Puppies Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics)   
Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger    
Literacy: That Pup by Lindsay Barrett George  
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them  
Literacy: Please, Puppy, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee  
New song/movement break: 
Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone (with dog puppet)

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long, 
Oh where, oh where can he be? 

Literacy: Dog by Matthew Van Fleet 
Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds  

Closing Movement: Parachute Play
Post storytime activity: Make-Your-Own Puppy Coloring Book! This was so easy. I printed out several different puppy coloring pages from the Internet, gave the kids a piece of construction paper to decorate, folded the construction paper over the coloring sheets and Voila! They're own coloring book that keeps giving and giving (depending on how many pages you give them!) Here are some coloring pages that might work for you.

Not a librarian's best friend.

  
 

Library News: Lance Armstrong Controversy

Who’d have thought this Lance Armstrong controversy would lead to discussions about pubic librarianship? I sure didn’t. But here we are, half the library world is up in arms about it and the rest are just sitting around trying to change the channel, like me.

The problem is that the Up-In-Armers want to make some changes and that makes us Channel Surfers have to stand up and say something.

What are some libraries doing? Well, right now there’s a lot of librarian discussions about what different systems are planning to do with Armstrong books. You’ve probably seen the viral picture from Manly Library, Sydney, Australia.

And word on the listservs is that several Southern California libraries will actually remove Armstrong books from their collections. That, in my, and I’m sure other librarians’ opinions, is where the line gets crossed.

First of all, think about it from a capitalistic point of view: Now that there’s a controversy, the books are more likely to circulate, so you’re limiting your own circulation by not letting those books go out. 

Now from a library activist's point of view: Dude. We’re not here to censor. We’re not here to define truth or lies for people. Libraries exist to provide the public with the tools to make those decisions for themselves. You cross the line when you start to make decisions for the public telling them what they can’t read. And I don’t want to hear someone come back with a jab at collection development policies. I’m focusing here on banned books and censoring. Think about what Reverend Shaw Moore in Footloose (1984) said:

 "The devil isn't in these books. It's in here. It's in our hearts."

Why are Mythologies and Folklore found in the nonfiction section? Mythology is usually based in religion or a belief system and is or was believed to be true. Folklore is often true stories that have been stretched by the telephone game of time and distance. Basically, both myth and folklore are based in truth or are believed to be true by one or more groups of people. 
Lance Armstrong really did what he did, whether he did it with help or not. That all really happened. It wasn't CGI or Photoshop. 

Process that and then think about what you should do with Lance Armstrong books.

Monkeys Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics) 
Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger  
Literacy: Monkey Monkey Monkey by Cathy MacLennan 
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them  
Literacy: Banana! by Ed Vere 
New song/movement break:Monkey With a Coconut (Slightly modified version of this: http://freesongsforkids.com/audios/monkey-coconut) 

Monkey with a coconut was sitting in a tree.

Monkey with a coconut was making fun of me.

I told him that I'd like to have a coconut too.

He said if you want it this is what you've gotta do.

He said clap clap clap.

CLAP CLAP CLAP!

You’ve gotta clap clap clap.

CLAP CLAP CLAP!

You’ve gotta clap clap clap.

CLAP CLAP CLAP!

He said clap clap clap.

And the monkey said to stop! 

Other Verse: Stomp stomp stomp! 

Another verse: Scratch scratch scratch!  

Literacy: Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed by Eileen Christelow read and followed with having the kids stand up and saying the rhyme together kinda like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tperYYMCYE 

Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds  
Post storytime activity: Zoo Animals Foam Pieces Collage
We have a lot of these from Discount School Supply, so we gave each kids some with a green piece of construction paper and a glue stick. Some kids made a zoo, another made a safari, another made a safari in the zoo. That was my favorite!

Shapes Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics)
Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger 
Literacy: Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them 
Literacy: What Shapes Do You See? by Begin Smart Books
New song/movement break: 
Do You Know What Shape This Is? (To the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man, like this YouTube video, but slightly modified.) 

Do you know what shape this is?
What shape this is?
What shape this is?
Do you know what shape this is? 
I think that it’s a ______ 

and/or

Can You Make a Shape (circle/heart/square/diamond/triangle). I learned it from Super Simple Learning, but I modified it slightly. 

A circle! A circle!
Can you make a circle?
A circle! A circle!
Can you make a circle?
Ready…Set…Go!

Literacy: Felt Shape Story
I was trying to use the ArtFelt kit for Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh, but that was more elaborate than I had room in my brain for. So, I found this Little Story Bug video and copied it and cut out my own felt shapes to use.

The Shape Story 
Once there was a blue square but the blue square was very lonely.
One day PLOP! Out of the sky fell a red triangle and landed on top of the blue square. 
They were so happy to meet each other, When PLOP! Out of the sky fell a yellow circle that landed just above them and it brightened up their day and they were all happy together.
Until one day PLOP! PLOP! A brown rectangle and a green triangle fell from the sky and landed right next to them.
They were so happy to meet the new shapes when again, another PLOP! PLOP! And two small squares landed on top of the blue square.
And then suddenly another PLOP! When a small rectangle fell out of the sky and landed right on top of the blue square, too.
Guess what? All together these shapes made something! What did all the shapes make?
A house!
A tree!
A sun!
And they all lived happily ever after.

Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds  

Post storytime activity: Shape Collage
I had my assistant for the day sort out different foam shapes and gave each parent/child an amount along with a piece of black construction paper and a glue stick. They knew what to do from there. It was great. Parents were asking their children to identify colors and shapes. Yay! Job well done!

