wearing o' the green...

Yup... it's another St. Patrick's Day storytime post. My last post was about the storytime I presented for the monthly Evening Storytime group... this one has been tweaked a bit for my weekly drop-in (more books, no craft) and 2-3/4-5 year-old groups.

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

what's making me happy today... first edition!

I thought it might be fun to document some of the things that make me happy here at work... in addition to the time I spend in the storytime room. :)

I was just going through some of the pictures I've been taking to update my posts so that they include actual PHOTOS of the crafts that I describe doing, and I came across this one...

We had a terrarium program here at the library not too long ago and in prepping for it, a co-worker and I became slightly obsessed with teeny, tiny gardens in containers. So I bought a jar and decorative rocks at IKEA and last weekend, I trekked out to the gardening center and got myself some pea gravel, charcoal, sphagnum moss, potting soil, little plants AND tiny terracotta pots! *squeee!*

I can't wait to make a fairy garden with my kids this summer. :)

And that's what's making me happy today... my desktop terrarium.

luck of the irish...

Last night was our monthly Evening Storytime and being that I won't see this group again until April, it seemed only fitting to make our theme St. Patrick's Day. Now, as my regular readers know, (wait... do I *have* regular readers - Hi, Mom!) I am new to the storytime game and this is my first go-round with holiday themes. I learned in February that Groundhog's Day books can be terribly long. In March, I am learning that St. Patrick's Day books can be just terrible. :)

Now, to be fair, I am a little bit biased when it comes to St. Patrick's Day. My mother is from Belfast and my father is from Derry, so I am an Irish girl through and through. As an Irish girl, I know that the Irish are not four leaf clover enthusiasts - our symbol is three-leafed shamrock, thank you very much - and I know that there is a lot more to our folklore than the cheeky leprechaun. So I get a little frustrated with offerings that don't go much beyond that.

That said, it's all in fun and fun is what storytime is about - so I read my leprechaun stories and presented my fairly detailed paper-piecing leprechaun craft and I think all went very well indeed.

Here's the setlist*:

'Hello Everybody'


Welcome: I asked what people knew about St. Patrick's Day and/or Ireland. My evening storytime has a wider variety of ages, so I get some pretty cool answers - it's about being Irish, people eat corned beef and cabbage (not this Irish girl!), leprechauns hide gold at the end of rainbows, Ireland is green, etc. etc. I shared that I am Irish and have visited Ireland just recently (over Christmas) and that the Irish tell wonderful stories about magic and fairies and (yes) leprechauns.

Wiggles

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun: An Old Irish Story by Linda Shute
I have to be honest and say that I did like this leprechaun story -- because Tom was caught in a way that didn't make him seem like a complete fool and the leprechaun was wearing something other than a green suit. :) Tom knows his leprechaun stuff - once you find one, you can't look away from them or they'll escape and leprechauns though tricky are true to their word. Tom is clever, but like most he is no match for a little man with a treasure to guard.

Song: 'The Hokey Pokey'
I shared with the group that the Irish love to dance. We formed a big circle and I talked a little bit about ceili dancing - which I guess could be likened to (and likely is the origin of) American square dancing. Since we didn't have time to learn to do either of those things, I told the kids we'd do a big group dance that we all know - the Hokey Pokey!

Looking for Leprechauns by Sheila Keenan
Twins Kevin and Devin live with their granny and are always up to mischief - which often includes making "monkey faces". When they hatch a plan to catch a leprechaun, they know that in order to get his gold, they'll have to make him laugh (which is news to me, but okay...) - putting their monkey-face making skills to the test.

Craft: Leprechaun Pots
Yep, I went the easy route. I did want to do something with shamrocks (we have the Ellison die, after all!), but the ideas I came up with were either too much like a craft we'd recently done (The Valentine's Day Hugs) or I was missing a crucial element (enough green pipe cleaners for Shamrock headbands). Instead, I came up with a fairly intense paper-piecing craft (7 paper pieces, googly eyes, a pompom, a gold coin, and a confetti "sticker") that the families really seemed to enjoy.

