Tot Time-Babies & Doggies

While I don't normally share my story time plans, I really liked how this program turned out.  Our Tot Time program is for 12-24 months and we preregister 15 toddlers for a 5-week session. 

Opening Song: If You're Happy and You Know It from Songs for Wiggleworms

Book:  Naptime with Theo and Beau by Jessica Shyba

Scarf Rhyme:  Peek-a-Boo (to the tune of Are You Sleeping?)

Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo 

I see you, I see you

I see your button nose

I see your tiny toes

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

--Written by Jim Thomas and found on What Happens in Storytime

Scarf Rhyme: Wave Your Scarf

Wave your scarf, one, two, three

Wave your scarf, just like me!

(Repeat with roll and throw)

-Adapted by Mollie from What Happens in Storytime.  Originally from Lapsit Services for the Very Young II by Linda L. Ernst. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 2001.

Scarf Rhyme: Roll Your Scarf

Roll your scarf and make it into a ball.

Make it very small. 

1, 2, 3, throw!

Book: I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy

For our middle book, we pass out a board book copy for every participant to follow along.

Action Rhyme: Here is the Beehive

Here is the beehive, but where are the bees?

Hidden away where nobody sees.

Watch and you'll see them come out of the hive.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, buzzzzz! 

Flannelboard Rhyme: Two Little Bluebirds

Two little bluebirds sitting on a hill.

One named Jack and one named Jill.

Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill.

Come back Jack. Come back Jill.

(Repeat with yellow, pink, and purple birds)

Book: Babies and Doggies by John Schindel and Molly Woodward

 Playtime-Bubbles
Depending on the day, we spend 5-10 minutes playing with bubbles.  I use a bubble stick to blow the bubbles and the toddlers pop them.  Many of my first time parents and caregivers are amazed by the bubble stick and are stopping by their local Target to pick up their own to use at home. 

Playtime-Balls
We spend an additional 5-10 minutes playing with mini beach balls.   

Closing Song-Clean Up Song
Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere.
Clean up, clean up, everybody does their share. 

Story Time Emergency Plan

I am going to approach this topic from a different direction than Anne did.  If I were sick, there is often only 1 other staff member in the department at the time and they need to cover the reference desk.  It is entirely possible for someone from outside the department to cover my programs if I get sick.  That can be really intimidating if you are not used to working with kids on a regular basis.  For this brave soul who is venturing into children's programming, I have prepared an outline for them to follow.  For both of my regular groups (12-24 months and 2 year olds), I do have a note that says, "If at any time you feel uncomfortable, put on my iTunes playlist and they will all leave happy."

Babies (12-24 months)

• Song-If You're Happy and You Know It
• Book-Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
• Song-Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Shared book-pass out board book set and read together
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star sung with shakers
• Book-Peek-a-Moo by Marie Cimarusti
• Blow bubbles with bubble gun for 5 or so minutes
• Pull out beach balls to play with for 5 or so minutes 

My actual written out plan has the words for Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle, Twinkle, as well as the locations of the props.

Two Year Olds

Depending on how antsy the kids are, I start with a song or a story and alternate.  Normally we start with a song. 

•  Song-Shake Your Sillies Out 
•  Book-start with the longest 
•  Song-Drivin’ in My Car 
•  Book  
• Song-I’m a Little Teapot
• Book 
• Song-Head and Shoulders 
• Flannelboard
• Song-Jump Up, Turn Around
• Flannelboard 
• Song-Ring Around the Rosie (with the giant scrunchie in the closet)

Notes

• Use the iPod.  All of the songs are on a playlist called Lisa Little Listeners 
• Nametags are on Lisa’s desk in a basket.  They get passed out as the kids come in-I sit up front and they come up and tell me their name.  At the end of the program when I pass out stamps, I collect the nametags back.  Every child who attends gets a sticker on their nametag (or just sticker them all if you forget). 
• The books for the week are on Janet’s desk.  I normally pick the three easiest.  Then I raid my flannelboard files (all of the file cabinets in my office) for 2-3 rhymes.  The files are in alphabetical order by theme.  Yes, there really are 7 drawers of flannelboards.

So how does this work? I have only been sick 1 time in 14 years so it has only had to be used once.  It is easier to have a plan in place, rather than trying to email one in early in the morning while sick.  My boss did have to do my story times and came out of the program with a greater appreciation of what I do.  As long as it isn't the first week, the parents and kids tend to be great about helping out.

Flannel Friday-I Love Shapes

I was looking for new books to share with my baby story time crowd and found I Love Shapes by Sandra Magsamen.  It is a great book for one-on-one sharing, but the pictures are almost too small for a crowd.  This made it a perfect choice for being redone as a flannelboard!

As you can see, we have a circle, stars, a triangle, rectangles, squares, and a heart.  Everything is outlined in puffy paint.  I am happy that each picture has a background, because it sets it apart from my red flannelboard.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Katie at Storytime Katie.

If you want to know more about Flannel Friday:

• Check out the official Flannel Friday blog that includes schedules and other important information.
• Search for images and links on our Pinterest page.
• Discuss story time stuff (and other ys stuff) on the Flannel Friday Facebook page.
• Follow #flannelstorytime on Twitter.

Flannel Friday-Two Little Bluebirds

This is one of my favorite rhymes to use with my Tot Time group (12-24 months).  When I saw that Mollie had created a flannelboard to go with it, I stole (um, borrowed) her pattern and made my own.

Two little bluebirds sitting on a hill.

One named Jack and one named Jill.

Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill.

Come back Jack. Come back Jill.

