Flannel Friday - March 27th - Blue Shark, Blue Shark

This is a flannel story a previous storytime presenter made and I used this week.
Like Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Blue Shark, Blue Shark, what do you see?

I see a green turtle looking at me.

Green turtle, green turtle, what do you see?

I see a pink octopus looking at me.

Pink octopus, pink octopus, what do you see?

I see an orange seahorse looking at me.

Orange seahorse, orange seahorse, what do you see?

I see a red crab looking at me.

Red crab, red crab what do you see?

I see a yellow fish looking at me.

Yellow fish, yellow fish, what do you see?

I see a big whale looking at me.

Big whale, big whale, what do you see?

I see children looking at me.

Children, Children, what do you see?

I see a blue shark, a green turtle, a pick octopus, an orange seahorse, a red crab, a yellow fish, and a big whale looking at me .

Baby Storytime #3 - Ocean

Today went very well.
I wasn't nervous and that helped.
I had a big crowd, 23 babies and 17 adults.
I set the stage by telling adults to keep the kids away from my stuff (but in nicer words). It mostly worked. The one mom with twins wasn't able to take one of her daughters back but I did my best.
Here's what I did:

Early Lit tip - Vocabulary
Opening song: The More we Get Together - with uke
(some parents were doing sign language with this)

Song - Come along and sign with me, sing with me, sing with me, come along and sing with me on a Wednesday morning. (then clap, roll, and tap) - tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Nursery Rhyme - Rub a dub dub (showed drawing from book)

Flannel board - Blue Shark, Blue Shark what do you see? (like Brown Bear)

Fingerplay/Song - Waves at the Beach (to Wheels on the bus)

Tickle- Fishin' for a Ticklin'

Choral Reading - In My Ocean

Shakers - The Goldfish by Laurie Berkner

Goodbye Song - Now it's time to say goodbye, say goodbye, say goodbye, Now it's time to say goodbye, we'll see you soon (with Uke) - to Mary had a little lamb

Bubbles - Octopus' Garden - Raffi

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My impressions:
Blue Shark very well received.
In my ocean also.
Should have memorized Waves on the beach
Tickle went better than I expected.
I forgot to bring out the doll for demo but it went okay. I missed it a little.
I am going to learn a few names each time - Kelsy, Hazel, Addie, and Ben

Baby Storytime #2 - Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

Today we did bugs. I had fewer babies this week and I set up the room better.

 I used cloths to hid things I was going to use later and the babies were more under control.

Only one little girl was up with me most of the time because her mother had a lap baby as well.
I can handle one rover so things went very smoothly, however, it would be nice to have more energy in the room as well as being under control. It is a balancing act and I am still working on that.

 I made sure I gave the adults permission to rescue their babies from wandering into the dangerous librarian space and that helped also.

A few things I want to remember:

• Many of the adults want to sit on the side so they can lean against the wall. Should I put out chairs? I might ask if this has been tried before
• itsy bitsy and wheels on the bus were best
• uke was fine but limiting. I had to stop and do movements occasionally.
•  need a better closing song, this one didn't work (This is the way we say goodbye)

The order I did things:

• Opening song - The more we get together (uke)
• Bounce (Ladybug fly)
• Flannel (5 little butterflys)
• Scarves -rhyme and song (Butterfly by Mariah Carrey)
• Fingerplay (2) (Itsy bitsy and Caterpillar, Caterpillar)
• Shakers - song (Buzz Buzz by Laurie Berkner)
• Showed a pop-up picture in a book  (Butterfly, Butterfly by Horaeck)
• Bubbles (Bathtime by Raffi)
• Closing song - This is the Way (uke)

My early literacy asides today were about singing and phonological awareness.

Baby Storytime #1 - Farm animals

Well, I don't remember much of today's baby storytime but everyone seemed to have fun.
Lessons learned:

• Make my opening statement more inclusive: talk about leaving and returning, retrieving the kids, and having fun.
• Have my stuff more consolidated and hidden. Maybe in bins? 
• Only use things they can touch (not my bear)
• Bubbles are a pain but they love them
• One book max
• Lots of singing
• End on time
• lock the closet at all times

I had 20 babies - all but one walkers - and 22 adults. Some came in late because I didn't go get them which is what they expected.

It's a learning curve and it will get better...I hope!

St. Patrick's Day Storytime

I am going to work at another branch for 4 months so I will be doing baby storytime for the next 4 months
This will be a big change but I am looking forward to the challenge.
Here is what I did for St. Patrick's Day
MOVEMENT: Welcome Song - Open Shut them
MOVEMENT: “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem by Jim Gill
BOOK:Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley
THEMED MOVEMENT:
“Dance, Dance Leprechaun Dance”
(to tune of “Skip to My Lou”)
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance.
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance.
Dance, dance, leprechaun dance,
Do a dance for me.
Bow…
Clap…
Jump…
Sit for our next story.
BOOK:Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Flannelboard: Five Green Shamrocks
Flannelboard: Leprechaun, Leprechaun, what do you see?
(from http://librarystorytimeabcs.blogspot.com/2012/03/not-flannel-friday-leprechaun.html)
BOOK: St. Patrick's Day Shamrock by Berendes
The Irish Jig from Folk Dance Fun by Georgiana Stewart
BOOK: Green Shamrocks by Bunting
"Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's day" by Marla Lewis - marching with musical instruments (from youtube)
BOOK: Where is the Green Sheep? by Fox
Goodbye song- Jump by Patti Shulka(from youtube)
Craft - Leprechaun Hats from http://www.momontimeout.com/2012/03/leprechaun-hats-craft/

How it went
The kids loved most everything except Green by Vaccaro. I had quite a few toddlers and a couple of 4-5s and one baby. It was hard to keep the older ones interested but they seemed to have fun with the craft especially.

Farm Toddlertime

Opening song: Open Shut Them
1st book – Stuck in the Mud by Clarke
Flannel: Baa Baa Black Sheep
2nd book: Farmyard Beat by Craig with puppets
Song/puppets: Old MacDonald (use animals with flannel on back)
3rd book: Cock a Doodle Quack Quack by Baddiel
Song: Egg shakers to “I know a Chicken” by Laurie Berkner
Action poem: Little boy blue
Closing Song: Oh What a Miracle by Palmer
This storytime went well. Almost one for one kids and adults.
It makes a big difference
I did a favorite theme and puppets because I will be on temporary assignment to another branch for 4 months.
I will not be doing Toddlers (18-36 months) but Babies in bloom (birth - 18 months)
I will miss my kids but look forward to challenges at my new branch.