Brenda's Bedtime

I did the following several years ago for my preschool storytime & the kids had SO much fun with it. I used 7 very large plush animals to tell the story. Any animal or toy can be used with different excuses for taking them out of the bed (one squeaks, one is too hard, etc.) You can also use this as a flannel board story.

BRENDA'S BEDTIME

No matter how tired she was, Brenda never wanted to go to bed. She always needed one more drink, one more kiss, one more bedtime story.

One night when Brenda's mother was putting her to bed, Brenda cried, "I'm lonely. I need my special friend to keep me company."

"Just hurry up, Brenda. It's time to go to sleep. I'll come back in a few minutes and you better be in bed," her mother told her.

When her mother left the room, Brenda huttied to find her friend. First she found her teddy bear and put it in the bed. Then she saw her shaggy dog and put it in the bed. Brenda started to climb into bed when she saw her stuffed rabbit and put it into the bec. The next animal to be added was her elephant and then it was her monkey. Brenda looked around to see if she had forgotten anyone and saw her giraffe and her penguin and they went into the bed.

Brenda tried to climb into bed before her mother came in and there was....no room! What was she going to do? Brenda set out her penguin...but there still wasn't enough room. Then she took out her giraffe. Now she could get into bed, but when she tried to turn over, she fell out! So Brenda got up and put the penguin, the giraffe, AND the monkey into the toybox. Finally Brenda climbed into bed only to discover that her blanket wouldn't cover her and all her friends. The elephant joined the other toys in the toybox.

Now Brenda could lay in the bed AND cover herself and her friends with her blanket. The ears of her rabbit tickled her and made her wiggle, so the rabbit was hopped to the toy box. Now all that was left was Brenda, her teddy and her shaggy dog. Brenda was ready to go to sleep when the shaggy dog's fur made her sneeze! Back to the toybox he went.

When Brenda's mother looked in the door a few minutes later, Brenda was in bed, covered with her blanket and cuddling her teddy bear...fast asleep.

Sparkling Snow Storytime

I love doing snow storytimes in winter. Alice Schertle begins ALL YOU NEED FOR A SNOWMAN when the first snowflake falls. SNOWBALLS by Lois Ehlert also deals with building a snowman.

An older song that I remember (and can be found on the internet) is Suzy Snowflake. She comes tapping on the window and offers to help build a snowman and take them on a sleigh ride. I'm planning on making a flannelboard to go with the song.

Another song that has picture book editions is FROSTY THE SNOWMAN. This is always a favorite & although we hear it during the Christmas season, the song itself never mentions the holiday. This means it can be used throughout the winter.

A quick and easy flannelboard is "Counting Snowflakes". I used some snowflake calendar cutouts & put sandpaper (you can also use velcro or felt) on the back. You can count up as you put them on the board & down as you take them off.

There are some great picture books out there on dancing. I used several in preschool storytime and wanted to share them with you. Check out our catalog at www.lincolnlibraries.org to see reviews of the books.

Ryder, Joanne. DANCE BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. (this is written to fit the tune: Buffalo Gals). 2007

---- BIG BEAR BALL. (2002) I love Steven Kellogg illustrations.

Andreae, Giles. GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE. (this title came out in 2001 but an edition with a CD was released in 2007)

Harter, Debbie. THE ANIMAL BOOGIE. (this is available in paperback with a music CD that invites kids to get up & move with the animals. This also works well as a flannelboard story)

Winthrop, Elizabeth. THE DANCING GRANNY (2003) This has a dancing granny and a zoo full of animal dancers.

Helldorfer, M. C. GOT TO DANCE (2004) A young girl dances through a summer day.

Merz, Jennifer J. THAT DANCIN' DOLLY. (2004) This is also written to the tune: Buffalo Gals. This is also a wonderful title to use with toddlers.



Dillon, Leo & Diane. RAP A TAP TAP: HERE'S BOJANGLES, THINK OF THAT! (2002) A picture book about the dancing of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.



