Family Story Time, 6/28/19 (Rain Theme)

For my second summer story time session,  there were 12 kids in attendance ranging in age from 6 months to 7 years. Though it was a hot and sunny day, I did a rain theme because I ended up pulling a bunch of rain books from our shelves, and they all fit together really nicely.

Opening Song (with ukulele): Story Time is Starting

Story time is starting - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!
Story time is starting - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!
Story time's begun; I hope that you have fun!
Story time is starting - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!

Book: Noah Builds an Ark by Kate Banks, illustrated by John Rocco
This new picture book (March 2019) tells the story of a little boy who builds an ark over his wagon to shelter the creatures in his backyard from a storm. I chose this book with the oldest kids in the group in mind, and they were the ones who were most attentive to it.

Rhyme: Rainbow Over the Waterfall
I changed the second verse of this rhyme so I could use easier and more obvious hand motions. My version of that second part went like this:

Rainbow over the rabbit
Rainbow over the bee
Rainbow over the butterfly
Rainbow over me

Book: My Red Umbrella by Robert Bright
I chose this book specifically for the younger end of the age spectrum, but the big kids helped me make all the animal sounds of the animals that appear in the story. I'm not sure how much the other toddlers liked the book, but my 20-month-old has been asking me to re-read it all week.

Song: Come Under My Umbrella
I used the motions Jbrary shared in this video, but I stuck with the tune which I originally learned for this song, "Did You Ever See a Lassie?"

Song with Ukulele: Boots (originally by the Laurie Berkner Band)
I used some of Laurie Berkner's verses for this song, and then added a few verses for other motions like skipping, marching, etc.

Song with Ukulele: Stop and Go (originally by Ella Jenkins)
This was the best-received song from the first week, so I brought it back and once again had the kids supply the motions they wanted to do. My favorite suggestion came from my friend's four-year-old who wanted to breakdance. The group got a little wild, so I quickly improvised a final verse:

Tippy toe, tippy toe, tippy toe to your seat...

By the end of the song, they were seated and silent. It was kind of amazing. 

Book: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal
The kids were all very quiet during this book, possibly because all the dancing wore them out. I realize now that I have done two cumulative stories like this in a row, so I'm making a mental note to change things up for next time.

Rhyme: When Water Drops
I wanted an action rhyme that would help us act out what animals do when it rains. I used the text of Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt (which I borrowed from Open Library) and then made some additions and alterations based on information in When Rain Falls by Melissa Stewart.

When water drops

Frog hops

Water beetles swirl

Snakes curl 

Caterpillars crawl

Ladybugs fall 

Spiders skitter

Chicks flitter

Cows swish

Pigs squish

Rabbits hurry

Squirrels scurry

Dogs splatter 

Cats scatter

Turtles hide

And I go inside. 

Book: Singing in the Rain, illustrated by Tim Hopgood
I had never sung this song in front of a group before, and no one jumped in to sing along, which felt a bit awkward, but it was fine. I love the illustrations in Hopgood's books!

Closing Song (with ukulele): Story Time Is Over

Story time is over - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!
Story time is over - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!
Story time is done; I hope that you had fun!
Story time is over - clap your hands [stomp your feet / shout hooray]!

15 Literacy Activities for Rainy Days

I don't enjoy wet days that much, but I love doing literacy activities about rainy weather. Enjoy these with kids at home, in the library, or at school as April showers fall!

Books

• Rain by Robert Kalan and Donald Crews
  In this classic picture book, a blue sky turns gray and rain falls on everything. When the storm ends, a rainbow appears. The illustrations are especially appealing because the individual rain drops on each page are actually the word rain typed over and over. This book also makes a really good flannel board. 
• Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle and G. Brian Karas
  This rhythmic story tells how, when a storm descends upon the city, people seek shelter in the subway and make friends with strangers while they wait out the rain.
• Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson and Steve Bjorkman
  The sing-song text of this book includes lots of fun sound words that describe what it feels like to be out in the rain and mud of spring. A bit of a tongue twister, but worth the practice it takes to pull it off!
• Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt
  This toddler-friendly picture book counts animals as they react to a rainfall.

Action Songs & Rhymes

• I Like to See the Raindrops Fall
  In this song, kids can create a storm of their own with simple hand gestures. Fingers wiggle in a downward motion to make raindrops, hands open and close to make lightning flashes, and loud claps serve as thunder.
• Itsy Bitsy Spider
  This favorite nursery rhyme tells a simple story about what happens to a spider in the rain and how he bounces back. 
• Rain is Coming Down
  This action rhyme from the May 2009 issue of Highlights High Five Magazine emphasizes the sounds rain makes as it falls. (Link is to the audio version of the magazine.) 

