Read & Play Baby: Valentine's Day!

This storytime is aimed at 0-24 months. At the beginning of each storytime I usually introduce some of our puppets. This gets children out of their shell a little. It also helps to calm any fears they may have about coming to storytime! I make sure every child gets the chance to pet the puppets if they'd like :) 

Here is the Folkmanis puppet I introduced at this storytime:

Duckie 

There is a duck in the book Love You Always by Roger Priddy and this puppet would also fit well with the book I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy.

1. Opening Song: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

We recite this fingerplay every week. Repetition is important for babies! 

2. Book:  Love is a Truck by Amy Novesky

I am so obsessed with this book! Plus - it's about trucks and what child under the age of 2 doesn't LOVE trucks? This book is the perfect length for baby storytime, the graphics are adorable, it reads well, and it features children of color which is a huge plus. I have been making a real effort to include books featuring diverse characters and sometimes it can be difficult to find baby books with characters that aren't animals or white people. So Yay for this book! So glad to have discovered it. 

3. Baby Bounce: “A Smooth Road" 

A smooth road—A smooth road—A smooth road—A smooth road

A bumpy road—A bumpy road—A bumpy road—A bumpy road

A rough road—A rough road—A rough road—A rough road

A hole!

I sang this one twice and used a puppet in my lap to demostrate how to do the bounce. Watch Jbrary perform this bounce so see how it's done: 

4) Book: Love You Always by Roger Priddy

If you buy board books for your library, you've probably heard of Roger Priddy. There aren't always professional reviews of his books but many are still very worth purchasing for any board book collection! This book in particular features a series of short four-line poems about love and friendship.  There is also a series of tactile heart cut outs on every page with a glitter heart in the center. These features make this a magical and captivating book for babies while helping the reader get into the Valentine’s Day spirit. Love You Always is the perfect baby storytime book for the holiday! 

5) Wiggleworms Loves You - Bumpin Up & Down 

This is a great song and I play this at MANY of my Read & Play Baby storytimes. This song gives the kids a chance to move around. Some of the older babies (toddlers, 18 months and up, especially) really need this because they're having difficulty sitting still for even a moment (which is also totally normal at this age -- why do you think they call them the terrible twos? LOL). 

I also love the Raffi version, below:

6) Shake Your Shakers

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake your shakers!

Other Verses:

Shake your shakers high, high, high,

Shake your shakers  low, low, low,

Shake your shakers  fast, fast, fast,

Shake your shakers  slow, slow, slow

This is my regular egg shaker song that I sing at every storytime!  It does require patience but it's helpful for babies and young children to practice the act of picking up a shaker before the song and putting it into the basket when we're all done. Some kids have a really hard time letting go of the shaker after the song is over so this is important to practice!

7) Two Little Lovebirds with bird finger puppets

Two lit­tle love­birds sit­ting on a hill

One named Jack, one named Jill

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill

Come back Jack, come back Jill.

*kiss* muah!

Two little lovebirds sitting on a cloud

One named Soft, one named Loud

Fly away Soft

Fly away Loud

Come back Soft, come back Loud 

*kiss* muah!

This is a variation of a classic nursery rhyme, "Two Little Blackbirds." If you don't have any bird finger puppets, you could easily make some! This awesome video brought to you by Plano Public Library shows us how to make bird finger puppets while also explaining the benefit of reading these classic rhymes to children!

8) Book: Where is Baby’s Valentine? by Karen Katz

I absolutely love these lift the flap books by Karen Katz! There is a "peek-a-boo" factor to this book that children get a big kick out of it. It also mentions a lot of things we associate with valentine's day (chocolates, flowers, valentines, etc!). Very cute and also the perfect length for little ones. 

9) Baby Bounce: Tiny Little Babies
Tune: Shortenin’ Bread

Tiny little babies love bouncin’ bouncin’

Tiny little babies love bouncin’, yeah

Tiny little babies love bouncin’, bouncin’

Tiny little babies love bouncin’ so

Bounce to the left, bounce to the right

Now hug that baby nice and tight!

I've sung this one at storytime before and it's absolutely adorable. I almost always sing this one twice in a row too. 

