 | Big Sister Little Sister by LeUyen Pham The narrator's big sister gets to do everything first, but she will never get to be the little sister! |
 | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Peter Hatcher must deal with the hi-jinks of his wild little brother, Fudge. |
 | The Day I Had to Play With My Sister by Crosby Bonsall A brother and sister disagree about the rules of hide and seek. |
 | The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall Four sisters vacation in the Berkshires and make friends with an interesting boy, despite his mother's objections. |
 | Ruby and the Booker Boys Series by Derrick Barnes Ruby tries to make a name for herself, separate from the boisterous personalities of her older brothers. |
 | Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney Greg Heffley tries to survive under the rule of his bully older brother. |
 | Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan Pakistani-American siblings Rubina and Sana struggle with their mother's misunderstanding of American birthday parties. |
Thursday, October 20, 2011
7 Kids' Books About Siblings
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Baby Lap Time, 10/19 & 10/20
Opening Song: Clap Along With Me
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big
Rhyme: Where Oh Where Are Baby's Fingers?
Flannel Board Rhyme: I Went to Visit the Farm One Day
Book: Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy by Denise Fleming (2010)
Song: Head and Shoulders
Song: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Song: You Are My Sunshine
Shaker Egg Song: Shortnin' Bread
Book: The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz (2011)
Flannel Board Song: Five Little Pumpkins
Goodbye Song: Open, Shut Them (Goodbye Version)
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big
Rhyme: Where Oh Where Are Baby's Fingers?
Flannel Board Rhyme: I Went to Visit the Farm One Day
Song: Head and Shoulders
Song: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Song: You Are My Sunshine
Shaker Egg Song: Shortnin' Bread
Flannel Board Song: Five Little Pumpkins
Goodbye Song: Open, Shut Them (Goodbye Version)
Baby/Toddler Story Time, 10/18
Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
Book: Ghost Gets Dressed by Janee Trasler (2007)
The punchline of this book - that the monster wears all of the ghost's clothing, and eventually the ghost as well - went over like a lead balloon. But this book is still so cute, and had just the right amount of words for this age group.
Rhyme: One Little Ghost
This is a great Halloween rhyme, which I discovered just this week. I plan to use it at all my Halloween-themed story times.
Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Book: Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach (1995)
This is one of many interpretations of this well-known pumpkin rhyme. It's not particularly remarkable, but it's a nice big book for a big audience!
Song: Shake My Sillies Out
Song: I'm a Little Teapot
Song: Hands Are For Clapping
Flannel Board Song: Five Little Pumpkins
Again, I started singing and there was immediate silence. This song is magic.
Song: One Little Monster
Song: Tommy Thumb
This was the first week that this song felt like a forced march. It might be time to trade it in for something new.
Song: The Wheels on the Bus
I retired this song months ago and thought I'd try doing it again today. Too soon. I still hate it!
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
The punchline of this book - that the monster wears all of the ghost's clothing, and eventually the ghost as well - went over like a lead balloon. But this book is still so cute, and had just the right amount of words for this age group.
Rhyme: One Little Ghost
This is a great Halloween rhyme, which I discovered just this week. I plan to use it at all my Halloween-themed story times.
Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
This is one of many interpretations of this well-known pumpkin rhyme. It's not particularly remarkable, but it's a nice big book for a big audience!
Song: Shake My Sillies Out
Song: I'm a Little Teapot
Song: Hands Are For Clapping
Flannel Board Song: Five Little Pumpkins
Again, I started singing and there was immediate silence. This song is magic.
Song: One Little Monster
Song: Tommy Thumb
This was the first week that this song felt like a forced march. It might be time to trade it in for something new.
Song: The Wheels on the Bus
I retired this song months ago and thought I'd try doing it again today. Too soon. I still hate it!
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Preschool Story Time (Monster Theme), 10/17
Today's theme was MONSTERS.
I am really proud of this particular story time. It is the first session ever in the entire history of me doing story time that I purposely did all of my own singing. The music selections for today included only one recorded song, which we used for shaking our shaker eggs. Otherwise, it was just me engaging with the kids. Some things needed tweaking, as I'll point out below, and a little girl did announce fifteen minutes in that she was ready for me to be done, but I still felt a strong sense of success when it was over, and got a group hug from the kids who sat in the front row.
Here is my monster repertoire:
Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
Song: If You're a Monster and You Know It
There are a billion versions of this out there, including the book by Rebecca and Ed Emberley, for which there is a recording. I sort of pulled my favorite motions from each version I found, and put my own together.
