Storytime songs pt. 2

     So I got word yesterday that I will soon start doing story times at a pre school close to my library here in NE Denver.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve but you can never be too prepared especially when it comes to dealing with the little ones. The story time songs I posted last week are great for getting the little ones moving but I thought I would look for songs that would involve more arm movement and/or could be used with a flannel board or magnet. Here's what I found:

    "Slippery fish" is a cute little song with a variety of arm movements. In this video the presenter is also using some laminated sheets that provide a good visual to accompany the song and movements.  This song is a favorite at story times but I have found that I can only do it once as it is so long.

    The ladies at jbrary are an excellent resource and I like that they always seem to be having fun in their vids. I chose this song because it is not one that I had heard much of before. This song is called "Roly, poly" and uses lots of arm movements to teach direction (up, down, out, in, fast, slow) and of course the tune is familiar to little ones as it is done to the tune of "Frere Jacques".

     Fall is around the corner and soon the leaves will start changing colors. "Ten little leaves" done by littlestorybug is a cool flannel board song for little ones. I like how she goes slowly at first so that the little ones can follow along. This song could also be extended by asking kids what colors are the leaves or how many of a certain color leaf there are. Lots of possibilities from this flannel activity.

    This is another cool rhyme that I found on a site called storyblocks.org. It is called "Big, big, big" and it incorporates a lot of hand movement. I can't wait to try this one out with the little ones. http://www.storyblocks.org/videos/big-big-big/
Oh, before I forget,  Storyblocks is a project of Colorado Libraries for Early Lieracy (of which I am a member) working in partnership with Rocky Mountain PBS. It is a collection of 30-60 second videos designed to teach songs, rhymes and fingerplays appropriate for early childhood. Each video clip includes helpful early literacy tips to increase caregivers' understanding of child development and pre-literacy needs.

    This is a song that I learned recently and it has become a staple of my story times en español. It is called  "Viajar en tren" and it is fantastic. I like the fact that it is open-ended so you can do different animals every week or you can even do professions if you so desire.  For some reason this video would not insert so I put the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6in-MyJJ2i8&list=PL0T1x8nQ0NjijucEdjp6FR6hZRe1lx5qF&index=16

    Finally, "Baby fish" is a cool hand movement song that also teaches family members. I like this video because it features the kids doing the song and you can see how much fun they are having.  There is also another part of the song that I saw on another site where the performer added another part called grandma fish and put their knuckles together :)