Library Halloween Party!

In a Dark, Dark Room accompanied by a BOOkmark craft 

This Saturday, I am hosting our library's Halloween party for kiddos, family, and friends.  Halloween is only my FAVORITE so I am pretty excited about it.  We will have a Spooky Storytime, Creepy Craft, and trick or treating all day (I am mostly excited about this part-- there is nothing cuter than little munchkins in costume)!

Books we will read:

Brown Bat, Brown Bat Flannel

• In a Dark, Dark Wood by David A. Carter (pop-up book)
• Five Little Pumpkins by Iris Van Rynbach
• If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca and Ed Emberley

Two Little Ghosties Flannel

Flannel Fun:

Brown Bat, Brown Bat, What Do You See?

(I see a yellow moon, a white ghost. a red leaf, an orange pumpkin, a green apple, and a black cat looking at me!)

Two Little Ghosties (based on Two Little Dickybirds)

Two little ghosties, looking at you!
One named "Peeka", the other named "Boo!"
Fly away Peeka, fly away Boo!
Come back Peeka, come back Boo!

For our craft, we are going to make BOOkmarks. (See what I did there?!)

Preparation for this craft was too easy.  I cut some card stock into strips, cut lengths of various ribbons, and bought a Value Pack of Halloween foam stickers from Michael's (on sale, of course!).  We tend to get a wide range of ages at our storytimes so I needed something that would be simple enough for tiny hands (cutting and pasting usually doesn't work, but stickers are great), that wasn't too "baby-ish" for the older kids.  I think this will fit the bill.

Happy Haunting, little ghosties!

Early Literacy Skill Set 1: Print Motivation

Researchers say that there are six skills that are important for children to learn before they are ready to read: Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Vocabulary, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness (Source: Every Child Ready to Read via Saroj Ghoting).  These are known as early literacy skills, sometimes referred to as emergent literacy skills.

Let's talk about Print Motivation.  Put simply, print motivation is a love of reading.  Children showing interest in and enjoying books is the first stepping stone towards being ready to read, and this skill can be developed from birth.

Reading aloud is widely recognized as the single most important activity that aids in language development for your child.  It also starts the process of print motivation: showing that reading is an enjoyable activity.  Pick a cozy, comfortable spot for reading at home.  Take your children to the library. Store books in the same area as your little one's toys.  Choose age-appropriate books and when he/she is ready, let your child join in on the book choosing process!

Not sure where to start?  In general, babies who are less than 12 months old like seeing simple, colorful books with large, high contrast pictures.  Books with black and white pictures or patterns make it easier for little developing eyes to focus, such as Black on White by Tana Hoban.  Books with photographs of babies are very engaging to these little ones.  Start looking in the board book section of your library for these books.

Babies who are 12-24 months old enjoy rhyming books and repetitive language.  They also like books about animals, saying hello and goodbye, bedtime, and nursery rhymes. Try reading a book about animals such as Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman and get them engaged by asking them to point to a specific animal in the book.

Toddlers aged 2-3 are starting to memorize books.  Get them even more engaged with interactive books like pop-ups, lift the flap, pull the tab, or touch and feel.  Books with a repeated phrase like Silly Sally by Audrey Wood are great for this age, and traditional songs made into books are always a hit.

As your 4 or 5 year old is getting into preschool, he/she is ready for a more advanced books with a plot.  Silly or funny books like We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems are huge for print motivation and it is likely that these are the books that the little ones will ask to borrow from the library over and over again.

Bonus: even the simple pattern of seeing you read on a regular basis can motivate a child to want to read.  Remember, babies and children are very interested in what you are doing.  Your behavior and activities serve as a model for them, so go check out that book you've been wanting to read and let your "me-time" motivate your baby to be just like his/her most beloved role-model: you!

The Muffin Man

I made this Muffin Man "puppet" to dance around as I sing his song during storytime. He is affixed to a long ribbon tied around a wooden stick. He is very flexible and has some great dance moves.

Materials:

• Felt 
• Ribbon 
• Stick 
• Googly eyes (duh) 
• Glitter glue (another duh) 
• Foam beads 
• Card stock


Do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane?

Yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane!

