Bugs!

Last week was my last storytime for a couple months so that we can prepare for the exciting chaos of summer reading. I missed the week before due to a sinus infection.  One of my coworkers kindly stepped in and facilitated that storytime.

This summer my branch will have more programming for elementary-aged kids, which we've been needing. Because of this, we will have fewer storytimes.  Our hope is to share these storytimes and have two facilitators so we can read books that sound cooler with two voices.  I'm really excited about this and will give a full report about what happens.

For now, please enjoy a brief summary of my last spring toddler storytime!

After our hello storytime, we sang the ABCs a cappella style.  I decided to go with the a cappella approach since I wasn't sure if anyone was liking the last one I had found, which was the ABCs mixed with one verse each of Little Bo Peep and Mary Had a Little Lamb.  As I was asking anyone whether they knew their ABCs, one child started singing the Little Bo Peep/Mary Had a Little Lamb version.  His mom jumped in and said that he had been singing that since the last storytime.  For about two seconds I felt extremely exasperated.  It turns out someone really did like that version of ABCs!

Next up we did the Beehive fingerplay.  Though no one was super impressed with it, it did settle everyone down in both storytimes so we didn't do our first quieting down fingerplay.  Strange!



We read our first book, Walter's Wonderful Web, and it was a huge hit.  Everyone said the repeated line, "Whoosh went the wind" with me each time it came up and we had fun making exaggerated sweeping motions with our hands.  Lots and lots of wind!

We did not read the second book in either storytime.  Everyone was just too wound up and ready to move and groove.  I passed out scarves, two apiece, and we spent a little time flapping around the room, pretending to be butterflies.  We also did a couple scarf activities that everyone enjoyed.

This first one wasn't a hit in the fall, but everyone liked it this time around:

Butterflies, butterflies, flapping around.

Visiting flowers, not making a sound.

Flapping your wings, as you go.

Flapping your wings, up high, then low.

Butterflies, butterflies, flapping around.

Visiting flowers, not making a sound.

I think this next one is sung to the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb, but I'm having a brain fart about it right now.

shake your scarves 

up and down 

up and down 

up and down

shake your scarves 

up and down 

up and down today

Side to side

Front and back

Ear to ear

Foot to foot

We took our time doing the finger fiddle exercise that everyone loves so dearly and took a couple deep breaths before and after we counted our fingers.  When I was sick the week before last and my coworker gave my storytime for me, she kept most of the activities and books I had planned, including the beloved finger fiddle exercise.  When I came back to work and asked how it went, she gave me a play-by-play of each part of the storytime and spared no details. She said she told the kids that she wasn't sure how to do the finger fiddle and needed them to show her.  So she put her hands together, ready to count her fingers, and at that same moment all the kids took really deep breaths.  She didn't realize we took a deep breath prior to counting our fingers but the kids remembered!  When she told me that, and explained how adorable it was to watch all the kids take unprompted deep breaths, I nearly burst with happiness.  

After the finger fiddle exercise, we read our last book, Step Gently Out, and it was received with mixed reactions from both storytimes. I struggled with the words while practicing it, which should have tipped me off that the kids wouldn't be excited about them either.  I gave the words my best shot but we ended up just talking about what was going on in the pictures and identifying the beautiful bugs.  So while the kids were a little bored by the text, they were enamored by the pictures.



We sang Laurie Berkner's version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, which was a lot of fun, and we ended with the hokey pokey and stamps.



I always bring a lot of books with me to storytime and display them on every flat surface.  Though I try to offer mostly books about whatever theme we have, there have been a few times I've displayed books that don't fit the theme, but I can't stand to see sit on the shelf.  Usually a few of my display books are taken, but it's pretty rare when I get cleaned out.  Bug books must be super exciting because I was nearly cleaned out.

I'm pleased with how this season went.  I learned a lot and have much to research for the fall season when I have a regular storytime again. Rumor has it I'm doing preschool storytime in the fall!

the password

I had an interesting patron interaction yesterday. A dad helped his daughter, who was about twelve, sign up for a library card so she could find books for a school project.  

When they handed me the card application, I noticed the spot for a pin/password was blank. Most people pick a four-digit password for their library cards, though sometimes a patron will take advantage of all fourteen letters/numbers and come up with something wild. 

