My Name – Toddler

Opening Song	Hello Hello! by Super Simple Songs
Calendar	Kids helped identify the month, weather and season.
ASL	Name
Book	We Want Names Too by Jean LeRoy
Weekly Rhyme	This is Big, Big, Big This is big, big, big. This is small, small, small. This is tall, tall, tall. This is short, short, short. This is fast, fast, fast. This is slow, slow, slow. This is yes, yes, yes. This is no, no. no. Sing two times. Second time add in ASL for yes and no. Source: Mel’s Desk
Weekly Rhyme	Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap your hands with me Clap your hands, let me see Clap your hands with me Beep, beep, beep your nose Touch, touch, touch your shoulders Tap, tap, tap your knees Shake, shake, shake your feet Source: Found this on another librarian’s site years ago.
Name Activity	Make Your Name a Song Have the kids move to each letter. For older kids, you can have them create a whole movement for their name. Source: The Inspired Treehouse
Letter Recognition	Alphabet Stickers I hung the alphabet around the room in no particular order. I gave each kid a blue or purple sticker. They would sticker the letter of their first name with their blue sticker and use the purple sticker for the letter of their last name.
Dance Song	Bingo by Doggyland
Dance Song	Hokey Pokey Blues by Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael
Cool Down	We melt all the way down to floor until we are laying down. We sing the Alphabet and count up to 5 and Down from 5.
Goodbye Song	Skidamarink by Old Town School of Folk Songs

Storytime Craft: I saw several versions of this craft on the internet. For the crayons, I labeled the top of the crayon with the letters of my name and the bottom of the crayon with numbers. I also mentioned to the patrons they could label the crayon with its color.

My Name – Preschool

Opening Song	Welcome by Carole Peterson
Calendar	The kids helped identify the Date, Day, Month, Season, and Weather
ASL	We learned the ASL for: My Name
Rhyming Match with National Holidays	The kids had to identify what two words rhymed with “Name”. I had the words the following words: Brain Rain Bananas for National Banana Day Animal Crackers for National Animal Cracker Day
Book	Animal Soup by Todd Doodler
Silly Rhyme	“My Name Is…” Hi, my name is Joe And I work in a button factory One day, my boss said to me, “Joe, are you busy?” I said no. “Push the button with your right hand.” (keeping pushing with right hand; add left hand, right foot, left foot) … One day, my boss said to me, “Joe are you busy?” I said yes!! Source: Storytime Katie Use Buzzers/or Buttons for Funny Sounds
Rhyme	Hickity Pickity Hickety-Pickety Bumble Bee Won’t you say your name for me? Briony Let’s Fly and Say it. Briony (make bumble bee go up and down with syllables) Let’s fly it fast! Briony Let’s fly it slow. Briony Hand out Bumble Bees/pom-poms. Have the kids move their bees up and down with syllables. If the crowd is too large, have guardians work one on one with their kids. Source: Adapted from Stories With Ms. Jenna
Game	Name Hunt Have guardians write their child’s name on a piece of post-it and then collect them. Put the names around the room and then have the children find their names.
Name Recognition Activity	Construction Paper and Goldfish Have the adults write out their kids’ names on paper. Then have the kids trace their names with the goldfish moving with the flow of the letters.
Dance Song	Bumbleebee by The Laurie Berkner Band The kids kept their Pom-Pom and danced with it.
Dance Song	What’s My Name from The Descendants
Cool Down	We melt all the way down to floor until we are laying down. We sing the Alphabet and count up to 5 and Down from 5.
Goodbye Song	Skidamarink by Old Town School of Folk Songs

Four and Roars – Preschool

Opening Song	Welcome by Carole Peterson
Calendar	The kids helped identify the Date, Day, Month, Season, and Weather
Introduction Concept	Which Big Cats Roar? I showed the kids pictures of the big cats that roar. I then played a sound clip from youtube with each big cat’s roar. Lion, Tiger, Jaguar, Leopard Cheetahs are example of a big cat that does not roar. I used the video “All Big Cat Sounds” by Meow Meow TV.
ASL	Four Lion
Rhyming Match with National Holidays	Rhyming Activity: I showed an image of the number four. Then I showed the kids four more pictures and had them identify each one. Then the kids had to identify which two pictures rhymed with four. The other two pictures corresponded with a national holiday. Door Floor Unicorn Submarine
Book	Roar, Roar, Growl, Growl: Sounds From the Jungle by Jennifer Shand
Finger Rhyme	Where Is Big Cat (Tune: Where is Thumbkin) Before starting I introduced the kids to Big Cat (my thumbs) and Little Cat (my pinkies). The cats give a little meow and the kids show me their Big Cat and Little Cat. Where is big cat, where is big cat (hide thumbs) Here I am, here I am (bring thumbs out) How are you today cat (wiggle one thumb) Very well I thank you (wiggle other thumb) Roar, Roar, Roar (put thumbs behind back) Roar, Roar, Roar Where is little cat…meow, meow, meow. Source: Adapted from Adventures of a Bookworm
Book	Roar: A Book of Animal Sounds by Katerina Kerouli
Rhyme	A Lion is Big A Lion is big (arms wide open) And very strong. (show muscles) It has a tail (show tail) That’s very long (shake tail). A Lion can roar In a great big way.(roar) I feel like a lion today! (roar again!) Source: Adapted from Totally for Twos by The Mailbox.
Math Activity	Big Cats Missing Addend Have the kids figure out how many big cats they need to equal the number of cats on the strip. Source: Robin Reifel
Habitat Activity	Where do Big Cats Live? We talked about each big cat and then the kids had to match the big cat to where they live. Source: Salaam Mummy
Dance Song	Lion Lessons by Pinkfong
Cool Down	We melt all the way down to floor until we are laying down. We sing the Alphabet and count up to 5 and Down from 5.
Goodbye Song	Skidamarink by Old Town School of Folk Songs

