Quick Lit: March 2015

Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy has a monthly "What I've Been Reading Lately" linkup that I'm going to jump in on for the first time!

My goal for this year is to read 36 books - 3 a month - after only finishing 24 last year (7 of them were the Harry Potter series though, so maybe some of those should have counted for more than one...). I'm right on track, with 8 books completed so far. Here's what I've finished in the last month.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
This was definitely a break out of my usual reading. I honestly tend to stick pretty tightly to things like Christian fiction and juvenile/young adult. So to read a book that uses swear words and talks about sex was a stretch for me (though my husband and I do watch a handful of tv shows that are like that, I just rarely pick up those kind of books). I definitely enjoyed it. I read a review on Amazon before getting it from the library that basically said "if you enjoy Sheldon Cooper [The Big Bang Theory] and his quirky lack-of-social-skills and abundance-of-science-humor then you'll like this book." SO true. If Sheldon annoys you, you won't like this book as much.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I had seen this one while skimming OverDrive for a juvenile ebook to read, and liked the sound of smart kids solving a mystery. What I didn't realize until after I got into it was that it's 500 pages long! I did like the concept, but some of the storyline seemed unnecessary - though maybe it gives background information for the other books in the series (which I don't plan on reading).

Prodigy by Marie Lu
Book 2 in the Legend Trilogy - I'm reading these as part of the Young Adult Book & Movie Club. I've been on a dystopian YA kick for about a year and a half now. Hunger Games, Divergent, City of Ember, Maze Runner, etc. I'm thinking if I had read this series a year ago I would have enjoyed it lots more than I am now. It took me awhile to get into both the first book and this one too, mostly because the storyline was so similar to other series I've read (Divergent most recently). I'll definitely stick with it, because I DO want to find out what happens to the main characters, but I'll honestly probably back off from dystopian YA for quite awhile after it.

Love & Respect in the Family: The Respect Parents Desire; The Love Children Need by Emerson Eggerichs
My Sunday School class has been having a discussion each week about a couple chapters from this book and we just finished. I really liked the Love & Respect concept from Eggerichs' first book about marriage, and the way the concept carries over into parenting makes total sense. He uses lots of examples from his own family and others who have shared their stories, which makes our family feel completely normal. It's fairly new, released in late 2013, so not many people have heard of it in the grand scheme of "best parenting books." I highly recommend it!




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Storytime: Green & St Patrick's Day

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes + play and craft

Continuing our one-week-of-a-color-each-month theme, we're going green for March (fits great with St. Patrick's Day, spring, Michigan State basketball in March Madness... :)


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) I liked how Kathryn introduced the idea of St. Patrick's Day with a few sentences, so I shared this with the kids before we got started: "St. Patrick's Day is about a real person who lived a long time ago, in a place far away called Ireland. We wear something green and talk about real things like shamrocks and rainbows, and about pretend things like leprechauns and pots of gold.


3) St. Patrick's Day - Mari Schuh

This book is physically pretty small, so rather than a normal panning while reading I actually stood up and walked it around to show the kids the pictures more closely. There is a single sentence on every page and while it's not the most fun St. Patrick's Day book out there, it was the shortest one I could find!

4) Five Green Shamrocks

No idea where this came from - it was in my flannel drawer with a note "added February 1999"... I had a sudden influx of kids this week (my regular crowd is 6-8, this week I had 15!), so instead of going through it twice and letting the actual kids take the shamrocks off, I showed them my leprechaun from the next flannel and had him pick the shamrocks instead.

Five green shamrocks growing outdoors
[Child's name] picked one, and that left four.
Four little shamrocks, green as they can be
[Child's name] picked one, and that left three.
Three little shamrocks playing peek-a-boo
[Child's name] picked one, and that left two.
Two little shamrocks nodding in the sun
[Child's name] picked one, and that left one.
One little shamrock for St. Patrick's Day fun
[Child's name] picked one, and that left none.

5) Leprechaun, Leprechaun

I found a couple different versions of this, from Jen in the Library and Storytime Fun. Since I didn't want to spend too much time creating it, I printed and laminated the leprechaun and pot of gold and made flannel pieces for the others.

Leprechaun, leprechaun, what do you see?
I see a red heart here with me.

I see an orange star here with me.
I see a yellow moon here with me.
I see a green clover here with me.
I see a blue diamond here with me.
I see a purple horse shoe here with me.

