Mystery Box

When cleaning and organizing my storage closet, I came across a cute, sparkly, hinged treasure-chest-type box.

It's about 7x7x2 inches

It sat in the back of my mind for a few weeks, until I was planning my school year's storytime themes (based on the alphabet). How about I put something small in the box each week, that lets the kids know what our topic is for that week?

I actually hide all of my storytime books and craft supplies under a sheet, so that when the kids come in they have no idea what we'll be talking about. After we sing our opening song, I invite the kids to come up and I slowly open the box.

We're at the point now where some of the older kids try to guess what the topic will be. "Next in the alphabet is G. Is it grapes today? Or grass? Or goats??"

Storytime: Colors

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, C is for Colors!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. 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'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

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) Mystery Box
This week I filled the box with colorful scarves.


3) The Crayon Box That Talked - Shane DeRolf

Probably my longest book of the day, I wanted to make sure we got through it without the kids getting antsy so we read it first. I think I've mentioned before that I'm a sucker for rhyming books... and this one definitely has that cute, lilting, rhyming rhythm. It has a great message at the end too.


4) Feltboard - I Have a Crayon
I handed out crayon-shaped felt pieces and recited this rhyme, asking the kids to come up and put their crayon on my board when I called their color. If you have lots of kids, you could instead place the felt crayons on the board yourself as you recite the rhyme. Let the kids guess the colors before putting the crayon on the board. They're good at figuring out which color is next based on the rhyme!

I have a crayon, I'll give it to you. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue. 

I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow. 

I have a crayon, I think it's just right. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of white. 

I have a crayon, it's here on my head. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red. 

I have a crayon, I found it in town. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of brown. 

I have a crayon, we can draw a circle. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple. 

I have a crayon, what do I see? 
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me. 

I have a crayon right in my sack. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of black. 

I have a crayon, it's just right I think. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of pink. 

I have a crayon, the best ever seen. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green.

(from Abby Librarian)


5) Lemons are Not Red - Laura Seeger

The kids enjoyed telling me what the correct color of each item was. And I pointed out the light in the house on the last couple of pages and it was cute to see them light up when they understood it.


6) Songs – Shake Your Sillies Out & Hot Potato - the Wiggles
They were feeling a little wiggly by this point. I passed out colored scarves for them to dance with during these songs.


7) Dog's Colorful Day - Emma Dodd

I like to make the kids count with me whenever a book involves numbers. Pointing at each dot as we count helps teach the one-to-one correlation that takes kids lots of practice to learn. There are also lots of possibility for a flannel board to go with this story (check Pinterest or Google it), but I try to limit myself to one flannel story a week.


8) Clothing Colors rhyme
A simple little action rhyme to help kids learn to follow directions.

If your clothes have any red, put your finger on your head 
If your clothes have any blue, put your finger on your shoe
If your clothes have any green, wave your hand so that you're seen
If your clothes have any yellow, smile like a happy fellow
If your clothes have any brown, turn your smile into a frown
If your clothes have any black, put your hands behind your back
If your clothes have any white, stamp your feet with all your might
(from SurLaLune Storytime)


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

No description needed. A classic book. My oldest daughter learned her colors thanks to this book, and at age 3 she now "reads" it to my one year old.


10) C is for Colors coloring page (18-36 mo.) or C is for Colors craft (3-5 yrs)
My younger kids coloring page was of the animals in Brown Bear, taken from Make Learning Fun -- I whited-out the numbers and words.

For the older kids craft, I took inspiration from Sadie's rainbow craft. I cut out a big letter C in the middle of black construction paper. Then I took colored paper and cut strips. The kids glued the strips (whichever colors they wanted) across the C, then we glued another solid piece of black paper over top. Flip it over, and you have a colorful letter C!

My 3-year-old daughter's version

Other color ideas:
Harold & the Purple Crayon - Crockett Johnson
Good Night Sweet Butterflies - Dawn Bentley
Blue Goose - Nancy Tafuri
Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors - Danna Smith - we had just used this one during our summer reading program
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes - Eric Litwin - we had also just used this one over the summer
White Rabbit's Color Book - Alan Baker - I almost used this one. I even made the felt rabbits from Sunflower Storytime. But I couldn't find any good buckets, and I had a ton of other good book and flannel choices.

