halloween week storytimes...

PLEASE NOTE: I have a backlog of storytime themes and activities from my first month on the job that I would like to document here; please pardon the dust as I try to catch up. :)


In addition to the special Spooky Storytime (K-4) we did this week, we had a Halloween theme in our regular storytimes (2-3, 4-K) as well.


Here's the Setlist*:


Song: 'Hello Song'Hello, everybody! So glad to see you...
Hello, everybody! So glad to see you.
Hello to _____, so glad to see you!
Hello to _____, so glad to see you!
I first heard this when I attended a Music Together class with some friends of mine and our children (of course). It's catchy and repetitive so parents and children learn it fast. Plus, it welcomes every child by name (we wear nametags) and we even welcome baby siblings, moms, dads, and grandparents when they're with us.


Welcome/Theme Intro
Many of my storytimers came in costume, so we had a little fashion show. For those who didn't come in costume, we gave them a chance to describe what they were wearing for Halloween and congratulated them on keeping it a big surprise! :) We talked about trick-or-treating (I had them pretend to ring a doorbell and I opened up an imaginary creaky door and they all yelled "Trick-or-treat!" and I threw out tons of imaginary candy... gigglefest ensued).


Wiggles
I usually have the kids do a stretch, but today we danced the 'Hooky Spooky'... I made my lyrics up using finger bones, funny bone (elbow), skull, tailbone (bottom), and whole skeleton, but I have also seen fun lyrics with an imaginary pumpkin head, witchy nails, zombie arms, and ghost-self. Instead of clapping after "That's what it's all about" (which can also be modified to "Then give a little shout"), we yelled "BOO!" - which was super fun. It was also a cardio workout for Mrs. D!


The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

I first heard this song at my son's preschool a few years back. The little old lady is on a walk through the woods back to her house when she hears something behind her. First it's two boots (CLOMP, CLOMP), then a pair of pants (wiggle, wiggle), then a shirt (shake, shake)... you get the idea. She tells them all she'd not afraid and comes up with a plan to help them fulfill their scary destiny. :)


Flannel: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat
This was also my first Flannel Friday submission!


Wiggles
This time, we did our stretch. :)
Can you wiggle your finger bones like this? (out in front of our bodies)
And can you wiggle your toes bones inside your shoes where no one can see? 
(they always look) :)
And can you wiggle your shoulders? How about your nose? What about your knees? 
(we look hilarious)
And can you keep wiggling like that in a circle?
Now, let's reach up HIGH... (high voice) and down LOW... (low voice) 
And let's tuck in our bottoms and sit right down... for another story.


The Halloweiner by Dav Pilkey
I used this one in the Spooky Storytime, too.


NAF**: Five Little Pumpkins
Mine are printed out from a template I found online. I cut them out, laminated them, and put velcro on the back.


Five little pumpkins, sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."  (hands on cheeks)
The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"  (pointing above us)
The third one said, "But we don't care!"  (crossing our arms)
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run!"  (pumping our arms)
The fifth one said, "Isn't Halloween fun?!"  (arms out, fingers extended)
Oooo-ooo (make an "O" shape with lips and blow) went the wind 
and (LOUD CLAP) out went the light...
And five little pumpkins rolled (roll fist over fist) out of sight. 


Craft: G-G-G-Ghosts!
Mrs. M came up with this one. We gave each child a piece of white paper, a black marker, scissors, and a length of orange or black yarn. They traced their hands (with fingers closed) and cut them out (with help). :) They then flipped that shape upside down and added a little ghost face. We came around with a hole punch and the kids threaded the yarn through and had a necklace or a decoration of their own - and parents had a little hand keepsake if they wanted. :)


Song: 'The More We Get Together'
I didn't realize that this is a Raffi song... I love the tune and the sentiment, and we sing it at the end of every storytime. I ask the kids to bring whatever craft we worked on to the carpet to share with the other kids and we use it as a prop for the song.


The more we get together, together, together...
The more we get together the happier we'll be.
'Cause your friends are my friends and
My friends are your friends and
The more we get together the happier we'll be. 


