Opposites

This week, in spite of some cancellations because of snow, we had storytimes about Opposites. It's a difficult concept to discuss with Toddlers especially, but we just focused on Up versus Down or Soft versus Hard, instead of the concept/term itself. 

Books:

Toddler Books:

Big Bug - Henry Cole
Where is the Green Sheep? - Mem Fox

Exactly the Opposite - Tana Hoban

You and Me - Giovanni Manna

Big Bug, Little Big - Paul Stickland

Preschool Books:

Where is the Green Sheep? - Mem Fox
Exactly the Opposite - Tana Hoban

You and Me - Giovanni Manna

Is It Big Or Is It Little? - Claudia Rueda

Big Bug, Little Big - Paul Stickland

What's Opposite? - Stephen Swinburne

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Bread and Butter:

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam,

Let's clap our hands as fast as we can. (clap hands fast)

Bread and butter, marmalade and jam,

Let's clap our hands as slow as we can. (claps hands slowly)

Repeat with:

High/Low; Loud/Quiet; etc.

Source: Jbrary

*I found this via Jbrary, but I changed it to clapping hands instead of saying "Hello" or "Goodbye". That way I could use it in the middle of the storytime as an extension activity.

Stop Says the RED Light:

Stop says the RED light,

Go says the GREEN,

Now just wait, says the YELLOW in between.

That's what they say and that's what they mean.

We all must obey them, even the queen.

Source: Jbrary

*I used round cut-outs of flannels and set them up in the order of a traffic light (red, yellow, green). For each of the directions - STOP, GO, and WAIT - I taught them the sign language word.

Open, Shut Them - Hap Palmer (song)

Boats

We tried to think "spring thoughts" by doing a theme on Boats last week. It didn't work. We had to cancel some of the storytimes because of snow, and more has come (and is coming) this week. So much for Spring...

Books:

Toddler Books:

Sail Away - Donald Crews
I Love Boats - Flora McDonnell

Boats - Anne Rockwell

Little Tug - Stephen Savage

Preschool Books

Sail Away - Donald Crews

I Love Boats - Flora McDonnell

Little Tug - Stephen Savage

What Ship is Not a Ship? - Harriet Ziefert

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Have You Ever Seen a Sailboat? (Tune: "Did You Ever See a Lassie?")

Have you ever seen a sailboat, a sailboat, a sailboat,

Have you ever seen a sailboat,

Waving its sail?

Waving this way and that way, 

And that way and this way.

Have you ever seen a sailboat waving its sail?

Other verses:

Rocking back and forth

Swaying to-and-fro

Source: Jbrary

Five Little Seashells:

Five little seashells, lying on the shore,

Swish! went the waves, and then there were four.

Four little seashells, as cozy as can be,

Swish! went the waves, and then there were three.

Three little seashells, all pearly and new,

Swish! went the waves, and then there were two.

Two little seashells, lying in the sun,

Swish! went the waves, and then there was one.

One little seashell, lying all alone,

I whispered "Shh", as I took it home.

Source: King County Library System

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

*I love the version by Rob Newhouse on the album "Songs for Wiggleworms"

Love

Last week the theme was Love for Valentine's Day. We also learned the sign language for "I Love You" and "Kiss", as well. A great website to learn simple sign language appropriate for pre-verbal children is Baby Sign Language. 

Books:

Toddler Books:

Love Monster - Rachel Bright
Counting Kisses - Karen Katz
All Kinds of Kisses - Nancy Tafuri
The Biggest Kiss - Joanna Walsh
Kiss Kiss! - Margaret Wild

Preschool Books:

Love Monster - Rachel Bright
The Pout-Pout Fish - Deborah Diesen
Catching Kisses - Amy Gibson
Dinosaur Kisses - David Ezra Stein
The Biggest Kiss - Joanna Walsh
Kiss Kiss! - Margaret Wild

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Two Little Lovebirds:

Two little lovebirds, sitting on a hill,

One named Jack and the other named Jill,

Fly away Jack, Fly away Jill,

Come back Jack, Come back Jill.

Two little lovebirds, sitting on a hill.

One named Jack and the other named Jill.

Source: Memory 

*It is easy enough to swap out "blackbird" for any other type of bird to make it appropriate for sing-aloud at Toddler storytime.

Five Valentines

Five hearts we made for Valentine's Day,

"I Love You" is what they say,

I'll give one to my _____ today.

