J

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: J.  Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter J: Atlas-Jack the skeleton, Avery-jump rope, Eden-Jar of jam, Van-jaguar, Jett-jerseys & jellybeans, Rylan-jersey, Teagan-jar of jelly, Lyncoln-jalapeno, Huntley-jar.

Read about other things that start with J from “My J Sound Box” book. 

Rhymes: Jack & Jill, Jack Be Nimble

Action Rhyme:  Johnny Pounds the Hammer 

(hammer fist on knee)

Johnny pounds with one hammer

One hammer, one hammer.

Johnny pounds with one hammer,

Then he pounds with two.

(hammer both legs with both hands)

Johnny pounds with two hammers

Two hammers, Two hammers.

Johnny pounds with two hammers,

Then he pounds with three.

(add stamping of one foot)

Johnny pounds with three hammers

Three hammers, Three hammers.

Johnny pounds with three hammers,

Then he pounds with four.

(add stamping of other foot)

Johnny pounds with four hammers

Four hammers, four hammers.

Johnny pounds with four hammers,

Then he pounds with five.

(add bobbing of head)

Johnny pounds with five hammers.

Five hammers, five hammers.

Johnny pounds with five hammers,

Then he takes a rest! (collapse)

Book: 

Jeremy Draws a Monster - McCarty

Action Rhyme:  Jack, Jack and A Boy Named Jack – 1001 Rhymes

Book: 

Jupiter - Simon 

Activity: Jupiter paintings

Notes: J was a hard theme for me to work with.  The kids really liked the rhyme "Johnny Pounds the Hammer" which I was really lucky to find in a little booklet someone brought home from another library.  I was really nervous to paint with the kids, but it went really well and the kids loved it.  

Ice

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: I.  Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter I: Kali-iPhone, Eden-ice cube tray, Avery-ice, Van-iPhone, Teagan-igloo (made from sugar cubes), Lyncoln-iguana, Jett-iguana

Read about other things that start with I from “My I Sound Box” book. 

Book: 

Mice on Ice - Emberley

Magnet Board: Rhyming with Ice (read a list of words and shivered if they rhymed with ice)

Book: 

Frozen Noses - Carr

Song: Once There Was a Snowman - Laptime Songs

Magnet Board: Ice cream cone letter matching – Mailbox Dec/Jan 09-10

Book: 

From Milk to Ice Cream - Taus-Bolstad

Activities: Ice Cream Sprinkles (rolled the die and put that many sprinkles/pom poms on paper ice cream scoops)

Ate ice cream!

Notes: The kids loved singing Once There Was a Snowman!  Of course they loved eating the ice cream and it was so funny how quiet the room was while everyone was eating.

Hats

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: H.  Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter H. 

Book: 

The Magic Hat - Fox

Magnet Board: Matching Hats - Powerful Mothering

Book: 

I Want My Hat Back – Klassen

Song: Hinges - Children's Songbook

Activity: Hat parade around the library.  Compared hats (pointy/flat, big/small, etc.)

Book: 

Brimsby’s Hat - Prahin

Activity: Paper hats.

Notes: The kids had a lot of fun with the hats and it was fun to have them do a parade around the library.  Next time we need to go all over the library because the adults thought it was pretty fun to see the kids in the parade.  I wouldn’t read “I Want My Hat Back” again.  The kids didn’t really seem to get the story.  The paper hats were fun to make, but they weren’t large enough for some of the kids to actually wear them.

Gingerbread

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: G.  Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter G.  Van-garbage truck, Avery-giraffe, Jett-garage door, Rylan-giraffe, Ben-gorilla, Dominic-green blanket.  Found the letter G in name tags and wrote the letter in the air with our fingers.

Book: 

Gingerbread Mouse - Bratun

Activity/Magnet Board: Gingerbread matching – Mailbox Dec/Jan 02-03

Poem: The List of Jeremy Quist 

Action Song: Reindeer Pokey

Story: 
The Gingerbread Man - themailbox.com

Activity: Rudolph hand prints.  Also colored paper ornaments and put them on the tree.