There are sooooooo many storytimes out there about colors. I was amazed...

Song & Rhyme Cube

I saw the idea for a song cube in a few places, including Mel's Desk. I wanted to include more classic rhymes and kids songs this year, and this was the perfect way to do that. I made mine from a full tissue box, covered in scrapbook paper. Since I had a hard time narrowing down the songs I like to only 6, I made my little pictures removable (stuck on with poster putty)!

 

 

Any week that we have a little extra time at the end of storytime (maybe it was a topic that didn't have as many activities, or the books were shorter), I'll pull out the cube. I roll it to the side of the room, and the kids know they are not supposed to touch it, but just tell me what picture is on the top.

I also have a word underneath each picture, to start the kids on letter and word recognition.

The songs and rhymes I currently have cards for are:

• Itsy Bitsy Spider (spider)
• I'm a Little Teapot (teapot)
• Five Little Monkeys (monkey) -- I have a big furry glove with monkey heads velcroed to the fingers
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (star)
• If You're Happy and You Know It (face)
• B-I-N-G-O (dog)
• The Wheels on the Bus (bus)
• Head Shoulders Knees and Toes (body)
• Humpty Dumpty (egg) -- we have flannel pieces for this
• Hickory Dickory Dock (clock)
• Hey Diddle Diddle (cow) -- we have flannel pieces for this

Storytime: Bears

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, B is for Bears!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. 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'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

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) Mystery Box
This week I brought a tiny stuffed bear from home.


3) Leaves - William Corderoy

A cute little book about a curious baby bear in the fall. Perfect for this time of year. (I was surprised when I searched for this one to link that it's older and not available from Amazon directly. I even had a hard time finding a picture of the cover. It's a great little book!)


4) Where is Bear? song 
Found this song at Storytime Katie. I had a cute soft teddy bear that I hid behind my back and pulled out for this song, then had him lay down in my lap to go to sleep. Then I had the kids shout "wake up bear!" and started again. We did it 4-5 times before deciding to let him sleep. Tune of "Where Is Thumbkin."

Where is bear? Where is bear? 
Here I am! Here I am! 
How are you this winter? Very tired, thank you. 
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.


5) The Three Bears - Byron Barton

I love the bold, simple pictures in Byron Barton's books. This one is a great rendition of the classic Goldilocks tale.


6) Six Busy Bears
This is a rhyme I found in my filing cabinet. It looks like it's from a book, the rhyme is a photocopy and the flannel pieces are white interfacing that's been colored. I did a Google search and didn't come up with anything... so I have no idea where it came from! In my 3-5 year old class we had 5 kids, so they could each have a piece to bring up. I just did it myself for the younger class since there were more than six kids.

Six little honey bears going out to play
Busy as can be, on a fine spring day (I changed spring to fall this time!)

The first little bear is eating honey in a chair
The second little bear is flying balloons in the air.

The third little bear is looking for rain in the sky
The fourth little bear is riding her tricycle on by

The fifth little bear is going fishing in the creek
The sixth little bear is playing cowboy hide and seek

Six little busy bears, tired as can be
Hear Mama Bear calling, "Come on home to me!"

Six little tired bears better run home quick
And away they all go - one, two, three, four, five, six (take bears off flannel board one by one)

Six little honey bears will come out to play
After a good night's sleep, on another fine spring (fall) day.





7) Baby Bear Sees Blue - Ashley Wolff

A relatively new book (published in 2012), I just love this one! The pictures are realistic, yet simple. I even had the bright idea to create flannel pieces and have the kids help me tell the story. It was also a sneak peak at next week's Colors theme, though they didn't know it... :)


8) Song Cube


9) B is for Bear coloring page (18-36 mo.) or B Bear craft (3-5 yrs)

Inspired by a handful of pictures from a Google Image search for "B is for bear craft."

My 3-year-old daughter's version

Other bear ideas:
Bear Snores On - Karma Wilson
Scare a Bear - Kathy-joWargin
Brown Bear, Polar Bear, and Panda Bear - Bill Martin Jr.

