“Fall/Autumn” yoga storytime

Opening – How I explain the rules of yoga storytime: stay on your mat and keep your hands to yourself.
(Skip to my Lou –  from Jim Gill)
Stomping feet, one and two
Stomping feet, one and two
But if my feet were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling.

Clapping hands, one and two
Clapping hands, one and two
But if my hands were covered in glue
I’d stick to the glue, my darling
(hands in Anjali mudra, or prayer position)

Are you Ready for Yoga? 
Are you ready for yoga?
If you’re ready, then stomp your feet
Stomp your feet and make some noise.
Let’s stomp our feet and make some noise
And do it really fast
Then stop. Stretch your feet up, up, up
And down.
Repeat with arms then both. 
Source: Next Generation Yoga at the National Kids Yoga Conference

Extend and Stretch
Frere Jacques
Extend and stretch (sit in sukasana – easy seated pose, or crisscross applesauce- and do seated side bends)
Extend and stretch
Twist and turn (seated twists)
Twist and turn
This is yoga, (hands overhead on “this,” then bring to prayer position on “yoga”)
This is yoga
Om sweet om, (hands in prayer, bow forward)
Om sweet om
Source: I got this from Kids Yoga Guide teacher training, but here is another from Be Grace Yoga 

Halloween sun salutations
Hello, bats. Flap, flap, flap
Hello, worms. Squirm, squirm, squirm.
Place your hands on the floor. 1,2
And step back. 3,4
Lower your belly to the leaves on the floor.
Aoooo. howl at the moon so pale
Lift up to shake your werewolf tail
Bend your knees. Jump your feet up please.
Take a deep breath in
And feel the magic deep within.
Source: KidPowerment Yoga

Open the Book
Arms, legs, both
Close the book. Open the book. Turn the page.
Start seated with arms stretched out in front of you, palms touching. To “open the book,” stretch the arms wide. To close it, bring them back together. To “turn the page,” open just the right arm and close it, then the left arm and close it. Repeat “turning pages” until the kids giggle. Repeat the whole sequence using legs instead of arms. Then try arms and legs together. 

Book – There was an Old Lady who Swallowed some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
leaves/tree – tree pose/vrksasana
shirt – five pointed star
pumpkin – rock and roll. Try to stand back up without using hands.
pole – extended mountain pose / tadasana
pants –natarajasana/dancer pose
rope – crazy 8’s
hay – table pose
Source: Omazing Kids (modified)

Song: Bari Koral’s “Apple Tree“
seed (child’s pose)
apple tree – tree/vrksasana

Candle Breath – Hold a finger out. Pretend this is your candle. Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. Try not to blow your candle out. Just let the breath out slowly enough that your pretend flame would flicker and dance. Repeat this until the room is calm.

Savasana 

Peace begins with me
Hold both hands overhead. On the word “peace,” touch the thumbs and pinky fingers together. On the word “begins,” touch the thumbs and ring fingers. On the word “with,” touch the thumbs and middle fingers. On the word “me,” touch the thumbs and pointers. Repeat this four times, the first time loudly and hands overhead. The second time, bring the hands down a little and speak a little softer. The third time, bring hands lower and whisper. The last time, bring hands to knees and speak words silently to self.
Source: Kids Yoga Guide Teacher Training

Hand tree and leaf rubbing craft

Namaste!

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“Cats” toddler storytime

Opening Rhyme
(to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
We’re all here today. We’re all here today.
Let’s clap our hands and sing together.
Hip, hip, hooray!
Source: (To be honest, my library was using this before I started so I’m not sure where the previous librarian found it, but it looks like a modified version of Jean Warren’s Preschool Express song here.)

Open Shut Them
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap.
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
Put them in your lap, lap, lap.
Creep them, crawl them,
Creep them, crawl them,
Right up to your chin, chin, chin.
Open up your little mouth,
But do not put them in.
Source: King County Library System

Book – There are Cats in this Book by Vivienne Schwartz

A Kitten is Hiding
A kitten is hiding under a chair
(make fist, pet fist with other hand)
I looked and I looked for her everywhere
(put hand over eyes, look around)
Under the table, on top of the bed
I looked in the corner and when I said, (pretend to look under/over furniture)
“Come, kitty, come, kitty, here’s milk for you.”  (make bowl with hands)
Kitty came running and calling, “Mew, mew.”
Source: Surlalune

Pussycat, Pussycat
Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?
I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse
Under her chair.
Source: Traditional

Little Kittens
One little, two little, three little kittens
Were napping in the sun.
One little, two little, three little puppies
Said, “Come, let’s have some fun!”
Up to the kittens the puppies went creeping
As quiet, as quiet as could be.
One little, two little, three little kittens
Went scampering up a tree.
Source: Perry Public Library

Book – Meeow and the Little Chairs by Sebastien Braun

Coffee
Use your arms as train wheels that slowly rotate into action.
Coffee, coffee, coffee (say the words and move your arms very slowly)
Fish and chip, fish and chips,
fish and chips (a little faster)
Cheese and crackers, cheese and crackers, cheese and crackers
(even faster)
Meat and potatoes, meat and potatoes, meat and potatoes (faster still!)
Soup! Soup! Soup!  (Mimic a train whistle)
Source: King County Library System

Hey Diddle Diddle
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
Source: Traditional

Bubbles – best bubble machine ever! (IMHO, of course)

 Rainbows in my Bubbles
Tune of She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain
I’ve got rainbows in my bubbles, yes, I do
I’ve got rainbows in my bubbles, yes, I do
When I look up towards the sun,
They’ve got rainbows every one.
I’ve got rainbows in my bubbles, yes, I do.
Source: Preschool Express

Good-bye Song
Wave with one hand, then with the other
Wave with one hand, then with the other
Wave with one hand, then with the other
Wave with both feet now
Repeat with other body parts
Source: King County Library System

Play Time!

