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.

Welcome to Winter! Drop-In Story Time, 1/8/13

After our two-week story time break, story time is back in full swing as of this morning. I'm doing things a bit differently in 2013. To keep myself better organized and to prevent myself from maintaining an endlessly growing hoard of story time books in the closet, I've started planning story times by theme. This week, all of my story times - both drop-ins, all three lap times, pajama story time and preschool story time - will have a Winter theme. I'll make good use of all my Winter books and props and then put them away and move onto the next theme. I'm also providing families with a handout for each theme with suggested songs and rhymes for sharing with their kids. (There is just one handout for the week, not one per session per week because that seemed nuts.)

  Welcome to Winter! Drop-In Story Time, 1/8/13

Click to download this week's handout. 

Book: Snow by Manya Stojic
Dialogue doesn't work with toddlers - at least not in this book. They were with me early on, but lost me as soon as the animals started speaking.

Song: Five Little Snowmen Riding on the Sled 
The kids love this song and have started to make the connection that the motions are the same as for Monkeys on the Bed. 

Book: Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
I expected the group to like this one more, but the room got really restless really quickly so I didn't linger over the story too much. 

Song: A Hat Goes on My Head
This song works best when the kids do a little motion to go along with each article of clothing. 

Song: Bumpin’ Up and Down in My Little Blue Sled

Letter of the Day: S

• Flannel Board Song: Sarah’s Scarves (based on Daddy's Ties)
• Song with colored stars: Stars Shining Bright 
  This was once again a huge hit, even though they thought almost every color was yellow.
• Song: Shake My Sillies Out
• Flannel Board Story: Silly Sally by Audrey Wood
  This story often gets mixed results - today's reaction was applause!

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

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Rum Sum Sum
A couple of the nannies cheered when I said we'd sing this next. We'll be hanging onto this song for a while, I think!

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.

(Partly) Flannel Friday: Favorite Story Time Props of 2012

I participated in Flannel Friday a fair number of times in 2012, but surprisingly did not manage to highlight many of the story time props I created, found, and used over the last year. Today, in the interest of wrapping up the old year before 2013 story times start next week, I’m sharing my top ten favorite props of 2012.

• Shaker Eggs
  I started using my homemade shaker eggs with babies and toddlers early in 2012, and though the babies didn’t like them much, the toddlers really did. I plan to use these much more in the coming year, along with a lot more props and movement-based activities.
  
• Balloons Guessing Game
  I only used this activity a handful of times in late Fall, but it was very well-received. I found images of different types of balloons on Google images, pixellated them using Fotoflexer, printed them out, and mounted them on construction paper. Then I printed out the original images and printed them out and mounted them on the backs of the pixellated ones. The kids in my preschool story time and Pre-K class visits guessed what the different shapes were and I turned the page around to reveal the correct answer. There are so many possibilities with this concept - I plan to try some more in 2013!
  
• Bug Puppets
  As I was going over the most well-received rhymes and songs I shared this year, I realized that most of them were related to the three insect puppets that live in my story time closet: a ladybug, a bumblebee, and a butterfly. Flutter Flutter Butterfly and Buzzing Buzzing Bumblebee are some of the only songs the adults will actually sing with me. Ladybug, Ladybug Fly out of the farm is a great rhyme for an insect theme, or a body parts theme, and this Spring, I plan to make enough ladybugs for everyone to act out the rhyme (at least in my small-group story times). Finally, the best and most popular rhyme I used with these puppets is I’m a Little Ladybug. It was definitely the favorite of anything we did at baby story time all year long.
  
• Paper Stars
  These stars are the simplest item on this list, but they worked so well. I used them over the summer along with Nancy Stewart’s “Stars Shining Bright.” Kids between the ages of 3 and 5 loved the song and loved shouting out the names of the colors. They got so excited, I started having to hide the star’s color while we sang. I’d like to do a couple of piggyback songs based on Stars Shining Bright just to get more mileage out of this concept.
  
