Big Kids Storytime: Winter Bears

Big Kids Storytime: Winter Bears

It's finally cold enough for wintery storytimes here! Here's what we were up to this week:

Bread and Butter

(quiet and loud today)

Letter of the Week: V

(we came up with violin, volcano, vroom, and velociraptor)

William's Winter Nap by Linda Ashman

40 Years On An Iceberg

(I learned this song decades ago in Girl Scouts and it was still a huge hit! The closest version I found is from the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada)

Polar Bear's Underwear by Tupera Tupera

Storytime Challenge

Today's challenge was all about visual discrimination and we did fantastically! We tried to find out which snowflakes were the same and which were different using this printable from Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Big Kids Storytime: Birds

Bread & Butter

ABCs

Letter of the Week

Giggle Giggle Quack

Got a Feather

(to the tune of Clementine)

Got a feather, got a feather, got a feather on my [nose, toe, etc]

First I lost it, then I found it

Got a feather on my [nose, toe, etc.]

Vulture View

If I Was a Bird

By Old Town School of Folk Music on the CD Wiggleworms Love You

Bird Band

Storytime Challenge

Owl Opposites- we matched owls (big, cold, etc.) with their pairs (small, hot, etc). My coworker printed the owl cards, but I believe they came from the blog 1+1+1=1.

Library Doors

Stamp

Big Kids Storytime: Frogs & Toads

We're back to storytimes this fall at the library! I'm still playing catch up on posting, but this frogs & toads theme went especially well. Here's what we were up to:

Bread & Butter hello song

ABCs

Letter of the Week

The Princess and the Frogs

Walking, Walking

*We used the Anne-Marie Akin version from the CD Songs for Wiggleworms, but I also found this similar version on YouTube:

I Don't Want to Be a Frog!

Jumping and Counting

(a personal favorite from Jim Gill's CD The Irrational Anthem)

Storytime Challenge

Today we played a roll and cover style game using dice with numerals instead of dots. This was a good test to judge how well the kids could recognize numerals and it helped me think about apropriate challenges for future weeks.

February and March Storytimes- My Experiment with No Themes

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought the return to storytime after our library's spring break was a good time to re-start. I absolutely love storytimes (they're one of my favorite parts of my job) but doing 5-7 a week for a 17 week session sometimes feels like a lot. I found myself only ok with a lot of my themes and finding songs that my very young 2 year old group would like felt like such a chore. Plus, my preschool group right now is preferring longer books and activities over most songs, so it was tough catering to that group and staying on theme. Instead, I've been playing around with the idea of not doing themes at all.

I don't know if no themes would work for everybody. I know I have at least one coworker who really finds her inspiration in themes and enjoys the detective work that comes from finding that one book about mustaches that really does work for two year olds. I felt, however, that families were leaving my storytimes a little unsatisfied and I could find a way to make them have a little more fun.

An post on Jbrary's website (which you can find here) came at the perfect time for me. If you haven't read it yet (and you should), it's all about the flow from activity to activity in storytime, rather than focusing on a theme. This has been working fantastically for me and even though I do have a few themes in my pocket to round out my spring, I feel so much more confident just throwing away my theme if it isn't working for me.

After all of that, we have had a lot of fun in February and March! Here are some books (some older, some newer) that my groups especially enjoyed, along with which group read them:

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Twos, but I suspect my older kids would love it, too)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(Big Kids, Threes, mixed-age preschool outreach)

(Twos)

(Big Kids- 4 & up)

(3s, Big Kids, mixed-age preschool outreach)

(Twos)

(Big Kids, but I plan to test it out on my twos group as well)

What do you think about no-theme storytimes? Have they worked for you? Leave a comment and share!

Big Kids Storytime: Valentine's Day

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

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

ABCs

Letter of the Week: E

words we thought of- elevator, elephant, earth, Eliana, Easter, egg

Count to 10 and Back

Groundhug Day by Anne Marie Pace

Got a Heart

*Everyone got a felt heart in a different color for this song. After the song we made a rainbow with all of our hearts.

Got a heart, got a heart, got a heart on my nose

First I lost it, then I found it

Got a heart on my nose 

[repeat with as many body parts as you would like]

When an Elephant Falls in Love by Davide Cali

Storytime Challenge

Today I wanted to practice having the kids speak to the group (to get them ready for next week's show and tell). So the activity itself was pretty simple- everybody took a card with pictures of candy hearts and counted how many were on there. Then, I pulled random names out of a hat and everybody took a turn sitting at the front of the room to announce their answers. It was very quick and simple but parents had fun clapping for everybody and I think it will help next week's show and tell go more smoothly.

