Preschool Storytime: Mice are Nice!

This is a fun storytime filled with lots of action and rhyming! A mentor once told me that the key to a good storytime is using books you love; that enjoyment comes through in the sharing. House Mouse is a book I want to hug every time I read it:

There's something very hygge about this book! Perfect for Autumn. I had the kids act out the mouse's actions with me- thump thump thump, knock knock knock, tap tap tap.

These days, I put my storytime plans in a Google doc like this. I find the simple layout helps me balance the different activity types (Song, Book, Rhyme, Activity, Discussion) included during a typical storytime. I usually make these "game plans" available for the parents too. 

When I don't have a craft, I like to substitute a group activity. In this case, we brought out 2 giant totes of megablocks for some creative play after our goodbye song.

Sensory Storytime: We LOVE Fall!

My library has a partnership with a local school that specializes only in Special Education. I visit once a month and do storytimes for several classes. We struggle to get attendees for sensory-oriented events at the library, so this has been a great opportunity to provide sensory storytimes for more children in our community.

Each storytime lasts about 25 minutes, and every class is a unique experience. I try to do my best to adapt on the fly to the skills, abilities, and moods of the students in the class. I have found that music is very popular and helps refocus the students' attention.

There are a few things I keep the same every visit to build familiarity with and for the enjoyment of the students:

We do the same opening and closing song every visit- this wonderful song from our friends at Jbrary! It provides a nice bookend effect and uses simple sign language.

We always sing If you're happy and you know it, using this version where we clap our hands, stomp our feet, and shout "Hooray!"

Finally, somewhere near the end of the 25 minute storytime, I break out the bubble machine and we pop and sing along with Pop the Bubbles by Patty Shukla- this is usually the high point of the storytime!

With those repeating elements, this is what our storytime outline looked like today:

• We sang Hello Friends (see above.)
• We read Fall is Here by Frankie Jones
• We sang If You're Happy and You Know It (see above.)
• I passed around giant pine cones that smelled delightfully like cinnamon and let the kids pet the soft squirrel puppet I brought with me. (Always be on the lookout for objects that may be choking hazards.)
• We read The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tarfuri. (I skipped a few pages of this repeating storyline to better keep their attention.)
• I threw a bunch of artificial fall leaves in the air, and then we sang these words to the tune of Frere Jacques, with falling hand motions and wiggling fingers:

Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling
To the ground, to the ground
Look at all the colors, look at all the colors!
Red, yellow, brown!

• We read I DARE YOU! by Nicole Maubert.  (I skipped a few pages to keep their attention. I also let "daring" students experience the touch-and-feel elements. They enjoyed seeing themselves in the mirror at the end.) 

• Then we did the delightful and classic fingerplay 5 Little Pumpkins. I made this a little less Halloween-oriented to suit the setting:  

Five Little Pumpkins sitting on the gate (hold up five fingers)
The first one said, "Oh my! It's getting late." (hold up one finger, then point to your watch)
The second one said, "There are bats in the air!" (hold up two fingers, then make them fly around like a bat)
The third one said, "But we don't care." (hold up three fingers, then put your arms akimbo and shake your head)
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!" (hold up four fingers, make running motions)
The fifth one said, "This is so much FUN!" (hold up five fingers, throw your arms up into the air on "FUN")
WOOOOOOO went the wind, (sway hands back and forth)
and OUT went the lights (clap on "OUT")
and the five little pumpkins (hold up five fingers)
rolled out of sight. (make a rolling motion with your fists)

• We sang and popped along with Pop the Bubbles (see above.)
• We sang Goodbye Friends (see above.)
• I gave the teacher packets of 3 Fall coloring pages for each student, including a half sheet of library info for the parents.  

And that's it! I hope this is useful. Sensory Storytimes are fun for everyone!

Toddler Storytime: Diggers 'n' Dozers

Books:

One Big Building by Michael Dahl

Construction Countdown by K. C. Olson

Giant Pop-out Vehicles Meagan Bennett

Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler

I didn't get to use Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney, but it is so cute! Nicely paced and rhythmic text.

