Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello
Intro: Mail! I've been wanting to try out using mail to introduce storytime themes since I read about it at Storytime Katie (who read about it in a post from Amanda Struckmeyer on Wisconsin's Youth Services Shout-Out collaborative blog). And this was the perfect theme since it led into a short discussion about where we live. Not only does using mail reinforce the idea that writing and reading is used in everyday life, but it led into a discussion about what state and city we live in and what street we live on.
Book: Do Lions Live on Lily Pads? by Melanie Walsh. We actually skipped this book in my storytime because the kids were pretty squirrelly and I had to cut down, but this is a fun, simple book that can lead to conversation about where we live and where different animals live.
Felt Story: Mr. Pine's Purple House (book by Leonard Kessler). Mr. Pine has a problem: all the houses on his street look the same and he can never remember which one is his! So he plants a tree next to his house. But soon all the neighbors are following suit and soon they all look the same again! This is a great story to talk about same and different. After I told this story, I asked the kids what color their houses are.
Book: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. Next up, we talked about body parts. This was a great book for a restless crowd because we could stand up and do all the actions together.
Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. This is one of my favorites and we always do it normal, fast, and superfast! This is a great song for getting the wiggles out.
Book: The Family Book by Todd Parr. I feel like librarians can be very divided about Todd Parr: either you love his illustrations or you hate them. I love them and I love that this book shows many different types of families in very simple text, with funny illustrations and warm affirmations. There is a lot to talk about with this book if your group is inclined to do so.
Song: I took my standby "If You're Wearing Red Today" and changed the words to "If you have a brother..." We repeated with sister, cousin, pet, and friend (because I figured even if some kid didn't have any of those family members, they are all MY friends!). You could repeat with more if you want! This is a great song for practicing listening skills and following directions.
Activity: Color Library Cards. I wanted one more interactive activity, so I threw in a little bit about the library being part of our community and passed out the color library cards. When I called their color, kids came up and put their cards on the board. When they were all on the board, we counted them together.
Mystery Bag: Today's Mystery Bag had the letter M inside and also a mouse, a marker, a magnifying glass, a magnet, and MONEY!
Closing Song: Do You Know What Time It Is?
After we finished our storytime, the class spent a few minutes playing in our Children's Room before heading back to their school.
Alternate Books: Here are other books you can use with an All About Me theme!
Parts by Tedd Arnold
You Can Do It, Too by Karen Baicker
I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson
What Brothers Do Best/What Sisters Do Best by Laura Numeroff
Check out Storytime Katie's Me storytime! You may also want to look for books about family, neighborhoods, pets, homes, or body parts.