It's Spring!!

This Outreach Storytime was presented at Welcome School on Friday, March 28, 2014.

Books:

Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky

Jo MacDonald Had a Garden by Mary Quattlebaum, illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Song:

I'm a Little Bunny
(tune: "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little bunny, my name is Joe.
I hop fast...and I hop slow.
Whenever I get sleepy, my ears droop low,
But after my nap, back up they go!


Rhyme:

Open, Shut Them

Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Give a little clap, clap, clap!

Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Lay them in your lap, lap, lap!

Waving, waving, waving, waving,
High up in the sky, sky, sky.
Wave to me...I'll wave to you.
Now let's all say goodbye, bye, bye.


My monthly visit to Welcome School is always highly anticipated, and this time was no exception!  The visit was full of laughter, beginning when Wesley decided to bring something hidden in his shell to Welcome School!  When he came out of my pocket I couldn't figure out why everyone was laughing so hard.  Then I looked at Wesley and instead of seeing this...

I saw what the children saw:

At the end of storytime the children taught me a song, as is our tradition.  The song didn't sound familiar although Mrs. Sloniker said I heard it while attending an OoeyGooeyLady workshop with the Welcome School staff. (I think I must have been in the ladies' room at the time!)
Here is a Youtube video of the song, "Waddaleeacha", featuring that same workshop speaker. Enjoy!

Another tradition we observe involves letting the children say goodbye to Wesley before we leave.  And I really do mean "say goodbye to Wesley"!  I rarely get an acknowledgement from children when Wesley is with me... but that's fine with me!
Children have the option of feeding Wesley imaginary food - usually something that falls into one of four broad categories: Drinks - milk and fruit juice are favorites; Fruits, Veggies and Other Healthy Stuff; Cookies, Candy and Birthday Cake (Wesley tends to have a birthday every few months!); and Main Dishes such as Pizza, Chicken Nuggets and Hamburgers!

At our visit today Wesley received many of these foods, as well as these gems!!:
"steak and milk"
"chapstick"
"smelly shoes"
"cooking spray" 

That reminds me - there is a FIFTH category: "things that Wesley should eat LATER or that need to be stored in his shell"!  Some children have figured out that, if they give Wesley a snack for later in the day or something like cooking spray, he will disappear into his shell, put the item where it belongs in his house, and POP back out again!  

Children take their play very seriously!!

Each Outreach Storytime includes activities that support one or more of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing –were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).