Storytime: Don't Push the Button!

I'm the Youth Services Librarian at a local library and I do story time twice a week with a toddler and preschool aged group. Each week I'll be sharing what we're learning and doing!

Since taking this job, I've tried to keep the same format the person I replaced had. When the kids first arrive, we do some songs together and sometimes have a prop/fun thing to use during music time. Then I read them a story. After the story we do an activity, sometimes a game or we use the flannel or magnet board and then move on to craft time. After we make our craft, we have play time with a special toy or sensory bin. After we've had play time (usually when the parents start mentioning getting ready to go) I encourage the kids to help pick up the toys, to check out books, and to come visit me again next week! This takes approximately 30-45 minutes all together.

Storytime with Shay - Don't Push the Button!

Book: Don't Push the Button by Bill Cotter

Craft: We used this template to make Larry and button puppets! I cut them out ahead of time since I mainly have littles. I let them color however they wanted and then we assembled them.

Activity: I made a Button Magnet Game on Canva to use on our flannel/magnet board. I got a bunch of pictures/clip art of different types of buttons and put a different command on each one - "push this button and meow like a cat," "push this button and march in place," etc.

Song(s): I Know a Chicken by The Laurie Berkner Band - we got out our shaky eggs for this one!

Play Time: For play time, we used a box of foam blocks to build buttons. We used a set like this that you could pop the circles in and out to make them look like buttons and then the kids just spent the rest of the time building towers and castles.

*Also, I didn't use this but I found this video of Bill Cotter himself reading the book. I think it was filmed during COVID but it could be fun to use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks23HDEm830