Wish I'd thought of that flag, too - but it's just a Picnik add-on. :)

The pot o' gold is a black pumpkin diecut with a strip of black glued across the top (I did that ahead of time) and the leprechaun is a gingerbread man. I made the signs with MS Publisher clipart and a free font from fontspace.com. We had the coins on hand from a previous Summer Reading Club and I used big Glue Dots to turn them into stickers. I also used Glue Dots for the pompom nose (most were smaller than this, but I was short on the ones that were more flesh colored) and the confetti shamrock (I wanted a shiny shamrock sticker, but I couldn't find any!).

Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley
I actually read this book after the craft - I wanted to have enough time to do the craft, but I didn't want to leave it at two books and one song. I decided to use this story as a way of explaining to the kids that the Irish identify with the shamrock more than the four-leaf clover (though in fairness, the shamrock is a clover). In this sweet and simple story, Bear is told that a four-leaf clover is lucky and he does his best to find one as other animals chime in with their thoughts (and appetites!). At the end of the story, I gave every child the  pièce de résistance of the evening's craft - the shamrock sticker. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

bird's the word...

Though there are still some drifts of snow where I am, today is a bright and breezy 60 degrees and I couldn't be happier. The sun is shining, the snow is melting, the birds are singing... and we're reading stories about birds!

Even though we take a week off between storytime sessions, I still found myself planning this one at the beginning of the week I am presenting it. That said, I know the theme of every subsequent week already - yay! And, I *really* like how this last-minute bird storytime came together - so I'm okay with it!

Here's the setlist*-

"Hello Everybody"

Welcome: I opened with the guessing game - and had to give a hint that the animals we are reading about have feathers. That pretty much gives it away! I asked what we already know about birds - and we knew that they fly, then build nests, they eat seeds and worms, the lay eggs... we know lots of things! I also mentioned that birds and I have something in common - we like to sing!

Wiggles

Sylvie by Jennifer Gordon Sattler
I know. I say it all the time but, PEOPLE. Sylvie is SO. CUTE! She's a little pink flamingo who wants to know why she and her family are pink, but the rest of the world is so many different colors. When she gets her answer, it starts her down the road to color adventure... and a tummyache. A great story for the little ones in the crowd because it moves quickly and has great pictures.

I'm Not Cute by Jonathan Allen
I had to borrow this one from another library, but I've heard good things and wanted to use it. It did not disappoint. Baby Owl is trying to stress to friends like Rabbit and Owl that he is NOT "cute", but is in fact a stealthy hunting machine... but he's trying to convince them of this as they are in the middle of hugging him and telling him how soft and cuddly he is. Mama understands, though - doesn't she?

Flying Lessons by Gilbert Ford
A group of doves (pigeons when you get right down to it) have been doing things the same way for time immemorial - same way of flying, same way to pass the time, same songs, same resting places. When a strange bird with no feathers decides to join them in their travels, the doves really have their feathers ruffled. As is usually the case, however, the strange bird is more than he seems and more than a friend to the rude doves when the time comes and they need him most. I can't say that I *love* this book, but it is definitely one worth sharing - especially for the airplane fans in the room.

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert
This is a fun, poetic story about a housecat who has a particular meal in mind - and it's *not* canned cat food. The purpose of this book is really to introduce common North American birds, but the text is sweet as well. I did take the time out the name all the breeds of birds that were featured but I think it disrupted the flow of the book.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
Ahhhh! This was my *favorite* book this week!! Rocket is spending his fall afternoon doing all the things he loves - and topping it off with a nap when a little yellow bird introduces herself as his teacher and starts reading the story of an unlucky dog named Buster who loses his favorite bone. She leaves Rocket (an initally unwilling student) with a cliffhanger that has him "begging" for more. Before he knows it, he is caught up in the "wonderous" alphabet and learning to read one letter at a time.

