Fun Robot+ Themed Storytime

I've been slacking on my posting. I just haven't had time to type things up like I used to. And if I don't type up my storytimes the same day, I forget how I really felt about things and how the kids reacted, etc. I sigh.
Well, here's a storytime I did at a local preschool. The kids really liked all three books and they love the songs I use with them, too. This was my last storytime with this group as my assignments will soon be changing, so it was a little sad. I didn't tell them until the end because I didn't know how the kids would react the that news.

Opening song: Hello Song by Ella Jenkins. We sing it twice then we just say a big "hello" and wave.
Literacy: Bot + Boy by Amy Dyckman. The kids and I really like this friendship story. They also really liked it when I talked like a robot.

Child: "How did you learn to talk robot, Ms. Camille?"
Me: " How do you know I'm not a robot?"

Literacy: Robot Zombie Frankenstein! by Annette Simon. This is a non-story about two robots and their costume antics. This book was fun. I mean really a fun book. From yelling out the text, to getting the kids to guess what's next this is a great book with simple block illustrations and bright colors. I can totally see having some kids acting this out.

Second story stretch: Put Your Finger In the Air (Love this guy!)
I like to add and change lyrics with this song so here are the verses I sang today:
Put your finger in the air... Leave it there about a year...
Put your finger on your head... Tell me is it green or red...
Put your finger on your nose... Feel the cold wind blow...
Put your finger on your finger... Leave it there, let it linger...
Put your finger on your leg... Ask them if they'd like some eggs...
Put your finger on your shoe... Let them walk a mile or two...

Literacy: Don't Squish the Sasquatch! by Kent Redeker. One of the teachers had already read this book to the kids so they already knew it, but that made it more fun because then they knew where to yell "Don't squish the sasquatch!" and it worked out fine. I like this book because its interactive and gave me lots opportunities to ask the kids questions and to spur their imagination.

Literacy: In the Small Small Pond by Denise Fleming. Speaking of interactive books, this is one of my favorites. In front of them, I call it a stand-up book and I make them stand up. Then we act out all the things the creatures are doing in the book: Swooping like swallows, whirling like whirligigs, snapping like crawfish.

I always end with the Hokey Pokey because its fun and give kids an opportunity to shake it out after being good listeners through a few books.
Don't forget to teach them how to say "yes" in robot: Affirmative!

Classics Gone Crazy Themed Storytime

These are three books that I thought would make a fun storytime for the spunky kids.  But they got too spunky yesterday afternoon. I had to stop in the middle of reading Waking Beauty and remind them that I choose to bring this program to them and I don't see why I should continue if I'm going to be met with rude behavior, especially when they're begging me for an art activity. They calmed down after our talk, but I was already upset. I skipped Waking Beauty and powered through Mary so we could get to the art activity (which I didn't think they deserved at that point) and I could go home.

The Eensy Weensy Spider FREAKS OUT! (Big time!) by Troy Cummings
Funny story about a spider who gives up on climbing after she is washed off a waterspout. But her friend ladybug encourages her to venture out again.

The lamp I would drag around.

Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox
   Wilcox's stories that turn fairytales around for a different   perspective are quite funny and pleasantly silly. In this book, based on Sleeping Beauty, the prince doesn 't take the time to listen to the fairy godmothers and so tries every other way to wake Beauty, but with a kiss.

Mary Had a Little Lamp by Jack Lechner
This funny take on the classic nursery rhyme is about a girl obsessed with her lamp instead of a lamb obsessed and stalking a girl.

Fun Mom Stories Themed Family Storytime

I read these books to the spunky mixed-age group and it turned out to be a fun Mother's Day Storytime: 

Skateboard Mom by Barbara Odanaka

Written by an actual skateboarding mom, its a funny story about a boy who gets a skateboard for his birthday when his mom hops right on and began reliving her skateboard queen years. Primitive illustrations, but they work with the cheesy, but fun story.

A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat by Karla Kuski: This is one of those fun stacking rhymes (Cumulative structure to be exact) like I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly, where the more you add on, the more fun it is to read and there are opportunities for audience interaction.

My Mom Has X-Ray Vision by AngelaMcAllister 

From the title you can probably tell this is a funny, zany story about a kid with a very good imagination.... or is it TRUE?! 

We decorated flower pots as our art activity. 

Messy Mice Themed Family Storytime

Again with the kids who don't like to sing songs, etc. I read these books:
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Never read these books until a few days ago, and I don't like them. The kids I read them to had a hard time following the storyline and I saw their little attentions flitter away. 

Mouse Mess by Linnea Rily
This one brought their attentions back. I always hesitated to read this book because the illustrations look so dated to me, but the kids didn't mind and on their own started making really observant comparisons: The cornflakes look like a pile of leaves the mouse jumped into. The mouse looks like he's admiring a cityscape on the milk and cheese page. Turned out to be fun!

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
A fun conversation piece. We ended up talking at length about where the bear was and who was narrating and why we couldn't see them. The mouse didn't come up, but everyone was hungry for a strawberry or two by the end.

We had a Lego playtime after stories.

Silly Themed Family Storytime

The group of kids I did this storytime with are very much anti-singing, dancing, rhymes, fingerplays... they'll have none of that. Just stories and an activity
So I read them:

• A Boy and His Bunny by Sean Bryan
• Ducks Don't Wear Socks by John Nedwidek
• A Bear and His Boy by Sean Bryan 

Then we made silly hand puppets. I just so happened to have these kits from Discount School Supply hanging around.