Last week a coworker, Octavia and I did a family storytime together and it was so much fun!
We picked out a few favorite books, our favorite songs and fingerplays, and decided bubbles was a great way to go due to having a storytime in our large meeting room (sadly, we don't have 50 shaker eggs). We also did back-to-back storytimes so we could give everyone a chance to come. Our first storytime was almost full and our second storytime was full.
Here's what happened:
Storytime Rules (sneakily worded as "Welcome to Storytime")
Because this was a one-time special storytime I decided to try out my new list of helpful tips. I compiled and tweaked these tips throughout the spring and was planning on rolling them out in the fall. But I thought this summer storytime may be a good time to see how receptive the grown-ups were to the tips. Prior to this summer I haven't included anything about phones, and I've only had a few issues. However, in other storytimes in our system there have been issues, so I thought it would be wise to include phone rules in the hopes that I can nip it in the bud before it becomes an issue. It definitely wasn't an issue during last week's storytimes!
Here they are:
- Please keep your phones tucked away.
- Please don't take pictures or record videos (at the request of other parents who don't want pictures/videos of their kids on the internet).
- Help your child with the actions and songs.
- Lyrics for songs and fingerplays will be on the screen.
- Repeat the songs and rhymes you like at home – repetition is key!
- If your child needs a break, feel free to leave the room at any time.
A few words of wisdom from Love the Fur You're In read by Octavia
Hello Song (Octavia's hello song from the spring)
If You want to hear a Story
Tune: If You're Happy
and You Know it
if you want to hear a story
clap your hands
if you want to hear a story
clap your hands
if you want to hear a story
And you really want to show it
if you want to hear a story
clap your hands
Stomp
Shout hooray
Do all three
Quieting Down Fingerplay - Finger Fiddle (from my spring storytime)
This fingerplay is a magical amazing thing. The noise level plummeted in both storytimes while children and grown-ups took lion breaths and counted fingers. I was astounded it worked as well for these summer storytimes as it did for the spring, because we had twice as many kids.
Take a few deep breaths in
and roar like a lion when you breathe out
Press the fingertips of both hands together
in front of your chest
Tap your thumbs together five times
Pointer
Middle
Ring
Pinkie
Shake out your hands and wiggle your fingers
Book - I Want to Be in a Scary Story by Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien
This was SUCH A HIT. It's a great book for a two-person storytime. I was the voice of the narrator and Octavia was the voice of the purple monster. She did such a wonderful job with her inflections.
Book - Book O' Masks by Donald Lemke and Bob Lentz
It's one of those books that you hold up to your face as you read it. It would be tough for one person to read unless they memorized the text. So Octavia wore the book and I read it, and holy moly the kids went bonkers. Each page is a different mask with a rhyme to go with it and something the person wearing the mask would say. For example, for the pilot mask, the person wearing the mask shouts "enemy on the right." Octavia and I came up with the idea to shout the line and then ask everyone to count to three and then say it all together. The whole setup went so well. Everyone was engaged - shouting out their guesses and then counting with me.
Song + Bubbles - Tiny Tim (a song I do in lots of storytimes due to its popularity)
While we sang this song and the next one, Octavia walked through the crowd with a bubble machine.
I have a little turtle.
His name is Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub
to see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
And now he's sick in bed with bubbles in his throat!
Bubble bubble bubble
Bubble bubble pop!
Bubble bubble bubble
Bubble bubble pop!
Song + Bubbles - Ten Little Bubbles sung by Sara Hickman (another enormously popular song from my spring and fall storytimes)
One little, two little, three little bubbles.
Four little, five little, six little bubbles.
Seven little, eight little, nine little bubbles.
Ten little bubbles go pop pop pop.
Quieting Down Fingerplay chosen by Octavia
Jump like a frog, stretch like a cat
Hop like bunny, flap like a bat
wiggle like a worm,
slither like a snake
Be a wet dog
and shake shake shake
Turn around and take a seat
Book - from 1 to 10 by Mies Van Hout
I read the book and Octavia did the motions of the animals and helped the kids guess the animals. The first storytime was too excited after bubbles to get into this fun counting book, but the second storytime enjoyed it.
Song - The Itsy Bitsy Spider sung by Laurie Berkner (this is always a hit at my storytimes)
The Bunny Hokey Pokey chosen by Octavia
I tried to participate in this but I felt more like a robot bunny that was low on batteries. Everyone enjoyed being bunnies though and had no problem leaving me behind when it came time to turn ourselves around and it took me thirty seconds to slowly rotate without falling over. When it came time to put our tails in I very creakily teetered for a moment and decided that I must be a bunny without a tail.
Goodbye Rhyme
Octavia did this super fun rhyme for her storytimes last year and it was a hit this summer, just like it always is. It looks something like this, and the kids had a great time guessing the animals.
Less than two months to go until fall storytimes begin!
No comments:
Post a Comment