Opening Song: Hello, Friends (from JBrary)
Song: ABC song (traditional)
I printed out the entire alphabet and hung it on my flannel board. We sang the ABC song once through slowly while I pointed to each letter. Then we sang it faster the second time.
Activity: I printed out a large Letter D flashcard. We talked about the letter D sound and some words that start with D. I showed the children a toy dog, a doll, and a toy dinosaur and we talked about how each of the items started with D. I used the dinosaur toy to segue into introducing our first dinosaur book .
Book: No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo.
This is such a fun book. The older children (around age 4-5ish) especially enjoyed this one. I also like reading books about libraries to kids, so that’s extra fun. I will say that this could possibly be a bit scary or suspenseful for very young or extra sensitive kids.
Song: Dino Pokey (from King County Library System)
We have done the Hokey Pokey before so the children were familiar with the tune. It took them a second to realize that we were changing it to Dinos, but they seemed to enjoy it once they understood.
Song: Dinosaurs in the Swamp (from Handley Regional Library System)
Just like with the Dino Pokey, the children were familiar with the tune of this song (Wheels on the Bus). I do wish I had done this song at a different point in the Storytime because the action lyrics are a bit similar to Dino Pokey. It felt a bit repetitive to me, although the kids didn’t seem to mind.
Book: Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap
This is a GREAT book because the whole thing is interactive. The text asks the students to talk and sing to the dinosaur. The children really got into it and it even prompted a bunch of parents to take photos.
Song: See the Little Dinos Sleeping (based on See the Little Bunnies Sleeping, from JBrary)
We have been singing See the Little Bunnies Sleeping for a few weeks, so I thought I would change it to See the Little Dinos Sleeping. It worked wonderfully. The children enjoyed laying down and pretending to sleep. And the parents whipped about their phones to take photos again when they woke up and started stomping and chomping!
Book: Dini Dinosaur by Karen Beaumont
I love this book about a dinosaur who forgets to take off his clothes for a bath. There’s lots of repetitive text and I encourage the kids to say it along with me.
Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
I was out of dinosaur songs but we still had a little time, so I chose a standby favorite!
Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom (from JBrary)
We do this song every week and the kids wait for it!
Overall, I’d say this Storytime was successful. If I were to do it again, I think I would take out one of the dinosaur songs and add in something a little more familiar instead. It’s hard to do a lot of new songs in one session, even if they are based on familiar tunes.
**Photo by Nate DeWaele on Unsplash (Creative Commons Zero License)