Well, this was a very loose theme. I believe it was near Easter, and I was using only my own personal books during lockdown. It was just past my own birthday, so that’s how I looped in The Birthday Box. It was slim pickin’s at that point! I also did a bit of talking during this storytime about mask wearing, so that took up some time I would normally have done some more rhymes. This was a storytime I did exclusively on Facebook Live, and do not have a permanent YouTube version available. With everyone staying safer at home, we weren’t providing handouts or Take and Make packets at that time. I tried to suggest either crafts made with household materials or activities caregivers could do with their child.
Welcome Song: Clap and Sing Hello
I’d used the printable flannelboard for this rhyme from Sunflower Storytime before, but at home I had to do without. Instead I made it a fingerplay.
Fingerplay: Ten Fluffy Chickens
Five eggs and five eggs (show hands, one at a time, with fingers wide)
And that makes ten (bring hands together)
Sitting on top is Mother Hen (fold one hand over other)
Cackle cackle cackle (clap, clap, clap)
What do I see? (questioning pose)
Ten fluffy chickens (all fingers out)
Yellow as can be (wiggle fingers)
Credit: Sunflower Storytime
Read: Good Egg by Barney Saltzberg
This is such a fun novelty book – it includes tabs and pop-up elements and compares an egg getting ready to hatch to a dog. In the end, the egg “speaks” – “peep, peep!”
Earlier in the spring, we talked about how caregivers could make a simple shaker at home using rice or beans in a closable container their child could grip (mine is a 4 oz plastic food container secured with tape). I always say that even if you don’t have a shaker, you can participate by getting out your “magic shaker” – an invisible shaker you can shake and make noise with a “cha-cha” sound.
Shaker Song: We Shake and We Shake and We Stop
We shake and we shake and we STOP
We shake and we shake and we STOP
We shake and we shake and we shake and we shake
and we shake and we shake and we STOP
Additional verses:
We circle…
We tap…
We roll…
Credit: Jbrary
Shaker Song: Shake Your Shaker
(tune of London Bridge)
Shake your shakers in the air
Shake it here, shake it there
Shake your shakers in the air
Shake your shakers
Shake it high and shake it low
Shake it yes, shake it no
Shake it high and shake it low
Shake your shakers
Shake it up and shake it down
Shake your shaker on the ground
Shake it up and shake it down
Shake your shakers
Shake it near and shake it far
Drive your shaker like a car
Shake it near and shake it far
Shake your shaker
Shake it fast and shake it slow
Shake it stop, shake it go
Shake it fast and shake it slow
Shake your shaker
Credit: Jbrary
Read: The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
Another book that uses a cardboard box to discuss imagination, à la Not a Box by Portis.
And now a transition from imagination to going on an imaginary trip to the moon…
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Zoom, zoom, zoom (scrape hands past each other rhythmically)
We’re going to the moon.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re going to the moon.
If you want to take a trip (walk fingers up opposite arm)
climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re going to the moon.
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (count on fingers and crouch progressively lower)
Blast off! (jump up!)
Credit: Jbrary
Discussion: Masks
I made a small sized mask to fit on my Scaredy Squirrel puppet, who “attends” all my virtual storytimes, and talked about mask wearing.
I know we’re mostly staying in the house right now, but if you go out to a store or on a walk, you may see people who look a little different – they’re wearing a mask! Here’s Scaredy Squirrel’s mask. It covers his nose and mouth, and is held in place with these loops that go behind his ears. It may look a little funny and different, but it’s not scary! It is just hiding those parts of his face so that his germs can’t go out to others, and others’ germs don’t come in to his nose or mouth to make him sick. Ms. Emily has a mask, too – see how it goes over my ears and covers my nose and mouth. I’m still here underneath, and it looks a little silly, like I’m hiding. But I’m not hiding from friends, I’m hiding from GERMS! So, if you see people wearing masks while you’re out, there’s no reason to be scared. It just helps protect us if we have to go out. Your grown up might ask you to wear a mask, too. It takes some getting used to, but it isn’t hard! Grownups, remember, the CDC recommends that kids under the age of 2 shouldn’t wear a mask, but older kids can.
Ukulele Song: Down by the Bay
Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow
Back to my home I dare not go!
For if I do, my mother will say:
“Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose?”
Down by the bay!
Additional verses:
… a whale with a polka dot tail?
… a fly wearing a tie?
… a bear combing his hair?
… a llama eating pajamas?
Did you ever have a time when you couldn’t make a rhyme?
Credit: traditional, as popularized by Raffi on the album Singable Songs for the Very Young
Download a ukulele songsheet for Down By the Bay
Activity Idea: Design an Egg
Grownups can draw egg shapes on paper, then kids can draw and design fanciful patterns. You can also draw what might be inside an egg – a chicken? A duck? An alligator?!
Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Stars
This storytime was presented virtually on 4/7/20.
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 