Sturdy For Common Things: Miss Becca's Storytime Mixer

I've been waiting for a few books to come in that I've inter-library loaned specifically for storytime, so I decided this week would be a good time to have another storytime mixer. A storytime mixer is when I read some of my favorite books and also a few brand new books that I think the storytime kids would enjoy. It has also been a very busy couple weeks with the start of Read Across Lawrence for Kids, so a mixer and a simple craft were the perfect remedy.

Miss Becca's Storytime Mixer:

My No, No, No Day! by Rebecca Patterson

I decided to share a recent favorite in our house. The kids and parents were rolling with laughter.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood

I remember this book being read to me in grade school. It's rhythmic tone and hilarious pictures continue to capture the imagination of kids today.

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

Love me some Olivia! Other than the first Olivia book, this newest addition to the series is by far my favorite to date!

Press Here by Herve Tullet

After writing about Press Here here, I made a note that it might make a nice read for a future storytime. Press Here is an interactive book that encourages children to be apart of the story by pressing, rubbing, tapping, shaking, and blowing on the book. I stood up to read aloud and had all the kids sitting close to me help with the prompts. I've added pictures of the first few pages, so you'd get the idea. It was a hit!

Press Here Book Craft:

I came across this wonderful dot collage idea inspired from the Press Here book featured on Share & Remember and thought it was so creative! Using Stacy's idea of a dot collage with color coding labels, the storytime kids made their very own mini interactive dot books.

Materials used: colored cardstock/construction paper, white printing paper, color coding labels, scissors, stapler, and a sharpie.

Before storytime, I halved a stack of white printing paper. Enough for 4 sheets per book for 35 kids.

I halved red, green, yellow, and blue cardstock and construction paper for the covers.

If you want to write on the covers with sharpie, I recommend you do so before you staple them together so that the sharpie doesn't bleed through. I ended up not writing on them and leaving the covers blank.

Take two halves of colored paper and sandwich four halves of white paper.

Staple together to make books! That was the extent of my prep for storytime. 10 minutes tops! Love a quick craft prep.

Using colored label dots we already had on hand from our library's craft supplies, the kids used the sticker dots to make their own interactive Press Here book. If you'd like to do this craft at home or in your library or classroom, you can purchase color coded labels here or at your local office supply store.