Letter J Storytime
Scott Bahlmann
Opening: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi
Book: Where’s My Mom? (Jungle) – Julia Donaldson
(Such a fun book, the kids loves all the mistakes the butterfly made, and the parents loved the ending.)
Activity: One Was Johnny - Maurice Sendak
(I drew the room on a white board, and used tape to stick on the figures. The explosion Johnny has to scare the masses away always tickles the children.)
1 was Johnny who lived by himself
2 was a rat who jumped on his shelf
3 was a cat who chased the rat
4 was a dog who came in and sat
5 was a turtle who bit the dog's tail
6 was a monkey who brought in the mail
7 a black bird pecked poor Johnny's nose
8 was a tiger out selling old clothes
9 was a robber who took an old shoe
10 was a puzzle--what should Johnny do?
He stood on a chair and said, Here's what I'll do--I'll start to Count backwards And when I am through If this house isn't empty, I'll eat All of you!
9 was the robber who left looking pale
8 was the tiger who chased him to jail
7 was the blackbird flew off to Havana
6 was the monkey who stole the banana
5 was the turtle who crawled off to bed
4 was the dog who slid home on a sled
3 was the cat who pounced on the rat
2 was the rat who left with the cat
1 was Johnny who lived by himself
And liked it like that!
Book: Sheep in a Jeep – Nancy Shaw
(Fun illustrations, and great opportunity to talk about what is happening beyond the text.)
Activity: Two Little Jellyfish -
(adapted from Two Little Blackbirds)
Two little jellyfish drifting in the tide
One named Jenny and one named Clyde.
Jiggle away Jenny, jiggle away Clyde.
Come back Jenny, come back Clyde.
Two little jellyfish swimming in a bowl,
One named fast and one named slow…
Two little jellyfish swimming in a pool,
One named warm, and one named cool…
Two little jellyfish swimming in a cup,
One named down and one named up…
Two little jellyfish swimming undeterred,
One named back and one named forward…
Two little jellyfish swimming in the deep,
One named awake and one asleep..
(Our hands were the jellyfish, with the fingers being the tentacles, great fun!)
Book: Jellyfish – Carol K Lindeen
(The second group I had was a bit more restless, but the first group really liked this, the parents too!)
Activity: Jumping Joey -
from King County Library
Jumping Joey went a jumping joyfully to town
Jumping Joey got so tired jumping up and down
Jumping Joey asked his mother, "Could I have a ride?"
Jumping Joey's mother answered, "Sure, just jump inside!"
(Probably the biggest hit, we jumped during the rhyme, and then did a big jump and wrapped our arms around our knees in the 'pocket'.)
Book: Jump – Scott Fisher
(The kids had fun identifying each new creature that appeared. Another hit!)
Activity: Bubbles
(Then the kids got to jump in bubbles. Maybe a bit of cheating, but I was worn out after all the jumping!)