Today Pamela did a frog-themed story time. Here’s what she did:
Rhyme: “I’ve got 10 fingers that belong to me…”
Song: “The More We Get Together” with ASL signing
Too Many Frogs by Sandy Asher
A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson
Song: “A Rum Sump Sump” (normal speed, fast, super-fast and quiet)
Rhyme: “5 Brown Buns” (counting and finger play)
Felt Board Story: “Froggy Gets Dressed”
The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
Song with Felt Board Story: “5 Green and Speckled Frogs”
Song with Pop-Up Book: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
Observations: I really like Pamela’s pacing with the stories: not too fast and not too slow. She also is able to signify character without doing obvious “voices” by using inflection (especially for the voice of the main frog in Too Many Frogs). I’ve noticed that she picks great books for story time. Book with lots of kinds of repetition: sound repetition (particularly end-sound repetition, which normal people call “rhyming”), word repetition, and plot repetition. She also takes time to point out certain words to the kids, like “toodle-loo” and “furious” (which, she told me, one kid defined as “pissed off!”). When a bunch of kids started coughing she took a break in the story she was reading to remind them to cover their mouths with their elbows. I also like how she has a ritual beginning and ending for her story times.
