Fizz, Boom, Read! Preschool Story Time Starter: Temperature

Last week, I kicked off a series of blog posts in which I'll be sharing story time starters for preschoolers inspired by the Fizz, Boom, READ! summer reading theme. Last week's post began with the basics - the five senses. This week, I'm moving on to the concept of temperature, with a specific focus on the differences between hot and cold.

Miss Katie's Recommended Books

• Temperature by Kay Manolis
  This basic non-fiction title explains the concepts of hot and cold using photos and basic child-directed text. Depending on the age of the preschoolers, it might be necessary to pick and choose sections of the book to read. (An alternative to this book for libraries with older/deeper collections might be Temperature and You by Betsy and Giulio Maestro, but this title is out of print and not even listed on Goodreads!)
• Hot Air (The Mostly True Story of the First Hot Air Balloon Ride) by Marjorie Priceman
  Join the animals who were lucky enough to take the first-ever hot air balloon ride in 1783. Parts of the story have been fictionalized, but it's an excellent read-aloud, and  the illustrations invite all kinds of commentary and discussion from the kids. Depending on the age of the kids, you might even get into a discussion about the inner workings of hot air balloons.
• Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman
  In the heat of the summer, this chilly tale will be most welcome at story time! Kids will enjoy seeing the various ways the townspeople in the story keep warm, and they will get the giggles as the icicle on the nose of the statue in the heart of town gets longer and longer as the cold snap wears on. 

Other Possible Books

• Heat Wave by Eileen Spinelli
• Hot Day on Abbott Avenue by Karen English
• Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer 
• There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro 
• Cold Little Duck Duck Duck by Lisa Westberg Peters
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (any version) 
• Winter Lullaby by Barbara Seuling
• Ten-Gallon Bart Beats the Heat by Susan Stevens Crummel
• Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse
• Stanley Goes for a Drive by Craig Frazier

Rhymes and Songs

• Rhyme: Frozen is the Lake
  I wrote this simple fingerplay based on Blue is the Lake. If you repost it, please provide credit and a link to this blog. 
• Song: Hat, Coat, Pants, and Shoes
  This song is all about what keeps us warm in Winter. You can also change the words to Visor, Tee Shirt, Shorts, and Shoes for a warm-weather -focused verse. I wrote this one as well, so please credit me if you repost or print. 
• Song: Pigs in the Mud
  This song is about pigs keeping themselves cool by rolling in the mud.

Games

• Hot or Cold? Sorting Game
  Have the kids help sort objects into hot and cold categories. Kim at Destination Storytime has a great post about this type of activity, complete with a photo of the flannel board pieces she created. For those who prefer clipart, there is a great set of cards of hot and cold objects available here.
• Hot Potato
  Quickly pass around a ball, bean bag, or other object while music plays in the background. ("Hot Potato" by the Wiggles would be a fun choice.) Stop the music periodically - the child holding the "potato" when the music stops is out. This is a good game to play at the end of the story time, so that kids who are "out" can either head to their parents or transition to any coloring activity or craft you might have planned.
• Getting Warmer
  Hide an object in the story room. Ask the children to begin searching for it. Let them know when they are "colder" or "warmer" as they get closer to or further from the hiding place. (This would work best with a group of ten kids or less who are not new to story time and whose names you know.)

Visit These Blogs for More Ideas

• In the Children's Room: Theme Thursday: Baby It's Cold Outside
• Storytime Katie: Winter
• Mrs. Andre's Library: Summer Theme Story Time

Fizz, Boom, Read! Preschool Story Time Starter: Five Senses

Though I'm not working in a library this summer, that hasn't stopped me from being inspired by the Fizz, Boom, READ! summer reading theme. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a series of story time starters for preschoolers (roughly ages 3-5) on various science themes. Today's post is about the five senses, as this is the basis for all scientific exploration. I have included my preferred titles that I would use if I were to present this story time, as well as additional books related to the theme that can be substituted for any one of my recommendations. For each theme, I'll also be sharing any relevant extension activities, including rhymes, songs, and games.