Miss Cassie's Tea Party

On Saturday mornings, our library holds a "Family Fun" storytime for all ages.  This is really the only time I use a theme... normally I find themes a little too limiting in terms of choosing titles that are developmentally appropriate for each age group, but this storytime being for all ages lets me broaden my horizons a bit.  And what better time for a tea party? Here is the storytime lineup:

• Hello, How Are You?
• If You’d Like to Read a Book, Clap Your Hands
• The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
• Flannel and Song: I’m a Little Tea Pot
• Madeline’s Tea Party by John Bemelmans Marciano
• Flannel: Birthday Cake
• Song and puppet: Muffin Man
• Rhyme: Patty Cake
• Tea for Me, Tea for You by Edward Gibbs
• Song: Tea for two, two for tea, tea for you, and tea for me! I love you and you love me, we’re a happy family!
• Song: Skidamarink
• May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers
• Song and dance: Teacup Hokey Pokey (Handle, Spout, Whole Pot)
• Our Hands Say Thank You

After the storytime, we did a craft of making little tea cakes out of sponges, glitter glue, and sequins (inspired by The Craft Train).  I pre-cut the sponges into little rectangles and squares, and had a little "table setting" of materials laid out for each child.  They put their cakes together with "frosting" (glitter glue) and had a wonderful time.  I was also able to find these adorable tiny iced tea juice boxes that I served while we did our craft.  After all, what is a tea party without tea?!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  But let's not forget about one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving: a day that's wonderful not only because of the delicious meal with which we celebrate it, but also for the reminder to think about the many things for which we are grateful.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year: my one year old puppy, Oliver, my family, my health, and a job that is so incredibly rewarding and fulfilling!  Not many people can say that they have a job that they look forward to going to every day.  Every day except for Monday, that is, but that's just because I sleep like a perpetual teenager.  Once I've had my coffee I am always happy to be back at work again, because I get to do fun stuff like the following.

Every Wednesday our library holds a program called "Wacky Wednesday"- a program intended for school-aged children (6-12), where kids can come to the library after school for a fun activity.  For the night before Thanksgiving, I decided of course to have a turkey related program.

First, I read Turkey Trouble by Wendy Silvano. The kids were really engaged with the story, which was especially great given the wide range of ages: I ended up having children as young as three and as old as eight attend the program.  I have a flannel that I created for the story.  The book adapts well for the flannel format as the turkey keeps on trying to outsmart the farmer by dressing up as different farm animals so he doesn't end up being Thanksgiving dinner!  I like to use a flannel whenever possible to add that extra visual engagement with a story.

Next, we did a Turkey Book craft borrowed from B-Inspired Mama.  I pre-made little books for the kids by folding a paper bag in half, hole punching two holes along the fold, and affixing a rubber band around a popsicle stick to create the book's spine.  Initially, I created a model craft very much like the example from the aforementioned blog post, but instead used AcccCut maple leaves for the turkey's feathers.

However, with a busy week before Thanksgiving, I ran out of time to pre-cut the features of the turkey's face.  To make my life easier, I just used AccuCut turkeys for the kids to decorate and paste onto their books.  I ended up not making an example to show them, which I think helps encourage kids' creativity because they are then not preoccupied with making their craft look just like the example.  I also wrote "I'm Thankful For..." along each spine to encourage kids to think about the true meaning of Thanksgiving and decorate their books with things they are thankful for.  I melted a little bit (actually, a lot) when a little cutie drew herself and me and told me, "I'm thankful for you, Miss Cassie."  Then she drew her mom and dad on the next page.  Sweetness overload!

I really liked this craft and plan on using it again in the future- you could use countless themes by having kids create a book about really anything, and the preparation ended up being a lot easier than I thought, once I decided to calm down and not be so type-A about having everything perfect.  I need to remind myself of this often, I think that a lot of librarians have the tendencies to be perfectionists, but when it comes to kids crafting, letting them do their own thing ends up being much better for all of us.

