I did family storytime this morning! Our regular Saturday staffer was away today, so I got to fill in and deliver our all-ages morning program. It was a DELIGHT, and makes me long for the days when I got to do all the branch storytimes, many years ago.
Here’s what we did today, if you’re interested. We had a real mixed age group, the majority of the audience were toddlers, with a few preschoolers and babies sprinkled in. Wherever possible I’ve included links to Youtube videos showing the songs and rhymes, so you can learn them, too.
WELCOME SONG:
– My always and forever welcome song, complete with signs for “hello” and “friends”.
WAKE UP SONG:
WHEN COWS GET UP IN THE MORNING
– I like to start with a “wake up song” to get everyone excited for the program. Whenever I do this one, I bring out a variety of different animal puppets, including a few oddball choices. Today I threw in a dinosaur and an elephant!
BOOK ONE:
– The group felt a little young for this one. They seemed engaged and were well behaved, but they weren’t interacting with the story in the same way an older group might. Still, this is a book I always recommend new storytimers include in their rotation, because it’s generally a real crowd-pleaser. Also – did you know this book has a different title in Britain? It’s called A LITTLE BIT LOST. I prefer our title, if I’m honest, though it’s a fantastic read either way.
SONGS/RHYMES:
I’LL TAKE YOU DRIVING IN MY CAR
– I learned this one from Christine, the facilitator of a series of online story times recorded by the Maribyrnong Library in Australia. I add my own little verse to the end, where the doors go “slam, slam” as we exit the vehicle after our drive. Kids get to clap their hands together to simulate the door slamming, which is always fun.
BOOK TWO: THE SEALS ON THE BUS
– This singable book is another winner that never lets me down! Sometimes I’ll skip a page or two if the kids seem to be getting restless, but today everyone seemed to be enjoying, and at this point even most of the caregivers were feeling comfortable enough to sing along.
ACTION SONGS:
The staffer who regularly does this storytime doesn’t typically include much movement, but I simply can’t do a storytime without getting kids up and jumping around!
– We did a bit of a mellower version of this storytime classic – rather than having kids jumping up and down, we stretched our bodies up and down, reaching to the sky and touching our toes. Most of the participants wer with the song, so it was a nice way to introduce it! And I always end with the line “Then we turn around! And we sit back down” as a way to transition from our movement songs into our cool down song.
COOL DOWN SONG:
This is a lovely soothing song, perfect for the stormy, rainy weather we’re expected to have this week! I always like to bring things back down after the excitement of the movement songs with a gentle, quiet song that gets everybody ready to say goodbye.
GOODBYE SONG:
– Exactly the same as the hello, just with the sign for “goodbye” instead of hello.
I don’t often get to deliver branch storytimes anymore, so it was just a joy to be able to get back out there and sing and dance and read with a wonderful group of families. As I often tell newbie storytimes, when you’re filling in at a new location, stick to tried and true classics you feel comfortable with. You’ll feel more confident, which will shine through in your face and your voice! Do you have any storytime songs, rhymes or stories that never let you down?