Saturday Storytime February 2019: Rainbows

This storytime is for ages 0-5, but I've decided to structure it as a combination of Toddlertime and Preschool Storytime.

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

Intro and Hello
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!

Friend

Warming Up Motor Skills

"Open, Shut Them"

Stretching
"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."

Rainbow

Colors

Book #1
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!

Goodbye Song

"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!

Goodbye

Friend

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.

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:

• 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 

Saturday Storytime January 2019: Feelings

This storytime is for ages 0-5, but I've decided to structure it as a combination of Toddlertime and Preschool Storytime.

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

Intro and Hello

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!

Friend

Warming Up Motor Skills

"Open, Shut Them"

Stretching

"Tall/Small"

This is a short, easy stretch the preschoolers especially get a kick out of.

Learn Theme Signs

Our theme this week is feelings, so we learned the signs for "feel," "happy," "sad," and "grumpy."

Happy

Sad

Grumpy/Angry

Book #1

Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

This is one of my favorite storytime books because it's fun to read, and the kids love grumpy bird's transformation from grumpy to part of his happy friend group. 

Movement Songs

"Clap Your Hands"

"Feelings"

I like to do this song twice because it's only 40 seconds long. This also gives the kids a second chance to get all the movements down.

Felt Story/Song
"If You're Happy and You Know It"

After identifying the emotions each face seems to be feeling, we sang " If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" for the happy face. Then we did the following verses for the other faces:

If you're sad and you know it, say boo hoo. BOO-HOO!

If you're surprised and you know it, say oh my. OH MY!

If you're scared and you know it, give a shriek. AAHHH!
If you're silly and you know it, make a face. (make silly face)

Book #2
Love by Stacy McAnulty
This book is new to our library, and a complete delight! Super diverse, super sweet, and few enough words to keep a group of wiggly kiddos engaged as storytime winds down.

Movement Song
"If You're Happy and You Know It" by Mr. Jon
We sang it a cappella already, but this is another good time to practice signing "happy" and get our wiggles out with a special appearance of the hilarious Tickle Bugs.

Goodbye Song
"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!

Goodbye

Friend

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. This month 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 feelings wheel made of two paper plates, a brad, stickers showing different emotions, and whatever decorations the child would like to add. 

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.

Here's a video I took of my demo wheel in action:

And here is the "how to" sheet included in the craft bags:

(Click image to enlarge)

Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow: Rhythm Sticks

My Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow (LGRF) format is:

Hello
Warm Up Motor Skills
Heckity Peckity Bumble Bee
Movement Song
Pass Out Instruments
A Capella Instrument Rhyme
Movement Songs with Instruments
Collect instruments
Mellow Movement Song
Goodbye
Bubbles

Note: This post shows all the songs and chants I use when I run this program with rhythm sticks. I don't use every song and chant every time; that would make for a several-hour-long program and some very wiggly preschoolers!

Hello
"Hello, Hello"
Since LGRF is so high energy, I like to start the programs with a more mellow good morning song than other storytimes. I like this one because it has built-in movements and stretches.

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.

Heckity Peckity Bumble Bee

The "Heckity Peckity" chant is a great way to practice call-and-response, get to know our new friends by name, and practice counting the syllables of words.

Me and my bumblebee finger puppet

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?

Movement Song

You could pretty much use any movement songs in this program, but there are several that I've noticed go over extra well when the kids are excited about puppets and instruments, and just need to shake their wiggles out. I usually go with one of these ten...

"Bob 'Til You Drop" by Greg and Steve

"It's Time to Stand Up" by Susan Salidor

"The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner

"Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve

"Tooty Ta" by The Kiboomers

"The Freeze" by Greg and Steve

(weird video, but you can hear the song pretty well)

"Jumping and Counting" by Jim Gill

"Arms Up"

"Clap Your Hands"

"Hokey Pokey"

Pass Out Rhythm Sticks

When it's time to pass out the instruments, I tell the kids they must be sitting down calmly in order to get one. If they're extra wiggly, I might do a calming song like "Everybody Do This Just Like Me" or "Eyes are Watching, Ears are Listening," but this is only necessary about half the time. Once they see kids who are sitting down getting handed rhythm sticks or egg shakers, they get the idea and assume the position themselves. Also, since it's impossible to be handed a musical instrument and not make noise with it right away, I don't make them keep it quiet until everyone has theirs. 

