Stuffed Animal Sleepover

On Leap Day this year we had our second ever Stuffed Animal Sleepover.  While we didn't get as big of a crowd as we did at our stuffed animal sleepover last summer, the kids and stuffed animals who attended all had a great time!

We had a special storytime for the kids and their stuffed animals in the evening, and once the kids left, I ran around taking photos of the stuffed animals getting up to all kinds of shenanigans around the library.

The next morning we had a memory book ready to send home with the kids when they picked up their stuffed animals, but we understood that it might take a day or two for some families to make it back to the library.  While I love the idea of a having a brunch the next morning like some libraries do, it doesn't work well with our programming schedule because we have regular programs almost every morning.  By having the program in the evening, I was also trying to offer an option to working parents with kids who might not be able to make it to morning programs.

Opening Song: "My Hands Say Hello" 
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
My hands say hello,
My hands say hello,

Every time I see my friends,
My hands say hello!

Special stuffed animal verses:  paws, tail, furry self

Book:  My Bear and Me by Barbara Maitland 
This is a fairly short, simple story about a little girl and all of the fun she has with her teddy bear in a typical day.  It works well for family storytimes because it holds the attention of the young toddlers and the preschoolers.

Song: "If You're Sleepy and You Know It"
(Tune: If You're Happy and You Know It) 
If you're sleepy and you know it yawn out loud,
If you're sleepy and you know it yawn out loud,
If you're sleepy and you know it and your face will surely show it,
If you're sleepy and you now it yawn out loud.

Additional verses: Stretch real tall, snore out loud

Stuffed Animal Bounce: "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" (Baby version from Jbrary)
I had observed in the past that when preschoolers came with younger siblings to baby time, they LOVED when I let them borrow a stuffed animal that they could use as their "baby" for the bounces.  So I had an idea: why not give this a try this during my stuffed animal sleepovers?  Some of the very little ones don't quite get it, but a lot of the kids have a lot of fun with it!  It also makes it seem like the stuffed animals are participating in storytime, too!


Book: I'm Not Scared! By Jonathan Allen

This book isn't as obviously stuffed animal themed as some books, but it's a sweet story that deals with a theme familiar to lots of little ones: being scared of the dark.  And of course Baby Owl repeatedly insists that his stuffed owl, Owly is scared, NOT him!

Song:  "Leap like a Leap Frog" 
(Tune: Shake Your Sillies Out)
Leap, leap, leap, leap like a leap frog,
Leap, leap, leap like a leap frog,
Leap, leap, leap like a leap frog and
Hop up an down all day!

If this song seems a little awkward, it's because I made it up on whim when I was trying to find a way to acknowledge that our storytime was happening on leap day (something I failed to notice when I scheduled it).  Our kids were way too young to really understand what a leap day was, but they had lots of fun leaping around the storytime area.


Stuffed Animal Bounce:  "Here We Go Up, Up, Up"
Here we go up, up, up!  (lift stuffed animal into air)
Here we go down, down, down (lower stuffed animal)
Here we go back and forth (lean forward and backwards)
Here we go round and around! (move body in circle with stuffed animal on lap)


Book: The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed by Alison Inches
This book works perfectly for stuffed animal storytime.  A little girl is trying to get her stuffed animals to go to bed, but they just want to stay up and have fun!  Which of course is what our stuffed animals will be doing once everyone has left the library for the night.

Song:  "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"
 A familiar favorite, the kids loved jumping up and down just like the monkeys!

Song:  "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
We sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as a lullaby to help our stuffed animals settle down for the night.  Many of the little ones were used to being sung to at night, so it was nice for them to have a turn to sing someone to sleep!

After singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, we tucked our animals in for the night, which meant tucking them under a big blanket I brought from home.  We came back together for our usual closing song:

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom (clap hands)
We're going to the moon!
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We'll be there very soon!
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...(gradually crouch lower)
Blast off! (jump and blast off)


Alternative books (used at previous stuffed animal storytime):

• Corduroy by Don Freeman
• Bears on Chairs by David L. Walker
• My Best Friend Bear by Tony Johnston

A few tips to help your stuffed animal sleepover go as smoothly as possible:

• Brainstorm a list of places to take photos ahead of time and ideally have someone available to assist you.  I ended up rolling mine around on a book cart just for easy transport. This might be a great activity for a Teen Advisory Group to help out with!
• Encourage families to have kids bring their second favorite stuffed animal.  You will inevitably have some tears from little ones who don't want to leave their stuffed animals.  It's okay if they just want to attend the storytime but not leave their stuffed animal overnight, but encouraging them to bring a different animal to begin with can help make it a happier experience.
• Make photos from the event available in multiple ways: a memory book, through social media, or even a slideshow or short video!
• If you're making a memory book, create a template ahead of time so that can easily drop the photos in and print them quickly.  I spent a lot of time coming up with a rhyming captions, but it's definitely not necessary.
• Make it as clear as possible on all marketing that the stuffed animals are staying over, NOT the kids.
• If you have a large group, you might want to have a "sign-in" sheet where families can write their stuffed animal's name and a provide a description; this will make pick-up easier. 

A few suggestions for photos:

• Copy machine playtime
• Watch a movie on a laptop (spread out popcorn) 
• Play a board game 
• Color a picture or get into the art supplies
• Ride on a book cart 
• Dive into the book drop 
• Sneak into secret staff areas 
• Stuffed animals read together
• Get a snack from the vending machines or staff kitchen
• Leave a message for the librarians 
• Anything else you can think of! The sky's the limit!

Each child received a memory book when they picked up their stuffed animal.

My storytimes have always been stuffed animal themed, but you could also do a bedtime theme or no theme at all.  This is a very popular program and is something that can easily be offered several times a year.  The best part is when the kids come back to pick up their stuffed animal and their memory book.  They are always glad to see their buddy and excited to see what shenanigans happened overnight at the library!