Early Literacy Tip:

Additional Valentine's Day books:  

I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy

What I Love About You by Susan Farrington

Huggy Kissy by Leslie Patricelli

Kisses and Cuddles by Aly Fronis 

After storytime, I bring out the toys and let children play for about 20-30 minutes. I hope you enjoyed this special Valentine's Day themed storytime for babies and toddlers, 0-24 months!

Sensory Playtime for Babies 0-2

I had a word document that I put together prior to my Sensory Playtime program and I just updated it to add some tips and links on where to buy some of the things I used.

Sensory Playtime is a program for babies that consists of several stations that caregivers and their babies interact with based on the 5 senses. Each station has board books that parents can check out to read during the program or at home with their baby. 

1) Touch and Feel
This station involves a fabric board made using a large sheet of cardboard, duct tape, and various tactile fabrics.  *** For the program on 1/30/2017, The tactile fabrics used for the touch and feel boards were various ribbons and fabrics found on clearance at Joanne fabrics. We had things like faux fur, satin, felt, velcro, pom poms, large buttons, foam shapes, bubble wrap, etc. I just duct taped the fabric down onto a piece of cardboard and used a glue gun to glue the pom poms, foam shapes, and buttons on.  

This station will also include sensory bags made using hairgel (the really cheap dollar store hairgel works well or the cheap LA Looks gel from Target), large plastic bags, craft materials to put inside the bag, and duct tape to seal the bags shut. *** For the sensory bags, I used a random combination of vegetable oil, hair gel, paint, food coloring, tapioca starch (corn starch works though – I just happen to have a corn allergy so I avoid it), glitter, etc. I then added foam shapes (cut out using our die cut machine), I also added some various pieces like letters, buttons, large googly eyes, and pom poms.  Some of the bags had different consistencies and so it’s largely an experiment. 

We will also have various sensory balls that children can play with and put through large cardboard tubes. *** The large cardboard tubes were sent to us from when we purchased some large posters. You can get them from any shipping company. There are various sized sensory balls online on Lakeshore Learning. See links below. 

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C928%2C624&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485967438271  

http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C898%2C317&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485967454557

We have a large number of bunny puppets so this station also allows parents to have fun with our soft bunny puppets! We will also provide a large number of board books with bunnies.  Bunny puppets are mostly from Folkmanis purchased on Amazon and the Adventure Puppets are from Lakeshore Learning.  
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=folkmanis+puppets  

Similar puppets to the Adventure Puppets: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C894%2C312&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485969449805 

Of course, we’ll also have tactile touch-and-feel books for parents to read to their children as well.

2) Face Time
This station allows babies to take delight in seeing images of other babies. We will have a giant poster with pictures of babies from all around the world!  We will also allow babies to interact with hand held mirrors.* Babies love looking at pictures of other babies and mirrors are extra fun as well. We will also include a vast array of books that have images of other babies in them.  *** We already owned these small red mirrors and I’m not sure where we got them but they are made specifically for babies, ages 3 months+

3) Cloud Dough
Just two ingredients: organic baby rice cereal and coconut oil. You can add a scent to this too if you want, as long as it’s safe for babies. In this station, we will have books about food, taste, and smell. ***For the cloud dough on this day, we added pumpkin pie spice and then a small amount of Plum Organics Orange Food puree to get a slight orange color for the cloud dough. I did not measure any of this out, just eyeballed it to get it to the consistency and scent that I wanted. This food puree has peach, pumpkin, carrots, and cinnamon. This allowed me to not use any artificial food coloring.  Here is an image of the food puree I used. 

A child playing with the cloud dough. He REALLY loved this stuff, haha. 

4) Music Station
At this station babies will be surrounded by all of the musical instruments we have! Bells, egg shakers, rainmakers, noise sticks, and Little Tikes pianos, to name a few. Books on music, dancing, and soft vs loud will be available in this station.

Animal shakers:
https://www.amazon.com/LP-RhythMix-Animal-Shaker-Set/dp/B000OVABBS 

Musical Instruments:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C895%2C982&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485967823563  (I pulled out only the stuff that was appropriate for babies) 

More musical instruments: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C930%2C553&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485967879019

Rainshakers: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/product/productDet.jsp?productItemID=1%2C689%2C949%2C371%2C925%2C514&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181113&bmUID=1485967922199 

5) High Contrast! 
We will have a station of black and white board books on display as well as blown up images of black and white artwork. Research shows newborn babies love high-contrast images so this station is sure to amuse the youngest babies in attendance! ***I also used our smart board to project a high contrast video that used sound effects.  Here is an example of a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuUYHR74xv0 

6) Bubble Fun
Towards the end of the program, we will put on the bubble machine and let it run for several minutes! Babies love bubbles. 

