I complained a bit about how much I dislike St. Patrick's Day storytime... and my main complaint is basically, "How many leprechaun stories can I possibly read and STILL keep the interest of a group of children?" Well, this time around I decided to sorta half-sies the storytime - yes, I would read St. Patrick's Day/Irish/leprechaun stories... but I would also read plain ol' "green" stories, too - which gives me a lot more freedom in picking out stories! I just finished the drop-in and I was really happy with how it went!
Here's the (tweaked) setlist*:
'Hello, Everybody'
Welcome: As is my custom, I asked the kids if they had any guesses about what storytime was about today. The daycare group that comes once a month was in today and those kids are a little older, so the guessing went well. ;) I had five shamrocks up on the flannel board, so they guessed green right away... and when I asked what holiday was coming up this weekend, they got that one, too. I explained that St. Patrick's Day is a holiday when lots of people celebrate their Irish hertiage... so I asked what the kids knew about Ireland? No answers here, so I told them that Ireland was an island - and they told me that islands are in oceans and they have sand. :D I told them that Ireland is a very GREEN island, which is why the tiny creatures - called leprechauns - that we read about like to dress in green... so they can hide! When I asked what leprechauns were hiding, the kids knew the answer was gold - and I got my jumping off point for my leprechaun stories.
Wiggles
Lucky Leprechaun by Dawn Bentley
This is a sparkly board book, but I chose to start out with it because a) the illustrations are sweet and b) it's a pretty simple text for introducing/recalling the leprechaun concept. Lucky Leprechaun has a few more coins to add to his pot of gold... but he can't recall where he put it! Ultimately, it's right where you'd expect it to be... but half the fun is getting there.
Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute
I used this one in my Evening Storytime - it's a bit long and I changed some of the words as I read it ('spade' to 'shovel', 'boliauns' to 'weeds') but it turns out that is is an adaptation of a traditional Irish story called 'The Field of Boliauns' and so I am very happy to have shared it with my groups.
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I love love LOVE Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I just adore the way she thinks - and so did the kids in today's drop-in. While Little Pea is like those kids in so many ways, there is one big comical difference: it turns out that veggies eat CANDY for dinner. And Little Pea can't stand it! Lots of good chuckles here.
Lizette's Green Sock by Catharina Valckx
This story is translated from French really is a heartwarmer. I was really taken with the illustrations and I think the children enjoyed them, too. Lizette is out on a walk when she finds a beautiful green sock - and puts it on. It's not long before some mean boys (cats, really) point out that socks come in PAIRS... and Lizette sets out to find her match. There's a subtle humor in this story that had parents in the room smiling and chuckling, too - this one's a winner.
Song: "I'm a Little Leprechaun" (to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little leprechaun (gesture to self)
dressed in green (drag hands - palms up - down body)
Tiniest man that you've ever seen (hold thumb and forefinger "small" gesture in front of eye)
If you can catch me it is told (grasp air, trying to 'catch' something)
I will give you all my gold! (gesture to self, then extend hands, palm up)
Flannel: Five Little Shamrocks
(I used our shamrock Ellison die to make five felt shamrocks, which we 'planted' on the flannel board.)
Five little shamrocks growing outdoors,
If (child's name) picks one, now there are
Four little shamrocks as green as can be,
If (child's name) picks one, now there are
Three little shamrocks in the morning dew,
If (child's name) picks one, now there are
Two little shamrocks swaying in the sun,
If (child's name) picks one, now there is
One little shamrock for St. Patrick's Day fun,
If (child's name) picks it, now there are none!
We did this a few times so that every child had a chance to pick shamrocks (and plant them again). :)
Craft: Green Shamrock Crowns!
Our Spanish-language storytime presenter came up with for this storytime. It involved what is traditionally one of my craft-time no-no's (GLITTER), but you know what? It turned out great!
Each child got a 2-inch wide green strip. I asked them to glue the shamrock diecut in the center of the strip. Then, we decorated with glitter glue (gold was awesome), shamrock jewels (Oriental Trading), and markers.
The kids looked positively royal. :D
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