Shake, Rhythm & Rhyme Story Time: "Feel the Beat!"

We were feeling the beat and dancing around the room this month! Shake, Rhythm & Rhyme is our inclusive story time for children of all abilities, ages 2 - 6. It is adapted with a visual schedule, dimmed lighting, and multi-sensory experiences (similar to our SENSEational Story Time). Here is this month's plan:

Welcome Song: "Shirt Song" (borrowed from Barbara Klipper)

Calling up the children by name, or bringing the board with the flannel shirts to a child with a mobile disability, I have the child choose the color shirt they are wearing and then place it on our large flannel board. We go around the circle until everyone's "shirt" is on the board.

___________ is wearing a (color) shirt,

a (color) shirt, a (color) shirt, 

and ________ is here with us today!

Yoga pose: "Dancer"

(I like to use the Yogarilla card set, which has the pose on one side and an adapted version of the pose on the other side.) I show them both versions, so they can decide which one they want to try.

ASL rhyme: "I Went to a Concert and What Did I Hear?"

(source: Storytime Stuff)

I taught them the ASL signs for piano, guitar, and drums to use when saying this rhyme:

I went to a concert and what did I hear?

The sound of a piano in my ear!

I went to a concert and what did I hear?

The sound of a guitar in my ear!

I went to a concert and what did I hear?

The sound of drums in my ear!

I also used the Garage Band app to play the sounds of the instruments for them. Love this app!

Flannel: "Five Dancing Ballerinas"

Five dancing ballerinas

prancing on their toes.

They twirl and spin and jump

then off the stage she goes.

Continue counting down.

(source: Storytime Katie and adorable tutus for flannel dancers made by our wonderful Clerical Assistant, Jennifer D.)

Story: I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison

I gave one of our story time parents our drum to keep the steady beat going as it does throughout this rhythmic story.

Sensory diet rhyme with scarves: "Dance Your Scarves"

Dance your scarves up.

Dance your scarves down.

Dance them to your side,

And dance them all around.

Dance them on your shoulders.

Dance them on your head.

Dance them on your tummies,

And put them to bed!

Story: The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants by Eric Litwin

Story time gold! It's got rhythm, repetition, and movement... and it's just so adorable!!

Story-related sensory activity: Doing the "Polka-Dot Dance!"

I handed out large colored dots to everyone and we did the Polka-Dot Pants Dance (located at the end of the story) waving our dots around. The best part about this dance? It can be done seated or standing!

Parachute activity: "Ring Around the Rosie"

Goodbye Song: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tickle the clouds.

Tickle your toes.

Turn around and tickle your nose.

Reach down low.

Reach up high.

Story time's over--

Wave goodbye!

Sensory craft and playtime: 

We made shakers with plastic eggs, rice, and colorful duct tape. And of course... we got out our instruments for the kids to play with!

 

SENSEational Story Time: Earth Day

On Saturday, we explored nature and recycling to celebrate Earth Day coming up. Here is the plan:

Welcome song: "The Story Time Ball"

Crossing-the-Midline exercise: "Windy Tree" 
Cross arms over the body's center in a "flowing" motion, back & forth, like branches blowing in the wind.

Flannel rhyme: "Five Pretty Flowers"

Out in the garden,
growing in the sun,
were five pretty flowers,
and I picked one!
(Count down until none are left.)

Story: Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
We used our new board book set of this title so everyone could interact with their caregiver, touching the tree to see what happens, as we read the story together.

Stretch band rhyme: "Earth Day Song"
(Tune: "Mulberry Bush")
This is the way we pick up trash,
pick up trash, pick up trash.
This is the way we pick up trash
to help our Mother Earth.
(source: Preschool Education)

Story: I Stink! by Kate and Jim McMullan
We love making all of the fun garbage truck sounds in this story!

Story-related sensory activity: "Feed Stinky the Garbage Truck"

I photocopied/laminated illustrations of Stinky's ingredients for "Alphabet Soup," and hid them in a discovery bin filled with "up-cycled garbage" (old bulletin board paper scrunched up, cardboard tubes and containers, old eReader cords, water bottles, plastic lids, and burlap). The kids searched for the ingredients and then fed them to Stinky. I took our wood touch/feel box and attached my construction paper garbage truck face to the front. (Okay, he kind of looks like an alien garbage truck, but they loved it!)

Tactile beam activity: "Tactile beam song"

(Move slowly and adapt for those with mobile disabilities -- can do movements while seated or with the aid of their caregiver on the beam.)

We can move

Forward and backward,

Forward and backward.

Side to side,

Side to side.

Forward and backward,

Forward and backward.

Goodbye song and stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tickle the clouds.

Tickle your toes.

Turn around and tickle your nose.

Reach down low.

Reach up high.

Story time's over--

Wave goodbye!

