Beach Party Storytime!

Oh, winter, is it over yet? Nope. The wonderful thing about books is that they can take you anywhere! Yay! Let's go to the beach!

The Books

 Senses at the Seashore / Shelley Rotner
This will give us an idea of what the beach looks, smells, sounds, feels and tastes like.

Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey / Mini Grey
What fun! And one of the characters is named after me:  the fully posable Beach-Time Brenda!

Harry by the Sea / Gene Zion
An oldie but a goodie, my oldest two children (now in their mid-thirties) loved the Harry books and this one was a special favorite. I confess I did the unthinkable: I left out the word "fat" when reading about how Harry walked in lady's shadow.

Sand Castle / Brenda Shannon Yee
There is nothing particularly creative or wonderful about this book or its illustrations except...it just showed a typical time at the beach, and I really wanted to show my Iowa kids what that looked like. No sea monsters, no superheros, no goofy dialogue, just kids playing in the sand with the water nearby. Also, this is a beach at a lake, which may be more familiar to some of our midwestern kids.

More Books about the Beach: 
Sally and the Limpet / Simon James
Stella, Star of the Sea / Marie-Louise Gay
Seven Little Mice Go to the Beach / Haruo Yamashita
Sally Goes to the Beach / Stephen Huneck
On the Seashore / Anna Milbourne
Out of the Ocean / Debra Frasier
Curious George Goes to the Beach / (Rey)
D. W. All Wet / Marc Brown

The Stretches

For Flannel Board Possibilities click here.

Action Song: Baby Shark
 - There are many versions of this hilarious song - just check them out on YouTube and get ready to smile. I actually learned this song from one of my Sunday School kids, who had learned it at church camp. It's one of our favorite songs.

Baby Shark do do  do do dah do
Baby Shark do do do do dah do
Baby Shark do do do do dah do
Baby Shark!

Repeat with Mama Shark, Daddy Shark, Grampa Shark, I went swimming, Saw a shark, Swam faster,
Lifeguard running, Saved my Life

This looks long, but the song goes pretty fast, in the following two videos you will see that the song is completed in 1 min. and 36 seconds.

Click here for video with lyrics and tune.

Click here for video of same version with arm motions.

Cold Water Pokey
I am a Hokey Pokey girl and I use a variety of Pokey songs throughout the year including a Halloween Monster Pokey and a Christmas Reindeer Pokey. Here's the beach or pool version: 

You dip your toe in
You dip your toe out
You dip your toe in
and you jump and scream and shout!  (shout: It's so cold!)
You do the Cold Water Pokey
And you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about!  (clap! clap!)

Then do as many body parts as you want. I used toes, waist, shoulders, head, and whole self.) 

After the Stories
Because this was a "Beach Party" I had more than just a craft. I filled a wading pool with playground sand and tossed in some plastic cups so kids could build sand castles. I brought out beach balls (buy them by the dozen from Oriental Trading),  a snack cabana with fruity ice pops (left over from a summer program), and I had many sea shells scattered along the edges of the room so kids could collect them. Each child could take 1 sea shell home. My shells were donated from a patron who spends her winters at Sanibel Island in Florida, but you can buy real sea shells from Oriental Trading as well.

For our craft we made Jelly Fish out of Bubble Wrap and pieces of ribbons. Easy and cute.

We had such a good time at our Beach Party on a snowy, snowy day in Iowa.

The storytime setting.

I am lucky enough to have the jaws of a bull shark.(Thank you to my son Andrew, who has never asked for this after he left home!) Only adults may handle as the teeth are razor sharp! It is fascinating to see the many rows of extra teeth.

A generous patron gave us a huge jar of shells she had gathered at Sanibel Island. I scattered these around the story room so the kids could do some beachcombing after the stories. Each child picked out one shell to take home.

Starfish are also worth examining.

Kids sat on beach towels for the storytime.

Building sand castles was a popular activity!

We made jelly fish out of bubble wrap and ribbon scraps.

Cute!

