the kangaroo who wouldn't budge

My toddler storytime last week was mostly about dragons.  Both storytimes were packed and pretty darn rowdy.

After we sang our hello song, Lisa Loeb's version of the ABCs, and did our quieting down fingerplay, we read Dragon Was Terrible.  The kids were absolutely entranced by this book and I had a swell time reading it.  In the book there are posted signs asking for help taming the dragon.  I had a lot of fun reading those signs in a silly, official voice.

After we read Dragon Was Terrible, I brought out the parachute and we did some basic warm up exercises with the parachute - lifting it high, walking in a circle while holding it, and shaking the crap out of it.  Then we threw shapes onto the parachute (I used plushy squares, triangles, and balls).  As we tossed the shapes onto the parachute, I asked what shape and color each one was.  This took time, but everyone really enjoyed it.  We sang the popcorn song and then made a popcorn sandwich, which is my favorite way to put the parachute away.

We read/sang Puff the Magic Dragon but it was a bit of a flop because not too many knew the lyrics (my heart is still mending from this).  In the future I plan on having the lyrics up for books we sing too.  After Puff the Magic Dragon, we barely had time for the hokey pokey and stamps but we squeezed them in somehow.



Something I've been doing differently this storytime season is the inclusion of puppets, and their role is primarily to say hello and goodbye to everyone and hang out with me while I talk about the literacy skill of the week.  We talk about six literacy skills at my library system, and an animal represents each of these skills.  Each week I've been bringing in a different puppet and there have been a few kids who very much prefer saying hello to a puppet rather than a grown-up.  I also really enjoy the company of the puppet while talking about the literacy skill of the day.

Last week I brought the kangaroo with me.  The kangaroo has a little joey in her pouch and is arguably the cutest puppet out of the six.  After I stamped everyone's hands I brought out the kangaroo again and then sat down on the floor and invited everyone to come say hi.  Three of the toddlers came over and we talked about the different parts of the kangaroo, including the special joey.  The kangaroo received many pets and hugs and all the grown ups were enjoying the delight and curiosity of the toddlers as they played with the kangaroo.

Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly, one of the toddlers wrapped an arm around the kangaroo with surprising strength, and attempted to bolt for the door with the kangaroo.  He didn't make it too far because I was still attached to the puppet.  But that wasn't even the best part.  The toddler, having stopped dead in his tracks due to the unknown extra weight of the puppet (me), looked at the kangaroo with absolute bewilderment.  He let go for a second, and with all eyes on him, including those of the other two toddlers, he wrapped both arms around the kangaroo and bolted for the door again.  After his second failed attempt to bolt, he sat down on his bottom and gave the kangaroo a long, contemplative stare.

I quickly thought of a distraction and flipped the kangaroo around to show off its long tail.  Much to my relief (and who knows, perhaps the kangaroo's too) this seemed to repair the friendship between the boy and kangaroo and gentle hugs ensued.