First Fall Storytime: Moon & Stars

Books

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers

Welcome Rhyme

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might.
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Flannel

“Four Little Stars”

“Four Little Stars”
Four little stars winking at me.
One shot off and then there were three!
Three little stars with nothing to do.
One shot off, and then there were two!
Two little stars afraid of the sun.
One shot off, and then there was one!
One little star alone is no fun.
It shot off, and then there was none!
Credit: Preschool Education

Action Rhyme

Moon Ride
Do you want to go up with me to the moon? (point up)
Let’s get in our rocket ship and blast off soon! (climb in, seat belt, blast off)
Faster and faster we reach to the sky (jump and reach)
Isn’t it fun to be able to fly? (hands out)
We’re on the moon, now all take a look (look around)
Sit back down, and I’ll read you a book. (sit down)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Songs

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Kidzup

Bumping and Jumping by Kimbo Educational – Parachute

Action Rhyme

Action Rhyme: “Bend and Stretch”
Bend and stretch, reach for the stars
There goes Jupiter, here comes Mars
Bend and stretch and reach for the sky
Stand on tip-e-toe, oh so high!
Credit: Preschool Kids

How did it go?

This was a great start to my fall storytimes. The kids especially loved the parachute – after we finished “Bumping and Jumping,” I had about twenty little faces staring at me like, “Well, are you gonna play another song or what?” Meanwhile, the adults arms started falling off from exhaustion.

The kids responded especially well to Kitten’s First Full Moon, but I mean, how could they not? I had a few people who used to come on Wednesdays come too, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. I think all of the parents in the group were especially interactive – some even more than their kids were – which is such an amazing thing to see too!

A Library Mystery!

In July, I did my very first standalone library program! It was a library mystery, inspired by this blog, for kids 7-10.

Hopefully I can get some pictures from work to add to this post later on, but for now here is an outline of what I did:

I adapted the problem, alibis, and solution from the blog linked above. My main changes were to change the characters to those from Arthur since I had all four of those puppets available. Also, instead of using damaged library books, I decided to add an extra layer of mystery: the library books were missing, and the students had to figure out who had hidden them and damaged some of the other books before we could figure out where the books had been hidden!

The crime scene – pre-investigation.

To accomplish this, I gave each suspect a number. I divided my group of kids (I had 22 attend!!) into two groups: one looked at the crime scene, while the other highlighted and read the witness statements, looking for clues. Next the two groups switched. Then finally, we all came back together and talked out who we thought was guilty. Then, using a Caesar cipher wheel, we tried decoding the secret message with the clue to where the library books were hidden. Only the right numbered suspect would decode the message (you use the suspect’s number as the number of shifts in the cipher).

Once we decoded the message, the clue directed the kids to where I had hidden the books: in the bottom of the trash can (beneath the liner).

After the crime scene was torn apart!

The kids LOVED this program. The only complaint I got was from some that the suspect was too easy to figure out, but since I definitely want the kids to be able to solve the mystery, I was happy that I hadn’t made it too hard. They were all quite pleased with themselves.

At the end of the program, the kids could check out a mystery mystery book (I put different mystery books into brown paper bags – since my library uses RFID tags, the books could still scan even without being opened). The only drawback with this was that some kids did not listen to me and thought they were being given the books, so there was a little kerfuffle with that.

Downloads and Links

Mystery/Alibis (Adapted from Library Everything)

Crime Scene Flyer (made with Canva)

Clues List

Crime Scene Map

Caesar Cipher Wheel from Invent with Python

Scholastic “Ingredients of a Mystery” Handouts (The Detective’s Dictionary, Suspect List)

Ransom Note Generator (I used this for the first clue)

 

Robots!

Books

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

Hello, Robots by Bob Staake

Songs

Robot Parade by They Might Be Giants

Flannel

Five Noisy Robots (Anne’s Library Life)

5 noisy robots in the toy shop,
Shiny and tall with antennae on the top.
Along came a girl with a penny one day.
Bought a noisy robot and took it away.
(continue with 4, 3, 2, 1 noisy robots)

Action Rhymes

I’m a little robot (Anne’s Library Life)

How did it go?