Thanks for reading and hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Miss Cassie Had a Little Lamb

I created this set of sheep based off of a template from Making Learning Fun.   One of the first flannel sets I ever made, Baa Baa Black Sheep, has been a storytime favorite ever since its creation and was thinking about continuing the song with "Baa Baa Purple Sheep", etc.  This did not turn out as well as I had hoped it would during my Wonderful Ones storytime.  With each color, I sang only the first stanza of the song, ending with "Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" and moving on to the next color, because I thought 6x Baa Baa Black Sheep in its entirety would be way too long and repetitive. Singing it this way, however, felt awkward and clumsy, especially when parents and caretakers were trying to sing the rest of the song lyrics.  It was just confusing.

So today, I tried something else (for Toddler Storytime).  I told them I knew a girl named Mary who had a little lamb, and its fleece was as white as snow, BUT,

"Miss Cassie had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb!
Miss Cassie had a little lamb, whose fleece was ________ as _________!"

The little ones caught on to identify the colors right away, but it was the parents and caretakers shouting out color comparisons, like "purple as grapes", "blue as the sky", "green as grass", and "orange as pumpkins".  One little girl in the front row did sing "red as strawberries" so that made me happy.

Today's toddler storytime was a large group of kiddies on the younger side of the tiny tot world, so I may try this again with Preschool Storytime. Today, it was still a little awkward.  I usually shy away from singing songs that parents and kids either don't know at all or can't quickly catch along to because I think it's so important for them to sing along.  But I also want to give them to opportunity to think and use their imagination, and identify different colors instead of just doing the same old song.  (Nothing against Baa Baa Black Sheep, I am just trying to shake things up, and build on their learning!)

Any suggestions on successful sheep/ lamb song variations you have used during storytime would be much appreciated!

Eric Carle Storytime

I started planning this storytime because I was feeling "lazy" and Eric Carle books are (almost) always a hit, but lo and behold of course I ended up getting super into it. I think/hope the kids could sense my enjoyment, because this seemed to be one of my best storytimes yet, especially for toddlers!

I started by introducing Eric Carle as the author and illustrator of the books we would read today, and spoke about what that meant.

As always, we start out with my favorite, borrowed from a wise colleague: "If You'd Like to Read a Book, Clap Your Hands!":

If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap!) If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap!) If you'd like to read a book, listen up and take a look! If you'd like too read a book, clap your hands! (Clap, clap) ...followed by stomp your feet, sing hooray!

The first book I read was The Very Hungry Caterpillar in the big book format. Normally I find big books particularly awkward and steer clear of using them for that reason, but to see the lovely details in this book, you really need it for a large audience and it worked well. The little buggers get extra excited about big books, even if Miss Cassie looks like a goon trying to turn the pages. I used our butterfly puppet at the end of the book. Some people are puppet people and some people are not. I am definitely one of the former, as I love the way the little ones' faces light up almost every time I engage them with one of my puppets.

To prepare for our next book, Ten Little Rubber Ducks, we practiced counting to ten with my flannel number set. I like to include a flannel visual whenever possible. We have a huge piece of blue felt, almost blanket sized, which I draped over a large Tupperware bin that served as a little ocean backdrop for the telling of this story. In the beginning of the story, a cardboard box of rubber duckies falls out of a boat and the duckies fall into the ocean. Thus, I dumped my cardboard box of duckies into the "ocean" and squeals of delight ensued. To transition to our next book, we sang Five Little Ducks along with its flannel counterparts.

From Head to Toe is one of Eric Carle's best books for a storytime because of its participatory nature. It gets the kids moving and I like letting them move and stretch about midway through the storytime to get those ants out of their pants.  With vivid and brightly colored pictures of animals doing fun movements, we transitioned after this book to a flannel I made called "I Went to the Zoo One Day". When I went about making this flannel, I picked numerous illustrations from a wide selection of Carle's books and glued them to felt. To perform it, I pick the animals out of an envelope so that each one is a surprise, as we sing (to the tune of "London Bridge"):

I went to the zoo one day, zoo one day, zoo one day! I went to the zoo one day, and I saw a _______! (Let the children identify the animal as you put it on the flannel board)

Finally, we read Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat? because I can never resist a cat book. Mostly because it allows me to use my fat cat puppet. When the cat is "found" at the end of the story and I surprised the little ones with Mr. Cat who had been hiding behind the flannel board, they were beyond ecstatic at having "helped" me find my cat. As always, we ended with "Skidamarink" (because I love them oh so much, and want to tell them so) and kitty cat kisses on everyone's noses. Puppet nose kisses are something I started doing at the end of each storytime and as time has gone on, even the shyest of the toodles comes up to me for a kiss. It is actually the cutest thing you could probably ever see in your life. Just today I had a little boy get in line five extra times for a kitty cat kiss.