(countdown to 1)

Source: The is a variation, with some minor changes that I have made, to one that we had in our flannel drawer.

*I used the sign for "I Love You" every time we said it in this rhyme.

H-E-A-R-T (Tune: "Bingo")

There is a shape and it means love,

And heart is its name-o,

H-E-A-R-T,

H-E-A-R-T,

H-E-A-R-T,

And heart is its name-o.

Source: One of my Library Assistants came up with this. I made some tweaks, and used Velcro to put the 5 letters up on the flannel board. We took one letter off each round until we were clapping 5 times instead of singing the letters aloud. It was a lot of fun! If the kids are older, you can have them make a heart shape with their hands or teach them the sign for heart.

My Friends

My friend the ____ (animal) taught me to _____ (action).

Giraffe = Stretch

Elephant = Stomp

Zebra = Run

Snake = Slither

Monkey = Jump

Lion = Roar

Source: "My Friends" by Taro Gomi. 

*There is a flannel of this story in my flannel drawer. I did not like the actions or the flannel animals for this particular flannel story, but I LOVED the flannel animals we had in our zoo flannel folder. I used the idea but swapped out the animals and made up my own actions to go along with it. It's easy enough to change the animals to fit a particular theme or the flannels you have on hand. 

*I also used this as a good stretching activity for my Preschoolers. We went through the animals once, putting the animals up on the board one-by-one. Then I went back through them a second time, taking the animals off the board but repeating the actions. We stretched like a giraffe at the very beginning and at the very end to add a wiggles-out element to the activity.

Reading Together

Our theme last week was broadly about reading together. So parts of the storytime reflected the idea of reading at bedtime together (we have some nursery rhymes/activities), and other elements were about books themselves. A bigger, more important, part of the storytime was reaching the caregivers and parents in the audience, reminding them how important reading aloud to their children is AND how much fun they can have doing so.

Books:

Toddler Books:

Books Always Everywhere - Jane Blatt
This Book Just Ate My Dog! - Richard Byrne
Read It, Don't Eat It! - Ian Schoenherr
Carlo Likes Reading - Jessica Spanyol

Preschool Books:

This Book Just Ate My Dog! - Richard Byrne
Again! - Emily Gravett
Maybe a Bear Ate It! - Robie Harris
Warning: Do Not Open This Book! - Adam Lehrhaupt
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story - Patrick McDonnell
Open Very Carefully: A Book With Bite - Nicola O'Byrne

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Ten in the Bed (with the Ukulele):

Ten in the bed and the little one said, "Roll Over, Roll Over"

So they all rolled over and one fell out...

count down to 1 in the bed

One in the bed and the little one said, "Goodnight."

Source: Memory

*I used this song at Preschool Storytime and at Family Storytime. I had 10 flannel monkeys on the flannel board and we counted down. I played the ukulele for the first line, had the kids help me shout "Roll Over" and then we rolled our hands with the second line and I pulled one of the monkeys off of the flannel board. I had the kids help me with each verse, up until the last one, when I told them this last verse was different. The parents (and older kids) LOVED how this one ended! 

*This song only uses the "G Chord" so it's an easy one to play without worrying about changing chords or moving fingers while keeping track of 50 Toddler/Preschoolers. 

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep:
Baa, baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, three bags full.
One for the master, and one for the dame.
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Baa, baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, three bags full.
Source: Memory
*I enjoyed Jbrary's rendition as a reminder of how the tune goes: Baa, Baa Black Sheep
*I have different wool colors for our sheep so you can repeat the song several times, with a red sheep, a blue, sheep, etc.

If You're a Reader and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):
If you're a reader and you know, clap your hands,
If you're a reader and you know, clap your hands,
If you're a reader and you know, and you really want to show it,
If you're a reader and you know, clap your hands.

Other verses:
If you're a reader and you know it, stomp your feet.
If you're a reader and you  know it, shout hooray!

Penny pointers:
Penny pointers up and penny pointers down, (pointer fingers up and then down)
Penny pointers dancing all around the town. (pointer fingers draw circles in the air)
They're dancing on your shoulders, (pointer fingers on shoulders)
They're dancing on your head, (pointer fingers on head)
They're dancing on your tummy, (pointer fingers on tummy)
Now put them to bed. (pointer fingers behind back)

Finger families up and finger families down, (repeat with all fingers on the hand)
Finger families dancing all around the town.
They're dancing on your shoulders,
They're dancing on your head,
They're dancing on your tummy,
Now put them to bed.
Source: Penny Pointers is a great familiar rhyme. Here's a great Youtube Video demonstrating this fingerplay.