There were some technical difficulties with this storytime. This was a summer storytime, which are supposed to be shorter (20 min. storytime/25 min. playtime vs. 30/30 usual), and done outside with our awesome outdoor playsets, like miniature golf and badminton. However, it rained a couple of hours before my storytime so I decided to move it indoors. Not everyone got the memo, so I ended up having to make an announcement over the PA system (after only one couple showed up). But after the latecomers trickled in, I ended up with a decent group. Most of the kids were older than I usually get – preschool of kindergarten aged, which was GREAT because they knew what robots were, and were very excited to answer my questions about robots, antennae, etc. And afterwards, one of the little girls tried to give me a dollar – you know it’s a good storytime when you get a tip, right? I was overall very pleased with this storytime, although if I had not gotten the older kids I did it might not have been nearly as successful. Hopefully my next one (in July) will get to be outside!

Sea Creatures/Ocean

Books

Swimmy by Leo Lionni

I’m a Shark by Bob Shea

Ocean Babies by Deborah Lee Rose

Songs

A Sailor Went to Sea
Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid)

Flannel

Five Little Fish
Five little fish swimming by the shore
One got caught then there were four
Four little fish swimming in the sea
One got caught then there were three
Three little fish swimming in the blue
One got caught then there were two
Two little fish swimming in the sun
One got caught then there was one
One little fish swimming straight for home
Decided he would never roam

Action Rhyme

Bubble, Bubble Pop
One little red fish
Swimming in the water,
Swimming in the water,
Swimming in the water.
One little red fish
Swimming in the water,
Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble…POP!

How did it go?

I am very sad to say this is my last storytime for a little while. My library does storytimes in six-week sessions, then takes a few weeks off. And for summer, they change the format and offerings a bit. I do have the chance to do two of the special summer storytimes, so I will post back when those are done! Back to my ocean storytime…

This storytime went well. I ended up changing up a lot of what I did at the last minute (something I have been doing more) and I think it’s partly because I am getting to know better what works and doesn’t work. Ocean is a great theme since it is something that I love AND kids love – they especially liked Swimmy. As much as I adore Bob Shea’s picture books, I think I should have gone with something that the littler kids would have understood better – although some of the young boys were just excited to see a book with a shark in it, and the older kids did get the humor. At the last minute, I decided to pull out the parachute for “Under the Sea,” and that went really well (because this time I didn’t grab the ginormous parachute that practically takes up the whole room…). This was a fun storytime, and it made me sad that I won’t be doing another for a while (although it will be nice to have time to catch up on some other stuff)!

Owls!

Books:

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

I’m Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen

Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton

Flannel:

Goodnight Owl

Action Rhymes/Songs:

Owl Hokey Pokey

You put your right wing in
You put your right wing out
You put your right wing in
And you flap it all about
You do the owl pokey and you fly yourself around
That’s what it’s all about! Hoo, hoo!
(left wing, right claw, left claw, beak, whole self)

Wide-Eyed Owl

There’s a wide-eyed owl (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your “claws”)
He lives way up in the tree (point way up)
And when he looks at you (point to children)
He flaps his wings (flap your wings)
And says, “Whoo! Whoo!” (say “whoo whoo”)

Fingerplay:

One Little Owl

One little owl when the moon was new,
Along came another owl, and that made two.
Two little owls perched high in the tree,
Along came another owl, and that made three.
Three little owls flew to the barn door,
Along came another owl, and that made four.
Four little owls lined up side by side,
Along came another owl, and that made five.
Five little owls hooted “Whoo, whoo, whoo,”
Then they all flapped their wings and away they flew

Songs:

Jump and Fly by Laurie Berkner

Bird in an Airplane Suit by Caspar Babypants

How did it go?

I wanted to do a storytime with a more concrete theme this time around, since my last two were a little more abstract/conceptual. I think it went well, except that I forgot to bring the egg shakers with me, which I had wanted because the “Bird in an Airplane Suit” song was a bit slow and a bit long and I knew the kids would need some extra stimulation. They seemed to get a bit bored during the song, but I think the best thing would have been to just use a different song. I didn’t have enough time to find one beforehand, so for next week I am spending much more time on my songs! It’s funny because I was really most nervous about the music for storytimes, because my mentor was really awesome at selecting music (she actually used her own iPod which was chock-full of excellent songs she had collected over the years), and I was afraid that I wouldn’t have much luck using music. It’s really amazing to me how much the kids respond to music, and how important it is to the storytime. Without at least a couple songs that the kids can wiggle and dance to, I don’t think they would be able to sit through even two books (and I often have a hard time getting them to sit through three). All the books this week went over well, though I think Owl Babies I was planning on doing friends for my theme next week, but now I am thinking I will do ocean/sea creatures, because I think that the kids will like it and it will be a strong theme to end the session on!

