With the fall came the start of a new storytime session. In an attempt to spread storytime duties around more evenly in our department, I picked up a monthly daycare storytime. Yes, it's just once a month, but it means one less that our regular weekly storytime presenters have to worry about. Additionally, it keeps me practicing my storytime skills, so it seems like a win all around.
For my first daycare storytime session, I chose the ocean as our theme. Here's what we did!
Opening: "We Clap and Say Hello" - I must have been more nervous than I thought for storytime because just as I was starting, I completely forgot the melody for this. I made one up and the kids went along with it, so no harm done. Also, to tie into our theme today, I made us all wiggle our arms like octopi to say hello at the end.
Book: I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! By Kevin Sherry
Rhyme: Baby Shark - basically the whole reason I chose this theme first was because I wanted to do this rhyme. I remember this fondly from my Girl Scout camp days, but the kids didn't seem to be as into it as I expected. I showed them all the sharks we'd meet first and then went through the rhyme. Maybe I should have done it twice: once for practice and then again to get really into it.
Book: I'm a Shark by Bob Shea
Song: "The Goldfish" by Laurie Berkner - once again, the kids were not as into this as I'd hoped. I picked this song specifically because it describes the actions; I've had trouble in the past with trying to get kids to do free movement or dancing. But they just didn't seem very interested in getting up and moving.
Book: Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet by Kelly DiPucchio - I actually hadn't planned on using this but when I saw their lack of enthusiasm for dancing and asked if they wanted another story, they said yes. Plus, they were not a very interactive group overall, so my storytime was running a little short.
Craft: Starfish! - I had each kid decorate a starfish to take home (die-cut star shapes with the pointy tips rounded off). My favorite part of the program actually came at the very end. When the kids started finishing up their starfish decorating, I had them come sit with me in the middle of the room and they all just told me stories about their day. It was very entertaining.
And that was my ocean-themed daycare storytime! Any tips on engaging less-than-excited groups?
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