Purple horse shoe, purple horse shoe, what do you see?
I see lots of children here with me.
Children, Children, what do you see?
…
What does that make? A rainbow!

And leprechauns LOVE rainbows, because they think at the end of a rainbow they can find a pot of gold!

6) Green: Seeing Green All Around Us - Sarah L. Schuette

Wow, two non-fiction books in one storytime?? The kids loved telling me all of the green things they saw on these pages. They started pointing out the green things around the room too. :)


7) Five Green & Speckled Frogs
Apparently the librarian before me had done this at some point, because I discovered a prop for it! It's a paper towel tube (so it really is a hollow log!).

Five green & speckled frogs (hold up 5 fingers)
Sitting on a hollow log (point at the log, kids sit)
Eating the most delicious bugs -- yum yum! (rub belly)
One jumped into the pool (flip one frog down, kids jump)
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green & speckled frogs! (ribbit, ribbit!)

8) We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner
My antsy group really needed to get up and move around, so we did this favorite song about something that's often depicted as green in books and pictures.


9) Where is the Green Sheep? - Mem Fox

I love this book. I did paperclip a couple pages since it felt a tad bit long for a closing book with our rowdy group.


10) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

11) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments for play, and our table craft was green fingerpaint. I also had coloring pages left over from our Littles storytime that some kids colored with crayons and some kids colored with fingerpaint.

Other green ideas:

Green - Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Green Eggs & Ham - Dr. Seuss
It's St. Patrick's Day! - Rebecca Gomez
The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever! - Teddy Slater
Lizette's Green Sock - Catharina Valckx



This post does contain Amazon Affliate links. Purchases you make help support The Lion is a Bookworm a little bit without changing the cost to you!

March #bookwormproblems

Sometimes I feel like the odd one out when I see book bloggers posting photos of the stack of books they're currently reading.

Modern Mrs. Darcy's stack a few years ago

Usually I am a great multitasker, but when it comes to books, I just cannot read more than one at a time!!

Let me rephrase that... I can't read more than one fiction book at a time. As you can see from the photo, I'm reading 3 (4 if you count my daily read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan) non-fiction books right now.

I think this is why I'm still hesitant to try audiobooks. I don't think I would be able to enjoy the fictional storyline of more than one plot at a time.

Help me out here -- am I really the only one in the book blogging world who has this #bookwormproblem??


Linking up today with Quirky Bookworm! Click to see what other bookworms are struggling with!!

Storytime: For the Littles

My first year of storytime planning I had three classes - 0-18 months, 18-36 months, and 3-5 years. The baby storytime didn't really work out. One or two moms came sporadically before Christmas, then never came at all after the break. I decided with the new season last fall to only offer two classes, Storytime for Littles (age 0-2) and Storytime for Bigs (age 2-5). I've been amazed at how well this has worked for us!

I do get a lot of questions about "my child is 2 years old, which class should he go in?" and my answer is always "Our Littles class reads two short books and mostly does songs and playtime. Our Bigs class reads three longer books and is more structured. It's up you which one you think your child would fit best in!" In both classes I get older/younger siblings that would usually belong in the other class. But the parents know what works best for them.

So here is what I typically do in my "Littles" class! It is VERY repetitive from week to week, where my Bigs class has a weekly theme and I post those here each week. Littles lasts about 20 minutes, Bigs about 30.


My opening and closing activities are the same as what I use in my Bigs class. Can ya tell we love repetition around here? :)

1) Greet with puppet
This is my friend Leo the Lion. He's a nice lion, his mouth doesn't even open! His favorite thing to do is wave to the kids. Therefore he helps us sing our opening and closing songs.

2) This is the Way We Wave Hello
(tune: Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we wave hello, wave hello, wave hello
This is the way we wave hello, hello, hello, hello! 

This is the way we clap hello, clap hello, clap hello...
This is the way we pat hello (pat thighs), pat hello, pat hello...

Repeat all 3 verses again.


3) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
I started using this song before reading our first book each week during my very first Summer Reading Program in 2013, and have used it ever since. The kids know it so well, I think I'd have a mutiny if I ever left it out now. We sing it through (acapella) twice.