A Capella Rhythm Stick Rhymes

"Little Clapping Mouse"
(each * is a time to clap or hit rhythm sticks together)

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! * * * * * * * *

Jbrary does it with clapping, but this rhyme is also excellent with instruments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If You're Happy and You Know It"

If you're happy and you know it, tap your sticks *tap tap*

If you're happy and you know it, tap your sticks *tap tap*

If you're happy and you know it, and you really wanna show it,

If you're happy and you know it, tap your sticks *tap tap*

Repeat with...

If you're happy and you know it, rub your sticks *rub together*

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 together, hit hit*

Try to get the whole room singing with you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rain on the Rooftop"

Rain on the rooftop

Rain on the tree

Rain on the green grass

But none on me!

Use rhythm sticks to make the beat. Hit the floor twice, then hit them together once. The rhythm is in 4/4 time. Using the first line as an example, if each beat has a number...

1-hit the floor (on "rain")

2-hit the floor (on "on")

3-hit sticks together (on "roof")

4-rest

This video will show you how the song goes, although it's not exactly the words I learned. It works as a song or a chant, depending on your level of comfort singing in front of people.

Movement Songs with Instruments

I can only keep the attention of a room full of preschoolers with musical instruments for so long, so this is the point in the program where I let recorded music do the majority of the work. I encourage the kids and grownups to dance and sing along, as well as follow the directed movements suggested in the lyrics. These songs are all fantastic for working with rhythm sticks, because they acknowledge the instruments and show the kids several different ways to use them.

"Tapping on My Sticks" by Kathy Reid-Naiman

"Lummi Stick Tap" by The Tumble Tots

"Point Your Lummi Sticks" by The Tumble Tots

Collect Rhythm Sticks

I don't try the "only those sitting down can put their instruments away" method for collecting... It does not work. By the end of the second song, they're either over using the instruments or so attached that they will sob if I try to take them away. For this reason, I simply encourage everyone to be good helpers and clean up all the instruments until they're all back in their bin. The prospect of helping me clean up is usually enough to get the clingers to relinquish their toys, especially when it's coupled with the promise that they'll get to play with them again next time.

Mellow Movement Song

The last thing I like to do before singing the goodbye song and having bubbles is one more movement song to help the littles re-compose themselves after the trauma of having to say goodbye to the toys. The best one I've found is Ella Jenkin's "Follow the Leader." 

Goodbye

"Until We Meet Again" from Out of the Box
Before singing this song, we learn a vocabulary word: clave. Clave is a type of rhythm used mostly in Afro-Cuban music, characterized by it's three-two beat. When I teach the word to preschool-age kids, I have them count to three, pause, and count to two, then do it again with clapping. The Out of the Box goodbye song uses a clave pattern, so after we learn what the word means, we practice clapping the clave pattern as we say goodbye to our friends.

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.
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles
Yo Gabba Gabba Bubbles Song

Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow: Egg Shakers

My Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow (LGRF) format is:

Hello
Warm Up Motor Skills
Heckity Peckity Bumble Bee
Movement Song
Pass Out Instruments
A Capella Instrument Rhyme
Movement Songs with Instruments
Collect instruments
Mellow Movement Song
Goodbye
Bubbles

Note: This post shows all the songs and chants I use when I run this program with egg shakers. I don't use every song and chant every time; that would make for a several-hour-long program and some very wiggly preschoolers!

Hello
"Hello, Hello"
Since LGRF is so high energy, I like to start the programs with a more mellow good morning song than other storytimes. I like this one because it has built-in movements and stretches.

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.

Heckity Peckity Bumble Bee

The "Heckity Peckity" chant is a great way to practice call-and-response, get to know our new friends by name, and practice counting the syllables of words. 

Me and my bumblebee finger puppet

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?

Movement Song

You could pretty much use any movement songs in this program, but there are several that I've noticed go over extra well when the kids are excited about puppets and instruments, and just need to shake their wiggles out. I usually go with one of these ten...

"Bop 'Til You Drop" by Greg and Steve

"It's Time to Stand Up" by Susan Salidor

"The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner

"Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve

"Tooty Ta" by The Kiboomers

"The Freeze" by Greg and Steve

(weird video, but you can hear the song pretty well)

"Jumping and Counting" by Jim Gill

"Arms Up"

"Clap Your Hands"

"Hokey Pokey"

Pass Out Egg Shakers

When it's time to pass out the instruments, I tell the kids they must be sitting down calmly in order to get one. If they're extra wiggly, I might do a calming song like "Everybody Do This Just Like Me" or "Eyes are Watching, Ears are Listening," but this is only necessary about half the time. Once they see kids who are sitting down getting handed rhythm sticks or egg shakers, they get the idea and assume the position themselves. Also, since it's impossible to be handed a musical instrument and not make noise with it right away, I don't make them keep it quiet until everyone has theirs. 