*** Our bubble machine wasn’t working this day but this is another extra fun sensory experience for babies. 

So that's the program!! :D Hope you enjoyed this post. 

Read & Play Baby Storytime : Bathtime

This storytime is aimed at 0-24 months. At the beginning of each storytime I usually introduce some of our puppets. This gets children out of their shell a little. It also helps to calm any fears they may have about coming to storytime! I make sure every child gets the chance to pet the puppets if they'd like :) 

Here is the Folkmanis puppet I introduced at this storytime:

Baby Duck

Elephant - Did not really use. Although I read a book featuring an elephant, I had a feeling the tusks might look a little scary to some of the young toddlers. They DID however, LOVE the duck!! 

1. Opening Song: Open Shut Them

Open, shut them,

Open, shut them

Give a little clap, clap, clap

Open, shut them, open, shut them

Lay them in your lap, lap, lap

Creepy crawly, creepy crawly,

Right up to your chin, chin, chin

Open up your little mouth

But do not let them in, in in

2. Book:  Small Elephants Bathtime by Tatyana Feeney

This book is SO cute and involves a baby elephant who doesn't want to take a bath because he hates getting in the water! The book then describes how the only way the baby can get into the tub is when he sees his giant daddy looking hysterical in the tub (he's just too small for the tub). Then, he suddenly wants to join in. I love to read books that include Dad as one of the main characters! :) The book is a little long for babies but good for young toddlers so I read this one first because it was slightly longer than most board books, but still quite short for a picture book). 

3. Baby Bounce: “Tiny Little Babies”
Tune: Shortenin’ Bread
"Tiny little babies love bouncin’ bouncin’
Tiny little babies love bouncin’, yeah
Tiny little babies love bouncin’, bouncin’
Tiny little babies love bouncin’ so
Bounce to the left, bounce to the right
Now hug that baby nice and tight!"

I had the caregivers sing this bounce twice and it was a big hit! So adorable. 

3) Shake Your Shakers

4) Book: Llama Llama Nighty-Night


5) Song on CD: Row Row Row Your Boat

4. Song on CD: Coconut Soap by Frank Leto

5. Book in Unison: Where is Baby’s Belly Button

This book is so cute! There is a "peek-a-boo" lift the flap factor to this book that children get a big kick out of it. One of the moms even said she and her child had this book memorized. I am a huge fan of Karen Kat'z books! Bonus points for inclusivity within the illustrations of babies :) 

6. Shaker Song - Sung to the tune of “London Bridge”

"Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,

Shake your shakers!

Other Verses:

Shake your shakers high, high, high,

Shake your shakers  low, low, low,

Shake your shakers  fast, fast, fast,

Shake your shakers  slow, slow, slow"

I actually sing this song every week! It really is awesome to see the young toddlers getting acclimated to it. After the kids have gone to enough storytime sessions, it almost becomes second nature to them! :) 

7. Book: Llama Llama Nighty Night by Anna Dewdney

First, let me say it was a real huge loss to the children's literature world when Anna Dewdney passed away on September 3, 2016. Her Llama Llama books have found their place in the hearts of so many children worldwide. I will probably never stop sharing her books at Storytime. This board book version is adorable and goes through typical bedtime routines with cute illustrations. Another great factor is that it reads well and is the perfect length for baby storytime!

8. Final Song on CD: Row Row Row Your Boat by Wiggleworms

Here's a cute toddler dancing along to the song:

Another good book for bath time storytime:  Splash by Roberta Grobel Intrater 

After storytime, I bring out the toys and let children play for about 20-25 minutes. Hope you enjoyed this bath time themed storytime for babies and toddlers, 0-24 months!