Storytime Craft: The number 4 representing the 4 big cats that roar. The spotted 4 represents the jaguar and leopard.

Four and Roars – Toddler

Opening Song	Hello Hello! by Super Simple Songs
Calendar	Kids helped identify the month, weather and season.
Introduction to Concept	Identify the Big Cat pictures that roar. Leopards Jaguars Lions Tigers Cheetahs (purr)
ASL	Number 4
Book	I Can Roar by Frank Asch
Weekly Rhyme	This is Big, Big, Big This is big, big, big. This is small, small, small. This is tall, tall, tall. This is short, short, short. This is fast, fast, fast. This is slow, slow, slow. This is yes, yes, yes. This is no, no. no. Sing two times. Second time add in ASL for yes and no. Source: Mel’s Desk
Weekly Rhyme	Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands Clap, clap, clap your hands Clap your hands with me Clap your hands, let me see Clap your hands with me Beep, beep, beep your nose Touch, touch, touch your shoulders Tap, tap, tap your knees Shake, shake, shake your feet Source: Found this on another librarian’s site years ago.
Guessing Activity	Does it Roar? I mixed the big cat pictures in with other animals that do not roar. I would pull out each animal and ask the kids if it roars. If the animal does not roar then kids made the sound appropriate for that animal.
Rhyme	Spots, Spots Spots, spots, spots, spots, (tap spots around your body) spots, spots, spots, spots (tap spots) A leopard has lots of spots (tap spots) What a lot of spots he got A tiger’s stripes are always nice (make stripes down your body) But a leopard has lots of spots (resume tapping spots on body) Spots, spots, spots, spots, Spots, spots, spots, spots Source: Jbrary
Nursery Dance song	Soft Kitty Soft kitty, Warm kitty, Little ball of fur! Happy kitty, Sleepy kitty, Purr, purr, purr! Make a “kitty” with your fist and put it against your chest. Pet the kitty while you sing the song.
Dance Song	The Lion by Pinkfong
Cool Down	Melt all the way down to floor until you are laying down. Sin the Alphabet and count up and down from 5.
Goodbye Song	Skidamarink (Ipod)

Storytime Craft:

I wanted to work on the recognizing the letter 4 but incorporating elements of the roaring big cats. Each number 4 represents a roaring big cat. The spotted 4 is technically representing two big cats (leopard and jaguar) because they have similar spots.

Gabby’s Dollhouse: A-Meow-Zing Forts

Squishmallow Madness

Blue & Yellow – Preschool

Opening Song	Welcome by Carole Peterson
Calendar	We work on identifying Day, Date, Month, Weather, Season
ASL	We learned how to sign blue & yellow.
Rhyming Concept	I printed off two images of blue and yellow. The kids had to figure out which pictures rhymed with blue and yellow. I used glue, zoo, shoe, marshmallow, and jello.
Feelings	We identified what colors can be matched with feelings. Sad(blue)/Happy(yellow)
Book	Blue vs. Yellow by Tom Sullivan
Action Rhyme	Now I’m Up, Now I’m Down Now I’m up (stand up) Now I’m down (crouch) See me waddle all around. Put my hands behind my back…. Like a duck I’ll say “quack, quack”. Source: King County Library System Tell Me a Story
Book	Banana, Banana, Meatball by GoNoddle. Watch the actual song to incorporate movement.
Book	Banana, Banana, Meatball with action words
Art Activity	We mixed blue and yellow together to find out what color we make.
Song	Banana Dance by Dr. Jean
Cool Down Activities	We sing the alphabet. We then count up to 10 and then down from 10.

I did not create a new craft, as I’m trying to recycle old crafts.