Play time & activity: Planting "flowers"

Gardening is a wonderful way to practice fine motor skills! We added potting soil to our pots and planted some grass seeds. Then we took a green pipe cleaner, folded it in half, and inserted two foam flower shapes with hole-punched centers at the ends for our blossoms. They "planted" these flowers in their pots and added a little water.  Soon they will see a little patch of grass growing around their "flowers!"

SENSEational Story Time: Space!

We had fun exploring outer space this past Saturday at SENSEational Story Time! Here is the plan:

Welcome song: "The Story Time Ball"

Crossing-the-Midline exercise: "Around the World"
We crossed our body's imaginary center-line by extending both arms up and around in a large circle, going "around the world."

Flannel rhyme: "5 Little Stars"
Five little stars were playing up high
Twinkling brightly in the sky.
One little star just couldn't stay.
Twinkle, twinkle, he went away.
Repeat with 4, 3, 2, 1 little star...
(source unknown)

Story: Zoom, Rocket, Zoom! by Margaret Mayo
Make sure to "scoop up" the moon rocks!

Sensory diet rhyme: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
(Everyone was given one of these cute squishy star finger puppets.)
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are.


Story: Solar System by Jill McDonald
This board book is one of the titles in the wonderfully interactive Hello, World! series. Since I had a small group, I walked around with the book and let the kids touch the red planet and trace their fingers along the starry path, etc. This is also available as an eBook, so you can project it to a larger group or buy a set of these board books for 1-1 interaction between child and caregiver (or adult and caregiver - also great for adult sensory story time!).
I also included some sensory experiences while reading the story. Our intern, Maeve, walked around to each child with a "small asteroid" (textured ball), the Earth (soft, tactile globe), Saturn's rings (hula hoop), and a constellation (puffy stars in the shape of the Big Dipper).

Story-related sensory activity: "Solar System in Motion" using giant rainbow scrunchie (Bear Paw Creek)

If you have story time kids with mobile disabilities, they can hold the "earth" and "sun" in the middle. Otherwise, you can be the earth and sun in the middle while they "revolve" around you!

(Tune: "Farmer in the Dell")

The Earth turns around,

The Earth turns around,

Once a day, every day, 

The Earth turns around.

The moon goes 'round the Earth,

The moon goes 'round the Earth,

Once a month, every month,

The earth goes 'round the Earth.

The Earth goes 'round the sun,

The Earth goes 'round the sun,

Once a year, every year,

The Earth goes 'round the sun.

(source: Preschool Education)

Tactile beam activity: "Tactile beam song"

(Move slowly and adapt for those with mobile disabilities -- can do movements while seated or with the aid of their caregiver on the beam.)

We can move

Forward and backward,

Forward and backward.

Side to side,

Side to side.

Forward and backward,

Forward and backward.

Goodbye song and stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tickle the clouds.

Tickle your toes.

Turn around and tickle your nose.

Reach down low.

Reach up high.

Story time's over--

Wave goodbye!

Sensory activity: We had two space-themed sensory activities: 

Our lightbox with a dark blue overlay, laminated tissue paper stars, and constellation diagram cards (with holes punched out for kids to place stars over).

I also filled our discovery bin with blue moon sand, foam stars, squishy "planet" balls, plastic astronauts and spacecraft.

SENSEational Story Time: Pets!

The theme of this past Saturday afternoon's SENSEsational story time was pets! We talked about the pets we have and what we like about them. Here's the plan:

Welcome song: "The Story Time Ball"

Crossing-the-Midline exercise: "Fishing exercise"
We pretended to be fishing by casting our "pole" to the other side (crossing our arms diagonally across our body and back).

Puppet rhyme: "Two Little Puppy Dogs"
(I use two different dog puppets and show the kids how to make their hands into "puppets," so they can do the action rhyme along with me.)
Two little puppy dogs sitting on a hill,
One named Spot and one named Bill.
Run away, Spot. Run away, Bill.
Spot and Bill "run" behind back.
Come back, Spot. Come back, Bill.
Spot and Bill come back in front.

Story: (board book set) That's Not My Puppy by Fiona Watt
Touch-and-feel books are wonderful for those with low vision and all developmental ages. You can talk about the different textures and which ones we like and dislike.

Stretch band rhyme: "Clippety Clop"
Clippety clippety clop.
The horsie likes to trot.
The feisty mare goes up and down
Until it's time to stop!
(source: unknown)

Story: They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
We had so much fun with this story! This repetitive story is a great lesson in observation and perspective. "How does the cat look to the dog? Why does it look that way?" "Why does the cat look so blurry and big to the fish?"

Story-related sensory activity: "Lightbox Perception Game"
We continued our theme of animals and our perception of them. I created different animals using colorful shapes on a lightbox. I then asked everyone what they thought it looked like to them, talking about how everyone perceives them differently. (Some "animals" were more obvious than others!) I like using a smaller portable lightbox, walking it around to everyone, making it easier for my kids with mobile disabilities and low vision to really experience the activity.

