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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Pajama Story Time

Pajama Story Time: a Family Story Time for All Ages, Monday, 8/6/12, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Attendance: 76 (44 children, 32 adults) Children were invited to come in their PJ's and bring a favorite stuffed animal.

Books:  How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
            Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems
            The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
            The Game of Light by Herve Tullet

Poem with Props:  "Aliens at Bedtime"

Story with Props:  "Chin Chin Kobokama" from Tuck-Me-In Tales: Bedtime Stories from Around the World by Margaret Read MacDonald

Board Story:  "Peace and Quiet" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Games:  "Finish the Pattern" from the  2012 CSLP Manual (p.p. 126-7)
               "Guess the Night Shapes" from the 2012 CSLP Manual (p.128)

Craft:  Decorate a pair of pajamas - pattern from thebestkidsbooksite.com

Craft


Notes:  Most children did come in their PJ's which made the storytime something special. I wore my cat slippers and brought a favorite stuff animal (though I passed on the pajamas). It was also nice to see many dads attending the program. This was the first time I had done a pajama storytime at this library and it was very well received. I will definitely be doing it again next year. Overall the program went quite well. The props for "Chin Chin Kobokama were toothpicks. Even though this story has lovely illustrations, I did not think the details would be seen by a large group so I told it instead. Surprisingly there was a large number of older children in attendance and consequently the games I used were a too easy for the group. I used the recommended site in the CSLP manual for the images for "Guess the Night Shapes" which is www.coloringplanet.com. Even though the children liked The Game of Light, I think it would have worked better in a smaller room. My favorite was "Peace and Quiet" which I haven't told in a couple of years. I enjoyed telling it and children enjoyed doing the animal noises. I kept the craft simple. Each child received pre-cut pajamas, a piece of construction paper to glue them on, and a baggie with pieces of scrap booking paper, pieces of tissue paper and four foam stars for decorating their pajamas. Crayons and glue sticks were also provided. The craft was not too challenging for the younger children and the older children could be as creative as they wanted. There were some really great pajamas created that night.

Night Shapes

3 comments:

  1. This would have worked perfectly with this year CLSP theme - Dream Big! However I think I will do this next summer in the evening, since I don't usually have evening programs. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    Replies
    1. I did it every year in early August at my previous library as an evening program. I kept it to once a year to make it a special event. It was always well-attended and it was fun to see kids in their PJs and to compare stuffed animals. I do an evening family story time now but I don't get a huge crowd like I did for the pajama storytime.

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  2. The link for the pajama template leads to a malicious website - just beware.

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