There was a smaller group at storytime today, but that allowed me to do the name song (“____ is here today, ____ is here today, let’s all clap our hands, ____ is here today”) after our usual “Hello friends” song. If the group is bigger than ten or so, I don’t do it, but because we only had seven or eight today, we did. I think it’s a good way to start because all the kids feel included, and it helps me learn the names, so I can address kids by name throughout the storytime.
When we use the song cube, or sing a new song, I make sure we do it twice, because young brains are hungry for patterns and repetition.
- Welcome: Glad you’re here, please keep the doors clear, take snacks outside, feel free to come and go as needed.
- “Hello Friends” song with ASL
- Name song
- Book: Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan Shea
- Song cube: “I Had A Little Turtle”
- Hand out scarves
- Book: Flyaway Katie by Polly Dunbar
- Book: Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow
- Collect scarves
- Book: My Heart Is Like A Zoo by Michael Hall (with flannel, but not interactive)
- Song and activity: “Shake Your Sillies Out” with shaker eggs
- Song cube: “I’m A Little Teapot”
- Book: Perfect Square by Michael Hall
- Song cube: “Itsy-Bitsy Spider”
- Book: Make A Wish Bear by Greg Foley
- Song: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
- Book: Where, Bear? by Sophy Henn
- Goodbye song with ASL
- Activity: coloring with crayons on a big piece of butcher paper (one bowl of crayons at each corner of the paper)
Jenny Arch 