Catch the Possibilities

Back on May 26, 2018, librarian, Melissa Depper tweeted about an idea she'd been thinking about related to storytime planning. It's simple: compile a list of 40 favorite songs, rhymes, flannel boards, fingerplays, etc. Regardless of theme, concept, format-- just list things you LOVE. Then, look at the list and see what they have in common. How could you sort them? Again, look to see what is NOT the same. What is missing? Step four, tweak your 40 to address gaps and use the info you gathered while sorting to evaluate new ideas as they cross your desk, as well as let go of things that aren't serving your storytime goals.

So here's my initial pass at developing my Top 40 for the preschool (2-6 year-old crowd). I do storytimes for two age groups, 0-3 and 2-6. Stay tuned for my 0-3 list. I linked up to as many original sources as I could find. To compile the list, I skimmed through storytime plans from the last couple years and wrote down things I noticed that had an immediate response in me-- maybe I started reciting the rhyme in my head, or it brought a smile to my face. So some of these are things that I haven't used that frequently-- often they were things I learned that I loved but then didn't use enough to cement them in my repertoire (Alligator Fingers is a great example of that).

1. If You're Happy and You Know It
2. We are the Dinosaurs
3. These are My Glasses
4. Itsy Bitsy Spider (+)
5. Thanks a Lot flannel song
6. Aikendrum flannel song
7. Five Little Nails tube
8. Sea Shell, Sea Shell flannel song
9. Valentine Tree flannel
10. Old Macdonald Had a Farm (and Ella Fitzgerald recording)
11. Skinamarink
12. Drivin' in My Car
13. Scat the Cat folder story
14. Two Little Dragonflies fingerplay
15. Cleaning Up flannel (similar to Lisa's Where Does it Go)
16. Five Little Snowmen fingerplay
17. Five Little Penguins milk jug puppets (from Winter Whimsy)
18. Cool Bear Hunt
19. Penguins Attention
20. Five Little Ducks
21. Popcorn and Kernels flannel
22. Animals on the Bus flannel song
23. Belly breathing (Balloon, S.T.A.R.)
24. Alligator Fingers
25. Snowflakes Falling Down
26. Snowflake Dance (with props)
27. The Mitten Song
28. Make a Pizza flannel
29. Spider on the Floor
30. We are Thankful action rhyme
31. Rhythm in the Scarves
32. Walking Through the Arctic action rhyme
33. Rattlin' Bog
34. Show Me Five game
35. Green Says Go action rhyme
36. I Know a Chicken
37. Five Green and Speckled Frogs
38. Five Little Monkeys
39. I'm in the Mood
40. Row, Row, Row Your Boat (+)

So what do I notice? When in doubt, I'm going to sing a song. Most of the flannels I enjoy the most are ones where all the kids get a piece to contribute. I notice a mix between traditional items and "things educators know" like Dr. Jean's Cool Bear Hunt. I also notice several ideas for winter. Being in Minnesota, where we both love to talk about the weather and have a significant winter, this isn't too surprising, I guess.

What's missing? While I don't expect kids to sit still during any of storytime, I notice a lack of big body motion, which may not be serving all kids well. There also aren't songs, rhymes, or activities from cultures around the world. Consideration must be given to avoid tokenism and appropriation, of course. I want to do more with social/emotional learning, and while there are some elements represented in that area, I'd like to add more to the list.

What's on your Top 40? What do you notice when you look at my list? Happy storytime planning!

From Loose Parts by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky, "When children engage in investigations they are involved in asking probing questions, collecting data, analyzing the information, and finding meaningful answers to their original questions." (180)

Book

 If... by Sarah Perry

Ideas for Loose Parts

Shells, magnifying glasses, bottle caps, paper cups, paper plates, cardboard tubes, crates, large spools, light table, paper clips, magnets, oil drip pan, nuts, bolts, washers, scales, nature parts (twigs, rocks, etc.), balance scale, spring scale, magnets, microscope

Invitations

Options

Do you want to build a snowman? Wendy will show you how to create a versatile set that's great for stealth programming or toddler groups on her blog. 

If you are looking for a flannel to use in a religious context, Carissa has a great tutorial on her blog for creating an interactive quiet book page based on Isaiah 9 from the Bible.

From Loose Parts by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky, "Texture is a source of interest and information. It also denotes space and changes in areas of an object or environment" (38).

