Week Eight - Itsy Bitsy Spider & Little Miss Muffet

It seems that EVERYBODY knows "The Eensy Weensy Spider"...or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", depending on what you learned.  "Little Miss Muffet" is popular, too, but if you ask, it's usually "The Eensy Weensy Spider" they tell you about. I wanted to do "Little Miss Muffet" but I figured I needed to just go ahead and include BOTH! :)

Books:

The Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out!, by Troy Cummings is a book that I'm a smidgen torn over. I like it, and I don't like it.  Parts of it are pretty easy to read to preschoolers, and some of it not so much.  So, I advise reading it for yourself before you include it in a storytime.  There is also a good moral to the story about perseverance so I try to incorporate that into the reading as well. 

Eric Carle is on my Top 10 MOST Beloved and MUST READ Children's Authors, so it was no wonder that we read The Very Busy Spider.   If you have never used this particular book in a storytime, and you have a copy of the book as we do that has the web being raised a bit from the page (like embossed) (I don't KNOW that all the copies of the books are like that), but if they are, be prepared for the kids to really want to see the web up close.  This isn't so bad if you don't have very many kids, but if you have a roomful of kiddos it can cause some logistical problems and jam up of kids.  It is really cool and they all want to touch it to feel it raised up. 

In addition to the two above nursery rhymes, I also included a song that I had heard at a workshop a couple of years ago, and had been looking for just the right time to use it.  It is actually from a Boy Scout website, but I like the song, and the kids seemed to enjoy it (at least as gauged by the giggling)....the older kids moreso than the younger ones...

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/song/song-1325.asp

There's a spider on the floor, on the floor.
There's a spider on the floor, on the floor. 
Who could ask for anything more, than a spider on the floor.
There's a spider on the floor, on the floor. 

Now the spider's on my leg, on my leg. 
Now the spider's on my leg, on my leg.
Oh, I wish I had some Raid for this spider on my leg! 
Now the spider's on my leg, on my leg.

Now the spider's on my chest, on my chest! 
Now the spider's on my chest, on my chest!
Oh, I'd squish him in my vest, if it didn't make a mess! 
Now the spider's on my chest, on my chest!

Now the spider's on my neck, on my neck!
Now the spider's on my neck on my neck!
Oh, I'm gonna be a wreck, I've got a spider on my neck! 
Now the spider's on my neck on my neck!

Now the spider's on my face, on my face!
Now the spider's on my face, on my face !
Oh, what a big disgrace, I've got a spider on my face! 
Now the spider's on my face, on my face 

Now the spider's on my head, on my head!
Now the spider's on my head, on my head!
Oh, I wish that he were dead. I've got a spider on my head! 
Now the spider's on my head, on my head!


SPOKEN: "But he jumped off.... "

I even got to use the spider hand puppet that I found in our puppet box.  :)

The craft we did this week was a seemingly simple enough craft, however, with little fingers, it did require the help of the adults in order to make the headband the size of the child's head. 

We made a Spider Hat....3" strips of black construction paper stapled/glued/taped together for the headband part, and then eight 1" strips for the legs.  It was a good opportunity for the kids to count to eight as they picked out their strips of leg paper.  I had white circles set out for the eyes, and black crayons for the kids to add the pupils.  I so wish I could have taken their pictures.  They were so cute in their little spider hats, and they were each a little different to add to their own personalities. 

Week Seven - Jack Be Nimble

This week we only had one storytime, on Tuesday morning, because our community has a festival every October right before Halloween called "Black Squirrel Night."   It is usually on a Thursday night, and indeed this year it was, too.  So....that means no one comes to storytime at the library because the dance studio kids dance and there is a costume contest.  I certainly understand, and so we just cancel for that night.  

So, only one of my groups of kiddos this week got to do "Jack Be Nimble".

So, I read a couple of books that had "jumping" involved with them, and they both just happened to be with frogs.  Both of them are really cute, and good for storytimes, both in different individual ways.

One, Two, Three Jump! by Penelope Lively, offered a good opportunity for the kids to participate in the reading as there was some repetition built into the story. 

Jump!, by Scott M. Fischer, was a new book to me, and I really liked it for it's rhyming components, lots and lots of rhyming!

Can't do a jumping storytime without including "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" for our song/fingerplay.  I actually had purchased (or she received it as a gift when she was little) a hand puppet that goes with the book about the "Five Little Monkeys"....It was fun to dig it out again and be able to use it in storytime. 

Five Little Monkeys

Actions:

Five little monkeys -- with one hand hold up the number of fingers to match the verse.

jumping on the bed -- bounce your fingers (monkeys) up and down on your other hand (the bed)

One fell off -- hold up one finger

and bumped his head -- hold head with both hands and rock head back and forth

Mama called the Doctor and the doctor said -- dial the phone with one finger

No more monkeys jumping on the bed -- shake index finger ("no no")

Words:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head.
Papa called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head.
Papa called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

One little monkey jumping on the bed,
He fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"Put those monkeys straight to bed!"

We didn't sing it exactly like this, but most of us have done this one many, many times. 

Our craft this week was very simple, but it provided a prop for a fun movement activity.  We made a candlestick out of a toilet paper roll covered with construction paper, with some red tissue paper crumpled up and glued inside for the flame.  (Older kids can put a handle on it, and a small paper plate too, to look like one of those candlestick holders). I also put my plug in for how kiddos never ever play with real fire, that it is very dangerous, etc. 

We then were able to act out "Jack Be Nimble" by placing our pretend candlesticks on the floor and putting in each child's name in place of Jack (i.e., Ann be nimble, Ann be quick, Ann Jump over the candlestick).  I received feedback later on in the week that at least one child had been doing this at home as well.  :)