Opening Songs and Rhymes

My opening song is "Put Your Hands Up High" which I found from the Jbrary video below:





Put your hands up high
Put your hands down low
Put your hands in the middle
And wiggle just so
Put your elbows in the front
Put your elbows in the back
Put your elbows to the side
And quack, quack, quack

It's sung to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" and we sing it three times through getting faster and faster each time. I do have one kid who likes to sing it really slowly once, so we usually do that too. 

I realize that it really has nothing to do with STEAM or fairy tales, but I started using it with my kids before transitioning to STEAM, so it's something they are used to. I also use this song for every storytime I host, even if I'm filling in for one of the other librarians.

My opening rhyme is "Hands Go Up"

Hands go up
Hands go down
I can turn myself around
I can stand up, on just one shoe
I can listen, so can you
I can sit, I'll show you how
Storytime is starting now

I found this rhyme on Pinterest. It's supposed to be sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," but I always just say it. This is another one that my regular kids are used to, and it really helps to get them settled for storytime. If you're interested, the pin I got this from links to a poster available for $1.00 on Teachers Pay Teachers. *I am not compensated in any way for providing this link.*