One of the best purchases we ever made was a dozen beach balls from Oriental Trading. We gave most of them away as summer prizes, but kept a few for storytimes. They are crazy popular among the wee folks. We bring them out regularly after our baby storytimes. They are light, so they don't hurt the building or people.

Another generous patron donated this little lemonade stand/grocery store. I took off the vinyl awning and replaced it with some shredded cardboard packaging to make it look like a tiki hut. Then I stashed an ice chest full of popsicles behind it so everyone could have a sweet treat.

A good time was had by all!












 

Flannel Friday Beach Party

I created 3 felt board sets to go along with my Beach Party Storytime. I will use just one, Five Little Sandcastles, and save the other two for another time.

Five Little Sandcastles

Five little sandcastles built by the shore,

Along came a wave and WHOOSH!

there were four. 

Four little sandcastles built by you and me,

Along came a wave and WHOOSH!

there were three. 

Three little sandcastles built by me and you,

Along came a wave and WHOOSH! 

there were two. 

Two little sandcastles built in the sun,

Along came a wave and WHOOSH!

there was one. 

One little sandcastle built just for fun,

Along came a wave and WHOOSH! 

there were none. 

I believe I first found this rhyme at read1more.wordpress.com, but I've seen it on many other sites. I don't know the original author. 

I used sandpaper for my sandcastles. My artistic daughter designed them and cut them out for me. I discovered that if I used double-stick tape and attached scraps of sandpaper on the backs of the sand castles, that it worked just as well as velcro and better than flannel or felt. Very cool!

When reciting the rhyme I will use a blue scarf as the wave and swoosh it across the board to remove the castle. You could also pick a child or five children to take away a castle. 

I almost always leave my felt board set up after the storytime so children can play with the pieces.

Five Little Seashells

Five little seashells lying on the shore,

Swish! went the waves

and then there were four.

Four little seashells pretty as can be,

Swish! went the waves 

and then there were three. 

Three little seashells all pearly new,

Swish! went the waves

and then there were two.

Two little seashells lying in the sun,

Swish went the waves

and then there was one. 

One little seashell lying all alone,

I picked it up

and I took it home!

Apparently this is a traditional rhyme and you can find it in many places. I discovered it on Songs for Teaching: http://www.songsforteaching.com/hughhanley/5littleseashells.htm. 

I made my seashell set using photographs of real shells, laminated. I also made an identical little set for use on a felt storytelling glove. You could use real shells set on a lap board, or the floor if you have a small group. Wouldn't that be fun?

Five Cranky Crabs

Five cranky crabs were digging on the shore,

one swam into a net and then there were four. 

Four cranky crabs were floating in the sea,

one got tangled up in seaweed, then there were three. 

Three cranky crabs were wondering what to do,

one dug a deep, deep hole, then there were two. 

Two cranky crabs were warming in the sun,

one got scooped up in a cup, then there was one. 

One cranky crab was smarter than his friends,

he hid between the jagged rocks, that's how this story ends.

This is another rhyme that can be easily found with a keyword search. I found this version at preschooleducation.com

Holiday Grandparent / Grandchild Storytime

A Grand Family Storytime

Over the years I've noticed that many extended families come into the library the day after a major holiday, and often they ask me, "do you have a storytime today?" Um, well, no, we don't. 

This year I decided to offer storytime on December 26, for visiting grandparents and grandchildren. I'm calling it a Grand Family Storytime.

The books I chose to read: 

In the Rain with Baby Duck / Amy Hest
   The Grandfather in this story is wise and compassionate and understanding, and Baby Duck is fussy and funny. Kids can pat their knees with their hands to make the rain sound effects. Baby Duck's song can be sung with great heaving sobs and sniffs.

Full, Full, Full of Love / Trish Cooke
   This is a very sweet story of a Sunday afternoon with Grandma. Illustrator Paul Howard does a beautiful job with the artwork, the pictures are warm and inviting. I want to have Sunday dinner with this family too! Each page spread ends with some sound effects or actions which you could act out with the children. Example "splash, splish, wiggle, wiggle"  - clap twice and wiggle.