Miss Katie's Recommended Books

• My Five Senses by Aliki
  This book's simple text will make a nice introduction to the concept of the five senses for kids who aren't yet familiar with them. Encourage the kids to point to their own eyes, nose, and mouth, as the child in the pictures shows how he uses each of his parts to take in information about his world. The chart at the front of the book would also be fun to use for a discussion, if you'd rather not read through the entire book, or if your group is slightly older.
• Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Rotner
  This book demonstrates each sense using a setting that is familiar to a lot of kids in my area - the beach. The eye-catching photos and simple text will help keep the kids focused and hopefully, some of them will have personal connections to the experiences portrayed in the pictures. Depending on your community and what the kids are familiar with, you might want to switch this book out for one of Rotner's other titles: Senses on the Farm or Senses in the City.
• Rain by Manya Stojic
  This third book is an actual story in which the five senses play an integral role. A series of animals living in the African savanna anticipate a rainstorm, and make guesses about its arrival based on what they can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear.

Other Possible Books

• Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff
• The Eye Book by Theo LeSieg
• Farley Follows His Nose by Lynn Johnston
• Five for a Little One by Chris Raschka
• Listen, Buddy by Helen Lester
• Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss
• Nosy Rosie by Holly Keller
• The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon
• Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young 
• Yoko by Rosemary Wells

Songs & Rhymes

• Song: My Eyes Are Made for Seeing
  This song, sung to the tune of The Bear Went Over the Mountain, reminds us of the purpose of our eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and hands. Have the kids make suitable motions for each verse to make it truly interactive.
• Flannel Board Rhyme: The Parts of the Body
  To share this rhyme, you will need flannel board pieces representing a bird, shovel, airplane, flower, street, and eating/talking, as well as pieces for each of the body parts mentioned. (KizClub has a set of body parts that would work nicely.) Have the kids guess each body part before you put it up. It might also be fun to provide each child with a body part to be brought to the board at the correct time.
  
  

Games & Activities

• Poem: Ears Hear
  This poem is best shared with the higher end of the preschool age group. Ask the kids to make each sound you mention, and tell them not to be afraid to be loud. This poem works especially well with large or unusually rambunctious groups.
• Guessing Game: What is that Smell?
  Prepare a few brown paper lunch bags, each containing an item with a distinct smell. Without allowing the kids to look in the bags, let them smell each one and guess what it is. Suggested smelly items include: chocolate, mint, lemon, garlic, cinnamon, etc. I would avoid truly gross smells - the idea is for the kids to enjoy the experience of new smells, and preschoolers are often not yet amused by truly disgusting humor.
• Sorting Activity: Smooth or Rough? 
  Set out a tray of objects. Pass each one around and let the kids feel it. Have them tell you whether the object is smooth or rough. Suggested objects might be: sandpaper,  notebook paper, pine cone,  balloon, rocks, shells, etc. 
• Game: I Spy
  Play a traditional game of I Spy. Have one child at a time describe something he or she can see in the room and have the other kids try to guess what it is. For the sake of time, this might work best in a smaller group - it also helps if your story room isn't too bland-looking, or there won't be much to choose from! (Make this game even more fun by creating cardboard magnifying glasses for the kids to use as they look for objects.)
• Flannel Board Activity: 5 Senses from Miss Meg's Storytime
  This is a discussion-generating flannel board that encourages kids to think about how we interact with different objects using our senses. Meg provides a full set of instructions here.

Visit These Blogs for More Ideas

• Fingerplay: The Five Senses Story Time Stretch from Ryan the Librarian
• 5 Senses from Miss Sarah's Storytime
• Five Senses Storytime from Story Share
• My Five Senses Storytime from Busy Crafting Mommy

Flannel Friday: There Was an Old Man with a Beard

I have a slight obsession with Babybug magazine. I don't have a subscription, but my local library allows back issues to be checked out, so I have borrowed a few here and there. On the last page of the March  2013 issue, I found "Nonsense Rhyme" (also called "There Was an Old Man with a Beard") by Edward Lear. I had heard the rhyme before, but the illustration in the magazine by Ruth Tietjen Councell made me think it might work as a flannel board. Thus, the following adaptation was born.

There was an old man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared!

Two owls

and a hen,

four larks

and a wren

have all built their nests in my beard!"

This flannel board would be a fun addition to a bird-themed or hair-themed story time, or even to a Father's Day or Grandparent's Day program. 

Flannel Friday is hosted this week by Jenna from Stories with Ms. Jenna. For more on Flannel Friday, visit the official website.

