The program started at 6, right as it got really dark outside. I was able to adjust the lighting in the room by having my lovely co-worker (Julie) sprint back and forth to the light switches at designated times. Even with both lights off, the room wasn't pitch black on account of the dim emergency light that stays on, but did get pretty dark.
Opening: "Bread and Butter" Watch here as the amazing Jbrary duo shares this chant
Bread and butter
Marmalade and jam
Let's say hello as quiet as we can
Books:
The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle: One night a very lonely firefly goes in search of some friends. Each time he sees a light he flies toward it, but none of them are fireflies. Finally he finds lots of flickering friends (the book has little light bulbs that light up).
(Lights on except for at the end)
I introduced the kids to my Folkmanis firefly light-up puppet
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise: I used to think this book was so dull.... until I had kids. Now I think it is so charming with the perfect amount of repetition and randomness.
(This book only works in big book format for a storytime. The lights were completely off and Julie used a flashlight to illuminate the pages and highlight the specific items the text mentioned).
Duck's Not Afraid of the Dark by Ethan Long: Duck insists that he's not afraid of the dark, but he does prefer to leave the light on!
(Lights dim so that the kids could still see the illustrations, but appreciate the light I was switching on and off.)
Nighttime Nursery Rhymes: A Bedtime Shadow Book: I used a flashlight to project the images onto the wall and shared "Hey Diddle Diddle", "Little Boy Blue", and "Star Bright".
(Lights off, obviously)
Flannel: "Five Little Firecrackers"
5 little firecrackers getting ready to zoom (hold up 5 fingers)
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle, sizzle (wiggle fingers upward, building anticipation)
BOOM (clap hands above head)
4.... 3.... 2... 1...
My last exploded firecracker has starts that light up. Random clearance find at Target last year.
This rhyme starts with the red, unexploded firecrackers on the board. Each time we got to the "BOOM", Julie would slap the exploded firecracker over them.
"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Lights off)
I turned the lights off and we used these finger lights (left over SRP prizes) to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It was really beautiful to see all the lights!
"Cha Cha Slide" (Lights off)
Every child got two glow bracelets to wear (and keep) while dancing the "Cha Cha Slide". This was probably the highlight of night! I'm glad I didn't got with "The Hokey Pokey" or something. The parents got DOWN, the kids dug it!
Right as it started to play... my new, Black Friday, fully-charged iPod went black. As I started panicking, Alyson, a high school student who was babysitting my kids at storytime, pulled out her iPhone, found the song on YouTube, and plugged it into my sound system with my auxiliary cord!!! As Dar Williams would say, "Teenagers kick our butts,"..... mine anyway!
We made these guys using Easter eggs, LED tea lights, google eye stickers, and used strips of duct tape to attach paper wings that I pre-cut.
My little sweetheart holding a firefly... and my brother-in-law lounging in the background LOL
As much as I want to pretend this was an original idea, I must admit I first saw it at http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/09/21/steal-story-time-glow-dark..... but Kristy Raffensberger was practically begging me to "steal" it!
