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This post won’t help you with your storytime much, but it shows me that this site actually helps you.

I started the site in January, posted up a bunch of stuff.. then stopped for whatever reason.  Anyway I logged in recently and to my surprise - and handful of comments needed approving and the entirety of site statistics being well over 4,000 (over 1,000 of those being in the last month, when, frankly -thinking of this site was the last thing on my mind.) 

So despite my neglect towards the site, congradulations to you for using it. 

I’m back on board and have alot of new ideas coming your way! 

 

Q-tip Dot Art!

Here’s a painting art project that helps keep the mess to a minimum! 

All you need is q-tips, washable child-friendly paint, paint holders, construction paper,  smocks, and children ages 2-12. Kids can share the paint holders so you have less to set up / clean up.

This morning I did this art project in conjunction with a toddler program about frogs and things that are the same and different.   Kids “jumped” the q-tips across the pages, and we talked about noticing how some dots are the same sizes, and some are different sizes. Likewise, some dots are the same color, and some are different colors.

This is super easy to set up and costs very little.  It’s very easy to clean up.  And most importantly, it’s actually ART, not a craft program where kids just put premade things together.

Hi, My Name is Joe

 
This activity is sure to get any group from 1st to 5th grade moving and having fun.

Tell the kids to do as you do. They’ll pick up on the words quickly.

“Hi.  My name is Joe. 
I have a wife and three kids and I work at the button factory.
One day,
my boss came to me and said,
“Joe, are you busy?”
I said “No”
He said,
“Push the button with your right hand.”"
(make the motion with your right hand)

You repeat this with…
…Push the button with your left hand.
…Push the button with your right foot.
…Push the button with your left foot.
…Push the button with your forehead.
…Push the button with your hips.
…Push the button with your bottom.

And then the next time he says…
 ”Joe, are you busy?”
You shout - “YES!”

Read an interesting (for you, not the kids) history of the inventor of everyone’s favorite button here. The delete button.

S-T-O-P Game

Here’s a great game to play with a 2nd to 5th grade school age group.  It’s a good activity to do towards the end of your program - or just last, since it gets pretty crazy sometimes.

Print out two full page letters for S, T, O and P.  They should be big so the audience can read them.  Having one set of different colored paper helps to distinguish teams.  You can laminate these if you plan on doing this game often.

Starting this game by saying “Lets, see who is smarter, boys or girls…” always gets them talking and excited.

Ask for volunteers, 4 boys and 4 girls.   You can say you need four of the smartest boys / girls.  You’ll have them line up front next to their teamates - ie. four girls then four boys. Pass out the letter cards, one to each person on each team.  Have them hold the cards facing out.   Make sure you have the teams and audience quiet as you explain the rules.  You’ll be paying the most attention to the teams, so mention to the audience that they need to listen too so they understand the game.

As you call out various words, each team will move it’s members around (holding the letters) to spell the word.  They need to spell it from left to right so the audience can read it.  To explain this humorously, you can read whatever the team has already spelled out - pronoucing whatever funny nonsensical word being created. “For example, right now the boys are spelling tsop.”

Ask for a volunteer to keep score as well - “Who here can count to a million?” or “Who has more than ten fingers?” etc 

Go through each of the words, having the team spell the words you call out.  The words are SPOT, TOPS, STOP, POTS, and OPTS.   Tell them you’ll only say each word once.  You can build up alot of suspense right before you say the word - such as. “The next word is…….” You can also ask them to spell eskimo or cabbage, and see them First team to spell each word gets a point. Have the scorekeeper reiterate the score after each word each time.  You may have to quiet everyone down each time by yelling in sportcaster voice “scccoooorreeeeekeeeeeeeeeper - whats the score!?”.  Refer to the teacher for tiebreakers on “who spelled it first?” situations.  

After going through those words, announce the bonus word round.  Make up a silly large number of how many points this will be.  Then have them spell “DOTS.”  The person on each team holding the “P” will eventually figure out they need to turn their letter upside down, either on their own, or because every kid in the room will be yelling “turn the P upside down!” 

Have the scorekeeper announce the new crazy score. 

Now we all know who is smarter!

You can download a Microsoft Word file of the preformatted STOP letters here.