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

Big Kids Storytime: Bedtime

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

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

ABCs

Letter of the Week: J

Words we thought of: Jack, jump- J was tough!

Count to 10 and Back

What! Cried Granny: An Almost Bedtime Story by Kate Lum

My Thumbs Are Starting to Wiggle

Tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain

My thumbs are starting to wiggle,

My thumbs are starting to wiggle,

My thumbs are starting to wiggle,

Body is starting to wiggle: around and around and around!

And now so are my hands/arms/toes/feet...

(Sing about other body parts as wiggles spread!)

From Jbrary

Monsters Go Night-Night by Aaron Zenz

Five Monkeys Jumping On the Bed + Ukulele

Storytime Challenge

Today we sorted pictures into the categories Things We Wear and Things We Play With. The ultimate goal was to make a Venn diagram, but we had a few first timers and some younger siblings, so everyone seemed pretty happy stopping before we got to the Venn diagram part. We'll definitely go back to it later in the session, though, because I think this group would be really good at it.

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

Big Kids Storytime: Winter Animals

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

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

ABCs

Letter of the Week: S

Words we thought of- sun, snow, snake, sister, snack, skunk

Count to 10 and Back

Bear and Chicken by Jannie Ho

Snowball Finding Game

Similar to Little Mouse in the House, I hid a snowball behind differently colored mittens. To make it more challenging for this group, each mitten got a letter on it and we guessed by letter instead of by color.

William's Winter Nap by Linda Ashman

40 Years on an Iceberg

I learned this really fun repeating song at Girl Scout camp many years ago, but the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada have a great video version you can find here

Storytime Challenge
Today we played a matching game where each child got a card with two snowflakes on it. Half of the cards had the same snowflake and half had two different ones. We then made a chart of our cards where one side had snowflakes that were the same and the other side had cards with snowflakes that were different. We found that comparing colors was pretty easy, but comparing the shapes of the snowflakes made it more challenging. By taking it one step at a time (What color is this snowflake? What about this snowflake? Is that the same color? and then- are your snowflakes the same shape?) we eliminated the most confusing parts. Comparing/contrasting objects with multiple characteristics was pretty sophisticated, but everyone got the hang of it and had a good time.

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

Big Kids Storytime: Wild Animals

To tie into our Winter Reading Club (Reading is Wild!) which started last week, I thought it would be fun to do a wild animals theme this week. Plus it was a good opportunity to use some songs and/or stories which are more familiar to kids- I like to do that for the first week or so, just to get kids used to me and being in the storytime routine. Here's what we were up to-

Bread and Butter

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam

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

ABCs

Letter of the Week: T

Words we thought of: Tanner, toes, tiger, tornado, ten

Count to 10 and Back

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee

Hippopotamus on a Bus

A hip, a hip, a hippopotamus

Got on, got on, got on a city bus

And all, and all, and all the people said

You're squishing us!

A cow, a cow, a cow got on the bus

And all, and all, and all the people said

Moooove over!

A sheep, a sheep, a sheep got on the bus

And all, and all, and all the people said

Move baaaack!

From Jbrary

(we tapped our knees instead of bouncing)

Actual Size by Steve Jenkins

* We didn't read this entire book, but I picked out some of the animals I thought the kids would like most. We had fun guessing things like what anteaters and Goliath Bird-Eating spiders eat.

Elephant Guessing Game

*We have a set of felt elephants in a bunch of different colors. Each kid got two elephants and I asked who had colors that sounded like bed (red), shoe (blue), mean (green), etc. I have some 5 year olds and some pretty new 4 year olds, so some kids had an easier time than others. It was still fun and the kids even started to help each other out.

Storytime Challenge

Today we flipped a giant cardboard "coin" with a lion on one side and an elephant on the other and made a bar graph with the results. Two kids remembered the unicorn vs. dragon bar graph we made last session, so they were very excited and got the new faces excited as well. Everyone got a few chances to flip the coin until the winner (lion) reached the top of the bar graph. Throughout the challenge we talked about who was winning and how we could tell, then at the end we counted how many flips the elephant would have needed to win.

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

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

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

Big Kids Storytime: On the Farm

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

Go Sleep in Your Own Bed by Candace Fleming & Lori Nichols

Put Your Hands Up High

(to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?")

Put your hands up high, put your hands down low

Put your hands in the middle and wave them just so

Put your elbows in the front, put your elbows to the back

Put your elbows to the sides and quack quack quack!

from Jbrary

Cock-a-Doodle Quack! Quack! by Ivor Baddiel and Sophie Jubb

Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean

Five pigs so squeaky clean, cleanest you've ever seen

Wanted to go outside and play- Oink! Oink!