Rhymes:

I loved this action rhyme from Preschool Powol Packets:

Construction Trucks Action Rhyme 

The tall, tall CRANE reaches up so high
(stretch up tall toward the sky) It looks like it will touch the sky!
(keep stretching up, stand on tippy toes) 

EXCAVATOR digs a hole so low
(use one hand to scoop a "hole" that touches the ground) While LOADER scoops up dirt to go.
(use two hands to scoop an imaginary load) 

The BULLDOZER scrapes a nice flat ground
(place hands at waist height and "smooth" the "ground" in front of you)And CEMENT MIXER spins around and round.
(spin in circles) 

Now very last, and very strong,
(make "strong muscles") DUMP TRUCK lifts things all day long!
(use two hands to lift a "load" like a dump truck) 

This is a classic building rhyme:

Johnnie / Joanie Works With One Hammer 

Johnny works with one hammer,  (Hammer one fist lightly on leg) one hammer, one hammer,Johnny works with one hammer,Then he works with two. 

Johnny works with two hammers...(Hammer both fists on legs) 

Johnny works with three hammers...(Hammer both fists on legs and one foot on the floor)

Johnny works with four hammers...(Hammer both fists on legs and both feet on the floor) 

Johnny works with five hammers...(Hammer both fists on legs, both feet on floor, and nod head down and up) Then he goes to sleep.(Pretend to go to sleep) 

Special Activity:

We played "Hide and Go Seek" with cardstock construction vehicles "hidden" around the room. My class is very young, so I just set them on the floor in easily visible spots. I told them that the trucks had been out working hard fixing up the library all morning, and now we needed to bring them back to rest in the parking lot.

The kids went out searching and brought all the trucks back to this parking lot I made out of masking tape on the carpet. (It's amazing what you can do with tape on carpet!)

We had a special building and construction themed playtime afterwards with plenty of Duplos, cardboard blocks, and transportation themed toys.  

Toddler Homework:

• Stop by a construction site and talk about what the machines are doing.
• Read a book about construction and/or big machines.
• Look at tools with grownups and talk about what they do.

What can you do with a scarf?

Storytime scarves are a lot of fun. My absolute favorite scarf song is Popcorn Kernels, demonstrated by the fabulous ladies from Jbrary here:

I like to ask some other questions too:

• Can you wear it like a cape?
• Can you wave it like a flag?
• Can you wear it like a hat? 
• Can you hide it behind your back? Can you wave it behind your back?
• Can you wear it like a shoe? (This one is just for laughs. As it happens scarves makes terrible shoes.)
• Can you spin it around your head like a helicopter? 
• Can you wave it fast/slow or high/low?

What do you like to do with scarves?

Toddler Storytime: Favorite Friends: Pete the Cat, Maisy the Mouse, IYGAMAC Mouse

This is really a 'no theme' theme, but it still works very well with toddlers!  We have a celebration coming up at our library featuring these characters, so I picked several books that are A) lots of fun and B) would help promote our celebration by including these beloved 'Favorite friends.' You can alter this to include any of your favorite picture book friends. First I got out our parachute. This activity is always a winner! We lifted it up, down, walked in a circle, bounced balls on it, let kids run underneath... one mom said it was a "cathartic experience." That's a promising way to start the morning.

After we did our Hello song and Open Shut Them, we started off with a great book: 

The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura Numeroff

This installment of the  If you give a Mouse a Cookie series is perfect for toddlers. It's short, sweet, silly, and ends on a sweet but sincere note: "but the best cookie is the one you share with a friend." I have found some of the other IYGAMAC books are a little long for toddler-sized attention spans.

Last week I was shocked to witness how popular Jim Gill's Jumping and Counting is with kids, so of course we did that again... and again by request after storytime ended!

Then we did our action rhyme This is the Beehive together. Buzzzzzz!

Our next friend to celebrate was Pete the Cat! We read I Love My White Shoes, which you can watch being performed by the creators below. This story is a great opportunity to sing together, learn rhythm and colors, and celebrate resilience!

Kids love to yell "Goodness, NO!"  Then we had to move a little more- this time we shook our sillies out with Raffi.

Our last friend story of the day was Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins.  My kids grew slightly antsy during this book, even though they enjoyed it, so you might want to shorten it up a little. (We often paperclip a few pages together to abridge the story.)

Finally we sang Icky Sticky Bubble Gum and it was already time to go home.  (JJ does an adorable rendition here!)

For fun takeaways, all of these characters have printables made available by their authors and publishers. (I find that these officially sanctioned printables are often of better quality and formatting than the average internet printable.)

• If you give a mouse a cookie coloring pages
• Maisy coloring pages
• Pete the Cat coloring pages

These are pages for a few other friends we wanted to include today:

• Seuss coloring pages 
• Clifford coloring pages

Toddler Storytime: Fun with Opposites

Opposites are so much fun! Toddlers are discovering differences in the world with all their senses and it is never too early to broach the concept of opposites. Talking about opposites helps toddlers understand the function of comparative vocabulary (bigger, softer, louder) that they need to describe their world.  