Thinking ahead - CSRP 2015: Every Hero Has a Story

I love the idea of having storytimes about heroes but I do think it is going to be difficult having an entire storytime session about them. Not that it isn't fun to think outside the box but some of the books on superheroes or similar topics are not always appropriate for reading aloud at a Toddler or Preschool Storytime. 

Another slight hiccup is that CSRP only plans for 8 weeks. My summer storytime session will span three months. And not all of the CSRP booklet's suggestions for books are ones that my library system has, even if I really like the theme idea. I've made a compromise of only using CSRP themes during June and July...but I still need 9 weeks of themes in that case.

So here are some summer storytime possibilities that I've started to think of for the little ones that might work with the CSRP theme of 2015:


1. Bedtime: Especially in terms of conquering fears of the dark or monsters under the bed - you are your own hero.

Some possible book choices:
a. "Let's Sing a Lullaby With the Brave Cowboy" by Jan Thomas
b. "There's a Nightmare in My Closet" by Mercer Mayer
c. "Go Away, Big Green Monster!" by Ed Emberley
d. "Llama, Llama Red Pajama" by Anna Dewdney
e. "Nicky and the Big, Bad Wolves" by Valeri Gorbachev
f. "Cat and Mouse in the Night" by Tomek Bogacki
g. "Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night" by Jon Davis
h. "What's Under the Bed?" by Joe Fenton
i. "I Want My Light On!" by Tony Ross
j. "No Ghost Under My Bed" by Guido van Genechten
k. "Who's There?" by Carole Lexa Schaefer
l. "Monster Needs His Sleep" by Paul Czajak
m. "The Woods" by Paul Hoppe
n. "Stormy Night" by Salina Yoon
o. "George in the Dark" by Madeline Valentine


2. Family: Heroes within your family. 

Some possible book choices:
a. "My Mommy is Magic" by Carl Norac
b. "My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story" by Jamie Lee Curtis
c. "My Father Knows the Name of Things" by Jane Yolen
d. "I Love My Daddy Because..." OR "I Love My Mommy Because..." by Laurel Porter Gaylord
e. "My Big Brother" OR "My Big Sister" by Valorie Fisher
f. "What Aunts Do Best/What Uncles Do Best" by Laura Numeroff
g. "Mothers Are Like That" by Carol Carrick
h. "Mommy's Hands" by Kathryn Lasky
i. "My Mommy" by Susan Paradis
j. "Only You" by Rosemary Wells
k. "I Love Mommy" OR "I Love Daddy" by Lizi Boyd
l. "Snug in Mama's Arms" by Angela Shelf Medearis
m. "If I Were Your Father" by Margaret Park Bridges
n. "The Very Best Daddy of All" by Marion Dane Bauer
o. "Up On Daddy's Shoulders" by Matthew Berry
p. "Daddy Hug" by Tim Warnes


3. Firefighters, Police, and other Community Helpers: Books on community helpers have been surprisingly difficult to find -- at least ones that would work well at storytimes. Sometimes I have anywhere from 50 to 100 people coming to my Toddler Storytimes and I have to get simpler books than might work at a typical Toddler Storytime. The bigger the group, the simpler the book needs to be!

Some possible book choices:
a. "Dot the Fire Dog" by Lisa Desmini
b. "Fire Drill" by Paul DeBois Jacobs
c. "'Fire, Fire,' said Mrs. McGuire" by Bill Martin, Jr.
d. "Fire Engines" by Jim Pipe
e. "Fire Truck" by Peter Sis
f. "Fireman Small" by Wong Herbert Yee
g. "Kitten Red, Yellow, Blue" by Peter Catalanotto
h. "The Police Cloud" by Christoph Niemann
i. "I Want to Be a Police Officer" by Dan Liebman
j. "Lucky Ducklings" by Eva Moore
k. "Police Officers on Patrol" by Kersten Hamilton
l. "Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving!" by Patricia Hubbell


4. Doctors, Nurses, and feeling sick: The helpers and heroes that make us feel better when we are sick.

Some possible book choices:
a. "How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?" by Jane Yolen
b. "Dr. Ted" by Andrea Beaty
c. "Pigs Make Me Sneeze" by Mo Willems (this might even be a perfect puppet show script!)
d. "Don't You Feel Well, Sam?" by Amy Hest
e. "Felix Feels Better" by Rosemary Wells
f. "The Flea's Sneeze" by Lynn Downey
g. "Five Little Monkeys" by Eileen Christelow
h. "Bear Feels Sick" by Karma Wilson
i. "Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox" by Erin Dealey
j. "I Want to Be a Nurse" OR "I Want to Be a Doctor" by Dan Liebman
k. "Shanna's Doctor Show" by Jean Marzollo


5. Astronauts and Space: Everyone wants to fly to space in their very own rocket ship when they are little (and sometimes even when they are an adult!).

