Preschool Story Time - Fantasy Theme (@ another branch)

When I heard I was going to do story time at an unfamiliar location, I knew immediately that it was time to resurrect my most successful preschool story time - the fantasy-themed one from November 7. This turned out to be a wise decision, and I actually think the second time around was better than the original! Here's what it looked like today:

Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 


Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book

Book: Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith (2009)
Planning to read this book was a bit of a risk because it's pretty long, and I had no idea whether the kids would be up for it. As it turned out, the group was just the right age for this story, and they absolutely loved it. There are a lot of books I love to read aloud, but I really think I might love this one the most. 

Rhyme: Fierce is the Dragon 
The kids got so into this. It makes me so happy when they enjoy something I wrote.

Song: Where is Thumbkin? (Royal Family Edition)

Book: King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood and Don Wood (1985)
I will never get tired of this book. I love the king's mischievous face, and the playful tone I hear in his voice every time he says, "Come in!"

Song: There is Clapping in the Castle
This song is a lot easier to do a cappella than I realized. I love it!

Flannel Board Song: Royal Crowns (Based on Grandpa's Ties)
This branch has a big black flannel board, which was so perfect for this song. Had I thought of it soon enough, this would have been a great opportunity to let the kids put pieces on the flannel board. If I ever do this again, I'll remember that!

Book: May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, illustrated by Beni Montresor (1966)
I am really retiring this one now, I swear. I just couldn't resist.

Flannel Board Song: Five Little Fairies
This is a fantastic song for winding down at the end of story time - and these kids loved fairies!

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Baby Time, 4/4/12 (@ another branch)

One of my colleagues at another branch is off this week, so I offered to cover for her. I did two back-to-back programs - one baby time for kids up to age 2, and one preschool story time for ages 3-5. The groups were very small, which is a change for me - and a welcome one! I had a wonderful time, and I think the kids did, too.

Here is what I did at "Baby Time." (The kids were actually mostly toddlers.)

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Rhyme: Dance Your Fingers

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Flannel Board Rhyme: Let's Make a Noise
This was the official debut of this rhyme - can't wait to use it with my babies at Baby Lap Time tomorrow! 

Book: Mommies Say Shhh! by Patricia Polacco (2007)
I love this book. It is unfortunate that it doesn't mention the dads, but the unique animal sounds (chee, chee, chee for a squirrel, and buff, buff, buff for a dog) are a welcome deviation from the usual farm animal books I read. I especially love the repeated phrase," Bunnies say nothing at all."


Rhyme with Puppets: Two Little Bunnies (based on Two Little Blackbirds)

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Tony Chestnut

Book: I'm a Baby, You're a Baby by Lisa Kopper (1994)
I hadn't done this one in a while, and was glad to bring it back out! The pictures are overloaded with human and animal cuteness! 

Flannel Board Song: Here Stands a Robin

Song: Where is Big Toe?

Book: Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker (1999)
Oh, Keith Baker. What would I do without his books? I'm getting ready to retire this one for a while, but was glad to have it as a security blanket in an unfamiliar situation. 


Rhyme: Five Eggs and Five Eggs

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Song: You Are My Sunshine

Song: Chickadee

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

This program was longer than what I would normally do at my own branch, but our standards do say we should provide 30-minute programs, so I didn't want to deviate from that if the audience expected a full half-hour. I lost most of the kids before the end, but only just before.  It's so much easier to hold  the attention of  ten toddlers than one hundred!

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 4/3/12

It is so hard to come back to story time after a long weekend filled with family and bus rides and sleeping on an air mattress, and harder still to do three story times in a row. As you can see, to make it bearable I varied my routine slightly for the third group. Because I was so tired and planned at the last minute, these weren't the best story times ever, but they were still not bad. Most of the adults participated, and the crowd was somewhat smaller since families are on Spring Break. Here's how it went:


Opening Song: Hello, how are you? 

Book: First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2007)
I like this book a lot because it's simple, interesting to look at, and works on a number of levels for a number of different ages. 

Rhyme: Five Eggs and Five Eggs

Rhyme: Wiggle Fingers (Sessions 1 and 2); This is Big, Big, Big (Session 3)

Book: I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy (2003)
I have heard about this book in a lot of different places, but didn't love it as much as I expected. The one highlight, though, was all the kids blowing kisses to the baby duck.

Song: All the Pigs 
Today we sang about cows, dogs, cats, sheep, and bees.

Song: Head and Shoulders 

Song: Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands (Sessions 1 and 2); I'm a Little Teapot (Session 3)

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Put Your Finger in the Air 

Flannel Board Rhyme: This Little Baby 

Song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Chickadee (Session 1)

Song: You Are My Sunshine

Song: Where is Big Toe? (Session 1); Chickadee (Session 3)

Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

After School Craft (sans Read Aloud), 3/29/12

Last week's after school program attracted so few kids that I skipped the read-aloud part. I know that sounds terrible, but the two kids who came on time for the activity did their craft and left immediately thereafter, so by the time it was time to read, there was no one to read to. So we just did the craft, and about an hour later I saw a number of moms and nannies choose books from my display to either share in the library or take home with them. So all was not lost.

The Craft: Beaded Pipe Cleaner Bracelets

I. Supplies:

• Pony beads
• Colored pipe cleaner

II. Prep
No preparation required - my favorite kind of craft! I set the beads out in bowls and provided a pile of pipe cleaners. The kids did the rest.

III. Process
One child took a set of beads and a pipe cleaner home for himself and his sister. He was careful to pick out lots of pinks and purples because those were his and his sister's favorite colors. The other two girls who came didn't seem to have a method for beading, but one strung a bunch of pipe cleaners together to make a huge necklace.

The Display: Books About Things You Wear

• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
• Do You Have a Hat? by Eileen Spinelli
• The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
• When I Wore My Sailor Suit by Uri Shulevitz

 (There were more titles on this list, but it's been five days and I don't remember them now!)