Baby & Toddler Storytimes

It's that time of the year!  We're all sneezing and coughing, and the babies are too!  So today we talked about fun stuff -- like how to blow your nose and cough into your arm.  And it was fun. B o o k s Germs are Not for Sharing Board Book by Elizabeth Verdick.  Shorten a bit. Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson.  Shorten a bit. Bear has low grumpy voice, and chorus is, "And Bear FEELS SICK. " How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen.   S o n g s What do you do when you find something new? Smell it? Yes! Hear it? Yes! Feel it? Yes! Taste it? NOOOO! Don't put it in your mouth! That would be YUCKY! (demonstrate with a pile of different toys)

It was MONSTER DAY at Gulf Beaches and boy, were our little monsters in top form today! Actually, they were very good monsters, singing and dancing and following along with all the stories. They are growing up so fast! Play:  I was a bit sidetracked by spiders at the beginning.  After our opening song we sang the itsy bitsy spider (I was wearing a spider ring.) Hanging behind me from the clothesline were a medium sized spider and the giant fuzzy tarantula I get out for Halloween.  We sang "Great Big Fuzzy Spider Went Up the Water Spout" after Itsy Bitsy and then segued into "This is Little, This is Big." Books:   Little Monsters (pop-up) by Jan Pienkowski was gorgeous enough to start things off right! The babies were fascinated by the brightly colored faces. When we were through, we went back and counted all the monsters in the book. Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley.  I've been doing so many different voices lately that I started doing the same with Bi...

Thanks, Heather, for so generously coming forth to do storytime for us while I had my FANTASTIC vacation in the land where so many stories come from:  I saw London Bridge (what was left of the one that fell down), Dick Whittington and his famous cat Puss-in-Boots , and saw the house where the Duke of York bunks. Sandra Boynton is always the best! What happens after a wolf puts on his underwear? This was a lot of fun -- I flashed the last terrifying page around the group, and then SNAPPED the book shut to put that wolf back where he belonged. Cute and rhymy like all Karen Beaumont's books, Dini just can't remember to take his clothes off before he jumps in the bath.  The Dini splashing in his tub made a nice refrain for the kids to splash along to. And then we sang This is the Way We Wash Our Face. The dirtiest look Max has ever given his sister Ruby? Maybe. How I wish I had the clothes to use for this storytime, but it's tomorrow and too late to shape/make.

B o o k s Stories: Where's Boo by Salina Yoon.   I hid the black cat and staged the book by putting props around the room: a pumpkin, a broom, etc., although I did switch some, a basket for the cookie jar. I was careful to put everything up high. Mama Cat has three kittens by Denise Fleming. Perform the kittens' names -- maybe a squeaky soprano Fluffy, Skinny and pull out the Boooooris in a deep bass. Thumpy Feet by Betsy Lewin.   All about the sounds Thumpy Feet makes. Props: ball of yarn, toy mouse, bowl of food There are Cats in This Book  by Viviane Schwarz. IF I HAD GOTTEN MY PROPS TOGETHER, this would be a great finale, only read the book backwards. First get out your fish, then the cardboard boxes, and then throw a lot of balls of yarn half way unwound around the room.  Then the babies could play with the boxes and the yarn. P l a y s Have You Seen My Cat  made a very good impromptu play, with some, but not all of the puppets. S o n g s  This is th...

P r o p s  Backpack. B o o k s Rooster's Off to See the World  by Eric Carle.  Big Book.  Off to see the world, but he's soooo disorganized! Shorten. In the Driver's Seat   by Max Haynes.  Turn your chair around and rock this book! So much action in this book, and the moms zoomed along too. Seals on the Bus. We sang Wheels on the Bus at the very beginning of storytime. I thought it might be overkill for the Wheels, but the Seals was such a great switcheroo everyone liked it. S o n g s Wheels on the Bus Motor Boat 6 Little Ducks (sort of went along with Rooster) Fire Truck Row, row row your boat

Games Brown Rabbit's Shape Book by Alan Baker. So easy to create all the props for this story: a beautiful green box with a big red ribbon and a cylinder (TP roll) inside filled with balloons. I carefully counted out the balloons by turns, and then, one by one, blew them up and let them go winging around the room. Unfortunately, the second one hit me in the face, and the third nicked Amanda. One of the babies began to cry! Note to self -- point the balloons away from the babies! Flannelboard of Teddy wore a red shirt, red shirt, blue pants, blue pants , etc. Books Red Truck, Yellow Bus. Board Book.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Martin with critters downloaded from kizclub. Cat's Colors by Jane Cabrera Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horacek. Remember the rule of 6! Songs (Sung to one little, two little, three little Indians) One little, two little, three little crayons, Four little, five little, six little crayons, Seven little, eight little, nine little crayons, Ten litt...

   We were riding the storyhour train at Gulf Beaches today!   P l a y s Train whistle Train on a clothesline. B o o k s Clickety Clack, Clickety Clack by Rob and Amy Spence. This rhymy readaloud reads like a train ride. Start off slow and steady, and gradually, as talking yaks and ducks go quack, pick up the speed and the sound level until by the time those mice light their fireworks, you're really zooming! Your voice rising and speeding up is enough to fascinate even the babies, but it never hurts to stomp on some bubble wrap for those fireworks. Down by the Station. Moms all sang along beautifully.  Jennifer Riggs Vetter   has a very fun version out about different vehicles:  "Down by the bus station, airport, etc. Trains Go board book Steve Light Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis. Day in life of toy train, lots of rhymes. Dinosaur Train by John Steven Gurney. Short with bright illustrations, but by this time, storyhour needed a little more actio...