I am not a natural musician.
I play very basic banjo (just a few chords) and I like to sing, but I’m
not great at it. Mainly I like to make
noise. Recently, though, I’ve been
bringing my banjo to the library to play for our new Tales and Tunes
storytime.
With music’s natural connection to early literacy in mind,
we developed Tales and Tunes in hopes of offering our young patrons a chance to
dance, sing, move, and explore music as a group. We offered Tales and Tunes originally during
a storytime break to find out whether patrons would enjoy a music-based
program. We had a very enthusiastic
response; we advertised the program for ages 2 and up, and over 70 patrons
attended. We’re currently working Tales
and Tunes in to our regular storytime rotation!
Tips for starting out:
·
Kids love props for dancing and movement! Scarves, egg shakers, rhythm sticks, and bean
bags are fabulous, but lengths of crepe paper streamers or ribbons, plastic
containers with a few tablespoons of dry beans inside, or even two hands (for
clapping) work just as well.
·
Select songs that appeal to you! Chances are, if you’re excited about singing
and dancing, the kids will be, too.
·
Choose books that have an easy connection to
music or chanting. Look for short,
rhyming refrains that can be chanted or sung as a group.
·
Encourage adults to participate! Offer them bean bags, compliment them on
their dance moves, and incorporate partner activities, such as a bean bag toss,
to get adults on their feet and interacting with their children.
·
If you play an instrument- even just a little
bit- play a song or two! A storytime
audience is very forgiving, and you’ll likely feel like a rock star before the
program is over.
Sample Program Outline:
Welcome Song (with banjo accompaniment): “I’m in the Mood
for Singing”
Old Favorite (with banjo accompaniment): “She’ll Be Comin’
‘Round the Mountain”
Book: Pete the Cat: I
Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin
Bean Bag Songs (on CD, with bean bags): “Bean Bag Rock” from
Kimbo’s Bean Bag Activities &
Coordination Skills, “Beanie Bag Dance” by Greg & Steve
Book: Dr. Seuss’s ABC
(sung to the tune of the alphabet song)
Egg Shaker Songs (on CD, with egg shakers): “I Know a
Chicken” by Laurie Berkner, “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles
Song (on CD): “The Airplane Song” by Laurie Berkner (we had
children “fly” past the egg shaker bag and drop their eggs off before beginning
this song)
Book: Dancing Feet
by Craig Lindsey
Rhythm Stick Song (on CD, with rhythm sticks): “Mahna Mahna”
by Cake
Scarf Song (sung, with scarves): Wind, O Wind
Ending Song: “Goodbye” by Stacy Buehler
Hand stamps and good-byes
3 comments:
I have seen similar "ideas" posted and think it would be great fun! I would wonder how to incorporate it into my current storytime schedule, since I am "the" Youth Service person and I have storytimes 4 days a week. I thought perhaps to make the 4th week of the month "movement and music day" with 1 book & mostly singing and moving. Still mulling it over.
I think that's a great solution. Incorporate these fun, out-of-the-storytime-box ideas into your regularly scheduled storytimes and add fun and refreshing ideas like Toddler Drive, Stuffed Animal Sleepovers; mini-Mad-Scientist hands on labs etc!
Could I find the tune and lyrics for "Wind, O Wind" somewhere online? Thanks!"
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