Opening Song (ETM):  Come Along and Walk with Me

Name Song (ETM):  Hi, I See You

Big Movement Song (ETM):  Rig a Jig Jig

Cluster Song (ETM):  Hop Old Squirrel

Movement Activity: Parachute

London Bridge
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady

When the Parachute Goes Up
Credit: Kid Activities
To the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It"

When the parachute goes up stomp your feet
When the parachute goes up stomp your feet

When the parachute is high
And floats up in the sky
When the parachute goes up stomp your feet.

When the parachute goes up lift one leg
When the parachute goes up lift one leg

When the parachute is high 
And floats up in the sky
When the parachute goes up lift one leg

When the parachute goes up shout hooray
When the parachute goes up shout hooray

When the parachute is high
And floats up in the sky
When the parachute goes up shout hooray!

We Shake & Shake and Stop (adapted)

Big Movement Song (ETM): Looby Loo

Musical Instrument Activity:  Drums

Tap, Tap, Tap Your Drums
To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Tap, tap, tap your drums
tap along with me
Tap a little louder now
tap along with me

Tap, tap, tap your drums
tap along with me
Tap a little softer now
tap along with me

Tap, tap, tap your drums
tap along with me
Tap a little faster now
tap along with me

Tap, tap, tap your drums
tap along with me
Tap a little slower now
tap along wih me

The Sticks on the Drums
To the tune of “Wheels On The Bus”
Credit: Preschool Express (C) 2017 Van Warren Publications

Oh, the sticks on the drum go up and down.
Up and down, up and down.
Oh, the sticks on the drum go up and down.
All through the town.

Oh, the sticks on the drum go rum, tum, tum.
Rum, tum, tum,  rum, tum, tum.
Oh, the sticks on the drum go rum, tum, tum,
All through the town.

Closing Song:  It's Time for Us to Go
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

It's time for us to go
It's time for us to go
I'll see you all next time
It's time for us to go

Credit: Riddles for Kids

I am a type of animal
Some say that I have a long face
I’m very good at running fast
So people ride me in a race
(horse)

Credit: Riddles for Kids

I have seeds but I’m not a watermelon
I can be made into a pie but I’m not an apple
I can be carved but I’m not roast beef
I’m orange but I’m not an orange
I’m associated with a patch but I’m not an eye
(pumpkin)

I used this pumpkin life cycle clipart from Ashley Hughes Design on Teachers Pay Teachers to create large 8x10 cards of the pumpkin life cycle.  I asked for some volunteers and gave them 30 seconds to put the life cycle cards in order.

Credit: Riddles for Kids

A spine, no knees
Full of stories
You will find these
In libraries 
(book)

The final activity was a "Guess Who" Book Character scavenger hunt.  The idea came from the one and only, Jbrary.  I adapted the activity a bit for our purposes. 

I hid the book characters around our department and focused on areas closest to our storyhour room so that the participants didn't have to go very far to find each character, especially since they were on a time limit.  When they completed the activity, I gave them a bookmark to take home with them.

I also made sure to write down where I head each character so I could give clues to anyone that was having difficulty locating that particular character.

For our icebreaker, I downloaded this Mad Lib from Teachers Pay Teachers and had everyone give me their suggestions for each field.  Then I did a dramatic reading of our Mad Lib.  

• Does the title, “A Properly Unhaunted Place” have any significance to the plot of the story?  Would you keep the title or change it to something else?  What would be your new title if you changed it?

• What do you think of the cover of “A Properly Unhaunted Place”?  How did you feel when you first saw the cover?  What did you think the story would be about? Does the cover reflect the story well?  Why or why not?

 

• How original and unique is “A Properly Unhaunted Place”?  Are there any books that you have read that are similar to this one?  Which ones?

 

• Would you want to work as an appeasement specialist and live in a library?  Why or why not?  What part of the job would you enjoy the most?  The least?

 

• What scene resonated most with you personally in either a positive or negative way? Why?

• What surprised you the most about the book?

 

• Which characters in the book did you like the best?  Why?  Which characters did you like the least?

