Category: Family Literacy

December Stories

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More Golfview Family Literacy Fun! Happy Holidays, everyone 🙂

Opening Song: “Put Your Finger in the Air” from Pete Seeger: Children’s Concert at Town Hall (live version)
Read-aloud #1: You Make Me Smile by Layn Marlow
Flannel: Rudolph! Rudolph!
Read-aloud #2 (Sung): Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, version illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
Storytell: The Mitten (You can use beautiful visuals as props from Jan Brett’s website here.) (I also used Heather Forest’s musical refrain from her version on her Tales Around the Hearth cd.)
Read-aloud #3: Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
Closing Song: “Jingle Bells” from The Wiggles: Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas (with bells, of course!)
Craft: Make holiday cards

Bad Wolf?…or…Good Wolf?

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More storytime fun with the Family Literacy crowd at Golfview Elementary! Today, we played around with the fairy tale, Little Red Riding Hood, and other wolf stories. And, the wolf wasn’t always the bad guy!

Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands With Me
Read-aloud #1: Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf by Rachael Mortimer
Storytelling Activity: The Gunniwolf
Read-aloud #2: Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya
Dancing Song: “Jump Up, Turn Around” from Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times
Read-aloud #3: The Wolf’s Chicken Stew by Keiko Kasza

Craft: Wolf Leaf Craft (I used Ellison die cut leafs rather than real ones)

October Stories

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I’ve started a new school year with Literacy Connection ESL families at Golfview! The families enjoy learning and practicing English by participating in these for-all-ages storytimes.

Opening Song: “Hands Are For Clapping” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song
Read-aloud #1: The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
*Fingerplay: Apples
Read-aloud #2: Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Song: Little Bunny Foo Foo (with finger puppets)(See a sample of me performing here.)
**Fingerplay: Scary Eyes
Read-aloud #3: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
***Song: “The Ghosts Go Gliding”
Storytelling: “Chickens!” (I learned this “boo baby” story from storyteller Priscilla Howe’s cd, Chickens! and Other Stories for Young Children)
Closing Song: “Silly Dance Contest” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song

*Apples
Way up high in the apple tree,
(Stretch arms in the air.)
Two little apples smiled at me.
(Hold up two fists.)
I shook the tree as hard as I could.
(Shake fists in the air.)
Down came the apples.
(Drop fists to lap. Mime biting into “apples”.)
Mmm, were they good!
(Pat tummy.)

**Scary Eyes
See my big and scary eyes? (Form circles around eyes with fingers.)
Get ready for a big surprise. (Cover face with hands.)
Boo! (Uncover face peek-a-boo style.)

***“The Ghosts Go Gliding” (to the tune of “Ants Go Marching, from Jane Cobb’s I’m a Little Teapot book)
The ghosts gliding one by one, Woo! Woo!
The ghosts gliding one by one, Woo! Woo!
The ghosts gliding one by one,
The little one tripped on a skeleton.
And they all go gliding down the street to trick or treat.

The ghosts gliding two by two, Woo! Woo!…
The little one stopped when he heard a boo!…

The ghosts gliding three by three, Woo! Woo!…
The little one stopped when she saw me!…

Hoppy Bunny

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Twice a month, I visit ESL families to do an hour long program with them. Sometimes, we do storytimes with a craft, sometimes we do writing workshops, sometimes we do mini-lessons, etc. Here is my Bunnies Outreach Family Literacy Visit from last week. (FYI: I will be doing a slightly different bunny storytime again at Rakow Branch library in Elgin on Wednesday, April 16 at 10:30 a.m.)

I also let them know and am now letting YOU know about our upcoming DĂ­a de los Niños event at the Dundee Library Tuesday, April 29, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. We’ll have stories, music, puppets, crafts, and prizes! A fun bilingual event for the whole family 🙂

PROGRAM
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story
Book: It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler
Flannel: The Wind and the Clothes (from Waiting for Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts)
Book: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
Rhyme: Bunny with Ears So Funny
Book: Hurry Up and Slow Down, L. Marlow
Song: Little Bunny Foo Foo (with finger puppets)(See a sample of me performing here.)
Book: Conejito by Margaret Read MacDonald (A colleague and I will be doing a puppet show of this funny folktale at our Día de los Niños event!)

CRAFT
Bunny Foo Foo Finger Puppets
(I also handed out a lyric sheet to help teach them the song and so they could practice at home.)

Book Care

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For a family literacy visit last week, we read stories and talked about book care. And, we made some really fun monster bookmarks to help us take care of our books!

OPENING:
Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands with Me (Pete Seeger)

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: Never Let a Ghost Borrow Your Library Book by Karen Casale
Read-aloud #2: No, David! by David Shannon
Mini Book Care Lesson: see this post for a “No, David!” book care activity
Read-aloud #3: The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers
Fingerplay: Open, Shut Them
Read-aloud #4: That is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

CRAFT:
Monster Bookmarks!!!

Bodacious Body

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Everyone, I am 3 posts behind! I’ve been very busy at the library as well as buried in the IL snow. It’s been a crazy winter. Can’t wait for spring!!!

Here’s the “Body” storytime that I did 2/3 at my Panera and Randall Oaks storytimes. I also did a version for my Family Literacy Connection library visit at Golfview School on 2/6. I’m not posting the order of stories, rhymes and songs since I switched it up for the three different visits. (And since it’s been 2 weeks, I hardly remember exactly what order I did everything in!)

