A Doggie Bag of Stories

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Dog storytimes are always popular. In this case, we were even able to get Clifford to come and visit!

Dogs Preschool Storytime with Jennifer: April 17, 2007

OPENING:
Intro Song: Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
Intro: Casually share the book, Dog Food by Freymann and Elffers with the gathering children
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza
Flannel: Where’s Spot?
Read-aloud #2: Bertie Was a Watchdog by Rick Walton
*Fingerplay: Ten Little Doggies
Read-aloud #3: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer (Also: use swallowing “dog” puppet with various animal fingerpuppets inside)
Flannel Song: BINGO
Read-aloud #4: Clifford Gets a Job by Norman Bridwell

SPECIAL GUEST: Clifford, the Big Red Dog (We were able to get a walk-about costume for a willing staff member to wear. The kids LOVED getting to meet and hug Clifford. This was a special treat, though. We didn’t have characters come and visit every week, of course!)

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

CRAFT OR HANDOUT:
Clifford Coloring Handouts

*Ten Little Doggies
Ten little doggies went out one day
(hold 10 fingers up)
To dig in the dirt and play, play, play.
(Pretend to dig like a dog with both hands)
Five were spotted, and five were not,
(Hold up one hand at a time)
and at dinner time they ate a lot!
(Pretend to eat)

Other Dog Ideas:
How much is that doggie in the window?
Snuggle Puppy
Knick Knack Paddy Whack
Old Mother Hubbard
Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?

Thanks, Mom!

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Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there…

Theme: Moms (May 2006 Outreach)

Books:
*My Mom by Anthony Browne
Where is My Mommy? by Julie Downing (CP)
*Thanks, Mom by Ed Emberley
Even Firefighters HUG Their Moms by Christine Cole MacLean
*I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
What Mommies Do Best by Laura Numeroff
Kiss Kiss! by Margaret Wild

Big Books:
Ten Little Monkeys

Puppets:
Mama Kangaroo

Monkey Mitt:
Five Little Ducks

Rhymes:

Flowers for Mom:
I’ll pick some flowers for my Mom.
To make a nice bouquet (pick flowers)
I’ll give her a smile (smile)
And say, Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Knives and Forks:
These are Mother’s knives and forks (fingers interlocked and pointing up)
This is Mother’s table. (reverse interlock and point fingers downward)
This is Mother’s looking glass (keep interlocked – raise pointer fingers tip to tip)
And this is Baby’s cradle. (keep interlocked – raise pointer and little finger tip to tip)

Flannels:
Is Your Mama a Llama?
The Most Beautiful Hen in the Barnyard

Ahhh…. SPRING!

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Hello, friends! Yes, I am still alive and hoppin’. I’ve been feeling a bit discouraged because I haven’t found a new library job and storytime home yet… but I have been considering looking into at least volunteering my storytelling (anyone interested?), and I have been working on writing some of my own stories. So, life is good… and SPRING is full of possibilities 🙂

Here’s another “oldie-but-goodie” from my Burbank days….

Spring Preschool Storytime with Jennifer: March 20, 2007

OPENING:
Puppet Act: Bunny puppets
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson
Song (with bird-in-egg prop): “Green Grass Grows All Around”
Read-aloud #2: Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck by Lisa Westberg Peters
Flannel song: Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play
Fingerplay: Here’s a Bunny
Read-aloud #3: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming
Song (with homemade finger puppets): Little Bunny Foo Foo
Storytelling Activity/ Flannelboard: The Enormous Turnip

MOVIE:
The Picnic

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

CRAFT OR HANDOUT:
Bunny Foo Foo handout

Here’s a Bunny:
Here’s a bunny with ears so funny, (make curved bunny ears with two fingers of one hand)
And here is his hole in the ground. (make an open fist with the other hand)
When a noise he hears,
He pricks up his ears (raise bunny-ear fingers straight and tall)
And jumps in his hole in the ground. (tuck bunny-ear fingers into the fist)

**Note: Cold Little Duck was probably too simple for this age group
Suggestion: Who’s Garden Is It? By Mary Ann Hoberman

Green for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Happy almost-St.-Patrick’s-Day, everyone!

