Geeky Storytime: Star Wars!

A storytime created for the 2018 PuliCon (mini convention) event. A celebration of comics and popular culture. 

Opening - "I Am Here and You Are Here" action song from Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Volume 3 by Peter and Ellen Allard

Literacy activity - Droid Alphabet Flannelboard
Each child is given one picture of a droid with a letter of the alphabet on it. The children bring their droids up to the board when their letter is called.  

 

Book #1 - I am a Jedi by Christopher Nicholas, illustrated by Ron Cohee

Alternative for Book #1 - Star Wars 123 (board book from Scholastic)

Stand up activity - In Tatooine's Sky (action rhyme adapted by Carol Hopkins)

On Tatooine in daytime light
(stretch arms out)We can see 2 suns shine bright
(make circle with arms)We can see the dust clouds white
(sign language for the color “white”)Following speeders in their flight
(zoom one hand through the air)In the sky in black of night
(stretch arms out)We can see 3 moon’s light
(make circle with arms)We can see the stars in sight,
Twinkling high with all their might.
(wiggle fingers) 

Flannelboard - Starships

Show pictures of different starships from the Star Wars universe.  Let the children guess what they are commonly called or which movie/tv show they come from.  

Starships I used:

Star Destroyer

Nebulon Frigate (Medical Frigate)

Milennium Falcon

Ghost

Blockade Runner/Corellian Corvette

Tie Fighter

X-Wing

Slave-1

B-Wing

Y-Wing

 

Book #2 - Rolling with BB-8 adapted by Benjamin Harper, illustrated by Brian Rood (board book)

Alternative to Book #2 - Star Wars Colors (board book from Scholastic)

Closing music with prop - Dance with scarves to the song "Silly Dance Contest" from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes by Jim Gill

Art activity - Color and cut out Yoda ear headbands

Very Sweet Preschool Storytime

Storytime for 3 to 5 year olds:

• Opening - "A Tooty Ta" from Dance Like This by Mr. Al

• Literacy activity - Strawberry alphabet flannelboard

Hand each child a strawberry shape with a letter of the alphabet on it.  The children bring their strawberry up to the board when their letter is called out.  

  

• Book #1 - Pie In the Sky by Lois Ehlert 

• Stand-up activity - "I'm a Little Teapot" action song from This Little Piggy: Lap Songs, Finger Plays, Clapping Games, and Pantomime Rhymes by Adam Stemple, Jane Yolen, et al. 

• Sit down activity - Five Little Cookies (a fingerplay I found many years ago, sorry but my notes don't say where I found it)

Five little cookies in a baker's shop,

Big and round with sprinkles on top.

Along came a child with some money to pay,

Who bought one cookie and ate it right away.

(repeat while counting down)  

• Book #2 - My Pop Pop and Me by Irene Smalls, illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

• Book #3 - Wemberly's Ice Cream Star by Kevin Henkes (board book)

• Closing - Dance with scarves to the song "Silly Dance Contest" from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes by Jim Gill

• Art experience - Use small dot stickers as sprinkles on cupcakes that can be colored or have numbers traced on them.

Summer Reading School Visits: A Silly Game

I find 4th through 6th graders a hard group to entertain for 30 minutes or more.  Yet, this year I was bestowed with this task for a few classes while also promoting summer reading.  Once again, I brought along my silly game to share summer reading program information while also challenging the students to think. 

After a short introduction about me, my library, and the summer reading program, I then I broke the class up into two groups (usually down the middle of the room).  I asked the teacher to choose one student from each group to be my scorekeeper. I kept score by giving each scorekeeper a card from a handy-dandy deck of cards (left over from summer reading a few years back).  Each time their group won a challenge or answered a trivia question the scorekeeper got a card.  At the end of our class time we would add up the face values of the cards and the group with the highest count won the game.  This added a fun random element to the game.  Not every group who answered the most questions had the highest value in cards. 

To play the game, I would pick random students from each group to pick a card from a stack of index cards containing a trivia question or a silly challenge written on it. The card would have a summer event for me to describe followed by a question or challenge.

Here is a sampling of the trivia questions and silly challenges I presented to the students:

The theme for this year's summer reading program is "Libraries Rock!"  Name ten musical instruments.  

What is the official start date of the summer reading program?  What is the first day you can start receiving prizes?