After "Hello, hello, hello and how are you?" and "Open Shut them" we were ready to talk opposites. Well, what is an opposite? In toddler terms, opposites are things that are very, very different in a particular way. 

Book: Magic Opposites by Patrick George

This book is 'magic' due to the carefully placed shapes on the plastic see through pages. We read just the first ten pages or so to get our feet wet.

Action Rhyme: Two Little Blackbirds

(Jbrary does a good rendition of this rhyme.)

Traditional Lyrics:
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill.One named Jack and one named Jill. Fly away Jack, fly away Jill. Come back Jack, come back Jill.

Additional lyrics for practicing opposites:

Two little blackbirds flying in the sky.
One named Low and one named High...

Two little blackbirds sitting on a pole.
One named Fast and one named Slow...

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate...
One named Early and one named Late...

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud...
One named Quiet and one named LOUD!

Two little blackbirds scared by a sound,
One flew UP and the other flew DOWN...

Book: Animal Opposites: a pop-up book by Petr Horáček

Let the toddlers try to name the animals!

Action rhyme: Clap, clap, clap your hands

Clap, clap, clap your hands, as slowly as you can.
Clap, clap, clap your hands as quickly as you can!

Roll, roll, roll your hands, as slowly as you can.
Roll, roll, roll your hands as quickly as you can!

Shake, shake, shake your hands, as slowly as you can.
Shake, shake, shake your hands as quickly as you can!

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers, as slowly as you can.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your fingers as quickly as you can!

Give me five!

Action/counting song: Jumping and Counting by Jim Gill

This was a surprise smash hit. I disovered the song on our iPad, tried it out with some earlybird toddlers and they (and the rest of the kids) wanted to do it no less than 3 more times! 

Book: I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Game: Animal sorting

I asked the kids to help me sort the animals. "Who is little? Who is big?"

Action rhyme: This Is Big (Thank you librarian Mel!)

This is big big big  Hold arms out to side

This is small small small  Cup hands together

This is short short short  Hold hands with palms facing each other

This is tall tall tall  Reach one hand high above head

This is fast fast fast  Circle fists quickly

This is slow slow slow  Circle fists slowly

This is yes yes yes  Nod

This is no no no  Shake head

We ended by playing with our parachute, demonstrating even more opposites.  We lifted the parachute high/low, tall/short, we shook the parachute fast/slow, and we walked toward each other for in and then back out again. You could also walk clockwise and counterclockwise or right and left. 

Extra book if you have time: Black & White by Tana Hoban

I ask the toddlers "Can anyone tell me what these shapes are?"

Toddler Storytime: Trees and Fall

This morning we had a most excellent storytime. Parents were fully engaged and the toddlers ate up all the physical activity of the stories, games, and action rhymes. First we learned and practiced our 'Hello' song, followed by 'Open Shut them.'

Our first book was Christie Matheson's Tap the Magic Tree.

This was my favorite picture book published last year! Readers touch, rub, wiggle and blow at the book to help the tree change through the seasons. Instead of letting all the kids touch/rub/etc. the book at once, with each new page I would let just one child complete the action, moving around the semicircle of children as we progressed through the book, letting each one get a special turn. I think the anticipation helped maintain their focus. This book is a great read for most any new season and one I recommend often. A must-read for fans of Herve Tullet's Press Here book.

Then we did an action song:

Leaves are Falling (sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Leaves are falling, Leaves are falling  (wiggle fingers and drop hands from high to low)
To the ground, to the ground,  (hit the ground)
Look at all the colors, look at all the colors, (point to eyes and look around the room)
Red Yellow Brown, Red Yellow Brown (clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-clap)

Next we played a great game: Roll and Play, a superb $20 toy. I let each toddler roll or throw the plush cube and then I would name what color it landed on, draw a card of that same color and lead the group in the simple command on the card (eg, 'Wiggle your nose.')  Easy and fun: just what the toddlers want! Okay, it is awfully educational too.

Our second book was Andy Pritchett's Stick!

This title is a little bit of a stretch from the 'Trees' theme, but my philosophy is that the quality and potential engagement value of a book is more important than how well it fits the chosen theme.  My transition was something like "Trees give us many wonderful things. Our next book is about something dogs especially enjoy from trees." This book is one of few words (three or four, I think) but there is much to discuss. The kids voluntarily started naming the animals in the book and the noises they make, and the book's happy ending champions the value of friendship and play.

