Hiatus

My apologies to any followers I may have, but my blog will be pretty quiet for awhile. My husband's passion is in an obscure area of academia and somehow he landed a job (in this economy nonetheless). As a bonus the move will bring us within 4 hours' travel from family, as opposed to the current 17. So, I sacrificed my amazing ::sob, sob:: job for the good of all. I'm looking forward to spending some quality snuggle time with my 2-year-old son.

I still hope to keep current with what's going on in library land, so I hopefully won't be completely absent. And if anyone has any job leads for west central Illinois, send them my way!  I'm also open to creating a multiple-author blog on storytimes, ideas and staying technologically fresh with kids.

Storytime: Tools

Storytime for ages 3-8 and their families, with a craft.

I was inspired by Sarah at Awesome Storytime!

Books:

Toolbox Twins

by Lola M. Schaefer and pictures by Melissa Iwai

 

Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop

by Lisa Shulman and pictures by Ashely Wolff

Highlight of the whole storytime!

Whose Tools Are These?

by Sharon Katz Cooper and pictures by Amy Bailey Muehlenhardt

I simplified this book significantly and just turned it into a guessing game.

I Love Tools!

by Philemon Sturges and pictures by Shari Halpern

Monkey with a Tool Belt

by Chris Monroe

The Toolbox by Anne and Harlow Rockwell

Tools by Taro Miura

Tools by Ann Morris and pictures by Ken Heyman

Songs:

Construction Worker Song

from Everything Preschool

This is the way we pound our nails,

Pound our nails, pound our nails.

This the way we pound our nails,

So early in the morning.

Verses:

Saw the wood.

Turn the screwdriver.

Drill a hole.

Stack the bricks.

Stir the paint.

Paint the walls.

Johnny Works With One Hammer

Traditional, but I got my lyrics from Songs for Teaching

Johnny works with one hammer,

(Hammer one fist lightly on leg)

One hammer, one hammer.

Johnny works with one hammer,

And then he works with two.

Verses:

Two hammers

(Hammer both fists on legs)

Three hammers

(Hammer both fists on legs and one foot on the floor)

Four hammers

(Hammer both fists on legs and both feet on the floor)

Final verse:

Johnny works with five hammers,

(Hammer both fists on legs, both feet on floor, and nod head down and up)

Five hammers, five hammers.

Johnny works with five hammers,

And then he goes to sleep.

(Rest head on joined palms, pretending to sleep)

Craft:

Tool Belt Craft

 

from Ready-To-Go Storytimes

by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis

Similar to this, but with a copy-ready pattern.

I had teen volunteers cut out the pieces ahead of time and let kids cut out the belt portion and color their tools.

Storytime: Princes and Princesses

Storytime for children ages 3-8 and their families, with craft.

Books:

Snoring Beauty

by Bruce Hale and pictures by Howard Fine

Paper Bag Princess

by Robert Munsch and pictures by Mchael Martchenko

The Prince Won't Go to Bed

by Dayle Ann Dodds and pictures by Kyrsten Brooker

Princess Baby

by Karen Katz

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink

by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple and pictures by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin

Craft:

Crowns

From Enchanted Learning

variation on Flower Crown

Storytime: Tea Party

Special storytime program for ages 3-8.

Books:

Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf

by Judy Sierra and pictures by Jotto Seibold

 

Miss Spider's Tea Party

by David Kirk

Sheep Out to Eat

by Nancy Shaw and pictures by Margot Apple

Tea for Ruby

by Sarah Ferguson and pictures by Robin Preiss Glasser

Fancy Nancy

by Jane O'Connor and pictures by Robin Preiss Glasser

Additional Books:

Hattie Hippo by Christine Loomis and pictures by Robert Neubecker

I Know a Rhino by Charles Fuge

Just Like Mama by Leslea Newman and pictures by Julia Gorton

Kid Tea by Elizabeth Ficocelli and pictures by Glin Dibley

The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr

Idea Books:

Come to Tea by Stephanie Dunnewind and pictures by Capucine Mazille

Fancy Nancy Tea Parties by Jane O'Connor and pictures by Robin Preiss Glasser

Songs and Fingerplays

I'm a Little Teapot

Fingerplays and Rhymes "Sippety-Sup" and "Yeeow! Tea!"

from HCPL Kidsite

Sippety-Sup, Sippety-Sup (Chant)

"Sippety-Sup, Sippety-Sup,

I drink juice from a sippy-cup.

Sippety-Sup, Sippety-Sup,

Mom drinks tea from a pretty cup.

Sippety-Sup, Sippety-Sup,

Dad drinks coffee from a big-big cup."

(Pretend to slurp tea after each pair of verses getting louder each time.)

This was adapted from a version on the Children Only ESL-EFL Website

(http://www.childrenonlyesl-efl.com/)

From HCPL Kidsite

Yeeeeoooouchhheee Tea! (Chant)

Teabag in and teabag out,

Don't burn your fingers or you'll have to shout:

Yeeeeoooouchhheee! Yeeeeoooouchhheee Tea!

Pour some sugar, Pour some cream,

Don't burn your fingers or you'll have to scream:

Yeeeeoooouchhheee! Yeeeeoooouchhheee Tea!

(Pretend one hand is a teacup and the other is a teabag being dunked. Then hold up and wiggle fingers for the second verse, and finally wave arms and hands wildly for the third verse. Do the same for the next set, only substitute a pouring motion for the first verse)

From HCPL Kidsite


Simon Says

We played the traditional game, "Simon Says". But instead of saying "Simon says", I said "please". If I didn't say please they weren't supposed to do what I asked. I asked for curtseying, bowing, twirling, golf claps, waving like royalty, etc.

Craft

Bud Vase

My coworker saves Ramune bottles from her Anime Club.

So, I had the kids make them into flower vases. Each child had a cup of glue diluted with water. They painted the glue onto the bottle with a paint brush and then placed squares of tissue paper on the glue. A final coat of glue on top when they were finished and then we left them to dry.


Other crafts I considered:
Paper Placemat Weaving
Muffin Cup Flowers

Refreshments:

We served pink lemonade and cookies, and had hot tea available for the adults.