One jumped into the mud, landed with a big thud

Now there are four clean squeaky pigs

[repeat until all pigs are messy]

Hungry Hen by Richard Waring

Storytime Challenge

Farm animals bar graph from School Sparks. We had four kids at storytime and four animals on the bar graph, so each kid got to take charge of an animal.

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

Big Kids Storytime: Ghosts & Spooky Things

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

Over in the Hollow by Rebecca Dickinson

Five Spooky Ghosts

Five grey and spooky ghosts, doing what they love most

Scaring some very silly kids- Boo! Boo!

One flew into the sky, where it was nice and dry

Now there are four grey spooky ghosts

[repeat until no ghosts are left]

from Storytime Ukulele

Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Shapes by Eric VanRaepenbusch

*The father of one of my storytime kids has written several fun books, including a series about three ghost friends. He generously offered to share one at storytime and all the kids loved it. He even shared one of his newest stories, which you can read about here.

If You're a Ghost and You Know It

If you're a ghost and you know just say boo (boo!)

If you're a ghost and you know just say boo (boo!)

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

If you're a ghost and you know just say boo (boo!)

[we repeated with some suggestions from the group, including wolves/howling, bats/flapping wings, etc.]

In the Dark, Dark Woods

*This is a flip-book I made myself based on this YouTube video by Karen Bowling. I especially liked how her version had several scary/silly alternate endings.

Storytime Challenge

Today we filled in a "haunted house" ten frame with ghosts and witches. I was pretty sure it was the first time most of my kids saw a ten frame so it definitely helped referring to it as a haunted house instead. They all got the hang of it quickly and had fun make ten frames for each other!

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

Big Kids Storytime: Fall Fun

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

Little Elliot Fall Friends by Mike Curate

Leaves on the Trees

(to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus")

The leaves on the trees turn orange and red

Orange and red, orange and red

The leaves on the trees turn orange and red

All fall long

The leaves on the trees come falling dow

Falling down, falling down

The leaves on the trees come falling down

All fall long

The leaves on the ground go swish swish swish

Swish swish swish, swish swish swish

The leaves on the ground go swish swish swish

All fall long

Grr Grr Went the Big Brown Bear

Grr grr went the big brown bear one day

Grr grr went the big brown bear

Grr grr went the big brown bear one day 

And the bear went grr grr grr

But- we know bears go huggy huggy hug

Huggy huggy hug, huggy huggy hug

We know bears go huggy huggy hug

They don't go grr grr grr

Jump jump went the little red squirrel one day

Jump jump went the little red squirrel

Jump jump went the little red squirrel one day

And the squirrel went jump jump jump

But- we know squirrels go rub a dub a dub

Rub a dub a dub, rub a dub a dub

We know squirrels go rub a dub a dub

They don't go jump jump jump

from Jbrary

In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes

I'm an Acorn 

I'm an acorn small and round 

Lying on the cold cold ground

People always step on me

That is why I'm cracked, you see

I'm a nut (cluck cluck)

I'm a nut (cluck cluck)

I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut (cluck cluck)

from Jbrary

Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley

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

Big Kids Storytime: Storytime Hits (Fall 2017)

For the first storytime of this session, I thought it would be fun to ease in with a mix of books and songs that are sure-fire hits. It was nice having songs and stories kids felt comfortable participating with even if we were meeting for the first time.

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

Alan's Big Scary Teeth by Jarvis

Five Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr. Crocodile- can't catch me!

Along comes Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be

And snaps that monkey right out of the tree!

[repeat until no monkeys are left]

Can You Hear the Lions Roaring?

(to the tune of "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain")

Can you hear the lions  roaring at the zoo- roar!

Can you hear the lions  roaring at the zoo- roar!

Can you hear the lions roaring, can you hear the lions roaring

Can you hear the lions  roaring at the zoo- roar!

[repeat with snakes hissing and bears growling]

I Dream of an Elephant by Ami Rubinger

Slippery Fish

Slippery fish, slippery fish, swimming through the water

Slippery fish, slippery fish, chomp chomp chomp!

Uh oh, he got eaten by a...

Tuna fish, tuna fish, swimming through the water 

Tuna fish, tuna fish, chomp chomp chomp!

Uh oh, he got eaten by an...

Octopus, octopus, swimming through the water

Octopus, octopus, chomp chomp chomp!

Uh oh, he got eaten by a...

Great white shark, great white shark, swimming through the water

Great white shark, great white shark, chomp chomp chomp!

Uh oh, he got eaten by a...

Great big whale, great big whale, swimming through the water

Great big whale, great big whale, chomp chomp BURP!

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

Storytime Challenge

Animal charades

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