After we did Here is the Beehive, it was already time to go home. I offered a simple craft for people who had time to stay: make your own leaf rubbing! I cut the wrappers off big crayons, brought in some leaves, and the parents already knew what to do. (In case you've never done this, you just lay a sheet of thin paper over some leaves and rub the crayon over the paper. A leaf 'appears.')

Toddler Storytime: Dogs, dogs, dogs!

I'm happy that our Fall storytimes are back in action! We started out this season with a ruff-n-rowdy storytime about DOGS.

We started by all singing "Hands are for clapping" along with Jim Gill, and then did our

Open, shut them rhyme.

Book one: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

This silly book is great for toddlers! They can help you make the barking sounds and tell you what animals make the other assorted noises.

Song: 5 little dogs

For this song, I put out 5 plush dogs on a table, including Clifford, Wishbone, and a few other famous dogs we happen to have on hand.  For each new iteration, I would take one away. Toddlers understand subtraction! As you'll find out, they also know how to growl.

Five Little Dogs
(Tune: "Six Little Ducks")

Six little dogs that I once knew,
fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones too.
But the one little dog with the brown curly fur,
He led the others with a grr, grr, grr.
Grr, grr, grr
Grr, grr, grr
He led the others with a grr, grr, GRR!

Book two: woof! woof! by David A. Carter

This fun, mesmerizing book provides a great opportunity for the kids to imagine what cut-out shapes might form, and has an oh-so-perfect ending.

Song: Shake your sillies out by Raffi
Fingerplay: Where is thumbkin?

Book three: Dog’s colorful day by Emma Dodd

My coworker made a wonderful felt-board story to go along with this book. Practice your counting, colors, and enjoy a silly story. What's not to love?

We also did a super easy craft, using up some of our leagues of colorful label stickers. No mess, easy, and the kids loved it!

*Next time, I might include a segment on doggie moods- playful, sleepy, scared- and sneak in some safety tips on when it is okay to pet dogs.

Fingerplays on Youtube!

One of the most useful tools in storytime planning is Youtube- and I want to contribute! Perhaps you can use one of these in your own storytime.

Toddler Storytime: Prize-winning books

This theme is a little unusual, but I argue that it provides two valuable things in lieu of a cohesive theme:
-the opportunity to talk about selection tools for parents early in a child's development
-a means to present a smattering of picture books that go above and beyond.

I picked up 100 Best books for Children by Anita Silvey and decided to start my planning with her suggestions, as she is such a respected figure in Children's literature (see her awesome blog here: http://childrensbookalmanac.com/) 

Opening song: Silly dance contest by Jim Gill

Everyone finds their seats, and then we do Open, Shut them:
Open, shut them.    
Give a little clap. 
Open, shut them  
Put them in your lap.  

Books one, two, three, four: (chosen according to the energy level of the room)

• Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
• Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
• Tuesday by David Weisner  

Rhythm song:

Tap your sticks by Hap Palmer
Pass out drumsticks. If you run through each tapping motion first and the toddlers will be able to follow along.

Action rhymes one, two and three: (also chosen according the energy level of the room)

Here is the Beehive Here is the beehive... but where are all the bees? 
(hold up fist) Hidden inside where nobody sees. (move other hand around fist) Here they come buzzing out of the hive One, two, three, four, five.(hold fingers up one at a time) Bzzzzzzzz… all fly away!(wave fingers)

The Grand Old Duke of York
(Everyone begins marching.)
The grand old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill (march up on your tippy toes, or standing tall)
and he marched them down again. (march crouched down low)
When they were up, they were up (march up high again)
and when they were down they were down (march low)
and when they were only halfway up (march mid-height)
They were neither up (march up) nor down (march down)

Where is thumbkin? (and pinkie, and family)

 (Start with hands behind back)

Where is thumbkin?
Where is thumbkin?
Here I am (Bring right hand to front, with thumb up) 
Here I am. (Bring left hand to front,with thumb up)
How are you this morning?
Very well, I thank you. (Wiggle thumbs as if they're 'talking' to each other)
Run away (Hide right hand behind back)

Run away.(Hide left hand behind back)
Sung to the tune of Frere Jacques and repeated with pinkie and family (all the fingers.)
 

Closing song: Icky Sticky Bubble Gum  
Icky, sticky, icky, sticky bubble gum bubble gum, bubble gum. 
Icky, sticky, icky, sticky bubble gum stuck to my *head.  
And I pull, and I pull, and they’re off!  
(Repeat with different parts of the body) *toes; *knees;*ears; *nose *eyebrows
(We usually close with 'stuck to my friend!' where you go around playfully tagging the kids.)  

