My formula for Saturday Storytime is:
Intro and Hello
Learn Theme Signs
Book #1
Movement Songs
Felt Story/Song
Book #2
Movement Song
Goodbye Song
Bubbles
Take-Home Craft
Hello Song
"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 |
Warming Up Motor Skills
"Open, Shut Them""Tall/Small"
This is a short, easy stretch the preschoolers especially get a kick out of.
Learn Theme Signs
Our theme this week is rainbows, so we learned the signs for "colors" and "rainbow."
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| Rainbow |
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| Colors |
Hideaway Hedgehog and the Magical Rainbow by Lisa McCue
A super cute tale of a mama hedgehog who stumbles into a leprechaun's golden pot to have her babies, this story can easily be brought to a toddler or preschool level depending on how much dialogic reading you incorporate. It's also adorable that each baby has a different magic power corresponding to their unique color.
Movement Song
"I See Something Blue"
I like to play this song and encourage the kids to find things around the room that match the color the singers mention. This song is pretty mellow and slow-moving, which is good for two reasons. One, it gives even the youngest storytimer a chance to find something of that color and point it out. Two, we all get a chance to practice the signs for the four colors named in the song as well as "color" and "rainbow" at the end.
Felt Story/Song
Today we did a felt story that I didn't make up myself, but tweaked from Rainbow Stew and made my own version. I'm probably over-analyzing, but it really bugged me that everything going into the rainbow stew pot was, in fact, a fruit. So Rainbow Fruit Salad was born. Since the chant was the same for each verse, I encouraged everyone to chant and do the motions along with me.
Red fruit: apple
Orange fruit: orange
Yellow fruit: banana
Green fruit: pear
Blue fruit: blueberries
Purple fruit: grapes
(Put apple and red part of rainbow on felt board)
Chop up an apple, put it in the dish. (mime chopping fruit)
Stir and stir as much as you wish. (mime stirring a large bowl)
Look inside, what color will it be? (hand above your eyes as if looking)
The prettiest red that you ever did see! (ASL sign for "red")
~repeat with all other fruits in rainbow order~
(All fruits and rainbow pieces should be on the board)
Chop up all the fruit, put it in the dish. (mime chopping fruit)
Stir and stir as much as you wish. (mime stirring a large bowl)
Look inside, what color will it be? (hand above eyes as if looking)
The prettiest RAINBOW that you ever did see! (ASL sign for "rainbow")
Movement Songs
Today we did our movement songs with scarves, starting with an a cappella rhyme that ends with everyone throwing their scarf into a pile to make a rainbow:
Wave your scarf high, wave your scarf low.
Wave your scarf fast, wave your scarf slow.
Crumple up your scarf and throw it on three.
One, two, three, whee!
"Color Song"
(vid to come)
"The Freeze" by Greg and Steve
This one has nothing to do with colors, but it was so much fun to make up dances with scarves in between freezes!
"Until We Meet Again" from Out of the Box
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!
Giving a take-home craft as families leave the storytime room is a good way to extend the learning experience after families have left the library. Also, it's a great way to provide a literacy-based craft without having to clean up afterward.
Books to Display:
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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| Goodbye |
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| Friend |
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| Meet |
Bubbles
I like to play the two following songs while I blow bubbles for the group.
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles
Yo Gabba Gabba Bubbles Song
Take-Home Craft
Since this is a monthly storytime with a theme, I thought it would be fun to provide families with a craft based on the theme to work on when they get home. I put everything needed for the craft in baggies, including an instruction sheet so they know how to do the project once they get home. It's a rainbow fish that helps the child's fine motor skills develop as they practice going over, under, and over again.
I like to play the two following songs while I blow bubbles for the group.
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles
Yo Gabba Gabba Bubbles Song
Take-Home Craft
Since this is a monthly storytime with a theme, I thought it would be fun to provide families with a craft based on the theme to work on when they get home. I put everything needed for the craft in baggies, including an instruction sheet so they know how to do the project once they get home. It's a rainbow fish that helps the child's fine motor skills develop as they practice going over, under, and over again.
Books to Display:
- How the Finch Got His Colors—Guertin
- Princess Rosie’s Rainbows—Killion
- Elmer and the Rainbow—McKee
- Ava and the Rainbow (Who Stayed)—Adamson
- Curious George Discovers the Rainbow—Cherrix
- The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow—Callahan
- The Greedy Rainbow—Chandler
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