Mel’s Desk

When I got out my file for my “Summer” baby storytime theme this week, I found notes for a shapes flannelboard in the margins that I never got around to finishing last year. My notes had little shape doodles with the words “Summer shapes–sun–popsicle.” Once I started thinking about it I realized why I abandoned it–I couldn’t think of any other objects to use! So I asked on Twitter and got some great ideas. Thanks! Here’s what everyone came up with and how I’ll use it in storytime.

I’ve been using clip art more and more for my flannel board images, because I like the variety of pictures available and how professional they can look to our media-savvy storytime kids. But for this one I wanted to be able to flip over the shapes and have them stick to the board on both sides, so I used good old felt.

I’ll put them up on the board like this:

Then I’ll say, “Summer is a good time to look for shapes! Let’s think about the sun. What shape is the sun? Is the sun a rectangle? [point to one of the rectangles] Is the sun a square? [point to the square] No! The sun is a circle! [point to the yellow circle, then flip it over to reveal details on other side.] Here’s a yellow sun. Sometimes we wear sunglasses in the summer because the light is so bright! OK, let’s think about a picnic blanket. What shape is a picnic blanket? Is it a circle?” etc.

Here’s all the shapes flipped over: An orange and blue beach towel, red and white picnic blanket, yellow sun, white ice cream scoop and tan cone, and green popsicle. [The popsicle stick is tucked behind the shape--instead of flipping this shape over, you untuck the stick. The ice cream cone has colored sprinkles and black "waffle cone" lines drawn on with markers.]

The pinwheel I will try like this: after we’ve done all the other shapes, I’ll ask what the purple triangle could be. Then I’ll add the other three purple triangles and the red stick and show off the pinwheel.

In baby storytime, I’m less concerned with “teaching” the babies their shapes or colors or eliciting verbal responses from them than I am in modeling for the parents how to talk with their babies: Go ahead and ask questions, and wait for answers, even though babies aren’t likely to respond verbally. Give babies a simple answer, then expand on that answer…you’re introducing your baby to how conversations work and giving them lots of words to soak up!

If you have toddler or preschool storytime & try this, let me know how it goes with the “big kids”!

I had a chance to do an outreach storytime visit to a local kindergarten this week. For their silent auction fundraiser every year, this school asks if they can put a storytime on the auction list! Every year we say yes! The family that wins the bid gets to schedule a storytime just for them and their friends at the library. This year, the family who won donated the storytime to their daughter’s kindergarten room. Next week the class is going to the zoo, so they requested some zoo stories.

It’s always fun to plan a longer storytime for older kids. This is what I did!

BOOK: Be Nice To Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham.
(Totally one of my favorite books from when I was little.)

SONG: Over at the Zoo
(This I adapted from Grandpa’s Farm. I used some of the animals from the Polar Bear Polar Bear flannel kit from Lakeshore, and adapted the words like this:

We’re on our way, we’re on our way
On our way to see the zoo
We’re on our way, we’re on our way
On our way to see the zoo
Over at the zoo there is a polar bear
Over at the zoo there ia a polar bear
That bear, she makes a noise like this:
Growl, growl!
That bear, she makes a noise like this:
Growl, growl!

The other animals I used were:
Boa Constrictor…ssss
Big strong lion…roar
Black & white zebra…yi yi yi (Have you actually heard one? It’s weird!)
Elephant…brrrrr

TELL: Draw & Tell Elephant story
from Tell & Draw Stories by Margaret Olson, 1963. This is one of those books that has been in our children’s workroom forever. In this story, two boys go to a zoo and you wind up drawing an elephant. It’s pretty cute.

MOVE: Elephant Goes Like This

The elephant goes like this like that
clasp & swing hands in front like a trunk
He’s terrible big
hold arms out to sides
and terrible fat
puff out cheeks
He has no fingers he has no toes
wiggle fingers and toes
But goodness gracious! What a nose!
mime trunk

SONG: I Came to the Zoo
(Sing to My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. I had the kids raise & lower their arms when they heard an animal name…so hands up at “lions” and hands down at “elephants” and hands up again at “tigers”…We did it once, then again super fast. Lots of giggles.)

I came to the zoo to see lions,
Elephants, tigers, and bears.
I came to the zoo to see zebras.
I love all the animals there!
Lions, tigers,
Elephants, zebras, and bears,
And bears!
Lions, tigers,
Elephants, zebras, and bears!

BOOK: Move! by Steve Jenkins

BOOK: From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle
(At the end, go back and look again at crocodile and monkey pictures.)

SONG: 5 Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree

5 little monkeys sitting in a tree
hold up five fingers
Teasing Mr. Alligator, “Can’t catch me!”
put thumbs in ears and waggle fingers
Along came the alligator quiet as can be
put palms together like an alligator mouth and weave back & forth
And SNATCHED that monkey right out of the tree!
open palms wide and clap loudly on “snatched”

(You can do “scared” instead of “snatched” if you have some tender hearts in your audience.)

BOOK: Goodnight Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann

CRAFT: Noisy Oval Animals

The teachers requested an activity or craft that incorporated writing, since that was something they had been working on with the kids.

So I cut out a bunch of ovals for animal bodies, in different animal-y colors like green, black, white, tan, orange, and pink. I cut “zoo signs” and word bubbles.

I told the kids we were going to work with cut paper, like Eric Carle and Steve Jenkins, and use word bubbles just like Peggy Rathmann. I showed the ovals to the kids and we talked about what animals each color could be. Then we talked about how the ovals didn’t have legs, arms, heads, or stripes or spots. I said it was their job to dream up an animal, draw whatever that animal needed, write the name of the animal on the zoo sign, and think of something for the animal to say and write that in the word bubble. It could be “Roar!” or it could be “Good Night” or it could be something silly. My daughter made a sample for me and her penguin said, “Like my new tuxedo?”

Sorry for the blurry pics, I was using my phone!

This flamingo says, “Do I need skinny legs?”

And this horse says, “Ta-dah! I made some spots!”

I just bought this Goodnight Moon wall hanging at my girls’ school silent auction today. It is making me so happy. Every kindergartner wrote a word or two from the “goodnight” sequence, which were decoupaged onto a painted wooden board. I saw it in the morning when I was dropping off bake sale stuff, and fell in love so hard that I went BACK in the afternoon right before bids were closed, to try to make sure I got the last bid.

I did!