Duck, Pig, Cow and Mouse FTW

With a one year break in between storytimes, I was a little nervous for Monday's family open. It went well, though - fun books, enthusiastic kids. My favorite to read was Jan Thomas's The Doghouse, which I had come across while doing a clean-up the week before, and the kids got into it. Lots of kids wanted to share lots of stories, which meant I did lots of redirecting during and then listening after the storytime, but they were pretty cute about it.

Saturday's storytime opened with a child running in and stopping short with a horrified look on his face. "Oh, no, where's Mr. Andy??" Thanks, kid; I think you're awesome, too. I did a very similar program for the open storytime, minus The Doghouse - Leslie had also tried to read it the week before, but Andy had done it the week before that. Book stealer. It skewed pretty young - mainly two-year-olds with a smattering of three and four year olds. Rory's Three Little Penguins was definitely the hit of the morning.

Please Don't Cry!

The group was very chatty for PJ storytime on Monday. They had lots to tell me and their friends, but it worked o.k. I had the children help me with Little Miss Muffet, and they were really excited about holding the spider puppet. I read The Squeaky Door (Andy does a really great job telling this orally, but I would completely forget the whole story) and it was really popular. We discussed that, "Beds are for people, not horses." Ah, the wisdom of storytime.
At the end I was handing out felt stars for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I was handing them out and all the kids got really excited (for some random reason) about having a pink star! One little girl who was last to get a star was really worried she wouldn't get a pink star and really wanted one, so she started to cry. I had plenty of pinks, and I handed her one, but by that time a meltdown had started. It was very sweet, though, when they were returning the stars, she came up to me and tearily said, "Thanks for the pink star. (sniff sniff)." I almost died.

Chatty Mommies

Tonight the kids were fine - it was two chatty moms who sat in the corner and were talking almost nonstop - very quietly, but still it was annoying. The kids didn't even seem to notice, I guess it was only me it distracted, but ideas anyone? Thanks.

I read Penguin by Polly Dunbar because I think it's hysterical and I did get a few jaw drops from the kids. I also read Tacky the Penguin, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and New Socks (why is that book so funny?). The books went over well. The kids were super cute when I asked them to do Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes as fast as they could - I had to laugh. Also, this group always sings along with every song, so that's really encouraging.

Pajama-rama

I was a little hesistant when I opened the door and only one mom with her two very little girls came in. There was no one else to recruit, so I started storytime. They were very cute, but obviously new to storytime, and pretty scared of me. (Scary Ms. Kate!) Then, two more kids came in with their moms, both regular storytimers, so they helped perk up the energy. I thought it might be hard with only four, but they sang and clapped with me and really listened to the stories. Plus, with only four, they were able to help put the felt pieces on the felt board which they looooved.

I read Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Keisha Ann Can (good one Leslie!), Not a Box and Who is Driving? I did an oral storytelling of Grumpy Bird with the felt board pieces, and it was really fun. I also used the felt board for Wheels on the Bus, and the kids really liked that. So even for a small crowd, it still went pretty well.

PJ storytime 1/12

I was very excited / a little nervous about doing the winter pajama storytime, but I think tonight went really well overwell. However, I was a little shocked when, during the middle of Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime a little girl got up and asked her dad if they could go to Blockbuster to rent a movie, and he said yes, and they left. I mean I was roaring like crazy, kid!

Other than that, I was very surprised that the children were riveted by The Napping House, especially when everyone starts to wake up. Once the flea bit the mouse, I looked at a little boy, and he actually said with genuine excitement, "What's gonna happen next?" Loved it! Also, I was again surprised by the absolute focus and quiet while I read Goodnight Moon. Either they were sleepy or mesmerized by the book. I also read How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and did the 5 little snowmen felt board story which was really fun. I had a decent turnout for a snowy night (11/7) and while the kids weren't super vocal, they were still interested.

Enchanted

Folks, sometimes it just all comes together. Even when you're not particularly feeling it ("Kaaaate, couldn't you do just one more PJ Storytime?"), and even when it's the evening of the first big, fluffy snowfall of the season, and even when your prep isn't particuarly fantastic.

To follow a trend, I'll credit Andy. He didn't give me any ideas for the actual storytime but he did tidy the Storytime Room so darn well after his Twos this morning. And you all know how tidyness positively affects me.

