Sew Bookish Blog

Groovy Tots III

1/18/2019

Graphics created with PicMonkey. Clipart from Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

Time flies when you are having fun! I cannot believe this was the third and final week of Groovy Tots.

I really enjoyed planning and facilitating this program and I look forward to doing it again in the summer! We will be bumping up the age for Groovy Tots in the summer from 12 -24 months to 2 - 3 years old because most of our participants this time around were 2 and 3 years old.

Here are my previous Groovy Tots posts:
Groovy Tots I
Groovy Tots II

The Plan

Welcome Song - Come Along and Walk With Me

From Education Through Music by the Richards Institute of Education & Research
To the tune of “Oats, Peas, Beans & Barley Grow”

Come along and walk with me
Come along and walk with me
We’ll walk and walk and walk and walk
So come along and walk with me

Come along and stomp with me
Come along and stomp with me
We’ll stomp and stomp and stomp and stomp
So come along and stomp with me

Come along and hop with me
Come along and hop with me
We’ll hop and hop and hop and hop
So come along and hop with me

Come along and bend with me
Come along and bend with me
We’ll bend and bend and bend and bend
So come along and bend with me

Come along and glide with me
Come along and glide with me
We’ll glide and glide and glide and glide
So come along and glide with me

Come along and twist with me
Come along and twist with me
We’ll twist and twist and twist and twist
So come along and twist with me

Come along and wave with me
Come along and wave with me
We’ll wave and wave and wave and wave
So come along and wave with me

Rhythm Sticks

Tap Your Sticks

To the tune of "Are You Sleeping?"

Tap your sticks.
Tap your sticks.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Can you tap your sticks,
Can your tap your sticks,
Just like me,
Just like me?

Tap your sticks,
Tap your sticks,
Way up high,
Way up high.
No-w, bend down,
No-w, bend down,
Tap the ground.
Tap the ground

Billy Goats Trip Trap

Trip, trap, trip, trap - across the bridge they come
Trip, trap, trip, trap - crossing one by one

Trip, trap, trip, trap - baby takes a stroll
Trip, trap, trip, trap - over the sleeping troll

Trip, trap, trip, trap - louder taps I hear
Trip, trap, trip, trap - middle goat is near

Trip, trap, trip, trap - stomps the biggest goat
Trip, trap, trip, trap - troll goes in the moat!

If You Have Some Rhythm Sticks

To the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

If you have some rhythm sticks,
rhythm sticks, rhythm sticks
If you have some rhythm sticks, you can tap them now

If you have some rhythm sticks,
rhythm sticks, rhythm sticks
If you have some rhythm sticks, you can rub them now

If you have some rhythm sticks,
rhythm sticks, rhythm sticks
If you have some rhythm sticks, you can hammer them now

If you have some rhythm sticks,
rhythm sticks, rhythm sticks
If you have some rhythm sticks, you can drum them now

A Jumping We Will Go

From Education Through Music by The Richards Institute of Education and Research
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

A jumping we will go,
A jumping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A jumping we will go

A stomping we will go,
A stomping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A stomping we will go

A flapping we will go,
A flapping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o
A flapping we will go

A scooting we will go,
A scooting we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o
A scooting we will go

A clapping we will go,
A clapping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o
A clapping we will go

If You're Happy and You Know It

Performed by Jon & Carrie Lewis from Mr. Jon & Friends album

Scarves

Dancing Scarf Blues

performed by Carole Peterson from Dancing Feet album

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Georgiana Stewart from Musical Scarves & Activities album

Looby Loo

From Education Through Music by The Richards Institute of Education and Research

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my hand in
I take my hand out
I give my hand a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my head in
I take my head out
I give my head a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my ear in
I take my ear out
I give my ear a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my whole self in
I take my whole self out
I give my whole self a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around.

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my belly in
I take my belly out
I give my belly a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

Dance Party!

I thought that it would be great fun to have a dance party. I also wanted an excuse to bust out the best Amazon purchase ever - my strobe light. I purchased it for the Artsy Babies program back in May and it has come in handy on multiple occasions. It is the best $12 purchase that I have ever made.

