My vision for this program is to help preschoolers grasp the basics of what it means to clap on the beat, how to keep basic rhythm, and understand what is happening in music as they listen. It sounds incredibly complicated for a three-year-old, but I'm pretty sure my dance teachers did this with us and I'm much more musically inclined as an adult because of it.
So we began this morning with what will become my usual Rhythm & Flow introduction. We only do one hello song and "Open, Shut Them" to warm up our fingers, because "Hello Hello" has built in stretches.
I want this storytime to include even more interaction between me and the group of kids than a regular storytime would, so I am getting to know the kids individually using a bumblebee finger puppet and this fun chant:
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?
I like this one because they are starting to associate counting syllables with words they say every day, like their names. It's also a fun way to get to know your storytime regulars. Here are some videos of people doing Heckity Peckity. Including Jbrary, who are awesome.
Next, we did a movement song with music because we had a lot of wiggles to shake out. I picked "Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve today, because it is vaguely directed movement but still allows plenty of opportunity to get the sillies out and be ready to move on to another activity.
Where I would usually put a second movement song in a regular storytime, we did a clapping chant instead. I love this one that I got from Jbrary, "Little Clapping Mouse."
Before the program, I wrote out the whole rhyme on a rolling white board so grownups and any reading children could follow along. I added two asterisks to the end of each line to indicate where the claps go, like this:
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! * * * * * * * *
Having the words written out in a place storytimers can see them makes it easier for them to follow along right away, instead of me needing to teach the rhyme aloud. We did it two times through as a group. The kids got the hang of when to clap by the second time.
Another vision I had for this program was the use of a musical instrument every time. Today we used egg shakers, which are noisemakers similar to maracas, but great for teeny tinies because they fit perfectly in their hands.
As I passed them out, I gave the kids time to shake them on their own and start to explore everything they could do with them. Then we sang an a capella version of "Happy and You Know It" using the shakers. 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, give a shake (*shake shake*)
If you're happy and you know it, give a clap (tap shakers together *clap clap*)
If you're happy and you know it, give a tap (tap shakers on legs *tap tap*)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (*shake shake, clap clap, tap tap*)
Then we did two recorded songs with the egg shakers: "I Know a Chicken" and "Milkshake." "I Know a Chicken" is great because it mentions egg shakers specifically, and gives direction on how to use the shakers. Laurie Berkner strikes again!
After we gave all the shakers back, I launched right into our goodbye song. We used the same one that I do for Preschool Storytime and Toddler Time, for the simple reason that I love it. I also like to see the kids copying me when I demonstrate the sign language.
All in all, my first completely original storytime went really well. There were 75 people in the room which was a little overwhelming, but they all had a good time and so did I!
No comments:
Post a Comment