Blue & Yellow – Toddlers

Opening Song	Hello Hello! by Super Simple Songs
Calendar	We work on identifying the month, weather, and season with a calendar.
Feelings	We talked about how blue and yellow can also show feelings. We mostly said said blue can be sad and yellow can be happy.
ASL	We learned the color blue.
Book	One Hot Chick by Hannah Eliot
Weekly Rhyme	This is Big, Big, Big This is big, big, big. This is small, small, small. This is tall, tall, tall. This is short, short, short. This is fast, fast, fast. This is slow, slow, slow. This is yes, yes, yes. This is no, no. no. Source: Mel’s Desk. We do this rhyme twice. The second time we add in sign language.
Book	Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Activity	Where are Trucks? (Thumbkin) Where is pick-up truck? Where is pick-up truck? Here I am. Here I am. How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you. Drive away. Drive away. Tow truck, Dump truck, Moving Truck Source: Storytime Katie I laminated the different trucks and put them on popsicle sticks.
Rhyme	I am a Little Duck I am a little duck and I go, “Quack, Quack, Quack.” (flap arms and quack or quack with your hands) And I wiggle my tail in the back, back, back. (wiggle you tail!) I swim in the water and go, “Quack, Quack, Quack.” (paddle with hands) And I wiggle my tail in the back, back, back. (wiggle you tail) Source: King County Library System
Art Activity	We mixed blue and yellow together to find out what color we would get.
Song	Shake My Sillies Out by The Wiggles
Closing Song	Skidamarink by Old Town Folk Songs

Craft: I did not choose a specific craft for this storytime. I recycled an old craft.

A Very Bluey Christmas

The Day the Crayons Went to School Display

I took inspiration from The Day the Crayons Go Back to School for our 2023 school display. I talked with our volunteer about my vision and she came up with this!

Set-Up/Registration	For this program, I had families register as one unit. Once I knew how many families were going to be in attendance, I created stations. Each station had one table, three chairs, and 6 clothespins. Families were expected to bring their own blankets and pillows.
Activity 1: Paper Blankets	I have done this craft in the past and it is a huge hit. I die-cut a bunch of different scrapbook paper and then created a 6 X 6 square sheet for the kids to create their own quilt. After they were done quilting, they would cut out their quilt and glue it on to a colorful piece of construction paper.
Activity 2: Pillows	I had the kids create their own no-sew fleece pillows. To be cost effective, I opted for 9X9 size squares for 43 kids. This size turned out some cute small pillows, but the adults definitely had to help younger kids out. If I had my way, I would have gone 12×12 size.
Snack	Rainbow Sherbet Punch with animal crackers. Recipe from Bitz & Giggles I really liked this recipe because it did not require a ton of extra ingredients. A library board member helped me dish out individual cups to participants. Once all the kids had their snack and drink, we allowed the adults to come up. Surprisingly a lot of the adults also enjoyed the snack.

Overview	Originally I had planned to make this program more intimate by capping it at 30 kids. However, the program filled up very quickly. We then had numerous phone calls asking if we were going to have a waitlist. With so much interest, I switched gears and changed up the program to drop-in.
Squishmallow Stones	I put this activity in our CreateSpace to help control the mess. Kids got to pick their rocks, and we used paint pens to minimize clean up.
Squishmallow Scavenger Hunt	I made a a simple scavenger hunt for the kids to find 6 pictures of Squishmallows. Once they checked in with their sheet, they received a Squishmallow sticker, free McDonald’s fry coupon, and Squishmallow Face stickers.
Squishmallow Craft	Kids had the opportunity to make their own squishmallow cam cat ears! I also had a table set up with coloring sheets and squishmallow word hunt.
Guess the # of marshmallows	We did a guessing game with marshmallows. I had a volunteer count ad and stuff a container with the marshmallows. The kids then guessed for the chance to win a giant Squishmallow!

Introduction	For our last summer reading program, we decided to do A Very Bluey Christmas. Since Australia has Christmas during their summer season and the holiday promotes togetherness, we thought it was perfect. Little did we know how popular. We clocked over 400 people for our program. We did a two hour window.
Crafts	Inside our meeting room, we had all paper and craft activities. All credit goes to my coworker for these picks. Festive Cards Letters to Verandah Santa Ornaments Puppets Christmas Crackers Tree Toppers Coloring Sheets
Scavenger Hunt	To help break up the crowd, we had a scavenger hunt in the children’s department. Once the kids returned their sheet, they received a sticker and a free McDonald’s French Fry Coupon.
Outside Activities	We are very fortunate to have a large lawn space. We ended up using a chunk of it to create an outdoor play area. This was my brain child area. I crafted a “creek” in honor the creek epsiode. We put out water tables, buckets, and a baby pool. We filled them with sand, rocks, insects, fishes, and reptiles. We did advertise that there was going to be water play and to dress for a mess. We also asked that patrons finish up all their indoor activities before making their way outside. I was supposed to man the outside, but I ended up having to help monitor Santa, so a shelver helped me out. She ended up having the hose and if kids got the okay from their adults, she would get them wet. Fear of someone drowning, I kept this primarily mud. The water in the picture got drained out before the kids arrived. I knew kids would climb into the pool. Our “creek”. Kids would move the buckets to different areas.
Character Outside Activity	We had a holiday tattoo station. Kids could either pick a holiday or summer tattoo. The line for this was crazy. I had to make a make-shift barrier towards the end because people were still getting in line after last call.
Santa	We of course needed Santa and some elves. We have a great partnership with this character company, and the owner helped us brainstorm some activities. She was able to get summer dresses for the elves and Santa arrived in his summer gear.

LIBRIONYIAN

LiBrionyian – n. the ramblings of a librarian named Briony

Author: bdzb