Nutcracker Tea Party

This was one of my favorite programs so far! Kids wore their fanciest outfits while we read a version of The Nutcracker illustrated by Valeria Docampo, had tea and cookies, made paper snowflake ballerinas, and tried some ballerina moves with real ballerinas from our local ballet school! I originally saw this idea on the blog The Show Me Librarian and have been itching to do it ever since!

Nursery Rhyme Science Time: Winter Wonderland

Another installment of my STEAM-themed program. I'll be continuing this program next year under the name Little Scientists. Although "scientist" doesn't cover all of the STEAM topics, I think it will be easier for patrons to remember and give me a little more leeway with planning activities. I missed taking pictures of a few stations, but these were the biggest hits-

Watercolor resist paintings

Using math cubes to build winter objects (seriously the biggest hits of all the stations)

Ice cube experiment- kids tried lifting up an ice cube with a string. When that didn't work, they sprinkled salt on the ice cube, counted to 10, and tried again. It worked!

Snowflake shape building- we made snowflakes with all different shapes and (mostly) tried to always start with a hexagon, just like real snowflakes.

Grandparent's Day Celebration (2017)

I love any excuse for kids to be able to show off the library to special guests! We read Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa by Anna Dewdney and then broke off into stations. Our kids were 2-5 years old and everybody brought at least one grandparent! Many of the kids brought 2 (or more)!

Our room set up

The white computer is our library's photo booth- the photos print instantly, so it's great to use for programs when you want kids to go home with a finished craft. I put the materials for the craft right on the snack tables.

And the finished craft! Our button maker was tucked away for so long but I recently re-discovered it. Most kids' buttons were more decorated than mine and the grandparents loved being able to make a button of their own!

Fall Family Festival

My coworker and I worked on this program together. Like most of my programs we started with a story (Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley) and a song (Autumn Leaves are Falling Down) followed by stations of different activities. This one was for 2-5 year olds-

 

Our snack station- I sliced the apples and put them on sticks for kids. Parents helped them dip them in the caramel (melted in a crock pot) and decorate them with sprinkles. There was a separate table for decoration and one for cooling so we could avoid traffic jams.

A simple (but well-loved!) activity made from soda bottles left over from or "corn maze"

The activity that made me think of this program in the first place- a toddler/preschool-friendly "corn" maze! It took a ton of soda bottles (49 I think) but it was a huge hit. We did weigh them down by partially filling them with water and the stalks were made from brown paper and pieces of an old hula skirt.

Just a large piece of cardboard left from another project and spray paint (also left over)

Part of the decorations from our Wizard of Oz-themed Summer Reading Club a few summers ago. Librarians never get rid of anything!

I love doing suncatcher crafts! We had this jack-o-lantern die for our Ellison Press cutting machine. We used cut up tissue paper and our trusty laminator to make them extra special!

Nursery Rhyme Science Time: Spiders & Webs

This was the first in my new series of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) themed programs for 2-5 year olds. We started with reading Walter's Wonderful Web by Tim Hopgood (which is a fantastic book about spider webs and shapes) and singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Then we broke up into a few different stations, as pictured below. I tried to make the stations a good mix of math, science experiments, and art. For my upcoming sessions, I'd really like to add in some more of the technology and engineering aspects of STEAM.

Our craft- kids glued 8 "legs" onto the toilet paper tube "spider". When the string is threaded through the holes in the tube and kids pull the strings apart, their spider jumps!

* I cannot for the life of me find a link to the website where I found this idea, so please let me know if it look familiar to you!

Building Walter's web- to add onto the geometry theme of our story
Shapes printables from Pastels and Macarons

Over the Summer I attended a lecture on the importance of incorporating math into storytimes and programming. One thing that really stuck with me was how often kids get to Kindergarten with no knowledge of some foundational math concepts like ten frames. This was a fun game to address that.

*I made these spider web ten frames myself, but found the blank ten frame on Math Wire

I made this spider web with tape on a tabletop. Some strips were sticky side up and some were sticky side down, to mimic the strands of a spider web. 

Kids had fun playing with these spider math games, especially the younger visitors.

*Again, I can't find the link to these printables, so please let me know if you've seen them around!

The idea for this one came from the website Buggy and Buddy 

A sign I put up near our "take the learning home" station. I've since updated to be theme-neutral and laminated it so I can use it at future sessions.

Terrific Twos Storytime: Pets

Can’t Wait to Celebrate

(from Jim Gill’s CD “Irrational Anthem and More Salutes to Nonsense”)

ABCs

Open/Shut Them

Open shut them, open shut them

Give a little clap clap clap clap

Open shut them, open shut them

Put them in your lap lap lap

Creep them crawl them, creep them crawl them

Right up to your chinny chin chin

Open wide your little mouth- but do not let them in!

Count to 10 and Back

I Spy Pets by Edward Gibbs

Good Pet/Bad Pet Game

Similar to the challenge for my Big Kids group, I showed pictures of several animals and we decided if they would make good pets or not.

