Storytime Ingredient: Apples

Is there any lovelier time of year for food than autumn?  Suddenly, all of those summertime popsicle stains are being replaced with apple peels.  These are a few of my favorite ideas for an  apple-themed storytime - with no sugar added!   

Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins - A simple yet clever counting book, the animals on the farm gobble up the apples on the apple tree, one by one, leaving the poor farmer's wife without the main ingredient for her pie.  Encourage kids to chant along with the farmer's plea, "save some for me!"

"The Little Red House" - Do you know where you can find a little red house with no windows, no doors, and a star inside?  I first heard this story five years ago at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, and it has enchanted me ever since.  There are many variations of the tale (and any good storyteller can improvise to make it their own), but this is just one example.  

"10 Apples on the Tree" - Make a simple flannel board story of a tree and ten detachable apples.  Set to the familiar tune of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail," the kids will be singing along before you know it:

"10 red apples on the apple tree.

One little apple fell on me! (clunk!)

How many apples do you still see?"

Count down until the tree is empty...

"No more apples on the apple tree!

They're all in my basket, you see.

Applesauce and apple pie sure sound good to me!

YUM  YUM!"

The Bubble Express

Forget planes, trains, and automobiles.  The most environmentally friendly mode of transportation is a bubble, of course.  No ticket required - just a good imagination.  I've used this activity in storytime with splendid results (and I even  forgot the words to the song.  Yes, a song that I made up.  Kids are so forgiving).  

1.  Ask the kids to think of the one place they'd like to be at this moment - and anywhere is fair game.  Grandma's house, Hawaii, Jupiter, the toy store...it's wherever they want to be.  Tell them to keep that place in their head, because that's exactly where they're going.

2.  Ask your audience to stand up.  Now take out your bottle of magic (and pretend) bubbles.  Slowly pull out the pretend wand (careful not to drip!) and very slowly blow the biggest bubble you can.

3.  Got a big bubble?  Good!  Now slowly...sloooowly....crawl inside (you can demonstrate by keeping your hands held out as if you were in a bubble...remember, we're using our imaginations here, and some kids will naturally latch onto the idea while others may need a little encouragement.  A leader who is a great pretender can make this work.).

4.  Time to get this bubble off the ground!  With faces pointed skyward, take a deep breath and BLOW!

5.  Got your bubble up in the air?  Great!  Time to go to our destination.  Explain to the kiddos that when you say their name, they can call out where they would like to visit.  When the bubble pops, they clap their hands and fall to the ground and land...you got it!...exactly where they want to be.  

The song (to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot"):

Flying in a bubble way up high

Higher than the birds and the clouds in the sky

If you see (child's name), she won't stop

'Till she/he gets to (destination) and her/his bubble goes POP!

Little White Rain Cloud

Winnie-the-Pooh isn't the only one who can create rain clouds out of sheer imagination.  During bath time or playing in the pool, saturate a washcloth with water (it doesn't have to be white).   While it's slightly balled up in your hand, hover it above your child and sing this rhyme to the tune of "Sing a Song of Sixpence." When cued to do so in the song, squeeze out the water and let the "rain" fall.  The forecast?  One hundred percent chance of giggles. 

Little white rain cloud high in the air.

Little white rain cloud here and there.

Little white rain cloud right over me,

Tickling my (arm, leg, belly, back, etc.) as gentle as can be.  

Hush, Little Baby

The picture you see is from last year's Christmas card.  The greeting read, "May you sleep in heavenly peace this season."  My daughter is going on two and half years old, and sadly, I have experienced only one silent night in that span of time.  

As you can imagine, bedtime in our house is not just a phase of day, it is an event.  After receiving mounds of advice (mostly unsolicited), and reading books, articles, and websites on the subject, I have found only one thing that soothes Clara's spunk: music.  

