IC Farmer's Market Gardening Storytime Recap

This past Saturday, I took an early morning trip to the Iowa City Farmer's Market to do a special storytime. I had been worried about rain, but the day started off nice and sunny. I sat under the trees in Chauncey Swan Park and spread out some colorful tablecloths for the kids to sit on. After  a nice little crowd took their seats, we sang a welcome song together.

"We Clap and Sing Hello" to the tune of "Farmer in the Dell"

We clap and sing hello, With our friends at storytime, We clap and sing hello! (Repeat with stomp, wave, etc.)

As an appropriate start to storytime, our first book was Farmer's Market Day by Shanda Trent, which follows a little girl throughout a farmer's market as she tries to decide what to buy.

I followed this by asking what the kids had gotten today at the farmer's market. I told them about my delicious breakfast at Griddle Me This (blueberry lemon pancakes!). Conveniently one girl was still eating a muffin she had gotten, which led right into singing "Do You Know the Muffin Man?"

Oh, do you know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man, Do you know the muffin man, Who lives in Drury Lane?

Oh, yes I know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man, Yes, I know the muffin man, Who lives in Drury Lane.

Next I asked everyone if they knew where the fruits and vegetables they could get at the farmer's market came from. Everyone knew they came from the garden. Then we read my big book version of Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres to see how these plants grow.

Afterwards, I asked everyone to pretend they were corn and grow up towards the sky. When I asked what is a tasty treat that comes from corn, everyone shouted out "POPCORN! So then we had to pretend we were popcorn by doing an action rhyme.

I'm a piece of popcorn (point to self) Put me in the pot (make small tossing motion) Shake me up, shake me up (jump around) And watch me (freeze) POP! (big jump with hands spread out and up)

Next we continued thinking about gardening, but this time with flowers instead of food, by reading Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn.

I was going to go to a rhyme next, but a family needed to leave and really wanted to hear the last book, so I moved right into My Garden by Kevin Henkes. I love this book because it is so imaginative and inspires belief in limitless possibilities.

I had fun sharing ideas with the kids about what would be in their gardens. Lastly we finished up with a fun little action rhyme focused on fine motor skills.

10 fat peas in a pea pod pressed (fingers in a fist pressed together) 1 grew, 2 grew, so did all the rest (very slowly uncurl 1, then 2 then, all fingers) They grew and they grew, and they did not stop (keep slowly uncurling fingers) Until one day that pod went POP! (suddenly open hands with fingers out)

Overall it was a fun and successful experiment, so perhaps we will try to do another Farmer's Market storytime before it's over.