Step 1: Call it Ducktales
Step 2: Gather your books and supplies.
Step 3: Play the theme from Ducktales before your storytime starts. Watch as the parents listen and chuckle at your joke. Shout "Woohoo!" Enjoy your storytime
Step 4: If no one laughs or notices, take bittersweet comfort in know you are the coolest person in the room.
I've done this storytime two year ago, and the parents just thought my pun was a riot. Fast forward to the present, with most of the caregivers' noses are glue to their phones and oblivious to all, my "comic genius" falls on deaf ears. Sigh. Oh well let's read some books about ducks!
Opening Song: The Wheels on the Bus
Welcome: My usually spiel with my penguin puppet helper. Afterward I made him say quack. "Quack? Do penguins say quack, friends? What bird says quack?"
Book: Swim Duck Swim by Susie Lurie- A sweet story in rhyme with accompanying photos of one adorable duckling.
Song: All the Little Ducklings
Book: A book of Babies by Il Sung Na -One of my personal favorite authors. Great book about baby animals, eggs and perfect for the start of spring.
Song: Ten Little Ducklings
I made ten flannel silhouettes of rubber ducks so we could practice counting before we started. They lasted all of ten seconds before some sticky toddler fingers made off with them. But at least the flannel pieces got their attention so that we could all stand up and do the song together.
Tune: Ten Little Indians
One little, two little, three little ducklings
Four little, five little, six little ducklings
Seven little, eight little, nine little ducklings
Ten ducklings in the pond.
Extra Verses- Quack quack quack, quack, quack little ducklings....
Swim, swim, swim, swim, swim little ducklings
Book: Tickle the Duck by Ethan Long- If your kids and grownups aren't giggling at the end of this book, check their pulse because they might be dead.
Dancing Song: Shake Your Sillies Out
Book: Five Little Ducks by Ivan Bates (Illustrator)- The best part of being your own storytime boss is you can make your own rules. The version of this song that I remember (and most of my group seems familiar with ) doesn't fit with the words in this book. So I sang the version I was comfortable with so I wouldn't get flustered with my words.
Way back in the day, when I was in middle school, I recall vividly going to the elementary school across the street to help read to the kids. The extra challenge was this was a school that had a large population of handicapped students, and the group I read to were mostly confined to wheelchairs and had serious developmental delays. This situation might strike fear in the heart of adult librarians, but I was a blissfully ignorant 6th grade kid who knew nothing about that. I knew how to read stories. I knew I should hold the book out to face the kids and turn it so everyone could see the pictures. I wasn't nervous if the my audience understood me or not. I guess one could call this the cockiness of youth.
The first book I read was a Ducktales book. I don't recall the title but it was a standard Golden Book format cranked out due to the popularity of cartoon show. It was way too long to be read out loud, but I wasn't given a choice in my material to read. I read for another 30 minutes, picking up one book after another. After I was done I was thanked by the teachers and I felt great...and not just because my volunteer work had excused me from class.
I was the oldest child in my family. I read books to my little brother and sister. I read out loud to my stuffed animals. But my first public performance of a storytime was in 6th grade.
And the book was Ducktales.
Woohoo!
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