Notes: As the kids came in for storytime I helped them make hand prints on the paper so that they were dry by the end and it would be easier to decorate them (best idea I have had yet!)  The example that I saw on Pinterest had a red nose, but we have so many pom poms I let them pick whatever color they wanted.  I also made molasses (aka Gingerbread) cookies.  Thankfully, everyone loved them!

Frogs

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: F. Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter F.  Van-fire truck, Avery-frog, Eden-flashlight, Jett-flamingo, Teagan-frog, Rylan-fork, Lyncoln-fish, Lily-fish, Ben-feather, Sam-frog slippers. Found the letter F in name tags.

We read the book "From Tadpole to Frog" (by Shannon Zemlicka) and discussed the life cycle of the frog.

Book:


Jump Frog Jump - Kalan


Song: Five Little Speckled Frogs
(This is my favorite version)

Five little speckled frogs,
Sat on a hollow log,
Eating some most delicious bugs.
Yum yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool.
Now there are four green speckled frogs.
Glug glug!

Book:


Frog Jog - Ziefert
With this book we discussed word families and how they could practice reading this book themselves.

Book:


The Icky Sticky Frog - Bentley

Activity: Origami frog races and Frog lifecycle coloring pages (from Little Miss Hypothesis).

I mad several origami frogs ahead of time (I knew there was no way the kiddos would be able to make them since some of them don't come with a parent) and we flicked them around the room.  I knew some of the kids would rather color, so I had a coloring page ready as well.

What I Learned: Great group! We sang Five Little Speckled Frogs 13 times because, of course, every kid wanted to participate. I thought the Frog Jog book would be good, but the kids didn’t seem that interested. The origami frog race went pretty well, but it isn’t too easy to skip the frogs on the carpet. We had to show the kids how to form a line to race their frogs because they were trying to race in a circle lol;)

Elephants

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: E. We read the book My “e” Sound Box. Found the letter D in name tags.Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter E. Van-excavator, Avery-rabbit ears, Eden-Egg (Eden, Elsa on her shirt), Jett-excavator, Teagan-envelope, and Rylan-elephant.

We looked at the pictures of Asian and African elephants in the book

Elephants (by Barrett) and compared them (bigger ears, shape of backs and heads, etc).










Book:


Just a Little Bit – Tompert

Activity/Magnet Board: Animal Escape
I stuck cutouts of animals on the walls around the room.  Each child picked an animal and we all discussed the animal (where they live, how big they are/are not, what they eat, etc.).  Then we sat in a circle and tried to play a memory game of who "rescued" which animal.

Action Rhyme: Three Little Elephants – Mailbox April/May 2010

Book:


Seven Blind Mice – Young

Activity: Feed the elephants (oatmeal canisters with paper towel rolls and packing peanuts).

Kids fed the elephants packing peanuts.  We used pencils like chopsticks/tweezers to pick up the peanuts and counted peanuts as they put them in the tubes. When all of the peanuts were picked up I opened up the elephants and we did it over and over again.

What I Learned: We used our new carpet squares today instead of  using chairs and I think they liked them. The kids didn’t really understand how to keep the name of their animals secret in the Animal Escape memory game, but we all had a laugh.  I will definitely be purchasing some large plastic tweezers.

Dinosaurs

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: D. Found the letter D in name tags. Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter D.  Van-dog, Avery-doll, Eden-Dad, Lincoln-dragon, Jett-drill.

We talked briefly about Sue the T Rex and the dinosaurs found in Montana with the "Dinosaur Trails Map".

Book:


Too Many Dinosaurs – Meyer

Activity/Magnet Board: Dino Dig – nwf.org
The only sand I could scrounge up was tube sand, but it worked pretty well.  I put magnets on the back of the bones so that we could put the pieces up on the magnet board after they were "uncovered".

Book:


Oh Say Can You Say Dinosaur? –  Worth

What I Learned: Great having the kids from the daycare here today. Hopefully they will come again if I call them and remind them.  The kids loved digging for the dinosaur bones.  I will get a bigger tub for the bones next time I do this activity and let the kids just play in the sand afterwards.  This storytime was in December and "Santa" called the day before and said he could come in and read to the kids. He insisted that I sit on his lap and tell him what I wanted for Christmas, which was so embarrassing and completely inappropriate.  I will have to inform him of Storytime etiquette next year (or get a different Santa).

