Humpty Dumpty

I'm so glad that there are actually several books out there about Humpty Dumpty. I knew I wanted to have a Humpty Dumpty storytime with an egg drop, but until I started looking, I really wasn't sure what was available since Humpty Dumpty is technically a nursery rhyme rather than a fairy tale. 

Outline:

Opening Song: Put Your Hands up High

Opening Rhyme: Hands go up

Rhyme: Classic Humpty Dumpty

Story: Ode to Humpty Dumpty by Harriet Ziefert

Song: Fairy Tale Song
Tune: Jingle Bells

Once upon a time
In a land so far away
A princess kissed a frog,
Well that just made his day

Far across the town
Red Riding Hood took fright
She found a wolf in Granny's bed
When she told her good night!

Oh!
Fairy Tales! Fairy tales!
Read them every day!
Oh what fun it is to hear
How Goldilocks got away!

Fairy Tales! Fairy Tales!
Full of joy and laughter
Do you know how this one ends?
Why it's happily ever after!

Source: First Grade W.O.W.

Song: Humpty Dumpty Fell Down
Tune: Frere Jacques

Humpty Dumpty, Humpty Dumpty
Fell far down, on the ground
Call the king's horses, call the king's men
What a mess! What a mess!

Source: Me

Story: Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk

Craft/Activity: Egg Drop

Final Story: Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again by Dave Horowitz

Goodbye Song

How it actually went: 

I opened up storytime with a short discussion about the rhyme itself. I had intended to read some other versions of the rhyme, but since I'm prone to forgetfulness, I forgot to print and bring the earlier versions to storytime with me. We did, however, talk a little bit about the idea that "Humpty Dumpty" was once a riddle which is why he is often depicted as an egg, even though the rhyme never states that he is. I did not discuss some of the other, more violent theories with them. 

The books all went over pretty well. The children weren't familiar with any of these stories ahead of time. I think Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again was the definite favorite, particularly with its depiction of Humpty climbing in his underwear. 

The highlight of the night was the egg drop. I gave each child an egg in a sandwich baggie, and I told them they could use as much tape and paper as they felt they needed to protect their egg from a fall off the back staircase. I gave them computer paper, and old copies of our library newsletter (newspaper like consistency). Since I hadn't tried an experiment like this in many years, I joined them in the challenge. 

Once everyone was ready, I put them in order youngest to oldest, and we dropped our little Humpty Dumptys over the wall. Of the six eggs dropped (five children, plus myself), only two survived the fall (and no, mine was not one of them). 

We went back into the storytime room to talk a little bit about what worked and what didn't. Unfortunately there was not enough time to try a second drop, otherwise, I would have liked to see them take their projects to the next level. 

I had so much fun with this one. A co-worker and I tried to do a stand-alone egg drop program a few months ago, and sadly no one showed up. I am so glad that I was able to incorporate it into storytime. 

What are your thoughts? Have you done an egg drop at your library? Tell me about it in the comments. 

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