Hello: "Hello Friend"
Before turning on the music, I teach the kids (and grownups) the American Sign Language sign for "friends." Then we boogie, wave, and sing hello to all our friends!
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| Friend(s) |
The song is pretty repetitive with four identical verses. I used to use all four verses, but before moving to the Mesa system I edited it down to only two. They still catch on to the signs and movements by the end, without getting bored.
Warming Up Motor Skills: "Open, Shut Them"
On this song we do the movements described in the lyrics: open our hands, close our hands, clap three times, put our hands in our lap, creep our fingers up to our chin, and don't let them in our mouths.
Stretch: "Tall/Small"
This is a short, easy stretch the preschoolers get a kick out of. While we're stretching, I like to encourage them to reach for the ceiling, touch their toes, then make themselves into a tiny ball.
This is where the rest of the storytime comes in. And then...
Goodbye: "Until We Meet Again"
I was thrilled to finally find this song. Since I started doing storytimes, I wanted it to be my goodbye song. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find in a non-pirated, reliable format! The kids at the library are too young to remember this show, but I watched "Out of the Box" religiously as a kid and always loved the song they sang at the end.
When we sing this song, I help them recall the sign for friends, and teach them a couple others as we sing. After a while, storytime regulars start to look like native signers!
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| Friend(s) |
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| Meet |
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| Goodbye |
Bubbles!
The last thing I do at every storytime is blow bubbles. The kids go crazy over them! I play the same songs every time so they get to know that after we say goodbye, we have bubbles for the duration of two songs, and then storytime is over until next time. Our regulars know this is the way it always goes, which is a great introduction to establishing routines in other aspects of life as they grow.
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