If You're a Doggie and You Know It

(to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

If you're a doggie and you know it and you really want to show it

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

[repeat with kitty/meow, fish/bloop, etc.]

from Storytime with Miss Mollie

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat

Kitty cat, kitty cat turn around

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch the ground

Kitty cat, kitty cat paws up high

Kitty cat, kitty cat wink one eye

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch your nose

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch your toes

Kitty cat, kitty cat tap your knees

Kitty cat, kitty cat sit down please

from Miss Sarah's Storytime

Breathing Ball

Found Dogs by Erica Sirotich

Ten Little Puppies

One little,  two little, three little puppies

Four little, five little, six little puppies

Seven little, eight little, nine little puppies

Ten little puppies bark like this- woof woof!

from Librarian Lisa's Storytimes

Ears, Whiskers, Tail & Paws

(to the tune of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes")

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

Fur and eyes and mouth and claws

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

from Perry Public Library

Bubbles in the Air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles in the air, there are bubbles in the air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way up high, way up high in the sky

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

There are bubbles way down low, and they tickle on your toes

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

Bubbles

Goodbye Song

(to the tune of She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain)

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

The goodbye train is leaving, the goodbye train is leaving

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

Big Kids Storytime: Pets

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

Let’s say hello as [loud, quiet, fast, slow, etc.] as we can- hello!

ABCs

Count to 10 and Back

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev

If You're a Doggie and You Know It

(to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

If you're a doggie and you know it and you really want to show it

If you're a doggie and you know it say woof woof (woof woof)

[repeat with kitty/meow, fish/bloop, etc.]

from Storytime with Miss Mollie

Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat

Kitty cat, kitty cat turn around

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch the ground

Kitty cat, kitty cat paws up high

Kitty cat, kitty cat wink one eye

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch your nose

Kitty cat, kitty cat touch your toes

Kitty cat, kitty cat tap your knees

Kitty cat, kitty cat sit down please

from Miss Sarah's Storytime

The Grumpy Pets by Kristine A. Lombardi

Ears, Whiskers, Tail & Paws

(to the tune of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes")

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

Fur and eyes and mouth and claws

Ears, whiskers, tail, and paws- tail and paws

from Perry Public Library

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio

Storytime Challenge

Good pet/bad pet debate, followed by learning the equal sign

Goodbye Song

(to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus”)

The library doors go open and shut, open and shut, open and shut

The library doors go open and shut at the library

We check our books in and out, in and out, in and out

We check our books in and out at the library

Our time is up but we’ll see you next week, see you next week, see you next week

Our time is up but we’ll see you next week at the library

Terrific Twos Storytime: Yoga & Dancing

Can’t Wait to Celebrate

(from Jim Gill’s CD “Irrational Anthem and More Salutes to Nonsense”)

ABCs

Open/Shut Them

Open shut them, open shut them

Give a little clap clap clap clap

Open shut them, open shut them

Put them in your lap lap lap

Creep them crawl them, creep them crawl them

Right up to your chinny chin chin

Open wide your little mouth- but do not let them in!

Count to 10 and Back

We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin

Can You Dance?

from the CD "Everyone Loves to Dance" by Aaron Nigel Smith

Shake My Sillies Out

from the CD "Raffi In Concert" by Raffi

Row Row Row Your Boat

from the CD "Songs for Wiggleworms"

Breathing Ball

You Are a Lion and Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

Skip to My Lou

from the CD "Little Box of Happy" by Bari Koral

*This was a HUGE hit with 2 year olds. I highly recommend this one

Family Goodbyes

from the CD "Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times" by Jim Gill

*I cut a few verses out of  this one to make it a little more rowdy toddler-friendly

Bubbles in the Air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles in the air, there are bubbles in the air

There are bubbles in the air, in the air

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way up high, way up high in the sky

There are bubbles way up high, way up high

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

There are bubbles way down low, and they tickle on your toes

There are bubbles way down low, way down low

Bubbles

Goodbye Song

(to the tune of She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain)

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

The goodbye train is leaving, the goodbye train is leaving

The goodbye train is leaving see you soon (toot toot)

Big Kids Storytime: Yoga & Dancing

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

Let’s say hello as [loud, quiet, fast, slow, etc.] as we can- hello!

ABCs

Count to 10 and Back

We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin

One From the Left

from the CD "Vote for Jim Gill" by Jim Gill

Shake My Sillies Out

from the CD "Raffi In Concert" by Raffi

Zoo Zen by Kristen Fischer

Can You Dance?

from the CD "Everyone Loves to Dance" by Aaron Nigel Smith

*One of my very favorite dancing around songs

Skip to My Lou

from the CD "Little Box of Happy" by Bari Koral

*My new favorite movement song for all ages- includes skipping, swimming, hopping, and more

Goodnight Yoga by Mariam Gates

Goodbye Song

(to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus”)

The library doors go open and shut, open and shut, open and shut

The library doors go open and shut at the library

We check our books in and out, in and out, in and out

We check our books in and out at the library

Our time is up but we’ll see you next week, see you next week, see you next week

Our time is up but we’ll see you next week at the library