The kiddos and caregivers had an absolute blast dancing to "Happy" with the strobe light. There was one little three year old that stole my heart with his amazingly adorable attempt at break dancing. It was awesome and he definitely made my week.

Happy

performed by Pharell from Despicable Me 2 soundtrack

Goodbye Song - Time to Say Goodbye

Time To Say Goodbye
from Carole Peterson's Tiny Tunes album, Adapted by Nicole Lawton
To the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

Now it's time to touch your toes
touch your toes, touch your toes
Now it's time to touch your toes
Touch them now

Now it's time to touch your nose
touch your nose, touch your nose
Now it's time to touch your nose
Touch it now

Now it's time to touch your head
touch your head, touch your head
Now it's time to touch your head
Touch it now

Now it's time to wave goodbye
Wave goodbye, Wave goodbye
Now it's time to wave goodbye
See you all next time

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Groovy Tots II

1/11/2019

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Graphic created on PicMonkey. Clipart from Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

Groovy Tots is a new music and movement program we launched this winter at my library. It was a program that I have been wanting to try for a while. It is geared toward children aged 1- 2 years old and their adult caregivers.

This is our second week of the program and it has been well-received so far. My absolute favorite part of the program today was when we used the Stretchy Band. The kiddos' reactions varied from "what do I do with this weird thing?" to "OMG! It's a STRETCHY BAND!"

Here is my post for last week's groovy tots: Groovy Tots I

The Plan

Welcome Song - Come Along & Walk with Me

Scarves

Little Bo Peep

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
(hide scarf behind your back)
And doesn't know where to find them
Leave them alone and they'll come home
(bring scarf back out)
wagging their tails behind them
(shake scarf)

We Wiggle and Wiggle and Stop

To the tune of "A Hunting We Will Go"

We wiggle and wiggle and stop
We wiggle and wiggle and stop
We wiggle and wiggle
And wiggle and wiggle
And wiggle and wiggle and stop

We wave and wave and stop
We wave and wave and stop
We wave and wave
And wave and wave
And wave and wave and stop

We twirl and twirl and stop
We twirl and twirl and stop
We twirl and twirl
And twirl and twirl
And twirl and twirl and stop

We toss and toss and stop
We toss and toss and stop
We toss and toss
And toss and toss
And toss and toss and stop

We roll and roll and stop
We roll and roll and stop
We roll and roll
And roll and roll
And roll and roll and stop

Stretchy Band

Stretch Back

From Outrageous Orange Performed by Eric Litwin & The Learning Groove

Waking up in the morning
Sun’s up in the sky.
Waking up in the morning
Time to rise and shine.
Everybody stretch back.
Everybody stretch way back.
Everybody stretch back.
It is fun to greet the sun!
Waking up in the morning
There’s a full day ahead.
Waking up in the morning
Time to get out of bed.

Wheels on the Bus

Row,The wheels on the bus go round and round (make a rowing motion with the stretchy band)
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus round and round
All through the town

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish (move stretchy band right to left)
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish
All through the town

The people on the bus go up and down (move stretchy band up and down)
Up and down, up and down
The people on the bus go up and down
All through the town

The wheels on the bus go round and round (make a rowing motion with the stretchy band)
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus round and round
All through the town

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat (make rowing motion with stretchy band)
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Looby Loo

From Let’s Do It Again! by Mary Helen Richards of Education Through Music & the Richards Institute of Education & Research

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my hand in
I take my hand out
I give my hand a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my nose in
I take my nose out
I give my nose a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my hair in
I take my hair out
I give my hair a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my bottom in
I take my bottom out
I give my bottom a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my elbow in
I take my elbow out
I give my elbow a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

Egg Shakers

Shake!

We rocked out to the first half of the song Shake! from We Kids Rock's Everybody Clap Your Hands album

If You're Happy and You Know It- Give a Shake!

