Unfortunately, we are going to have to limit attendance next week to 45 or 50 kids, because there were just too many to do these activities smoothly. 64 kids 5 babies 52 adults 121 total I don't know if there is any rain in the forecast, but it is officially monsoon season in Arizona so we celebrated it with a rain theme. Rhymes (skipped the "Good Morning" song since it was going to be a very active storytime) "Come Under My Umbrella" Watch video of song here Come under my umbrella, umbrella, umbrella (make umbrella with hands above head) Come under my umbrella It's starting to rain (fingers wiggle moving downward) With thunder and lightning (clap and spread arms above head) and thunder and lightning Come under my umbrella It's starting to rain "Rain is Falling Down" Rain is falling down (wiggle fingers moving downward) Rain is falling down Pitter patter, pitter patter (clap hands gently) Rain is falling down.... SPLASH! (clap above head) "Itsy Bitsy Spider" Books: The Thingamabob by Il Sung Na: An elephant finds a "thingamabob" and experiments until he discovers what to do with it. If you have an umbrella, it's fun to OPEN it unexpectedly when reading about how the thingamabob sometimes surprised the elephant. Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle: It's a mad dash for shelter as rain sweeps into an urban neighborhood. The subway is a perfect place to go for shelter. I previously read this book with group of kiddos (ages 3-5) letting them use rhythm stick to tap together whenever I read, "Tap, tap," and tap above their heads whenever I read, "Boom, boom," - which comes up often. They quietly held the sticks while I was reading and waited for their cue. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN in my group today. The kids were banging incessantly while I read even though I stopped a couple of times and asked parents for their help. I had to stop this activity, collect the sticks, and read The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri instead. Movement Songs: Here is Sara, a teen volunteer, working hard to put a scarf and a long piece of string into 55 bags (yes, we ran out) to use in our movement activities today: "Mud Puddle Jump" Listen here The kids used their pieces of yarn to form a mud puddle in which to walk around, jump into, splash in, and shake the water off. "The Ants Go Marching" I always play a little of this video so the kids understand what the song is about before we march like ants using our scarves as umbrellas: Ending Activity: Make a rainstorm using your hands. I tell an Arizona monsoon version of this activity. It's really cool if you actually listen to what's going on: http://bronxriver.org/puma/images/usersubmitted/file/015_CreateARainstorm.pdf Evening Family Storytime: I decided not to try the Tap Tap Boom Boom book in the evening since there are often many little guys there and read The Big Storm by Nancy Tafuri instead. The lovely Miss Erica helped bring this story to life by puppeteering the critters who scamper out of the rain into shelter while I read the book. The two bears were in the back of the "cave" the whole time but no one seemed to notice so it was a fun surprise when they came out at the end of the book: Miss Erica (fantastic, creative librarian that she is!): Check out this week's full Flannel Friday Roundup. Thanks for hosting, Hannah at Lovin' the Library! Flannel Friday Roundups on Pinterest