Books on Wheels

My friends Shelley and Ward, from Richmond VA,  found a great way to combine their two passions - books and bikes! Books on Wheels is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free books and bike parts/bike repair to Richmond and beyond.  Through a small bus, The “MobookMobikeMobile”, which is packed with books and bicycle parts and tools, Books on Wheels is able to travel to many different communities. 

Why? “Because both literature and transportation are liberating and both help with the well-being of people both mentally and physically. Both books and bikes are educational, and help people towards empowering themselves through literature and transportation!”

Books on Wheels “travel to communities and certain community events to provide services free of charge to people. This organization is able to distribute books and bike parts to a variety of communities, though there is a focus providing such resources to economically disadvantaged communities. By providing books and bikes we strive expand our community’s access to information and transportation.”

They hold bi-monthly events within the city of Richmond and tour to other cities.

Books on wheels is a volunteer run organization and “runs entirely based on the generous donations that are provided by our community and those who support us.”

Books on Wheels is hitting the road this March.
Please check them out if they’re coming to a city near you!

Spring Tour 2008!
March 8th: Greensboro, NC:
March 9th: Pensecola, FL: Sluggo’s Vegetarian Parking Lot
March 10th: New Orleans, LA:
March 11th: New Orleans, LA: Rubarbikes (Rusted Up Beyond All Recognition Bikes) http://www.rubarbike.org/
March 12th: New Orleans, LA: Israelite Baptist Church
March 13h: New Orleans, LA: Young Audiences - http://www.ya4la.org/
March 13-15th: Austin, TX: SXSW
April 12, 2008 Book and Bicycle Drive @ Twin Hickory Public Library

For more information on the organization, the tour, or to make a donation visit - http://www.bookonwheels.com

Song Variations - If You’re Happy and You Know It

So, anyone who’s even been an 8 year old knows “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Here’s a quick and fun variation for your toddler or preschool group that uses some easily built props.

Take different sized boxes (such as cereal boxes, cartons etc) and cover them with paper. Be sure to tape all the edges down, otherwise it’ll look like everyone’s opening presents for their birthday at once. You can even make the blocks different colors and use them for a color recognition game later on. Each child gets a block, then you sing this song…

Do the actions with them so they can follow along.

If You’re Happy and You Know It

If you’re happy and you know it, lift your block,
If you’re happy and you know it, lift your block
If you’re happy and you know it
and you face will surely show it
If you’re happy and you know it, lift your block.

… lay it down.
… swing your block.
… hug your block.
… tap your block.
… drum your block.
Get chords for the above song here.

On the last variation of “… drum you block” you can drum longer than the song would normally go on for each time - saying “stop!” to stop the drumming and resume the song.

Displays - Castle and Dinosaur

I’ve recently done two displays for our department.

The 398.2’s are always buried in the non-fiction, and it’s generally not a place patrons frequently think of for storybooks. This display helps highlight books and get them in the hands of kids. Plus, castles are ultra cool.  You could even load up your display with books about medieval life, etc.

This could be a good group art project for some older kids, cutting out the needed shapes and painting everything gray. The bulk of the castle is just cardboard boxes and cardboard cut out taped to the table around it’s sides.  Towers are empty oatmeal containers and the flagpoles and used paper towel rolls.  The clouds cover the table legs, making the whole thing seem like it’s floating.  They just make it nicer too, since otherwise, it’d be very obvious that it’s just a castle on a table.

Leave plenty of dead space in your castle design for the books! And it’s very important that you make the castle extra tall.  It’s it’s too short you’ll put books on it and won’t be able to see the castle!

The next display is of dinosaur bones.

For a different picture of the dinosaurs back, click here.

Not quite the same idea, since most of your young patrons can probably find the dinosaurs books blindfolded. But this definetly highlights and helps circulate some of those Palaeozoic and Triassic texts.

Special Program - Magic Trick and Craft

This magic trick makes for a great presentation, followed by a great craft project.  I did this as the highlight of a magic program once before and the kids were super excited to play the trick on parents and friends.

Effect:
You place a coin and a glass on a table. You cover the glass with a handkerchief and move it over the coin. Remove the hankerchief and the coin has vanished! Cover the glass again, move it away, and the coin has reappeared!