Toddler Storytime: Trains

Welcome song: Oh hey oh hi hello by Jim Gill

Action rhyme 1: Open shut them

Open shut them

Open shut them, open shut them. [Open and shut your hands.]
Give a little clap, clap, clap. [Clap.]
Open shut them, open shut them.
Put them in your lap, lap, lap. [Pat your legs.]

Letter of the day: T, for T-r-a-i-n

Can everyone draw a T in the air?  Or make a t with your arms?

Book 1: Giant Pop-out Vehicles by Gia

Action rhyme 2: Choo-choo Train

This is a choo-choo train,
   Bend arms at elbows.
Puffing down the track.
  Rotate forearms in rhythm.
Now it's going forward,
  Push arms forward; continue rotating motion.
Now it's going back.
   Pull arms back; continue rotating motion.
Now the bell is ringing,
   Pull bell cord with closed fist.
Now the whistle blows.
   Hold fist near mouth and blow.
What a lot of noise it makes,
   Cover ears with hand.
Everywhere it goes.

Book 2: Freight Train by Donald Crews

Book 3: Train Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

Tongue twister:

Aside:  Parents, children hear a letter sound most easily at the beginning of a word. A fun way to help children recognize beginning sounds is with tongue twisters- the repetition will help your child remember the letters and their sounds.

Twister: The 2:20 train tore through the tunnel.

Felt board story: Felt Board Train Song

(Thank you Nancy! http://www.nancymusic.com/Feltboardtrainplay.htm)

Here comes the engine, clickety clack
Shiny and black on the railroad track
Woo woo! Woo woo!

Here comes the blue car, clickety clack
To join the train on the railroad track
Woo woo! Woo woo!
(repeat with yellow and green, and other colors if you want)

Now here comes the ...
Red caboose going clickety clack
At the back of the train on the railroad track
Woo, woo! Woo, woo!

Aside: Parents, trains are great not only for colors but also for practicing counting skills.  if you are stuck at a RR crossing, why not count the trains with your kids?

Book 3: Down by the station by Will Hillenbrand
or The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Song: I’ve been working on the Railroad

(Pass out shakers or sticks)

Closing: Thank you for coming today everyone!  I hope you had fun reading about trains. All of these books you see are available for checkout.

Toddler Storytime: Barnyard Friends

This is a great storytime subject because it is so flexible. Many favorite animals qualify as 'barnyard friends'- and there are so many quality picturebooks about them!  Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin would have also been a happy addition, as well as the traditional Chicken dance!  I found this list of Barnyard Fingerplays provided by the library of Michigan that helped with planning.

Opening Song:

 I usually like Oh hey oh hi hello by Jim Gill.

Nursery rhymes: 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
down came the rain and washed the spider out
out came the sun and dried up all the rain
and the Itsy Bitsy spider climbs up the spout again!

 

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Count out the bags of wool on your fingers.  Use puppet if available.

Baa baa black sheep 

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.

One for my master,
One for my dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Book 1:

This is the Farmer by Nancy Tafuri

Action Rhyme:

Have everyone stand up for this action rhyme.
 
Horses in the Pasture

Horses in the pasture (point to one side)
Horses in the hay (point to other side)
Horses like to run and jump (run and jump in place)
Each and every day (clap along with words- repeat)

Song: 

Shake your sillies out by Raffi 

Felt board story:

5 little ducks: (accompanied by Raffi song of the same name) 

This is an easy feltboard story to make- you need only 5 little ducks and a mother duck (perhaps a puppet?)  You may wish to add a little pond or hills.

Book 2: 

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

or
Charlie Chick by Nick Denchfield and Ant Parker

Song, if needed:

List of Dances by Jim Gill

Book 3: 

Here a chick, where a chick? by Suse MacDonald

or
Spots Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri

Action Rhyme:

This Little Chick

This little chick got into the barn (hold up index finger)
This little chick ate all the corn (hold up middle finger)
This little chick said he wasn’t well (hold up ring finger)
And this little chick said he’d go tell (hold up little finger)
But this little chick said ”Peep! Peep! Peep! (hold up thumb)
Please be quiet! I'm trying to sleep!” (wiggle thumb- repeat)

iPad fun:

I found an app called Animal Sounds that is free and attractive. You can make a simple game of this and allow the children to press on the animal to make the noise.