• Bubble Machine
  Our teen librarian, who also does a fair amount of children’s work, purchased a bubble machine for our Circle Time over the summer, and we both said over and over again that it was the best 12 bucks anyone ever spent. The kids loved catching the bubbles in their hands and guessing at how many they had popped. We also discovered that toddlers were excited by bubbles and would clap and laugh as they watched them. I plan to make this a more regular part of some of my programs in the coming months.
  
• Let’s Make a Noise Flannel Board
  This simple flannel board came from Stories and Fun for the Very Young. I blew up the images on the color copy machine, and memorized the text that goes with them. I know that my groups tend to like making noises, but there is something about this particular mix - a baby, a sheep, a truck, a train, a dog, and a cat - that brings down the house every single time. I’ve also learned that it helps to make the sounds twice - once as they go on the board, and once as they come down.
  
• Harold’s Other Crayons Flannel Board
  This was a flannel board I came up with when I was called upon to fill in for a librarian at another branch. It started out as an extension of Harold and the Purple Crayon, but in my Flannel Friday post, I got to brainstorming about all the other possibilities. I’ve got it in mind already for my rainbows story time at St. Patrick’s Day, and it’ll always be on hand for a rainy day story time for those really wet mornings.
  
• Chicken Puppet
  I almost never use the stuffed chicken puppet that sits in my story time closet, but again, when I was called upon to fill in at another branch, I decided to bring her along just in case. I could never have expected how much the kids would love her. Every child wanted a turn to pet her, and some of the kids even wanted to pretend she was biting them! I’ve got chicks and chickens on the schedule for early Spring, and I fully intend to have Mrs. Hen in attendance.
  
• Fairy Tale Chart
  This summer, my colleague and I offered an experimental story time for ages 3 to 5, called Circle Time. One of the sessions was about fairy tales, and I had the kids help me create a chart identifying the elements of a fairy tale story. Some of the kids were not quite old enough to stick with me the whole time, but most of them did, and though this was not the most polished of exercises, I think it will serve as a model for some of the games and activities I do with the preschoolers this year.
  
• Ukulele
  My favorite story time prop of the year, of course, is my ukulele. It’s fun to play, the kids are curious about it, the adults are intrigued by it, and it’s a great conversation starter for some of the shyer kids, as well as kids I know who play it themselves. I am still working out how best to incorporate it into my story time routines, but I’m getting better and the responses have been nothing but positive. The best experiences were playing the songs for our end-of-summer indoor campfire sing-along and playing Jingle Bells for the preschoolers while they joined in on triangles, rhythm sticks, and shakers. (Special thanks to my husband, Michael, who bought the ukulele, taught me to play it despite my weak left hand, and even managed to find a strap for it that matches my blog background.)

I look forward to testing out new and different props in 2013. Next week, I'll share the puppets I got for Christmas - once I decide how I plan to use them!

Personal Cybils Favorites 2012

I've shared my favorite books of 2012, and the finalists for my category of the Cybils, but there are still a few more books to mention. Listed below are Cybils nominees across several categories that I have not already recognized. These are books I love that didn't make it to their respective short lists, but which are worth reading and sharing with kids nonetheless. (The ones I've posted about, however briefly, have links.)

• Ballet Stars by Joan Holub (Easy Reader)
  This easy reader might look like just another ballet book, but it's tightly written, brightly illustrated and promotes gender equality as well as hard work.

•  Following Grandfather by Rosemary Wells (Early Chapter Book)
  A quiet book about loss, this story is ideal for kids who have lost a grandparent, and for others of the chapter book age group who like to read tearjerkers.
  
• I Don't Believe It, Archie by Andrew Norriss (Early Chapter Book)
  This zany story of a boy whose life contains no dull moments is a great one for boys who like to laugh but want to avoid toilet humor.
• The Year of  the Book by Andrea Cheng (Early Chapter Book)
  I don't know that this book will appeal to every  reader, but there are surely some special bookworms out there who  will see themselves in it and be changed by reading it.
  
