Storytime: Music & Sound

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes

Sticking with the Fizz Boom Read! CSLP theme, I have chosen seven science topics for our summer. This week we looked at music/sound.


1) What's the weather? 

I made a weather chart for week one of summer reading, and am starting each week this summer talking about the current weather. We sang this little song to go with it, to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine:

What's the weather, what's the weather,
What's the weather everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy, is there rain, or is there sun?


2) Introduce topic - music/sound
Science makes sound happen! I encouraged kids to feel their throat, then say a quiet lalala. Feel the vibrations? Your throat vibrates and invisible sound waves travel through the air, which then vibrate the little bones inside your ear and you can hear it! Yay science! (idea from Abby)


3) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
We sing this every week before reading our first book. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I ask them to put their "books" in their lap while we read our first book.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


4) Chuck's Band - Peggy Perry Anderson

A fun book about different animals on the farm forming a band as the farmer buys different instruments for them.


5) Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Do animals really play instruments?? No... but they can make music, right??
I found some really cute crocheted animal finger puppets, which I put in a tin I have that has a barn on the front. One by one they came out, and the kids loved singing this classic song.


6) Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin - Lloyd Moss

This book is pretty neat on its own (Caldecott Honor), talking about and showing different instruments in an orchestra, but I wanted to take it another step. It can be downloaded as an audio book in a few places (which costs money), but I found it also on YouTube. I hooked up my iPad to some speakers, and let someone else read the book while I showed the kids the pictures. The best part? The reading of it included the sounds of ALL the different instruments!

It was pretty long, and some of the kids got restless toward the end, so we started interacting with it a bit by counting the instruments on each page and standing up and "conducting" the orchestra at the end. When it was done I asked the kids which instrument they would like to play. After a number of them answered, I told them I had an instrument they could play right now!


7) Rhythm sticks
I took resources from Amy and Kendra. I introduced what we were going to do by saying "Each of you will get a pair of rhythm sticks! [look at parents] They will naturally start clicking them together, and that's great. I need you to help them learn to use them properly, and not clack them on each other. I want them to have the chance to try something new, but we don't want anyone to get hurt!"

After handing out sticks, I took a pair and sat down and said "You guys sound great!! Let's see how good your ears are today, let's see how well you can listen." We practiced putting our sticks on our shoulders until I gave further instructions, and we practiced making our sticks sound fast and loud, and soft and quiet. Then we did this song together:

(Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we tap our sticks, tap our sticks, tap our sticks
This is the way we tap our sticks, so early in the morning.

This is the way we rub our sticks...
This is the way we tap our knees (gently!!)...

As Kendra did, we sang the entire thing through three times, and by the end they were all right with me. Repetition does amazing things for kids.


8) Music/sound craft
I was able to get the rhythm sticks back from the kids by telling them next we were going to make an instrument that they would get to take home with them. :) Really easy shakers -- they colored on the backside of small paper plates, put a handful of dry beans in, and stapled it shut around the outside.

My 4-year-old daughter's version. She thought
to put the music note on all by herself. :) 

Other music ideas:
Violet's Music - Angela Johnson (I had this one on my list to read at the end, after rhythm sticks, but we were already at a half hour)
Jazz Baby - Lisa Wheeler
Jazzmatazz! - Stephanie Calmenson
The Happy Hedgehog Band - Martin Waddell
Crash Bang Donkey! - Jill Newton
Punk Farm - Jarrett Krosoczka
I Know a Chicken song - Laurie Berkner

Storytime: Water

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes

Sticking with the Fizz Boom Read! CSLP theme, I have chosen seven science topics for our summer. This week we looked at water.


1) What's the weather? 

I made a weather chart for week one of summer reading, and am starting each week this summer talking about the current weather. We sang this little song to go with it, to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine:

What's the weather, what's the weather,
What's the weather everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy, is there rain, or is there sun?


2) Where do you find water?
I told the kids our topic for the week, then asked them what some of the places are where they see water. I listed them on a piece of posterboard, to encourage some word/letter recognition.

3) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
We sing this every week before reading our first book. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I ask them to put their "books" in their lap while we read our first book.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


4) Water in the Park - Emily Jenkins

A little long, so I ad-libbed a bit. I also made a simple clock that I could move the hour hand to each time of day, to help keep the kids' attention.

5) Sink or float?
Idea from Amy and Katie. Rather than using it as a station like they did, I did the "experiment" in front of the kids. I explained what "float" and "sink" mean, then held up objects one at a time and asked the kids which they thought it would do in water. I had two crayons at the end, and purposely dropped the first pointy-end down so it would sink, then did another and gently laid it on top of the water to float. I encouraged them to find things at home (with parent permission of course!) that they could test in their own bathtub.

Duck, rock, Lego, popsicle stick, penny, crayons

6) It Could Still Be Water (nonfiction) - Allan Fowler

I'm loving these Rookie Read-About Science books. I found one to use during our moon storytime last winter, and they are at just the right level for preschool storytime. I wish the books themselves were a little bigger though, the kids had to come close for them to see the pictures.


7) The Goldfish Song - Laurie Berkner
The previous book ended with mention of water being a home for fish, which led great into one of my kids' favorite songs.


8) Water Can Be - Laura Purdie Salas

This book came out in April, and is a great simple, poetic way of telling all the different roles water can play in our lives. I highly recommend adding it to your collection if you don't already have it!


9) Water craft
I purchased some simple water painting pages from CSLP/Upstart, gave the kids paintbrushes and cups of water, and let them go at it.

