Pre-K Funny Storytime, Friday, APRIL FOOL'S DAY @ 10:30

Well, I know we're usually p-r-e-t-t-y darn funny at storytime, but this week we're going to be just plain silly. We sang the hello song in silly voices (deep and growly, high and squeaky, just silly).

Books

• The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak.  All about the voice.  I bet the babies would love this one too.
• Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas.  Good for audience participation. Remember to brush up on your chicken dance.
• 15 Things NOT to Do With a Grandma by McAllister.  We had three grandmas present, so this really hit the spot.  Everything was just silly enough -- perfect for this age group.
• That Is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems.  Although let's get real, ANY Pigeon book is really funny.
• Betty Goes Bananas by Steve Antony. I paused a lot before a turned the next page on this book to give the kids a chance to guess how Betty would react to the tragedy of a banana difficult to open, a broken banana, etc.  
• That is NOT a Good Idea! by the immortal Mo Willems.  I echoed back the baby chick's "That is not a good idea" with "Do you think that was a good idea?" and luckily they were paying attention.
• Are You a Cow by Sandra Boynton.  Yoon's Do Crocs Meow would have done even better. They were REALLY young this year.
• The Boy Who Cried Ninja by Latimer.  This kid has it tough.  When they ask him what happened to the last piece of cake and he explains that a ninja (or an alligator or an alien) entered the house and took it, they punish him! He solves his problem by inviting the visiting miscreants to a party at his house.
• Didn't Get To: Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton.  As dad and his son tour the museum, the dad ticking off all the attributes and long names of the dinosaurs, the kid's getting tickled by triceratops etc.  Are the dinosaurs dead, dad? Of course! But....what's T-Rex doing?  The author works everything off the letter D, so as you read the short text, plunk down on the D sound for extra ridiculousness.
• Chicken Butt by Erica Perl.
• That's How by Christoph Niemann.  How does stuff work? Not the way this book shows!
• This is a Ball by Beck & Matt Stanton.

Songs

• If you're silly and you know it stick out your tongue.
  If you're silly and you know it stick out your tongue.
  If you're silly and you know then your face will surely show it.
  If you're silly and you know it stick out your tongue.
     Pat your head,
          Rub your tummy
          Do all three
• 1 2, Chocolate Goo, 3,4, Want some more, 5, 6, pudding mix, 7, 8, get your plate, 9, 10 hungry again!
• 5 Little Ninjas Fighting with Each Other, One Kicks Super Fast and Turns to Peanut Butter
• The Banana Song:  (First you peel, peel, peel peel banana, etc.)

Crafts

Marble Painting

Painting with Balloons

Lesson Learned:  Next year, pass out the balloons and then ask the kids to practice holding them by the knot.  Make sure the balloons are blown up pretty small.  As it was, they just held the balloons and sort of rolled them around in the paint instead of dipping and pressing.  (These are the gorgeous ones I did -- theirs were quite a bit more smeary.) They would probably roll them around anyway once they got started, but start them off right. (We don't want paint on our hands, do we?)

2015: Slime recipe.  

I mixed up and premeasured cups of the glue/water mix. Each kid got one and a spoon and was told to start stirring a bit. Then I went around and added the food coloring color of their choice -- no, they could not do it themselves!  and told them to keep stirring.  Then I went around and added the borax "potion" solution, and told them to watch for the magic.  I guess I'm not much of a scientist -- it's magic, not polymers, to me.  The kids loved this and I think the parents loved it even more.  

Next year I think I'll remember to save the reverse of the shelf paper we use to cover books, so that after the kids mix the stuff up, they can dump it out and play with it on a smooth surface.  Slime sets better as it works.  Even more fun. I might even give them little creatures to embed in the slime.