Typically, my voice is all she needs to calm down, but there are some nights I'm just too wiped out to sing every single verse of "Rainbow Connection."  Luckily, while I was pregnant with her, I created a "sleepytime" playlist that included the following songs (I must have anticipated a high-energy child).  It really does work.  In fact, when I play it today, she makes a face and starts whining because she knows what my motives are.  

1. Midnight Lullaby - Tom Waits, Closing Time
   
2. All the Pretty Horses - Laurie Berkner, Whaddaya Think of That?
   
3. Annie's Song - John Denver, The Essential John Denver
   
4. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Harry Nilsson, You've Got Mail soundtrack
   
5. Rainbow Connection - Sarah MacLaclan, For the Kids
   
6. In Your Dreams - Barenaked Ladies, Stunt
   
7. When the River Meets the Sea - John Denver and the Muppets, A Christmas Together
   
8. I Don't Want to Live on the Moon - Ernie, Sesame Street's Platinum Album
   
9. Butterfly - Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell, Catch the Moon
   
10. Baby Mine - from Disney's Dumbo
    
11. La La Lu - from Disney's Lady and the Tramp
    
12. My Mom - Tony Bennett, The Playground
    
13. Russian Lullaby - Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook
    
14. All Through the Night - Shawn Colvin, Holiday Songs and Lullabies
    
15. Goodnight My Someone - Jessica Molaskey, Make Believe 
    
16. Stay Awake - Julie Andrews, from Mary Poppins soundtrack
    
17. Baby Mine - Bette Midler, from Beaches soundtrack
    
18. Fais Do Do - Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell, Catch the Moon
    
19. Birds and Ships - Natalie Merchant w/Billy Bragg and Wilco, Mermaid Avenue 
    
20. Slumber My Darling - Allison Krause, Heartland
    
21. Appalachia Waltz - Edger Meyer, Heartland
    
22. Braham's Lullaby

A Hot Spot for Stories

This summer, I had the great privilege of holding storytimes at The Hot Spot Coffee House in Johnstown, Ohio.  With suitcase in hand and Tiptoe Mouse leaving "clues" to our next destination, we took trips to the beach, the city, our own backyards, the jungle, and my personal favorite, wherever our imaginations took us.  I'm not sure who had more fun - me, or the kids.  

Thanks to the moms and dads who gave donations during our storytime journey.   The money collected went to the purchase of three books: To the Beach by Thomas Docherty, Birds by Kevin Henkes, and If I Were a Jungle Animal by Amanda Ellery.  These titles will be added to the picture book collection at the Mary E. Babcock library for the delight and enjoyment of all children in Johnstown and the surrounding community. 

And many, many thanks to Cille at the Hot Spot for allowing us use of her back room for all of the singing, stomping, clapping, dancing, and general craziness that goes on during storytime. 

Tiptoe Time will return to the Hot Spot at 10:00 a.m. on the first and third Fridays of every month, starting in September.  As always, donations are gladly accepted and will be used for the purchase of library books.  

 

I scream...you scream...

"And we had the ice cream.  Words fail me to describe that ice cream.  Marilla, I assure you it was sublime."  Anne of Green Gables XIV

Am I the only one that thinks it's silly that July is National Ice Cream Month?  Shouldn't ice cream be celebrated EVERY month?

 

Some ideas to help you observe this hallowed month (other than, obviously, eating ice cream):

• Have a ball with your ice cream...really. We received The Play and Freeze Mega Ball last year for Christmas (I can only imagine our faces were a mix of fascination and bewilderment as we opened that gift) and just recently tried it out with help from the neighbor kids (as pictured above).  My daughter was amazed by how the very ingredients she poured into the ball "transformed" into ice cream, and the final product was surprisingly good!  Plus, doing torso twists while shaking the ball is great for the abs!   Nearly cancels out all the calories from eating the ice cream...really!  
  
• Add some tasty songs to your child's playlist, like Laurie Berkner's Ice Cream Cone or Frances England's I Scream, You Scream.  And my ten-year old neighbor highly recommends Hannah Montana's Ice Cream Freeze (having never heard it myself, my advice is to listen at your own risk).  
  