Thanksgiving

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: C, C sound. Found the letter C in name tags. Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter C. Van-Channel Locks (this kid cracks me up!) Avery-car, Eden-corn, Teagan-cow, Lincoln-cookies & camera, Rylan-car, Jett-cow.

Book:


The Very Clumsy Click Beetle – Carle

Activity: Turkey Says (Simon Says)

Book: 


Clifford’s Thanksgiving - Bridwell

Magnet Board: Cornucopia

We talked about the origins of the cornucopia and what different things can be found inside of them. I placed a bunch of fruit and vegetable cutouts on the walls around the room.  Each child got to find one and then say if it was a fruit or a vegetable and put it on the board.


Book:


Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (paper clipped) – Schultz

Activity: Thanksgiving Bingo (I found printable cards online, but now I can't remember where), Coloring page, balloons

Notes: Had a good turnout for being a holiday. One of the mothers brought cookies so that was really fun for everyone. They were all pretty attentive for the first book, but Clifford and Charlie Brown were a little to long for everyone. Need to find simple short books or the kids don’t really pay attention. I was going to do hand print turkeys, but decided against it because some kids don’t come with parents to help them. After Bingo everyone wanted to color so I brought out a coloring page. The balloons were still in bags from the week before and some of the kids stuck around and played with them.

Bears

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Letter of the week: B, B sound.  Kids brought things from home that begin with the letter B. Van-bolt (loved this one!), Avery-backpack, Eden-bankie, Teagan-butterfly, Kalia- brown bear, Kinley-bunny blankie

Book:


Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – Martin/Carle

Activity: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you Say?  (from The Mailbox magazine Aug/Sept 2002)

Book:


Welcome to Bear Country – Berenstain

Action Rhyme: Teddy Bear Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, reach up high
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the sky
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch your knees
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, sit down please



Book:


Otto the Book Bear – Cleminson

Magnet Board Story: Goldilocks and the Three Bears (pictures from learncreatelove.com) I color coordinated each piece for each character (i.e. Pappa Bear's bed, chair and bowl were all green)

Activity: Balloons.  I just blew up a bunch of balloons and the kids went crazy trying to keep them off the floor.

What I Learned: So happy I have been getting a consistent turnout of 10+ kids! Forgot to look at each name tag for the letter of the week (oops!) All went really well. So impressed the kids noticed
that coordinating colors of the Three Bears story objects. I was really surprised at how many kids remembered to bring their B item.

Colors

Activity: Name tags.
I cut card stock into quarters and put a magnet on the back. As each child came in they got help writing their names on a tag.  Every time they come to storytime they will find their name and put it on the board.

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Discussion: Why do we come to story time? Letter of the week - A.  Each child shared what they brought that started with that letter.  We also pointed out all of the a's in everyone's name tag.

Activity: What Color are You Wearing?  I picked a color out of a basket and then each child got to stand up of they were wearing that color.

Book:


My Lift-the-Flap Book of Colors - Priddy Priddy Books

Activity: Color Game (from The Mailbox magazine April/May 1997)

Magnet Board: What is missing? (with ice cream cones)

Book:


Press Here - Tullet

Activity: Pattern blocks with pattern block sheets from Prekinders.com, and pom-pom color sorting

Notes: Great group today! Need to print out more pattern block cards and make two tubes of each color for the pom pom sorting for this big of a group. I intended for the older kids to do the pattern blocks while the littler ones did the pom pom sorting, but they all loved both activities and the older ones loved helping the younger ones sort their pom poms. The book “Press Here” was great, but I wouldn’t use the flap book again.  This was the first week of doing the Letter of the Week.  Each week the kids will bring something from home that starts with our letter.  In the coming weeks I will coordinate the letter of the week with the theme.

Halloween

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello!

Magnet Board: What is missing?
I put up a bunch of Halloween related characters/items, had the kids close their eyes, then open them and guess which one I took away. We did this several times.