A Capella Egg Shaker Rhyme

"One, Two, Shake it on Your Shoe"

(To the rhythm of "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe")

One, two, shake it on your shoe (shake eggs near shoes)

Three, four, shake it on the floor (bend down and shake eggs near floor)

Five, six, stir and mix (pretend shakers are the spoon mixing in a large bowl)

Seven, eight, hold them up straight (hold shakers above your head)

Nine, ten, do it all again (shake eggs excitedly)

Movement Songs with Instruments

I can only keep the attention of a room full of preschoolers with musical instruments for so long, so this is the point in the program where I let recorded music do the majority of the work. I encourage the kids and grownups to dance and sing along, as well as follow the directed movements suggested in the lyrics. These songs are all fantastic for working with egg shakers because they acknowledge the instruments and show the kids several different ways to use them.

"Going to Kentucky" by Laurie Berkner

"Shake Your Sillies Out" by Raffi

"Milkshake" by Old Town School of Folk Music

"Shaky Shaky" by The Wiggles

Collect Egg Shakers

I don't try the "only those sitting down can put their instruments away" method for collecting... It does not work. By the end of the second song, they're either over using the instruments or so attached that they will sob if I try to take them away. For this reason, I simply encourage everyone to be good helpers and clean up all the instruments until they're all back in their bin. The prospect of helping me clean up is usually enough to get the clingers to relinquish their toys, especially when it's coupled with the promise that they'll get to play with them again next time.

Mellow Movement Song

The last thing I like to do before singing the goodbye song and having bubbles is one more movement song to help the littles re-compose themselves after the trauma of having to say goodbye to the toys. The best one I've found is Ella Jenkin's "Follow the Leader." 

Goodbye

"Until We Meet Again" from Out of the Box
Before singing this song, we learn a vocabulary word: clave. Clave is a type of rhythm used mostly in Afro-Cuban music, characterized by it's three-two beat. When I teach the word to preschool-age kids, I have them count to three, pause, and count to two, then do it again with clapping. The Out of the Box goodbye song uses a clave pattern, so after we learn what the word means, we practice clapping the clave pattern as we say goodbye to our friends.

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.
One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles
Yo Gabba Gabba Bubbles Song

Learn and Grow with Rhythm and Flow 4-6-18

It's rhythm stick day again! The parents think it's hilarious when I make the preschoolers repeat my only rhythm stick rule, "Don't hit your friends." It is funny, but definitely gets the point across. Yay for perpetuating nonviolence!

After our simple two-song hello, we did the "Heckity Peckity" chant and counted the syllables in our names. I use a little bumblebee finger puppet when we do this, like she uses in the second video below. Before we start, I tell the kids my friend Bumble Bee really wants to meet each of them, but he's really shy, and he will only ask their names if we all say this rhyme together. Then, after we all say the first two lines, he buzzes up to children and asks them what their name is.

My with my friend Bumble Bee

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?

Our movement song today was "Can't Sit Still" by Greg and Steve. I like this one because it's directed movement with built in naming of body parts. Plus, they throw in a surprise game of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes during the bridge. There is no downside.

vid

Then we passed out the rhythm sticks ("Don't Hit Your Friends.")

Classroom management tip: I try to make the passing out of instruments as orderly as possible. Before handing out the sticks, I let the kids know that only those sitting down calmly will be given a pair. Except for the ones who don't yet understand full sentences, this works great. 

After everyone had a pair of sticks we practiced hitting them together quickly, slowly, loudly, and quietly. We also hit them high above our heads, low by our feet, and hitting them on the ground. Then, I turned on "Tapping on My Sticks" and we followed the tapping directions in the song.

As orderly as the passing out of instruments has become, returning them is always a circus. I've stopped fighting it. They're so excited to be making noise and playing with toys at the same time, I just let them storm me all at once and drop their instruments back into the container as a mob.

We still had about five minutes left in the session, so I had time to play the extra movement song I'd included on my playlist just in case: "Milkshake!" This is one of my faves, and always a good get-the-wiggles-out song.

Finally, we sang our goodbye song and had bubbles.

