Under the Sea! Sea Creatures...

Books Shared or Recommended:

Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Sherry

Commotion in the Ocean by Andreae

Deep Blue Sea by Wood
Hooray for Fish! By Cousins
Ocean Pop-Up Book
Surf War! by MacDonald

I start this storytime like any other:  with the Welcome Song:
Welcome, welcome, everyone!
Now we're here, let's have some fun!
First let's clap our hands just so.
Then we bend and touch our toes.
Welcome, welcome, everyone!
Now we're here, let's have some fun!

Then I pull out my storytime apron.  This month we find sea creatures.  These riddles that the children hear before they guess what is in each pocket come from the book,

Commotion in theOcean

Crab

He likes walking sideways And I think the reason why
Is to make himself look sneaky
And pretend that he’s a spy.
(If they need additional clues, say:  He's red and has pinchers and...)

I need to give this crab eyes!

 

Turtles
We crawl up the beach from the water To bury our eggs on dry land.
We lay a whole batch,
And then when they hatch,
They scamper about in the sand.
(More clues:  he's green and has a hard shell...)

 

Jellyfish

She just loves to jiggle Which other fish think is quite dumb.
She knows that it’s not all that useful
But jiggling’s lots of good fun!
(She has tenticles and jiggles just like jelly!)

 

Shark

I swim with a grin up to greet you, See how my jaws open wide.
Why don’t you come a bit closer?
Please, take a good look inside….
(He has sharp teeth and isn't your friend!)

 

Stingray

At the bottom of the ocean He flaps his wings.  (He's not a bird!)
But don’t you get too close to him,
His tail really stings!
(He's a sting...)

 

Walruses

Our bodies are covered with blubber And out tusks are incredibly long.
We’re grumpy and proud
And we bellow out loud
To show that we’re mighty and strong!
(He's like a giant seal...)

 

Penguins

We waddle around on our icebergs, Which makes our feet slither and slide.
And when we get close to the water,
We leap with a splash off the side!

As I place these animals on the flannel board, we categorize them by the ones who stay in the water and the others who can be in the water AND on the land!

Then we read Surf War! by Margaret Read MacDonald.  Super good story.

After that book, I ask the children if they know of another creature who can be on the land AND the sea?!  Them, of course!  Then we have fun singing The Pirate Song:

The Day I Went to Sea Song

When I was one (hold up your thumb)

I sucked my thumb (mock sucking it)

The day I went to sea. (Make waving motion with your arms)

I jclimbed aboard a pirate ship. (Climbing motion)

And the captain (Salute!) said to me (point to self)

We’re going this way (lean, sway, right)

And that way (lean, sway, point left)

And forward and backward

Across the deep blue sea. (spin in circle)

When I was two, I tied my shoe,

When I was three, I scraped my knee

When I was four, I shut the door,

And now I'm five, I learned to dive…

 

Then I present the flannalized version of The Deep Blue Sea by Wood:

Teasing Mr. Shark

I ask the children if they'll help with the puppet this time.  They can have five fingers be fish and the other hand can be a shark:  Let's see your fish swim.  (Just keep swimming!)  And now move your shark in circles.  Good!  Here we go!

 

Five little fishes

Swimming in the sea
Teasing Mr. Shark
You can't catch me
Along comes Mr. Shark
As quiet as can be...
and SNAP that fish right out of the sea!

Four little fishes

Swimming in the sea...

[Continue until there are no fish left. No little fishes swimming in the sea.](Or find them swimming in the seaweed!)

Let's all get out our sharks and have them sing the good-bye song!  Wow!  What great puppeteers!

Chickens....but not really!

Well, I tried to get a chicken storytime together.  I gave it a go twice, but it fell flat, so I reverted back to a garden storytime that I did last April (2013).  I don't know why the chickens failed me!  Perhaps I didn't have the right books.  More songs?  Better flannels? I don't know.  Perhaps you can tell me!

Here's what I planned:

Storytime Apron:  This actually worked very well.  I pulled out an egg, and then another.  One, two, buckle my shoe.  And on and on until I came to a big fat hen at the end.  So far so good!

The first book I tried to share was Little Rooster's Diamond Button by Margaret Read MacDonald.  I generally love her stories but this one is rather odd, don't you think?  Well, I put it aside and tried:

 

Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman.  This is a fun book, but rather silly.  It went OK, but wasn't exactly the ticket either.

 

How about Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas?  This was really FUN, but still not exactly a perfect storytime read.

 

Then I tried Chicken Little by Emberley.  And I liked this one, but...