Tales for Twos and Threes - Self Esteem

This storytime focuses on body positivity and self esteem. I did this storytime today and a parent came up to me, thanking me several times for leading a storytime on this timely topic. I think it is really important to teach young children that they are unique and beautiful, no matter what skin color they are. I may just be a children's librarian, but I can make a difference in the lives of children by sharing books on these very important topics. 

1)   Introduction – This is the Way Our Hands Say Hello (to tune of the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way our hands say hello,

With a clap, clap-clap, Clap, clap-clap

This the way our hands say hello,

With a clap, clap-clap, clap-clap

This is the way our knees say hello,

With a tap tap-tap,

Tap tap-tap

This is the way our knees say hello,

With a tap tap-tap, tap-tap

This is the way we wave hello,

Wave hello, wave hello

This is the way we wave hello,

So early in the morning

2)   Flannel Board: Build a Pig 

I chose this activity because it's fun and it leads into our next book, I Like Me by Nancy Carlson. I don't want to take credit for this one, I actually found this idea from another storytime blog, Reading Chick. You start with a body and ask the children what else the pig needs. Match the wrong body parts, ask them if that looks right, and watch the kids yell out "NO!" Kids find this really funny when you add silly parts like an elephant's trunk to the pig's head instead of a snout. Love this one!

3) Book: I Like Me by Nancy Carlson

This is such a cute book :) It's seriously perfect for young children, ages 2 and up. It's short enough and has adorable illustrations while teaching very important concepts like body positivity and self esteem. My favorite pages are when she says, "I like my curly tail, my round tummy, and my tiny little feet." 

4)   Song: Pancake Manor - Move Your Legs

Love this song too. The "freeze" part is great and stops toddlers in their tracks!

5) Book: Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin

I seriously love this book. I've read this at three different storytimes already. The message is very powerful and it's presented in a way that is digestible for children. We all have skin! I also asked children a few questions throughout the book to get their attention. On the page that says "Whoops! When you fall, your skin will heal with a scab, a perfect seal." I asked children, "Who here has had a scab? Raise your hand if you've had a scab!" Many kids in the audience raised their hands. I also did this for the page that says "Sometimes skin has freckles" because I noticed some parents pointing out the freckles on their children's arms. It was cute to see the parents interacting with their children based on the text. :) Highly recommend this book for any storytime because of it's inclusive illustrations and celebration of diversity!  

6) Flannel Board: Five Ballet Dancers

Five Ballet Dancers

Five ballet dancers

Dancing on their toes.

They bend their knees and jump,

then off the stage one goes!

How many ballet dancers are left?

The clipart I used was purchased through the Etsy shop, MyClipArtStore

I asked children to follow the actions of the rhyme and some of them did. I'll admit, none of the children tried to dance on their toes (they have not yet fully developed their fine and gross motor skills to really attempt that yet). I did do my best to do it in front of them as I read the rhyme (which is kind of funny to think about because I do not have the best balance, LOL). Some children did bend their knees and jump. I actually think this would work really well with preschoolers because they would be more willing and able to do the actions. The kids liked counting with me though, as always! :) 

7) Book: Be Who You Are by Todd Parr

This is honestly my new favorite book this week. It is seriously adorable and spreads SUCH a good message, as do all Todd Parr books. The message at the end goes well with the theme of today's storytime:

"It doesn't matter what color you are, where you are from, or who's in your family. Everyone needs to be loved. Always love yourself and BE who are you ARE." -- Todd Parr

8) Affirmations: I Am by Cynthia Dawn

I am great!" (Arms wide) 

I  am smart!" (Finger to head)

I am strong! (Flex muscles) 

I am loved (Hug yourself)

Today is an awesome day! (Jump in the air, fist pump). 

Cynthia Dawn shared this in a post on Storytime Underground. It was very successful. I had the kids repeat the word and action after I said it once. The kids followed along so well and I might actually do this at every storytime because I loved it so much!! Thank you again Cynthia for sharing this, it was truly wonderful! 

9) Final Song: Laurie Berkner - My Energy (I used this song with shakers but it would work great with scarves too). 

