Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

It was probably five years ago I resolved to add more music to my storytimes.  I'd done the "add more puppets" and the "add more creative dramatics" but I wanted to add music.  And I didn't just want to give the boom box more to do.  I had purchased for the library some rhythm sticks, enough to handle 30 kids, each with two hands.  Yep, that's a lotta rhythm sticks.  I acquired research material (Musical Story Hours: Using Music With Storytelling and Puppetry by William M. Painter) and presumably read it.

Last year, around January, I apologetically announced to my brilliant fingerstyle guitarist husband, Husbob, that I had ordered a ukulele.*  It was my plan to learn to play it a bit and use it in programming.  So far I've learned "Lola" by the Kinks and a bucketload of Beatles' tunes.**  I like to think my storytimes are slightly subversive, but I can't see a "Lola" singalong.

But today I launched the first in a month-long string of storytimes where I will put weapons and noisemakers in the hands of small children.  It wasn't half bad.

 

There was a bit of the Kodo drummers playing on the boom box as a processional.  I started with the "If you're happy and you know it" song, because I always do and this year I am finishing with the "MackChicken Dance" by Greg and Steve - because I like to have something familiar to open and close.  I chose three books, and augmented one with items for the flannelboard (for my pre-school walk-ins who like to put things on and take things off the flannelboard): Bring on that beat by Rachel Isadora, The cha-cha chimps by Julia Durango, and Max found two sticks by Brian Pinkney.  I printed off some little chimp faces from clip art and then one larger one I stuck a bow and some lips on for the momma chimp.

After the Brian Pinkney book, I got out the basket of rhythm sticks and began with the warning that We Do Not Hit Other People with them.  We did "This is the way we tap our sticks," "She'll be tappin' round the mountain," and "The sticks on the bus go tap-tap-tap."  Then I put the Kodo drummers back on for some freestylin'.  No one hit anyone else and they were all happy to put the sticks back in the basket.  I sent them away with 2 popsicle sticks each (a quieter version) and their teachers said that they would decorate them when they got back to their class.

I was thrilled to hear that.  I hand out stuff to other groups that come to storytime and they just send it home with the rest of the stuff they've accumulated during the day.  They are definitely going to get better than hand-out sheets if I'm doing something more elaborate with the walk-ins.

I had time constraints, but we got out early enough for my co-worker to set up for her baby storytime and they looked like they were having fun.  Next week I'm going to add some jinglers and shakers and we'll make jinglers with jingle bells and chenille stems and shakers with cups, rice (maybe), duct tape, and stickers.  And the moms will hate me.  Yaaay!

Here is a link to Richard G's Uke website which has a great selection of ukulele songs, including some Jefferson Airplane. Woot!  "Teddy bear's picnic" and the like can be found on Dr. Uke's site.  The ukulele came from Music for Little People, which has terrific kid cds and occasional deals on instruments for kids but I'm currently annoyed with them and the company that does their fulfillment. 

 *Oh, look!  That's him on the left in the video bar!
**Okay, and also "Inch by inch: the garden song" and "Teddy bear's picnic."  And I can do the opening chords to "Smoke on the water" - which people my age recognize and find hilarious.