Other water ideas:
This is the Ocean - Kersten Hamilton (I actually almost used this one, and thought of making a flannel board for it. Then I found the non-fiction book and chose it instead.)
All the Water in the World - George Ella Lyon
It's Raining - Gail Gibbons
Moonbear's Pet - Frank Asch
Itsy Bitsy Spider song
anything from my Underwater Storytime
markers on coffee filters, spray with water to make cool designs
water cycle bracelets

Storytime: Animals

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes

Sticking with the Fizz Boom Read! CSLP science theme, I have chosen seven topics for our summer. This week we did the easy, generic topic of animals.

My own kids and I managed to come down with strep throat over the long holiday weekend, and while I was feeling much better come storytime, my singing and reading voice was not completely healed yet. Luckily I had a volunteer who comes on Monday evenings who had previously said she was willing to read for me anytime, and on Tuesday morning my library director was available to read. The songs were all done from cds, and I just introduced each thing we did.


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I ask them to put their "books" in their lap while we read our first book.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) What Pet to Get? - Emma Dodd  OR  Where's My Mom? - Julia Donaldson

I let my volunteer readers choose between a handful of books what they would like to read.


3) Song - I Know a Chicken - Laurie Berkner
Chickens are animals too. :) This is a favorite song for my kids. Luckily we had just enough egg shakers to go around!


4) If You're Happy and You Know It - Jane Cabrera  OR  Mommy Carry Me Please - Jane Cabrera

Again I let my volunteers choose. The If You're Happy book went over really well because it got the kids up and moving, another one I would have personally chosen for this slot is Eric Carle's From Head to Toe.


5) The Monkey Dance - Wiggles
A really easy song to act crazy and jump around and get some energy out!


6) Brown Bear, Brown Bear - Bill Martin Jr.

Both volunteers chose to end with this book. Most of the kids read it right along with them. :)


7) Animal Craft
I purchased some Color-In Masks from Nasco. The kids colored them however they wanted -- I put up pictures of some animals and we had animal books around the room for inspiration. Most just scribbled whatever colors they wanted, but some of the older ones really tried to make theirs look like animals. Tigers were popular (which is what my example was), as were the purple cats from our last book. :)

Other animal ideas:
From Head to Toe - Eric Carle
Actual Size - Steve Jenkins (I probably would have used this one myself, it's a great book for incorporating some non-fiction into storytime, as are the books below)
Whose Legs, Tail, Eyes, Nose, Ears are These? - Peg Hall
5 little monkeys
Old MacDonald
Paper bag puppets
Anything from my previous zoo storytime

Storytime: 5 Senses

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes

Sticking with the Fizz Boom Read! CSLP science theme, I have chosen seven topics for our summer. This week we talked about the five senses.


1) What's the weather? 

I made a weather chart for week one of summer reading, and am going to start each week this summer talking about the current weather. We sang this little song to go with it, to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine:

What's the weather, what's the weather,
What's the weather everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy, is there rain, or is there sun?


2) Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
To introduce the topic of our five senses, we talked about some of the cool things our bodies can do, and sang this classic motion song.


3) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I ask them to put their "books" in their lap while we read our first book.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


4) My Five Senses - Aliki

A simple book that describes our senses. I had the kids point at the parts of their body each time we talked about a sense -- pointing at eyes on the page about seeing, etc.


5) Five senses flannel
This idea is from Miss Meg's Storytime. Rather than creating all new flannel pieces, I raided what I already had in my drawer and pulled out things like a bird, flower, strawberry, rabbit, and ice cream cone. Then I printed out the senses words and flannel backed them. We looked at one item at a time and I went through the list - Can you see it? Can you hear it? Can you smell it? Can you touch it? Can you taste it? and put up the correct words next to the item.

6) Rain - Manya Stojic

This book made a nice connection to last week's discussion of weather. The kids liked the big bold pictures of animals. It's a really neat book for describing how you can use all five of your senses to describe one thing.


7) Senses Hokey Pokey
You put your seeing eyes in, you put your seeing eyes out
You put your seeing eyes in, and you blink/shake them all about
You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about!

...touching fingers...
...smelling nose...
...listening ears...
...tasting tongue... (the kids LOVED this one, trying to sing with their tongue sticking out!)
...whole self!...


8) Senses on the Farm - Shelley Rotner

There are a couple other books in this series (Senses in the City and Senses at the Seashore), and I thought this one would be most relevant to the kids in our small town. I paperclipped a lot of the pages, choosing just two or three of each sense.


9) Senses stations and take-home activity
Instead of a craft this week, I set up five stations around the room. The kids could go to each station and do an activity related to one of their senses.

Cardboard, tree bark, smooth and rough stones,
nail file, steel wool, cotton balls, feather

Coins, jingle bells, cotton balls, LEGOs, corn, marbles

Cotton balls with lemon juice, vanilla extract, pepper, cinnamon, coffee

I managed to erase the pictures I took of sight and taste before getting them to my computer. Whoops. For sight, I listed 8 things for the kids to find in the painted mural around our room (a basketball, a rainbow, the letter T, etc.) like I did during my E is for Eyes storytime. For taste, I put out little plastic cups in three groups -- one had a few granules of sugar, another a bit of salt, and the third a tiny bit of unsweetened lemonade mix.

I had a lot of parents say they really liked the stations idea! It really reinforced what the five senses are. I also sent home a paper with some ideas of ways to use five senses at home, like describing tastes while eating and playing I Spy while on a walk.



Other senses ideas:
Five for a Little One - Chris Raschka
Senses at the Seashore - Shelley Rotner
Senses in the City - Shelley Rotner