If you're happy and you know it, give a shake
If you're happy and you know it, give a shake
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you're happy and you know it, give a shake

Goodbye Song - Now It's Time To...

from Carole Peterson's Tiny Tunes album, Adapted by Nicole Lawton
To the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

Now it's time to touch your toes
touch your toes, touch your toes
Now it's time to touch your toes
Touch them now

Now it's time to touch your nose
touch your nose, touch your nose
Now it's time to touch your nose
Touch it now

Now it's time to touch your head
touch your head, touch your head
Now it's time to touch your head
Touch it now

Now it's time to wave goodbye
Wave goodbye, Wave goodbye
Now it's time to wave goodbye
See you all next time

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Groovy Tots I

1/4/2019

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Graphic created using Picmonkey. Clipart from Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

Happy New Year! I hope that your new year is off to a great start and I wish each and every one of my readers a year full of joy, belly laughs, and great books!

We kicked off 2019 with a new program that I proposed well over six months ago - Groovy Tots. Many of our patrons have been looking for music programs for the younger crowd so I wanted to make a program for them to sing, dance, and play musical instruments.

I am always excited when we launch a new program because there is so much to look forward to!

The Plan

Hello Song - Come Along and Walk with Me

Parachute

Grand Old Duke of York

The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
(lift parachute up in the air)
And he marched them down again!
(bring parachute down to the floor)
And when they're up, they're up.
(lift parachute up in the air)
And when they're down, they're down.
(bring parachute down)
And when they're only half-way up,
(hold parachute waist high)
They're neither up nor down!
(lift parachute up in the air & bring parachute down)

Oh he marched them to the left.
And he marched them to the right.
Then he marched them round and round
And marched them out of sight

Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. (bring parachute up)
Down came the rain & washed the spider out. (bring parachute down)
Out came the sun & dried up all the rain,
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again. (bring parachute up)

Then, the itsy bitsy spider grew up into a big, fuzzy spider!

The big fuzzy spider went up the water spout. (bring parachute up - lift over head)
Down came the rain & washed the spider out. (bring parachute down)
Out came the sun & dried up all the rain,
And the big fuzzy spider went up the spout again. (bring parachute up - lift over head)

Then, the big, fuzzy spider had a baby eentsy weentsy spider!

The eentsy weentsy spider went up the water spout. (bring parachute up)
Down came the rain & washed the spider out. (bring parachute down)
Out came the sun & dried up all the rain,
And the eentsy weentsy spider went up the spout again. (bring parachute up)

London Bridge is Falling Down

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

Everybody is Jumping

Come on now everyone is jumping
Come on we’re jumping
We’re all jumping
‘Cause the music makes you move
We’re jumping to the groove

Now everybody’s stomping
We are stomping, we are stomping
‘Cause the music makes you move
We’re stomping to the groove
C’mon everybody, stomp those feet

Everybody’s clapping
We’re all clapping
Clap your hands
We’re all clapping
‘Cause the music makes you move
Yeah we’re clapping to the groove

Everybody’s dancing
We’re all dancing
Yes, we’re all dancing
‘Cause the music makes you move
We’re dancing to the groove

Everybody’s flying
We’re all flying,
We’re all flying yeah
‘Cause the music makes you move
We’re flying to the groove

Everybody’s crawling,
We’re all crawling,
Everybody's crawling
‘Cause the music makes you move
We’re crawling to the groove

Everybody’s tip-toeing
C’mon we’re tip-toeing
Yeah we’re tip-toeing
Music makes you move
And we tiptoe to the groove

Everybody’s jumping
We’re all jumping
We’re all jumping
Yeah, we’re jumping
Everybody’s jumping
We’re all jumping
We’re all jumping
‘Cause music makes you move
We’re jumping to the groove

Bells

Are You Sleeping?

Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John!
Brother John!
Morning bells are ringing,
Morning bells are ringing,
Ding-Ding-Dong!
Ding-Ding-Dong!

There's a Bell on My Head

From Verona Storytime
To the tune of "If You’re Happy & You Know It"

There’s a bell on my head, on my head,
There’s a bell on my head, on my head,
Oh, let it be said, there’s a bell on my head,
There’s a bell on my head, on my head.

