Storytime: Under the Sea

The First Day of Summer is this weekend, and that means you'll be thinking of swimming and going to the beach. Some of you may vacation near the ocean. Get your kids excited about the summer by sharing these fun books and rhymes about the animals that live under the sea.

BOOKS:



I Spy Under the Sea by Edward Gibbs
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
Peanut Butter and Jellyfish by Jarrett Krosoczka
A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea by Jessica Law
One Lonely Seahorse by Saxton Freymann

RHMYES & SONGS:

"The Shark in the Sea"
(tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

If you have various felt or finger puppets, you can use this as a flannelboard or glove puppet. Or, simply act out the motions as a fingerplay.

The shark in the sea goes chomp, chomp, chomp.
Chomp, chomp, chomp. Chomp, chomp, chomp.
The shark in the sea goes chomp, chomp, chomp,
All day long.

The octopus in the sea goes wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

The seahorse in the sea rocks back and forth.

The fish in the sea goes swim, swim, swim.

The crab in the sea goes snap, snap, snap.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I Caught a Fish Alive

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (count fingers on right hand)
I caught a fish alive. ("catch" five fingers of right hand with left hand)
Why did you let it go? (release it suddenly)
Because it bit my fingers so! (shake right hand)

Five Little Seashells

Five little seashells lying on the shore.
Swish went the waves, and then there were four.
Four little seashells pretty as could 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 shining in the sun.
Swish went the waves, and then there was one.
One little seashell left all alone.
I picked it up, and I took it home.

CRAFT:

We made Mister Seahorse! Okay, full disclosure. This craft takes prepping ahead of time. But, it was so darn cute, I HAD to share it with my storytime kids. I found the template and directions from I Heart Crafty Things. I never tried shaving cream painting, and it was awesome! I don't usually shy away from doing painting/messy crafts at storytime, but this process required drying before the kids could "lace" the hair, that I decided to prep all the seahorses the day before. I'm glad I did, because the "squeegeeing" was the hardest part! Fun fact: the paper retains the smell of the shaving cream. :-)

Storytime: Penguins

Have I been replaced at work?!

Penguins in March?! Yes. Because even though I originally did this storytime in January, penguins can be enjoyed all year long. Yep, I'm going with that reasoning rather than the truth, which is I'm two months behind on storytime posts. :P

BOOKS:

Ten Little Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromenthal

Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere! by Bob Barner

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon

Up & Down by Britta Teckentrup

RHYMES & SONGS:

Two Little Penguins

Two little penguins, sitting on the ice (hold up two fingers)

One bows once, the other bows twice (made index fingers bow)

Waddle little penguins, waddle away. (put fingers behind back)

Come back penguins, time to play! (bring fingers to the front)

Source: King County Library System

"Have You Ever Seen a Penguin?"

(tune: "Have You Ever Seen a Lassie?")

Have you ever seen a penguin, a penguin, a penguin?

Have you ever seen a penguin swim this way and that? (make swimming motions with arms)

Swim this way and that way? Swim this way and that way?
Have you ever seen a penguin swim this way and that?

...slide this way and that? (make sliding motions with arms)

...waddle this way and that? (feet close together, make tiny waddling steps)

...flap this way and that? (arms close to sides, flap hands like "wings")

Source: Perpetual Preschool

"The Penguin Song"

by Carole Peterson from album Stinky Cake

This is a fun marching song. I handed out shaker eggs and had the kids shake and walk around pretending to walk like penguins.

Pippa's Penguins

Source: Susan M. Dailey

I used this story as a flannelboard. The story and pattern can be found on Susan Dailey's website (link above). I modified the story for the different age groups and for the colors of felt I had. I made it interactive by handing out felt penguins and calling the kids up one by one to put their color penguin on the board. They loved it!

CRAFT:

We made Tacky the Penguin as our craft! There are several ideas online, but I found a nice template on Sturdy for Common Things. It has all the penguin parts, which makes this librarian's life easy when it comes to prepping a craft for 20 kids. My assistant Kelly, who is a life-saver, cut out all the pieces ahead of time, so all kids had to do was assemble their "Tacky" with a glue stick and add wiggle eyes. Isn't he adorable?