Book

Spiky, Slimy, Smooth: What is Texture? by Jane Brocket

Ideas for Loose Parts

Clay, stones, shells, pine cones, seed pods, acorns, feathers, sand, fabric samples, flooring samples, different papers and cardboards

Invitation

Options

From Loose Parts by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky, "Children use color as a means for defining and organizing their world. Color represents feelings and emotions" (22).

Book

Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Ideas for Loose Parts

Scarves, ribbons, fabric scraps, beads, sequins, buttons, paint chips, glass vases, a light table (or box), mirror

Invitation

Options

Over the years, I've been adding more and more outreach to my schedule, making additional programming more challenging as my daily routines have shifted to accommodate being in more places in our community.

But I didn't want to stop offering programs for preschoolers that weren't storytimes altogether. I've been doing a lot of thinking and reading about making, tinkering, and STEAM and inquiry-based learning recently.

The result of this reflection has lead to two things: a STEAM series highly inspired by the awesome WonderWorks programs by Carissa over at Library Makers, and "Maker Mornings."

Maker Mornings

The focus of Maker Mornings is hands-on, child-led, inquiry-based invitations into learning centered around an idea.

I purposefully kept the program design simple, with minimal directions, and signage for caregivers that addressed the why of what was happening vs. just the what.

Maker Mornings start off with a picture book or easy nonfiction read aloud introducing the idea or an aspect of the topic. I then point out the different ways to explore the idea and participants are free to move from area to area as they like.

One table is for loose parts. Loose parts is a theory developed in the 1970s by an architect named Simon Nicholson. [read his paper here] Loose parts are things that can be sorted, patterned, used for symbolic play, encourage problem-solving, and manipulated or combined in endless ways. They might be wooden blocks, a basket of interesting rocks, an assortment of beads, a collection of buttons, a jar of nuts and bolts. I found two knick knack boxes, the kind with lots of different compartments, at a thrift store and then simply pulled out bits and pieces from around the library (inside and out!) to fill the compartments. I do change out the items for each program, depending on what the focus is-- but you wouldn't need to. Sometimes I'll add a tool like a mirror, magnifying glass, or ruler to see how kids utilize them.

For more on loose parts, I highly recommend Loose Parts and Loose Parts 2 by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky.

Then I have 2-3 invitations. Invitations and provocations are used in Reggio Emilio inspired learning environments, and provide opportunities to explore. At the basis of making and tinkering are behaviors and character traits like curiosity, problem-solving, intrinsic motivation, and creativity. Rather than design programming that would (always or most of the time) result in portable products, I try to shoot for activities or stations that (always or most of the time) give kids a chance to practice developing behaviors and traits (and occasionally, a take-home project!)

Details

I do two Maker Mornings a month (along with two STEAM programs a month) for 1 hour. Since I am intentionally using lots of choking hazards, I set the age limit for 3-6, but the upper end could be extended if you wanted to use this kind of program with families or a homeschool group. I was curious to see how such open-ended activities would be received by the caregivers and the kids.

My experience has been caregivers have just as much fun as the kids do at the loose parts station, sorting, patterning, just running their hands through the sequins or pumpkin seeds. Sometimes children last 5 minutes at an invitation; others have to be pulled away after 30 minutes. So far, no one has commented after programs where there wasn't something tangible to take away. From my perspective, the "vibe" of these programs is relaxed, slower-paced, and exploratory.

I hear lots of questions being asked--by both kids and caregivers--about what things are, what you can do with them, or why this or that choice was made. I hear kids describing what they have created (the straws and game board pieces have been cars and water pipes so far), and asking for help when they can't quite theorize a solution to their current problem.

Next Steps

If you're interested in learning more about making and tinkering, I'd recommend checking out:
Make: Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff by Curt Gabrielson
Make: Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovation by AnnMarie Thomas
Tinkerlab: a Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors by Rachelle Doorley
Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT

Here are your four fabulous flannels for this Friday's roundup! (Also... alliteration for the win!)

Kathryn has some adorable Hide and Seek Babies, including a fun monster surprise! I love that she made these nice and big. I've tried to be very conscious of the size of the flannels I make for babies and toddlers since their eyes are still developing.

Jessica was also feeling some cute baby flannels this week with her "Brown Bear" inspired set.
I like that she's created a range of family members so that she can switch things up, and ending with a puppy is a fun twist like the teacher at the end of the source text.