I asked for a password, but the daughter was struggling to come up with one. Dad finally intervened and told her to "use grandma's birthday since she's not using it anymore."

I nearly fell out of my chair.  It took every bit of professionalism I had to keep my big mouth shut.

I tried to tell myself I must have heard wrong, but nope, that was not the case.  When I gave the daughter her card, dad nudged her and happily exclaimed the card used to be grandma's favorite color.

I kept sneaking looks at the dad as I helped them find books about the daughter's school project.  He looked normal.  He looked kind.  He didn't look crazy.  I will never know why he said what he said and how casually he said it, but I will forever be curious.

the wombats on the bus sit down on their bottoms

Storytime was a blast last week.

The theme was animals and we moved around a lot! It felt like storytime aerobics.

We sang the ABCs.  Sigh.  I wasn't able to find an ABC song that anyone really liked this season.  I've got a few ideas to research for next season, but the ABCs just haven't charmed them this time around.  

After our ABC song, we sang, "I Had a Little Turtle," and it was just as big a hit as it was last spring. The first storytime was bananas about it.


I don't think I used my first quieting down fingerplay in either storytime.  Everyone was ready for a story, and so I just skipped it.  We read Hello, Hello! and had a great time pretending to say hello the way different animals do.  Both storytimes loved this book.

After Hello, Hello! I asked the grown-ups to help get everyone into a circle for the parachute (this is my current favorite way to do this), and then I radically changed things up a bit.  I found these amazing bean bags that are different shapes and couldn't help myself.  It turns out it was a super smart purchase.  I went around the room and asked each child to choose a shape.  I didn't realize what a big deal this was!  Each child thoroughly enjoyed picking out a shape. After they picked out a shape, everyone tossed them onto the parachute and we popped them for a few seconds. In the past, we've always played popcorn after whatever parachute activity we do. I don't know why I changed it at the last second, but I'm glad I did because everyone enjoyed keeping the bean bags on the parachute while we sang, "Animals on the Bus."

"Animals on the Bus" was another big hit. It wasn't my first choice, however.  I practiced singing Pop Goes the Weasel and Ring Around the Rosy, but I just couldn't get into the lyrics.  A few days before storytime I went over my parachute notes from past storytimes and came to the realization that "The Wheels on the Bus" was a hit the last time we sang it while we used the parachute.  But there was one big problem with this song.  This was a storytime about animals, not vehicles.  Llama Llama storytime drama!

I'm sure there are lots of versions of "Animals on the Bus" out there.  Perhaps I was blinded by the panic of needing to find a new song to learn in two days, but I just ended up writing out my own "Animals on the Bus" song.  

It goes like this:

The fish on the bus swim round and roundX3
The fish on the bus swim round and round
All through the town.

The birds on the bus go flap, flap, flap…
The seals on the bus slide back and forth…
The giraffes on the bus stand tall and high…
The kangaroos on the bus all jump, jump, jump…
The wombats on the bus sit down on their bottoms…
The lions on the bus go swish with their tails…
The mice on the bus go run and hide…

The order of the animals is important.  I wanted everyone to sit on their bottoms so they could be ready to be pretend mice and scurry under the parachute.  I was certain I would need to encourage the little ones to run under the parachute at the end, but I was most pleasantly surprised. It was as if they had heard the song before. As soon as we got to the mice line, the adults, who had been looking at the screen and following the lyrics, lifted the parachute and all the little ones scurried underneath.  Both storytimes executed this perfectly. It was about as beautiful as life gets. Also, everyone enjoyed having the bean bags on the parachute. Thankfully, bean bags don't actually move a lot, so while the kids are always in suspense, the adults figure out pretty quickly that there's not going to be things bouncing around all over the place.

After our parachute success, we did the always-popular finger fiddle, and I had to wonder if part of the success is the joy I get from watching the parents help the kids choose the right fingers and do the exercise together.  But no matter - we all love the finger fiddle.  We then read a yoga book Zoo Zen.  Everyone loved it, especially the first storytime.  The parents helped their kids get into the poses, and my book stand allowed me do the poses along with the kids.  