Songs with Props 

• Rain Rain Go Away (with zoo puppets)
  When it rains at the zoo, some of the animals wish they could play! Sing this song as follows: "Rain, rain, go away. / Come again another day. / Little lion wants to play. / Rain, rain, go away!" Substitute any zoo animal for lion. Use hand, stick, or finger puppets to show kids the animals.
• It's Raining, It's Pouring (with a rain stick)
  Use a store-bought or homemade rain stick as an accompaniment to this soothing rainy day song.
• I Can Sing a Rainbow with colored flags
  Play a recording of the song, or learn it for ukulele or guitar, then invite the children to wave colorful flags as they sing along. 

Flannel Boards

• Red Umbrella Keeps Me Dry
  This song, sung to the simple tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb teaches colors using umbrellas. See a picture of this flannel board in use in my It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time plan. 
• Who is Tapping at my Window? 
  In this poem, the tapping on the window comes not from the animals, but from the rain itself. I have yet to try this one with kids, but Bridget from What is Bridget Reading? has a post about it!
• My Spring Garden 
  This piggyback song by Jean Warren is sung to the tune of "Skip to My Lou" and it emphasizes the role of rain in the growing of spring gardens. 

Crafts

• Paper Plate Umbrellas
  Use half of a paper plate as the top of the umbrella, and a pipe cleaner, straw, or candy cane as the handle. Decorate with pictures of objects beginning with the letter U, or with decorative stickers. (I originally adapted this idea from these two pins on Pinterest for use in this story time.)
• Rain Cloud Sewing Cards
  Provide pre-cut clouds with pre-punched holes and encourage kids to sew around the edges using yarn. (This idea was originally used in my Up, Up, and Away preschool story time.)

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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Preschool Story Time, 3/15/13

 It's Raining, It's Pouring Preschool Story Time, 3/15/13

Book: ...And Then it Rained / And Then the Sun Came Out by Crescent Dragonwagon
This book is long, and even longer when you read both halves! I would do this again during a class visit, but not at a story time with three year olds in attendance.

Song: Shake Sillies

Book: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
I asked everyone to say "Kapiti Plain" with me every time it was mentioned, and the kids got very enthusiastic about it and did it every time. One little girl also mooed very loudly the last few times I mentioned the cows.

Song with Ukulele: Rain Rain Go Away Medley
I played It's Raining, It's Pouring interspersed with Itsy Bitsy Spider and Rain Rain Go Away.

Book: Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
The kids got so excited about the idea of having their own rainbows. I was glad I chose this one. (We skipped the fourth book in the picture, but one of the kids wound up borrowing it to take home.)

Craft: Paper plate umbrellas
I saw a version of this craft on Pinterest in two places, then adapted it based on the materials available in my craft cabinets. We decorated our plates with old summer reading stickers from the Make a Splash theme, and used bendable colored drinking straws as our handles.


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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Toddler Lap Time, 3/15/13

  It's Raining, It's Pouring Toddler Lap Time, 3/15/13

This story time was stressful. A preschool parent barged in though she was not registered and I basically spent the entire story time just trying to keep myself from losing my temper.  (This person is a known problem and it had already been a tough day.) In any case, the activities I repeated from the previous day were bigger successes the second  time around, and the kids were very engaged even if they didn't move around as much as I expected.

Book: The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri

Song: I Like to See the Raindrops Fall

Book: Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Book: Ollie the Stomper by Olivier Dunrea

Song: I Can Walk With Two Feet

Song with Sun Puppet: Mr. Sun

Song with Sun Puppet: You Are My Sunshine

Songs & Rhymes with Foam Flowers:

• Song: Oh, Little Flower
  Rhyme: Flowers Tall and Small 
•  Song: There’s a Little Flower Growing... 

Song: Hands Up High 





Song: Head and Shoulders 

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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time, 3/15/13

 It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time, 3/15/13

Book: Rainy Day by Patricia Lakin
This book is long, but it rhymes and has a lot of repetition, so I decided to read it at the very beginning of story time. I was surprised by how well it went over, and the cozy library ending inspired me to change my next song from a rainy day song to a book song!

Song: These Are My Glasses

Book: Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
I have had mixed results with this book in the past,  but this time, I helped keep everyone focused by having us count the baby rabbits on several of the pages. It worked like a charm. I had everyone's attention all the way until the end!

Rhyme: Hop Your Bunnies
There was an awesome grandpa in the audience who got really into this rhyme. 

