I’m so excited to get back to doing virtual storytime after my maternity leave! My first one back, just happens to fall on Law Enforcement Appreciation day, so I thought we could do all things community helpers.
Here’s what I had planned:
Hello Rhyme – H.E.L.L.O
For this one, we clap out each letter of the word “hello.”
Let’s clap and say hello… H.E. L. L. O. H.E. L. L. O. H.E. L. L. O. Let’s clap and say good morning.
Stretch – Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
I wondered about doing this one virtually but I don’t want to get rid of all my fun movement exercises just because we are using Zoom.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes. Head, shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes. Eyes and ears and mouth and nose, Head, shoulders, knees and toes, Knees and toes.
ASL – POLICE / FIREFIGHTER / DOCTOR
I always like to include a little American Sign Language into my storytime. I usually pull these from signing savvy or baby sign language.
Book – Whose Hands Are These? By Miranda Paul
I love this book. It has cute rhymes and can be read as a guessing game.
Finger Play – This Little Helper
This is an easy finger play about helpers in our neighborhood.
This helper builds our houses. (thumb) This helper brings our mail. (pointer) This helper teaches the children. (middle finger) And this one has groceries to sell. (ring finger) And this little helper, yes, it’s me (pinky finger) When I grow up, (Stretch arms above head) Which will I be? (Point to self)
Prop/Felt Board – Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat
For this one, I have a felt board with different helper hats. I hide the cat under one of the hats and we look for it using the rhyme below. Via Zoom, I just wait and give the kids a beat to answer but I don’t actually un-mute them.
Kitty cat, kitty cat are you under the _________ hat?
Book – Police Officer on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton
This is another fun book. A little long but with a neat rhyme, so I thought it would work better for a family storytime audience.
Prop/Rhyme – What is my job?
For this one, I printed out community helper people, with their uniforms and I am going to show the people as we say the rhyme. It goes to the tune of Frere Jacques.
What is my job? What is my job? Can you guess? Can you guess? I help people get well. I help people get well. Who am I? Who am I? *Other verses: I make meals for you. I keep your pets healthy. I put out the fires. I grow food for you. I can help you stay safe.
Rhyme – Early in the morning
I found this one on Jbrary. It’s a little weird of a rhythm, so I would look up the video. I plan on pulling out my felt letters from Valentines Day.
Early in the morning at 8 o’clock You can hear the postman knock Up jumps Ella to open the door One letter, two letters, three letters, four!
Book – I’m Brave by Kate McMullan
BookFlix has a really cute animated version of this and I am SOO going to try to copy the voice of Brave from that video clip.
Rhyme – The More We Get Together
Everyone knows this one and adding the ASL signs for more, together, friends and happier bring a nice movement to it.
The more we get together Together, together The more we get together The happier we’ll be ‘Cause your friends are my friends And my friends are your friends The more we get together The happier we’ll be
Goodbye Rhyme – See You Later Alligator
And finally, a fun goodbye rhyme!
See you later, alligator (Wave goodbye) In a while, crocodile (crocodile arms) Give a hug, ladybug (Hug yourself) Blow a kiss, jellyfish (Blow a kiss) See you soon, big baboon (Salute) Out the door, dinosaur (thumb over shoulder) Take care, polar bear (Hands on hips) Wave goodbye, butterfly (Wave goodbye)
How’d it go: This was a fun storytime and worked well virtually. I had a bit of mic trouble, so I ended up using my laptop for the video and my phone for the audio. But ultimately fun was had by all!
That’s all for now!
-M-