We sang the hokey pokey, and then I squeezed in one more book at the very end.  Why the very end, you ask?  I recognize it's an awful time to read a book, but this was a goodbye book with flaps.  Everyone enjoyed guessing the animal behind the flaps.  The adults did a great job helping me introduce the trickier animals, and one child had a grand time shrieking the word, baboon every so often.

I thought that was about as good a storytime can get, but while I was eating lunch that day, a coworker told me I had a phone call.  A mom from my second storytime couldn't remember the name of the last book I read, and her daughter had been asking about it since they left storytime.  How cool is that?

It was one of the best storytimes yet! 

The Royal Highness and her Obnoxious Subjects

Josie (left) and Margo (right) have really been enjoying spring. We've even worn them out a couple times.

But not for long!  They're always ready for an adventure. Robert ducked inside a store on a recent walk, and when he came out a strange lady was taking our picture. So naturally, Robert felt left out and took a picture too.  Any time Ella goes out, people rush to say hi to her and give her love.  Often, they take a picture of her in the wagon.  One time, during a walk, a lady came running out of her house with her iPad to take a picture.  Ella is an inspiration!

Everyone enthusiastically participated and no one was trampled

Last week's storytimes were both pretty interesting for different reasons.  The first storytime was small and shy.  In the second storytime I had four caregivers and close to twenty kids (this was due to a small daycare showing up).

We sang our hello song and a different version of the ABCs. 

We did our quieting-down rhyme and read One Pup's Up.  Everyone appeared to like this book just fine in the first storytime.  Something hilarious happened, however, in the second storytime.  Before I read a book, I always ask everyone to scoot in close so they can see the pictures.  When I asked everyone to scoot in close during the second storytime, the twelve kids from daycare toddled toward me at lightning speed and latched onto my jeans with surprising ferocity.  I had just begun to squat down to my kneeling position, which is how I like to read during storytime.  I nearly toppled over but regained my balanced.  I normally don't tell toddlers they need to sit on their bottoms unless they're blocking someone's view, but I had no other choice.  Meanwhile, the caregiver singlehandedly plucked all twenty plus hands from my pants in about five seconds flat.  After storytime, while I watched them leave, I noticed that the double stroller that held the two smallest kids had ten hooks on it.  Every kid had a hook to grab onto and that's how they walked from one place to another.  For whatever reason, they had all decided to latch onto me like they did with the stroller.  I learned not to tell anyone to scoot in close for the next two books.  I used my hands to wave them in and then held them up to halt them when they got close enough.  It was a little like parking a noisy truck that could break itself into different pieces while it parked.  

I followed One Pup's Up with How Do Dinosaurs Choose Their Pets.  In the first storytime, while I was reaching around to pick up the book from the table, two shy boys who were at the back of the room were suddenly in front of me, on their bottoms, ready for the book.  They were clearly dinosaur fans and sat, with mouths agape, eyes wide, the whole way through the book.



In the first storytime I brought out the rhythm sticks and everyone had a great time.  My coworker tipped me off that there were only four adults in the second storytime but close to twenty kids, so I quietly hid the rhythm sticks and brought out the shaker eggs.  This was a good decision.  By the time we read two books, everyone was pretty wild in the second storytime.  There was more discussion about proper egg handling than anything else, but they had a good time and no one cried.  

I did the Finger Fiddle exercise to quiet everyone down before the last book, but I changed things up a bit and we made lion claws and took some deep breaths before tapping and counting our fingers.  

The first storytime enjoyed the last book, I Don't Want a Cool Cat, but the second storytime was pretty rowdy while we read it.  Everyone did like the huffy cat the best, so if toddlers voted, huffy, over-stuffy cats would be the most popular type of cat.  



We finished our Pets theme with the song, If You're a Pet and You Know It.  I know I found this song in a book but cannot remember the book.  This link has the exact words though if you're curious.

The hokey pokey was, rather bizarrely, the easiest and most enjoyable part of storytime.  Everyone enthusiastically participated and no one was trampled.  We sang our goodbyes, I stamped everyone's hands, and then I went and took a nap!

