Pirates

Our theme this week is pirates! We had some very impressive pirate crew members at our storytime's this week!

Books:

Toddler Books:

Twenty-Six Pirates: An Alphabet Book - Dave Horowitz

Bubble Bath Pirates - Jarrett Krosoczka

I Love Boats - Flora McDonnell

Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors - Danna Smith

Preschool Books:

Pirate, Viking, & Scientist - Jared Chapman

Pirates Love Underpants - Claire Freedman 

The Night Pirates - Peter Harris

Bubble Bath Pirates - Jarrett Krosoczka

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

If You're a Pirate and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):

If you're a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

If you're a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

If you're a pirate and you know it, and you really want to show it,

If you're a pirate and you know it, swab the deck (swish, swish)

Other verses:

Walk the plank (stomp, stomp)

Shout, "Ahoy" (AHOY!)

Source: Born Librarian

The Pirate Wore His ____ Patch (Tune: "Mary Wore Her Red Dress"):

The pirate wore his red patch, red patch, red patch,

The pirate wore his red patch all day long.

Other verses:

Blue patch, Green patch, Yellow patch, etc.

Source: Storytime Katie

*I laminated a pirate head and several different colored patches. This was a fun one and easy for parents/caregivers to catch on. 

Pirate Ships:

There are so many pirate ships rocking on the sea.

What colored pirate ship do you see? 

Keep adding colored pirate ships...

There are so many pirate ships rocking on the sea.

How many pirate ships do you see?
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5!

Source: Roving Fiddle Head KidLit
*One of my awesome Library Assistants found this rhyme and made different colored ships for us to use.

Polly, come out to play!
Polly, polly, come out to play,
What colored pirate ship are you hiding behind today?
*A variation of our "Mouse Behind the House" game. Using the same colored ships from above, we hid a pirate's parrot, Polly, behind one of the colored ships and played a hiding game.

Five Pirates on a Treasure Chest
Five pirates on a treasure chest, 
One jumped off and four are left.
Four pirates on a treasure chest,
One stepped down and three are left.

Three pirates on a treasure chest,
One twirled off and two are left.
Two pirates on a treasure chest,
One climbed down and one is left.

One pirate on a treasure chest,
He was pushed off and none are left!
No pirates on the treasure chest,
"Yo, Ho, HO! Now the treasure is all mine!" 
Source: Storytime Katie
*Mine is a variation of Storytime Katie's flannel. You can substitute whatever action you feel in the mood to do during storytime!

Bedtime

Our theme last week was Bedtime. And, in terms of our Collaborative Summer Reading Program theme, most of the books [for Preschool storytime] featured characters that overcame bedtime fears.

Books:

Toddler Books:

Sleepyheads - Sandra Howatt

There's a Nightmare in My Closet - Mercer Mayer

All Kinds of Kisses - Nancy Tafuri

Preschool Books:

Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night - Jon Davis

Sleepyheads - Sandra Howatt

There's a Nightmare in My Closet - Mercer Mayer

Let's Sing a Lullaby With the Brave Cowboy - Jan Thomas

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Elephants in the Bathtub:

One elephant in the bathtub,

Going for a swim.

Knock, Knock (clap hands)

Splash, Splash (slap legs)

Come on in!

count up to five...

Five elephants in the bathtub,

Going for a swim.

Knock, Knock (clap hands)

Splash, Splash (slap legs)

THEY ALL FELL IN!!!!

Source: Jbrary

If You're Sleepy and You Know It (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):

If you're sleepy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you're sleepy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you're sleepy and you know it, and you really want to show it,

If you're sleepy and you know it, clap your hands.

Other verses:

Stomp your feet

Say, "Goodnight" (we did this in sign language: "Good night" sign)

Penny Pointers:

Penny pointers up, and penny pointers down.

Penny pointers dancing all around the town.

They're dancing on your shoulders.

They're dancing on your head.

They're dancing on your tummies.

Now put them to bed.

Repeat with:

Tommy Thumbs

Finger Families

Source: Traditional

Counting Sheep Before We Sleep:

For Preschool Storytime, we made Miss Mary's "Counting Sheep" flannel. I put all of the colors on the board, and removed 2 to 3 at a time, and asked the kids which color was missing. They loved it!

Source: Miss Mary Liberry

Nurses

Instead of doing our weekly theme on Doctors, as originally planned, I chose to shift the theme to being about Nurses this week as our heroes. And, of course, our Toddlers and Preschoolers bring the best nurses they know with them to storytimes: their parents and caregivers!

Books:

Toddler Books:

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - Eileen Christelow

Llama Llama Home With Mama - Anna Dewdney

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon - Jane Yolen

Preschool Books:

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - Eileen Christelow
Chu's Day - Neil Gaiman

Pigs Make Me Sneeze - Mo Willems

Bear Feels Sick - Karma Wilson

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon - Jane Yolen

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,

One fell off and bumped his head,

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,

"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

count down to none...

Source: Traditional

*I used a flannel version of this story in place of the book.

"Ah-Choo!" (with puppets):

"My nose itches, and it twitches. I'm feeling a sneeze coming on. What do I say?" - "Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"

Then we talked about how different animals might sneeze:

Cow puppet: What does a cow say when she sneezes? 

I let the kids guess first. Then the cow sneezes: 

"Moo-choo! Moo-choo! Moo-choo!"

Continue with other animals: Pig (oink-choo); Duck (quack-choo); Sheep (Baa-choo); etc.

Source: There are a lot of variations and books with similar themes (like "Barn Sneeze" by Karen Winnick or "Baa-Choo!" by Sarah Weeks). I just used what puppets I had on hand and made up my own version. 


Puppet Show: "Pigs Make Me Sneeze" by Mo Willems
*This Easy Reader book by Mo Willems is SUPER easy to translate into a puppet show. If you happen to have Elephant and Piggie puppets on hand, even better, but you can substitute any stuffed animal in to play the parts!

Space

Our heroes this week were astronauts so we talked all about SPACE! What a better topic leading up to 4th of July than talking about rocketships blasting off into space.

Books:

Toddler Books:

Barton, Byron - I Want to Be an Astronaut

Collicutt, Paul - This Rocket

Dahl, Michael - On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets

Sharratt, Nick - Rocket Countdown

Preschool Books:

Braun, Eric - If I Were an Astronaut

Dahl, Michael - On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets

McCarthy, Meghan - Astronaut Handbook

Ziefert, Harriet - Where Is the Rocket?

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

If You're Going to the Moon (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It"):

If you're going to the moon, wear your helmet (pat, pat your head)

If you're going to the moon, wear your helmet (pat, pat)

If you're going to the moon, this is what you have to do,

If you're going to the moon, wear your helmet (pat, pat)

Other verses:

If you're going to the moon, wear your boots (stomp, stomp)

If you're going to the moon, wear your gloves (clap, clap)

Source: Mel's Desk

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon,

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon,

If you want to take a trip, climb aboard my rocketship,

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon...

...in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!!!!

Source: Jbrary

Song: Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner Band (Rocketship Run)