Lip Service To Sports

If you're like me, the idea of a summer reading program based on sports and being active is 1) a contradiction in terms and b) just not your thing. I rejected the idea of sports-oriented storytimes, even though I'd be doing them in a park. At the last minute, though, I changed my mind. Work out of your comfort zone, I told myself. There are plenty of picture books about sports and games. It's only eight storytimes. You can do this!

Yes, there are plenty of books, but not that many flannelboards or fingerplays. Oh, there's "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." I searched all over the internet and found some football related flannelboard stuff - but football (Amurrikin football) is a fall thing. And basketball is a winter thing. And summers down here are just too darn hot.

But I decided I could make up my own stuff, so I will share it here with you. Some may have been inspired by bits and pieces I've seen elsewhere, but most of this is just my own work. Have fun with them!

Baseball:

Hi-Ho It's Baseball Time!

The pitcher's on the mound,
The pitcher's on the mound,
Hi-Ho, it's baseball time,
The pitcher's on the mound.

The catcher's at the plate ...

The batter's in the box ...

The umpire calls the strikes ...

The fielder catches flies ...

The shortstop makes the play ...

The runner's out at third ...

The runner's safe at home ...

The crowd stands and cheers ...

The Ball In the Air

The ball in the air goes round and round,
round and round, round and round.
The ball in the air goes round and round
In the baseball field.

The bat in the hand goes swish-swish-swish ...
In the baseball field.

The glove on the hand goes up and down ...
In the baseball field.

The batter who hit goes 'round the bases ...
In the baseball field.

The umpire at the base yells, "Yeeeer out!" ...
In the baseball field.

Soccer:

Hi Ho It's Soccer Time!

The ball is out of bounds,
The ball is out of bounds,
Hi ho, it's soccer time,
The ball is out of bounds.

The player scores a goal ...

The yellow card is up ...

The player is offside ...

The whistle stops the play ...

(Yes, I know I'm overdoing this format)

We'll Be Running Down the Field

We'll be running down the field, yes we will.
We'll be running down the field, yes we will.
We'll be running down the field
When we play soccer for real.
We'll be running down the field, yes we will.

We'll be dribbling with our feet, yes we will.
We'll be dribbling with our feet, yes we will.
We'll be dribbling with our feet -
I thinks that's really neat!
We'll be dribbling with our feet, yes we will.

We will bounce the ball off ankles, knees, and head.
We will bounce the ball off ankles, knees, and head.
We will bounce the ball off ankles
'Cause using our hands rankles.
We will bounce the ball off ankles, knees, and head.


Head and Elbows, Knees and Toes

Head and elbows, knees and toes, knees and toes.
Head and elbows, knees and toes, knees and toes.
We don't use our hands to make a goal.
Head and elbows, knees and toes, knees and toes.


Swimming!

Splash and Kick
To "Down By the Station"

When the sun is shining,
I like to go swimming.
Swimming at the lake
Or swimming at the pool.
Splashing and kicking;
Water all around me.
Splash, splash, kick, kick,
Keeping cool.

Swimming

I can dive.
(move hands flattened together)
I can swim.
(Swimming motion)
I can float
(hands out to sides with head thrown back)
And hold my breath.
(hold breath)
But dog paddle
(paddle like a dog)
Is the stroke
That I do best.

In My Swimming Pool
(To "Do Your Ears Hang Low")

I can stay real cool
In my little swimming pool.
On a sunny summer day
I can splash around and play.
When I wear my bathing suit,
I'll be cool and I'll be cute
In my swimming pool!


Football:

If You're Practicing For Football

If you're practicing for football, run in place.
If you're practicing for football, run in place.
If you want to play the game
Not to practice is a shame.
If you're practicing for football, run in place.

If you're practicing for football, touch your toes ...

If you're practicing for football, say "Hut-hut!"

Football Player

Football player, football player,
Throw the ball!
(Hold one hand back like you are going to throw a football)
Catch the pass!
(Pull both hands to chest as if catching a football)
Run and don't get tackled
(Pretend to run)
Run and don't get tackled
It's a touchdown! It's a touchdown!
(Hold both arms straight up to signal a touchdown.)


Martial Arts:

Only because there are those cute ninja books

Ninja, Ninja, Sneak Around

Ninja, ninja - sneak around.
Ninja, ninja - roll on the ground.
Ninja, ninja - climb up high.
Ninja, ninja - touch the sky.
Ninja, ninja - jump down low.
Ninja, ninja - go, go, go!

If You're a Ninja And You Know It!