Imagination & Pretending

Books:

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

Peg Leg Peke by Brie Spangler

Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination by Emily Winfield Martin

Songs:
Fruit Salad Salsa by Laurie Berkner
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi

Action Songs/Rhymes:
Pretending
I’m a bear – hear me growl!
I’m a lion – hear me roar!
I’m a dog – hear me bark!
As I run out the door.
I’m an elephant – with a trunk
I’m a camel – with a hump
I’m a donkey – running races
I’m a monkey – watch me jump.

Can You Move with Me?
(tune of Do Your Ears Hang Low?)
Can you wiggle like a worm?
Can you squiggle? Can you squirm?
Can you flutter? Can you fly like a gentle butterfly?
Can you crawl upon the ground
Like a beetle that is round?
Can you move with me?
Can you flip? Can you flop?
Can you give a little hop?
Can you slither like a snake?
Can you give a little shake?
Can you dance like bee
Who is buzzing round a tree?
Can you move with me?

One-Eyed Pirate
The one-eyed pirate (cover one eye)
He’s fierce, and he’s tough (clench fists & scowl)
He digs for buried treasure (digging motion)
But it’s never enough. (shake head)
He lives on a ship (hold up flat hand, thumb out)
Way out on the sea. (rock hand in curvy motion, other hand under it)
His parrot is his only friend, perch hand on shoulder)
Except for me. (point to self)

Flannel:
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

Extra Books:
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

How did it go?

Today was a bit unruly. I got to use the parachute – but I think I should have been more aggressive trying to get the parents involved, because they kids are obviously not tall enough to make it go as high as it should! Overall, it was just a bit hectic and wiggle-wormy today, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and honestly today’s theme was kind of made for that. I still think that the kids had fun, though next time I probably would only read the first two books – I think the kids were too antsy to listen to the third. I’m still learning! And looking forward to next week…

Big & Little

My second storytime was all about big things and little things!

Books:

Where’s My Teddy? by Jez Alborough

You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang

I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Songs:
My Little Baby by The Jackson 5 (dancing)
Six Little Ducks by Kimbo (motions)
Big Smiles by The Eh Ohs (with shakers)

Action Songs/Rhymes:
This is Big

This is big big big
This is small small small
This is short short short
This is tall tall tall
This is fast fast fast
This is slow slow slow
This is yes yes yes
This is no no no

Little Birds

Little birds, little birds, jump up and down
Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound
Little birds, little birds, tip-toe to me
Little birds, little birds, bend your knees
Little birds, little birds, peep, peep, peep
Little birds, little birds, sleep, sleep, sleep
Little birds, little birds, fly to the leaves
Little birds, little birds, sit down please

Storytelling with Puppet:
Go Away Big Green Monster

Extra Books:
Little Mouse by Alison Murray
Meeow and the Big Box by Sebastian Braun

How did it go?

This storytime went SO. MUCH. BETTER. than last time! I had twice as many people (a total of 42 for storytime, 40 for playtime). I definitely planned for my time much better, and though at first I was nervous having that many people in the room, everyone was so much more engaged than last time which translated to me being able to forget about my nerves and really get into the storytelling and rhymes. This is still so new to me, but I loved storytime yesterday, and it gives me a lot of hope that I can continue to improve my skills! I think I might actually be excited for next week’s storytime, rather than just nervous 🙂

As far as the content goes, I think the kids were able to understand, specially since I introduced the theme with an elephant puppet and mouse finger puppet. I think Sherry’s and Alborough’s books were the best picks for today – shout out to my coworker who recommended Where’s My Teddy? a half hour before my storytime started (I had originally planned on reading Little Mouse first, but it Where’s My Teddy? was a perfect pick for this theme, and who can resist a bear with his own teddy?). Six Little Ducks was also a ton of fun, as was Little Birds and the big green monster (the kids told me he wasn’t scary, just silly).