My First Baby Storytime!

I had to plan my first baby storytime at the last minute because I was pretty busy in the days proceeding. So I borrowed an outline from a librarian who is seasoned in baby-storytiming and modified it for me and my audience.
It turned out pretty well! The parents (although there were only two) were really responsive and enjoyed doing all the different movements and songs. It was pretty fun. And I'm excited about my next one! 

Welcome Patter: 
Welcome to baby storytime. Today we’re going to sing songs, do some tickles, bounces and fingerplays, read some nursery rhymes, and share books together. The activities we do today are ways that you can stimulate brain development especially, language development in your baby.
Your baby might not want to participate right now and that’s okay. If your baby doesn’t seem to be paying attention, their brain is still being stimulated by what they see and hear around them. If your baby isn’t happy here please take them out until they calm down and come back when you think he or she is ready.

Okay, let’s begin.  

Welcome song: Good Morning to You (To the tune of Happy Birthday)

Good Morning to You!
Good Morning to You!
Good Morning Dear Baby (or insert name)!
Good Morning to You! 

Fingerplay: Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider

Went up the water spout.

Down came the rain and

Washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and 

Dried up all the rain.

And the itsy bitsy spider 

Crawled up the spout, again.    

Body ID book: Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Wiggle fingers and toes along with the book and kisses at the end.

Tickle: Baby's Fingers and Toes This version has another verse to it, but its easy to pick up. 

These are baby’s fingers.
These are baby’s toes.
This is baby’s belly button,
Round and round it goes!
These are baby’s ears.
This is baby’s nose.
This is baby’s belly button,
Round and round it goes!

Parent patter: By pointing out your baby’s body parts, you are teaching them that they are made up of many parts and all of these parts have names.

Fingerplay: This Little Piggy Wiggle This can also be a tickle, too.
This little piggy went to the market.
This little piggy stayed home. 
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried Wee! Wee! Wee!
All the way home!  

Parent patter: Playing peekaboo teaches your baby that sometimes you might go away, but you’ll always come back to them. They also learn that even though they can’t see something, its still there.

Peekaboo book: Baby Faces Peekaboo by Dawn Siret

Pass out color scarves and have parents play peek-a-boo with their hands or the scarves while reading the book. Then give them a minute or two to play after the book.

Read to your baby time: Play a song in the background and pass out a basket of board books giving the parents a few minutes to share a book with their baby. 

Bounce: Tiny Little Baby (To the tune of Shortenin' Bread)  
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing bouncing.
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing so!

Tiny, little baby loves bouncing bouncing.
Tiny, little baby loves bouncing so!
Bounce to the left,
Bounce to the right,
Now hug that baby nice and tight!

Parent patter: Making animal sounds helps children identify animals, associate sounds with things, and learning the sounds from you helps them learn to talk. Let them see your mouth as you talk to them and say these animal sounds. 

I didn't actually use this one because I think two doses of patter is enough for each storytime.

Animals sounds book: I Went Walking by Sue Williams
Have the parents repeat the phrase “What did you see?” and the corresponding animal sound.

Animal sound song: Animals In the Morning (I don't remember where I got this from, but this is a similar song from Nancy Stewart)
When the cow gets up in the morning 
You'll always hear her say:
Moo! Moo!
She'll always say Moo!   
When the cat gets up in the morning
You'll always hear him say:
Meow! Meow!
He'll always say Meow! 
You can substitute any noise making animal in here, I think. I used this with puppets, but you can print out images of different animals and dance them around for the babies to enjoy.  

Classic nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty (I used this as a bounce)
 Humpty dumpty sat on a wall. (Bounce then hold the baby up) 
Humpty dumpty had a great fall. (Bounce then sit the baby down) 
All the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again. (Bounce then wiggle)

Walking bounces:
I got this idea and this rhyme from this video.  
I'm going to add another rhyme, I just haven't decided which, yet. I don't do too much up and down movement because I know some people have back problems. Keep that in mind when you're planning to do bounces. So we walk in a circle, bouncing and singing. 

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! (Walk in a circle, bouncing to the beat) 
We're going to the moon.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
 If you'd like to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
We're going to the moon.
In 5...4...3...2...1...Blast off! (Bend down and then lift the baby up for blast off) 

Closing patter: Thank you for coming to baby storytime. Please hang out for the next 20 minutes and meet other parents and babies and play. We hope you can come back next time and please stop by our information table to grab flyers, get on our email list and pick up a survey. I’d love to know what you think.

Goose, Goose, Duck! Themed Storytime

Opening song: Good Morning/ Buenos Días (See My Storytime Set for song lyrics) 
Opening fingerplay: One Little Finger 

Literacy: Duck's Key Where Can It Be? by Jez Alborough
Song/movement break: Open Shut Them 
Literacy: Blue Goose by Nancy Tafuri
New song/movement break: Six Little Ducks (www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lu3Um3H1vk) 
Six little ducks that I once knew

Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too

Chorus:
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack!
Quack, quack, quack! Quack, quack, quack!
He led the others with a quack, quack!

Down to the river they would go
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, to and fro
Chorus

Back from the river they would come
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble, ho, hum, hum
Chorus

Six little ducks that I once knew
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones, too
Chorus 

Literacy: Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek  (Have kids stand up and interact with the book)

Closing Fingerplay: Two Little Blackbirds  
Post storytime activity: My plan was to make handprint ducks and geese (http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/2009/08/rainy-day-handpint-duck.html), but the kids just had fun with fingerpaints and the parents were grateful for the disposable aprons!