Learn & Grow With Rhythm & Flow 2-9-18

This morning, after saying hello to our friends with our regular introduction, I actually deviated from the usual Rhythm & Flow plan. For the first time since this program started I did not do the Heckity Peckity rhyme! I could say I wanted to put more variety into my storytime, but the truth is, I forgot my bumble bee finger puppet at my desk. It worked out okay, though, because with the passig out and collecting of rhythm sticks, we ended up just about on time.

After the intro, we sang the incomparable "Goldfish Song" because I could tell there were some extra wiggles in the room this morning. Before singing this song, I like to teach the kids the phrase, "Wait a minute, we're fish!" so they are ready when it comes up in the song.

At this point, I passed out a pair of rhythm sticks to each child. I like to tell them that I have two rules for rhythm sticks:
1. The only people who get sticks are the ones sitting calmly in one place.
2. Don't hit your friends.

They think it's hilarious when I make them repeat "Don't hit your friends" several times, but it's effective. They do not hit their friends. Actually, everyone was incredibly calm and respectful of the sticks today.

After everyone got their sticks, we learned a short rhyme. Along with it, we did a rhythm with our sticks. The X's show a place to hit the floor with your sticks, and the O's show a place to hit them together.

Rain on the rooftop
  X    X        O

Rain on the tree
  X    X        O

Rain on the green grass
  X    X        O

But none on me!
       X      X  O

This diagram is not exact, which is why it doesn't seem like an even rhythm... But it is, I promise. Two hits on the floor, and one tap of the sticks together. It's a simple pattern that kids find easy to follow, but that still does the job of waking up the music centers in their brains. In addition to tapping this rhythm with the rhyme, we turned off our voices and tapped it alone a few times. I think this really helped drive home the rhythm for the kids and grownups.

After our a cappella stick exercise, we practiced following directions while tapping to "Tapping on My Sticks."

After collecting the sticks, it was already time to say goodbye! My biggest tip for using any prop in storytime, from scarves to egg shakers to rhythm sticks, is to remember to build the time to pass out and collect the props into your storytime plan. With an especially large and/or wiggly group, it can take up to five full minutes just to make sure everyone has an egg shaker! In a 30 minute storytime, 5 minutes counts. This is valuable time that teaches preschool-age kids a lot about cooperation and being patient, so the time is not wasted. It's just something you need to account for so the program doesn't go overtime.

Preschool Storytime 1-30-18: Dragons and Monsters

Welcome to the last installment of my January of amazing themed Preschool Storytimes. Today we talked about dragons and monsters, because I found tons of good dragon books and monster songs, and only had one week left before I turn the preschoolers over to Sara for February. So, I decided to do both in one!

After our regular hello, our first book of the day was Dragons Rule, Princesses Drool by Courtney Pippin-Mathur. This book is totally hilarious; princesses invade the dragons' habitat and make everything flowery and glittery. Meanwhile the dragons are just trying to teach the princesses the law of the land, which is basically to breathe fire and burp loudly after every meal.

After the book, we did an action song to the Sesame Street classic, "Games Monsters Play." I like this one because it directs movement, so kids have to practice following directions while they're dancing.

Instead of a second action song, we did a rhyming chant together. I had it written out on the white board so everyone could read and follow along, including grownups. It's similar to "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear," but it's "Dragon, Dragon."

Dragon, dragon, turn around.
Dragon, dragon, touch the ground.
Dragon, dragon, fly up high.
Dragon, dragon, float in the sky.
Dragon, dragon, shake your tail.
Dragon, dragon, show your nails.
Dragon, dragon, give a roar.
Dragon, dragon, sit on the floor.

This chant served the dual purpose of being another great directed movement exercise, and ending in a calm position on the floor so the kids were wound down enough to listen to our second story.

Monster Party by Annie Back is really cute and cleverly written all in rhyming verse. It also very realistically captures all the emotions attached to getting a party invitation, having a great time at the party, and being sad it's over before the cycle begins again with another invitation. The kids loved it.

Our final movement song before saying goodbye was "Ten Little Monsters." The gestures I do with this song is always counting on our fingers up to 10, and then back down to zero. It helps develop fine motor skills, and also helps younger preschoolers make the connection between the word for a number and how many that actually is.

After bubbles, we made a dragon breath craft; SUPER simple to prep and make. Simply punch a hole in the bottom of a green paper cup with a pen, and then tape or glue red streamers to the other side's opening. When you breathe through the bottom of the cup, it looks like your dragon snout is breathing fire!