Storytime: Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss' birthday was on March 2, so in honor of it, I planned a Seuss-centered storytime for my preschool group. It was a lot of fun and I found so many ideas online that I decided a Dr. Seuss Party is in order for this summer. That way, I can do even more activities and crafts. Oh, yeah!

BOOKS:



One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
Green Eggs and Ham
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
The Cat in the Hat

RHYMES & SONGS:

"If You Like Dr. Seuss"
(tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Dr. Seuss when the Grinch is on the loose,
If you like Dr. Seuss, clap your hands.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, then go tell Sam I Am,
If you like Green Eggs and Ham, stomp your feet.
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!
If you like the Cat in the Hat, though he makes the fish so mad,
If you like the Cat in the Hat, shout hooray!

Source: City of North Mankato

One Little Cat
(this can be used a a fingerplay with cat finger puppets or you can make "Cat in the Hat" puppets, which I didn't have time to do)

One little cat on a sunny day
Put on his hat and went out to play
Two little cats when the sky turned dark
Put on their hats and went to the park
Three little cats when the sky turned blue
Put on their  hats and went to the zoo
Four little cats by the kitchen door
Put on their hats and went to the store
Five little cats on a sunny day
Put on their hats and they all ran away.

Source: Mel's Desk

CRAFTS:

We usually only do one craft after I've finished reading books, but there were so many Seuss-themed crafts, that I planned two.

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
With their grown-up's help, children traced their hands onto four colors of construction paper and then cut them out. Using a glue stick, they glued their "fish" onto yellow construction paper to mimic the cover art of the book and finished the project with markers to make faces and water bubbles.

I want to give a shout-out to my helpers, LM and AM, who made the "example" crafts seen in both pictures. You did an awesome job!

2. The Cat in the Hat Prop
This is super-easy. You'll need craft sticks, red pom-poms, and black construction paper, cut into strips (three strips per person). Arrange them to look like whiskers and glue them onto the craft stick. Miss Maggie and I rock this look!

Storytime: Snow

Winter is for the birds.

Winter is in full swing in Central New York. It's cold, snowy and icy and hot cocoa is my beverage of choice these days. What better time to do a snow-themed story time?

BOOKS:



Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
Snow Happy! by Patricia Hubbell
Blizzard by John Rocco
Ten on the Sled by Kimberly Norman
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton

RHYMES & SONGS:

"Snowflakes Dance Around"
(tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")

Snowflakes snowflakes dance around  (twirl around)
Snowflakes snowflakes touch the ground  (touch the ground)
Snowflakes snowflakes in the air  (arms up)
Snowflakes snowflakes everywhere  (wave arms around)
Snowflakes snowflakes dance around  (twirl around)
Snowflakes snowflakes touch the ground  (touch the ground)

Source: Perry Public Library

I made a lot of paper snowflakes the night before story time, and I passed them out for the children to hold and throw around as we sang this song. It was a lot of fun!

Five Little Snowmen
(This can be used as a flannel rhyme or just a fingerplay.)

Five little snowmen  (hold up five fingers)
Standing in a row
Each with a hat  (touch head)
And a big red bow.  (tie bow under chin)
Out came the sun  (arms circle)
And it stayed all day
And one little snowman  (hold up one finger)
Melted away  (finger bends down)

Continue with four...three...two...one.

Source: Perry Public Library

The Snowman

A chubby little snowman  (make round tummy with arms)
Had a carrot nose  (point to nose)
Along came a rabbit  (hold up two fingers like ears and make rabbit hop)
And what do you suppose?
That hungry little bunny  (rub tummy)
Was looking for his lunch  (pretend to look around)
Ate that little snowman's nose  (point to nose)
Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!  (nibble motion with hand and clap on CRUNCH)

Source: Perry Public Library

"I'm a Little Snowflake"
by Laurie Berkner from her album Whaddaya Think of That?

I'm a little snowflake icy and round
I fall from the sky and I don't make a sound
When it's cold I'll stay all day
When it's warm I'll melt away.