There’s a bell on my arm, on my arm
There’s a bell on my arm, on my arm,
It’s not doing any harm but there’s a bell on my arm,
There’s a bell on my arm, on my arm.

There’s a bell on my leg, on my leg
There’s a bell on my leg, on my leg,
Oh, help me, I beg, there’s a bell on my leg,
There’s a bell on my leg, on my leg.

There’s a bell on my toe, on my toe,
There’s a bell on my toe, on my toe,
Oh, wouldn’t you know, there’s a bell on my toe,
There’s a bell on my toe, on my toe.

Looby Loo

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my hand in
I take my hand out
I give my hand a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my foot in
I take my foot out
I give my foot a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my tongue in
I take my tongue out
I give my tongue a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my belly button in
I take my belly button out
I give my belly button a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

I put my whole self in
I take my whole self out
I give my whole self a shake, shake, shake
And then I turn around

Here we go looby loo
Here we go looby light
Here we go looby loo
All on a Saturday night

Sound Shapes

In my former life, I taught K-8 music. One year, I decided to use my tax return to purchase Sound Shape drums. I had used them in a workshop and loved them!

The Sound Shapes are on the expensive side but they are durable, fun, and easy to store! Since we have three locations, I purchased a carrying case from West Music to make it easy for the drums to be transported from one building to the other.

Dum Ditty

From Preschool Express

Dum-ditty, dum-ditty, dum, dum, dum.
Can you hear me on my drum.
Dum-ditty, dum-ditty, dum, dum, dum.
Beating my drum is so much fun!

Pat-a-Cake

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with a “B”
Put it in the oven for baby and me!

Funga Alafia

Funga Alafia, ashe, ashe
Funga Alafia, ashe, ashe
Funga Alafia, ashe, ashe
Funga Alafia, ashe, ashe

*This song comes from Nigeria. Funga alafia means “hello and welcome”

The Sticks on the Drum

From Preschool Express
To the tune "The Wheels on the Bus"

Oh, the sticks on the drum go up and down.
Up and down, up and down.
Oh, the sticks on the drum go up and down.
All through the town.

Oh, the sticks on the drum go rum, tum, tum.
Rum, tum, tum, rum, tum, tum.
Oh, the sticks on the drum go rum, tum, tum,
All through the town.

A Jumping We Will Go

From Education Through Music by the Richards Institute of Education & Research
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

A jumping we will go,
A jumping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A jumping we will go

A stomping we will go,
A stomping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A stomping we will go

A tip-toeing we will go,
A tip-toeing we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A tip-toeing we will go

A flying we will go,
A flying we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A flying we will go

A clapping we will go,
A clapping we will go
Hi-ho the derry-o!
A clapping we will go

Goodbye Song - Now It's Time

How It Went

We had a blast today! The Sound Shapes were a real hit with the kiddos and their caregivers. The parachute was a second favorite. There were giggles aplenty!

We provided caregivers with a handout of the songs that we were using and that was a big help! We also displayed books that are also songs and also displayed some of our favorite CDs for caregivers to checkout and take home.

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December Book & Cookie Club: "The Island of Dr. Libris"

12/19/2018

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This month marks the 3 year anniversary of when I began facilitating Book and Cookie Club at NPL! The past three years have gone by in the blink of an eye. The way that I plan and lead Book and Cookie is completely different and I suspect that it will continue to evolve.

We wrapped up 2018 with “The Island of Dr. Libris” by Chris Grabenstein. “Island of Dr. Libris” is practically a love letter to readers, imagination, and books. I thought it would be a fun read to wrap up the year.

If you are not familiar with “Island of Dr. Libris” - here is the book trailer that I made to introduce the book to the Book and Cookie Club Crew:

Activities

Icebreaker - Book BINGO

Click on photo for Book BINGO file

I like to start with an icebreaker. We have been fortunate to get a lot of new Crew members so it is important to me to foster a welcoming community of book nerds! I created a Book BINGO game.

To play Book BINGO, participants were given a BINGO sheet with various classic and current book covers. Participants had to go around the room and find people that have read the books on their BINGO page. Participants were not allowed to mark their own sheet and they were limited to two signatures from each person in the room. To win, they had to get BINGO going diagonally, vertically, horizontally, or four corners (plus free space).