Whose Mouse Are You / Robert Kraus
    I love this story. Mouse is all alone - his family members are scattered, and some are in grave danger. Mouse has to save his family and bring them all together again. The pictures and text are simple, touching, and sometimes amusing. The mouse family does not mention grandparents, but I couldn't resist including this book because it is all about family love and belonging. I think I will have the kids and adults help me out with adding another verse about grandmother and grandfather and make up a "page" of pictures using a felt board.

Sleepytime Rhyme / Remy Charlip
   This is my go-to book for Valentine's Day, storytimes about family, babies, love, sleep/bedtime, and bodies. Remy Charlip's free form art features a baby and a woman, she could be a grandmother, and his text uses the word "grand" twice, so it's just perfect for my Grand Family Storytime.  If you wanted to integrate some actions into the story, ask  the families to snuggle up and have adults gently touch their children: " I love your hands, your teeth, your nose, your ankles, feet, and all ten toes." This is the last book in the storytime, a nice ending with a cuddle and lots of smiles. 

Songs and Stretches

If you search through books or online for action rhymes about grandparents you are sure to find the one that begins: Here are Grandma's glasses. Cool, right? Plus the second verse is about Grandpa. Unfortunately, the ending is really lame, with Grandma putting her hands in her lap, and Grandpa folding his arms. Boring Grandma and Grandpa. I tweaked both rhymes. Here is my version, which I hope you will use, because it is so much cuddlier! 

Grandma's Glasses / Grandpa's Glasses

Here are Grandma's glasses (circle fingers around eyes)

Here is Grandma's cap (cover head with hands)

And here's the way she wraps her arms

around me in her lap!  (hug self)

Here are Grandpa's glasses

Here is Grandpa's hat

And here's the way he folds his arms

around me just like that!

Here's a variation of "Johnny Pounds With One Hammer"  that you can use for any member of the family, and you can change the tools too. This is one of those cumulative rhymes - each verse adds another action using another body part - the actions here are simple compared to My Aunt Came Back, but still tons of funs for kids and grown ups alike. For a good example of how to do the hammer rhyme, check out this you tube video posted by the King County Library System.

Grandpa Pounds with One Hammer

Grandpa pounds with one hammer

one hammer, one hammer,

Grandpa pounds with one hammer

Then he pounds with two. 

2 hammers - 3 hammers - 4 hammers - 5 hammers - then he goes to sleep!

Grandma's Little Baby / Grandpa's Little Baby

My mother used to sing me Short'nin Bread when I was really little, and when I had children of my own, I continued the tradition. They loved clapping along with the tune. 

I was really pleased to find a new version about Papa's Little Baby. 

For this storytime of course, I used Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma's little baby loves
Short'nin', short'nin',
Grandma's little baby loves
Short'nin' bread,
Grandma's little baby loves
Short'nin', short'nin',
Grandma's little baby loves
Short'nin' bread.

 Put on the skillet,
Slip on the lid,
Grandma's gonna make
A little short'nin' bread.
That ain't all
She's gonna do,
Grandma's gonna make
A little coffee, too.  (repeat verse 1)

For Grandpa's version, get up and dance!

Grandpa's little baby loves

dancing, dancing,

Grandpa's little baby loves to 

dance round.

Grandpa's little baby loves

dancing, dancing,

Grandpa's little baby loves

to boogie on down. 

Lean to the left

Lean to the right

Hug that child 

nice and tight

Lean to the left 

Lean to the right

Hug that child 

nice and tight!  (repeat verse1)

The last song we sing is Skidamarink (aka Skinnamarink).  If you're not familiar with the tune or actions, watch this.

Skidamarink

Skidamarink a dink a dink

Skidamarink a doo

I love you!

Skidamarink a dink a dink

Skidamarink a doo

I love you!

I love you in the morning

and in the afternoon

I love you in the evening

and underneath the moon.

Skidamarink a dink a dink

Skidarmarink a doo

I love you!