Stories:
We’ve All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin
I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont
Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley (Puppet available here.)
Head to Toe by Eric Carle (Flannel patterns can be found here.)
The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
Henny by Elizabeth Rose Stanton
All of Me! by Molly Bang
Do You Ears Hang Low? by Caroline Jayne Church
It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

Rhymes and Songs:
If You Wanna Hear a Story
Fun with Hands
Ten Little Fingers
I Wiggle My Fingers
My Name is Joe
Sometimes
Tony Chestnut
My Hands Say Thank You
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
We Wave Good-bye Like This

Music:
Me and My Bean Bag (Take that Bean Bag)

Oh what Fun… Holiday Time

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Merry Christmas, Everyone 🙂 See you next year! (Storytimes start back up Monday, January 6.)

Opening Song: If you Want to Hear a Story
Read-aloud #1: Dream Snow by Eric Carle OR If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
(Song with finger puppets: Old MacDonald)
Action Rhyme: If You’re Wearing Red Today
(Action Song: Cap, Mittens, Shoes and Socks)
Read-aloud #2: Deck the Walls by Erin Dealey OR The Twelve Days of Christmas by Jane Cabrera
(Fingerplay: Sausages)
Fingerplay: Open, Shut Them
Read-aloud #3 (Sung): Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, version illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
Flannel: Six Little Snowmen
Fingerplay: Snow Fell Softly
*(Flannel: Five Ringing Bells)
(Read-aloud #4: Santa Duck by David Milgrim)
(Dancing Song: “Jingle Bells” from The Wiggles: Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas (with bells, of course!))

*Five Ringing Bells
5 little bells hanging in a row.
The first one said, “Ring me slow.”
The second one said, “Ring me fast.”
The third one said, “Ring me last.”
The fourth one said, “I’m like a chime.”
The fifth one said, “It’s Holiday Time!”

Story Love I

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Ack! I am behind in blog posts! I guess that’s what happens when you’re in the midst of preparing for and starting SUMMER READING!

Last month, I did a couple of Books/Reading/Story Love storytimes. The following is one I did for my ESL family literacy group. The kids range from pre-K to age 8, so that can be challenging to prepare for!

Hope that everyone is having a happy summer so far and is enjoying a good book!

OPENING:
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: Wolf! by Becky Bloom
Flannel/Storytelling: The Three Little Pigs
Read-aloud #2: Reading Makes You Feel Good by Todd Parr
Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands With Me (from Pete Seeger: American folk, game & activity songs for children)
Read Aloud #3: The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore
Storytelling: “Book! Book! Book!” (This is a well-loved librarian anecdote about a chicken that comes into the library. One version, “The Well-Read Frog” can be found in Margaret Read MacDonald’s Three Minute Tales.)
“Dancing” Song: “Dancing Scarf Blues” from Carole Peterson: Dancing Feet

CLOSING:
Closing Song: We Wave Good-bye Like This

It’s Frosty Cold Out!

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BRR! Come in to the library where it’s nice and warm… and listen to some fun winter stories! So far, I’ve done this storytime (some variation of it) with 3 preschool groups, 2 kindergarten classes, and a family literacy group. I’m also planning on using it for my regular Panera storytime and my new storytime over at the Randall Oaks branch 🙂

OPENING:
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle OR Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner
*Flannel Rhyme: Cute Little Snowman
Read-aloud #2: Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London OR Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman
Action Song: If You’re Wearing Red Today
Read-aloud #3: Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Song: Silly Hat Song
Storytell: The Mitten (You can use beautiful visuals as props from Jan Brett’s website here.) (I also used Heather Forest’s musical refrain from her version on her Tales Around the Hearth cd.)
Read-aloud #5: Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson OR Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman OR Oh! by Kevin Henkes OR Pip and Squeak by Ian Schoenherr
(Song: “Silly Dance Contest” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song)

CLOSING:
Closing Song: We Wave Goodbye

*Cute Little Snowman
A cute little snowman
Had a carrot nose
Along came a bunny,
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny,
Looking for his lunch,
Ate the snowman’s carrot nose,
Nibble, nibble, crunch!

So Many Ways to Say Hello

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I had an awesome outreach visit last week. I helped out the Literacy Connection by presenting a storytime during one of their family literacy classes held at a local elementary school. Most of the adults are only just learning English… and the kids are still learning, too. So, it was a little bit of a challenge… but they wanted me to present in English to help immerse these families in the language. This group was one of my most active groups ever… EVERYONE (adults, too!) got into it! (The kids ranged from preschool to grade 4.) I am looking forward to future family literacy storytimes.

This “hello” theme was very appropriate for this “first day” of ESL… We even learned how to say “hello” in a bunch of different languages!

OPENING:
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer (Also: use swallowing “dog” puppet with various animal finger puppets inside)
Song (with finger puppets): Old MacDonald
Read-aloud #2: excerpts from Hello World!:Greetings in 42 Languages around the Globe! by Manya Stojic
Read-aloud #3:Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora
Song/Fingerplay: Hands Up High
Song/Fingerplay: Where is Thumbkin?
Read-aloud #4: Hello, Hello! by Miriam Schlein (how animals say hello!)
Flannel: Hi, Harry! by Martin Waddell
Read-aloud #5: Say Hello by Jack and Michael Foreman
Fingerplay: Fun with Hands

CLOSING:
Closing Song: We Wave Good-bye Like This