I tried using another librarian's flannel board, The Most Wonderful Egg in the World, but it fell very flat!  I didn't know it well enough since I hadn't created it or something. (?)
So, then I tried:

Ten Fluffy Chickens

Ten Fluffy Chickens
Five eggs and five eggs
And that makes ten
Sitting on top is Mother Hen
Cackle, cackle, cackle
And what do I see?
Ten fluffy chickens
Yellow as can be!

 

This didn't work as the chicks were way too heavy and fell down off of the flannel board.  I guess you could do it and just hold up the eggs, but...

The storytime wasn't a complete flop as I brought out the shaky eggs and, of course, we sang my shakey egg song:

 

Shake, shake, shake your egg!  Shake, shake, shake your egg!
Shake, shake, shake your egg!  Shake your egg and put it on your head!
Put it on your....(get suggestions from the children)
And then finally,
Shake your egg and put it in it's nest!  (the plastic container that I store them in.)

And then we sang Laurie Berkner's song, "Oh, I Know a Chicken!"  That was fun!  This one may be even better with technology.  Her band does a really fine job and there's no problem with forgetting words or a verse.

 

For a puppet, I used...a really cute idea from Future Librarian Superhero.  It was cute, but it didn't last very long!
"Come, little chickens," calls Mother Hen (Beckoning motion)
"It's time to take your nap again."
And under her feathers the small chicks creep.
(Chicks creep into the palm of your hand, the Mother Hen.)
And she clucks a song til they fall asleep.
(Fold fingers to cover chicks, and make a rocking motion while clucking a lullaby.)

All in all, I was very disappointed in my effort.
Maybe I was just having a rotten day.  Maybe I should have tried a second day, but I threw it all aside and went back to the good old garden storytime which I tweeked a little and it's been fine.  Problem is, a few pre-schoolers do remember it from last spring. A two year rotation of storytimes is good for this very reason.  I do the same storytime all month for about 41 times.  You gotta love it if you do it that much!

Well, maybe you can get this chicken theme up and running.  Please let me know if you do!

New Children's Books

I have just started ordering all of the picture books for the three branches of our library system and thought it would be nice to highlight some of the really awesome new titles.  Here they are:

One of my favorites is:  The Highway Rat by Donaldson.  "Inspired by Alfred Noyes' The Highwayman, the dashing but dastardly Highway Rat (sporting a hat and cape that would befit Zorro) travels the roads on his steady stead, plundering anyone and anything that he happens upon."  With rhyming text that uses the refrain of I am the Rat of the Highway, this is a rascally natural for story times.  I think that it would work well in a sharing and caring storytime. 

 

I love Sophie's Squash by Pat Miller.  Miller's debut, in which a little girl affectionately adopts a butternut squash, is a winner. After her parents buy that squash for dinner at the farmers market, Sophie commandeers it, giving it a face with markers. It proves just the right size to hold, bounce on her knee and love. "I call her Bernice," Sophie says. "I'll call for a pizza," says her mother."   With lessons on life, love, and vegetable gardening, this tale will be cherished by children, and their parents will be happy to read it to them often.—

E I E I O:  How Old MacDonald Got His Farm With a Little Help from a Hen by Judy Sierra is a wonderful addition to any farm story collection.  "The Little Red Hen gives old MacDonald some pointers on composting -- and a legendary farm is born -- in this rhyming, rollicking read-aloud. Once upon a time, Old MacDonald didn't have a farm. He just had a yard -- a yard he didn't want to mow. But under the direction of the wise (and ecologically sensitive) Little Red Hen, Mac learns to look at the environment in a very different way, and whole new worlds start to bloom with the help of some mud, garbage, horse poop, and worms! Judy Sierra's spirited verse, paired with Matthew Myers's exuberant illustrations, yields a fresh take on a children's classic, complete with raised-bed gardens and an organic farmers' market--making this a perfect story for armchair gardeners and devoted locavores of all sizes." -catalog.

 

Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown is about a Victorian tiger who, well, goes wild.  He's tired of the proper life.  There's a nice twist in the plot and it's not too preachy about being yourself, but still gets that message across.

 

 

My Humongous Hamster by Lorna Freytag is so popular that I've been asked to order more.  Fans of Dave Pilkey's Dogzilla and Kat Kong will enjoy this one.

 

And finally, I must give a nod to Journey by Aaron Becker.  It's a wordless book.  Some folks really like them.  The art work is really nice.  Using a red marker, a young girl draws a door on her bedroom wall and through it enters another world where she experiences many adventures, including being captured by an evil emperor.

Well, there you have it.  New books!  What's not to like?  Find them at your local library...

