Preschool Storytime 9-12-17

After saying hello to all our friends this morning, our first story was I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison. I love this book as a storytime pick for a several reasons. First, it's got jaunty illustrations. Second, I don't see a lot of picture books in the mainstream that have main characters of color, and I'm all about representation of all races in literature that young kids will see. Third, we repeated each rhythm as it was read aloud, and made up our own dances to go with them, which was a fun and interactive way to enjoy the book. 

Next we sang my favorite version of "Happy and You Know It" by Mr. Jon. In addition to clapping hands and stomping feet, we get to tickle our friends or parents.

Our second movement song was "I'm A Little Teapot," which everyone knows the dance to. The version I use also has "Two Little Blackbirds," which is a fun fingerplay that preschoolers have fun following along with.

To give you an idea what "Two Little Blackbirds" is if you've never heard of it, here are the amazing Jbrary ladies doing all 9 verses that they use. If you listen to my version you'll hear that we only use the first one, but their movements are exactly what I do in my storytimes.

I once again used "The Hippo on the Bus" as a transition song, mostly because some cuties who were there last week asked if we could do it again. I demonstrated it once, and then encouraged both kids and grownups to keep time by hitting their knees with open palms and chant with me as we did it two more times.

A hip, a hip, a hippotomous
Got on, got on, got on the city bus
And all, and all, and all the people fussed...
STOP SQUISHING US!
(On that last line, squish your cheeks in from both sides so your mouth looks funny and speech is distorted, as if you were being squished by a hippo)

Our second story today was I Wish I Could Fly by Ron Maris. The main character, a turtle, wishes he could do things just as well as all his friends, like fly like a bird or swim like a fish. But at the end he realizes that he also has special talents, and everyone is unique because everyone is different. 

Our last song before saying goodbye to our friends was "Five Little Monkeys," which I like to do with sign language. I don't usually explain the signs ahead of time, since the same basic verse (with the exception of the numbers) is repeated six times over the course of the song. Instead, I make sure to demonstrate them clearly while the song is going on. Preschoolers and grownups both catch on by the second or third verse. 

I'm not able to find a video showing exactly what I do for this song, so here is the version of the song I use, and below are some pictures of the signs. Maybe eventually I'll make a video of myself doing the signs so you can see exactly how I do it!

At the end, you might notice that I use "all done" for "no more monkeys jumping on the bed." I like to teach this sign because it's great for a lot of everyday use. Using just this small amount of signs all together creates a good rhythm that kids find easy to follow. I love doing this signed song with the preschoolers! Stay tuned for my video so you can see how it all comes together in my storytime. 

monkey(s)

jumping

fall off/fall down

hurt head

mom

call

all done/no more