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) Read a Book
I usually pick one book and read it each week for the entire month. I look for ones that the kids might already be familiar with, so that if there are any new or shy kids, they might feel more comfortable with something they've seen before. I've used:
Brown Bear Brown Bear
Goodnight Moon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Big Fish Little Fish
Freight Train


5) Full Body Songs
I'll usually pick just 1 of them, and just go with the mood of the group.
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
If You're Happy and You Know It
We are the Dinosaurs


6) Songs with Manipulatives
I'm always prepared to do any of these, and I'll pick 1-2, occasionally 3, depending on how the kids are doing.
I Know a Chicken (with shaky eggs)
What a Miracle (with scarves)
Walter the Waltzing Worm (with little pieces of cut yarn that resemble worms)
Old MacDonald (this is just me showing them the animals, not as interactive)
Shape Monster (flannel board)


7) Read a book
I'll change this book up from week to week. Often I'll find one that fits with the Bigs' theme of the week that is short enough for the Littles to enjoy (like Freight Train).


8) Closing: Do You Know What Time It Is?

(tune: Muffin Man) Early in the season I had to explain to the kids a few times that some grown-ups wear watches on their wrist to see what time it is. One week a little 2 year old, who never talks and never smiles, came up to show me she'd worn her own watch that day!

Do you know what time it is? (tap wrist)

What time it is? What time it is?
Do you know what time it is?
Storytime is over!

Now it's time to stretch up tall (stand/reach up)

Stretch up tall, stretch up tall
Now it's time to stretch up tall
Storytime is over!

Wave goodbye to all your friends (wave)

All your friends, all your friends
Wave goodbye to all your friends
Storytime is over!

(original from Abby)

9) Playtime
I attended a Storytime 101 workshop at the beginning of the season that was put on by the co-op my library is part of, and they talked about the five practices of early literacy. I decided I wanted to incorporate a time for play after every Storytime that I offer. I have a box of blocks, and a box of things like instruments (shakers, jingle bells, rhythm sticks), puppets, scarves, etc. I'll also put paper or a coloring page on the tables. Kids can play with any or all, which they do for about 5-10 minutes, then gravitate out of the program room and into the children's area which also has games and puppets and puzzles.

Storytime: Trains

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes + play and craft


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) A Train Goes Clickety-Clack - Jonathan London

A basic train book about what some trains look like and the different things they can carry.

3) The Wheels on the Train

Another simple "wheels on the bus" rendition from The Storytime Lady.

The wheels on the train go clickety-clack (bend arms at elbows, chug chug around like train wheels)
The whistle on the train goes toot toot toot (pull train whistle)
The conductor on the train says “all aboard!” (cup hands around mouth)
The crossing gates go up and down - or clang clang clang (arms cross in front of you like the gates)
The people on the train go bumpety bump (sit on seat, bump up and down)

4) Clickety Clack flannel

From Mel's Desk. I did print and use the patterns she provides, and considered drawing in the windows and details but decided last minute to leave them as the outlines. The boxcar and coach car could probably have used the detail to make them look a little different but oh well. I had the kids hold up the number of fingers we were on for each sentence. If I'd had 6 or less kids I would have handed them out and called the color along with the type of car and had them bring them up. But I had one of my bigger groups today at 12!

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
Here comes the train on the railroad track!

Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn,
Here comes ENGINE number one.

Clickety-clew, clickety-clew,
Here comes COAL CAR number two.

Clickety-clee, clickety-clee,
Here comes BOX CAR number three.

Clickety-clore, clickety-clore,
Here comes TANK CAR number four.

Clickety-clive, clickety-clive,
Here comes COACH CAR number five.

Clickety-clicks, clickety-clicks,
Here’s the CABOOSE, that’s number six.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
There goes the train on the railroad track!

5) All Aboard the DinoTrain - Deb Lund

When I pulled this book out parents exclaimed it combined two of their kids' favorite things! I wish I would have clipped a few pages together. I forgot that I had when I'd used it once for a dinosaur storytime, and by 3/4 of the way through the kids were restless. Maybe just because while the pictures were beautiful they weren't very engaging. I tried to read it with lots of expression. They all liked the ending though.


6) We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner

But the DinoTrain book easily led into one of my kids' favorite songs.

7) Song Cube
This week the cube rolled I'm a Little Teapot and If You're Happy and You Know It. (Okay that's 3 weeks in a row of If You're Happy. I'm beginning to think my kleenex box is heavier on one side. Time to switch the pictures around.)


