Bear Fun Storytime

Storytime for 1 to 3 year olds:

• Opening - Skinnamarink, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum

• Book #1 – Bears In the Bath by Shirley Parenteau, illustrated by David Walker

• Stand-up Activity – Teddy Bears, Teddy Bears Turn Around (traditional jump rope rhyme)

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around
Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the ground
Teddy bear, teddy bear dance on your toes
Teddy bear, teddy bear touch your nose
Teddy bear, teddy bear reach up high
Teddy bear, teddy bear jump to the sky
Teddy bear, teddy bear find your feet
Teddy bear, teddy bear find your seat

• 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 Types of Bears (flannelboard rhyme written by Carol Hopkins to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Grizzly bears are big and brown.
Big and brown, big and brown.
Grizzly bears are big and brown.
And live in the woods.

Polar bears are soft and white.
Soft and white, soft and white.
Polar bears are soft and white.
And live where it is cold.

Panda bears are black and white,
Black and white, black and white
Panda bears are black and white.
And live with bamboo.

Koala bears have great big ears,
Great big ears, great big ears,
Koala bears have great big ears,
And live high in a tree.

Teddy bears are just my size.
Just my size, just my size.
Teddy bears are just my size.
To cuddle with at night.

• Book #2 – The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood

• Activity – The Great Big Bear (action chant written by Carol Hopkins)

The great big bear,
(sing language for bear)
Gives a warning with a soft little growl.
(growl)
Waves its paws in the air.
(move hands like claws)
Shakes its great big head
(shake head)
Rubs its furry little ears
(rub ears)
Gives a great big roar
(loud roar)
Then goes to sleep in its lair.
(hands to side of face for sleep)

• Closing - Rhythm sticks using "Goin' On a Bear Hunt" from Kids In Action by Greg and Steve 

 

• Art Experience – Bear coloring sheet with crayons

Summer Reading School Visits: A Silly Game

Last year I came up with a great plan to talk about summer reading and entertain students in grades 4 through 6, by playing a silly game with them.  This game was so successful for me that I tried it again this year.

I started my time with a class by talking about how to sign up and get prizes for about 5 minutes.  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 mini deck of cards each time their group won a silly challenge or answered a trivia question.  Actually, the volunteers chose a card from the deck.  At the end of our 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:

What is the official start date of the summer reading program?

One week in August, the Knights of Veritas are coming to my library.  Trivia - Name one knight of the Round Table.

How many hours do you need to read to get a free book and other goodies?

One week in August we are doing our own version of mini-golf in between the book shelves.  Silly challenge - Choose one student from each group to hit a toy golf ball with a toy golf club, on the floor, from one end of the room onto a piece of paper on the other end of the room.

Dice challenge! Each team rolls a die.  The highest roll wins.

One week in July we have some Environmental Educator from Pierce County Public Works coming to talk about Salmon (The Ultimate Champions). Silly challenge - Hit a badminton birdie (pretend fish) 10 times in a row with a badminton racket (pretend fishing net).

One week in July we have author Karen Cushman coming to talk about her new book.  Trivia - Name two historical fiction books.

One week in June we will be having a Makey Makey program. Trivia  - What is an electrical circuit?

One week in July we have an art teacher coming to do an art class about Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto. Trivia - What is happening in Brazil this summer?

One week in July we have a yoga teacher coming to introduce yoga to children. Silly challenge - Do a cobra pose.

One week in July we will be having a Minecraft competition. Silly challenge - I hand out a Ziploc bag full of miscellaneous Lego bricks to smaller groups of 4-6 students. The group who could build a tower using every brick in the bag with the help of every student in the group wins.

REFLECTION: All in all, this style program works really well for me. I made a big show about this being a "silly" game with "silly" challenges in it. A loud and obnoxious class did not finish as much as the quieter classes, but every class still got something out of it. The challenges along with the trivia questions allows for many students to participate while at the same time giving me a chance to get some information out.  This game easily fills up a half hour library visit.