Storytime: Apples

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this first week, A is for Apples!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. 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'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

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) Mystery Box
This week I put in a real apple.


3) Apple Farmer Annie - Monica Wellington

This cute book got us started with what it's like to be an apple farmer. Annie picks her apples and brings them to market, and makes some tasty apple treats too (there were even recipes in the back!)


4) A-P-P-L-E
I got the idea for an apple B-I-N-G-O type song from Falling Flannelboards.

I know a fruit that’s good to eat and apple is its name-o. 
A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E 
And apple is its name-o.

I changed it up just a little bit -- I found I already had a few felt letters, so I made a few more to spell the word apple, which I put on my flannelboard to start. Then the pictures of the apple getting eaten I printed out and put felt on the back. As we sang the song, I put an apple picture over the letter we were removing.


5) Ten Apples Up On Top - Theo LeSieg

I ended up skipping a couple of pages in this one for my younger group. Afterward I had them all stand up and put a fist on their head and ask if they could follow me around the room with one apple on their head. Then two fists for two apples. Then I asked them to pretend they had ten apples on the top of their head. Some of the kids really got into the balancing idea, most didn't get it though...


6) Five Little Apples Flannel
In my filing cabinet I found yet another flannel gem -- a tree and five apples. I came across a rhyme at Storytime Katie and changed the characters to match the animals I could also find in my cabinet...

Five little apples hung in a tree 
The farmer wasn’t looking, so guess who came to eat? 
A cow! Munch munch munch! 

Four little apples hung in a tree 
The farmer wasn’t looking, so guess who came to eat? 
A horse! Munch munch munch! 

Three little apples hung in a tree 
The farmer wasn’t looking, so guess who came to eat? 
A pig! Munch munch munch! 

Two little apples hung in a tree 
The farmer wasn’t looking, so guess who came to eat? 
A worm! Munch munch munch! 

One little apple hung in a tree 
The farmer wasn't looking, so guess who came to eat? 
A cat! Munch munch munch! 

Now the tree is bare, there are no more apples there 
But when next fall comes around, guess who’ll be there?
A cow, a horse, a pig, a worm, and a cat!

(Yes I know cats don't eat apples but it's all I could find...)


7) Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple - A.H. Benjamin

This one was probably a little long for a final book. The kids weren't that interested.


8) Song/rhyme cube
I saw the idea for a song cube in a few places, including Mel's Desk. I wanted to include more classic rhymes and kids songs this year, and this was the perfect way to do that. I made mine from a full tissue box, covered in scrapbook paper. Since I had a hard time narrowing down the songs I like to only 6, I made my little pictures removable (stuck on with poster putty).

This week we rolled it twice in each group. I make sure the kids know to not touch it, and just look and tell me what picture they see on the top.


9) A is for Apple coloring page (18-36 mo.) or A apple craft (3-5 yrs)
I'm loving Pinterest for finding kids craft ideas. This A is for apple preschool-age craft came from two different sources: Mamas Like Me and I Can Teach My Child. We didn't use actual apple seeds though, just black dots from a hole-puncher!

 

My 3-year-old daughter's version

Other apple ideas:
Ten Red Apples (Bartholomew Bear) - Virginia Miller
The Apple Pie Tree - Zoe Hall
Ten Red Apples - Pat Hutchins

Storytime: Mud

This was my last storytime of Summer Reading 2013!

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes plus snack

1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. 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'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

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) Stuck in the Mud – Clarke

The kids enjoyed identifying the different animals that got stuck in the mud trying to help the chick.


3) Song – We are the Dinosaurs  - Laurie Berkner
My kids LOVE this song. They ask for it every week.


4) I Know A Wee Piggy – Kim Norman

This is currently one of my absolute favorite books. I discovered it when my daughter received it in the mail as part of the Imagination Library. It chronicles a pig who gets covered in all sorts of colors as he runs through the fair. It's told in the style of "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", with a sentence getting added each time. The rhyming that pauses before turning the page encourages kids to shout out the next color. I'm planning a color storytime soon and am seriously tempted to use this book again...


