lightning strikes (not once but twice)

Heh. So at like 11:00 the morning of my regular Head Start storytime I got an email that they needed another preschool storytime fill-in that afternoon at the same library I was at the day before. No worries. I had plenty of time to get both done, and decided to pretty much stick with my Head Start plan, slightly tweaked, for that week (which itself used lots of Wednesday's plan) since the library kids would be new and knock on wood it wouldn't be dull or redundant to anyone.

1. Opening: We Wave Hello Like This [library] / The Hello Song [Head Start]

2. Song/Activity: Open Them, Shut Them

3. Stretch: Way Up High In The Apple Tree

I cut this element out for the Head Start storytime.

4.  STORY: Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy / Jan Thomas

5.  FP: Balloons

6.  Song/Activity: If You’re Happy and You Know It

The real fun is (of course) is doing about four or five actions and then having everyone run through the whole thing super-fast.

7.  STORY: Chicken Butt! / Erica Perl

This was a (great) suggestion from Miss Helen, and I had been waiting a few weeks to try it out

8. Stretch: A Sailor Went to Sea

9. FP: Two Little Red Birds

10. Song/Activity: The Wheels on the Bus

For Head Start, we did the Hot Chocolate fingerplay and sang Wheels on the Bus. For the fun of it.

11. STORY: Go Away, Big Green Monster! / Ed Emberly

12. Song/Activity: Can You Shake Your Egg With Me? [tune: London Bridge]

Sadly, we don’t do this in our Head Start storytimes. Yet. Space constraints have been the primary consideration (i.e., we can’t really have everyone up and marching around with their shakers in the available space), but I am warming to the idea… in theory… of trying this out with everyone staying (as much as possible) seated. We certainly could touch our noses, knees, heads, ears, elbows, etc., with our shakers, and it would be a good way to get some more rhythm involved.

13.  Closing:  We Wave Goodbye Like This [library] / The More We Get Together [Head Start]

Don't forget to put on your magic storytime hats at the start and take them off when storytime is over!