Early Literacy Tip: Read books about your favorite animals. Take a trip to the zoo or a nature center.

More books that could work for this theme
Scaredy Cats by Jeff Mack

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“The Little Old Lady who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything” preschool book club

We began by talking about how some things seem scary but in the end, they’re not.

Read The Little Old Lady who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything  by Linda Williams. We read this book walking around the room when the little old lady walked. I also brought in props to hand to participants: 2 shoes, a pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, 2 gloves, a hat, and a light up pumpkin head. Although we had more kids than props, I learned a fun bit of info from a fabulously silly librarian (shout out to Cliff Davidson) at Denver Public Library: it’s ok to not have enough props for everyone. Kids love watching other kids participate. The kids had to shake their props and make noise whenever cued.

We then experimented with water and Reese’s Pieces, like this post from Playdoh to Plato.

We then used this scarecrow printable and potato stamps to make our own scarecrows, like this post.

These guys decided to forgo the scarecrow and just got to stamping. That’s how learning and creativity happen, folks.

 

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“Bodies and Bones” little ones event

For our little ones event this month, we celebrated bodies and bones (sounds Halloween-ish enough to make me happy, while not frightening small children). We held this event in the library twice and once at an outreach event housed by Severance Town Hall.

I froze gloves full of water and drew germs on them, like this post from  How Wee Learn. The kids had to wash off the germs. Pro tip: Fill the gloves, and draw the germs on before you freeze them. Our younger kiddos really just liked the sensory aspect of this.

 

We used our five senses to figure out what was in the bag. Shake the bag. What does it sound like? Smell it. Can you smell anything? Open the bag and reach in, but don’t peek. What do you feel? Look inside. What do you see (Popcorn!) Taste the popcorn.

We made “x-rays” of our hands, like this post from Susan and Will.

Our special friends from Toothzone helped us brush a dragon’s teeth and learn to floss with string, Playdoh, and Duplos.

We made paper bag bodies, like this post from ABC Child Development Center.

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“The Letter Z” preschool storytime

Opening Song
I wiggle my fingers. I wiggle my toes.
I wiggle my ears. I wiggle my nose.
I wiggle my shoulders. I wiggle my chin.
I stretch my arms wide and pull them back in.
I wiggle my elbows. I wiggle my knees.
I hop like a bunny. I smile and say, “Cheese!”
Now I have no more wiggles left in me
And I sit on the floor as still as can be.
Source: Storytime with Jason

Alphabet Monster (with puppet)
I’m the Alphabet Monster
And nothing tastes better
To the Alphabet Monster
Than eating a letter.
Today I will eat a “Z” if I may
With the million more letters
I munch every day.
I’m hungry now. What shall I do?
I think I’ll eat a “y” an “o” and a “u” . . . . . . That means YOU!
Source: Storyblocks (adapted)

Book – Zoom, Rocket, Zoom! by Margaret Mayo

Song: Laurie Berkner’s “Rocketship Run“

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon
Zoom, zoom, zoom,
We’re going to the moon
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship
Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re going to the moon
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!
Far, far, far, we’re going to the stars
Fun, fun, fun, we’re going to the sun
Source: Jbrary

Book – Construction Zone by Tana Hoban

Song – Barry G and the Dream Jam Kids – “Hammer Ring”

Zip your Lips
If you’re quiet and you know it, zip your lips (run finger across lips to close mouth)
If you’re quiet and you know it, zip your lips
If you’re quiet and you know it,
Then zipped lips will surely show it
If you’re quiet and you know it,
Zip your lips
Source: King County Library System

Book – Zoo-Looking by Mem Fox

Animals in the Zoo
The monkeys in the zoo,
The monkeys in the zoo.
They scream and shout and swing about,
The monkeys in the zoo.
The zebras in the zoo: They prance and play, away the day,
The elephants in the zoo: They swing their trunks and eat peanuts.
The lions in the zoo: They claw and roar ’till they get bored
Source: King County Library System

Song – Ziggy Marley “Ziggy Says”

Goodbye
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as high as we can
Good-bye! (in high, squeaky voice)
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as low as we can
Good-bye! (in a deep voice)
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as fast as we can
Good-bye! (very quick)
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as slow as we can
Good-bye! (very slowly and drawn out)
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as quiet as we can
Good-bye! (in a whisper)
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam
Let’s say good-bye as loud as we can
GOOD-BYE! (yelling)
Source: Jbrary

Early literacy tip: Z is for zone of proximal development! In the educational field, the zone of proximal development is the distance in a child’s ability between the child can do by him/herself and what he/she can do with the support of a parent, caregiver, or knowledgeable adult. Families need to support their children as much as possible but also need to withdraw that support gradually as the child becomes more confident and capable to read and write on his/her own.

• Teaching Early Literacy: Development, Assessment, and Instruction by Diane M. Barone et al

 

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“A Sick Day for Amos McGee” preschool book club

We began by talking about what happens when we get sick and what makes us feel better.

Read A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead. 

I set up a veterinary office with a doctor imaginary play kit the library had from a previous event. I had emailed the parents the day before to ask that their child bring in a stuffed animal. (I had a few extra on hand in case anyone forgot.) We first had to fill out their patient card, using this animal record sheet from Mother Natured.

I created a shape recognition “surgical anatomy” coloring activity sheet. surgery-anatomy

They then treated their animals at the veterinary office.

After the doctor’s office, they took their pets “home” for some oatmeal and tea (apple juice) like Amos McGee had when he wasn’t feeling well.

 

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