Book Talk

I recently attended a training given by one of my amazing colleagues about book discussions and she inspired me to add a new component to Book and Cookie Club - “Book Talk”. I set aside 5 minutes for the Crew to share their thoughts on the book. I created some Google Slides that posed some questions: “How would you rate this book?”, “What did you like about this book?”, and “Would you recommend this book to a friend?”

For the longest time, I was not sure how to approach discussing and evaluating the books that we read for Book and Cookie because I did not want it to feel like school. I wanted to maintain the fun atmosphere that I established and was not sure how to tackle evaluating the books.

After my colleague's inspiring workshop, I decided that there was a way for me to have The Crew evaluate the books and that there was a fun way to do it. I thought of the three questions I wanted The Crew to answer then I browsed Giphy for inspiration.

The Crew found this GIF to be funny yet "disturbing".

I am happy to report that The Crew had a lot of fun sharing their thoughts on the book and our first “Book Talk” was a big hit. The Crew had some really great thoughts and opinions on the book and we even extended our “Book Talk” by sharing what book characters we would love to meet in real life.

Click here to see the slideshow I created for "Book Talk" (includes GIFs & questions)

Discussion Game: LIBRIS

Originally, I was going to make a Kahoot, but it was finals week at the high school and our WiFi needed a bit of a break. I decided to create a Jeopardy-style game but with a twist.

I purchased one of those science fair cardboard tri-folds and covered it with Kraft paper. I printed the spell book clipart from Krista Wallden onto brown construction paper to create “flaps” that I could lift up to reveal questions about the book.

I divided the room into two teams - “Billy Goats Gruff” vs. “Three Musketeers.”

Each team selected a captain and the captains picked the questions they would like to answer - i.e. L 20.

We played until we ran out of questions.

Inkblot to Inkblot

Click on photo for Inkblot card file

The idea for this game originated from Chris Grabenstein’s website http://chrisgrabenstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SLM_Libris_EducatorGuide.pdf

To play, one participant took on the role of “judge” and held up an inkblot card to the rest of the group. The other participants in the group looked at the inkblot and wrote down what they thought the inkblot looked like on a dry erase board. When the judge said“GO!” the rest of the group held up their dry erase boards. The judge selected a winner based on originality or creativity. The winner was the judge for the next round.

I downloaded the inkblot graphics from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test and made them into cards.

Redesigned Book Covers

I provided books and various art materials for The Crew so that they could design new book covers that would be displayed in the library.

I made some examples of redesigned book covers and wrote up explanations of how I went about designing the new cover. I used PicMonkey with the help of graphics from Pixabay to help me create my redesigned book cover examples.

We also discussed how the editors of a publishing company will select the cover art that goes on a book. It is not common for an author to have input on what gets put on the cover of their book. This led to a good discussion of judging books by their covers and how that sometimes the best books have the worst covers.

If I were to do this activity again, I would do a few things differently. I would have The Crew go out and select a book they have already read, I would give them more time to work on their designs, and provide laptops for those that wish to design their covers digitally.

Mad Libs

I pulled up Eduplace’s Wacky Web Tales on some of our circulating iPads so that The Crew could make Mad Libs. At this station, I made sure to include some hints and examples for the various parts of speech that show up in the Mad Libs.

Space Lizard Comic Strips

Click on photo for Space Lizard file.

I made some comic strip templates for the kids to create their own Space Lizard comics.

That's a Wrap

Click here to see my plans for this month’s Book and Cookie and the station signs for the different activities.

Our first book of 2019 will be “Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle” by Dana Simpson. I cannot wait!

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October Book & Cookie Club: Book Scavenger

10/24/2018

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The Book

Our book for this month was Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

What's Your Book Scavenger Name?

The Crew came up with their Book Scavenger name using the formula on the “What’s Your Book Scavenger Name” sheet. The Crew found the first letter of their first name and the first letter of their last name on the grid to get their Book Scavenger name.

