Pre-K and K from Rosalie Young

Today I did two groups from Rosalie Young. I've filled in for Erin about 3 or 4 times and each group did remember me. The pre-k group had 7 and the K group had 13.

For the pre-k group I did:

Cookie's Week

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? (they loved this so much that they asked me to do it twice!)

Wow, said Owl

For songs we did:

If you Want to Hear a Story

The Chicken Dance

Dinosaur Song

Freeze Dance

Notes: They LOVED Is Everyone Ready for Fun? This was the response I was hoping to get with the 2-year-old group and didn't. They loved standing for the story, getting to jump up and down, dance, wiggle, etc. By the second reading (which was like 2 books and 2 songs later) they were joining along with me for chicken and the cows' lines.

I gave the 7 kids the leftover owl masks from the Jacob's Ladder group and they held them for the owl song. They were so happy to have something to use as a prop and couldn't believe I was going to let them keep it.

Cookie's Week got many laughs, and though the kids heard Pete the Cat before, they loved it nonetheless.

At the end, they all got up and gave me hugs. It was the best ending to a great storytime!

For the K group, we read:

Cookie's Week

Pete the Cat

Dinosaurs Roar!

Snowy Day

Wow, said Owl

They had never heard Dinosaurs Roar or Wow, said Owl before; it was nice to do something new for a change. They joined in for the colors in Pete the Cat and Wow, said Owl. Dinosaurs Roar was a hit, of course, since all RVC Library storytime kids love Laurie Berkner's Dinosaur Song. They all loved Snowy Day and most owned a copy at home. Cookie's week also got many laughs.

Songs:

Dinosaur Song

Chicken Dance

Freeze Dance

Future Thanksgiving Song Idea

Didn't get a chance to do a storytime around Thanksgiving this year, but for future use:

Turkey Dinner, Turkey Dinner, Gather Round, Gather Round
Who will get the drumstick? Yummy Yummy Yum-stick
All sit down, All sit down

Cornbread muffins, chestnut stuffin’, pudding pie ten feet high
All of us were thinner until we came to dinner
Me-o my, Me-o my!

(to the tune of ‘Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping)’)

Two Great Cat Books for Future Use

Ellen and Joann both told me about a cute cat book they used for their respective storytime groups.


The first one is Pete the Cat: I love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin. The story is about a cat who takes a walk in his white shoes, but as he steps in different things (ie: water, strawberries, etc.) his white shoes change colors to reflect what he's been in. There's also a song refrain "I love my ___ shoes" for each color.

The other book is called Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward, which is about a cat named Cookie who gets into all sorts of trouble every day of the week. It's a good book to introduce days of the week. Joann used it for her two-year-olds, so even though they didn't get the days of the week, they really loved Cookie and the chaos he got himself in to.

Two by Two

I did my first two-year-old group yesterday, which consisted of 9 children and 10 parents. It was interesting to see the differences in the children, such as those who were very into what we were doing and eager to participate, those who couldn't sit still, and those who were quiet but were not engaged in what was going on. Overall, it was a lot of fun and they were so cute. Here's what we did:


Opening song: "If you Want to Hear a Story..."


Books:


Five Green and Speckled Frogs by Priscilla Burris. (I used to love this song when I was younger, so you can imagine how much fun it was to lead them in the song. I had them join in with the "yum yum." The book, however, has different text than the song that most people know--I've seen this written in other reviews of this particular version. I used the book mostly for visual effect, with its sparkling speckles and fun beach-time theme.I also created a paper version of the story. I had blue paper for the pond and cut out a log and 5 speckled frogs. I used tape on the back of each frog and took one off as the song/story progressed)


Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas. (Found this book sitting on the new and prospective storytime shelf. It is a gold mine! The book format is similar to the style of Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus by Mo Willems, in that the text and illustrations start before page 1. It's a fast-paced book involving 3 cows who annoy their friend chicken by jumping on his couch, wiggling on his couch, etc. I had them stand up and do all of the actions. Highly recommended!)


