Good Morning Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

• Book #1 – Early Bird by Toni Yuly

• Stand-up Activity – "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" marching song from Car Songs: Songs to Sing Anywhere by Dennis Buck (Kimbo)

• 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 - One Little, Two Little, Three Little Sunshines (counting song)

• Book #2 – Maisy's Morning on the Farm by Lucy Cousins

• Activity – Little Chick, Little Chick (action rhyme adapted by Carol Hopkins similar to "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around")

(Suite actions to words.)
Little chick, little chick turn around.
Little chick, little chick scratch the ground.
Little chick, little chick strut on your toes.
Little chick, little chick touch your nose.
Little chick, little chick reach up high.
Little chick, little chick flap to the sky.
Little chick, little chick wiggle your feet.
Little chick, little chick find your nest seat.

• Closing - Scarves using the song "Flitter Flutter" from The Second Line by Johnette Downing 

 

 

 

  

• Art Experience – Glue paper yellow triangles to yellow paper plates on a stick to create sun puppets

Minecraft Build Competition

Minecraft build programs have become a regular children's event at my library.  We are now doing one competition in the summer, once during the Christmas/New Year holiday break, and once during Spring break.  While demand for this program can be high, it is rather staff intensive so we can only offer it the three times a year.  After offering this program for several years now, I feel much more comfortable with this library program despite the fact I do not enjoy playing the game.

The Minecraft program I offer is a build competition.  It requires pre-registration because we have a limited amount of seating in our meeting room. Once everyone arrives and seems to be seated I go over the rules:

• No eating or drinking by the computers and machines. If you take a snack or water break (highly encouraged), please do so in the snack corner.  
• You will be using creative mode for the competition.
• No texture packs are allowed - just plain vanilla only!
• You will be judged on creativity, use of your environment, and your use of the competition theme.
• You may help each other, but parents cannot build for you.
• At the end of the competition, you must stop work on your competition world. 
• You may play in another world during and after judging. Be prepared to quickly log back in to the competition world for judges. 

Then I introduce the theme and give the kids about one hour to complete the competition. Some successful themes I have used include a roller coaster and a superhero lair.  

In reality, the competition is just a warm up act.  When the competition build time is over, next comes the judging.  The children become more animated and the room gets a fun buzz in it during the judging phase of the program.  The children become alive talking about their competition world to the judges.  They also start collaborating with each other in other worlds while they wait for the judges to come around the room. It is like the children all of a sudden discover they are with their tribe, they are with other children who have the same Minecraft passion.  My judges are teen volunteers or staff not on the reference desks who go around with a score card marking 1-4 on each child based on their creativity, environment, and use of the theme.  The judges choose the top 4 competitors for prizes (Minecraft toys, t-shirts, or books I pick up at Target or ToysRus).  The fifth prize is given to one attendee by pulling a name out of a box.  

I find this library program to be very rewarding.  As one parent pointed out to me, her two girls learn how to interact with other children, how to speak in public, how to explain their creations, and how to loose in a respectful manner. (Her girls have attended several Minecraft events at the library but have not yet won anything. This mother was so great at articulating to me about why this is okay for her girls. Sometimes in life you have fun without winning a prize.) 

I will end now with my preparation list.  This is everything I need on hand for a successful Minecraft program:

• Name tags (I use card stock paper folded in half like a tent to be placed on the table next to each child)
• Sharpie pens (at least two)
• Photo permission forms
• Camera
• Cup of pens or pencils
• Dot stickers (at least two different colors - one for kids who don't have a photo permission form filled out by parents and one for kids who are ready to be judged)
• Participant survey/questionnaire
• Judging score cards
• Electrical power strips (at least five for my meeting room)
• Dry erase pens (I write the rules on the white board in the room)
• Duct tape
• Pitcher of water
• Paper cups for water
• Library laptops with power cords and mice (updated several days before the program)
• Copy of rules
• Seed world directions (I can never remember how to do this)
• Prizes!

Wheels On the Bus Preschool Storytime

Storytime for 3 to 5 year olds:

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

• Number literacy activity flannelboard - People At the Bus Stop (a counting and number literacy flannelboard written by Carol Hopkins)

Directions: Hand out a numbered person to each child. The children come place their person on the board when the bus stop called out matches the number on the person. If you have a large group, there can be multiple people at each bus stop.  After each bus stop count the number of people on the bus. 

Here comes the bus,

Driving down the street.

Stopping at bus stop number ______. 

How many people are on the bus now?

• Book #1 - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

• Stand-up activity - "Wheels On the Bus" action song from Six Little Ducks by Kimbo

• Activity - Twinkle, Twinkle Traffic Light (action fingerplay song to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")

Twinkle, twinkle traffic light

Round the corner shining bright

Red means stop,

Green means go,

And yellow means go very slow.

Twinkle, twinkle traffic light

Round the corner shining bright.

  

 

  

• Book #2 - The Little School Bus by Margery Cuyler, illustrated by Bob Kolar

• Book #3 - The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom 

• 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 - Cut and glue black circle wheels and blue rectangle windows onto a yellow paper bus outline

Diggers Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

• Book #1 – Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

• Stand-up Activity – I'm a Little Dump Truck (action song written by Carol Hopkins to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little dump truck, watch me go
Here is my hopper
Here is my cab
When I get all filled up, to the work site I go
Just tip me over and dump the rocks out

• 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 - All Around the Construction Site (to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" adapted by Carol Hopkins)

All around the construction site
I see lots of busy trucks
Here's one coming down the street
Hey, it's a dump truck!
(repeat with other construction trucks)

• Book #2 – Maisy's Digger by Lucy Cousin (board book) 

• 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.

• Closing - Scarves using the song "Flitter Flutter" from The Second Line by Johnette Downing 

 

 

  

• Art Experience – Coloring a trace the line page with construction trucks