 

• In the town of Ingot, their town history was a half-truth (in regards to Baron being a hero).  How did that impact the town?  Is it right to alter the facts of history?

 

• Did you find the ending satisfying?  If not, what would you change or add to the ending of the story?

 

• Mrs. Jillynip, the head librarian in Ingot, was fairly strict about the library.  How have libraries and librarians changed over the years?  

 

• There is a sequel to a “Properly Unhaunted Place” - do you plan on reading it?

 

• In some chapter books, the primary adults are removed from the storyline. Why do you think authors do this?  How would the book have been different if Rosa had both of her parents around to help her?

 

• Tell a friend - 1 thing that you liked about this book and 1 thing that you wished was different about the book.

 

• What time in history would you most like to travel to?

 

• This book has some artwork throughout (pp. 8, 28, 60, 108, 156, 171). Which illustrations did you spend the most time looking at?  Why?  Did the illustrations reflect what was happening in the story?  What other scenes from the book could have used an illustration?

 

• Rosa believes that spirits live in books.  When you read a book from the library do you think about the life that the book has had?  How so?  

 

• What genre does “A Properly Unhaunted Place” fall under?  Is this a genre you chose to read often?  Why or why not?

 

• What was one big lesson that you learned from reading this book?

 

• Which places in “A Properly Unhaunted Place” would you most like to visit?

 

• Does this book have Hollywood potential?  Can it be turned into a movie or TV show?  

 

• If you could speak with William Alexander, the author, what would you ask him?

 

• This book was selected for last year’s Battle of the Books.  What made this book Battle worthy?

 

• Rate this book.
  • 5 - worst book ever
  • 4 - disappointed 
  • 3 - meh
  • 2 - enjoyable
  • 1 - best book ever

 

• Thumbs up or thumbs down if you would recommend this book to a friend.

Sources for discussion questions:
Multnomah County Library "Talk It Up! Book Groups for Kids"

Scholastic "5 NEW Questions to Ask Kids About Books"

Book Riot "40 Great Book Club Discussion Questions for Any Book"

Book Bundlz "General Discussion Questions for ANY book"

I love everything that Krista creates and this activity is no different.  I had the participants build a "haunted library" and they really got into the activity (caregivers too).  

Welcome

Hello Song: We Clap and Sing Hello
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Storytime Katie

We clap and sing hello,
We clap and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime,
We clap and sing hello!

Big Movement Song (ETM): Clap Your Hands

Action Rhyme:  Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Credit: Storytime Katie

Pumpkin, pumpkin, big and round, (Make big circle with hands)
Sitting on the cold, hard ground. (Touch the ground)
Soon I’ll pick you off the vine, (Pretend to pick a pumpkin)
Give you a name, and make you mine (Hug pumpkin tightly)
Carve a face for all to see, (Point to face)
Add a candle for Halloween glee! (Clap your hands)

Letter of the Week: F
Introduce the Letter of the Week with the magic bag.  Wondering what it is - read about it here
Magic Bag items: fries (plastic play food kind), flower (silk/faux), fish puppet, and letter F

"Magic Bag Song"
To the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?"
Credit: N. Lawton

Let's all look in the magic bag,
The magic bag, the magic bag.
Let's all look in the magic bag
to find out what's inside.

Caregiver Handout:

Action Rhyme: Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Credit: Storytime Katie

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up high)
Two red apples smiled at me (hold up two fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (make a shaking motion)
Down came the apples… (make a downward motion)
And mmm, they were good! (smile and rub stomach)

Book: Bella's Fall Coat by Lynn Plourde

Flannel Board Story:  This is Not a Pumpkin
Credit: Snark & Storytmimes
*Note: I adapted it so we didn't talk about jack o'lanterns.  As much as I personally adore and love Halloween, not everyone that comes into the library does.  So this is my way of respecting that.  My pumpkin flannel piece had a kawaii style smiley face.

This is NOT a pumpkin, 
It's round
It's big, 
It has a steam
But this is NOT a pumpkin

You can turn it sideways
You can even turn it upside down.

You can put it in a corner
or throw it high in the air
And wonder if it will come back down

But no matter HOW you look at it this is NOT a pumpkin!

