I. Love. This. Theme. It’s so fun and giggle-inducing and the kids NEVER seem to tire of being surprised. It’s absolutely delightful. Sure, you sometimes get a kid who accidentally ruins it for others, but I try to ward that off, saying “Now, if you’ve heard this story before, please don’t shout out any of the parts so that others can enjoy it for their first time.” It usually works – or at least gets caregivers more tuned into making sure their child doesn’t give any spoilers away 🙂
Introduction: I start this storytime by inviting the kids to tell me about a time when they were surprised while we wait for others to get settled in. Sometimes I’ll tell them a time when I was surprised, also. After it seems like most people are in the room and ready, we sing our opening song to help the kids know that it’s time to listen.
Sign of the Day:
Surprise! This sign looks exactly like what you might imagine it would! One thing to be careful of is it’s very similar to the sign for “wake up,” which uses the same movement, but less emphasized and with calmer facial features. Make sure to lift your eyebrows up and look surprised to avoid confusion. Gif from lifeprint.com
Book: The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water by Gemma Merino
I tell this story every chance I get, it’s that good! It’s a fun story about a little crocodile who always sits on the sidelines when their siblings play in the water because they just don’t like water. Turns out there’s a very good reason for that – Crocodile is actually a dragon!
Game: Little Mouse. The classic surprise game! I use our feltboard with this one. I made super simple paper houses with 6 different colors and laminated them. We hide the mouse under one of the houses, then say the rhyme “Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the __________ house?” before lifting it up to see if the mouse is there. I also sometimes add some color ASL signs to this rhyme.
Song: Slippery Fish! This is a fun and interactive song that has a little bit of a surprise at the end. To make it even funnier, I usually ask the kids what we say after we burp and then in a squeaky, small voice say “Excuse me!”
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Sliding through the water.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
OH NO! He’s been eaten by…
Repeat with
Octopus …Squiggling
Great White Shark…Lurking
Humongous whale, humongous whale
Splashing through the water.
Humongous whale, humongous whale
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
BURP! Excuse me!
Book: It’s Only Stanley by Jon Agee
I love Jon Agee’s humor and the way he lays clues out for the reader. In this funny story, a family is awoken one by one by their dog, Stanley, making noise. Stanley’s up late at night building things and fixing things (always somehow disturbing the poor cat). But what the family doesn’t realize is that Stanley is actually turning the entire house into a rocket ship so he can visit his doggie alien friend.
This one usually gets a good chuckle and giggle from the caregivers and kids.
Rhyme: Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet. This is a fun, active song that has a little surprise at the end.
Clap your hands, stomp your feet,
Wiggle all around!
Reach your hands high in the air, now let’s touch the ground.
Hold your head, hold your hips,
Give yourself a hug!
Sit down upon the ground, but watch out for the bugs! Eeeek!
Song: Sleeping Bunnies. My aim is to one day finally pick up that ukulele I have and learn how to play this song because I think it adds a little something extra to it. It’s a great song that really helps kids with executive functioning and controlling movements because they begin by pretending to sleep, then hopping about wildly a moment later. If you want to make it extra fun, hand out scarves!
See the bunnies sleeping ’til it’s nearly noon
Shall we wake them with a merry tune?
Oh, so still, are they ill? Wake up, soon!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
Hop, hop, hop,
Hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
Hop, hop, and stop!
(Repeat with twirl, stomp, and any other gross motor activity you want)
Felt: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
This story always provides a ton of laughs! The kids giggle repeatedly as George makes sounds that match other animals and the grownups always get a chuckle at the end 🙂
Closing: Once we’ve had all our giggles and wiggles out, we review our ASL sign of the day and sing goodbye.
More Books to Check Out:
Librarian Ginny 