Book: Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning (2011)
This book is based on Over in the Meadow, and counts various spooky creatures. The zombie page grossed me out, but overall, the book was gentle enough not to scare small kids.
Rhyme: If I Were a Monster
(Thanks to Mary for pointing me here for this rhyme.)
My group was with me right up until the last line, then they looked at me like I was from space. I think the rhyme actually works well without that line, anyway, and would probably leave it out next time.
Book: There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley (2009)
This book is a new twist on the old song, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I thought it was a lot of fun, and one or two kids seemed really engrossed, but I still had the sense that it wasn't as great a choice as I initially expected.
Song: Horns and Fangs, Knees and Claws
This is the song I performed in my interview for the job I have now, but today was my first time doing it with kids. (I wound up leaving my old job just before Halloween last year and didn't have the chance.) And I have to say - this was the hit of the session. The kids begged me to do it faster and faster, and I did my best.'
Song: Les Zombies et les Loups-Garous
This was a last-minute addition and a good idea in theory only. I loved the idea of including this song - the title of which is French for "the zombies and the werewolves" - but the kids hated the shaker eggs. I have tried to use shaker eggs twice with this group now, and they're just not a very enthusiastic bunch. And I hate dancing and looking stupid anyway, so it's a win-win I think. Still, I was proud of myself for connecting this song to this theme.
Book: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
No monster story time could ever be complete without this book. I got a chill at the wonderful ending yet again when I was reviewing it this afternoon. The kids seemed bored, but I don't care. It's the best.
Song: One Little Monster
I revamped my usual One Little Finger song to suit my monster theme, and this was another good one.
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Other books I considered reading for this story time include:
Find more monster story times on these other blogs:
A full description of this, and all my weekly story time programs can be found here.
I am really proud of this particular story time. It is the first session ever in the entire history of me doing story time that I purposely did all of my own singing. The music selections for today included only one recorded song, which we used for shaking our shaker eggs. Otherwise, it was just me engaging with the kids. Some things needed tweaking, as I'll point out below, and a little girl did announce fifteen minutes in that she was ready for me to be done, but I still felt a strong sense of success when it was over, and got a group hug from the kids who sat in the front row.
Here is my monster repertoire:
Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
Song: If You're a Monster and You Know It
There are a billion versions of this out there, including the book by Rebecca and Ed Emberley, for which there is a recording. I sort of pulled my favorite motions from each version I found, and put my own together.
This book is based on Over in the Meadow, and counts various spooky creatures. The zombie page grossed me out, but overall, the book was gentle enough not to scare small kids.
Rhyme: If I Were a Monster
(Thanks to Mary for pointing me here for this rhyme.)
My group was with me right up until the last line, then they looked at me like I was from space. I think the rhyme actually works well without that line, anyway, and would probably leave it out next time.
This book is a new twist on the old song, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I thought it was a lot of fun, and one or two kids seemed really engrossed, but I still had the sense that it wasn't as great a choice as I initially expected.
Song: Horns and Fangs, Knees and Claws
This is the song I performed in my interview for the job I have now, but today was my first time doing it with kids. (I wound up leaving my old job just before Halloween last year and didn't have the chance.) And I have to say - this was the hit of the session. The kids begged me to do it faster and faster, and I did my best.'
Song: Les Zombies et les Loups-Garous
This was a last-minute addition and a good idea in theory only. I loved the idea of including this song - the title of which is French for "the zombies and the werewolves" - but the kids hated the shaker eggs. I have tried to use shaker eggs twice with this group now, and they're just not a very enthusiastic bunch. And I hate dancing and looking stupid anyway, so it's a win-win I think. Still, I was proud of myself for connecting this song to this theme.
No monster story time could ever be complete without this book. I got a chill at the wonderful ending yet again when I was reviewing it this afternoon. The kids seemed bored, but I don't care. It's the best.
Song: One Little Monster
I revamped my usual One Little Finger song to suit my monster theme, and this was another good one.
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Other books I considered reading for this story time include:
- Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
- Adopt a Glurb by Elise Gravel
- If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca and Ed Emberley
- Substitute Creacher by Chris Gall
Find more monster story times on these other blogs:
- Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime
- A Bad Case of Books
- Storytime Katie
- Movement and Music Storytime
A full description of this, and all my weekly story time programs can be found here.
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