I would be seeing ages 1 through 5 on this visit, so I had to plan a wide range to be sure I had stuff that would work for the age of each group. I took several books, but ended up only actually using two, Mr. Brown Can Moo and Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! Both were written by Ted Geisel, but only the first was published under the "Dr. Seuss" name, while the second was a collaboration with another writer friend and published under the name "Rosetta Stone".
I also had two special songs prepared:
Dr. Seuss Is On the Loose
(to the tune of "BINGO")
Dr. Seuss is on the loose,
and this is how we know it.
Cats, hats, eggs, and ham,
Cats, hats, eggs and ham,
Cats, hats, eggs, and ham,
This is how we know it.
Dr. Seuss is on the loose,
and this is how we know it.
Grinch, Sneetches, Turtles, and Wockets,
Grinch, Sneetches, Turtles, and Wockets,
Grinch, Sneetches, Turtles, and Wockets,
This is how we know it.
Dr. Seuss is on the loose,
and this is how we know it.
The Lorax, Things, Fish, and Whos,
The Lorax, Things, Fish, and Whos,
The Lorax, Things, Fish, and Whos,
This is how we know it!
Dr. Seuss is on the loose,
and this is how er know it.
Cats, hats, eggs and ham;
Grinch, Sneetches, Turtles, and Wockets;
The Lorax, Things, Fish, and Whos;
This is how we know it!
And I had these little stick puppets to go with it:
Green Eggs and Ham
(to the tune of" London Bridge")
I don't like green eggs and ham,
eggs and ham, eggs and ham.
I don't like green eggs and ham,
Sam-I-Am.
Would you like them here or there,
here or there, here or there?
Would you like them anywhere?
Green Eggs and Ham.
I don't like them here or there,
here or there, here or there.
I don't like them anywhere,
Sam-I-Am!
You should try green eggs and ham,
eggs and ham, eggs and ham.
You should try green eggs and ham,
You might like them!
I do! I like green eggs and ham,
Eggs and ham, eggs and ham,
I do! I like eggs and ham,
Sam-I-Am!
These were short 15-20 minute sessions each, due to time constraints, though I prefer to do 30 minutes for preschool and up. I used a very short "Hello" and "Goodbye" song, and only read 1 book and did several songs for each.
1-Year Olds
For the 1-year olds, I started off with a couple of familiar childhood songs, "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Little Star", then did one verse of our story song before reading Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? because it is very short and sweet, and I knew that the kids would like identifying the animals and making their sounds. I followed that with "Dr. Seuss Is On the Loose" and the "ABC song" before closing.
2-Year Olds
I did the same thing with the 2-year olds, accept I did the "Green Eggs and Ham" song instead of "Twinkle Little Star".
3 & 4-Year Olds
With this group I did the "Hello" song, and "Dr. Seuss Is On The Loose", then the story song. I read the longer Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! to this group, than sang the "Green Eggs and Ham" song, followed by the "Good-bye Song".
How It Went
It went pretty well considering this was only my second visit (and only my second time doing storytime with 1 & 2 year olds), and because of time constraints we had to combine two 2-year old classes (much to the dismay of the teachers) and the 3- and 4-year old classes.
The babies were so cute, except for the 3 that were obviously sick and not feeling well and should have been at home. One little guy looked up when I came in and gave me a huge smile and very enthusiastic "Hi!". He is so friendly and happy and adorable, I just wanted to squeeze him (I didn't). Not all participated, but most still seemed to enjoy it, and I love seeing them.
Despite the teachers' predictions of disaster, the combined 2-year old classes did just fine. While there were a few that wandered around the periphery, most actually sat and participated and listened for most of the time, and had a great time. They'd had enough after 15-20 minutes, but they're TWO! I was perfectly happy with how it went.
I enjoyed getting a chance to read a longer story with the older kids, and they were much more familiar with Dr. Seuss, his books, and his characters than the others, so it was more fun and meaningful for them. One boy didn't appreciate the "Green Eggs and Ham" song and asked if we couldn't just read it instead, LOL! Several of them said they had seen me at the library before. I'm so glad I'm getting to do a little outreach! It just has a different vibe and I've really missed it. I'm just going to have to convince them to let me stretch it out just a few more minutes for the older kids...
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