Urban Safari Storytime

Albert Paley's work on display at the Corcoran Galleries, July 2014

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to facilitate a storytime at the Corcoran Gallery of Art during a family event they held called "The Ultimate Urban Safari", based on their summer exhibition, American Metal: The Art of Albert Paley.  Paley is perhaps best known for creating the portal gates to the St. Louis Zoo, Animals Always (2006).

The Ultimate Urban Safari involved activities about animals of all types so it was easy to come up with a theme for the event's storytime.  Since this was a family program and I was expecting a variety of ages in my audience, I picked out two selections to choose from during the storytime (for a total of four books) for each storytime.  By having this variety, I was able to tailor and adapt each storytime best to the needs of my audience, along with the all-ages-friendly songs and rhymes I chose to use.

• Opening Song: If You’d Like to Read a Book, Clap Your Hands! 
• (If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands! If you'd like to read a book, listen up and take a look!  If you'd like to read a book, clap your hands!- Repeat with "stomp your feet, sing hooray!")
• Count the Monkeys  by Mac Barnett OR Way Far Away on a Wild Safari  by Jan Peck 
• Flannel: Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed)
• If I Were a Jungle Animal  by Tom and Amanda Ellery OR Little Mouse  by Allison Murray
• Flannel and Song: I Went to the Jungle One Day (London Bridge)
• How to Wash a Wooly Mammoth  by Michelle Robinson OR My Rhinoceros  by Jon Agee 
• Finger play: I Had a Little Turtle
• The Baby BeeBee Bird  by Diane Massie OR Birds  by Kevin Henkes 
• Ending Book and Song: If You’re Happy And You Know It  by Jane Cabrera
• Closing Rhyme: 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 roooolllllll our hands to say, "Goodbye!")

Of course I wore a safari hat.

Overall, this was a very successful outreach event.  I was able to connect with many families who were otherwise unfamiliar with either our library's location or programming, and even have had one little girl and her mother visit us almost every week since the storytime (this was over a month ago, I know, I am behind on blogging)!  It is also a great experience to be able to adapt your storytime for an all-ages audience.  Frequently, even if I have planned a storytime for Preschoolers and all babies show up, I need to quickly adapt anyways- and this is an important skill for any librarian to have.  And the setting was not too bad either... I believe I was in the Director's Office! The Corcoran is a beautiful building that houses even more beautiful art to see- this outreach was definitely worthwhile in many ways.

Five Little Ducks

My newest flannel addition- Five Little Ducks!

Five little ducks went out one day,

Over the hill and far away...

Mother duck said,

"Quack quack quack quack!"

But only one little duck came back!

Repeat until all five ducks come back.  For the last one, encourage the kids to give their loudest quacks!

I found a wonderful new way to cut felt from a template.  Draw or print your template, and cover it with a thin coating of glue using a glue stick.  Glue the paper onto the felt, and cut.  Peel off the paper and voila!  You can cut even the most fine details this way.  Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Googly eyes make the world go round.

Celebrating Caldecotts

Image via RandophCaldecott.org.uk

Beginning in 1937, the ALA began awarding the prestigious Caldecott medal to the illustrator of America's "most distinguished picture book for children." The medal gets its name from Randolph Caldecott, an influential 19th century English illustrator. The image on the Caldecott medal comes from his illustrations for The Diverting History of John Gilpin, a poem written by William Cowper.  Check out the entire list of Caldecott winners and Honors (runners-up) and pick out your favorite!

Children and their families got to enjoy a special Caldecott-themed storytime and craft this past weekend.  It was a beautiful day so I had a low turn-out for the storytime, but I continued to have the kids do the craft throughout the day and they LOVED it!  I started out the storytime by pointing out the "shiny gold sticker" on each book, and explained that it was a very special award.  I asked them to pay close attention to each book's pictures, since that is what they won their award for.  I had a small group of very eager and interested participants.

Here is the lineup...