Song: 'Be Like a Bird' (to the tune of 'London Bridge')

Flap your wings and fly around,
fly around, fly around.
Flap your wings and fly around -
be like a bird.

Land on the ground and hop, hop, hop,
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop, hop.
Land on the ground and hop, hop, hop -
be like a bird.

Tuck your wings and peck your seed,
peck your seed, peck your seed,
Tuck your wings and peck your seed -
be like a bird.

Craft: Springtime Bird Ornaments
I found this bird ornament at Oriental Trading but didn't have time to order (as I am a last minute sorta gal). Instead, I substituted what I do have - a chick Ellison die, googly eyes, scrapbook paper, ribbon, buttons, and Glue-Dots - and made a pretty good knockoff version of the same thing. :)

monkey business...

I made it! I made it through my first six-week session of solo storytimes. I am super proud of myself for reading fun books, making cute crafts, and generally just enjoying the whole thing. :)

For this last week of the first session, we read stories about monkeys. I left the planning of this storytime to the last minute - I think I could have found even MORE monkey books if I'd devoted more time to it. That said, I really enjoyed the stories I shared and the kids did, too!

Here's the setlist*:

Hello, Everybody

Welcome: As usual, I asked the kids to guess what our stories were about. There were LOTS of monkey faces staring back at them from the book covers, so they guessed very quickly. :) I asked if they could tell me what kinds of things monkeys do (climb trees, swing on branches, make "oo-oo-ah-ah" noises, eat bananas)... and I told them that monkeys would be doing silly and naughty things in our stories. Exciting!

Wiggles

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
I am almost ashamed to say that I have never read this book before. Though it is a charming, funny story (especially to read outloud), I think the illustrations turned me off for quite a while. I should have given this book a chance a *lot* earlier because it is terrific. The peddler in the story sells caps - and he is different from other peddlers in that he keeps what he is selling on top of his head! It makes moving around (and taking a nap) a little more tricky... and the monkeys in the story don't help much. I loved that the kids didn't see the monkeys on the cover and were a little confused at first as to why we were reading *this* story... it came together very nicely!

Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car by Eileen Christelow
Ever heard of the five little monkeys who jumped on the bed? Well, they're back - washing up their old wreck of a car to get it ready to sell! When moving the car to a better selling spot lands the monkeys in the middle of a swampy, croc-infested lake, they need some quick thinking to get themselves and their car out of a jam!

Song: 'Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed'
Five little monkeys jumping on a bed... (make a bed with your palm and 'jump' your other hand as monkeys)
One fell out (hold up one finger, make an arch out of the 'bed')
and bumped his head! (make a fist and bonk the side of your head)
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, (make a call on your thumb and pinkie)
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" (wag your forefinger)

Four...
Three...
Two...
One...

After the doctor's last "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!", I said, "Which was good, because there weren't any left." :)

NAF (Not a Flannel): Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
My Dear Zoo set is made from a pattern I mentioned in my Boxes storytime post. Yup, I used it again. How could I not? It's SO CUTE and it has a monkey! :D

Where's My Mom? by Julia Donaldson
Love love LOVE this silly book. Little Monkey has lost his mom! He is somewhat reassured when Butterfly offers to help find her. Little Monkey is quickly discouraged, though, when his descriptions of his mom (she's bigger than him, she's got a tail she coils around trees, she's got fur) bring him to all sorts of animals (an elephant, a snake, a bat) who are certainly *not* his mom! Will he ever find her - and what is going on with Butterfly? The answers are sweet and fun!

Craft: Make a Monkey!  (PICTURE COMING SOON!)
Mrs. M, our Babies and Books storyteller, came to the rescue on this one by delivering a simple craft with a big cute factor. Using 8 circle shapes, a football shape, and a curvy "s" shape - plus googly eyes of course! - we made our very own monkeys! We mounted them on yellow paper because - ya know... monkeys love bananas!

would you be mine? could you be mine? valentine's day...