Recently I have been working on circulating early literacy kits.  One of the themes is nursery rhymes and I REALLY wanted to include this rhyme.  To make it more fun, I expanded it a bit.

Two little purple birds

Two little yellow birds

Two little pink birds

Because these were circulating, I used puffy paint rather than googly eyes so I didn't create a choking hazard.  I included a rhyme card with each set (content by me and design by our Community Relations person).  In addition to the rhyme, I give suggestions to parents as to how to play with the rhyme.  For example, instead of using Jack and Jill, use Brad and Bill.

This week's hosts are Lindsey and Dana over at Jbrary!  Stop of by for some great ideas.  As always, for all Flannel Friday information stop by the official blog.

Flannel Friday-Orange Triangle Fox

You know those days when you are perusing your newly cataloged books and find the perfect flannelboard book?  That's the case with this week's version of Orange Triangle Fox by Sarah Jones.  This is a 2013 board book that deals with some of my favorite concepts-shapes, colors, and animals.  My only problem was that it was a board book, which makes sharing it with a large crowd more difficult.

As you can see by my picture of all of the shapes, each animal is formed around a shape.  This would pair well with My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall.  Each animal is also a different color.  There are also only 3 words on a page-the color, the shape, and the animal (see below).

yellow star frog

 

 green semicircle turtle

All of the pieces are made out of felt with puffy painted details.  If you don't have this title in your collection, it is definitely worth picking up.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Anna at Future Librarian Superhero.  For more information about Flannel Friday, check out the official blog.  

Baby Story Time Board Books

A big component of our under 2 story times in my library system is the sharing of a board book.  We pass them out to everyone in the group and do a group read along.  Personally, I love this component because the parents and children are sharing the book.  It shows the kids that reading is fun for everyone, which motivates them to want to read in the future.

Last fall, a couple of us were looking for new titles to use and had a big Twitter conversation.  I always love to see what others are using as every story time presenter seems to have their own style as to what will work for them.  I will be honest-some of our current collection doesn't work for me, but it works for others.  Since I am newer to this location, I have been adding new titles that fit my style as I can.  I am more of a singer so I like books that flow or rhyme.

At my location, all of our board book sets are stored in a closet right in the story time room.  This makes it convenient.  Plus, once you see the inside of the closet, you will realize that board books are about all it can hold.

As you can see, the shelves are not very deep, but they are perfect for board books.  All of our sets are cataloged with a special spine label and a blue professional reference sticker.  This helps us find the titles easily when they accidentally get interfiled with the regular board book collection.

So I can easily find stuff, all sets are together.  They are also in alphabetical order by author's last name.  There is a label on the inside of the door as to what should be on each shelf.  Our full collection can be seen here. 

If you would like to see how another location stores their copies, one of our branches also collects board book sets.  This is nice because we can trade as needed.  Their copies are also cataloged and labeled.  They have open shelves in the staff workroom for their copies.

What do you do with your story time board books and what titles do you have?  I am always looking for new ideas.

Flannel Friday-Brown Bat, Brown Bat

This week is Flannel Friday's Halloween Extravaganza and I knew that I wanted to participate.  Unfortunately, all of my felt and flannelboards are still in boxes from the big move.  As I am doing baby story times for the first time ever, I have been trying to beef up my younger flannelboards.  Who better to be inspired by than Mel's Desk?

Brown bat, brown bat, what do you see?
I see a red leaf looking at me.

Red leaf, red leaf, what do you see?

I see an orange pumpkin looking at me.

Orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin, what do you see?

I see a black cat looking at me.

Black cat, black cat, what do you see?

I see a yellow moon looking at me.

Yellow moon, yellow moon, what do you see?

I see a gray owl looking at me.

Gray owl, gray owl, what do you see?
I see a white ghost looking at me.

I like this rhyme for young children because it is based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear which many of them can recite by heart.  It also uses simple shapes (die cuts) and bright colors.

 

Kay at Storytime ABC's is hosting this week's Flannel Friday round-up.  If you are looking for new ideas, check it out!

Now Presenting Baby Story Time...

If you have been following along the past couple of weeks, you will have seen my big job change.  In addition to be really exciting for me professionally, it also means that I will now be doing a baby story time next week for the first time EVER.  It is a little intimidating as I have been doing 4 2 year old story times a week for at least the past 7 years, but I am looking at it as an awesome new frontier!  If you are like me and are starting from scratch, below are some resources to get you started.

Blogs
I will admit that blogs are my go-to resource to get started.  These people have real experience in the field.  Plus, they tell you what works and what doesn't.

• Let the Wild Rumpus Start
• Mel's Desk (Check out all of her themes!)
• Read Sing Play (I really like her rhyme page)
• What Happens in Storytime 

Looking for Baby Books?
I am one of those people who like it when people show me books that have worked.  These two blogs have great lists that are up-to-date.

• Abby the Librarian
• Show Me Librarian

Professional Books
These are my favorite at the moment, but there are plenty of other great reference works out there.

Mother Goose on the Loose by Betsy Diamant-Cohen
This is one of the original great programs for babies and young children.  It is chock full of rhymes and plans with ready-to-go programs.

Finger Folk by Marilyn Lohnes
While the plans in here are for older kids (ages 2+), the patterns for the felt board pieces are perfect for count up and down rhymes.  I like using them with a glove or a lapboard.

The Very Ready Reading Program by Sue McCleaf Nespeca
This first binder is for ages 0-24 months and they are planning on coming out with two more next spring.  Twenty different quality baby story time plans are included, plus handouts for the parents and notes for the presenter.  While it is expensive, it is worth at least checking out.

Now I am all set and ready to go!