 Lyrics: 

This is me, this is me

This is me and my energy

This is me, this is me

This is me and my energy

I'm gonna wiggle my legs

I'm gonna click my heels

I'm gonna stomp my feel

Because I have energy

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

I'm gonna wave my arms

I'm gonna shake my hips

I'm gonna jump to the sky

Because I have energy

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

I'm gonna clap my hands

I'm gonna shake my head

I'm gonna yell out loud

Because I have energy

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

This is me, this is me 

This is me and my energy 

And it's the only thing that I can be

Yeah I'm the only thing that I can be

Me! Me! Energy! Me! Me! Energy!

Me! Me! Energy! Me! Me! Me!

10) Early Literacy Tip: 

Raise a Confident Child by Playing Together. You will learn a lot about your child—and yourself—during play. Playtime gives your child the message, “You are worth my time. You are a valuable person.” It is well known that children learn through play. It improves a child’s behavior by giving him feelings of importance and accomplishment. Instead of viewing playtime as a chore, use it to make an investment in your child’s behavior.

Tip brought to you by Dr. Sears, the author of The Baby Book.

11) Playtime & Actvity: If parents wanted to, they had the chance to trace their child's hand and then make fingerprints on their paper. It was really cute, even though it did leave children's fingertips a fun shade of blue lol. Make sure to use washable ink for this activity! 

Additional Fingerplays:

Nice Fingers (modified from the fingerplay, "Not So Crazy Fingers" in the book Artsy Toddler by Carol Garnett Hopkins. I chose to use the word nice instead since this storytime was focusing on positive traits and crazy can be taken as a bad thing)

I have nice ears (Point to ears)

And a nice nose (Rub nose)

Nice shoulders (Wiggle shoulders)

And nice toes (wiggle toes)

Nice hair (Pat hair)

And a nice chin (point to chin)

And my nice fingers sit quietly like so (Fold hands together into lap). 

All of Me by Jessica McDonald (found on Pinterest, Play Learn Love) 

My hands are for clapping

My arms can hug tight

My fingers can snap

Or can turn out the night

My legs are for jumping

My eyes help me see

This is my body

And I love all of me!

Tales for 2s and 3s - Monster Halloween Storytime & Craft!

My first storytime for the 2 and 3 year olds was October 27th so I did a fun monster/Halloween themed storytime! :) 

Here is my storytime & craft outline!

1)   Introduction – This is the Way Our Hands Say Hello (to tune of the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way our hands say hello,
With a clap, clap-clap, Clap, clap-clap
This the way our hands say hello,
With a clap, clap-clap, clap-clap

This is the way our knees say hello,
With a tap tap-tap,
Tap tap-tap
This is the way our knees say hello,
With a tap tap-tap, tap-tap

This is the way we wave hello,
Wave hello, wave hello
This is the way we wave hello,
So early in the morning

2)   Book #1 – Go Away Big Green Monster

This is such a classic book and perfect for this age range. The book is great because the children can participate and tell each part of the monster to "GO AWAY!" It's also great because it identifies colors, which children should be pretty familiar with at this age. 

3)   Song: Spooky Loo on the CD, Wee Sing for Halloween

Here we go Spook-y Loo, Here we go Spook-y Light,

Here we go Spook-y Loo, All on a Hal-low-een night.

You put your right hand in, You put your right hand out, You give you right hand a shake, shake, shake, And you turn your-self a-bout. Oh,

(Chorus after each verse)

2. ...left hand...

3. ...right hand...

4. ...left foot...

5. ...head...

6. ...whole self...

4)   Book 2: Little Monsters

This is an old pop up book from 1986. It might be hard to find in your library but I had to add it here. It is SUCH a cool book. The pop ups are spectacular and at the end, it asks the reader to count how many monsters were in the book. So I asked the children to help me count all the monsters in the book (there were five). Love it! 

5)   Flannel Board Story: Chocolate Chip Ghost

Chocolate Chip Ghost is a sweet little flannel board story that has been told in storytimes for years. It might not fit the monster theme but it's perfect for Halloween time! In this story, the five ghosts have to eat all white foods so they can stay white but the mom runs out of food. The mom goes to the grocery store and before she leaves, she tells the ghosts to not eat anything until she gets back with dinner! Of course, the naughty ghosties are hungry and begin eating different things in their fridge. One ghost eats a strawberry and turns red! I have the children try to guess the color the ghost will turn based on the food they eat. I also have them join in with me and say "Oh no!!" once I flip the ghost over to reveal their color.   Another ghost eats a lemon meringue pie and turns yellow! Oh no!! Finally, the last little ghost looks and looks but doesn't find anything in the cabinets, until he sees a cookie jar on the tallest shelf in the corner. He eats the cookie in a snap and turns chocolate chip colored! Oh no!! Of course the mom then comes home and gives each ghost a glass of milk where they all turn back to white again.  