Reflections on Library Service to Beginning Readers

Early elementary school kids in Pre-K through 2nd grade are one of my favorite age groups to work with. Last school year, I had regular monthly visits with Pre-K, Kindergarten, and first grade classes, and from January to August 2013, I also offered a weekly beginning reader story time. During those months, I learned a lot about the needs and interests of kids who are beginning to read on their own. Here is my list of best practices for serving their needs in the library.

• Make them laugh.
  Once kids reach the age of about five, they start to develop a sense of humor adults can really appreciate and engage. Though kids in this age bracket are notorious for loving toilet humor, this is not the only thing that will make them laugh. Silly words, overly-dramatic characterization, word play, knock-knock jokes, tongue twisters, and pretty much anything else unexpected, will give them the giggles. Be prepared, though - if you share a really good joke with them once, they’ll tell it to you again and again, and they will expect everything you share from then on to be just as funny.
• Encourage storytelling skills.
  Kids are natural-born story tellers. As I mentioned in my post about serving preschoolers, just mention a dog in a room full of four-year-olds, and you’re in for 25 different dog-themed tales, some true and some pure fiction. With my beginning readers, I learned to slow down the pace of story time to leave room for their input. When I introduced our letter of the week (which I usually did using images on the iPad), I would ask the kids to tell me about a time they used a certain object, or experienced a certain type of weather. We made lists, explaining what we’d wish for if we could wish upon a star, or telling about our favorite and least favorite foods. These conversations made the kids feel like story time was about them, but it also helped develop the narrative skills they need to become strong writers. I always made sure to allow the kids lots of time for writing and drawing at the end of story time, too, so they could tell their own stories inspired by what happened at story time that day. 
• Expect controlled chaos.
  I discovered pretty quickly that an engaged group of early elementary kids is pretty similar to a wild mob. In order to get the kids talking and laughing, I did have to let go of a certain degree of control. I couldn’t plan my story times to the minute, and I had to be prepared for pretty much anything to happen. I learned to say, “Now it’s time to…” instead of “Would you like to…” unless there was a choice involved. I learned to bring the kids back from a chaotic moment using quiet signals, or even just asking them to put their hands on their head, on their shoulders, etc. Early on, I was frustrated when kids wouldn’t sit quietly and just listen, but once I understood that there were ways to harness their energy into something productive, I thrived on the craziness. I knew I had accomplished something when I presented a flannel board version of Quick as a Cricket to 40 aftercare kids and had every kid in the room eagerly clambering to guess what each animal would be. It looked like feeding time at the zoo, but it was also the most successful story time I’d ever done for this age. 
• Teach them to browse. 
  When kids are small, they tend to pick up books at random based on their size, or shape, or color, but their parents are often the ones who choose the books they will actually borrow. What I noticed is that kids coming to the library with their classes, rather than their parents, had no idea at all how to look for books that interested them unless they already had something specific in mind. This resulted in long lines at the children’s desk, of kids asking for fairy books, snake books, and graphic novels, and lots of bored wandering if the one book a particular child had in mind was checked out. First grade started to become so unhappy during their visits, that I actually made up a lesson plan to teach the kids how to browse. I pulled a selection of first-grade-friendly books and laid them out in the story room in a style similar to a book fair. I explained what browsing was, and told them that for today only, I wouldn’t be helping them find a specific title. They needed to choose based on their own interests. It was one of the only days all year that every child took a book home. I think it’s important to remember that beginning readers are also new to selecting their own reading materials, and they might need guidance beyond just being pointed toward the easy readers.
• Don’t get hung up on reading levels.
  Reading levels have a very definite place in the lives of beginning readers. Often, first graders know exactly which Guided Reading level they are on, and for some of them, it is used as a status symbol to prove how much more mature they are than a younger child, or even than a classmate. If kids know their level and ask for a book on their level, I will provide it, but otherwise, I worry more about suggesting books the kids will like than whether they will read every word. At this stage, kids are often still reading with their parents, so books they can’t read on their own might wind up in the bedtime story pile, and even the newest emergent reader can get something out of the illustrations even if he’s not yet ready for the text. It’s also important not to make assumptions based even on grade level. I have known first graders who read novels as well as third graders who are still in level one easy readers. The best bet is to ask the child what she’s read lately and help her find her next book based on that information.

Beginning readers are just starting to appreciate the joy the library can bring. Give them even more reasons to love the library by making it a fun place to visit where kids can express themselves, learn a good joke or two, and find books they can read on their own.