Some possible book choices:
a. "I Want to be an Astronaut" by Byron Barton
b. "Here in Space" by David Milgrim
c. "On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets" by Michael Dahl
d. "Earthdance" by Lynn Reiser
e. "Astronauts Are Sleeping" by Natalie Standiford
f. "Zoom, Rocket, Zoom!" by Margaret Mayo
g. "Where is the Rocket?" by Harriet Ziefert
h. "Quack!" by Arthur Yorinks
i. "This Rocket" by Paul Collicutt


6. Brave animals: Animals to the rescue!

Some possible book choices:
a. "Scaredy Cat" by Joan Rankin
b. "Brave Charlotte" by Anu Stohner
c. "George and the Dragon" by Chris Wormell
d. "What the Ladybug Heard" by Julia Donaldson
e. "The Bear Who Didn't Like Honey" by Barbara Maitland
f. "'I Don't Care', said the Bear" by Colin West 
g. "Spark the Firefighter" by Stephen Krensky
h. "Just a Duck?" by Carin Bramsen
i. "Oh So Brave Dragon" by David Kirk
j. "Brave Squish Rabbit" by Katherine Battersby
k. "Pepito the Brave" by Scott Beck
l. "Kitten's Big Adventure" by Mie Araki
m. "Brave Bear" by Kathy Mallat


7. Career/Job: What do you want to be when you grow up? 


Some possible book choices:
a. "Girls A-to-Z" by Eve Bunting
b. "Read and Rise" by Sandra Pinkney
c. "LMNO Peas" by Keith Baker
d. "My Teacher Can Teach Anyone" by W. Nikola-Lisa
e. "Sally Gets a Job" by Stephen Huneck
f. "How to Get a Job, by Me, the Boss" by Sally Lloyd-Jones
g. "My Dad's Job" by Peter Glassman
h. "Whose Shoes?" by Stephen Swinburne
i. "When Poppy and Max Grow Up" by Lindsey Gardiner
j. "What Will I Be?" by James Levin
k. "Work" by Ann Morris
l. "Druthers" by Matt Phelan


8. Pirates: Because what summer theme on superheroes would be complete without some excellent super villains?!

Some possible book choices:
a. "Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC" by June Sobel
b. "I Love My Papa Pirate" by Laura Leuck
c. "This Little Pirate" by Philemon Sturges
d. "The Pirate of Kindergarten" by George Ella Lyon
e. "Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors" by Danna Smith
f. "The Skeleton Pirate" by David Lucas
g. "Pirate, Viking & Scientist" by Jared Chapman
h. "Pirates Love Underpants" by Claire Freedman
i. "A Pirates Guide to Recess" by James Preller
j. "Pajama Pirates" by Andrew Kramer
k. "Small Saul" by Ashley Spires
l. "Twenty-Six Pirates" by Dave Horowitz


9. Monsters: Again, it's the idea of having villains, but also how we can conquer our fears and take down the villains in our lives. Or we can pretend to be villains/monsters and realize that maybe they're not so scary after all!

Some possible book choices:
a. "Love Monster" by Rachel Bright
b. "My Teacher is a Monster" by Peter Brown
c. "Monster Party!" by Annie Bach
d. "Yuck! That's Not a Monster" by Angela McAllister
e. "If You're a Monster and You Know It" by Rebecca Emberley
f. "The Monster Who Lost His Mean" by Tiffany Haber
g. "Monster Hug!" by David Ezra Stein
h. "Monster Toddler" by John Wallace
i. "Leonardo the Terrible Monster" by Mo Willems
j. "What Do You Do When a Monster Says Boo?" by Hope Vestergaard
k. "Hungry Monster ABC" by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe



Needless to say, I've had a lot of time coming up with ideas. If anyone else is starting to plan, I'd love feedback or other ideas to keep in mind! 

Happy planning!