* I call my storytime plans "Setlists" because I actually carry a half sheet of paper into the Story Room with me to remind me what I'm doing. It's all keyword/notes, so that's what it looks like to me - a setlist. And, "setlist" cracks me up. We're rockstars! :D


** NAF= Not a Flannel; still something we do with the flannel board or the magnetic whiteboard, but not a flannel project. 

spooky storytime...

PLEASE NOTE: I have a backlog of storytime themes and activities from my first month on the job that I would like to document here; please pardon the dust as I try to catch up. :)

Spooky Storytime was a program planned before I accepted my current position, but since I had the privledge of working with another staff member (who does Books & Babies) to present it, I had no worries about it. Also, Halloween is easily my favorite holiday, so this storytime (and all the spooky fun that went with it) was right up my alley.

Here's the Setlist*:

Assortment of Halloween Riddles & Jokes**
(various paperback books)

Where do vampires buy their pencils?
Pencil-vania!

How do Mama ghosts keep their babies safe in the car?
They put them in their car sheets!




Where's My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi

This is one of my favorite Halloween-type stories for the preschool crowd. Little Baby Mummy plays a game of Hide and Shriek with his mom to forestall bedtime. As he goes through the deep, dark woods, swamp, cave, and graveyard, he encounters Bones, Glob, and Drac as they get ready for bed. While they warn him about the things that lurk in the night, he waves them off with an "I'm not scared!"... until he is!



The Boo Baby Girl Meets the Ghost of Mable's Gable by Jim May

I was completely unfamiliar with this book when Mrs. M said she was going to read it. It turns out that Mr. May is a local resident and friend of Mrs. M's! At first, I wasn't sure where this story was headed. It introduces the Boo Baby Girl and tells you that she attends the Pied Piper Preschool. Then it introduces Mable, a rich old woman who died in her home (with big, steep gables) long ago - with all her gold. Two big, tough, strong boys (8th graders) try to steal Mable's gold and fail when the ghost shows herself. So Boo Baby Girl takes a crack at it. The result is pretty hilarious and we all laughed outloud.

The 'Hooky Spooky'
It's the Hokey Pokey - but way more fun. Same tune, with a few fun changes:
You put your hand bones (I used this one for practice)/funny bone (elbow)/skull/tailbone (bottom)/whole skeleton in,
you put your ____ out,
you put your ____ in
and you *rattle* it all about.
You do the Hooky Spooky and you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about - BOO! (instead of clap)

The Walking Casket***
The text of the story is pretty silly... a walking casket contains a monster who turns his victims into mummies... until a chance encounter with a brave ghost who blows out the monster's candle at midnight. The thing is, casket, monster, victim, mummies, candle, midnight, and ghost are all trigger words for sounds in the story. I think we had more fun watching me trying to keep up with Mrs. M's reading (I was holding up clipart cue cards for the triggers)... but it was a good time.

The Little Orange House***

This was another interactive story, but this time, I was the reader. Every child got a half sheet of orange paper and a pair of scissors, just like the little witch in the story. She's trying to find a house for the winter when a piece of paper blows to her on the wind. Just like the witch, we fold the paper in half, cut off the top corners to make a roof, a special door with a point for the witch's hat, a window to let light in, and a small angled door for a lonely ghost the little witch meets. When we unfold the house, you see the secret inside. :)

The Halloweiner by Dav Pilkey

Another funny favorite of mine. Oscar is teased pretty mercilessly for his stature, but on Halloween night, it's the advantage that takes him from being a Weiner Dog to a Hero Sandwich. A few cute jokes went over the kids' heads and straight to their smiling parents.




Craft: Edible Spiders
The craft was really a treat. We used jumbo marshmallows for bodies and chow mein noodles for legs... then we did the grossly unthinkable and we ate them. :) We also had bat rings, finger puppets, and tattoos from Oriental Trading that we handed out.

It was a great night!

* I call my storytime plans "Setlists" because I actually carry a half sheet of paper into the Story Room with me to remind me what I'm doing. It's all keyword/notes, so that's what it looks like to me - a setlist. And, "setlist" cracks me up. We're rockstars! :D

** I had some reservations about jokes and riddles with a K-4 group, but those reservations just proved how new I am to the storytime game. The kids and parents ate them up with a spoon.


*** These stories were improvised from stories we'd heard about...