let's avocuddle

Sadly, my storytime was canceled last week due to foul weather.  I've now got an extra storytime plan just in case I need it so that's something to be thankful for.  

This week we celebrated Valentine's Day, and it was marvelous and lovely.  I started both storytimes by walking around the room with a small bubble machine while singing the mega hit, "one little, two little, three little bubbles..."  Both storytimes were puzzled by the bubbles and the toddlers mostly just stared at me blankly.  I was just beginning to think the bubbles were going to be a big, fat dudorama when one little girl plopped herself on the floor and began kicking and stomping the bubbles while shrieking with happiness.

Both storytimes were small so I was able to try out my second hello song, which is great for small storytimes. It's to the tune of Happy Birthday with these lyrics: "Good morning to you, good morning to you.  Good morning friend (insert name here).  Good morning to you."  I sing this song to my oldest golden retriever every morning, and it always gets a few tail thumps, which she doesn't give out for free anymore due to her old age, so I had a feeling it was going to be a winner.  I used the ASL signs for good and morning for this song and then pointed to them at the very end.  The toddlers had this expression on their faces that translated to, "Oh no she's going to say my name. Oh no!" and then, when I said their name and pointed to them, the expression quickly changed to, "Wow. She said my name.  My name."  And then a huge smile would light up their faces.  It was fantastic.

After our hello songs we sang Lisa Loeb's version of the ABC song, which is the traditional melody.

We also did this lovely heart fingerplay before the "Open, Shut Them" fingerplay.



In both storytimes we read two books back-to-back because everyone was doing such a great job paying attention.  We read, Love is You and Me by Monica Sheehan and Hugs & Kisses for The Grouchy Ladybug.  I taught them the ASL signs for happy, give, love, share, and together.  They enjoyed both books and liked the sign for "happy" best.

Next we read Valentines together.  I found this Valentines printable as inspiration and created my own version by making origami heart envelopes with washi tape.  I also swapped out the dove for porcupines.  The toddlers stared at me open-mouthed and were obviously engaged but didn't answer any of the questions I asked about the colors of envelopes, the types of animals, or how many envelopes were left.  This was my first attempt at a felt/magnetic board since last spring when I accidentally messed up the order of colors for a felt board rhyme and was so tramatized I had nightmares about it.  I definitely feel better about felt/magnetic boards after this experience and am ready to try something else.  This is good news because I have a couple more planned for this storytime season and have already made them.  



After we read the Valentines we did a mediation activity from the pack of flashcards I found on Amazon  - Mindful Kids and it was a HUGE hit.  I think it's fair to say it was the favorite activity of the day.  Basically we took a few deep breaths and roared like lions when we exhaled.  Then we tapped thumbs/pointers/middle/ring/pinkie fingers together five times apiece. Watching the parents help their kids do this activity nearly made me cry.  I'm a total sap so this was food for the soul for me.

After the finger fiddle activity, I realized I was out of time in the first storytime so we quickly sang a very appropriate tune about getting ready to go outside and play in the snow.  Though it is a toasty 50 degrees today, there is another snowstorm expected for tomorrow.  The song is sung to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell and goes like this: "I'm putting on my coat. I'm putting on my coat. Brrr brrr it's cold outside. I'm putting on my coat."  This verse is followed by mittens, hats, and scarves.  One boy laughed out loud when I pretended to put my hat on.  He thought that was the funniest thing.  

In the second storytime I had enough time to read the third book, How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You.  We talked about the ASL sign, "I Love You" and how it's different than the ASL sign for love.  Because I had such small groups for both storytimes I left the door open in the hopes more people would show up.  In the second storytime I kept seeing a dad and his daughter peeking into the room, but they were never together.  Finally, with supreme casualness, the little girl walked in, sat down on the floor, and looked at me expectantly.  Seconds later, dad came in and joined her.  They came in right before I read the third book, and the little girl didn't take her eyes off it. 



We finished with the hokey pokey and our goodbye song and everyone picked out stamps of their choice (I brought four this time).  I found a stamp with avocados and the words, "let's avocuddle" underneath it while at ScrapsKC over the weekend.  It was pure fate with Valentine's Day this week so I bought it and hoped for the best.  In my second storytime, while I was explaining the stamp options, a parent looked at her son and said, "Oh I bet you're going for the avocados stamp."  The little boy was so stinking thrilled by that stamp he asked for it on both hands. 

This is sorta what it looks like