Storytime--Ice Cream!

Today was the first Storytime since school got out, so I had quite a few older kids today. This always means modifying Storytime for the older audience (in what questions you ask, how you read the books, ect.) This one went great! Ice cream is just a good topic. The kids loved all the books, and one little boy asked me if he could take out the Curious George book when we were done, which of course he could! The flannelboard was awesome, and the craft was great as ever.

Books:
Ice Cream King by Steve Metzger
Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
Curious George Goes To An Ice Cream Shop by Alan J Shalleck and Margret Rey
The Ice Cream Shop by J.E. Morris


Flannelboard:



“Ice Cream Colors”
We have ice cream, the best in town,
Let us begin with chocolate brown.

Now, let us scoop us some bubble-gum pink,
It is sweet and yummy, the best, some think.

Here is ice cream minty and green,
It is the creamiest I have ever seen.

Yellow ice cream is lemony and tart,
We like its taste from the very start.

Scoops of blueberry would make my day,
Look at all this ice cream, hip, hip hurray!

Red ice cream is a strawberry delight,
All these scoops are a heavenly sight.

Vanilla white is a popular flavor,
It tastes very good to an ice-cream craver.

Purple ice cream really gives me a kick,
Good and yummy till the very last lick.

Ice cream, ice cream, what a cool sensation,
We love ice cream in any combination!

(from Storytime Katiehttp://storytimekatie.com/2014/04/04/flannel-friday-ice-cream-colors/)

Fingerplay:

5 little ice cream cones so good to eat.
The first one said, “I’m a summer time treat,”
The second one said, “It’s such a hot day,”
The third one said, “I’m melting away.”
The fourth one said, “Don’t lose your top!”
The fifth one said, “Oh dear,”
KERPLOP!

(from the Perry Public Library http://www.perrypubliclibrary.org/webfm_send/66)

Action Activity:

Ice Cream
I like ice cream. Yes I do!
One scoop for me?
No! Make it two!
Hmmm two scoops of ice cream,
I want more
How about three?
No, make that four!
1, 2, 3, 4,
Splat! “oh no! It’s on the floor!”

(from Sunflower Storytime http://sunflowerstorytime.com/2013/10/04/ice-cream/)

Craft:

Ice Cream Cones With Sprinkles



Print out an outline of a cone, and let the kids color and glue on "sprinkles" (torn paper) to their heart's delight. A total winner!

Storytime--Nursury Rhymes

This one went pretty well. I had a couple of new families so it took a little while to get everyone acclimated, but once they were everyone had a good time. I normally do my flannel board in between books two and three, but today I did it after the first one to get everyone interacting and having fun. Luckily this worked today, and the kids were much less shy and more engaged after that. I also kept asking them to find certain things in the illustrations of the books, which usually gets a good response and worked extra well today.The best books today were Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook and If the Shoe Fits. The craft, as always, was the highlight.

Books:

The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster by David Conway
Little Miss Muffet illustrated by Joni Jacobs
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland
If the Shoe Fits by Alison Jackson


Fingerplay:

The Itsy Bitsy Spider


Flannelboard:

Hey Diddle Diddle



Action Activity:

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
and eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.


Craft:

Itsy Bitsy Spider Finger Puppet




This one's pretty easy: Cut out a circle, then cut out four little circles for their fingers. Cut long strips of paper and fold them like an accordion. I cut mine in half to make the short spider legs. Then glue everything together, including the googly eyes.

Kid/Teen Event: Kinect Night

I love doing Kinect Game Nights at the library. The kids have a blast, and I don't have to spend any money on it! I just bring my Xbox and Kinect from home, borrow a projector from another library in the system, and I'm ready.


I only got a couple pictures when we did it because of where I was sitting, but you can see they are all having a great time.






There were 16 kids total, some starting early and some coming later. I labeled them in two teams, Red and Blue, and numbered them off. Fortunately we were playing a game with a party play mode, so they took turns playing each mini game. I'd call off whichever number was up, which was a lot easier than keeping track of two teams by the kid's names! They played for an hour and a half and were very tired out by the end!

Storytime--Happy Birthday Minnesota!

I thought it would be fun to do a Minnesota storytime, coinciding with Minnesota's statehood anniversary. I wanted it to be about fun summer things, so no snow books to be found! We do snow themes in the winter so I wanted to get away from that. There are a couple Paul Bunyan ones, then a loon book and a fishing book. Overall, it went pretty well. The second Paul Bunyan one and the Berenstain Bears book went over the best.


Books:

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: The Great Pancake Adventure by Matt Luckhurst
Loon Baby by Molly Beth Griffin
Paul Bunyan vs. Hals Halson: The Greta Lumberjack Challenge! by Theresa Bateman
The Berenstain Bears Gone Fishin'! by Mike Berenstain


Fingerplay:

Five Little Ducks went out to play
Over the pond and far away
Mama Duck called with a quack quack quack
All her little ducks came running back!


Flannelboard:




One little loon, feeling so blue,
Dove in the water, and there were two
Two little loons, glad and free
Dove in the water, and there were three
Three little loons, looking for more,
Dove in the water, and there were four,
Four little loons, happy to be alive,
Dove in the water, and there were five

Action Activity:

Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan.
Fry the pancake,
Toss the pancake,
Catch it if you can!