Why because EVERYONE knows that pumpkins
(Turn you pumpkin around)

Don't SMILE!
NO! NO! NO!

Pumpkins don't smile or frown.

Big Movement Song (ETM):  Hop Old Squirrel

Action Rhyme: Apple Roll
Credit: Storytime Katie

Five little apples in the bowl
One fell out and started to roll
It bumped the table and hit my feet
How many apples left to eat?
 (keep counting down until you reach 0 apples)

Book:  Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep by April Pulley Sayre

We Drum and Drum and Stop
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Jbrary
Adapted by N. Lawton for drums

​We drum and drum and stop
We drum and drum and stop
We drum and drum
and drum and drum
and drum and drum and stop

Goodbye Song:  We Wave Goodbye Like This
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Storytime Katie

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

Opening Song (ETM): Come Along and Walk with Me

Name Song (ETM): Hi, I See You 

Movement Activity: Stretchy Band

Sang "Alphabet Song" slowly - bounced the stretchy band for each letter (helps with distinguishing the separation of L, M, N, O and P)

Big Movement Song (ETM): Ring Around the Rosy
*NOTE- I do not sing "ashes, ashes, we all fall down" instead I sing "Hush-a, hush-a, we all fall down" to be more inclusive.  This is also an ETM practice.

Cluster Song (ETM): Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
(Hide and seek game with a "twinkle star")

Big Movement Song (ETM): Rig a Jig Jig 

Musical Instrument Activity: Rhythm Sticks

Pairs Song (ETM): See Saw

Closing Song: It's Time for Us to Go

Welcome

Hello Song:  We Clap and Sing Hello
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Storytime Katie

We clap and sing hello,
We clap and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime,
We clap and sing hello!

Big Movement Song (ETM):  Clap Your Hands

Action Rhyme:  Pumpkin, Pumpkin
Credit: Storytime Katie

Pumpkin, pumpkin, big and round, (Make big circle with hands)
Sitting on the cold, hard ground. (Touch the ground)
Soon I’ll pick you off the vine, (Pretend to pick a pumpkin)
Give you a name, and make you mine (Hug pumpkin tightly)
Carve a face for all to see, (Point to face)
Add a candle for Halloween glee! (Clap your hands)

Letter of the Week: P
Introduce the Letter of the Week with the magic bag.  Wondering what it is - read about it here
Magic Bag items: Pumpkin, pig puppet, pen, pear, and letter P

"Magic Bag Song"
To the tune of "Do You Know the Muffin Man?"
Credit: N. Lawton

Let's all look in the magic bag,
The magic bag, the magic bag.
Let's all look in the magic bag
to find out what's inside.

​Caregiver Handout

Action Rhyme:  Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Credit: Storytime Katie

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up high)
Two red apples smiled at me (hold up two fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (make a shaking motion)
Down came the apples… (make a downward motion)
And mmm, they were good! (smile and rub stomach)

Book:  Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley

Big Movement Song (ETM): High Stepping Horses

Action Rhyme:  Hoot Hoot Went the Little Brown Owl
Credit: Jbrary

Hoot, hoot went the little brown owl one day
Hoot, hoot went the little brown owl
Hoot, hoot went the little brown owl one day
And they all went hoot, hoot, hoot
But...
We know owl goes (clap) la de la de la
La de la de la, la de la de la,
We know owl goes (clap) la de la de la
They don't go hoot, hoot, hoot.

Jump, jump went the little red squirrel one day
Jump, jump went the little red squirrel.
Jump, jump went the little red squirrel one day
And they all went jump, jump, jump.
But...
We know squirrels go rub a dub a dub
Rub a dub a dub, rub a dub a dub
We know squirrels go rub a dub a dub
They don't go jump, jump, jump.

Flannel Board Story: "Leaves are Falling"
from The Mailbox Songs and Rhymes on Parade (PreK), page 6

Leaves are falling,
leaves are falling,
All around
all around.

I can see a (color of leaf),
I can see a (color of leaf)
Falling to the ground.