Shields, Carol Diggory. SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE DINOSAUR STOMP. Who doesn't love dinosaurs, just pratice your pronunciation.

Wilson, Karma. HILDA MUST BE DANCING. A hippo shakes up her friends with her dancing until they find a happy compromise that satisfies everyone.

These are just my top 10. (it was hard to limit to 10 but I did). This storytime invites participation and movement. Later I'll post activities to go with the books.

Farm rhyme/Zoo rhyme

I found a rhyme on the internet that went:

I went to visit a farm one day,
I saw a cow along the way
And what do you think I heard her say?
Moo, moo, moo.


I've also used it for a zoo kit:

I went to visit the zoo one day,
I saw a tiger along the way
And what do you think I heard him say?
Growl, growl, growl.

While visiting our local Hobby Lobby I found some nifty wooden creatures in their Bible School area. There were zoo animals, some farm animals, and some bugs. These are just the right size to add a fat craft stick to for stick puppets. I'm going to use them with the above rhyme and see how it goes.

Piggy in the Puddle

It's funny how something that I've used for years can become fresh again. When I first began presenting preschool storytime, I used a book called PIGGY IN THE PUDDLE by Charlotte Pomerantz. The pictures aren't as large or as bright as many newer books, but the rhyme & language is delightful. I used it today with 3, 4, & 5 year olds, thinking that the younger kids might think it a little long. When I finished, a 3 year old looked at me and said, "That was a really fun book." I had 3 copies of the book available for check out & they all disappeared.

Ezra Jack Keats "Pet Show" activity

At the time of the video conference, I didn't have this ready to send out. I hope you'll find it useful.

Ezra Jack Keats----Pet Show Activity

Have children sit in circle.

Read “Pet Show” by Ezra Jack Keats
(You may need to provide some background on what a germ is)

Explain that we’re going to have a pet show all our own
And that we’ll use the library’s animals.

Have the children close their eyes and hold out their hands.

Hand out the beanie babies—it may help to have a teacher hand some out
(and teachers get one, also!)

Open your eyes!

Show children how to treat their beanie baby tenderly—model stroking its
head, etc.

After children have had a chance to explore their animal, demonstrate how
the beanie gets put on the floor in front of each child for the pet show.

Then—they chant! (You may need to coach them so everyone participates)

Hey Friend! (clap, clap)
What’s your pet? (clap, clap)

Child will identify pet

Everyone repeats the kind of animal it is

(clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) nice pet!
(count aloud: one-two-three-four-five nice pet!)

At the end, have the children put the beanies back in their bags, and into the basket.

You can gauge the group about how they’ll handle the beanies. Some groups get pretty aggressive with them, and it helps to be very structured about how you use them.

Some children end up disappointed in their animal—they like another one better. You can decide whether, if animals are left, you can make a trade.

You might want to do a quick check whether each child can identify their animal—or if you get to the identification point and the child doesn’t know, just supply the name.

Developed by Pat Leach, Youth Services, Bennett Martin Public Library, Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, NE.

Chocolate Bunnies

I found some plastic chocolate bunnies at Easter that I bought to use with storytimes on chocolate. As we were kidding around, I came up with the following rhyme:

Five chocolate bunnies that we adore,
Anna ate one and then there were four.

Four chocolate bunnies yummy to see,
Billy ate one and then there were three.

Three chocolate bunnies delicious it's true,
Sue ate one and then there were two.

Two chocolate bunnies wished they could run,
Scott ate one and then there was one.

One chocolate bunny, only one thing to be done,
I ate it and then there were none.


This can also be done as a flannelboard with felt pieces.

Beginnings

Yesterday I presented my first video conference, which was a great learning experience. While I was presenting storytelling ideas that I've shared a thousand times, it was SO different without the feedback of an actual audience. Looking back, there were many things I could have done differently and better. One of the things I hope to do with this blog is share things I learn and storytime ideas that I've developed.

I also hope that others will share their successes with me. If you see something you can use, please use it or adapt it to fit your needs.