(You can add a few little personal flourishes at the end, like Sharon, Lois & Bram did in the video!Very cute to end with a Boop Boop a Doop) 

Make and Take or Snack Time

I often have a craft for kids to do after storytime, but for this one, I think we might have a snack of short'nin' bread!

***************************

More Good Books about Grandparents

Please add your favorite rhymes, books, or links in the comments. 

Vera's Baby Sister  / Vera Rosenberry  - Vera is jealous of her new baby sister, so Grandfather dreams up a plan to keep Vera busy and happy, constructing her own green bean teepee. After reading this story I was inspired to build my own green bean teepee, but the bunnies ate all the little seedlings. Next year my teepee will have a fence. : /


Grandmother and I,   and  Grandfather and I, both by Helen E. Buckley - Both books are told from the point of view of a grandchild, about why Grandmothers and Grandfathers are so important. 

Our Granny / Margaret Wild - I love that the author's name is wild, because this book is wildly hilarious. It's about all the different kinds of grannies, fancy grannies, comfy grannies, swimming grannies, working grannies and more, all delightfully illustrated. This book makes me smile. 

So Much / Trish Cooke  - another book about family love - this one is about how each person in the family has a unique way of showing love to the baby. Lots of fun action in this story.

"More More More," said the Baby : three love stories / Vera B. Williams - three little stories about a daddy, a grandma, and a mommy and the babies they each love. Lively illustrations match the lively text, a fun book to read. 

Bread Baking Storytime

November 17 is National Homemade Bread Day. To celebrate we presented a Bread Baking Storytime

Because we don't have an oven at our library, I baked bread in a slow cooker, which is really easy: just line the bottom of the pot with parchment paper and put in your risen bread dough. A full loaf will take 3-4 hours. I used the "high" setting, and the bread was overcooked on one side of the bottom. A "low" setting might do a nicer job of baking.

By the time the families arrived for the story time, the room was filled with the aroma of baking bread.

After the story time the kids got to mix up their own batch of bread dough in a zipper bag. I found perfect instructions at Something Edible. Many thanks to the owner of the blog, Beau Dealy  for his inspired recipe instructions.

For the story time I started with a great non-fiction book Bread Comes to Life, by George Levenson. Photographs and simple text explain the creation of bread from planting the seed to baking the dough.

I followed that with the familiar folktale of the The Little Red Hen. We have several versions of this in the library, I used Byron Barton's book because I really like his simple, straightforward illustrations.

I ended the story time by telling the story of The Gingerbread Man. We have several versions of this tale also, but none of them felt right to me. I was looking for the book I had owned when I was a child, with the chant,
                         "Run, run, as fast as you can,
                          you can't catch me,
                         I'm the gingerbread man.
                         I ran away from the little old woman,
                         I ran away from the little old man,
                         and I can run away from you,
                         I can, I can, I can!"

So I decided to tell the story, only I added a twist - yoga poses. For each character and some scenes, the kids and I adopted a yoga posture.This was a lot of fun, and really engaged the kids in the story. Many thanks to Dana Robinson of Sweet Feet Yoga for her yoga storytelling class at ILA this year, and to Sydney Solis for her great book, Storytime Yoga. Here are the poses I used for the story.

Airplanes

Good Books

Amelia's Fantastic Flight / Rose Bursik 
     Amelia wants to fly, so she builds a plane, and takes off around the world. Very simple text, beautiful illustrations, and maps so kids can see where Amelia flies. 

The Ugly Truckling / David Gordon

     A fractured fairytale, very sweet, with darling illustrations, about an airplane "born" into a family of trucks. This is a fun story to read. (Print Motivation!)

