Baby/Toddler Story Time, 5/17

The theme of this morning's story time was Miss Katie Has Laryngitis! Literally. I can't speak more than a sentence without going completely mute. So this was a true exercise in resourcefulness, and I really owe a huge debt of gratitude to some of my regular story time goers who jumped right in and kept the singing going, even without a leader.

Because I couldn't speak, I chose three audiobooks, and played the CDs while turning the pages. I don't recommend doing story time like that if you don't have to, but it did work like a charm for me in a pinch.

Song: Shake My Silles Out

Book: Clifford the Small Red Puppy by Norman Bridwell (read by Stephanie D'Abruzzo)
This book tells the story of how Emily Elizabeth came to find Clifford, and how he grew from the runt of his litter to the size of a house in only a few days! The kids loved this book. We've never read any Clifford books, since they're a bit lengthy, and I always opt for shorter, more audience-oriented books. But this was a good opportunity to try something new, and it was a definite hit.

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

Book: Fire Truck by Ivan Ulz, illustrated by Jill Dubin
This book was on our audiobook shelf, but it's not truly an audiobook. Rather, the CD includes three songs, and when you play the track for this book, it starts right in with the music and doesn't give the title, author, or anything. Still, the catchy refrain of "Fire truck, fire truck, I want to ride in a fire truck" and the deep-voiced, gritty singing that went with it had many of the kids absolutely fixated on this book. I'm not crazy about the Fisher-Price Little People illustrations - they're not very exciting, and they all look the same, but we might do that song again when I get my voice back.

Song: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Song: Where is Thumbkin?

Book: We All Sing With the Same Voice by J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene, illustrated by Paul Meisel
I played this CD with this book for my very first family story time back in January, and everyone loved it then. It was less well-received today, but I love the song, and I have been planning to use it for my summer story times, since it fits so well with the One World, Many Stories theme. The song is an old one from Sesame Street (see it on YouTube here), but this book has an updated version, which is even better than the original.

Song: There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in My Heart

Song: One, Two, I Love You (Numbers Are Our Friends)

Goodbye Song: Skinnamarink

The biggest challenge of doing story time like this, with laryngitis, is that when adults carry on their own conversations or little ones climb all over everything, you don't have the voice to say no to them. I had a note on the white board about my lost voice and many people were sympathetic and wonderful, but the few who saw it as an opportunity to disregard manners did make it frustrating. Still, though, I have a really understanding and wonderful core group of people in my weekly audience, and I was thankful for them today!

7 Kids' Books About Being Sick

• How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
  by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
  (Picture Book)
  Good and bad sickbed behavior is demonstrated by dinosaurs who stand in for children in various situations.
• A Bad Case of Stripes
  by David Shannon
  (Picture Book)
  Camilla learns to accept her strange condition which causes her skin to break out in various patterns.
• You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown!
  by Paula Danziger
  (Chapter Book)
  Amber's European vacation is ruined when she discovers the itchy spots on her skin aren't mosquito bites after all. 
• Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold
  by Cynthia Rylant & Arthur Howard
  (Easy Reader)
  Mr. Putter isn't feeling well, but Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke are on hand to help him get better.
• Happy New Year, Mallory
  by Laurie Friedman
  (Chapter Book)
  Mallory has big plans for celebrating the New Year, but they're ruined by a trip to the hospital.
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee
  by Philip Stead & Erin Stead
  (Picture Book)
  When he falls ill, zookeeper Amos McGee takes a day off from caring for the zoo animals, only to have them turn around and care for him. 
• Jenny's in the Hospital
  by Seymour Reit & Nina Barbaresi
  (Picture Book)
  This was a favorite book of mine and my sister's as kids. Jenny falls and breaks her arm and must go to the hospital to have it put in a cast. The best part was a big spread in the center of the book showing the layout of the entire hospital building. This book is now out of print.

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 5/10

There was no theme this week, and I did the exact same thing for both sessions. (The second session just had one extra song, because I can't tell time, apparently.)

Opening song: Hello, How Are You?
(This week's actions were clapping hands, tapping knees, and touching nose.)

Book: Mr Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burningham (1976)
This is a really simple book, but such a great one. Mr. Gumpy goes for a drive, and all the kids and animals want to come. When it rains, though, they don't want to help push  the car out of the mud. The illustrations evoke a strong sense of summer warmth, and the ending, where everyone returns home with the promise to go for another drive another day is comforting and happy. Also, it has a car, which I suspect is what turned so many little boys onto it this morning.

Flannel Board Song: Five in the Truck
This song fit really well with the Mr. Gumpy book - they're both about being squished in a crowded vehicle! I originally found this song here, but decided to adapt it for the flannel board. I borrowed the hens from Mel's Desk and printed out a clip art truck from Google images.