Tactile beam activity: "Tactile beam song"
(Move slowly and adapt for those with mobile disabilities -- can do movements while seated or with the aid of their caregiver on the beam.)
We can move
Forward and backward,
Forward and backward.
Side to side,
Side to side.
Forward and backward,
Forward and backward.

Goodbye song and stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"
Tickle the clouds.
Tickle your toes.
Turn around and tickle your nose.
Reach down low.
Reach up high.
Story time's over --
Wave goodbye!

Sensory activity: "Find the doggy and kitty treats"
I filled our large discovery bin with "pet food kibble" (Cocoa Puffs), "dog bones" (graham cracker Scooby Snacks), and "fish" (Goldfish crackers). They searched for the hidden bones/fish, and I gave them large plastic tweezers to pick up the treats with if they wanted to practice their fine motor skills. Some of them wanted to add their treats to a bowl for Spot and Bill!

Outreach: Valentine Sensory Story Time

My colleague, Ed, and I visited the Wing Lake Developmental Center this week to do a Valentine Sensory Story Time program for two groups of students with severe cognitive impairments and multiple disabilities: ages 3 - 11 and ages 12 - 26. Many students have low vision, so we added a variety of tactile experiences to give more meaning to the words in our songs and stories. Here is what we did:

We talked about what we like about Valentine's Day... hugs, feelings, hearts, the color red, and chocolate!

Song: "Hearts on the Move" (Tune: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")
We gave everyone a paper valentine heart before singing, to go with the actions during the song.

Wave your valentine, in the air.
Wave your valentine, in the air.
Wave your valentine, in the air.
Wave your valentine in the air.

Put your valentine on your nose...
Put your valentine on your head...
Put your valentine on your arm...
(Source: unknown)

Story: See a Heart, Share a Heart by Eric Telchin
This is a wonderful, simple story with beautiful photographs of hearts found naturally in the world around us... on the street, in the leaves on the trees, in a piece of wood or a heart-shaped rock. We were very descriptive of the photographs, talking about the texture we might feel and the colors. In the beginning of the story, there is a photograph of a child making a heart shape with his hands. We walked around the room and helped the students make a heart with their hands. Another page says to "Find a Heart." Ed and I walked around with a foam heart and scarf, demonstrating how we can hide a heart with the scarf and then find it when we remove the scarf, letting them see and/or feel the hidden heart. Toward the end of the story, there is an image of a hand holding a heart-shaped rock... "touch a heart." One of our library staff members had a large stone in a heart shape that we were so lucky to borrow and let each student "touch a heart," feeling how smooth and heavy it was.

Flannel Rhyme: "Counting Valentines..."
Valentines, valentines, how many do I see?
Valentines, valentines, count them with me.
I have red ones, orange ones, yellow ones, too.
I have green ones, purple ones, and some that are blue.
Valentines, valentines, how many do I see?
(count all of the colors together)

Story: I Kissed the Baby! (for the younger group)
This is a great repetitive story that you can do the actions to as you read along... feeding, singing, tickling, and blowing kisses of course! I also like to bring out my little duckling puppet that squeaks for an extra sensory experience.

Story: Colors All Around Us: Red by Daniel Nunn  (for the older group)

This non-fiction picture book is a simple look at all of the red things we see around us... in our clothes, food, and nature. We talked about our favorite red things and how some make sounds (like fire trucks!)

Song: "If You Love Somebody and You Know It..." (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")

If you love somebody and you know it, give them a hug.

If you love somebody and you know it, give them a hug.

If you love somebody and you know it,

And you really want to show it...

If you love somebody and you know it, give them a hug.

If you love somebody and you know it, blow them a kiss...

If you love somebody and you know it, shout "hooray!"...

  

Craft: Coffee Filter Hearts
This is a nice, easy craft using heart shapes cut from large-size traditional coffee filters. We then use dot markers in various colors to dab onto the filter hearts (on top of a foam plate). With a little assistance, we really got to practice our fine motor skills by squeezing eye droppers of water over our colorful dots until they start to run together, giving it a stained glass look.  A dab with a paper towel and then they can take them home on the plate. When they dry in a few hours, they will have a pretty, colorful heart to hang in the window. Look at these beautiful hearts!

Outreach: Winter Friends Story Time

Last week, I did a sensory story time for a visiting early intervention class of children ages 2 - 4. In addition to a story time, I also give our visiting special education groups a tour of our Special Needs Collection, highlight new items, and give them some "play time" with their chosen materials after. Even though my thoughts are already drifting to summer, a winter theme was requested so I went with a "winter friends" theme! Here's the plan:





Welcome Song: "The Story Time Ball"

Yoga Pose: (Polar) Bear Breath (This adapted pose came from the Yoga Pretzel Card Deck)

Flannel Rhyme: "Five Little Penguins"

One little penguin feeling blue

Called for his brother, then there were two.