Snarky, Silly, The Skeptic, and Dopey

I have recently started walking one puppy at the same time I pull Ella in her wagon.  Walking Josie and Margo together is too much.  Currently one of their favorite things to do is gang up on me when I walk them together so I haven't done that in a few weeks.  However, trying to get three separate walks in on a work day can be pretty difficult, especially if I also have tennis.  Thankfully, when the puppies aren't together, they behave pretty well and know their commands.  Ella also doesn't mind sharing her wagon time and shoots me snarky looks whenever a puppy does something dumb. 

But I do appreciate a walking buddy, and it's especially great when the whole family gets out so that each dog has a human.  

Rachel was doing homework during this particular walk, which was a cold but peaceful walk.  I love this picture because everyone is wearing their most authentic face.  Ella's face is full of wisdom but you can see just a touch of her snark. She is also content and taking everything in. Robert's face is how I know it best - unabashedly silly and joyful.  Margo, with the pink leash, is alert, curious, skeptical, but ready for fun.  And Josie's face is sweet, uncertain, a little dopey, but good-natured.  She is also a little upset I left them to throw poopy away.  She likes to know where everyone is.

10 Years of Gratitude Journaling Part 4

This next gratitude journaling post is also from my second gratitude journal and looks boring at first glance (and the handwriting is borderline atrocious), but when you read it, you'll understand why it made my top 12 gratitude journaling moments.  

12/27/12

Yep, this was the moment when Robert gave me my very own Little Free Library, which I still have and is almost always packed with my favorite children's books.

GA and LE were work places.  R stands for Robert.  Even after Rachel came to live with us, I still write his name as 'R' and spell out her name.  BF is breakfast.  When I look back on journal entries, one of the easiest ways to tell life is particularly good (almost too good to even take notes), is by my hurried handwriting and a buttload of abbreviations. 

And yes, I sing in the bath, as I'm sure most people do, whether they admit it or not.  And Sam Hell is one of my family's favorite card games. 

March Favorite Books

I read a lot of so-so books in March, but there were a handful of gems.  Here they are!

Mother Earth and Her Children by Sibylle von Offers and illustrated by Sieglinde Schoen-Smith (Picture Book)

The illustrations are close-up pictures of an actual quilt! Sieglinde Schoen Smith's interpretation of Sibylle Von Olfers' fairy tale is beautiful, whimsical, and quite impressive.  I read it before reading the original, so it will be my favorite for that reason.  The original, however, is just as beautiful.

When Sadness is at Your Door by Eva Eland (Picture Book)

This book gives its readers a wonderful opportunity to talk about feelings and how important and healthy it is to acknowledge them. My favorite part happens when the author talks about different activities you can do while you're sad. We're all going to have glum days, but there's lots of things we can still do while we work through our sadness. And some of the things we do help can make it disappear or morph it into something beautiful.

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated Danielle Daniel (Picture Book)

Beautiful, unique illustrations, a positive message, and an interesting author's note make this book a winner for me.

Botanicum by Kathy Willis and illustrated by Katie Scott (Juvenile Nonfiction)

The illustrations in this book are so beautiful it's tough to look away. There are also lovely facts and descriptions about the different types of plants. Turkey-Tail Fungus is my new favorite thing.

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. series) by Jonathan Stroud (Juvenile Fiction)

Stroud's worldbuilding skills, and hilarious, atmospheric, and descriptive language made this a page-turner for me. I especially enjoyed how he described characters, all the intricacies of ghostbusting, and the places where the hauntings took place. Stroud definitely has that rare ability to create an alternate reality that feels just as real as the one we live in. It helps that A. I believe anything is possible, including ghosts. I also think if ghosts do exist, kids are way more likely to notice them. B. There may be a day when all our ghosts stage a revolt and/or become restless. And C. Stroud's done an incredible amount of work and research to build this world and make it believable. At the end, as I was reading about Lucy, George, and Lockwood descending the screaming staircase with all those monks screaming and raising hell, my husband came home from work, somehow snuck up on me, and put his hand on my shoulder. I nearly jumped through the roof. I may never recover. This is definitely an action-packed read with lots of terrifying ghosts and ghostbusting adventures. About 50 pages in I discovered the glossary in the back of the book, which lists the different types of ghosts, hauntings, materials used to banish ghosts, and all the terrible things the ghosts are capable of. I promptly memorized the glossary before continuing on with the book. I would highly recommend you read the glossary first so you aren't constantly needing to check it.