Here are the words to the story:

Once there was a Mama Ghost and five little ghosts who lived in a spooky old house. They were all a sparkling dazzling white. Mama ghost made sure they stayed so white by letting them eat only white milk.

Once day, just before suppertime, when Mama Ghost looked into the refrigerator, there was no milk for their supper! She quickly got ready to go to the grocery store. Just before she left she told her five little ghosts to be sure not to eat anything, since she would be back with their suppers very soon. With that, she gave them all a kiss and went off to the grocery store.

All went well for a time, but soon the first little ghost said “I’m hungry. I really want something to eat.” And with that, he opened the refrigerator door and found a red ripe strawberry and ate it all up. And he turned bright red. "Oh no!!!"

The second little ghost said “No fair! I’m hungry too.” And opened the refrigerator and found a lemon meringue pie and ate it all up. She turned a bright yellow. "Oh no!!!" 

The third little ghost started crying that he was hungry too and ran to the refrigerator and drank a glass of grape juice and turned purple. What do you think he said? (ask kids to join in) "Oh no!!!"

The fourth little ghost was mad because she was hungry and the only thing left in the refrigerator was a piece of lettuce which she ate, and it turned her green! Oh no!!!

The last little ghost was hungry, hungry, hungry. But when he looked in the refrigerator there was nothing to eat! But he was hungry, hungry, hungry! So he looked in all the drawers, and in all the cabinets, and finally on the very top shelf of a cupboard, there was a cookie jar. And in that cookie jar was one chocolate chip cookie. The little ghost was so hungry that he ate in all up in one snap! And He turned chocolate chip colored! and what did he say? Oh no!!!

Just then Mama Ghost returned from the grocery store with milk for the little ghost’s suppers. My, oh, my! Was she surprised to see all her little ghosties all the colors of the rainbow!

You naughty little ghosties! Come and get your supper right now! So she gave each of them a glass of white milk and each little ghost turned sparkling white again.

6)   Book #2 – Tickle Monster by Edouard Manceau

This is such an awesome book and pairs so well with Go Away Big Green Monster! It is PERFECT for this age range. The book begins with, "Hey Tickle Monster! You don't scare me! If I tickle your horns... you can't poke me!" In this story, the reader is prompted to tickle various parts of a monster and he is deconstructed with each part that is tickled, repurposing the monster parts into a far less threatening scene (feet turn upside down and become trees in a scene, for example). You can prompt children to pretend they are a monster and have parents tickle the various parts on their child as the monster in the story slowly goes away. Parts that are tickled: horns, arms, feet, teeth, tummy, ears, nose, eyes, and finally, head (the last part to go). I love the last few pages of this book too. "And now, if I tickle your head... you're gone! Good-bye Tickle Monster!" -- "Phew! I can finally go to sleep" -- "But if you ever come knocking on my door, Tickle Monster, beware: I will tickle you again!"

It's been a while since I've seen a book that is almost as amazing as Go Away Big Green Monster! This book was a big hit with the kids. 

7)   Halloween Dance on the CD, Golden Records Spooky Halloween Hits. This is the classic 60's song that prompts children to march like a monster, shake their hands like a skeleton, put their arms up like a goblin, and dance like a fairy! It's a really great song to get kids moving. I will note though that some of the sound effects (particularly the monster roaring sounds) may be a little spooky for young children. However, I haven't had any complaints yet and I've played this song at 4 different Halloween storytimes over the years :) Listen to it below:

8)   Quote from Mr. Rogers: Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. (perfect quote to lead into the playtime!)

9)   Craft & Playtime. The craft for this week was a monster visor. It is made mostly from ellison shapes with the addition of multicolored sticker dots and googly eyes. The beauty of this craft is that not all of them will look alike! I love crafts that don't end up looking all the same. I wish I had a picture of some of the children's visors but I forgot to bring a camera into the program. 

Happy Halloween everyone!