Click here to see my usual introduction and hello for these storytimes.
After saying hello, we did "Heckity Peckity" with my bumblebee finger puppet to get to know our new friends by name and practice counting the syllables of words.
Heckity peckity bumblebee,
Won't you say your name for me?
Bzzzzz (Bee buzzes up to a child and asks their name. Let's say it's Harold.)
Everyone say Harold. (Group says name)
Can we whisper it? (whisper the name)
Can we do it on our legs? (Repeat name and pat thighs with each syllable)
Can we clap it? (Repeat name and clap with each syllable)
Now let's turn off our voice (Do a clicking motion with hand on throat and make clicking sound)
And let's just clap it (Group claps the syllables without speaking)
How many claps was that? (Group answers)
Harold's name is two claps! Who is next?
For our movement song today, I picked "Jumping and Counting" because it never fails to get as many wiggles out as possible.
Then we practiced our "Little Clapping Mouse" chant, which I also wrote on the white board so grownups and reading kids could follow along. We did it twice through, with the kids figuring out when to clap by the second time. (In the written version below, each asterisk is a clap)
Behind the tree * *
And under the house * *
There lives a teeny * *
Tiny mouse * *
She loves to sing * *
She loves to tap * *
But most of all * *
She loves to clap * *
She claps all night * *
She claps all day * *
She claps to frighten * *
The cat away! * * * * * * * *
Behind the tree * *
And under the house * *
There lives a teeny * *
Tiny mouse * *
She loves to sing * *
She loves to tap * *
But most of all * *
She loves to clap * *
She claps all night * *
She claps all day * *
She claps to frighten * *
The cat away! * * * * * * * *
At this point, I passed out rhythm sticks after I made all the kids promise not to hit their friends with them.
When you're three years old and someone hands you two wooden sticks, your first instinct is going to be to make a ton of noise with them. So I have the kids about a minute to do whatever they wanted with the sticks before we got into guided activities, to get it out of their system and make them more receptive. Then I asked them to hit their sticks together as fast as they could, as slow as they could, as quietly, and as loudly as they could, demonstrating each one with my own set of sticks. It's always a novelty when you can be loud in the library.
Next we sang an a capella rhythm stick version of "Happy and You Know It." Each verse below is the full, usual verse of the song with the clapping, stomping, and hooray-ing substituted with the following words:
If you're happy and you know it, tap your sticks (*tap tap*)
If you're happy and you know it, rub your sticks (rub them to make scraping noise *rub rub*)
If you're happy and you know it, hit the floor (*hit hit*)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (*tap tap, rub rub, hit hit*)
Then we did two recorded songs with the rhythm sticks: "Tapping on my Sticks" and "Lummi Stick Tap." "Tapping on my Sticks" is the kind of song I love to use in storytime, because it has suggested movements built right into the lyrics.
I learned something new while looking for songs to use with the rhythm sticks. In the UK, they call them Lummi Sticks, and it is actually a slightly different instrument; longer and a different thickness. The name comes from the Lummi Native American people, who used the sticks in their ceremonies. When we use rhythm sticks musically, it is actually a different shape of stick. I taught the word "lummi" to the kids before we listened to the song, so they would understand what the singer is saying.
I took the rhythm sticks back, and we did our usual goodbye.
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