Book Scavenger Hunt

The Crew worked in groups of 3-4 to answer questions, solve puzzles, ciphers, magic squares, decode secret messages & more! Their goal was to locate books that were disguised in bookstumes and hidden around the children's department.

Bookstumes

My coworkers helped me create bookstumes for 24 different books to "hide" in. 15 minutes prior to Book and Cookie, I went out into our department and hid the books for The Crew to find.

The books that we used for this Book Scavenger Hunt were ARCs and books (in good condition) that were being withdrawn from our collection. The Crew was allowed to keep the books that they found.

Photo Booth

Emily and James fought the first day of school jitters by taking silly photos. I set up a "photo booth" with props from Target's Dollar Spot and some odds & ends that we had hanging around our department.

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September Book & Cookie Club: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

9/26/2018

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Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver. I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015. This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead.

Our book for this month was "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin. This is one of my favorite middle-grade fantasy novels. I also recommend the audiobook for this book as well!

Create a Dragon

Our discussion game this month involved the neatest dragon floor puzzle I have ever seen and some questions that I wrote and put into a Google Slide presentation. When The Crew answered a question correctly, they were able to select a puzzle piece from the box. I liked that this discussion game had a cooperation component to it. Everyone had to work together to assemble our awesome dragon.

Monkeys in a Barrel

One of my favorite parts of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is when Minli, our brave and clever heroine, tricks the greedy monkeys in the forest. So, we played Monkeys in a Barrel.

Paper Lanterns

The Crew made paper lanterns. I found instructions on how to make the paper lanterns on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Minli's Bag Word Find

I made a word find with all of the items that Minli packed into her bag before she left to find the Old Man of the Moon. I used this Word Search Maker on The Teacher's Corner to generate the wordsearch.

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Tales for 2's & 3's: Marvelous Me III

9/19/2018

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Today I used the stretchy band for the first time in a storytime program. The kiddos had a blast! I must admit, I did too! Who would have throught that a giant rubberband covered in rainbow fabric could be so fun?

My plan for today's Tales can be found here

Books

Songs

Welcome Song: Sing with Me
from Let's Do It Again (p. 112) by Mary Helen Richards of the Richards Institute of Education and Research

This song comes from a music-based literacy approach that I have been studying called Education Through Music. I like to add in different actions like creep, wiggle, bounce, etc. I consider it a double bonus when I can add in some moves that get the littles to cross the midline!

Sing with me, all together,
sing with me, all together,
sing with me, all together,
won't you be my darling?

Stomp with me, all together,
stomp with me, all together,
stomp with me, all together,
won't you be my darling?

Twist with me, all together,
twist with me, all together,
twist with me, all together,
won't you be my darling?

Wave with me, all together,
wave with me, all together,
wave with me, all together,
won't you be my darling?

High Stepping Horses
from Let's Do It Again (p. 48) by Mary Helen Richards of the Richards Institute of Education and Research

This is another Education Through Music song. I have the children's arms become high stepping horses and we make the horse step high on our laps, heads, legs, floor, etc.

High stepping horses,
High stepping horses,
High stepping horses go
jiggety jiggety jog.

High stepping horses,
High stepping horses,
High stepping horses go
jiggety jiggety jog.

The Wheels on the Bus: Stretchy Band Version

The wheels on the bus go round and round (make a rowing motion with the stretchy band)
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus round and round
All through the town

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish (move stretchy band right to left)
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish
All through the town

The people on the bus go up and down (move stretchy band up and down)
Up and down, up and down
The people on the bus go up and down
All through the town

The wheels on the bus go round and round (make a rowing motion with the stretchy band)
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus round and round
All through the town

Going to Kentucky
from Jbrary

*Note: We sang this song with the stretchy band. We bounced the stretchy band up and down to the beat of the chant. When we got to the "shake it, shake it, shake it" part we wiggled the stretchy band.

I was going to Kentucky
Going to the fair
to see the senorita
with the flower in her hair
Oh shake it, shake it, shake it
Shake it if you can
Shake it like a milkshake
And do the best you can

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat (make rowing motion with stretchy band)
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

Goodbye Song: Now It's Time to Say Goodbye
from Carole Peterson's Tiny Tunes album

* Note: I prefer to sing this without the recording because I don't have time to play the whole song.