Preschool Storytime 1-23-18: Names

The next installment in our exciting month of themed storytimes is the theme of names. Mostly, I wanted an excuse to read Chrysanthemum and make name trains. Plus, all kids love to hear their own names as much as possible.

After our regular hello, we learned the American Sign Language sign for "name." I encouraged the kids to practice the sign every time the word "name" came up in our first book.

Name

Our first story was Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. I have always loved this story, and Henkes in general. This book is a little long to read to a large group so I ended up paper clipping the middle part of the story together so my preschool friends didn't get too wiggly. They were still a little restless, but they sat through the story with minimal disruptions and I think they enjoyed it.

After the story, I passed out egg shakers and we danced to "The Name Game." I chose to do this as a shaker song because in a 30 minute storytime, explaining and playing the name game with 40+ kids is an overwhelming concept. This way, they got to hear the song and enjoy as they played with their shakers. I also saw lots of parents singing along, so I hope that they taught their kids how to play the name game with their own names on the way home today.

Our second story was My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee. I like this book for preschoolers because it reminds them (or maybe introduced the concept) that we are all in charge of our own identity. The main character likes her name, Elizabeth, and not any shortened versions the people in her life use, like Liz or Betsy. Her preference is accepted by her friends and family, and by the end of the story they are all using her full name.

The next movement song was BINGO, a fun clapping song that everyone knows. Parents and kids sang and clapped along together, which was a fun way to get the energy level in the room back up after sitting for a story.

We said our regular goodbye, and then I passed out the materials to make our special name craft, name trains! This craft was so easy to prep for, and easy for the kids to put together as well. I printed and cut the trains beforehand, as well as making lots of 2-inch squares in different colors. Then it's just a matter of gluing the squares and trains to a larger piece of construction paper and writing the child's name. Some of our ready-for-kindergarten kiddos even wrote their own names, which was so great to see. (Note: All parents gave permission for these pictures to appear online)

Selfie culture: I asked her for a picture and she came over
next to me, waiting for me to turn the camera around.

Books displayed:

• My Father Knows the Names of Things—Yolen 
• From Anne to Zach—Martin 
• My Name is Elizabeth!—Dunklee 
• Chrysanthemum—Henkes 
• Princess Baby—Katz 
• Hello, My Name is Octicorn—Diller 
• Thunder Boy Jr.—Alexie 
• Write On, Carlos!—Murphy 
• Penny and Her Doll—Henkes 
• Jessica—Henkes 
• Wabi Sabi—Reibstein 
• On the Road—Nolan 
• Kuma-Kuma Chan, the Little Bear—Takahashi 
• Santa’s Book of Names—McPhail 
• The Cat with Seven Names—Johnston 
• Phoebe Sounds It Out—Zwillich

Shake, Boogie, and Bop 1-19-18

This program is absolute insanity, in the best way possible. We push all the chairs and tables against the wall and open up our giant program room into one big dance floor for a preschool dance party of epic proportions! I found myself using "calm down" chants two or three times, especially after collecting the egg shakers. Also, I did not use my traditional hello and goodbye today, because there were lots and lots and LOTS of wiggles in the room. I felt it was best to keep everyone moving at all times, so that's what we did!

Below are all the songs I used today, in the order I used them. "The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner acted as our goodbye song, because transitioning straight from that to bubbles seemed like the best way to structure the end of class. Most of the songs have movements built into the lyrics, except two of the shaker songs--the movement was free shaker play. I have found that musical instruments are a great tool to play music you wouldn't otherwise use during storytime, because it might not have explicit movements to go with it or it might be a little longer. This way, you and the kids can still enjoy these songs, and they will be occupied by their shakers or other instruments at the same time.

Spotify playlist of the songs I used today

"Hello Hello" by Lewis Watson

"Clap Your Hands" by Lucky Millinder

"One, Two Hands" by Laurie Berkner

"Jumping and Counting" by Jim Gill

"Hurry, Hurry, Drive that Firetruck" by the Kiboomers

At this point, I passed out egg shakers.

"Happy Feet" by Joanie Bartels

"It Sure is Hot" from Sesame Street

"Shake My Sillies Out" by Raffi

The great collection of egg shakers.

"Tooty Ta" (I use the Kiboomers version but I love Dr. Jean)

"Tooty Ta" by the Kiboomers

"The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner

"One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles"

"The Bubble Song" from Yo Gabba Gabba