Plane Song / Diane Siebert/ illustrations by Vincent Nasta
    The text for this book is a poem describing a variety of airplanes, from small private planes to airlines and military jets. I really like the way this poem flows. Kids who like machines will be fascinated by all the different planes illustrated in Vincent Nasta's outstanding oil paintings.  (Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness)

First Flight / David McPhail
     I love this story told from the point of view of a small child going on a first plane trip. The child explains to a teddy bear each part of the experience, buckling up, using the restroom, turbulence, and more. (Airport and airport signs - Print Motivation)

Between Story Stretches

Action Rhyme: Airplane

The airplane has great big wings                                      (stretch arms out)
The propeller spins around and sings                               (spin one arm)
Vrroooom! The airplane goes up!                                    (tilt head up and rise up on toes)
Vrroooom! The airplane goes down!                               (lean over)
The airplane circles round and round.                              (lean to one side, lean to other side)
The airplane waves and flies                                            (waggle wings)
around our town.


Action Song:  My Little Red Airplane (tune: Bumping up and down in my little red wagon)

Props - I use a felt board and pictures of various tools, hammer, screwdriver, wrench, etc. Plus, I add a few odd pictures, a banana, a hat, a kitten, etc. Hand pics out to kids, and have them come up and put pictures on felt board during their turn.
       Or, you could also bring a tool box filled with tools and other items. 
       If you have a small group, you could pick kids to come up to the toolbox and select an item. 

Flying up and down in my little red airplane (3x)
  Won't you be my darlin'?

Oh, no!!

One wheel's off and a wing is broken (3x)
    Won't you be my darlin'?

____________'s gonna fix it with her/his ______________  (3x)
    Won't you be my darlin'?

Repeat last verse till about 5 kids have had chance to fix the airplane.
Then repeat first verse.

Felt Board Song: Airplane, Airplane
   I wrote new words for the tune of Freight Train, by Libba Cotten. There are several videos on You Tube if you need the tune.
  For the felt board pictures I just copied pictures of a jet airliner, some mountains, and the ocean (not beach).

I sing this 3x - first so the kids can hear it, the second time so they can sing along, the third time so they can sing with confidence. 

Airplane, airplane, up in the sky

Where are you going flying so high?

Over the mountains, over the seas, 

Shiny airplane will you take me?

Goodbye! Here's a cute goodbye rhyme:

Up, down,

Turn around,

touch the sky 

and touch the ground.

Tickle tummy,

blink your eyes,

blow a kiss 

and wave goodbye!

Got a Story in my Pocket!

We have a wonderful, colorful storytelling apron covered with pockets. Here is a picture of Karla modeling the apron. Isn't she cute? Darn! I wish I could take a picture that wasn't blurry!

The apron has a label that says "Patchwork Puppet Place, Des Moines, Iowa." I recently found out that the apron was made by Carol Taylor of Des Moines, Iowa, and here is her website for Patchwork Puppets.

I've used the apron for a variety of storytimes, sometimes asking the kids to pick a pocket - whatever object is in the pocket I'll read a story about it:  A pebble? Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. A feather? Feathers for Lunch. You get the idea.
     But this storytime is actually about pockets.

I'll put the action rhymes and songs up front, 'cause I know when I'm looking for inspiration, that's what I want to find. A list of suggested books follows.

Action Songs, Stretches and Rhymes

Five Fingers in My Pocket

This is one of my favorite new songs. After the storytime the kids leave the library still singing this song. I found it in a video of "Music with Mar"  and it's also available as a download or CD. 

Anyway, it's fun, fun, fun, and I highly recommend Music with Mar. She sang this song with great animation and energy. If the kids don't have pockets, have them hide their hands behind their backs. 

I've got 5 fingers in my pocket!       (hold up 5 fingers and slip hand into pocket)

Five fingers hidden away!

Five fingers in my pocket, 

Look!                                           (pull hand out with just 4 fingers showing)

Awwww. One went away.                     (look shocked, then sad)

Start song over with "4 fingers."

Continue until you have "No fingers."

The children will anticipate each new verse with giggles and delight.

Put your "no fingers" hand into your pocket and sing to last line, 

then pull out 5 fingers again! Surprise!

Sing final verse about 5 fingers, changing last line to:

Five fingers here to stay! 

Ring Around the Rosie

Ring around the rosie

Pocket full of posies

Ashes, ashes

We all fall down!