Can You Growl Like a Bear? by John Butler. (A cute book that elicits readers to join in and make the various animal sounds. About half the group actually made the sounds, as did all the parents.)


I Hear by Rachel Isadora. (Another audience participation book for making noises.)


Dances:


"I Know a Chicken" by Laurie Berkner. (Always a fun song to do with any age group. I noticed that unlike the pre-k groups I've done this song with, the 2-year-olds mainly liked to dance with the shaky eggs we give out and had a harder time following the "shake your egg fast/slow/up and down/in a circle" Still, they seemed to have fun with it).


"Rock-a-Bye Bear" by The Wiggles. (Suggested by one of the children's librarian. A cute 1 minute song that tells listeners to do different motions. I took one of the bear stuffed animals that had little bears on it and danced with it.)


"Here Comes Bear" by the Wiggles. (Another cute dance/motion song that worked well. Thanks Jen for the great suggestions!)


End song: "The More We Get Together" I led the song and the parents joined in. Some parents rocked their kids back and forth, which was cute.


Things I learned: Usually a better idea to do short, simple books. This age group responds extremely well to action/motion books that get them involved. If doing a longer book, better to start with it.

It's a Hoot: Owl Storytime



Last week I did a storytime for one of the Jacob's Ladder pre-k groups. There were about 10 kids and adults. I decided to plan an owl-themed storytime for them, including books, a finger play, and a dance. I also found a great owl cut-out mask online, which I printed, colored, and glued popsicle sticks to. The kids absolutely LOVED the owl masks.



http://www.animaljr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/owl-mask-coloring-page-231x300.jpg



Here's the book line up I used. The kids were getting a little ancy by the end, so I decided to do another song with them instead of Owl Babies.


Opening Song: "If you Want to Hear a Story..."



Books:



I'm Not Cute! by Jonathan Allen. (The kids liked this a lot. All the animals tell baby Owl he is "so cute" and baby Owl gets upset. Easily relatable to kids. They were laughing and joining in with the repetitive line, "I'm not cute!" The illustrations are simple and fun. I also made little puppets for the various animals from pictures online, brown paper bags, and even little word bubble cut-outs that had "You're so cute baby Owl" on them.)



I'm Not Scared! by Jonathan Allen. (Very similar to the premise of "I'm Not Cute," except this time, they all accuse Owl of being scared. This book got the same reaction. I started out by asking them if they were ever scared. I've used these books numerous times and they are always a big hit!)



Wow, said Owl! by Tim Hopgood. (Great book about colors. A curious Owl decides to stay up during the day and is amazed by all the pretty colors. I paused during each page and had the kids yell out the colors.)



Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. (An adorble book with equally adorable illustrations about 3 young owls who worry that their mother won't come back after she leaves for a few moments. I'm hoping to do this the next time I do a storytime that is pre-k or older.)



Rhymes:



There's a wide eye owl (make fingers in large circles and cup over eyes)
With a pointed nose (use fingers to make a triangle & point out for nose)
2 pointed ears (use fingers for ears)
and claws for toes (wiggle fingers like toes)
he lives way up in the tree (point up to tree top)
and when he looks at you (point at kids)
he flaps his wings (use arms for wings, and flap)
and says whooo whooo (continue flapping wings)



This went over very well. I taught it to them first by having them repeat the lines and actions before we did it together straight through.



Check out: http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/owls/owl_songs.htm for more cute Owl finger plays and songs!



Dances:



We did "Do the Owl" by the Wiggles. They all danced around with their Owl masks.


End Song: "The More We Get Together" (Almost all the children knew this song and sang it along with me.)


What I learned: Next time I do a parent-child storytime and the parents are talking, I will say something--or even better, say something up front that explains if parents want to socialize or talk on the phone they should do so outside or after.