Song: Mr. Sun

Song: You Are My Sunshine

Letter of the Day: K

• Song: Cuddly Koalas
• Rhyme: Two Little Kittens
  I forgot my kitten puppets in the closet downstairs, so we just used our hands. Everyone participated, and the adults all said the rhyme along with me.
• I intended, as the image above shows, to sing I'm a Little Red Kite, but I forgot the words and just decided to skip it.

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


Song: Hands Up High

Song: The Wheels on the Bus 

Song: Chickadee  

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

We did so much singing at this story time. A grandmother stopped me afterwards and said, "We must have done your whole repertoire. That was great!" I seem to be popular with grandmas, which makes me happy.



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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Baby Lap Time, 3/14/13

 It's Raining, It's Pouring Baby Lap Time, 3/14/13

Rhyme: Cheek Chin

Book: Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt

Song with Animal Puppets: Rain Rain Go Away 

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Tony Chestnut

Song: Head and Shoulders

Book: Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson 
This book was not a hit at the big drop-in story time on Tuesday, but at least one baby giggled through the entire thing at this lap time, so it was worth trying it again.

Song: It’s Raining on Your Head

Song: All the Little Babies

Song: Row Your Boat

Song: I’m a Little Green Frog

Rhyme with Puppet: A Little Frog in a Pond Am I


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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Toddler Lap Time, 3/14/13

  It's Raining, It's Pouring Toddler Lap Time, 3/14/13

Book: The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri
This book has yet to be really successful. The illustrations are great, but I think the text is confusing.

Song: I Like to See the Raindrops Fall

Book: Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt
The kids got really into making animal noises with me - it was so much fun!

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Book: Ollie the Stomper by Olivier Dunrea
This is a story with a bit more of a plot, and these toddlers were completely engrossed.

Song: I Can Walk With Two Feet

Songs & Rhymes with Foam Flowers:

• Song: Oh, Little Flower
  I had planned to do this with the flannel board while  the kids held their flowers, but they were too busy so I just sang the same verse three times and moved onto the next rhyme.
• Rhyme: Flowers Tall and Small
  I changed the last line of this rhyme (at my husband's suggestion) to "one for everyone."
• Song: There’s a Little Flower Growing...
  My husband started singing this to the tune of There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in My Heart in the car on the way to work this morning, and I ran with it. We put the flower on our heads, knees, arms, backs, and toes.

Song: Hands Up High

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Song: Sunny Day

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

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.

It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time, 3/12/13

 It's Raining, It's Pouring Drop-In Story Time, 3/12/13

I was planning to do a rain theme this week no matter what, but it was nice to kick it off with an actual rainy day!

Book: Rain by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Donald Crews

Song: I Like to See the Raindrops Fall

Book: The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri

Song with Animal Puppets: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Book: Split! Splat! by Amy Gibson 
One mom told me she liked this book, but her daughter did not. I think most of the kids were distracted by this point, because even the silly language of the story didn't get their attention.
 
Flannel Board Song: Red Umbrella Keeps Me Dry

Letter of the Day: J

• Song: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
• Rhyme: Whoops Johnny
  I was surprised by how much the kids liked this one. I only used one hand (not two, like the lady in the video at this link), and I repeated the rhyme a second time using the name Jenny.
• Rhyme: Jumbo Jet

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

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

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.

Preschool Story Time (Rainy Day Theme), 8/10/12

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Song (with rainstick): It’s Raining it’s Pouring

Book: Rain by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Donald Crews (1978)

Song: I Like to see the Raindrops Fall

I wrote the words to this song, which is sung to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush:

I like to see the raindrops fall, 

the raindrops fall, the raindrops fall

I like to see the raindrops fall 

on a stormy day.

I like to hear the thunder  clap

the thunder clap, the thunder clap

I like to hear the thunder clap
on a stormy day.

I like to see the lightning flash, 

the lightning flash, the lightning flash

I like to see the lightning flash

on a stormy day.

Song: Here We Go Up, Up, Up

Book: Rain Drop Splash by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard (1946)

Rhyme: Rain is Coming Down

Song with Flannel Board and Ukulele: Red Umbrella Keeps Me Dry

Sung to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb:

Red umbrella keeps me dry,

keeps my dry, keeps me dry. 

Red umbrella keeps me dry

on a rainy day. 

Change colors and repeat.

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Book: In the Middle of the Puddle by Mike Thaler, illustrated by Bruce Degen (1988)

Song: Rain Rain Go Away
I used zoo animal puppets and substituted the line "Little Johnny wants to play"  with "little giraffe wants to play," "little elephant wants to play," etc.

Song: Sunny Day

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This