If you're a ninja and you know it,
Be really quiet! (Shhh!)
If you're a ninja and you know it,
Be really quiet! (Shhh!)
If you're a ninja and you know it,
Then your face will surely show it.
If you're a ninja and you know it,
Be really quiet! (Shhh!)

If you're a ninja and you know it,
Walk on tip-toe (Tip toe.) ...

If you're a ninja and you know it,
Say HIYAH! (HIYAH!) ...

Five Little Ninjas

Five little ninjas creeping through the door.
One said HIYAH!, and then there were four.

Four little ninjas climbing up a tree.
One said HIYAH!, and then there were three.

Three little ninjas with nothing to do.
One said HIYAH!, and then there were two.

Two little ninjas having so much fun.
One said HIYAH!, and then there was one.

One little ninja on the run.
He says HIYAH! and then there were none.

Five Little Ninjas Jumping On the Bed
(Don't tell me you can't figure this one out on your own!)

Five little ninjas jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more ninjas jumping on the bed!"

etc.


Dance:

Don't forget that dance is highly athletic!

Ballet Dancer, Ballet Dancer

Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, turn around.
Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, touch the ground.
Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, stand on your toes.
Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, strike a pose.

Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, stretch to the sky.
Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, lift a leg high.
Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, plié now.

Ballet dancer, ballet dancer, take a bow.

 

Summertime Storytime

Magnolia Park

This has probably been my least successful summer storytime experience. I had high hopes for the "Every Hero Has a Story" theme because it would give me a chance to break into the folktales, many of which are a bit beyond the usual pre-school level I aim at during the school year. What folktale doesn't have its hero?

Summer storytime at our library takes place mostly at the local parks, lovely venues with a shelter that offers shade. This began in the days when the air conditioning in the Children's Room was not working. It was a constant 82 degrees in there and at 10 am it would be cooler in the park, especially with a nice breeze going. They tried numerous times to repair the a/c, but if it worked, the a/c in the rest of the building didn't. Three years ago we moved into a brand new building and now freeze our toes off in summer.

I have discovered limitations to park storytimes including and not limited to: breezes blowing the flannelboard over (fixed that by using one that hung around my neck or one on a stick), hands getting too sticky for hand puppets (only stick puppets now), and groundskeepers' noise (... no real fix for that). Otherwise, we continue doing storytimes in the parks even though we have the lovely new building and working a/c.

The parks usually have children already there, whether they expected storytime or not. It might be difficult to get them to come listen but then again it acquaints more people with our library programs, so it's great PR. This year I had a bumper crop of kids from a nearby church's summer camp, but they weren't interested in storytime. Even after the adults forced them to get off the playground equipment and come sit in the shade, they would get bored and wander off. Subsequently, they were coerced before I got there to stay put, but I could see that they just weren't into what I was doing although the books were clearly aimed at the predominant group of older kids.

I had to rethink my whole plan. I set aside all the books I'd been so excited about (Robin Hood, Perseus, etc.) and fell back on Shark In the Park! I made 30 shark masks and combined two paper towel rolls to make a telescope. The storytime dwindled from 30 minutes to 15.

After July 4th, it usually all peters out and it happened again. The group didn't come and I had 30 Midas Mouse (I was sneaking some folktale back in with stick puppets) coloring sheets that were barely used. I had two kids and their grandma and they could not sit still.

It crept back up again when a different group came by last week. They had no idea I had been doing storytimes every week. Hurray! Now they know - although there are only 2 weeks left. Next week it's monkeys. It's more like pre-school storytime, but I just don't know who will be coming.

I will still continue with storytime in the parks, but I am on the fence about continuing with the summer themes in storytimes. On the one hand, it did not serve me well this summer and I had to throw out all the preparation I'd done (which was only one month's worth, but still!). On the other hand, the themes give me a chance to stretch myself. I might be choosing books I do not normally use and have to augment those choices with new flannel boards and fingerplays.

The main lesson is, and this works for all kinds of storytimes, Don't Be Afraid to Throw It All Out and Start Over.

Cambridge Park

Foolproofing

In my fantasies, I have tried to design an Absolutely Foolproof Summer Reading Sign Up Card. Futile, I know too well. One tries to make something as simple as possible to make it quick because there are times when many people are trying to sign up for summer reading all at once and it needs to move smoothly. Also, people are reluctant to have to write out too much information.

At the moment, the State Library just wants numbers - how many sign up and finish - but the software requires a username, password, first and last name. We like to keep track of which library signed them up and we try to put the names of the ones that finished in the newspaper, listing them by school. I personally am interested in how the summer reading program fares by grade levels.

