I had another great group of listeners for this week's storytimes. We read all three books in both storytimes and the kids were utterly engrossed in every book!
This week's theme was all about manners.
Books we read:
Bears on Chairs by Shirley Parenteau and David Walker
It's tough to pick a winner out of today's books. The kids were completely absorbed in each book. Bears on Chairs is a great rhyming/counting book in addition to being arguably my favorite picture book about problem solving and sharing.
The Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner
One word: PLORRINGE! Norris, Violet, and Petunia all have their eyes on a single plorridge. Who gets to eat it and why is Norris just patiently waiting underneath the plorringe tree? Not only does this book have a fun word to say, it's also a sneaky and beautiful way to talk about kindness and how it helps form friendships. While reading this, one of the little boys in my first storytime squealed with happiness when I said the plorringe was as soft as cotton candy. And when I said cotton candy again toward the end of the book the same little boy shouted it rapturously and giggled.
Yolen and Teague's Dinosaur series is always a hit during my storytimes, and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food was no exception. When I asked everyone in both storytimes if they wanted to sing a song or read another book they all chose this book. It was a great way to repeat the signs, 'Please' and 'Thank You.'
ASL signs: We've been signing manner signs the past few weeks so we did an overview today of Thank You, You're Welcome, Please, and Sorry. I think they're starting to learn Thank You, which I'll try to incorporate more in future storytimes.
Yoga/Meditation: I found these lovely yoga cards that are easy to see and understand. Unfortunately there have been a few duds in the pack. We tried to do a pose called 'the hill' today, and it was a bit of a flop. In the second storytime I did a meditation exercise with everyone instead, and it was a winner.
It's from one of my favorite books, Breathe Like a Bear and goes like this:
1-2-3 Clap!
Open your arms really wide.
Count 1 2 3.
And clap your hands one time.
Rub your hands together
and make some energy.
Put your hands on your belly. Take a long breath in,
and let it all out.
Repeat with heart
instead of belly.
Activities:
This week I changed things up and brought out the bean bags. No more parachute this season unless a kid requests it. Though the books were a bigger hit, the kids still enjoyed the bean bags.
We did various warm-up activities:
* What color/shape beanbag did you choose? (This was the favorite activity. One boy had the most adorable look of bewilderment on his face as he studied his square and tried to find the right word for what shape it was. His square was also yellow, which is, hands down, my favorite word to hear a toddler/preschooler say.)
* High then low
* Right hand then left hand
* Toss and catch (surprisingly difficult)
* Beanbag on your feet/knees/elbows/shoulders (elbows were tricky tricky)
* Beanbag on your head and spinning in a circle while balancing it on your head (they were instant pros at this)
Then we sang a song together, which has no name and is to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down:
Place your beanbag on your head, on your head, on your head
Place your beanbag on your head, on your head today
Place your beanbag on your elbow
Shake your beanbag ear to ear
Shake your beanbag foot to foot
Toss your beanbag hand to hand
Toss your bean bag in the basket
Tossing the beanbags in the basket worked so well. It was a nice reminder to find a way to incorporate putting away the beanbags/shaker eggs/musical instruments/scarves into the last song/activity we do.
Songs we sang:
Though we didn't sing a song at the end because dinosaurs trump songs, there were a couple songs that happened during storytime that were pretty great.
Each storytime I play a song on repeat for 5-10 minutes before storytime starts. This is a great time to share songs that don't necessarily lend themselves to storytimes very well but are still so much fun to sing or listen to. Occasionally after greeting everyone, I'll come into the room and the grown-ups and kids are singing or swaying to the music, so this will be something I continue doing in the future.
Today I shared an Ella Jenkins song I've always enjoyed. I just didn't realize how much I really really love it. I sang it again and again this morning as I set the room up, and by the time storytime came around, I decided to sing it with the first storytime. They didn't enjoy it as much as I did, but in their defense it was a change in routine and they really just wanted to get to the puppets who help sing the normal hello song. As soon as I put the puppet bag around my neck there was this look of relief on all of their faces.
But I think I found my hello song for the fall season. Personally I'm a little over the puppet hello song, and I think Ella Jenkins' song will be a masterpiece once everyone learns it.
We also sang the handwashing song, which everyone really enjoyed. I have a handful of fun things planned next week but may try to squeeze this in because of how much everyone enjoyed it and how quick it is to sing.
Cute moment of the day:
One kid asked me where the elephants were, and even though I was thinking, you mean the elephants that scarred me for life two weeks ago? Those elephants?? I told him that I would bring them next week. So next week's theme is now officially Owls & Elephants.
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