It’s Not Easy Being Green(e): St. Pat’s Preschool Storytime with Jennifer: March 13, 2007

OPENING:
Opening: Discuss things that are green
Puppet act: Tease children with alligator puppet
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Storytelling Activity: Very Hungry Caterpillar (flannel and puppets)
Read-aloud #1: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Flannel rhyme: Five Little Monkeys Teasing Mr. Alligator
Read-aloud #2: Snip Snap! What’s That? by Mara Bergman
Flannel poem: Five Green Shamrocks
Rhyme: Leprechaun Stew
Read-aloud #3: Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold

MOVIE:
Alligators All Around

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

CRAFT OR HANDOUT:
Shamrock Butterflies

ALSO: My previous toddler storytimes for St. Patrick’s Days can be found here, here, and here!

Lions… and Tigers… and Bears!!!

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OH MY!

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Open Storytime with Jennifer: March 15, 2006

OPENING:

Greet children with Lion puppet
Opening song: The More We Get Together
Opening fingerplay: Ten Little Fingers

PROGRAM:

Read-aloud #1: We’re Going on a Lion Hunt by David Axtel
Read-aloud #2 (open the flap book): Tails by Matthew Van Fleet
Read-aloud #3: Who is the Beast? By Keith Baker
Song: “Silly Dance Contest” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song
Read-aloud #4: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Bill Martin & Eric Carle
Storytell with Storyprops (use apron and pieces): Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

CLOSING:

Closing song: “Hands are for Clapping” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song
Closing rhyme: See You Later Alligator (with flannel pieces)

Cat’s Meow

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There’s nothing like snuggling up next to a warm cat on a cold day!

Cats Preschool Storytime with Jennifer

OPENING:
Intro: Count and name animals in “Ten in the Bed” prop. Wear purple cat flannel in my hat.
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Read-aloud #1: Gobble, Gobble, Slip, Slop by Meilo So
Fingerplay: Five Little Kittens (TEWS by Cole)
Read-aloud #2: The Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone (sung)
Song (with finger puppets): Ten in the Bed
Read-aloud #3: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Song: ABCs
Read-aloud #4: Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
Movement Song: “Shake My Sillies Out” (Raffi)

MOVIE:
Here Comes the Cat!

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

CRAFT OR HANDOUT:
Cat and Dog Finger Puppets Coloring Handout

Play Time!

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Have a fun weekend, friends!

Let’s Play Open Storytime with Jennifer: January 25, 2006

OPENING:

Hide Asha the fish puppet in red bucket. Have children guess what is inside.
Discuss playtime.
Opening rhyme: “Lap” from Zig-Zag Zoems for Kindergarten by Lois Lesynski
Opening fingerplay: Ten Little Fingers
Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands with Me

PROGRAM:

Read-aloud #1: Big Red Tub by Julie Jarman
Flannel song: “Little Old Wagon” on Sticky Bubble Gum
Read-aloud #2: Your Pal Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
Puppet story: Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
Read-aloud #3: My Closet Threw a Party by Robyn Parnell

CLOSING:

Song: Hokey Pokey
Closing rhyme: “Goodbye Rap” on Carole Peterson’s H.U.M. All Year Long

Get Happy!

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Happy New Year!!! The beginning of a new year is a great time to do a Happy Birthday and/or Celebrations storytime. Below is an oldie but goodie. Also: you may notice that some major changes are happening on this site (finally!). I am hoping to really start adding to this site this year and make it an even more useful resource for parents, teachers and fellow librarians. The look of the site may continue to change for a little while longer, but I hope to get things settled soon!

As an extra bonus, at the end of this post, I’ve included another “Silly Librarian in Action” video: a snippet of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. Shout HOORAY! and get happy, people.