Book: Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton, illustrated by R.W. Alley (2009)
I really love this book. The story begins on the end papers, with four people in streetclothes walking toward the police station. It turns out that they are the police officers, and each one has a specialty. The book has a few nice refrains ("Uniform! Badge! Radio! Officer responding. Go, Mike, go!" and "Situation? Under control. When people need help, we rock and roll!") making it really pleasing to the ear and wonderful to read aloud to babies and toddlers. But there is a lot happening in the illustrations, too, that doesn't show up in the text, so older kids can find a lot to talk about in one-on-one readings with their favorite grown-ups. This is definitely a new favorite!

Flannel Board Song: Who Are the People in your Neighborhood?
I have been wanting to sing this at this story time for months, and finally, it all came together. I used clip art people, and quickly pointed out some of their features - tools and hard hat for the construction worker, mail bag and letters for the mail carrier, and a book for the librarian! Then we sang a simple verse ("The mail carrier is a person in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, etc. etc.") about each one. The adults all knew this one, so it was an automatic hit, and we'll be doing it again soon.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out 
This is the perfect song for a quick break between stories because it lasts just a minute, and it gets all that extra energy out.


Song: I'm a Little Teapot
I swore I wasn't doing this song this week, and planned to do Hap Palmer's Turn Around instead, but then I ended up with a large number of babies, and thought this was a song that everyone could take part in. And I saw some kids who normally just stand and watch me actually making handles and spouts!

Book: Red Wagon by Renata Liwska (2011)
This book is a tough read-aloud for little ones because the illustrations portray so much more than the text. A simple walk to the market and back becomes an imaginative adventure when Lucy the fox takes along her new wagon. I tried to comment on the illustrations when I could, but they were mostly too detailed to see from a distance. The book is wonderful, though - it's by the illustrator of The Quiet Book and The Loud Book, and the warm, inviting illustrations really drew me in.

Song: Bumpin' Up And Down in My Little Red Wagon
This is a Raffi song, but I couldn't find or think up hand motions for his original verses, so I quickly wrote some of my own.

Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon

Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon

Bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon

Won't you be my darling?

(Bump up and down)

The wheels turn around on my little red wagon

The wheels turn around on my little red wagon

The wheels turn around on my little red wagon

Won't you be my darling? 

(Turn your hands)

I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagon

I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagon

I'm waving to my friends in my little red wagon
Won't you be my darling?

(Wave)

Flannel Board Song: The Farmer in the Dell
I gave up on using a recording and put my own voice to the test. Thankfully, many adults in the audience knew the song and helped me out. I used the same kizclub.com felt pieces I made for yesterday's story time. There are a lot of variations of this song, but these are the verses I used:

The farmer in the dell, 

The farmer in the dell,

heigh-ho, the derry oh, 

the farmer in the dell.

The farmer takes a wife...

The wife takes a child...

The child takes a nurse...

The nurse takes a dog...

The dog takes a cat...

The cat takes the rat...

The rat takes the cheese...

The cheese stands alone...

 

Song: Monkeys on the Bed

Song: The Wheels on the Bus

Song: There's a Little Wheel a-Turnin' in my Heart
A special bonus for session two because I had no idea what time I'd actually started by our wacky, slow clock, and I thought I was running short! This song is the one the parents love the most. I highly, highly recommend it, especially for winding down at the end of the story time. 

Goodbye Song: Skinnamarink

Family Story Time, 5/9

Opening Song: I'm in the Mood by Raffi (from Rise and Shine)

I don't know what I was thinking. This song is long and unwieldy and a terrible opener! This group has a really broad age range - I had babies, and I had first graders today - and this song was not what we needed to set the tone. Sadly, I think the whole thing just unraveled from there. I honestly don't know what to do with a group like this, but I need to figure it out, because it's really growing!


Song: The Wheels on the Bus 

Book: Being Friends by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Joy Allen (2002)

I may have read this book to guilt some little girls into being nicer to another girl in the front row, who is at least two years younger than they are, and whom they were berating for no reason I could understand. It's also a really positive story about friendship between opposites.


Song: Monkeys on the Bed

Book: Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2006)

The bright colors in this book really captivate toddlers and preschoolers, and I saw a lot of fingers pointing at the book as I read.

Book: The Red Lemon by Bob Staake (2006)

My cleverness in pairing these two books was appreciated by exactly no one. I'm going to try it again with the fours and fives over the summer. But this is the story of how a rejected red lemon became the starting point for a red lemon revolution on a little island. I thought it was sweet, but I really couldn't read how the kids liked it.


Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes


Song: Turn Around

Thank God for Hap Palmer. I rely on this song in situations of great chaos and stress, and it works like a charm every time!

Song with Flannel Board: The Farmer in the Dell (from Best of Children's Favorites: Pooh's Top 40)

The only version I had of this was sung by Disney's Goofy in a key my voice can't reach, so that was fun. My kizclub.com felt board pieces are cute, but alas, this song did not go over well. I'll do it a cappella next time (tomorrow, most likely.)

Book: Snail Trail by Ruth Brown (2000)

I did not need to read another book, but I panicked when I had a room full of blank faces looking at me, so I grabbed the first available thing. This is actually not a great read-aloud - it moves at a snail's pace and not much happens. Nice illustrations, though!


Goodbye Song: Skinnamarink