I read "Some Dogs Do," which I think is a perfect ST book. Rhyming, fun, sweet, a twist--and it's so easy to read. The voices come naturally (at least, I think it's easy to do a snotty voice and a disbelieving voice and a full-of-wonder voice). Also, you can ask the kids whether they have a dog at home...and whether it can fly or not. They love that.

I also introduced Schnorgle the Cat Puppet to them; we tried passing him around but he's so cute that a few spats broke out. Still, because I was under a spell of Storytime Success Enchantment, I managed to keep the sharing going. I also did something new--used the ready-made felt for "This Old Man." It was fun! I showed them how to knick-knack on their knees and roll at the end.

La-di-dah. It was great.

Thanks to Mr. Andy

Yes, Andy, you are in another blog today. A number of things that went well today I learned from you when I was a storytime intern. I started off with The Gruffalo by Donaldson, and I wasn't sure if this group would stay with me. They really liked it, even if they didn't really get it. I read the big book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle, which was fun. The kids really enjoyed being each animal, and were super animated (Please don't donkey kick your neighbor!) I also did Hermy the Wormy for the second week in a row, and the kids really had fun with it. They were still singing it during my next book, and I had to tell them that we were done with that song. Thanks to Andy for all these great ideas.

I also did "Driving in My Car" from Ralph's world again, and this is very popular, with some comments of "I like this song!" I was asked about paper plates, but alas I didn't have them, so we had to pretend we had a steering wheel. Oops.

Pajama Storytime, 11/3

Yay! My first PJ storytime. It went very well, thanks to the wonderful Ms. Rory. I think she trained this group in very well. It was well-attended (20/16), and the kids were enthusiastic but attentive. I read Today is Monday, Ain't Gonna Paint No More, Not a Box, and Freight Train. I knew the kids would like Ain't Gonna Paint for its catchy tune (I sang most of it), but I was pleasantly surprised to see how mesmerized they were by the pictures. They stayed with me for the ever-popular Not a Box, but were pretty much done by Freight Train. We all enjoyed "Driving in My Car" from the Ralph's World cd. I also tried out a Rainbow Song we learned at the workshop, and made a rainbow poster to go along with it. The kids didn't really sing along, but seemed pretty into the colors.

Don't Let the Space Bugs Bite

My PJ storytime continues to be popular and kinda maddening. This week, I had a space segment that went well...except for the books. Though most of the kids would be considered preschoolers, they didn't get into I Want To Be An Astronaut or Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me (even with the magical fold-out action!) but they did love the stretcher "Three Little Men in a Flying Saucer" and playing Blast-Off.

Three Little Men in a Flying Saucer
Three little men in a flying saucer [wag three fingers around]
Flew 'round the world one day... [make a big circle with your three fingers]
They looked left and right [turn your head left and right]
But they didn't like the sight of it,
[put your hands on your eyes and shake your head]
So one man flew aWAY--
Whoosh! [make a big whooshing sweep with one finger]
[Start over with "Two little men..."]

Andy and Lori helped me think of new ways to engage this big, wobbley group. More books with call-and-response, maybe? More snazzy props? More structure--that is, letting the grown-ups know exactly what to expect and how I expect them to participate? Using the kids stuffed animals (that most of them bring) to reinforce listening skills?

Lots of Monkeys, Jumping On My Bed

My Pajama Storytime went alright last night. We got a large crowd, though not as overwhelming as last week (when we ran out of chairs for little and big people!). This program is popular...though I'm not sure why. If I was a parent, I'd run the other way. It's a loud and unruly 25 minutes, and it probably doesn't enrich anyone's preliteracy skills!

I've learned to choose books that are sure-fire hits--and to pitch it young, despite the median age probably being 3.5. Anything with too much of a narrative, or more than 12 pages of actual text, or a moral, or subtlety--well, that would require me to slip the kids a sedative-spiked juice. So last night we read Leonardo (the first time I've pulled that out in a long while!) and Peek-a-Zoo! and My Nose, Your Nose and Five Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed (Christelow's).

We also jammed to the Wiggleworms "Clap Your Hands," and acted out "Peas Porridge Hot," and did "Wiggle Fingers" and "Head & Shoulders" with scarves.

I end every session with turning off the lights in the Storytime Room--except for the pretty, ornamental ones--and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle." It's a show-stopper.