Book:

Ten Timid Ghosts – O’Connell

Song: Halloween Night
Tune: Farmer in the Dell
Flannel board pieces needed: monster, cat, bat, ghost, skeleton, pumpkin, scarecrow, witch
The witch is in the yard, the witch is in the yard, (put the witch up)
Hi, ho, its Halloween, the witch is in the yard!
The witch takes a monster (put up monster next to witch)
(Continue the song using all but one character.)
The ___________ stands alone, the ____________ stands alone (put up the last character)
Hi, ho its Halloween, the _________ stands alone!

Book:

Dem Bones - Barner

Game: Assemble the skeletons.
I found a few different skeleton printables online and divided the kids into groups to put them together.

Activity: Boo Bowling
I covered paper towel rolls with white paper and scary ghost faces for the pins and used a tennis ball for the bowling ball.

What I Learned: Lots of kids today! Bowling was fun, but maybe too many kids for the activity. Some kids loved to help put the pins back up. I had a lot of extra paper towel rolls so some of the kids started making tunnels and playing with them instead of bowling, which was totally fine too.

Fire Safety

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome, Everyone!

Activity: Firefighter obstacle course
I made a little obstacle course for the kids to go through.  I had stuffed animals at the end and they had to go through the course to "save" their furry friends.  They went under chairs, crawled over pillows, walked along some tape, and jump over cardboard tubes.

Magnet Board: I Want to be a Firefighter (from The Mailbox magazine Oct/Nov 2007)

Book:


I Want to be a Firefighter by Firefly Books

Song: The Wheels on the Fire Truck (from The Mailbox magazine Oct./Nov. 2002)

Magnet Board: Calling All Firetrucks (from Fun With Friends at Storytime)

Book:


Fire Engine No. 9 by Mike Austin

Game: Dalmatian Spots
Materials: Dalmatian printout, large die, and pom poms.
I printed out a Dalmatian for each child and then let each child roll the die.  We counted the number of dots that it landed on and then put that many "spots"/pom poms on our Dalmatians.

Magnet Board: Safe/Hot (from Mailbox.com)


Book:

When There Is a Fire by Dorothy Chlad

Activity: Decorate paper pumpkins (It was close to Halloween and we were doing a pumpkin display at the library.)

What I Learned:
The obstacle course was a hit! We did it at the beginning and then the kids wanted to do it over, and over, and over again after they were done with their pumpkins.  The Dalmatian game was also a success. Some of the younger kids had a hard time sitting during storytime, but that is to be expected.

Boats

Opening Song: We Clap and Sing Hello (from King County Library)
Tune: Farmer in the Dell
We clap and sing hello,
We clap and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime,
We clap and sing hello!
Wave and sing hello; stomp and sing hello.

Books:

  

My Boat by Betsy Maestro

Splish-Splash by Nicola Smee

Action Song: Sail, Sail, Sail Your Ship (from King County Library via Storytime Katie)

Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Sail, sail, sail your ship
Gently over the sea
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
A pirate’s life for me!

Action Rhyme: We Can Jump (from Monroe Public Library)

We can jump, jump, jump

We can hop, hop, hop

We can clap, clap, clap

We can stop, stop, stop

We can nod our heads for yes

We can shake our heads for no

We can bend our knees a little bit

And we can sit down really slow

Book:

Journey by Aaron Becker

Activity: Floats or sinks?

We filled a plastic tub with water and then I found a bunch of stuff I had in my craft closet and we put each one in the water to see if it would float or sink.

What I Learned:

Well, what I learned is that my library director is awesome!  She doesn't particularly like to do storytime, but when I am out of town, like I was for this day, she will be there to take my place. I know she is busy and wouldn't have time to put something together, so I made a plan for her before I left.   I sing the same opening song at every storytime because I think it gets the kids ready to start.  I am going to use the opening song that she chose to do, instead of the one that I had been doing.  It will be good for the kids to get a few wiggles out at the very beginning.  The float and sink activity went really well.  Kids love anything with dirt or water.

Pets

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome, Everyone!