5) 5 Little Pigs Flannel Board 
I found this little rhyme at Sunflower Storytime (originally from Roving Fiddlehead). I already had five pink pigs cut out of felt, and so it was really easy to add brown marker "mud" on one side of them!

Five lit­tle pigs rolled in the mud (roll hands)
Squishy, squashy, felt so good. (make squishing motion with hands)
The farmer took one piggy out. (take one off board)
“Oink, Oink, oink,” the pig did shout! (cup hands around mouth, then put pig back clean side up)

(Con­tinue with four, three, two, until…) 

No lit­tle pigs rolled in the mud.
They all looked so clean and good.
The farmer turned his back and then,
Those pigs rolled in the mud again! (turn all pigs to dirty side again)


6) Song – Walter the Waltzing Worm - Hap Palmer
We have a handful of 5-6 inch long brown yarn pieces that the kids use as their "Walters" to dance with.


7) Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes – Eric Litwin

And of course, everyone's favorite story about getting dirty... the infamous Pete the Cat. Some of the kids had done this story as a school play (musical?) so they wanted to sing it. But I wasn't prepared and didn't know it at all. Oops. They loved it anyway.


Mud dessert 
Instead of a craft this week, I made a little snack for the kids (and there was enough for parents too, yay!). It was just chocolate pudding mixed with cool whip and crushed Oreos, with a gummy worm on top.

Other ideas:
Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud – Plourde
Mudpie for Mother – Beck
And Then It’s Spring – Fogliano
I’m Dirty – McMullan
Muddy pig painting
Outline of a truck, kids color with crayons, brown paint overtop for mud

Weeding... yuck.

Image from Houston Public Library System

Last spring I attended the Library of Michigan's Beginning Workshop. I had only been on the job for about 6 weeks, so I learned a ton of stuff! (If you're in Michigan and haven't gone to BW yet, DO IT. There were people in attendance who've been in their job for over a decade and this was their first workshop. If you live somewhere else, check out your state's library and hopefully they offer something like this too! It was an amazing three days!!)

One of the sessions was called "Weed 'Em and Weep! Hoarding is Not Collection Management" by Holly Hibner. So many parts of the 45-minute talk struck me, and I was determined to come back to my own collection of children's books and be a ruthless weeder.

After the craziness of Summer Reading settled down, I finally took a look at my collection, gathered book carts and lists of what hadn't circulated in the last five years, and dove in.

Yuck.

It obviously hasn't happened in the children's area for a loooong time. I filled my first cart with EJ picture books just from authors A-B. I filled my second cart with non-fiction from 000-300. I filled another half cart just with the early 600s (medical stuff). And just today I filled yet another cart with EJ picture books from authors T-Z (there is a method to my "random" pulling, trust me).

Yuck #1: Some of the books I've pulled are simply disgusting. Nothing as bad as the photo Holly showed us during her presentation (with mold growing in it), but I definitely am in need of a good hand washing after pulling a cart-full.

Yuck #2: I mostly am just pulling books that look bad, especially in the EJ's. Yet I feel like I'm leaving so many on the shelf that are simply old and no one will read them anyway... And part of me looks at the series of Clifford books and cringes -- at the condition of the books -- but wants to keep them because come on. It's Clifford. Ugh. It's tough deciding what to keep and what to weed.

Yuck #3: I wish money grew on trees. We're a small memorial library, so our book budget consists of whatever donations and memorials come in. So in any given month I have to decide between ordering the newest Magic Treehouse book or a replacement of a well-loved Dr. Seuss book.

The things I learned at Beginning Workshop are so much easier said than done. Things like:

• "A good library is like a good haircut. It's not what you cut, it's what you leave." -Anne Felix
• "Having nothing is better than having yucky something." -Holly Hibner
• "Lack of funds to replace outdated or worn items is never an excuse for not weeding." -the CREW method manual
• "Put yourself in your patron's shoes. Build their trust with a useful collection." -Holly Hibner

How does your library do at weeding? Any good strategies or recommendations?

Storytime: Rabbits

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes plus craft

1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. 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'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

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) Seven Little Bunnies – Julie Stiegemeyer

I love using counting books -- asking the kids what number comes next.