Birthdays and Celebrations Funfare with Jennifer: September 1, 2005

Decorate using streamers, balloons, felt cakes, presents…

OPENING:

Play the “Unbirthday Song” (from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland) as children enter. Have bubbles going.
Discuss birthdays and what you can find at parties.
Opening Fingerplay: Ten Little Fingers
Opening Song: Let Everyone Clap Hands with Me

PROGRAM:

Read-aloud #1: Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein
Fingerplay: Make a Cake
Read-aloud #2: Gotcha! by Gail Jorgensen (group) OR Fairytale Cake by Mark Sperring (family)
Fingerplay: Birthday Cake
Oral storytelling: Poule and Roach (from Margaret Read MacDonald’s Celebrate the World: Twenty Tellable Folktales for Multicultural Festivals) [I definitely needed to shorten the story for this audience. If I were to do this storytime again, I think that I would substitute this story for another book such as The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli or A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas and/or more songs or fingerplays.]

CLOSING:

Song: Hokey Pokey
(Song: Shake My Sillies Out)
Present kids with colorfully wrapped box as a “present for everyone”. But before we can open it, we must sing…
Song: Happy Birthday
Open up the present (be dramatic and throw the paper everywhere while shaking the box). Inside there are stickers for everyone! Hand out stickers individually (a good time to do a count) and wish each boy and girl a “Happy Birthday”. Play “Unbirthday Song” again (and/or Raffi music) while doing this as audience leaves.

Make a Cake
Mix the batter, stir the batter
(make a stirring motion with one arm/hand)
Shake some flour in
(make a shaking motion with one arm/hand)
Mix the batter, stir the batter
(make a stirring motion with one arm/hand)
Place it in a tin
(pretend to pour)
Sprinkle in some raisins in
(pretend to sprinkle)
Pop it in the oven
(open both hands, palms up, and slide them forward)
Open wide the oven door
(pretend to open door)
And out comes the cake!
(open both hands, palms up, and slide them forward)

Birthday Cake
Ten candles on a birthday cake
(hold up hands with palms facing out and fingers extended)
All lit up for me
(wiggle fingers)
I’ll make a wish and blow them out
Watch and you will see.
(blow and bend fingers down)

And, now for the video! Clap your hands!

Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow! Snoooow!

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This week, I experienced my first snow fall since moving back to the chilly Midwest from sunny California. I guess it’s time to bundle up! Here’s a fun Snow & Clothing preschool storytime. I like to combine the two themes. It was always interesting to do a snow storytime in California… most of the kids had never even seen the stuff 🙂

Also: you may notice me changing the look of my blog/website a couple of times within the next few weeks… please be patient with me as I try to get everything “just right”. I have actually changed the look back to how I originally had it in the first place for this week… kind of retro:)

Clothing and Snow Preschool Storytime with Jennifer: January 23, 2007

OPENING:
Play “Jenny Jenkins” as audience enters (and wear Amelia Bedelia hat)
Have competition with fish puppet to see if I can swim
Discuss clothes and what you wear
Opening Fingerplay: 10 Little Fingers
Opening Song: If You Want to Hear a Story

PROGRAM:
Put hat on fish puppet to segue into…
Read-aloud #1: Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, Barrett
Song: If You’re Wearing Red Today
Action Rhyme: Can You Hop Like a Bunny?
Song (with artfelt): Five Green and Speckled Frogs
Read-aloud #2: Froggy Gets Dressed, London
*Fingerplay: Snow Fell Gently
**Song: This is the Way We All Get Dressed
Storytell: The Mitten (You can use beautiful visuals as props from Jan Brett’s website here)

VIDEO:
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (10 minutes)

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

*The snow fell softly all the night.
It made a blanket soft and white.
It covered houses, flowers, and ground,
But did not make a single sound!

**This is the Way We All Get Dressed (to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”)
This is the way we all get dressed, all get dressed, all get dressed…so early in the morning
This is the way we put on our shoes… (pants, socks, shirt, coat, etc.)