Craft:




This one's pretty easy: glue the bottom of the page, then sprinkle rice on it. Press down, then shake the excess rice off. Glue as much seaweed and as many fishies as you want!

Five little ducks went out to play.
Over the pond and far away.
Mother duck called with a quack, quack.
Four little ducks came back, came back.

Four little ducks.... Three little ducks.... Two little ducks.... One little duck .... No little ducks went out to play. - See more at: http://www.childfun.com/index.php/activity-themes/animals/104-pond-river-and-lake-activity-theme.html#sthash.9lBzyE02.dpuf

Storytime--Mother's Day

Nightmare storytime. Absolute nightmare, one of the worst I've had since I started. The kids were squirrely and nothing I tried changed that. I pulled out everything from my bag of tricks but it didn't help. I ended up skipping the song and last book because it just wasn't happening. I've done that before, and I think that's just fine to do when the situation calls for it. Knowing that really doesn't help me feel any better about it.

Books:

What Not To Give Your Mom For Mother's Day by Martha Simpson
My Mommy Hung The Moon by Jamie Lee Curtis
Mother, Mother, I Want Another by Maria Polushkin Robbins
Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino


Flannelboard:

A Gift for Mommy

By Kathryn Roach

I want to get a gift for Mommy

For this Mother’s day

Let me think, what could I find?

I don’t have money to pay!

I know she likes some fancy shoes

I bet she’d like them blue!

Maybe a fancy, party ring?

A lovely purple one could be the thing!

A mug for the coffee she likes to drink?

I know she likes the color pink!

Or a purse to carry all her stuff

A red one might be big enough!

An orange scarf, fresh and light,

With white stripes, could be right!

I know what I can give to Mommy

I know that this won’t miss!

I’ll tell her, “Mommy, I love you”
With a great big hug and kiss!

(From Storytime ABC's)

Action Activity:

I asked the kids what Mom likes for breakfast, then we acted out making those things. It was all improvising and playing off what the kids gave me. At the end, the kids handed "breakfast" to their moms.


Song:

I love Mommy, I love Mommy
Yes I do, yes I do,
All I want to say is,
Happy Mother's Day!
I love you, I love you!


Craft:



 Heart Flowers for Mom

It's hard to tell from the picture, but the flower is made up of 4 hearts. I had purple, pink, and red for the kids to choose from.

Storytime--Lions

What an absolutely fantastic storytime! The whole thing was wonderful beginning to end. The books were funny, the in-between activities went well, and the craft was fun. Wow! This was the first time I've incorporated video, and it went wonderfully. The action activity goes along with the book. We read the book first, then I asked the kids to remember the order from the book as we went on a lion hunt ourselves!


Books:

Lion vs Rabbit by Alex Latimer
Christian, the Hugging Lion by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
We're Going on a Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler
How to Hide A Lion by Helen Stephens


Flannelboard:

The Lion and the Mouse (Aesop's Fable)



 A little mouse was passing by a great big lion. The lion caught him and was about to eat him when the little mouse spoke, “Sir, please let me go, and I will do you a good deed one day, for sparing my life.”
The lion thought that was a little silly, thinking, “What good can he do me. . . ” but he let him go anyway.
Two weeks later, the lion was walking around his home when he walked into trap! The lion was captured with a net. He struggled hard to set himself free but he soon realised he was trapped. He roared with anger.
The little mouse was looking for food, when he heard the lion’s roar. He ran to him. See­ing the lion caught in the net, he started gnawing at it. The mouse had sharp teeth and he soon freed the lion.
The lion was very grateful to the little mouse. From that day, they became the best of friends.


Video:

Instead of the fingerplay I had planned, I brought my tablet and showed them the video of Christian meeting his friends again after a year. At the end of the book, there is an author's note letting you know the story is real and the final meeting was caught on video. I thought it was so wonderful the kids had to see it, and they really enjoyed it. I think the adults were just as captivated! I only showed them the couple minutes where they see each other again and hug, so it didn't take up too much time.


Action Activity:

Alright everyone, we're going on a lion hunt, just like in the book
Everyone have their safari hat? (put on hat)
We're going on a lion hunt! What is the first thing the kids did?
 Mud!
Let's get through the mud! Anyone lose their shoes?
We're going on a lion hunt! What's next?
Sticks!
Move through the sticks! Everyone make it?
We're going on a lion hunt! What's next?
Trees!
Climb up the trees! Did anyone fall?
We're going on a lion hunt! What's next?
The river!
Swim swim swim! Everyone make it across?
We're going on a lion hunt! What's next?
The grass!
Lets move through the grass! Is anyone lost?
We're going on a lion hunt! What's next?
The Cave!
Close your eyes, it's dark! Does anyone feel a soft mane? A moist nose? Sharp teeth?
It's A LION!
Run through the long grass! Run through the river! Climb up the trees! Run though the sticks! Slog through the mud! RUN TO THE LIBRARY!
 Oh, we made it! Let's listen to one last story!

Craft:

Lion Masks