To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb
Adapted by Nicole Lawton

Now it's time to touch your toes
touch your toes, touch your toes
Now it's time to touch your toes
Touch them now

Now it's time to touch your nose
touch your nose, touch your nose
Now it's time to touch your nose
Touch it now

Now it's time to touch your head
touch your head, touch your head
Now it's time to touch your head
Touch it now

Now it's time to wave goodbye
Wave goodbye, Wave goodbye
Now it's time to wave goodbye
See you all next time

Action Rhymes

Everybody
Credit: Nicole Lawton

Everybody stomp, stomp, stomp
Everybody jump, jump, jump
Everybody slap, slap, slap (slap knees)
Everybody tap, tap, tap (tap head)
Everybody twist, twist, twist
Everybody bend, bend, bend
Everybody clap, clap, clap
Everybody sit, sit, sit

Tickle the Clouds
Adapted by: Nicole Lawton
Original version from Laptime Songs

Tickle the clouds
Tickle your toes
Turn around
And tickle your nose
Tickle your shoulders
Tickle your knees
Let’s read another story
Sit down please

Letter of the Week: Aa

I created a handout for caregivers that have some ideas for activities that they could do at home with their child based on the letter of the week.

You can access the file for the Letter Aa handout here

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Tales for 2's and 3's: Marvelous Me II

9/12/2018

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Today we had lots of fun with egg shakers in Tales for 2's and 3's!

I am a big believer in using the same songs for the whole month or even the whole session. Repetition is really great for this age group and it also helps the caregivers become familiar with the songs so they can feel confident to use them at home!

See my plan for this week's Tales here

Books

Songs

Sing With Me
from Let's Do It Again (p. 112) by Mary Helen Richards of the Richards Institute of Education and Research

This song comes from a music-based literacy approach that I have been studying called Education Through Music. I like to add in different actions like creep, wiggle, bounce, etc.
I consider it a double bonus when I can add in some moves that get the littles to cross the midline!

High stepping horses,
High stepping horses,
High stepping horses go
jiggety jiggety jog.

High stepping horses,
High stepping horses,
High stepping horses go
jiggety jiggety jog.

If You're Happy & You Know It Give a Shake
from Jbrary

If you're happy and you know it, give a shake
If you're happy and you know it, give a shake
If you're happy and you know it
and you really want to show it
If you're happy and you know it, give a shake

Shake Your Shakers
from Jbrary

I did the easy version:
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake shake, shake, shake, shake, shake shake
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake
Shake your shakers

We Shake and Shake and Stop
from Jbrary

We shake and shake and stop
We shake and shake and stop
We shake and shake and shake and shake and shake and shake and stop

Goodbye Song: Say Goodbye
from Carole Peterson's Tiny Tunes album

I prefer to sing this without the recording because I don't have time to play the whole song.

To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb
Adapted by Nicole Lawton

Now it's time to touch your toes
touch your toes, touch your toes
Now it's time to touch your toes
Touch them now

Now it's time to touch your nose
touch your nose, touch your nose
Now it's time to touch your nose
Touch it now

Now it's time to touch your head
touch your head, touch your head
Now it's time to touch your head
Touch it now

Now it's time to wave goodbye
Wave goodbye, Wave goodbye
Now it's time to wave goodbye
See you all next time

Action Rhyme

Stretching
When I stretch up, I feel so tall (reach high)
When I bend down, I feel so small (make a ball with two hands)
Taller, taller, taller, taller. (reach up high)
Smaller, smaller, smaller, smaller. (get low on the floor)
Into a tiny ball.

Letter of the Week: Mm

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Family Storytime: Fun!

9/8/2018

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Graphic created on PicMonkey. Clipart from Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

Bookish friends, I read Book with No Pictures for the first time in storytime today. If you haven't read it in a storytime yet- DO IT! It was so much FUN! I really committed to the silliness and the storytime crowd was beside themselves.

