three cheers for mr. horse!

Ugh. Last week got really derailed with work stuff, so no storytime. What a drag. But I'm back and raring to go. I've been thinking long and hard about Christmas-slash-holiday storytime for next week, and the jury is still out. I have a few books on hold that I will pick up and look over in the next few days, just to see how I think they will work. For now, though, this week's storytime will what it will be.

1.  Opening:  Hello Song [with Gareth]
2.  Song/Activity:  Open Them, Shut Them

3.  STORY: Me... Jane / Patrick McDonnell

Consider this upping the ante on my recent string of successful "quiet" books. I absolutely adore this book, and think there is enough going on, especially from a visual perspective, to keep the kids engaged. That is my "knock on wood" hope. If not, oh well. Better to try a great book and have it not pan out than try some junk and... same result.

4.  FP: Two Little Hootowls
5.  Stretch: The Airplane 6.  Song/Activity: Baby Shark

7.  STORY: Let’s Sing a Lullaby With the Brave Cowboy / Jan Thomas
8.  Puppet Story: Go Away, Big Green Monster
9.  Fingerplay/Song: Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck [tune: Yankee Doodle Dandy]

Yay for new fingerplays!

10.  STORY: Clip Clop / Nicola Smee

Seriously, guys. This is one of my favorite storytime books ever. It's short, it's funny, and it works with a range of ages and attention spans. An amazing librarian from San Francisco Public Library with whom I worked during my internship introduced me to this on our outreach storytimes in the Tenderloin, and it has been a favorite ever since.

11.  Song/Activity: This is the Way We Shake Our Shakers [tune: Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush]

A new shaker song! I am going to add a couple more shaker songs throughout the spring to build up a solid catalog of songs that let us use shakers in ways that stay fun and engaging.

12.  Closing:  The More We Get Together [with Gareth]