New Books (2013) Preschool Story Time

Sometimes it's hard to have a theme.  I don't like forcing myself to read books that aren't perfect for preschool story time just to squish them into a theme, so sometimes when I'm feeling a little themed out, I'll do a story time like this.  For today (10/3/2013), we're going to just read NEW BOOKS!  All books that came out in 2013!  And we're going to do NEW rhymes and songs!  This is a fantastic theme because so many amazing picture books come out every year, you can ALWAYS find three or four that will be amazing amazing story time books.  And sure enough, 2013 is no exception.  So without further ado, here is our super fun story time featuring all picture books published in 2013. 

Opening Song:  Open Them Shut Them (From now on I'll just link to this, instead of opening it.  Feel free to click if you want to see my version of this popular story time song!)

Opening Nursery Rhyme: The Itsy Bitsy Spider (with Audiation)

We've already done the two main nursery rhymes I use to open story time (Hickory Dickory Dock and Humpty Dumpty), so since it's a New Books story time we're going to start with a new rhyme we haven't done before!  The Itsy Bitsy Spider is super familiar with kids, which is why it's fun to change it up and do it with audiation.  Basically, you do the rhyme once like normal, and then it again while ONLY doing the movements, and singing the words silently in your head.  It's really good for preschoolers to learn to sing in their head -- it's kind of an abstract tricky concept.  Here's a video of the lovely Intellidance version of this!



Opening Activity: Spell "NEW BOOKS" together on the white board

Fun Early Literacy Game: Today, I'm breaking out the magical box.  I have a cute little pencil box that looks like Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham on the outside, and it works magically to hide things in.  Today, we're playing a game where I will pull laminated, felt-backed pictures out of my box.  These pictures will feature items that either start with a letter N (for new), or B (for books! -- see, it still technically fits the "theme"!).  The preschoolers will then have to tell me whether it should go on the "N" side of the flannel board, or the "B" side!  For example, I'll pull out a picture of "Noodles", and they'll have to tell me it belongs on the "N" side.  Make sense?  It's a game, and it helps kids with letter recognition! 

Book #1: The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman

 

Hmmm, I may have a new front runner in my mind for the Caldecott award this year.  This book is beautiful.  It's also very meta (which for some reason I really LOVE using in preschool story time.  It gives us lots to talk about).  Fish and snail live in a BOOK -- and fish wants to visit another book!  The pictures are amazingly gorgeous, but still big and bright enough to use in story time. 






Action Rhyme: The Tempo Marches On (Jim Gill Sings Do Re Me on his Toe Leg Knee)

Sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic
We are marching to the tempo
We are marching to the beat
We are lifting up our knees
And we are stomping down our feet!
But the song keeps getting faster
With every verse that we repeat!
The tempo marches on.
Faster, faster faster faaaster
Faster, faster faster faaaster
Faster, faster faster faaaster
The tempo marches on!

Repeat and march faster and faster and faster!  It is fun.  Preschoolers love doing things faster.

Magnet Board Activity with Book #2: That is NOT a Good Idea by Mo Willems

I was slightly hesitant about doing this book because it has a slightly morbid (though hilarious) ending, but a colleague of mine said her preschool story time kids LOVED it, so I'm gonna try.  It has a great repeating refrain, it is absolutely hilarious (and expectation subverting), and it's Mo Willems.  So basically how could we go wrong?







Action Rhyme: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (Literacy Game!)

It may become apparently that Jim Gill came and did a workshop at my library system.  I'm kind of enamored.  It is so hard to find story time music that is ACTUALLY good for using in story time, and almost all of his stuff is great.  This is the classic song, but with a game attached.  Basically, every time the kids hear a word that starts with the letter "B", they have to either crouch down or stand up.  So they switch from crouching to standing every time a "B" word appears.  It's hard.  I think it's hard.  Parents will think it's hard.  Hopefully preschoolers will see their parents mess up and collapse into a heap of giggles.  We will try it multiple times :-D  Here are the lyrics -- for every capitalized word, that's where you crouch down or stand up again.

My BONNIE lies over the ocean,
My BONNIE lies over the sea,
My BONNIE lies over the ocean,
So BRING BACK my BONNIE to me!
BRING BACK, BRING BACK, BRING BACK my BONNIE to me, to me!
BRING BACK, BRING BACK, BRING BACK my BONNIE to me!

Book #3: Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas

Yeesh, a new Mo Willems book AND a new Jan Thomas book?  This is a good story time.  This one is just as hilarious and interactive as all her books, and it has SINGING!  Hopefully I remember the tune :)  We can have lots of conversations about how maybe the BRAVE cowboy isn't really so brave as he says he is. 






Book #4 (IF we have time): The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

Since I only have a few action rhymes and the books I'm reading are fairly short today, I think I'll have a backup book just in case we finish a little early. 

Super cute -- plays on the childhood worry that something will grow in your tummy if you swallow a watermelon seed :)  And there'll be group burping.  The pictures are super bright and can be seen from really far away, which is great for my big group.  We'll see if I get to it!








Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Clouds

Tickle the clouds
Tickle your toes
Turn around
Tickle your nose!
Reach for the ground
Reach up high!
Story time is over,
Wave goodbye!

I got this rhyme from this awesome Jbrary video: Jbrary Goodbye Songs

--Sara