Farm Animals

Let's start storytime with a guessing game!  I'll say a riddle and you guess what is in the apron pocket!  OK, ready?

On grass and hay I chew and chew
I give you milk and say' "Moo Moo!"

 

Maa Maa Maa is what I say.
Maa Maa Maa all the day.
(They always guess sheep, but it's another animal that gives us milk.  It rhymes with boat.)

 

In mud and dirt I like to play.
Oink, Oink, Oink is what I say!

 

I'll give you rides, that's lots of fun!
Neigh Neigh Neigh, I gallop and run!

 

My feathers can be yellow, white or black.
Waddle, waddle, waddle, quack, quack, quack!

 

Baa Baa Baa, yes I have some wool,
Baa Baa Baa, three bags full!

 

If I'm your friend, you're never alone,
Woof!  Woof!  Woof!  Give me a bone!

 

I have whiskers and very soft fur.
I like to sleep and I go Puurrr, Purrr.

 

I'll lay eggs for you in my nest.
Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, I'll do my best!

 

Where do all of these animals live?  Yes, the farm!  Let's have a farm animal storytime!

We start with a really great farm animal book:  Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.

This one is a winner!  Kids of all ages love it-especially the ending!

 

Then we put the flannel animals into the barn (the flannel board) but leave the farmer's dog.  His name is BINGO!

 

 

Do you know the song?  We sing a verse and then talk about the tricky part:  turn the first letter over and clap that letter.  Don't sing it!  These children have some mad clapping skills!

 

 

 

Time for another great farm animal story:  The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson.

 

Such a fun, repetitive book with another great surprise ending.

 

Then, it's time to see what's in the 'big red barn', a 'bag o' puppets'.

 

It's Old MacDonald's farm!

And we sing:

With a moo moo here:

 

 

With a baa baa there:

 

 

Here a meow:

 

 

There a quack:

 

 

every where an oink oink!

Old MacDonald had a....Monkey???

 

Old MacDonald, You're silly!   Monkeys don't live on the farm.  Where do they live, children?  Right, the jungle!  Well, silly Old MacDonald had a Monkey.  What do Monkeys say?  oooooo  eeeeee!  With an ooooo oooo oooo here and a eee eee eee there...

Old MacDonald ends with a little chick.

 

It quiets the room down to hear a little peep peep here and there. 

This is a fun and silly storytime, perfect for Spring!

 

 



 





Re-Visiting Space

I decided to repeat my space storytime from two years ago.  Here's how it went:

I told the story of Eight Spinning Planets with the Storytime apron.  This is a great rhyming story to flannalize:

 

 

Then I read the book, Here in Space by Milgrim  It's helpful to point out to the children that the boy in this adventure story picks something up from each place he visits.  See?  What did he pick up on this page? 

 

 

Time for a stretch after the book:

Zoom!  Zoom! Zoom!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom.  (Hand in prayer position and push up three times)

We’re going to the moon.  (Point up to the sky)

If you want to take a trip,

Climb aboard my rocket ship.  (Climbing motion)

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re going to the Moon.  (repeat)

Count down!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

(Crouch down with hands together)

Blast off!

(Jump up and shoot arms into the air)

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,

We’re going to the Moon!

 

 

Rocket Ships:

 

Five litte Rockets blasting out the door!

One goes to Mars and then there are four.

Four Little Rockets winking at me.

One shot off and then there were three!

Three little rockets with nothing to do.

One shot off and then there were two!

Two Little rockets afraid of the sun.

One shot off and then there was one!

One little rocket alone is no fun.

It shot off and then there were none.

 

 

 



As I said, I did this Space storytime about two years ago and it went really well, but I was bothered by the lack of a puppet.  I always have a puppet to help end storytime, but didn't have one for this theme.  Buzz Lightyear?  No, too Disney.  Then I came across this post which I had pinned to my pinterest Board:
Litte Astronauts by Storytime Katie. 

 

Instead of just two, I had to make five and then I had to make one more little rocket ship. 

Five Litte Astronauts

Five little Astronauts floating in space

The first one said, "Let's get out of this place!"

The second one said, "Off to the moon!"

The third one said, "I'll be there soon!"

The fourth one said, "My space ship is ready!"

The fifth one said, "Wait!  Hold it steady!"

Then Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, they took off on their flight

And the five little Astronauts zoomed out of site.

(Have a safe trip!)

 

 

This storytime worked well for all ages, and by that I mean toddlers to Pre-schoolers.  We had to talk about why you couldn't see the Astronauts eyes (they have helmets on) and there were other very interesting discussions!  It was a blast!