• Song: Hello, How Are You?
• Our "Hello" song.
• Book: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Erin and Philip Stead (Winner, 2011)
• One of my personal favorites, a sleepy story that went over surprisingly well with the little ones.
• Song and Flannel: "I Went to the Zoo One Day" (sung to the tune of London Bridge)
• I went to the zoo one day, zoo one day, zoo one day, I went to the zoo one day and I saw a _________! (Use flannels of different zoo animals and have children identify each one you put up on the board.)
• Book: King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Don and Audrey Wood (Honor, 1986)
• Not as much of a hit as it has been in the past for preschool storytime, probably because this crowd was on the younger side and did not understand the story's silliness.
• Flannel: Rub a Dub Dub Three Bears in a Tub
• Bears are easier to make out of flannel than men!
• Book: Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Winner, 2005)
• Probably the favorite pick for this group, little kitten is so endearing.
• Flannel: Where is Kitten?
• Substituted a flannel kitten for Mouse in the House- this flannel is always a favorite.  By chance the kitten was in the last house picked, and I had the kids meow so that kitten would be less shy and come out of her hiding spot.  They were thrilled.
• Joseph Had an Overcoat by Simms Taback (Winner, 2000)
• Attention spans were wandering at this point.  I would try it again as a first book.
• Our Hands Say Thank You
• Our "Goodbye" song.

For our craft I had children make their own Caldecott books.  The prep work for this project was extremely high but I do believe it was worth the effort because I've never seen a craft go over so well! They were so very proud of their Caldecott creations.  I pre-made booklets out of construction paper and blank white paper, and glued color-printed cutouts of the Caldecott medal to AccuCut award ribbons.  It was their job to glue their award onto the book, and to write and/or color pictures to create their own Caldecott winning story.  We had a story about a kitten, a dog, a bird, and someone named "Crispy" who found a map.  "Reading" their stories as they beamed with pride was my favorite part of the day.

Early Literacy Tips

I always like to give an "Early Literacy Tip" to parents and caregivers during storytimes.  I started writing them out on a chalkboard so that adults would have one more way to take in this important information.  I am lucky enough to have received Saroj Ghoting's Early Literacy training twice throughout my career, and turn to her resources whenever I'm in need of some inspiration for promoting the importance of early literacy.

St. Patrick's Day Storytime

Long ago, St. Patrick's day began as a religious holiday that celebrated the arrival of Saint Patrick, who brought Christianity to Ireland. Today, it is celebrated in many parts of the world in the spirit of Irish heritage, culture and good luck! St. Patrick's Day celebrations of today include parades, feasts, Irish folklore and wearing the color green!  We got to celebrate it here at the library with a special storytime and craft.

Stories I read:

• Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola (the board book shortened version)
• St. Patrick's Day by Anne Rockwell
• Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley

Songs/ Flannels:

• Five Green and Speckled Frogs
• Leprechaun, Leprechaun, Have you any Gold? (sung to the tune of Baa Baa, Black Sheep) ....Yes sir, yes sir, three pots full!  One for St. Patrick...
• Find the Leprechaun (A variation of Mouse in the House, where Leprechaun is hiding underneath on of the felt houses)

Craft materials:

• Green, Yellow, and Orange construction paper hearts
• Green strips of construction paper
• Hole puncher
• Gold brads
• Glitter glue or other decor

Directions: Punch holes at the bottom tips of each heart.  Do the same on a strip of green construction paper- this is your shamrock's stem.  Layer the pieces as pictured, and insert a brad through the holes to fasten the pieces together.  Decorate as you wish!

Erin Go Bragh! (Ireland Forever!)

Purim Party

The Purim Story

I am dressed up as Queen Esther!

Purim is a celebration of the Jewish people's salvation against threat of annihilation. In 4th century BCE, King Ahasuerus of Persia had a pageant to find a new wife after becoming angry with his current wife, Queen Vashti. He chose a Jewish girl named Esther, who had a cousin named Mordecai. Haman, the King's advisor, became angry with Mordecai when he refused to bow to him. Because of this, Haman resolved to have all the Jews in Persia killed. Queen Esther, who had not yet told the King that she was Jewish, told the King that if he let Haman kill all the Jews, he would have to kill her too. The King protected his wife and her people, and instead had evil Haman punished.  

