Some days, I experience imposter syndrome when programming, especially during storytimes. I’m not an expert in early literacy or a professional storytime-er, but I really enjoy doing storytimes and teaching. I thought I’d share my basic storytime template here. It’s definitely not a revolutionary approach, but I wanted to share my storytimes on this blog, starting with my go-to formula. If you have any suggestions or ideas for things to add, I’d love to hear them!
Welcome Message/Guidelines - This is the moment I like to share what you can expect from our storytime and introduce the theme we're going to explore together.
Hello Song - We Clap and Sing Hello!
Matching hello/goodbye songs can be found on Jbrary!
Stretch/Shake the Sillies Out - A stretch or shaking the sillies out could include a yoga pose, a follow-the-direction song (head, shoulders, knees, and toes), or a simple stretch: arms up, down, and in the middle.
Book 1- Usually the longer book of the storytime.
Felt story or activity - I usually find felt stories on Flannel Friday Pinterest, but they also have a blog.
Flannel Friday Blog here.
Interactive Song - Anything to get the little ones up and moving! My go-to songs are "Icky, Sticky, Bubble Gum" or a follow-the-leader type song.
Finger Play - I might incorporate this anywhere in the storytime. I usually do when I notice that I am losing the crowd. I try to do a song they know to bring it back. Usually, "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is my go-to attention grab song. However, there are tons of fun fingerplays that go along with a variety of themes.
Book 3 (optional) - Much shorter than the first and second book.
Props Song - I might throw in a prop song. The one I do on repeat is Hickory Dickory Dock. The version I use is again Jbrary. See link for more! Another great one is Old MacDonald with our farm puppets.
Jbrary's Hickory Dickory Dock.
Instruments Songs - Instruments I use would be egg shakers, jingle bells, tapping sticks, or tambourines.
Props Songs - The props we use for prop songs are scarves or rainbow ribbons.
*We do not use rainbow ribbons as much. They are a bit dangerous in close spaces.
Clean Up Song - Any clean up song works!
Music CD Song - I love a good instructional music CD song! Laurie Berkner is my go-to, but I know some of the other librarians in my system love Jim Gill. I also love some songs I found on YouTube (unfortunately, we are not allowed to play YouTube songs). If your system allows you to use songs from YouTube, then I recommend them!
Ending Activity - Parachute (toddler/pre-k/baby), Activity cube (pre-k), and bubbles (baby).
Clean Up or All Done Song
Goodbye Song - We Clap and Sing Goodbye (same as above)
Invite families to stay for craft time.
Crafts -I tend to keep my crafts brief because we have a smaller programming room at my branch, but they are still so important to do. I will post a little later about wintertime crafts.
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