Last year I was able to graph how the various schools did in signing up as well as completing the program. I already knew how they had finished out in years before. I had used that information to goad one school into doing better ... and they did! It is now interesting to see what schools have more children sign up, but they don't finish for whatever reason. Then you can try to puzzle out why that would be. 

I suppose I could just explain all of that to people and hand them a blank sheet of paper, but instead I set up a card for them to fill out with minimal effort and for me to transcribe to the program with the same minimal effort. Last year I put things in the wrong order on the card which confused me when time came for data entry.

So, how hard can this be? You'd be surprised how things can get confused.

Last year I let them circle the library and patrons circled their closest library. This year I did that work for them, by providing each branch with the branch name marked. They crossed it out and marked the branch they usually went to or was closest to them. This can be a nuisance because we do all the data entry at the main branch. If each branch did their own data entry (and I try not to overtax them because they are often there alone ... and I have trouble letting go of the responsibility), it wouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure why parents would drive to the main branch instead of their local one to sign up for summer reading. Perhaps they think they wouldn't be able to attend our programs if they didn't. Perhaps their kid has already read all the books at the branch.

They also seem to be unclear about what constitutes a "school." I know you tell your child that Sunshine Tot Sanctuary is their "school" - but it's not. It's a daycare. "School" starts at K-5 statewide. These are the kids that are at risk of losing skills during the summer. Some schools have K-4, so I added that in. But, for kids younger than that, they are Pre-School. Preschool has changed in definition since our state instituted universal kindergarten. I know there are divisions below that. There are infants, toddlers, as well as preschoolers. Instead of confusing that issue, I put them all under one heading. But it confused the issue anyway.

At the other end, well, our purview only goes as far as fifth grade. Anyone going to sixth grade can go to the programs and hang out in the Teen Center. However, some prefer to do our program and they put down 6th grade, which isn't a choice on my pulldown menu. I created an "other" category in the pulldown menu for those.

Now, after making a big deal out of how I want the grade the kid will be in in the fall, why would they put down the school they're currently in? Two of our branches are in a school district with a primary as well as an elementary school. So, if they try to tell me that the kid will be in third grade but is in the primary school - well, gah!

It makes me want to pull my hair out, even though I know the patron can't possibly know what's going on in my head. But I don't want the card to get all busy with text as in the example above. Besides, it looks sarcastic and condescending. So, my choices are: keep redesigning the card to be elegant but foolresistant or just give up on statistics. [Weighs them by flailing hands in the air.]

Gah.

Dear Parents

Dear Parents of the cute children who come into the Children's Room of the public library,

Get this through your heads: we are not School.  Although committed to "lifelong learning" in our mission statement, this is just a ruse to make Reading For Fun more palatable come funding time.  Your lovely child slogs for nine months each year through the soul-crushing graded readers, the No-Child-Left-Interested required curricula, and, my personal bugaboo, the Dreaded Accelerated Reader tests.  Don't make summer just another opportunity to make reading a deadly chore. 

Do not:
Insist your child read only at or above her reading level during the summer.  No one really likes the Tiger Mom.
Tell  your child something is too old or too babyish for him. 
Shame your child by remarking in front of the entire library that she "didn't finish the books she checked out last time," so she can't have that many this time.  Books are not brussel sprouts. They don't go bad if they aren't read.  The only reason to limit books is if they tend to get lost.
Ask the librarian to back you up on your opinion of the books.  Hell's bells, I'm a 57 year old married woman!  I don't have the same tastes as a nine year old boy.  Okay, maybe I don't necessarily have his tastes.  Maybe he doesn't like the Three Stooges and comic books - ahem, I mean Graphic Novels.  Oooo, look! Captain Underpants!

Chances are, if your kid can relax during the summer and read something she enjoys (for a change), she might decide that reading isn't the big drag it was during the school year.  Who knows, it might make a big difference in her life.  So lay off the kids.  If you insist on riding their backs even in summer, just make sure it's something other than reading, like piano lessons and science camp until it runs out their ears.  There's nothing sadder in this room than seeing a kid be told he can't have a particular book for some reason.  Worse yet, making him come up and shuffle his feet while he tells me that he can't have that book.

Oh, and about complaints I've heard about Junie B. Jones - get over it.  You think your kid doesn't know bad language or behavior when she sees it?  [I'm still trying to figure out what Junie B.'s "bad language" is.]  You haven't taught your child what kind of behavior you expect?  He doesn't know the difference between fiction and reality?   Perhaps you just need to develop your sense of humor.  I understand that if you lack one, you might find the rest of us behaving irrationally.  Just think about it.