Yummy in my Tummy Pajama Story Time, 4/24/13

 Yummy in my Tummy Pajama Story Time, 4/24/13

Book: Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon
I have mixed feelings about this book. The rhyming text is a bit clunky, and at times, the structure of certain lines favors the rhyme, rather than the meaning of the text. Still, the overall message about the many people involved in the process of baking a cookie, is positive, and the kids responded well to the illustrations.

Song: Bake Some Cookies
I was on the hunt for a cookie-themed song, and a colleague told me that Saroj Ghoting had a cute one. I don't know if this is  the one she was referring to, but it worked surprisingly well for being such a strange take-off on a popular song. I wouldn't have done this song with a larger group, but with this small group filled with involved parents, it was a perfect choice. 

Book: Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass and Philemon Sturges
I had forgotten how long this book drags on. I think we could have cut out three or four "verses" and been just fine, but since I didn't remember the ending, I didn't want to take out anything mid-story without knowing if it would ruin the ending. (As it turns out, I don't think it would have.) 

Flannel Board Rhyme: Down Around the Corner
I have done variations of this flannel board a few times, but this time, I changed how I manipulated the pieces. I normally put up the cookies and trade them for quarters one at a time. This time, I had the kids on the board the whole time, holding the quarters, then traded quarters for cookies, then had them "run away." It sounds complicated, but the kids were a lot more attentive to it than usual.

Book: It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
The parents always seem a little mystified by this book, because it just repeats the same thing over and over again. This group of kids really connected with it, though, and they were surprised and pleased by the ending.

Rhyme with Cow Puppet: Hey Diddle Diddle
I connected this rhyme to the book by asking the kids where milk comes from.

Song: Moon Moon Moon

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Monkeys on the Bed  

Song: Goodnight
We sang goodnight to a cow, cat, and dog. The group was larger and more active than normal, so I had to let a couple of busy toddlers hold some of the puppets in order to keep them from destroying  the room.

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.

Book Spine Poetry 2013

April is National Poetry Month. You may have noticed I have been reviewing a lot of poetry in the past few weeks, but I've also been writing some. Inspired by the gallery Travis Jonker puts together every year, I have created a new set of book spine poems for 2013. Pictures of each poem are below and underneath each photo is the way I imagine the poem is punctuated when I read it. At the end of the post is a bibliography of the books used in the poems.

Thirteen:

The normal kid. 

One crazy summer, 

Fall is not easy, 

The long Winter, 

and then it's spring...

Time's up! 

Thirteen plus one:

Odder than ever 

 Middle school is worse than meatloaf

Things are gonna get ugly 

Mercy on these teenage chimps

Following Grandfather,

Lulu walks the dogs

Where the red fern grows.

When the library lights go out...

Harriet the Spy,

Ramona and her mother,

the mouse and the motorcycle

Mrs. Noodlekugel, 

The Cat in the Hat - 

Everybody, everybody, 

let the games begin!  

Bibliography

Ajmera, Maya. Let the Games Begin!

Cleary, Beverly. The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona and Her Mother 

Coville, Bruce. Odder Than Ever 
Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy

Fogliano, Julie. and then it's spring
Heide, Florence Parry. Time's Up!
Holm, Jennifer. Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf
Holmes, Elizabeth. The Normal Kid
Homzie, Hilary. Things Are Gonna Get Ugly
Kelley, Marty. Fall is Not Easy
Martin, Judith. Everybody, Everybody : A Collection from the Paper Bag Players

McDonald, Megan. When the Library Lights Go Out

Myracle, Lauren. Thirteen

Myracle, Lauren. Thirteen Plus One

Pinkwater, Daniel. Mrs. Noodlekugel
Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows

Seuss, Dr. The Cat in the Hat

Soto, Gary. Mercy on These Teenage Chimps
Viorst, Judith. Lulu Walks the Dogs

Wells, Rosemary. Following Grandfather 
Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter

Music! Music! Music! Preschool Story Time

 Music! Music! Music! Preschool Story Time

This was a smaller story time, but a very nice one. Seven kids attended in all - one preschool boy with a toddler brother (and their mom), one preschool girl with a toddler sister (and their nanny), one of the girls from the Catholic school Pre-K and her first grader sister (and their nanny), and a little boy who always comes with his mom. Our theme was music, so we did some listening, singing, and dancing.

Book: This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt
As I have in the past, I had the kids say  the nicknames of the various jazz musicians. They did okay with the book, but they didn't like it as much as the groups of past years.

Song: Hands Are for Clapping
Since I already had this on hand from the morning story time, I used it again with these guys. They got surprisingly into it - especially when we started snapping our fingers.The first grade big sister also got really into whistling.

Audiobook: Zin! Zin! Zin!A Violin by Lloyd Moss
I downloaded the audio version of this book from Overdrive onto one of our branch iPads and used my old laptop speakers to make the sound loud enough. I held the book and turned the pages as the audio played so the kids would still have the benefit of  the picture book, but they would also get to hear the different musical instruments. The slow pace could have made this story a flop, but the kids loved it. By the end, they were conducting and applauding in accordance with the soundtrack, as though they were part of a real concert.

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Book: Violet’s Music by Angela Johnson
I'm not that fond of this book, but the kids were crazy about it.

Craft: Paper plate maracas
My coworker and I stapled shut paper plates and filled them with beads, then gave them to the kids to color with markers. This was a hugely successful craft, which inspired lots of loud shaking and dancing and lots of bewildered smiles from the poor grown-ups who had to take those noisemakers home.

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.

Music! Music! Music! Toddler Lap Time, 4/19/13

 Music! Music! Music! Toddler Lap Time, 4/19/13

I wasn't planning to do this story time, but my co-worker who was going to do it lost her voice! So I pulled some tried and true books and stepped in at the last minute to take over. This was the largest afternoon toddler group we've had in a while, which is nice, and it was a great story time!

Book: Knick Knack Paddy Whack by Steve Songs and Christiane Engel
As we did this morning, we read the verses and sang the chorus. 

Song: One Little Finger
This is a song I used to use all the time, but that I haven't broken out in a few months. It seemed to drag on a lot longer than usual, but the kids were very attentive.

Book: The Babies on the Bus by Karen Katz
Personally, I am so sick of this song, but the kids love it, and this book makes it somewhat palatable because I love the illustrations. The grown-ups were wonderful about singing every verse. 

Rhyme: Dance Your Fingers

Rhyme: The Rhythm in My Feet 
I was iffy about using this one. It was on my agenda for this morning, and I skipped it, and I almost skipped it again. But I'm glad I didn't. I took it very, very slow, and all of the grown-ups did a great job modeling for their kids. We might try this one again for a few weeks to see if it becomes a favorite.

Song: Sing a Happy Song
It was too humid in the room to be dancing around and singing this song, but we did it anyway.

Songs with Shakers: 

• Shake My Sillies  Out 
• Can You Shake Your Egg With Me?
• Where is Shaker?

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Song: Row Your Boat

Song: ABCs

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.