Purim Traditions

Purim, therefore, is a celebration of life, and is a time for feasts and happiness. Hamantaschen, or "Haman's pockets" are pastries traditionally served during Purim. It is also customary to give to the poor during Purim, as well as dress in costume. This is partially because "Esther" means "hidden," and because she hid her Jewish origin from the King in the beginning. Another reason for wearing costumes during the holiday is that Purim is called a miracle "disguised in natural events," in comparison to overt miracles seen in other Jewish holidays. One fun thing for children to do during Purim is make groggers, or noisemakers. These noisemakers are to be used whenever the name "Haman" is spoken, so as to drown out the evil name.

At our library Purim Party, I told the story of Purim according to the book It Happened in Shushan: A Purim Story by Harriet K. Feder. The book doesn't have traditional illustrations, it rather intersperses pictures or symbols into the text to tell the story. To make the story interactive for the children, I made little flags for each character in the story: King Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti, Queen Esther, Cousin Mordecai, and Evil Haman. I made each character flag a particular color so that when each character was mentioned, I could announce, "Queen Esther! Hold up your purple flags!", for example. The children loved being involved and with the exception of no one wanting to be Haman (and why would they?), I think the interactive storytelling went well.

We also read Sammy Spider's First Purim by Sylvia A Rouss, which is an excellent book for showing little ones what the traditions of Purim are. We learned about going to the Synagogue, wearing costumes, making Hamantaschen ("Haman's Pockets"), and groggers. Groggers are noisemakers that children use whenever you hear Hama's name on Purim, so as to drown out the sound of the evil man's name.

This book was a great transition into our crafting for the party because we got to make groggers just like the one in the book. I premade the groggers by folding a paper plate in half, filled with a handful of dried pinto beans, and stapled along the edges. The children decorated their groggers with feathers, buttons, markers, and glitter glue. They also decorated masquerade masks which we wore as we paraded through the library, noisily shaking our groggers and shouting, "Happy Purim!" (The kids love being told to be noisy in the library!) My lovely coworker who assisted me with the program bought handmade hamantaschen from a local Jewish bakery and eating the delicious treats was a lovely ending to a lovely program. I don't think we had many children come to the library specifically for the program, but it was a busy enough Sunday where I was able to pull a bunch of kids away from the computers (yay!) and I had many children and parents thank me afterwards and tell me how much fun they had. They really enjoyed learning about and celebrating Purim!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

This is a prop that I made to use with "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" during storytimes.  The children loved it but I'm not sure I will use it again, because I would rather have them participate with the hand movements, and it's hard to get them to participate if you are not doing the motions yourself.  Maybe I will sing the song once with the prop and sing it again as a fingerplay.

Materials needed:

• Paper towel tube
• Aluminum foil
• Blue yarn
• Black yarn
• Large black bead (I colored a wooden one with a Sharpie)
• Black pipe cleaner
• Googly eyes
• Glue

Directions:  Cover paper towel tube in aluminum foil.  Tie a long piece of black yarn around the black bead, and insert through the paper towel tube.  Tie back yarn so that it forms a loop inside the tube. Insert bits of black pipe cleaner through the black bead; these are the spider's legs. Glue the googly eyes onto the bead- your spider is complete!  Cut multiple lengths of blue yarn about twelve inches long. About six inches above the spider, tie these pieces of blue yarn to the black yarn.  This is your rain!  

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again!

Performance: Start the song by pulling the spider "up the waterspout" by pulling on one end of the black yarn.  Bring down the rain and "wash the spider out" by pulling on the black yarn in the opposite direction.  When the sun comes up and "dries up all the rain", pull the spider and the rain inside of the water spout again.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2nd, 1904, has published 42 beloved children's books throughout his life of 87 years.  On March 2nd, 2014, we celebrated what would have been his 110th birthday.

