Kawaii Itsy Bitsy Spider (aka. Arachnid Sisyphus)

Consider the plight of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, forever trudging up the waterspout only to have the rain come and wash it back down to where it began. Does it feel frustration and anguish? Does it ponder the meaninglessness of its struggle? Is it suffering a karmic punishment for previous misdeeds? Yet it brings children such joy...

As a child, I found this rhyme to be frustrating. The convoluted finger-patterns used to mimic spider climbing were daunting. When introducing this rhyme at storytime, I make sure to say there is no right way to do the spider crawling bit. Do it index finger to thumb OR make all your fingers move OR have a hand crawl up your arm...whatevs.
  

The itsy bitsy spider 

went up the waterspout.

make climbing motion

Down came the rain and 

make fingers rain 

washed the spider out.

sweep hands away from each other

Out came the sun 

 make big circle above you

and dried up all the rain.

wiping motion with hands

And the itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the spout again…

repeat climbing motion

As you get ready for your next storytime,  take a moment to consider the similarities between your life and Itsy Bitsy's.

Oh yeah...and here is a Charmander!

Thanks to  Wendy at Flannel Board Fun for hosting:

 

Gif-t of Kawaii Halloween

Halloween storytimes are happening 

all week at my library!!!

I made this gif to celebrate!!!

The Tiger is Creeping...Shhhhhh!

I am an old school member of the Tame Tiger Torganization, 

friends of the OG puppet Daniel Tiger before he got all fancy and animated.

I use this simple rhyme at story time 

whenever the crowd starts to get a little cray.

It's a shout out to all the nice tigers out there 

who do not want to eat people.

The tiger is creeping...Shhhh!

walk fingers across arm like a tiger and then shush with finger on lips

The tiger is creeping...Shhhh!

repeat action

They don't make a sound when its feet touch the ground.

The tiger is creeping...Shhhh!

repeat action one more time and enjoy the moment of peace and quiet

Word.

Thanks to Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime for hosting:

Jellybeans Jumping

In the spirit of this candy-eating season, here is a rhyme about anthropomorphized jellybeans demonstrating the activity arc of a child amped up on high fructose corn syrup.

These beans are also useful for counting and color identification.

Jellybeans stomping, stomp stomp stomp. 

stomp feet

Jellybeans hopping, hop hop hop. 

jump around

Jellybeans exploding, pop pop pop! 

clap hands

Jellybeans resting, down down down. 

sink to floor

Jellybeans sleeping on the ground.

pretend to sleep

Thanks to Amy at Catch the Possibilities for hosting!

Kawaii Halloween!

I love Halloween. I'm lucky to live in an area where people don't get too stressed about it. I usually try to keep my toddler storytimes pretty low on the devil worshiping, anyways...

Here are my favorite Halloween rhymes with flannel board felty things:

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
round and fat.

hold out hands to show how big 

Turns into a jack o lantern ....

 

 Just like that! 
Clap!

The next one is just like Two Little Blackbirds but instead it is:

 Two Little Black Bats

Two little black bats hanging in a tree, 
put one fingers on each knee
One named "Boo!" and one named "Wheeeeee!" 
Say "Boo!" like you mean it and draw out the "Wheeeeeee!"

Fly away, Boo!
flap one finger behind your back
Fly away, Wheeeeee!
flap other finger behind back
Come back, Boo! 
bring it back
Come back, Wheeeeee!
bring back other one
Two little black bats hanging in a tree,
One named "Boo!" and one named "Wheeeeee!"

Here is a simple count down rhyme with some ghosts:

Five Little Ghosts

Five little ghosts flying through the door,
One went home and that left four.

Four little ghosts spooky as can be,
Another went home and that left three.

Three little ghosts dripping weird goo,
Another went home and that left two.

Two little ghosts, having lots of fun,
Another went home and that left one.

One little ghost, now all alone,
He got so lonely, he flew back home.

I'm very proud of this (Un)Lucky Cat version of
"Teddy Bear Teddy Bear" converted for Halloween:

 Black Cat, Black Cat

Black cat, black cat, turn around,
Black cat, black cat, touch the ground.

Black cat, black cat, show your shoe,
stick out foot
Black cat, black cat, I love you. 

Give self hug

Black cat, black cat, bend your knees,
Black cat, black cat, sway in the breeze.

Black cat, black cat, sit back down,
Black cat, black cat, not a sound.

Lastly, here are some pumpkins, I'm not sure how many...

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The 1st one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late!”
The 2nd one said, “There are witches in the air”
The 3rd one said, “We don’t care!”
The 4th one said, “Let’s run and run and run.”
The 5th one said, “We’re ready for some fun!”
Then "WHOOOOOOO" went the wind
And OUT (loud clap) went the lights
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

roll hands


Thanks to Lisa at Thrive After Three for hosting: