Welcome to Storytime!

When I have a little free time, some felt, and glue, this kind of thing is bound to happen.  (Throw in glitter glue and the AccuCut, and that is where the magic really happens)!  I keep this sign up on our flannel board during storytimes. That is really all there is to say about that!

Valentine's Day Storytime

I usually don't do themed storytimes because I don't like to limit my book choices... I would rather just pick my favorites whether they are related or not!  However, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I decided to do a storytime about love since that is quite a broad theme, and I had a lot to choose from!

Books I read:

• And I Love You by Ruth Krauss and Steven Kellogg
• My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall
• All Kinds of Kisses by Nancy Tafuri

Songs I sang:

• "Skidamarink"
• "Two Little Lovebirds" (Dickybirds)
• "Six Little Valentines"

"Six Little Valentines" was especially fun.  I borrowed the idea from Storytime Katie, who adapted the song and flannel from Busy Crafting Mommy.  I am not as handy with a sewing machine as these ladies, so I crafted my envelopes from paper and added a velcro tab to the back of each so that they would stick to the flannel board.  The kids loved these valentines... there is a certain excitement about opening up mail and finding out what is inside an envelope, especially when they are cute little valentines from animal friends.  I wish I could use this set all year long... I may have to adapt a non-seasonal "mail" flannel set since this one was such a hit!

"Six Little Valentines"

Six little Valentines were sent to my house,

The first one said, “I love you, From Mouse.”

Five little Valentines in my mailbox,

The second one said, “Be mine, Love Fox.”

Four little Valentines full of love,

The third one said, “You are sweet, From Dove.”

Three little Valentines just for me,

The fourth one said, “Be my honey, Love Bee.”

Two little Valentine’s mailed with care,

The fifth one said, “Here’s a hug, From Bear.”

The last little Valentine, from my friend Jay,

This one said, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Silly Hat Storytime

We recently started a new Saturday morning family storytime.  This is great for two reasons: one, parents who work throughout the week can attend (during the week we mostly get nannies and daycare centers) AND I get to pick a theme!!!  With an all ages audience, we have some more leeway when it comes to themes, which is why I usually don't do a theme for a specific age range; it ends up being too limiting to appropriate book choices.  Anyways, for my first Family Fun Time Storytime, I did SILLY HATS!

Silly Hat Storytime 

• Song: Hello, How Are You?
• Our typical "Hello" song for storytimes. 
• Book: Whose Hat? by Margaret Miller (1988)
• The kids loved this, as they got to identify who each hat belongs to (i.e. a witch, policeman, nurse, etc.)
• Puppet: Fat Cat in Hats

• I used hats from our dress-up set to put on my fat cat puppet Maurice and asked the kids to identify them. This was a nice continuation of Whose Hat? and the kids always love seeing Maurice.
• Book: Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (1947)
• This was probably the crowd's favorite book of the storytime, and no wonder, it's a classic!  My favorite part was when an infant was shaking her fists right along with the monkeys.
• Song: and Flannel: No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
• Always a favorite!
• Book: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (2011)
• I wouldn't read this for storytime again.  Since the story is basically told through dialogue, I think it's a little hard to follow just by listening.  I get the humor in it, but I don't think the kids do.  In fact, it's a little terrifying for wee ones, as the rabbit gets eaten by the bear in the end.
• Song: On My Nose I Have a Hat
• Kids love participating with this song by offering answers to the question, "Where else can my silly hat go?"
• Book: The Hat by Jan Brett (1997)
• I've said it before: Jan Brett is among the best of the best!  It's still winter so this was a nice choice, and the children listened intently.
• Flannel: Little Rat and Hat

• A variation of "Little Mouse in his House":  I put up five different colored hats and ask the kids to help me find my missing rat.  Someone guesses green, and I say, "Little rat, little rat, are you in the GREEN HAT?"  It is always extremely exciting for them when we finally find the rat.  I like this flannel because it's easily changed for a theme and it is always a favorite.
• We Wave Goodbye Like This 
• Our typical "Goodbye" song for storytimes.
• Our Hands Say Thank You
• The final finishing touch: "Our hands say 'Thank You' with a clap clap clap!  Our feet say  'Thank You' with a tap tap tap!  Clap clap clap!  Tap tap tap! And we rollllllllll our hands to say, 'Goodbye!'"
• Craft: Jan Brett's characters and hats, a matching game craft!  Jan Brett's crafts are so simple and easy to prepare, and kids love them.  This was perfect for multiple ages.

Freedom Quilt

This past weekend we hosted a Black History Month Kickoff Celebration.  My coworkers hosted a puppet show/ storytime, and I helped the kids to create our library's very own Freedom Quilt!

Legend has it that during the times of the Underground Railroad, African American slaves used quilts along the Underground Railroad to communicate messages and signals that would help them to escape to freedom. Different patches on these Freedom Quilts conveyed varying messages, such as following the North Star, identifying friendly houses for shelter, or following a safe mountain trail.

To prepare for this craft program, I pre-cut quilt squares made from some patterned paper I found in our magical craft closet.  I hole punched each corner and added a bit of red yarn to all four corners of each square.  Finally, I pre-cut a variety of squares and triangles so that the children could make their own patterns on their quilt squares.  I provided some examples for them to look at (Shoofly, Monkey Wrench, Hourglass, Star, Crossroads, and Flying Geese) and was pleasantly surprised when all of the participants creatively came up with their own designs by cutting, coloring, and gluing the shapes onto their squares.

Once the squares dried overnight, I tied each corner together to make our quilt.  There was a fairly heavy amount of prep-work involved with this project, but I am so pleased with the results.  The quilt is now proudly hung on display outside our children's room.  Not one child was disappointed that they couldn't take their quilt square home; instead they were excited and proud to have their work displayed in the library! 

What Time is it? It's ValenTIMES

I love holidays and I especially love holidays that give me the opportunity to make SPECTACULAR displays of puns.  

This display was made on a large poster board, with heart cut outs and medium letter stickers.  I stapled together about 6 sheets of large white paper to make it look like a 3-D book, and I like the effect I ended up with.  

I put this up in our Teen section (it's a tad racy for the wee little ones) and so far they have gotten a kick out of it.  

Some more Valentine Puns for your enjoyment:

• Do you have any overdue books?  Because you've got FINE written all over you!
• Can I get your Call #?
• Dewey match?