Today was my first themed preschool story time, and it was such a success, I have decided to stick with themes for the foreseeable future. Sure, that means some more work for me, but it also means variety, attentive kids, and hopefully, some useful blog posts for my readers.
Today's theme is
FOOD.
Opening Song: Hello, how are you?
Song: If You'd Like to Read a Book
Book: Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley (1997)
I love the colors in this book, and the changes in perspective as the mouse makes his mess, then stands back to survey it. The kids were reluctant to participate, but some of them did eventually make some observations about the illustrations, including that the mouse eats a cracker in bed.
Song: Aikendrum
I really hesitated to do this song again, since it's been kind of a dud in the past, but thankfully, this time when I asked the kids to pretend to play a ladle they did it! And I told them it was Raffi, which seemed to make it go down easier as well.
Book: We Are What We Eat by Sally Smallwood (2008)
This book shows real kids and their favorite fruits and veggies. Each illustration pulls out into a wider spread showing the insides and outsides of the chosen fruit or vegetable. They really liked this one, especially the pages where the kids put cucumbers or strawberries on their eyes.
Song: I Feel Crazy
This was a new song for story time, but I've been trying to convince myself to do it for a long time. The parents looked at me like I was a little bit nuts - or really boring, I'm not sure which. But the kids seemed to like it, especially because it had new motions we haven't done, like galloping and splashing.
Song: Fruit Salad Salsa
Special thanks to
Librarian Pirate, who responded to my tweet about this song on Saturday and inspired me to use shaker eggs instead of just awkwardly dancing around. The song was maybe not a favorite, but all the kids loved shaking.
Book: Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass & Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Ashley Wolff (2000)
This is a twist on that well-known childhood chanting game. This time, all the culprits are animals, who leave behind clues. Who is guilty? The kids didn't guess, but they loved the big reveal.
Song: The Wheels on the Bus
I did this to avoid singing Chickadee for the nine millionth time. I need a little variety now and then.
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This
Other books I considered reading for this story time include:
Find more food story times on these other blogs:
A full description of this, and all my weekly story time programs can be found here.
