For this family storytime we focused on using our imagination and creativity!
Here’s what we did:
I always start with the same warm ups:
Song – Top of the Morning
This is a good song to warm up with because we stretch all the parts we will be using in storytime. Eyes, arms, legs, mouth, nose.
Rhyme – Say Hello
I love this rhyme. Everyone claps along and at the end we say hello how ever I tell them to. Loud, soft, quick, slow.
Movement Exercise – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
We do this three times, faster and FASTER each time.
Song – Skidamarink
It’s a classic, I know you all know it!
From here we get into our theme.
ASL – Art, Dance, Play & Fun
I like to include a few new ASL signs in storytime. I usually print my own flash cards from Baby Sign Language.
Story – Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Everyone remembers exploring new worlds inside of a cardboard box and this is a fun one that does just that.
Rhyme w/ Movement – The Pirate Song
When I was one, I banged my drum. The day I went to sea. I jumped aboard a pirate ship, And the captain said to me. We’re going, this way, that way, Forwards and backwards, Over the Irish Sea. A bottle of yum, to warm my tum, And that’s the life for me. When I was two, I buckled my shoe….. When I was three, I banged my knee…. When I was four, I knocked on the door…. When I was five, I learned to dive…..
Song w/ Movement – Spaghetti Legs by Raffi
We got our wiggles out by pretending our limbs were spaghetti.
Flannel Board – It Looked Like Spilt Milk
A classic flannel board for the kids.
Game – All the Children Were Sleeping
This is a game my mom taught me (she’s a nanny). You go “sleeping, sleeping all the children were sleeping. And when they woke up, they were ____.” Lions, tigers, bears. You get the kids to act out different movements and sounds. It’s a big hit for my kids. Remember to turn them back to boys and girls at the end
Movement Exercise – Can You Move With Me
Can you wiggle like a worm,Can you squiggle, can you squirm?Can you flutter, can you fly,Like a gentle butterfly?Can you crawl upon the groundLike a beetle that is round? Can you move with me? Can you flip? Can you flop? Can you give a little hop?Can you slither like a snake?Can you give a little shake?Can you dance like a beewho is buzzing in a tree?Can you move with me?
Story – I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
I passed out scarves and we pretended that our scarves were our paintbrushes and while I sang the story, the kids painted their arms, legs, heads…
Scarves w/ Song – Let’s Go Fly a Kite
Yes, the Mary Poppins song! A second chance to wave our scarves.
Finally, I always end with the same three things:
Movement Exercise – If You’re Happy and You Know It
I tell the kids that I want to know how happy they are.
Rhyme – Say Goodbye
This is the same rhyme we started with, so the new guys are familiar with it by the end of storytime.
Song – Goodbye, So Long, Farewell my Friends by Music Together
I always put this one on as I go to open the door. Its a nice, slow, peaceful song to wind down on.
How’d it go: Overall this was a really fun storytime. We did a lot of singing and dancing and I had no voice by the end! Everything went really well but we did cut our pirate song short because we just couldn’t get the rhythm–need some more practice before we do that one again. Imagination is a really great theme!
That’s all for now!
-M-
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