We began with a special Dr. Seuss Storytime:

• Song: "Hello, How are You?"
• Our typical "Hello" song for storytimes.
• Song: "Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss"
• This one is a bit self-explanatory, yes?
• Flannel: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss (1960)
• This book is a little but too long and confusing for the storytelling format, so I made it into a flannel!  They liked chanting along with me: "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! Black fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish!"
• Book: Gerald McBoing Boing by Dr. Seuss (1950)
• One of Dr. Seuss's lesser known works, Gerald McBoingBoing was a film that Dr. Seuss made in 1950 that went on to win an Academy Award in 1951.  It was adapted into the picture book format in 1978 by Mel Crawford.  I took this as an opportunity to explain to kids that while many books can become movies (like The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it can work in the opposite way!  The kids liked making the silly noises that Gerald makes throughout the book.
• Flannel: The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (1957)

• Another example of a great book that doesn't work too well for reading to a large audience, I adapted this too as a flannel activity.  On pages 20-21, the Cat in the Hat is showing off to Sally and her brother how many things he can hold while hopping on a rubber ball.  I turned each of these items into flannel pieces and asked the kids how many items they thought he could hold without falling down or dropping any of them.  It sort of ended up like playing "Jenga" on the flannel board with the kids anxiously watching me add item after item while reading along the text on page 20. On the next page follows, "That is what the cat said... Then he fell on his head!  He came down with a bump from up there on the ball.  And Sally and I, we saw all the things fall!"  As I read this text, I swiped my hand over the flannel board and watched as the Cat in the Hat fell down along with all of his silly items.  The kids loved it.
• Book: My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (1973)
• This is another lesser known work of Dr. Seuss, perhaps because it is not self illustrated, instead with pictures by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher.  Still it is a great storytime book about colors and feelings, and the kids enjoyed helping me identify the colors on each page.
• Song: Silly Hat 
• Since the Cat in the Hat has a silly hat, I brought out my silly hat to show my friends and sing this favorite song.
• Book: Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss (1970)
• This book is a wonderful participatory book that gives great variation on the typical animal noises we see in these types of books. Along with "Moo, Moo", the kids got to make all kinds of noises, like "Choo Choo", "Sizzle Sizzle", and "Tick Tick Tock", among many others!
• Flannel: Cat under the Hat 
• Borrowed from my "Silly Hat" storytime, this is another great flannel that can be adapted for almost any theme.  I explained to the kids that instead of wearing his hat, the Cat in the Hat was hiding and they had to help me find him!  They excitedly found him on the third try (he was under the purple hat).
• Our Hands Say Thank You 
• Our typical goodbye routine for storytimes.  The kids love to clap, tap their feet, and "Rollllll our hands to say 'Goodbye'!"

Dr. Seuss Crafts

After our storytime, the kids were able to do my favorite activity: crafts!  I was very excited about the Lorax mustaches on a stick, but I think the kids liked the Dr. Seuss hats better because it was a little bit easier for them (the approximate age of my audience was 4 or 5 years old).  Anyways it was nice to give them a choice of what to do and a lot of kids did both, and they were super cute running around wearing their hats and mustaches together.

For materials, we are lucky enough to have a silly hat pattern for our Accucut, which I punched out of cardstock and cut long strips of paper for the base of the hat: super easy prep work!  The Lorax mustaches were a bit more involved.  I drew the mustache then made copies of it on cardstock, cut up bits of yarn for Lorax fur, and found some foam beads in the craft closet to use as Lorax noses.  If I had had more time I think it would have helped to cut out the mustaches myself, because that's where a lot of kids got snagged up and needed help or said it was too hard and wanted to make the hat instead.  Other necessary materials to have on hand were markers, glue, scissors, and popsicle sticks.

Overall the birthday party was a wonderful success.  I will be repeating the storytime for my preschool daycare groups that come in this week since they weren't here for the party.

One more activity that I had available for the kids: coloring sheets, mazes, word-searches and other printable activities from Seussville.  What a wonderful resource!  I will leave these out for kids to work on throughout the month of March.

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.

Meet Maurice

Meet Maurice (aka Sir Fluffington McSilkfur III), my new (best) storytime friend.  He's made by Folkmanis, a puppet company that I am really excited about finding even though my pocketbook (ha! pocketbook!) is scared. When I found this fluffy guy I couldn't resist the fact that a) he's quite pudgy and b) that surly look on his face.  I can't wait for the little ones to meet him.  I am going to try and see if we can cheer up Maurice by singing, "If You're Happy and You Know It"!