Two little penguins swimming in the sea

Called for their sister, then there were three.

Three little penguins waddling on the shore

Called for their mother, then there were four.

Four little penguins learning how to dive

Called for their father, then there were five.

(Adapted from: Read Virginia)

Story: That's Not My Snowman by Fiona Watt

We have a set of these touch/feel board books for each child and caregiver to touch and read together. This is really great for the students with low vision to experience the story better.

Stretch Band Rhyme: "Winter Song"

Way up high in the snowy tree

Lots of little snowflakes smiled at me.

I shook that tree as hard as I could

And down came the snowflakes

Were they cold...Brrr!!

(Source: Preschool Education)

Story: Winter, Winter, Cold and Snow by Sharon Gibson Palermo

This story was a hit!! A great read for those Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? fans.

Story-related sensory activity:

I filled a small plastic bin with Insta-Snow artificial snow and plastic forest animals. Some of the kids with sensory sensitivities were very hesitant until I held a little in my hand for them to touch, then they were all reaching in there to find the hidden animals under the snow. Each time we found an animal, we repeated the refrain from the story: "Winter, winter, cold and snow / Beaver, Beaver who do you know?"

Goodbye song & stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tour of the Special Needs Collection and play time!

Discovery Skills Kits

What is a Discovery Skills Kit? It is an all-in-one kit promoting the development of a particular life skill or comprehension of a concept. These backpacks (from Janway), contain 4 - 8 books, small toys/games and other manipulatives. With funding from the Friends of the Bloomfield Township Public Library, I assembled these multi-sensory kits with especially visual and tactile learners in mind. Youth with autism, cognitive impairments, intellectual disabilities, specific learning difficulties and English Language Learners (ELL) can have difficulty learning key concepts and other essential topics via written and auditory instruction. Different learners can really benefit from these hands-on assistive learning tools. Many of the kit topics were suggested by our Accessibility Services Focus Group and special education professionals in our local school district. The backpacks have two zipper pulls, allowing us to attach zip ties that are removed upon check-out. A new zip tie is secured upon check-in before kits are placed back on the shelves. There is a photo guide with content lists located on the shelves so patrons can view the materials before checking out.

Shelf Photo Guide

We currently have 21 kits in the collection:
Alphabet
Human Body
Cause & Effect
Colors
Community
Counting
Daily Living
Expressions / Emotions
Focus / Self-Regulation
Getting Dressed
Measurement
Money
Opposites
Rhythm & Music
Seasons
Sensory Awareness
Shapes
Social Skills
Spatial Relationships
Time
Safety

Cause & Effect Kit

Book: The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Noble

Book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Book: The Napping House by Audrey Wood

Card Set: Cause and Effect

Card Set: ColorCards Cause & Effect

Toy: Caterpillar Gear Board

Toy: Cause & Effect Alpine Adventure Game

Toy: Smart Pal Frog (with optional capability switch)

Toy: Mini Wiggly Giggly Ball

Focus / Self-Regulation kit

Book: My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook

Book: The Worst Day of My Life Ever! by Julia Cook

Book: Mrs. Gorski, I Think I have the Wiggle Fidgets by Barbara Esham

Book: AD/HD Homework Challenges Transformed! by Harriet Green

Book: Take the Time: Mindfulness for Kids by Maud Roegiers

CD Set: The Mozart Effect: Music for Children

Card Set: Conditional Following

Card Set: Yoga Pretzels

Toy: Clear Schedule Strip and Visual Schedule Resources Insert

Toy: Bug-Out Bob

Toy: Busy Fingers Fidget Lap Pad

Toy: Find It Activity Tube

Toy: Perplexus

Toy: Spot It! and Spot It, Jr. games

Toy: Time Tracker Mini

Social Skills kit

Book: How to Be a Friend by Laurie Brown

Book: I Can't Believe You Said That! by Julia Cook

Book: Personal Space Camp by Julia Cook

Book: Well, I Can Top That! by Julia Cook

Book: Social Rules for Kids by Susan Diamond

Card Set: All About You, All About Me Fun Deck

Card Set: Hooray for Play!

Card Set: Hooked on Friendship

Card Set: Learn to Respond Appropriately

Card Set: Reactivity game

Toy: Puppet-On-a-Stick (2)

Spatial Relationships kit

Book: Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres

Book: Over, Under & Through by Tana Hoban

Book: Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

Book: Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Mary Peterson

Card Set: Pigs & Pals

Card Set: Pirates & Pals

Toy: Hape Play Blocks

Toy: Hello Sunshine game

Toy: Positional Words Resource Box game