8) I Love Trains - Philemon Sturges

So this one hits on basically the same things as the first book we read, along with lots of the other train books I list below in "other" ideas. But I love the simple images, few words on a page, and cute ending.

9) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

10) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments for play, and our table craft was Shape Trains. I got the idea from here and here via Pinterest. I freaked out a little bit because I thought I had a medium size circle punch at home to make the wheels but couldn't find it... so I quickly free-handed a bunch of black wheels instead. The kids didn't care. :)

My example - but I emphasized they could
make their trains look however they wanted!

Other train ideas:

Freight Train - Donald Crews (I used this with my Littles)
My Little Train - Satomi Ichikawa
The Little Engine That Could - Watty Piper
Hey Mr. Choo-Choo, Where Are You Going? - Susan Wickberg
Inside Freight Train - Donald Crews (board book)
Steam Train Dream Train - Sherri Duskey Rinker
Clickety Clack - Rob & Amy Spence
Dinosaur Train - John Steven Gurney
And the Train Goes... - William Bee
The Goodnight Train - June Sobel



This post does contain Amazon Affliate links. Purchases you make help support The Lion is a Bookworm a little bit without changing the cost to you!

Storytime: Penguins

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 25 minutes + play and craft


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) One Cool Friend - Toni Buzzeo

My own kids recently received this book as part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, and they are loving it! The parents at storytime got a kick out of the ending, though I think it went over the kids' heads. I tried to explain, but it's one of those books that once you know the ending the middle makes lots more sense.

3) Baby Penguins

From Mary and Mike. I made penguins on sticks that I held for this rhyme while the kids acted it out, and brought out my big penguin puppet for the mama. The kids got to use the stick penguins later.

1 baby penguin makes a wish (hold up 1 finger then point up)
2 baby penguins catch some fish (hold up 2 fingers then clap hands)
3 baby penguins slip and slide (hold up 3 fingers then wiggle arms)
4 baby penguins run and hide (hold up 4 fingers then hide them)
5 baby penguins look around, (hold up 5 fingers then shade eyes with hand)
Calling “Mama! Mama! Mama!”
Out waddles mama, now the babies are found. (waddle)

4) If You're a Penguin and You Know It

I feel like I've used this tune so much in the last few weeks for various things... at least it's something that all the kids and parents know!

If you’re a penguin and you know it flap your wings
If you're a penguin and you know it flap your wings
If you're a penguin and you know it, and you really want to show it,
If you're a penguin and you know it flap your wings

I brought out our mama penguin again and showed them her wings -- she doesn't use them to fly, she uses them to swim!

If you're a penguin and you know it go for a swim...

I asked if anyone remembered from our first book what kind of pizza the penguin Magellan liked to eat...

If you're a penguin and you know it bite a fish...

And finally, we looked at the feet of my stuffed penguin and how there really aren't any legs. So when penguins have to walk, they waddle!

If you're a penguin and you know it waddle your feet...

5) Penguins Penguins Everywhere - Bob Barner

This was as non-fiction as I got this week, but I had brought out all of our other books about penguins for kids to look at after and check out, that had real photos of penguins and described them even more than this book.

6) Adorable Penguin
From Storytime ABCs. I handed out the stick penguins to the kids to act out this and the next rhyme.

I'm a little penguin
Black and white,
Short and wobbly,
An adorable sight!

I can't fly at all,
But I love to swim.
So I'll waddle to the water 
And dive right in!

7) The Penguins are Here
Also from Storytime ABCs.

The penguins are here; the penguins are there.
The penguins, the penguins are everywhere.

The penguins are up; the penguins are down.
The penguins, the penguins are all around.

The penguins are in; the penguins are out.
The penguins, the penguins are all about.

The penguins are low; the penguins are high.
The penguins, the penguins all say "goodbye"!

8) Song Cube
This week the cube rolled If You're Happy and You Know It and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (which we always add the verses for the Great Big Hairy Spider and the Teensy Weensy Spider...).


9) Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice - Steve Metzger

Just like 5 little monkeys. But with penguins. And different things that happen to them.

10) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

11) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments again, but no one wanted to play. They all wanted to just do the craft. For the table craft I got the idea from Mike to cut squares of paper and let the kids glue them onto a background to make penguins. Some were really into making sure there's looked exactly like mine, others were more artsy...