Supplies You Need:
A clear glass or plastic cup
Two sheets of construction paper, the same color
A pencil
Scissors
Glue
A coin
A handkerchief

Setup:
Prepare the glass: Turn the glass upside-down and put it onto the sheet of colored paper. Take the pencil, draw around the glass and cut out the circle. Put a small amount of glue on the rim of the glass and place it on the paper cut-out. Let this dry thoroughly– it should take at least a few hours. Then cut any extra paper away from the edges.

Now set the stage. Put the second sheet of colored paper on the table - everything will go on top of this. Put the glass onto the paper upside-down, over to one side. Keep the coin in your pocket and the handkerchief with you.

 How to Perform:
After you have set everything up, bring in the audience. Say, “I will make a coin magically disappear before your very eyes. Does someone have a coin I can use?” If someone has a coin, use it, but if not, bring out your own and say, “I have a coin with me, so we’ll use this one.”

Put the coin in the center of the paper. Pick up the handkerchief and say, “I will use the glass to make the coin vanish.” Cover the glass and move the handkerchief and glass on top of the coin. Now take the handkerchief away– the coin looks like it’s gone! It’s actually hidden under the paper that is glued to the glass. After a second, cover the glass again and move it away, into your magic box or put it away. The coin has returned!

Hint:
When the trick is done, distract your audience by starting another trick or ending the show. Don’t let them look at the glass, because they’ll see how you did the trick.

Toddler Theme - Pets

Here are some activities for a storytime involving pets.

Dear Zoo
… puppet show.
For this show you essentially show these pets to the children as the zoo ’sends’ them to you. Flannel board pets or actual puppets work fine. You can change the number and type of animals they send as well. As you show the animals, ask kids what noise the animal makes, why they wouldn’t be a good pet etc. You can act like you’re petting the porcupine and jump up in surprise. This puppet show is based on the book Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.

“I don’t have any pets at my house. I wrote a letter to the zoo, asking them if they could send me a pet. I waited and waited,
Finally, they sent me an…
ELEPHANT too big I sent him back
So they sent me a
GIRAFFE.. too tall ..
LION too fierce…
PORCUPINE too prickly
ALLIGATOR too scary
SKUNK too smelly
MONKEY perfect, I kept him.”

I had a Little Turtle
I had a little turtle,
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle,
He climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at a mosquito,
He snapped at a flea,
He snapped at a minnow,
And he snapped at me!
He caught the mosquito,
He caught the flea,
He caught the minnow,
But he couldn’t catch me!

Can You?
Can You hop like a rabbit?
Can you jump like a frog?
Can you waddle like a duck?
Can you wag your tail like a dog?
Can you fly like a bird?
Can you swim like a fish?
Can you sit back down and be as still as this?

Head, Whiskers Knees and Tail
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.
And eyes, and ears, and mouth and nose.
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.

Bingo
There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!
Get chords for the above song here.

Web Footed Friends
Be kind to your web-footed friends
For a duck may be somebody’s mother,
Be kind to your friends in the swamp
Where the weather is always damp.

You may think that this is the end,
Well it is, but to prove we’re all liars,
We’re going to sing it again,
Only this time we’ll sing a little higher.
(repeat)
You may think that this is the end….
Well you’re right!

Download a Word Document handout of this storytime here.
Download a cat coloring sheet here - catface.gif.
…and a dog coloring sheet here -  dog.gif.

Storytime with Guitar

Kids like instruments and making noise with them.  And, perhaps ironically, they get really quiet and attentive when you start playing an instrument. 

I play guitar in a lot of my storytimes.  Always starting out with what it is, how many strings it has, what it is made of… etc.  After the storytime I let kids play the guitar a bit, holding down the chords as they strum.   

The children’s songs I’ve posted on this site so far are extremely simple.  Plenty of sites (and books) are dedicated to guitar chords. Even Youtube has videos on how to play simple guitar chords. 

Even having one song you play every storytime as either a goodbye song, or just a song you always play, works well.  Children at your storytimes will get to learn the songs you repeat, and always look forward to you playing the guitar at storytime.