Ah... love is in the air in the storytime room - it's Valentine's Day!

This week, in addition to the four weekday storytimes I do, I also had one of my monthly evening storytimes. I ended up singing two of my books (you'll see!) and struggling a bit with the craft, but I think it all came together in the end.

Here's the setlist*:

'Hello, Everybody'

Wiggles

Welcome: I usually ask the kids to guess what the week's stories are about, but I think they're on to me and remembering what I am telling them the week before. :) I also changed the mittens hanging on our storytime tree into hearts - that might have been a good clue for some. I asked what Valentine's Day is about and the most frequent answers were "hearts" and "love". We talked about the people we love (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, sisters, brothers, friends, pets) and what we do on Valentine's Day to show them we love them (give them Valentine's cards, candy, flowers, hugs, and kisses).

Love, Splat by Rob Scotton
Splat is an awesomely neurotic cat. In this story, he's in serious like with a green-eyed kitten named... Kitten. He's made her a special valentine, but he is struggling with how she makes him feel, especially when "she pulls his ears, pokes his belly, ties his tail and calls him 'smelly' and then runs away"! And when Spike declares his like for Kitten, too, will Splat be able to share his feelings?

The Ballad of Valentine by Alison Jackson
Best thing about this book? You *have* to sing it. Set to the tune of "My Darling Clementine", it is impossible not to sing about how our hero has tried forty different ways to share his feelings for Valentine - all of which have failed. Mailman? Couldn't find the address. Homing pigeon? Dropped the message in Madagascar. Railroad car? Derailed. Smoke signal? Lost in a cyclone. My favorite lost Valentine involves a plane and wind that blow away letters, leaving just "my _al_n_ine".

Skidamarink by G. Brian Karas
I have to admit, I always thought it was Skinnamarink... but Skidamarink lends it self nicely to this adorable flap picture book of two friends - a polar bear and a penguin - slipping, sliding, and SKIDDING around a makeshift glacial RINK. :) You have to sing this one, too, but it's a great way to introduce kids to this song and all the moves that go with it!

Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink (hold right elbow in left hand and wave right hand)
Skidamarkink-a-do. (hold left elbow in right hand and wave left hand)
I (point to eye)
Love (cross arms over chest)
You (point to a you!)...

Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink (hold right elbow in left hand and wave right hand)
Skidamarkink-a-do. (hold left elbow in right hand and wave left hand)
I (point to eye)
Love (cross arms over chest)
You (point to a you!)...

I love you in the morning (interlock fingers and swing arms low)
and in the afternoon. (interlock fingers and swing arms at waist height)
I love you in the evening (interlock fingers and swing arms over head)
and underneath the moon!

Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink (hold right elbow in left hand and wave right hand)
Skidamarkink-a-do. (hold left elbow in right hand and wave left hand)
I (point to eye)
Love (cross arms over chest)
You (point to a you!)!

Valentine Surprise by Corinne Demas
This book is all about the illustrations for me. Lily wants to make Mommy a special Valentine, but the handmade hearts are just not coming out right. What happens when Lily runs out of paper? How can she make the perfect Valentine now?

Craft: Valentine Bracelets/"Hug"

I had to make two crafts this week because my monthly evening storytime had rolled around and sometimes my daytime kids are repeats in the evening session. I can't necessarily read a whole new set of books (though I do try to mix it up), but I can nake sure the craft is different. ;)

For the daytime kids, I gave each one a white pipecleaner and 12 beads - red, white, pink, and purple. They also got to choose a heart bead of any color and told them that to get it in the center, they'd have to count six beads, add the heart, and then add six more beads. Some did this diligently; others did what they liked, which is always okay with me. It was fun to watch the littlest ones work on their fine motor skills - and they all seemed to like the finished product (yes, boys liked pink/purple bracelets)!