• Get the scoop on your favorite scoops.  My family recently spent a wonderful afternoon in Utica, Ohio, at the Velvet Ice Cream Factory.  We enjoyed a horse-drawn buggy ride, crick stomping, and ice cream all in one lovely afternoon.  
•  Download the Ben and Jerry's Flavor Graveyard onto your desktop and pay your respect to the flavors that have gone on to the big sugar cone in the sky (in 2001, I visited the real Flavor Graveyard at the Ben and Jerry's factory in Vermont, and I found Sweet Potato to be the most appalling flavor that was never meant to be).  
  
• For a group of children, give this flannel rhyme a try.  Cut out different flavors of "ice cream cones" from felt - chocolate, vanilla, rainbow, chocolate chip - as many varieties as you can create.  During each verse, call out a child's name and let them choose their favorite flavor.  Keep rhythm by patting your knees or snapping your fingers.  

The ice cream parlor just down the street

Has every kind of ice cream you'd want to eat

Chocolate, vanilla, banana chip, 

__________ (child's name) ate a _______ (flavor) cone to the very last drip!

(Note: After I posted this, I had the opportunity to use the rhyme with a group of 10 third graders - no flannel board, just the chant.  They LOVED getting to call out their favorite ice cream flavor.   The following day, they asked for the rhyme again, and most of them had it memorized.  So it can definitely be used for many different ages.)

Have Kid, Will Travel: Idlewild

For my husband and I, one of the most gratifying things about parenthood is having the opportunity to see the world through our daughter's eyes.  That's why, leading up to Clara's first trip to Idlewild, an amusement and water park located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, we spent a ridiculous amount of time online researching the park's rides and attractions and imagining what our 2-year old would enjoy the most.  Let me tell you, the anticipation was high.  We both had fond memories of Idlewild from our own childhoods, and like every well-meaning parent, we wanted our little girl to love every minute of her trip.  

And she did.  For the most part.  Sure, there was that meltdown outside of Hootn' Holler' that lasted a good 15 minutes, but an ice cream cone was a quick cure.  And yes it was a little sticky that day.  And it rained a bit.  And the lines were long...and the crowds were thick enough to indicate that half of western Pennsylvania was there...and well...

Would we do it all again?  Absolutely!  Here are a few to-dos if you plan on visiting:

1.  Story Book Forest.  Just about every kid raised in the Laurel Highlands has visited this magical land at some point.  Children step through the pages of a story (literally - the entrance is a giant book) and are transported into a world where characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales are just as real as they could be.  Mother Goose is the gray-haired, dimple-cheeked grandma every child wants.  The Good Ship Lollipop actually serves lollipops.  And I remember a younger version of myself being a little more than frightened to cross the bridge just in case the three billy goats gruff didn't actually scare off that nasty troll.  Truly, this is a magical place. 
   
2. Scampers.  On the surface, it's just a bunch of miniature cars moving in a circular fashion.  But to a two-year old, it's so much more than that.  It's an opportunity for daredevil driving and a taste of independence (no moms and dads allowed).  Clara rode it 8 times.  
   
3. Pack a picnic.  Skip the concession lines and take advantage of the peace and shade of one of the many picnic benches near the parking area.  This was great downtime for Clara, who needed a respite from the crowds.  
   
4. Bubbling Springs.  Imagine a large pit full of colorful, plastic balls.  Now add squealing, delighted children to that image and you get this very popular attraction in Jumpin' Jungle. 
   
5. Fish Pond.  This game, situated near the carousel in Olde Idlewild, was one of my favorites from childhood.  For 50 cents, you get a "fishing pole" and try to catch a "fish" racing by in the water below.  The number on the fish you catch corresponds to the prize you win, which in our case this year, happened to be a kazoo.  My daughter was in heaven, and this marvelous game has secured another admirer.  
   

If you've been to Idlewild, I'd love to hear your stories and trip tips.  Because, after all, we WILL be going back next summer!