3) Fingerplay – Five Little Monkeys
I have a fun little glove (ok, it's not little, it's actually big and furry) that has monkey heads velcroed to the fingertips. This rhyme is so repetitive and classic, I probably should use it more often...


4) Duck! Rabbit! – Amy Krause Rosenthal (Monday), Little Rabbit Foo Foo - Michael Rosen (Tuesday)

I used Duck! Rabbit! with my first group, but they did NOT seem to get into it at all. The parents loved it. But the kids just sat there like a deer in the headlights... Maybe it would have been better with a slightly older group (since I did have 2 and 3 year olds in these groups). So the next day I pulled out my Little Rabbit Foo Foo big book instead.

5) Song – I Know a Chicken - Laurie Berkner


6) Little White Rabbit – Kevin Henkes

I think the kids liked this one. They had fun noticing the things the rabbit did ("his ears are flapping!!"), and the soft (pencil?) colors are pretty.


7) Songs – Shake Your Sillies Out & Hot Potato - the Wiggles
A pair of simple songs to help get their wiggles out...


8) A Boy and His Bunny – Sean Bryan

This was a fun one to end with. Cute rhymes, simple pictures, funny, kept the kids attention well. And it led well into our craft, which let them take their own bunny home.


Paper plate bunny
When I got back from my vacation, I realized that while I'd planned ahead on what books to use for storytime, I hadn't planned our craft. Oops! So I quickly searched my storage closet supplies and came up with a quick paper plate bunny craft. It's just a small (dessert-sized?) paper plate, cotton balls, wiggly eyes, a pink circle nose (that I found in an envelope of paper scraps), and hand-cut ears (no template used! I was so short on time!). The trick is to first glue the ears to the inside of the plate, then spread glue over top of the whole plate, and then stick the cotton balls down. Then put some glue on the eyes and nose and stick them on.

Not my greatest craft ever, but the kids had fun walking around holding it on top of their head like the book we'd just read. :)

Storytime: Pirates

Before I started in this job, I had already planned a week-long vacation with my husband, and of course it fell right in the middle of our Summer Reading Program... BUT I had an amazing volunteer step up and lead both of my storytimes plus my elementary drop-in craft for that week! I planned it all out ahead of time for her.

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes

1) Peg Leg Peke – Brie Spangler

2) Song – I Know a Chicken - Laurie Berkner


3) Sheep on a Ship – Nancy E. Shaw

4) Song – If you’re a pirate and you know it
Swab the desk, walk the plank, say ahoy!


5) Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors – Danna Smith

I already had most of the colors featured in this book as feltboard pieces from my shape monster, so I just cut a few more squares out of the colors we didn't have yet. Windy said the kids loved bringing up their pieces when their colors came up in the story!


6) Bubble Bath Pirates - Jarrett Krosoczka

Pirate hat 
I wanted a really easy craft for Windy to lead with the kids. I used the hat template found here, as well as the "silly skull" image they reference (shown below). I copied the hat (with the skull image glued in the center) onto white cardstock and cut them out, along with strips of cardstock. The kids colored the skull, then adults stapled cardstock strips to fit the hat around their kids' head. Super easy!

Seattle Public Library

This summer my husband and I took a little vacation to the Pacific Northwest (without our 3- and 1-year old kids, yay!!). After visiting the Pacific Ocean at Westport, Washington, and Mount Rainier National Park, we spent a day in Seattle. I'd heard great things about the public library there, so after a ton of walking around the Seattle Center and Pikes Place Market, we hiked up the hill to see the library. It was so worth it!

The kid's area was huge and full of beautiful displays, themed with everything from classic stories to their summer reading program.

Ohhh how I drooled over this story hour room!

Play and computer stations. I'm surprised there weren't any kids there at the time, but I guess it was in the middle of the afternoon (aka naptime).

We also trekked upstairs, where three (or was it four?) floors were arranged in a winding spiral full of non-fiction books.

I took the escalator up to the 10th floor. 

Looking down at the street from the 10th floor.

Looking way down to the first floor atrium!

After all the walking we'd done that day it was nice to just sit in a comfy chair, 10 stories up, and relax.

A beautiful library, and a beautiful city! (This photo taken from Kerry Park on the north side of town. Yes that is Mount Rainier.)