Outreach Storytime 1/10/12

Yesterday I was able to go to outreach storytime at one of our local daycares. When we got there we were told we were reading to four classes instead of three so my storytelling partner and I were scrambling to make sure we had enough appropriate books for us to each do two storytimes. I was going to read to the babies (one-year-olds) and the three-year-olds.

I was nervous for the babies because that was going to be my first experience reading to them since I usually read to the toddlers. One little girl gave me a hug as soon as I walked in the door and another boy began crying hysterically (and didn't stop the whole storytime). We tried to all sit at a small table, but they kept moving around and some even fell out of their chairs.

Opening Song

Welcome Song

(sung to the tune of London Bridge)

Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you?
How are you?
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you today?

Book 1

Push the Button

This is a quick book that is meant for children with short attention spans. There is really no story to follow; it just deals with sounds. The squeaky button was a big hit. The children loved hearing it pushed and wanted to press it themselves. Unfortunately, they weren't strong enough, so I had to help them.

Song

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream,

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream.

Rock, rock, rock your boat...

Where is Thumbkin?
Where is Thumbkin?
Where is Thumbkin?
(hold up thumbs)
Here I am, Here I am!
How are you today, sir?
(bend thumb to other)
Very well, I thank you.
Run away, Run away!
(hide behind back)

 Book 2

Whose Nose? by Jeannette Rowe

This book worked very well because I could talk about body parts and we could practice different animal sounds. One little girl even helped me turn the pages in the book.

Song

Where is Pinky?
Where is Pinky?
Where is Pinky?
(hold up pinkies)
Here I am, Here I am!
How are you today, sir?
(bend thumb to other
)Very well, I thank you.
Run away, Run away!
(hide behind back)

Hands Are Clapping
(To the tune of Skip to my Lou)Hands are clapping
Clap, clap, clap
Hands are clapping
Clap, clap, clap
Hands are clapping
Clap, clap, clap
Clap your hands, my darling

Toes are tapping… Tap, tap, tap
Fingers are wiggling… wiggle, wiggle, wiggle
Eyes are hiding… peekaboo!

Book 3

We've All Got Bellybuttons by David Martin

This book worked out very well also because we were able to go over body parts. The teacher and I showed the babies where the body parts were on us and then we would touch their same body part. For example: Where are your ears? Here are ears. (We touch our ears.) Where are your ears? (Touch the child's ears.)

Song

The Isty Bitsy Spider

The Itsy Bitsy Spider climbed up the waterspout

Down came the rain and  washed the spider out

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain

And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Book 4

Five Little Ducks by Dan Yaccarino

I sang this book since the children liked to hear songs more than books. It went well, but I did lose the tune of the song at one point.

Closing Song

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom

(clap hands rhythmically)

We’re going to the moon

Zoom, zoom, zoom

We’ll be there very soon

 In 5…4…3…2…1…Blast off!
(jump up and blast off)

This was a new and interesting experience for me. I've never done a storytime for babies before and I definitely learned a lot about the process and I saw how important it was. Next time I would try to sing more songs and bring more books that can be sung. It may not have seemed like they were enjoying storytime, but they did learn something from it. One little girl helped me turn the pages and she kept touching her nose or my nose when I would say nose. These might be small details for some people, but they were huge for me.