For the evening storytime, I struggled to come up with something that incorporated the two heart diecuts we own. After surfing Google images for while, I came up with something that's kind of a combo of things I saw - I call him the "Hug". :)

I took the wider heart shape, diecut it in pink and used it for the head. I used the taller heart shape (cut in red) and made a body. Then I accordion folded strips of black paper for the arms and cut out small hearts from scrapbook paper for hands. I used a red pom-pom for a nose, googly eyes (of course) and a black marker smile. We glued the whole thing onto a popsicle stick (thanks for the suggestion, Virgy!) and voila! Hugs. :D

Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!!

friends, friends, friends...

Let me begin this post by saying either this storytime needs a LOT of work or I was having a *seriously* off day, but storytime was not a big success for me today. I was kind of excited about the theme - friends - because it left me open to all kinds of stories, but the kids didn't really seem to get into it and many of them even seemed distracted. :(

For what it's worth, here's the setlist:

'Hello Everybody'

Welcome: I asked the kids to guess what this week's theme was (which was hard to do!) and then gave them a hint - what do we call two people who play together and have fun? FRIENDS! I asked them what they do with their friends (play games, sing, dance, play sports, read, etc.) and told them that today's stories were all about friends - the good, the bad, and the funny.

Wiggles

Your Pal Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
Mo Willems rarely disappoints and this book is no exception. "Leonardo was a terrible monster." But not the way you'd think. Leonardo is terrible at being a monster. All he needs is one chance to "scare the tuna salad out of somebody" and he knows his reputation would be saved. After some research, he finds who he thinks is the most scaredy cat kid in the whole world... and Leonardo has to make a big decision.

This is a nice, big book which makes it easy to share, but the illustrations have some subtly to them that gets lost when children aren't seated close enough to spend some time viewing them. Overall, though, this is a great story to share as empathy is a skill that we must learn.

Blue Chameleon by Emily Gravett
I might have forced this one because I just love it SO MUCH. Chameleon is doing all he can to find himself a friend and end his loneliness. Now, we all know that chameleons can change their color, but this Chameleon bends over backwards to fit in with his desired "friends"! The text is minimal, so the charm is really in the pictures (and some of Chameleon's own dialog, which includes asking a sock on a clothesline if they could "hang out") but I did try to make the story a little more interactive by asking the kids if Chameleon could really be friends with some of the sillier objects.

Let's Do Nothing! by Tony Fucile
I used this book with my 4-K group as I was pretty sure it would be over the 2-3 year old's heads. Frankie and Sid have done everything - played every game, baked enough cookies to "feed a small country", etc. - so there's nothing left to do... but nothing. Which is a lot harder than it sounds.

I got some serious giggles from some of the harder-to-crack storytime nuts. :)

Song: 'Skidamarink' (reprisal from last week) & 'If You're Friendly & You Know It"

A Girl and Her Gator by Sean Bryan
As a huge fan as A Bear and His Boy, which we read earlier this session, you can imagine my delight in finding A Girl and Her Gator. A girl wakes up with a gator on top of her head. All the lines rhyme with "there", so our girl is Claire and our gator is Pierre - who reassures Claire that a girl can do anything with a gator up there. And concerns about whispering, gossiping friends are put to rest when Claire has the courage to embrace her new headpiece.

I'm the Best! by Lucy Cousins
If the cover doesn't get you, the story certainly will. Dog has great friends - Donkey, Goose, Mole, and Ladybug - but he needs you to know that he wins at everything he tries, so he is the best! His friends are hurt by Dog's boastful ways and (surprisingly) it doesn't take long for Dog to realize that he isn't the *best*... or is he?

The bright and cheery illustrations are real attention grabbers and the kids in both groups really loved this one.

Craft: "My name is ____ and I am a good friend" Portraits
I definitely came up short in the craft department this week. I didn't plan far enough ahead because if I HAD, I would have tried to borrow a handprint diecut from a neighboring library to use to make a friendship wreath.

Instead, I wrote out the sentence above and drew a head with ears, a neck, and the top of a shirt. Then I had the kids (who could) write their names and add hair and features to do a self-portrait.