Boats: All-Ages

9:30 program: 70 total
10:30 program: 72 total
I changed my storytime theme without much notice (to myself) and came up with this pretty quickly.  No fancy props, no fancy flannel board pieces... but it ended up being one of my favorites.  I found books about boats that shined all on their own and didn't really need a whole lot of extra help from me.

In addition to our regular routines, songs, and puppet friends, this is what we did....

Letter of the Day:  Ww
Water, wave, and when the kids used their bodies to make the letter "W", they got lots of, "Wows!" from me.

Books:
Splish Splash by Nicola Smee with rain/bead stick.  The whole lovable gang is back and this time they are taking a trip in a boat.  But the ocean's looking choppy and the waves are getting bigger!

Every time the phrase "splish splash" appeared in the book, my lovely coworker tilted this bead stick which sounded very much like water sloshing and all the kids would know it was time to say, "Splish splash," with me.  As the waves got bigger, the sounds and responses from the audience got louder too!  Of course I at least doubled the amount of splishing and splashing for lots of audience engagement.

 

 Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera.  The first verse is a familiar one, but as the pages turn we meet different animals and are encouraged to make their sounds.

I love Jane Cabrera and this book is no exception!

 Music:

We sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" after reading the book.  I encouraged the kids to find a lap to sit in and many of them scrambled to do so.  I use this song in babytime so it's not new to me, but so many of the parents and children applauded after it.  It was so sweet!

Listen to this fun version here.

"Beep, Beep" by Little Groove.  This song is also charming and we moved like cars, trains, airplanes, and sail boats.  The parents and kids loved this song too!

Listen here

 Rhyme:

Hickory Dickory Dare

Hickory dickory dare
The lobster flew up in the air
Captain Brown soon brought him down
Hickory dickory dare

I grabbed all my sea creature puppets ahead of time and did this rhyme multiple times with the kids using the animals they were calling out.  I had all of them  (except turtle): lobster, whale, crab, shark, dolphin fish.

This is a great one for parents to do at home using their own stuffed animals and even letting the kids throw them up if they want.  (I did not throw mine; I just lifted them with much excitement over my head.)

Pumpkins: All-Ages Storytime

This is the first time I did a pumpkin theme and it was so much fun!

Animal Song with Puppets: "Mr. Duck"

Mr. Mrs. Bear was not able to come to storytime today so his gal pal Mrs. Bear came to sing hello to us.  She is dressed as Elsa to remind you that Anna and Elsa are coming for Caroling in the Library on Dec 4th.  See our online calendar here.

 Books: 

Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills.  Duck and Goose look everywhere for a pumpkin and finally finds one at the pumpkin patch.

I read the large board book copy which was plenty big, especially with the large illustrations, even in our enormous storytime room.  It was super interactive because the kids got to answer, "No," each time Duck or Goose asked if the pumpkin was somewhere.

The Ugly Bumpy Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz.  This book is downright mean.  It's actually called "The Ugly Pumpkin" and the characters are pretty cruel to the "pumpkin".  I pretty much skip the whole middle of the book... but I love the end!

Prop Song: "Pumpkin Vine".    Basically the song leads us through using our imaginations to grow a pumpkin and I pull out the vine, big leaves, yellow flowers, red bug, and finally a pumpkin as they grow/appear in the song.
Listen here

Watch me in action (I have no idea why it's so insanely fast, but I actually like that it all plays out in like 5 seconds and then you can listen to the song at the link above):

Activity: Bibbity Boppity Boo
I used this rhyming game as a way to get the kids settled and holding autumn, sparkly, foam leaves for the Magic Cauldron activity (see next activity below).

Bibbity Boppity Boo a leaf is on my shoe
Bibbity Boppity Bed a leaf is on my head
Bibbity Boppity Bee a leaf is on my knee... etc...

Activity: Magic Autumn Cauldron
There is a squash (or pumpkin if you have the forethought to buy one in October) hidden in cauldren under a black plastic bag.

I tell the kids I am going to put item in my cauldron that make me think of fall.  I have a black trash bag because that's what we used to rake leaves into when I lived in NY and I add the apple, leaves, scarecrow, and jacket and then use my magic wand to say, "Hocus Pocus, "Bibbity Boppity Boo," and, "Abra Cadabra."  Sadly nothing magical happens.

Ahhhh!  We need magic leaves.  We practice holding up the color leaf we have and the kids bring their leaves up to put in the cauldron by color groups so they don't all run up at once.  It's not perfect, but it works.

Once all the leaves are in the cauldron, we say the magic words again and I magically pull something out of the cauldron I didn't put in.  Real magic there, folks.

 Fingerplay:

All-Ages: Squirrels

Arizona is cooling off in the evenings and mornings so it's as good a time as any to talk about squirrels getting ready for winter.


Animal Song with Puppets:  "My Squirrel" Listen here

Letter of the Day: Ss
Mr. Mrs. Bear:  Mr. Bear was busy this week so his gal pal Mrs. Bear came to sing hello.  She is promoting our 8th Annual Caroling in the Library program.  This year Anna and Elsa will be joining us for the storytime portion of the event. Our calendar

Check out my blog post about this event a couple of years ago..

Books: 
The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri:  Squirrel is too busy getting ready for winter to play with the other animals.

That Pup by Lindsay Barrett George: After having fun digging up acorns, a little dog helps hide them again when he finds out a squirrel was saving them for winter.

Flannel: "Sammy Squirrel" by Liz and Dick Wilmes:

Sammy Squirrel is sad and cold (look at his pink little nose) now that all the leaves fell off his tree.

 Yay!  Sammy found a new warm tree right as it started snowing.

 Here are Sammy's first getting ready to hibernate / stay warm for the winter.

Music and pom poms: "Gray Squirrel" by the Learning Station.  There are many versions of this song, but I love this one because it encourages the whole family to participate!  Listen / watch here.

Activity: Acorn Hunt
The kids found acorns around the library and put them in Squirrel's burrow.  I think next year I will let each kid take one acorn on the way out and give it to squirrel.  The hunt went fine, but I think it would better with a smaller group (40+ kids attended both sessions).

All-Ages: Monsters

Not all of our families braved the Arizona rain, but I certainly had fun with those who attended today! (28 kids in the first session, 43 in the second).

Letter of the Day:  Mm for monster

Animal Song with Puppets: "When Ghosts Wake Up in the Evening".  I found this awesome song just yesterday, downloaded it, sought out a ghost and witch,  and we grooved to it this morning. Listen here

Mr. Bear did his usual song and dance routine, but dressed like a pumpkin:

Books:
Monster, Monster by Melanie Walsh.  This is a super fun lift-the-flap book where the kids have to figure out who is in costumes and who is the real monster.

A Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Pacquette.  My 2 1/2 year old (now 3) loved and still loves this book. A ghost bumps into a mummy, momster, skeleton, witch, and finally the creepest createure of all - a little boy! 

As the creatures run away one by one, I tossed them over the flannel board for dramatics!  The monster is the tallest at about 14"

Flannel: 

Star Monster

A hunting we will go (pat rhythm on legs)
A hunting we will go
We'll catch a monster
And give her ___ start
And then we'll let her go

Repeat with all colors

 Music: "We Are Monsters" Listen here
We stomped, clapped, shook, sneaked, and roared like monsters while holding these small plush monsters.

 Fingerplays:

"I Saw a Ghost"
I saw a ghost (use this ASL sign for "ghost")
He saw me to (point to self)
I waved hello (wave)
But he said, "Boo!"