of families have gone into hibernation mode, as we have been seeing very small groups. Last night's group was the smallest every - just one two-year-old and her Mom. But we still had fun.

The theme was "B is for Bedtime" and we read and sang about lots of things beginning with the letter B.

Book: Book! by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Book: Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

Song: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Book: Little Tug by Stephen Savage
This is a perfect bedtime story and a perfectly sweet toddler book.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Book: Wolf Won't Bite by Emily Gravett
Not a hit. I think the little girl was just done with story time by this point, though.

Song with Puppets: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to a bear, a bumblebee, and a butterfly.

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.

Pajama Story Time, 11/28/12

 For some reason, I only took notes on scrap paper for this story time, not in Google Docs as I usually do, and I threw that scrap paper away, so I can't really remember the order anything went in. The list below shows the books I read and the songs we sang, but in no particular order.

Book: Tell Me the Day Backwards by Albert Lamb, illustrated by David McPhail

Book: Tell Me About Your Day Today by Mem Fox, illustrated by Lauren Stringer

Book: Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Greg Newbold

Song: Sing a Happy Song 
Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon 

Song: Five in the Bed

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: Goodnight 


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.

Pajama Story Time, 11/14/12 (Shapes & Shadows Theme)

Book: The Foggy, Foggy Forest by Nick Sharatt

Book: What's Going on in There? by Geoffrey Grahn

Song: Clap, Stomp, Wiggle

Book: Perfect Square by Michael Hall

Flannel Board: Triangle Tricksters

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band

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.

Pajama Story Time, 11/7/12

Another week with only two kids! This time it was a regular who was sleepy and a first-timer, who was basically climbing the walls. They both had a good time.

Book: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
This didn't go over very well, which was a surprise. 

Book: Sneeze, Big Bear, Sneeze by Maureen Wright, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
I like this book's unsual approach to teaching kids about the wind. The kids liked it, too - especially when they got to pretend to sneeze!

Song:  Big Bear, Little Bear

Book: You and Me, Little Bear by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth
This is always a nice book to read at a family story time. Parents always "aww" at the ending. 

Rhyme: Two Little Bear Cubs

Song: Goodnight 

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.

Pajama Story Time, 10/31/12

This was a trickier story time than usual. Most kids were out trick-or-treating, and only two came to story time. One spoke very little English, so his dad tried to translate for him. The other child was a regular, though, so it worked out fine, even if it was a little bit awkward for me. I will say that the spider theme is a good one, and I would like to use it again.

Book: The Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out! by Troy Cummings

Book: The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

Flannel Board Rhyme: Four Colorful Flies

Book: Wilbur Makes a Friend by Jennifer Frantz
I am normally against easy reader adaptations of famous books, but I thought this particular one was a nice introduction to Charlotte's Web, and I made sure to explain that it was taken from a novel and that the novel is great.

Song: There's a Spider on the Floor

Book: Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott

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.

Pajama Story Time, 10/17/12

Book: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
This is my new favorite preschool read-aloud. I love this book, and so does everyone else I've shared it with. 

Book: The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I used to read it to myself over and over again in the mornings before anyone else in the house was awake. I still love that page where  the mice move into the blanket and chew up the shooting star. The kids seemed to like it, too, though I made sure to explain that the quilt belonged to two different girls, something that was not always clear to me.

Song: Sing a Happy Song


Rhyme: Two Little Teddy Bears

Book: Flora's Blanket by Debi Gliori
Every family can relate the bedtime hunt for a favorite toy or blankie, even though the kids in this group claimed it has never happened to them. 

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star 

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Book: A Hat for Minerva Louise by Janet Stoeke
I have never read Minerva Louise books in story time because I always think the humor is too subtle. This one is one of the more straight-forward ones, and it did get some good laughs.

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band


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.

Pajama Story Time, 9/26/12

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. 

Sometimes you feel like a theme - sometimes you don't. This time, I did, and I went with books demonstrating the concepts of up and down. 11 kids came to this story time, and a ton of parents as well, and it was a bit more hectic than usual, but the kids seemed to like all the books and activities, except possibly my homemade flannel board.

Book: Up! by Kristine O'Connell George, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata
This was a real parent-pleaser. I try to read at least one of those at every pajama story time.

Song: Way Up in the Sky
I love everything I find from King County Library System's amazing online collection of songs and rhymes. The librarian in this video especially charmed me. I just love  the way she sings this song. And my groups have started to love it, too. 

Flannel Board: Mommy is Asleep
I tried this with a smaller group because I wanted an opportunity to tell it for an audience before presenting it to the big, drop-in group.  They didn't really like it, but I think the bigger groups will.

Book: The Bridge is Up by Babs Bell
This book was a bit too babyish for half the group and just right for the other half.

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

Book: Rollercoaster by Marla Frazee
I would never read this to a very large group because the illustrations have so much detail. It worked nicely in a group like this, where everyone could move in close to take a look. And the parents loved the ending even more than the kids! 

Rhyme: Let's Go Riding on the Elevator

Book: Sky-High Guy by Nina Crews
This is a nice book about two brothers who come together to rescue a toy who gets stuck in a tree. The kids were interested in the photos, but not as engaged with the plot. 

Song: Tommy Thumb

Book: Higher Higher by Leslie Patricelli
I think I'm getting sick of this one. My delivery is starting to sound forced.

Song with Puppets: Goodnight by the Laurie Berkner Band

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star