Man, it has been forever since I’ve posted a family storytime! I cannot wait for the fall to get back in the swing of weekly storytimes. Family storytime is a storytime for all ages, so we try to do a little bit of everything. This week I went with a space theme.
Here’s what I planned:
SONG – Top of the Morning
This is a fun tune and great for waking up and doing a little stretching. It’s called Top of the Morning.
HELLO RHYME – Say Hello
This is a great rhyme for saying hello because we get to do it in so many fun ways!
MOVEMENT STRETCH – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
We go through this three times, getting faster and faster each time.
Then we get into our theme:
ASL – SUN / MOON / STARS
I also teach my group a few American Sign Language signs to go with every theme. This is great to help frustrated little ones communicate but it also helps make our world a better place by fostering communication with each other. We have a large deaf community near my library so learning just a few signs are great! I usually use Signing Savvy or Baby Sign Language.
BOOK – Mousetronaut by Mark KellyThis is a great little book, that is semi based on fact about some of the first mice in space. A little long but an interesting one for the kids.
MOVEMENT RHYME – How Astronauts Get Dressed
I can’t for the life of me find where I got this from… if it’s you, let me know so I can credit. I didn’t sing this to any tune, we just acted out the movements.
HOW ASTRONAUTS GET DRESSED! Put on your spacesuit. We’re going to the moon. Climb aboard your rocket ship. We’re blasting off soon. Put on your helmet. Strap yourself in tight.Check your controls and instruments. Get ready for the flight. Time for your journey. The countdown has begun. Here we go, Get ready, Get set! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Blast off!
Song – Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
There are a ton of versions of the song for zoom, zoom, zoom, any will work and you can do the movements too! At the end we blast off by lifting baby in the air or jumping up and down.
Book – Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me by Eric Carle
This is a teeny tiny book that I just had to enlarge and use for storytime. I love this one. It teaches us about the phases of the moon and why the moon looks different.
Magnet Board – Identifying Planets
I printed out clip art versions of the planets and stuck magnets on them. For each planet I am going to tell the kids it’s name and one interesting fact.
Rhyme – Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
How could we possibly do a space theme without this one!
Book – Life on Mars by Job Agee
This is a brand new one I couldn’t pass up. It is funny and I hope the kids will get it.
Shakers – Mr. Sun
I put on the song Mr. Sun and pass out shakers and we just shake shake shake!
Finally, we finish up with:
Movement Exercise – If You’re Happy and You Know It
I tell the kids that I want to know how happy they are.
Rhyme – Say Goodbye
This is the same rhyme we started with, so the new guys are familiar with it by the end of storytime.
Song – Clean It Up! by The Laurie Berkner Band
Everyone helps put our shakers away
Song – Goodbye, So Long, Farewell my Friends by Music Together
I always put this one on as I go to open the door. Its a nice, slow, peaceful song to wind down on.
How’d it go: You know what they say about the best laid plans, well this one went a tad wonky. My planet facts didn’t seem all that impressive; my magnets weren’t sticking; oh and my iPod decided to stop working. We made due and sang our songs and held up our magnets but it was a smidgen frustrating.
That’s all for now!
-M-