My example

Other penguin ideas:

Adorable penguin hat craft
A Penguin Story - Antoinette Portis
Splash! A Penguin Counting Book - Jonathan Chester
If You Were a Penguin - Wendell & Florence Minor
Penguins - Liz Pichon
I Am Small - Emma Dodd



This post does contain Amazon Affliate links. Purchases you make help support The Lion is a Bookworm a little bit without changing the cost to you!

Storytime: Purple

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes + play and craft

Continuing our one-week-of-a-color-each-month theme, we're on purple for February (I considered doing pink for Valentines Day but thought purple would be a bit more interesting for the boys!).


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) Harold and the Purple Crayon - Crockett Johnson

No purple storytime would be complete without this book. I chose to read it first since it's a little long for my group. Katie has an AMAZING flannel story for this book, but I didn't have the time (or much desire) to make it for myself. Instead I took Erin's idea and put up a piece of white paper and drew the moon at the beginning and the window at the end.

3) I Have a Crayon flannel

From Abby Librarian. 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. Luckily I had exactly 10 kids this week!

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

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, 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 I've ever seen. 
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green. 

4) Purple Heart, Purple Heart flannel

I used this for last year's storytime near Valentine's Day too. Instead of starting with red, we started with purple. I placed the hearts on the board as we went, since I didn't have enough for everyone to get one.

Purple heart, purple heart, what do you see? I see an orange heart looking at me!

Orange heart... etc... 

White heart, white heart, what do you see? I see a whole bunch of children looking at me!

Children, children, what do you see? We see a purple heart, an orange heart... looking at us! That's what we see!

5) Purple - Schuette and Purple Animals - Melissa Stewart

A couple of fun non-fiction books I came across. I shared Purple Animals in my Littles storytime too (0-2 years). These use real photographs of things in nature (and things like boomerangs and stuffed animals) that are purple. Both are super short.


6) Acting out purple things

Katie at Storytime Secrets had this idea for encouraging kids to pretend. I changed her pink things to more purple, and just read them from the list.

Eat a purple popsicle
Climb a purple mountain (just like Harold!)
Act like a purple monster
Color with a purple crayon (just like Harold again! :)
Spread purple jam on bread
Fly like a purple bird
Chew purple bubble gum
Sip purple grape juice
Smell purple flowers

7) Song Cube
Our song cube rolls today were If You're Happy and You Know It and I'm a Little Teapot.

8) Purple Little Bird - Greg Foley

I like this book more and more every time I read it. I used it in my houses storytime last year, and it could easily fit into a colors or rainbow or animals storytime too.


9) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

10) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments again. For the table craft I pulled out pink and purple paper, stickers, scissors, and glue, and let the kids go to town making Valentines.

Other purple ideas:

Sally and the Purple Socks - Bechtold (I came so close to using this one but ran out of time)
Gladys Goes Out to Lunch - Anderson (the gorilla is purple)
Lunchtime for a Purple Snake - Ziefert (a little long)
Clarence Goes Out West and Meets a Purple Horse - Adams (a little long)
Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem - Ohi
Storytime Katie's Purple Storytime



This post does contain Amazon Affliate links. Purchases you make help support The Lion is a Bookworm a little bit without changing the cost to you!

February #bookwormproblems

In the YA Book & Movie Club we've started reading Marie Lu's Legend trilogy. It's a first-time read for me, though I've been reading lots of dystopian YA in the last couple of years.

My #bookwormproblem? Once I get into the thick of a plot of a book like this, I never. want. to. put. it. down. I want to go and go and go and go for hours and finish it in one shot. I'm plagued by "what happens next?? how will they get out of this mess??" And authors sure know how to keep you hooked by leaving the end of chapters hanging. "I'll read just one more chapter" turns into five more...

It's taken a lot of self-control to read a single chapter then start a load of laundry. Then read another then play with the kids. Then read another then fold the laundry.

I find if I can accomplish enough things in the morning then I don't feel so bad reading for an extended period during naptime!

I know this is a good reason to try audiobooks, but I feel like I only get 2 minutes here and there to read throughout the majority of the day! And a day like today (Saturday) the hubby is home too, so I don't want to bore him with my books, or completely ignore him as well as the kids... :)

Linking up today with Quirky Bookworm! Click to see what other bookworms are struggling with!!