One week in June we are having a Blanket Fort Night event (nothing to do with the Fort Night video game).  Build a miniature fort with a piece of cloth, craft sticks, and pipe cleaners in the time allotted.  

You can earn points by posting two types of books reviews.  What are these two types?  (A written review is worth 25 points and a picture/video review is worth 50 points.)

There are six badges you can earn by completing activities.  Each activity is worth how many points?  (25 points)

One week in July there will be a Lego Mindstorm event.  Build a robot with your bag of Legos.  

How many points do the children of city need to earn for an ice cream party?

How many points do you need to receive a virtual ticket into the grand prize drawing at the end of summer?

One week in July we will be creating with Roominate Village kits.  Build the tallest structure with the Straw Connectors in your bag.  

How many points do you need to get your free book and other goodies?

In July there will be five sessions of Paint to Learn at the library.  Use the Playdough to create the most imaginative animal.  

One week in August we will be playing with Cubelets, a mini robotic toy that are made up of a bunch of small cubes.  Make a rectangle out of Pentominoe pieces.  

One week in August there will be a Minecraft Build Competition.  Ask several Minecraft trivia questions found at FunTrivia.Com.  

REFLECTION:  This game is an easy way to fill up time while still giving out information.  It can get a little chaotic, but mostly runs smoothly.  

Summer Reading School Visits: Books

School visits and field trips to promote summer reading are done and now summer reading is in full swing.  This is such a busy, but fun, time of year!  Here are the books I used with my visits to the K-3rd grade classes. 

  

Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex
The Black and White Factory by Eric Telchin, illustrated by Diego Funck
Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj

 

Guess Again! by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Adam Rex
Grandma's Tiny House: A Counting Story! by JaNay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Priscilla Burris

Flannel Friday: Hickety, Pickety, My Black Hen

I created this counting flannelboard set to go with a nursery rhyme I found for a chicken theme:

Hickety, Pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
Gentlemen come every day,
To see what my black hen doth lay.
Sometimes nine and sometimes ten,
Hickety, Pickety, my black hen.

This set is made from clipart with magnets glued to the backside.  The children and I count how many eggs the hen laid that day.  This hen is a little sneaky!  She actually has 12 eggs that can go out.

Parent Tip: Nursery rhymes expose children to many words that are not used in everyday conversation. They expand a child's vocabulary. Children will also hear lots rhyming words. Research shows that children who know rhymes find it easier to learn to read.

Swimming In Water Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

 

 

• Book #1 – Down by the Cool of the Pool by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees

• Stand-up Activity – Jump, Jump Went the Little Green Frog (action chant)

Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog...
And his eyes went blink, blink.

Blink, blink went the little green frog.
Blink, blink went the little green frog.
Blink, blink went the little green frog...
And his tongue went glup, glup.

Glup, glup went the little green frog.
Glup, glup went the little green frog.
Glup, glup went the little green frog...
And his legs went jump, jump.

Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog.
Jump, jump went the little green frog...
And then he swam away.

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - Five Green and Speckled Frogs (traditional counting backwards song)

• Letter of the Day - "P" is for pool

• Book #2 – Leo Can Swim by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Ruth Hearson

• Activity – "The Goldfish" from Victor Vito by Laurie Berkner

• Closing - Dance with scarves to the song "Shake Your Scarves" from The Second Line: Scarf Activity Songs by Johnette Downing

 

 

• Art Experience – Watercolor sheet painting

Berry Animals Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

  

 

• Book #1 – Jamberry by Bruce Degan

• Stand-up Activity – Alligator Pie (fingerplay I found somewhere, I have seen it on numerous websites)

Alligator, alligator, alligator pie
If I don't get some
I think I'm gonna cry
You can take away the grass
Take away the sky
But don't take away
My alligator pie!

• Bridge - Open, Shut Them (fingerplay)

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

• Flannelboard - Count the Canoe Berries

I created this counting set to go with the book Jamberry by Bruce Degan.  Simply count the number of berries in the canoe. The canoe is made from clipart and the berries are craft foam circles. I glued magnets to the back of each piece so I can use it on my magnet board.

• Letter of the Day - "B" is for berries

• Book #2 – Early Bird by Toni Yuly

• Activity – "If I Was a Bird" action song from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

• Closing - Dance with scarves to the song "Shake Your Scarves" from The Second Line: Scarf Activity Songs by Johnette Downing

  

 

• Art Experience – Bingo dabbers on a strawberry cut-out I found at the dollar store.