I used this song along with our parachute. I had the children shake the parachute up and down really slowly and we put the paper snowflakes on top of it. They loved it!

CRAFT:

Fingerpaint Snow Globe
I found this idea on Pinterest and it's from Crafty Morning. It was easy to prep; just cut out circles and cut toilet paper tubes in half for the base of the snow globe.

ACTIVITY:

Play Snow
This is an inexpensive and fun sensory activity to do with children. You'll need two boxes of baking soda and a bottle of conditioner. Put the baking soda in a large mixing bowl and add about half of the conditioner. Stir this mixture together; it should be crumbly. Add more conditioner if needed until the mixture comes together in your hands and can be molded. You can use cookie cutters or other molds for the kids to play with. Super fun and it smells delightful!

Review: The Princess in Black

The Princess in Black
By Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Candlewick Press, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6510-4

Princess Magnolia is very prim and proper.  She wears pink.  She is neat.  She also has a secret.  One day, Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower in her castle when her glitter-stone ring rang, sounding the monster alarm.  Excusing herself, Princess Magnolia rushes to the broom closet and emerges as her secret identity, the Princess in Black!  With her trusty pony Blacky (aka Frimplepants the unicorn), the Princess in Black fights monsters and wears black, unlike how most princesses behave.  Can she defeat the big blue monster and get back in time before the nosy duchess discovers her secret?

This amusing story is fun to read and the illustrations are really cute.  The large print makes this chapter book a good choice for newly independent readers.  I also love the action aspect of this book and that girls can kick butt and aren't afraid of spiders.  The introduction of another hero, the Goat Avenger, makes me eagerly await the second book in this series.  If you're looking for a good choice for a young child transitioning up to chapter books, give this one a try.  It'll be our secret.

Review: Sisters

Sisters
by Raina Telgemeier
Graphix, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-54059-9

Raina is very excited to be a big sister.  She'll have someone to play with.  When her sister Amara is born, things don't go quite the way Raina imagined they would.  Amara is fussy, as babies usually are.  As a toddler, she is still cranky and expresses many a meltdown.  Raina has a hard time playing with her because Amara likes to do her own thing and be alone.  This dynamic doesn't change much as Raina and Amara get older.  By this time, they have a younger brother, Will.  On a road trip from California to Colorado to attend a family reunion, Raina and Amara must deal with each other (in very close quarters) and in doing so, figure out some way of getting along and accepting each other's differences.

This is a true story about growing up with a sister.  Anyone who has a sister can relate to this book.  I know I did.  It is a companion to Telgemeier's 2010 novel Smile, which was about her childhood experience with braces.  If you haven't read it, you must.  Sisters has the same humor and relatability of Smile.  What I liked about it was Raina's experience with her sister is a universal one.  Sisters squabble, they fight about petty things, they get on each other's nerves and push each other's buttons.  But, at the end of the day they are there for each other.  Raina details this in a way that is very real and not at all "sugar coated."  As I was reading this, I instantly thought of my younger sister and how we were growing up and I'm so glad I don't have to relive those years!  Raina's artwork is beautiful.  She uses a lot of bold colors and when Raina has "flashbacks" the pages are yellow, which is a great way to help the reader follow the story.  I love how expressive the characters are and how that emotion supplements and supports the plot.  I would recommend this to reluctant readers or to middle-grade kids looking for realistic fiction.

Star Wars Reads Day

On October 11, we hosted Star Wars Reads Day at my library.  This is the third year of this nationwide event, and the third year we've participated in it.  Along with book stores and other libraries, we planned a fun day celebrating all things Star Wars and reading!  It was open to all ages, and we encouraged families to attend together and dress up in costumes.  The officially licensed publishing partners put together an event kit that can be downloaded from the Star Wars website.  You can also sign-up for email newsletters that give you chances to send away for free things (what librarian doesn't love swag?) to give away at your event and enter drawings for free books.  The Star Wars website also has a lot of coloring sheet and activity sheets, which are great passive activities to add to your program.