Big Movement Song (ETM): Hop Old Squirrel

Action Rhyme:  Apple Roll
Credit: Storytime Katie

Five little apples in the bowl
One fell out and started to roll
It bumped the table and hit my feet
How many apples left to eat?
 (keep counting down until you reach 0 apples)

Book:  Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert

Movement Prop Activity: Parachute

Grand Old Duke of York
Credit: Jbrary
Adapted by N. Lawton for parachute

The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill (lift the parachute up in the air)
And he marched them down again! (bring the parachute back down to the floor)
And when they're up, they're up. (lift the parachute up in the air)
And when they're down, they're down. (bring the parachute back down to the floor)
And when they're only half-way up, (hold the parachute waist high)
They're neither up nor down! (lift the parachute up in the air and bring  the parachute down again)

Oh he marched them to the left. (bounce parachute up and down)
And he marched them to the right.
Then he marched them round and round
And marched them out of sight. 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

We Wiggle & Wiggle & Stop
Credit: Jbrary
Adapted by N. Lawton for parachute

We wiggle and wiggle and stop
We wiggle and wiggle and stop
We wiggle and wiggle and wiggle and wiggle
and wiggle and wiggle and stop

We go up and down and stop
We go up and down and stop
We go up and down and up and down
​and up and down and stop

Goodbye Song:  We Wave Goodbye Like This
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Storytime Katie

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

Hello Song:  Can't Wait to Celebrate
performed by Jim Gill from The Irrational Anthem album

Action Rhyme/Song: Hip, Hip, Hippety Hop
Credit: Jbrary

Hip, hip, hippety hop
hippety, hippety hop
We'll hop around the room today until we make a stop.

Song:  Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
performed by Pancake Manor from The Happy and We Know It album

Action Rhyme:  Tickle the Clouds
Credit: Storytime Katie
Adapted by N. Lawton

Tickle the clouds
Tickle your toes
Turn around
And tickle your nose
Tickle your shoulders
Tickle your knees
Tickle your chin
Now sit down, please

Song:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat 
performed by Old Town School of Folk Music from Songs for Wiggleworms Album

Prop Story with Puppets:  Knock on the Door
Credit:  My co-workers

Knock on the door
Knock, knock, knock
Please come out,
Come out!

Hello (name of animal), 
How are you?
Hello (name of animal),
How are you?

Animal says (make animal noise).

Action Rhyme: Kitty Cat Pounce
Credit: Literary Hoots

Kitty cat, kitty cat, sneaks out of the house.
Kitty cat, kitty cat, creeps up to a mouse,
And … POUNCE!
Kitty cat, kitty cat, creeps up to a bird.
Kitty cat, kitty cat, is not even heard
And … POUNCE!
But the mouse ran, and the bird flew away,
So kitty cat found a ball of yarn to play
And … POUNCE!

Book: Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming

Song:  Mr. Eric's Jumping Song
performed by Eric Litwin & The Learning Groove from Outrageous Orange album

Action Rhyme:  I Saw a Little Bird
Credit: Preschool Express

I saw a little bird go hop, hop, hop. (hop)
I told the little bird to stop, stop, stop. (hold hand out in stop gesture)
I went to the window to say 'How do you do?' (bow)
He wagged his little tail and far away he flew! (wiggle bottom, flap wings)

Prop Story:  Old MacDonald had a Farm

​Song:  Wheels on the Bus
performed by Old Town School of Folk Music from Songs for Wiggleworms album

Action Rhyme (with puppet): Jump Jump Went the Little Brown Squirrel 
Credit: Jbrary
Adapted: N. Lawton

Jump, jump went the little brown squirrel one day
Jump, jump went the little brown squirrel.
Jump, jump went the little brown squirrel one day
And they all went jump, jump, jump.
But...
We know squirrels go rub a dub a dub
Rub a dub a dub, rub a dub a dub
We know squirrels go rub a dub a dub
They don't go jump, jump, jump.

Song:  If You're Happy & You Know It
Performed by Jon & Carrie Lewis from Mr. Jon & Friends album

Goodbye Song:  We Wave Goodbye Like This
To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"
Credit: Storytime Katie

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.