• Jinxed by Kurtis Scaletta (Early Chapter Book)
  Another great one for boys, Jinxed is everything kids want in a sports book - humanized heroes, a close-up view of home plate, and  good sportsmanship.
• Audition and Subtraction by Amy Fellner Dominy (Middle Grade Fiction)
  This book is obviously going to appeal  to tween girls more than anyone else, but it was so true to the middle school experience, it made me cry just a little bit at the end.
• The Encyclopedia of Me by Karen Rivers (Middle Grade Fiction)
  This book is another tween title likely to appeal to fans of "chick lit" but despite its fluffy, contemporary tone, it's got some good emotional experiences and life lessons.
• Same Sun Here by Silas House and Neela Vaswani (Middle Grade Fiction)
  I understand some of the problems in this book, but the strengths far outweight the weaknesses. Kids will learn about two cultures and begin to understand what it means that we all live under the same sun.
• Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Fiction Picture Book)
  This is the perfect preschool book for kids who need to learn independence, and it's laugh out loud punny, too!
• French Ducks in Venice by Garret Freymann-Weyr, illustrated by Erin McGuire (Fiction Picture Book)
  I love this book because it reminds everyone that picture books are not just for kids under five. This is a great one for older readers with an unexpectedly positive moral.

• Red Sled by Lita Judge (Fiction Picture Book)
  This is on my list for an upcoming story time, and I just can't wait to share it! The onomatopoeia really drives home the crunching sound of the beautifully illustrated snow.
  
• Tell Me About Colors, Shapes, and Opposites by Delphine Badreddine and Aurélie Guillerey (Fiction Picture Book)
  I received a copy of this book from the publisher but have to review it. Like Seasons by Blexbolex, it's a great one for little guys who don't read yet who have short attention spans. It's informative for kids, but entertaining for adults as well. (I said "Awww" a lot while reading it.)
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Young Adult Fiction)
  I am truly stunned that this didn't make the cut, which is why I'm recognizing it a second time. Even though it's not my absolute favorite YA title of the year, it's hard to imagine one that's better written. I will need to read the finalists, though, so I can understand what I missed!
  
• Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk (Young Adult Fiction)
  This is a laugh-out-loud funny guy-friendly book with real heart and a loveable protagonist.  Librarians who do story time will especially love the reference to The Wheels on the Bus that occurs in a wonderful exchange between Guy and his mom.
• Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker (Young Adult Fiction)
  This book is a personal favorite because it captures exactly how I felt after my break-up with my high school boyfriend. I think it will speak to lots of other girls, too.
  
• Bill the Boy Wonder by Marc Tyler Nobleman (Non-Ficton Picture Book)
  I've had great responses from elementary school classes with whom I have shared this book. The author's presentation at my library this summer was one of the highlights of our summer reading program!
• Here Come the Girl Scouts! by Shana Corey (Non-Ficton Picture Book)
  I was a Girl Scout and not too crazy about it, but this book does a wonderful job of bringing Juliet Lowe to life. This book might not appeal to everyone, but it would be just perfect for a Girl Scout Troop.
  
• Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger (Middle Grade Fantasy)
  This is probably my favorite Angleberger book of them all. It's wacky, funny, and equally appealing to boys and girls. I can imagine it makes a fun read-aloud as well.
  
• Losers in Space by John Barnes (Young Adult Science Fiction)
  I nominated this book before I even finished it, so drawn was I to the premise and characters. I know the text is a bit dense for some, but I enjoyed slowly reading through it all. 

I would also like to express my joy about seeing BookSpeak and Unbeelievables on the Poetry list. Both are just brilliant and perfect contenders for the Cybils. I can't wait to find out if one of them comes out the winner!