Magnet Board: Sort magnet animals by home (house, barn, zoo)

Book:


Just Me and My Puppy by Mercer Mayer

Finger Play: My Five Pets from 1001 Rhymes & Fingerplays

I have five pets I would like you to meet (Hold up 5 fingers.)
They live with me on Mulberry Street
This is my chicken, the smallest of all, (Point to little finger.)
He comes running whenever I call.
This is my duckling who says, "Quack, Quack," (Point to ring finger.)
As she shakes the water off her back.
This is my rabbit, he runs from his pen, (Point to middle finger,)
Then I must put him back again.
This is my kitten, her coat is black and white, (Point to index finger.)
She loves to sleep on my pillow at night.
And this is my puppy who has lots of fun, (Point to thumb.)
He chases the others and makes them run. (Wiggle thumb and then fingers.)

Action/Song: Do as I’m Doing

Book:


Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

Magnet Board: Mrs. Getz (from Kidtivities by Kidstuff magazine V4 N9)

Magnet Board: My Very Own Pet (from Kidtivities by Kidstuff magazine V4 N9)

Book:


Melvin and the Boy by Lauren Castillo

Song: Good-bye, Good-bye, Everyone!

Activity: Pick a pet and give it a home (pet illustrations on paper plates)

Notes: Loved it all!

Fall

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome, Everyone!

Activity: Discuss theme, Leaf Hide and Seek
Book:













Winter’s Coming by Eve Bunting

Action Poem: Grey Squirrel (from Circle Time Book pg 21)

Action/Song: Leaves are Falling

Book:

Red Leaf Yellow Leaf by Lois Elhert

Prop Story: Sammy Squirrel

Magnet Board: What am I (from Felt Board Fun pg.59)

Book:

Time to Sleep by Denise Flemming

Activity: Leaf Rubbing

What I Learned:

Use small leaves for leaf rubbing. All went well!

#3 ABC's

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome, Everyone!

Books:
  
The ABC’s of ART by
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Action Song: B-I- N-G-O

Magnet Board: Animal Magnets (what letter does the name of the animal start with)

Books:
 
Bad Kitty
Dr. Suess’s ABC

Activity: Musical Alphabet (to the song "Marching Around the Alphabet")
Letters were placed in a circle and the kids marched around them util I hit pause.  The kids would then identify the letter they landed by.  I had them march around instead of on top of the letters because I laminated them and I didn't want anyone to slip and fall.

What I Learned:

My storytimes are still a work in progress and I am learning a ton each time I do one.  I didn't realize beforehand that ABC books can be way too long to use in a storytime setting.  Next time I would use shorter books or fewer books.  The kids loved musical alphabet, but they didn’t know BINGO at all, which really surprised me! I noticed that the kids like to sit on the floor and hold something during the stories so we will be ditching the chairs next time.

#2 Library/Books

Opening Song: Welcome, Welcome, Everyone! (from Storytimes for Everyone! by Ghoting and Martin-Diaz)

Books:
 

No T.Rex In the Library by Toi Buzzeo
Dinosaur vs. The Library by Bob Shea

Action Song: If You Love to Read Books (from Storytimes for Everyone by Ghoting and Martin-Diaz)

If you love to read books, clap your hands (clap, clap)
If you love to read books, clap your hands (clap, clap)
If you love to read books,
Then our brain will surely know it. (tap your head)
If you love to read books, clap your hands (clap, clap)

If you love to read book,s shout hooray. ("Hooray!")
If you love to read book,s shout hooray. ("Hooray!")
If you love to read books,
Then our brain will surely know it. (tap your head)
If you love to read books, shout hooray. ("Hooray!")

Books:
  

We Are in a Book by Mo Willems
D.W.'s Library Card by Marc Brown
Look! Look! Look! by Tana Hoban

Activity: Make your own storybook.

What I Learned:
This storytime went a lot better than the last one.  We had fewer people and the books were a lot more interactive.  They especially loved the Look! book because they had to guess what the picture was by just seeing a small portion of it.  Some of the guesses were hilarious!  The activity went really well too.  I loved hearing everyone's stories that they made up. The books only had 5 pages, but most of the kids drew pictures on both sides of each page.