Preschool Storytime- Letter K

Preschool storytimes at my library are always a blast. We've been growing in attendance the past 6 months and range anywhere from 15-30 kids each session. We hold the storytime every Tuesday & Thursday and it is advertised as ages 3-5. I repeat all the same books on Thursday, unless one really did not work.

Opening Song
If You Listen and You Hear Me 
We've been trying to find a new preschool opening song since I started in January. After numerous attempts, I think this one is our winner. The kids really enjoy it and love getting to make so much noise!

Letter of the Week
Even though we do not theme our storytimes, we do a letter of the week for preschool time. This is a wonderful and easy way to insert some early literacy into your storytime. We all say the letter, make the letter sound, talk about words that begin with the letter, draw the imaginary letter in the air, and finally sing the alphabet song. We also make at least one connection with our letter to a book we're reading. This is a new addition we are trying this session, but our kids love it. I've had numerous parents tell me that their child likes to point out the letter the rest of the week!

Book
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
This is one of my all time favorite picture books. It is a beautiful story about friendship and it works well at small and large storytimes. I always use this book as an opportunity to talk about emotions (lonely, sad, happy, homesick, etc).

At this point I judge my audience on whether they can handle another book or need a break.  Eight times out of ten we will go into another story.

Book
Good Thing You're Not An Octopus by Julie Markes
This is a fabulous interactive books. Parents always enjoy this one just as much as the children. 

Rhyme/Movement
Roly-Poly
This is currently my favorite storytime rhyme. You can make it a calm one with them sitting down, or really get into it by smacking the floor, etc.

Book
My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems
I love anything by Mo Willems.  The man is an absolute genius. I know some storytellers find Elephant & Piggie books hard to tell, but I personally adore them. It is dependent on the audience, but I've never had one fail on me yet!

Rhyme/Movement
Five Little Monkeys
This is a perfect song to turn to when you're crowd starts getting a little restless. We usually have some younger siblings in our preschool time, so this rhyme is great for all ages.

Book
A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson and Joan Rankin
Karma Wilson is usually storytime gold. This is a great book because of the repetition, counting, and the surprise ending.

Closing Song
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
This is our storytime ending song for both toddlers and preschoolers. It is by far the crowd favorite. I've had multiple parents tell me they do it at home at least once a day. You know you have a winner when there are home requests!

This storytime went really well! There were some younger sibling in the group that were getting very restless and disruptive so I ended about 5 minutes early of our usual 30 minute time. We always give small handouts at each storytime that has our books, rhymes, book suggestions, and a coloring page.  Kids love lining up at the end to get their special paper!