This post does contain Amazon Affliate links. Purchases you make help support The Lion is a Bookworm a little bit without changing the cost to you!

Storytime: Snow

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes + play and craft

February in Michigan is always an easy time of year to do a storytime about snow. :) A few days ago we got a foot of the stuff on top of what we already had. And since the groundhog saw his shadow we know it'll be around for awhile yet, right?


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) Hello Snow! - Hope Vestergaard

A fun introduction to a day of playing in the snow. The adults got a kick out of the page where the kid wakes up the parents. :)

3) Winter Clothing Matching

My predecessor had made a chart with items of winter clothing all in different colors. I had 5 kids this day, so each one got all the items in one color. We talked about getting dressed to go play in the snow, so when I told them we were going to put our boots on, they had to bring up their boot and find the spot on the chart that matched. They're affixed with velcro.

4) Snowmen at Night - Caralyn Buehner

This is a fun book about why snowmen look droopy and sleepy some days - because they've been up playing all night, of course!

5) Five Little Snowmen flannels
Two flannel board rhymes that I found in my collection.

Five little snowmen made of snow (hold up five fingers)
Five little snowmen all in a row
Out comes the sun (arms make sun over head)
One little snowman melts away (slowly pull snowman off board)
etc...


Five little snowmen (five fingers)
On a winter's day
The first one said (touch thumb)
"Wake up so we can play!" (clap)

The second one said (touch pointer finger)
"Let's stomp on the ground" (stomp on ground)
The third one said (touch middle finger)
"Let's roll all around" (roll hands over one another)

The fourth one said (touch ring finger)
"Let's run and run and run" (run in place)
The fifth one said (touch pinkie finger)
"I'm afraid I feel the sun" (back of hand on forehead as if sick)

"Oh dear!" cried the snowmen
As they looked up toward the sky (point up)
And the five melting snowmen (hold up five fingers)
Waved a fond goodbye (wave goodbye while sinking to the ground)


6) Mr. Sun - Raffi
What was it that made the snowmen melt? Oh yes, the sun... I use a combination of motions from Jbrary and Raffi himself.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun (make big sun with arms over head)
Please shine down on me (wiggle fingers and come down, kind of like rain actually)
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun (make big sun with arms over head)
Hiding behind a tree (hide eyes with hands)

These little children are asking you (point at self with thumbs)
To please come out so we can play with you (hands make "come here" motion)
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun (make big sun with arms over head)

Please shine down on me (wiggle fingers and come down)

7) The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats

Hurray for a Caldecott-winning book during the week this year's winners were announced!

8) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

9) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments again. For the table craft I sliced some computer paper into squares and the kids made paper snowflakes. 

Other snow ideas:

Snow - Uri Shulevitz
Mouse's First Snow - Lauren Thompson
All You Need for a Snowman - Alice Schertle
Snowballs - Lois Ehlert
Millions of Snowflakes - Mary McKenna Siddels
Snowy, Blowy Winter - Bob Raczka
eskimo/ice/igloos things from this storytime



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Wednesday afternoon musings...

Things are slow at the library this week. We've had a lot of snow and cold weather, which isn't good for kids and families wanting to come to the library. As I was shelving and reflecting on this morning's storytime, already thinking ahead to the blog post I would write about it, I realized something.

I've already failed #1 in my Resolve to Rock goals.

A month has already gone by and I have written a total of 2 posts - and both are about storytime plans. So much for trying to write about "other stuff".

But I got to thinking -- WHY haven't I written about other stuff? Why don't I write awesome, thought-provoking posts that generate tons of discussion, and are more than just here's-what-I-did-this-week?

The answer I've come up with: because I'm still a newbie. I haven't even been working in a library for two whole years yet. I'm still learning everything from the rest of YOU. I don't have any new insights to add to the discussions already going on out there.

So for now I guess I'll just keep plugging away with what-I-did-this-week type of posts. And the displays and bulletin boards I've done. Just a record of my library life.

Maybe it's the mid-winter blues. Maybe I'm missing my own kids during the day a lot more than I used to. Maybe I'm ticked at the junior high kids who are trying to play hide and seek amongst the stacks. But I'm in a bit of a low spot in my attitude toward library life right now.

Anyone have any words of pick-me-up? How do you overcome the blahs this time of year?