Offering giveaways and reproducible activities makes planning an event like this completely doable for any size library.  I've also used The Star Wars Craft Book by Bonnie Burton, The Star Wars Party Book by Mikyla Bruder, and The Star Wars Cook Book by Robin Davis for ideas (all available in my library system).  Every year I plan different crafts and activities to keep it fun.  If you're interested in what I've done in past years, please let me know.  Here is what we did this year.

Star Wars Photo Booth

I just can't be serious. Jedi training failed!

One thing we've offered for the past two years is a Star Wars Photo Booth.  It is super popular!  My colleague Scott sets up a green screen and using fancy photography equipment and props, he creates awesome pictures that we post on our Facebook page.  (For example, see above picture.  No, I didn't really travel to a galaxy far, far, away.  I know you were wondering.  The beauty of green screen technology.)

Pretzel Lightsabers

You'll need:

Crock-Pot
Baking sheet
Waxed paper
Pretzel bags (plastic)
Pretzel rods
Melting chocolate (I recommend Almond Bark)
Sprinkles

This is a simple "craft" that fits in well with many library programs (we've made these for our Harry Potter Party and called them wands).  Melt the chocolate in the Crock-Pot.  You can make these for the kids and have them packaged and ready to grab, or help the kids dip their "lightsaber" into the chocolate and cover it with sprinkles.  Either way, it's a fun activity!

Pool Noodle Lightsabers

You'll need:

Pool Noodles
Duct Tape
1/2-inch Black Paper Tape

I wanted to make these at last year's event, but couldn't.  I don't know if you know this, but it's very hard to find pool noodles in October in Central New York.  Thankfully, I planned ahead this year and bought these babies in June at the Dollar Tree.  I purchased 13 pool noodles; 10 were cut in half and three were cut into thirds for the young Padawans.   This was the most popular craft, as kids got to promptly engage in a lightsaber battle.

Star Wars Figurines

You'll need:

Perler Beads (we bought two buckets of assorted colors)
Peg Boards
Waxed paper
Iron and ironing board

This summer, I rediscovered the joy of Perler Beads.  And you know what, kids love them too.  They are an investment, but we've used these at our Minecraft Party and our Summer Reading Finale Party and I plan on using them at future programs, so I'm getting my money's worth.  I printed out Star Wars patterns that I found online.  Kids created their design on the peg board, brought it over to me, and I ironed it to fuse the beads together.  If you've never tried Perler Beads, you must!

Yoda Ears

You'll need:

Green construction paper
Stapler or tape

I borrowed this idea from Nerd Craft Librarian.  I drew a Yoda-like ear shape, and traced this out on green paper.  I also cut out strips of green paper.  All kids had to do was staple the paper strips together, fit it to their head, and affix the ears and decorate them.  A cute and easy craft, perfect for all ages.

R2-D2 Paper Craft

You'll need:

White cardstock
Gray construction paper
Black construction paper
Blue painter's tape
Glue sticks
Scissors

I borrowed this idea from Tip Junkie.  The website said they had a printable template, but I couldn't find it.  I ended up copying the image into Publisher and manipulating the size until it was big enough to print.  I then photocopied that onto cardstock.  Using a circle cutter, I cut out gray and black circles.  Kids cut their robot out, taped on blue tape pieces and glued the circles and square to look like R2-D2.

Origami Jabba

You'll need:

Paper
Instructions

If you've never heard of the Origami Yoda book series by Tom Angleberger, you're missing out!  This book series is perfect for Star Wars Reads Day.  The website offers printable instructions on how to fold Yoda, Darth Paper and the other characters.  My colleague's son Lucas was my helper for the day, and he was in charge of "Origami Training."  He provided lessons in folding Jabba and gave participants instructions to take home with them.

We also had a book display of Star Wars books, since this event does celebrate reading!  And we had a snack table with Yoda Soda, Wookiee Cookies, and Dark Side Dip and Chips.  The possibilities are endless.  I hope this encourages you to participate in Star Wars Reads Day next year, or just have a Star Wars Party at your library.  May the books be with you!

Giveaways. Who doesn't love free swag?

Book display of Star Wars books

Rocking my Darth Vader Read a Book t-shirt and visiting the Pretzel Lightsaber table...again. Don't judge.