The only other pocket song or rhyme I could find was the old Girl Scout/Brownie Song, which wasn't exactly a big hit with 3 year olds. 

I Have Something in My Pocket

I have something in my pocket 

that belongs upon my face;

I keep it very close to me 

in a most convenient place.

I'll bet you never guess it

if you guess a long, long while,

so I'll take it out and put it on,

it's a great big happy smile! 

If you know of other pocket songs or rhymes, please let me know!

 

Books:

The Pocket Dogs / Margaret Wild

This sweet story is about a man with two tiny pocket-sized dogs. He carries them in his pockets wherever he goes. One day, one of the little dogs falls out through a hole in the pocket and gets lost in a grocery store.
The kids really liked this story, I think they identified with the poor lost little dog, The story has a happy ending too.

A Pocket for Corduroy / Don Freeman

This classic story from 1978 is still a great choice for storytime. Most kids have a stuffed toy or two that they love and talk to, and I always loved imaging that my toys had lives of their own when no one was watching. We had to do a little vocabulary, as my group of mostly small town and farm kids had never been to a laundromat, and we needed to learn what a beret is as well.

A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes / Elizabeth Garton Scanlon

This is a really clever and fun book, BUT it didn't work for storytime. I think it's important to include my mistakes as well as my successes. There are teacher websites that use this book as part of a  language arts lesson plan with early elementary kids, and I can see how it would be great for that. But with a group of three and four year olds? Not so much. It may be a developmental issue, or maybe it would work fine as a lap book with one or two kids.

There's a Hole in my Pocket : based on a traditional American Song  / adaped by Akimi Gibson

I added this little book to the end of the storytime, and sang the text, using the old folk tune. Not sure the kids really got the joke, but oh well. I think it's important for kids to learn traditional folk tales and folk songs, it's part of their cultural heritage. I remember as a kid loving to sing this song. I must have driven my mother crazy.

Batty for Books! Halloween Storytime

“Batty for Books!”

Books:

Bats at the Library / Brian Lies

Big Pumpkin / Erica Silverman

Halloween Night / Arden Druce

A Creepy Countdown / Charlotte Huck

Chant: Halloween Night Sounds

   Adapted from Sleeping Bag Chant by Linnea Good

        On H.U.M. All Year Long, CD / Carole Peterson     (Awesome CD!!!!)

H.U.M. All Year Long is our new favorite go-to CD for storytimes. Every song is a winner. For this storytime, I tweaked some of the lyrics of the Sleeping Bag Chant to give it a Halloween flavor and then chanted it myself (without the CD) At other storytimes we have just played the song on the CD and sung along with it.

Song: Black Bat Farm /  Carole Peterson: “H.U.M. All Year Long” CD

Song: Looking for Dracula / Charlotte Diamond: “10 Carrot Diamond” CD

Another one of my favorite CDs - I just play the CD and we sing and ham it up!

I try to make time to include some factual information in many of my storytimes, and this one is especially important as bats are so valuable and so endangered, and so many people are freaked out by them!

I set up several nonfiction bat books for kids to look at and check out, and displayed some photos of bats and related some info about bats that was appropriate for very young learners. 

• The bats in Iowa are tiny and fragile, and they eat tons of mosquitoes, so we don't want to hurt them. If a bat gets inside your house, please don't hit it with a tennis racket. Open a window or door and gently encourage it toward the exit. If two or more people are at home, try holding up a bed sheet to block the bat's flight  and guide it to the window or door. Some people have luck waiting till the bat is resting on a wall, then trapping it under a coffee can and gently slide a piece of thin pasteboard (like cereal box board) under the can. Then the bat can be safely transported to the out of doors. 

• Bats are very clean. They groom themselves like cats. 

• Bats have only 1 baby a year. They do not have litters of babies like mice or cats. Because they have just 1 baby, it would be very easy for them to be wiped out by disease or habitat loss. 

•  Bats will not get tangled in your hair. Bats almost never bite people!