Speaking of fun - our theme for today's storytime was FUN! This was a riotously funny, interactive, and exciting storytime to present. I had an absolute blast singing, laughing, and playing with my storytime friends today.

PRE-STORYTIME MUSIC

These are the songs that we listened to before storytime began. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album cover images are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and/or purchase these great songs!

"Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

"I'm Gonna Catch You"

"Hola Hello"

POST-STORYTIME ACTIVITY: Spot the Difference

I found this super fun spot the difference freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers.

HELLO SONG

Credit: Verona Storytime
To the tune of "Jolly Good Fellow"

We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
Because it’s fun to do.

We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
Because it’s kind to do.

We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
Because it’s fun to do.

LETTER OF THE WEEK: Ff

The letter of the week this week was the letter F.
I use the collage to help prompt discussion about the LOTW. We buzzed like flies and croaked like frogs. We voted if we like to eat french fries with or without ketchup.

RECORDED MUSIC

These are the songs that we danced to during storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album cover images are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and/or purchase these great songs!

"Everybody is Jumping"

"Shake Break"

"Hokey Pokey"

"Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

BOOKS

ACTION RHYMES & SONGS

Come Along & Walk with Me

from Let’s Do It Again! by Mary Helen Richards an ETM Song
To the tune of "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow"

Come along and hop with me
Come along and hop with me
We’ll hop and hop
and hop and hop
so come along and hop with me

Come along and march with me
come along and march with me
We’ll march and march
and march and march
so come along and march with me

Come along and twirl with me
come along and twirl with me
We’ll twirl and twirl
and twirl and twirl
so come along and twirl with me

Everybody

Credit: Nicole Lawton

Everybody stomp, stomp, stomp
Everybody jump, jump, jump
Everybody slap, slap, slap (slap knees)
Everybody tap, tap, tap (tap head)
Everybody twist, twist, twist
Everybody bend, bend, bend
Everybody clap, clap, clap
Everybody sit, sit, sit

Tickle the Clouds

Tickle the clouds
Tickle your toes
Turn around
And tickle your nose
Tickle your shoulders
Tickle your knees
Let’s read another story
Sit down please

Dance Your Fingers Up

Credit: Storytime Katie

Dance your fingers up, dance your fingers down
Dance your fingers to the side, dance them all around
Dance them on your shoulders, dance them on you head
Dance them on your tummy, and put them all to bed

GOODBYE SONG

POST-STORYTIME MUSIC

These are the songs that we listened to after storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album cover images are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and/or purchase these great songs!

"I'm Gonna Catch You"

"Everything is Awesome"

"Overture"

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August Book and Cookie Club: Extra Credit

8/29/2018

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Icebreaker: Book Besties Matching Game

I like to open every meeting with an ice breaker. I think it is a fun way to get everyone acquainted. I broke the group up into two separate teams. Each team received a deck of Book Besties cards. The team that correctly matched the Book Besties the fastest was declared the winner.

Making the World More Awesome

Participants answered the three prompts featured in the photo. Our book this month discussed kindness and tolerance, so I thought that this would be a good whole group activity. I loved seeing the responses that The Crew came up with. I think that this next generation is going to change the world!

Fort Making

Abby, one of the main characters in "Extra Credit", builds a fort in a forest area near her home. I brought in this Tote-A-Fort kit that I had purchased on Amazon and the campfire that I created for (Not So) Happily Atfer Hours in July.

Magnetic Poetry

The main characters - Sadeed and Abby, write poems in their letters. The Crew had the option to try an acrostic, diamante, or free verse poem. The explanation sheet for the diamante poem came from Read, Write, Think.

I purchased a kid's set of magnetic poetry from Amazon and the magnetic dry erase boards are from my teaching days.

Design a Stamp

Sadeed and Abby talk about the designs on the postage stamps. Some of the stamp designs varied from the classic Forever stamp to smiley faces and unicorns.

Knot Tying

Abby's favorite pastime is rock climbing. Abby talks about how she has to tie special knots when she goes rock climbing. I put out books from our nonfiction section that show how to tie different types of knots along with some rope.

Spread Kindness