 Hey everybody, it's Mr. Crawl from Elderwaddle Library and today we have an extra special story time. We're going to be singing about, we're going to be reading about, and we're going to be learning about Black History Month. Black History Month happens every February and it's the month in which we celebrate all the accomplishments of African Americans and their allies. How exciting is that? That is super exciting. Are you guys ready? All right, let's get ready for a first story time song. It's called If You're Ready For A Story, Clap Your Hands. You may have already heard of it and if you did, you can sing along and if you want to listen and learn it, I'm going to show you how to do it. Okay, so it goes if you're ready for a story, clap your hands. If you're ready for a story, clap your hands. If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, clap your hands. If you're ready for a story, nod your head. If you're ready for a story, nod your head. If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, nod your head. What else can we do for ready for a story? How about, slap our knees. If you're ready for a story, slap your knees. If you're ready for a story, slap your knees. If you're ready for a story, if If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, slap your knees. Okay, how about one more? How about sit still? Oh, that's a good one for listening to stories. If you're ready for a story, sit still still. If you're ready for a story, sit still still. If you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, if you're ready for a story, sit still still. Are you sitting still and ready for our first story? Our first story is about a woman called Harriet and this book is actually about who she was before she was Harriet and it's called Before She Was Harriet by Lessa Klein-Ransom illustrated by James E. Ransom. Look at that beautiful cover, she's looking in the moon, I'm going to get closer so you guys can see a little better. How's that? Look at the yellow pages and there's a train before she was Harriet. Here she sits, an old woman tired and worn, her legs stiff, her back achy. But before wrinkles formed and her eyes filled, before she reached her twilight years, she could walk for miles and see clearly under a sky lit only with stars. Before she was an old woman, she was a suffragist, a voice for women who had none, and marriages and courts and voting booths. Before her voice became soft and raspy, it was loud and angry and rising above injustice. Before she was a suffragist, she was a general Tubman, rising out of the fog armed with courage, strong in the face of rebels, and planters and overseers as they watched fields burn and bridges fall and 700 slaves stopped chopping and started running to a woman who ferried them to freedom on the Kahambi River, turned into the River Jordan. Before she was General Tubman, she was a Union spy, carrying secrets that cost battlefields to soldiers fighting in the Civil War for President Lincoln to end slavery. There's General Tubman, now she's a spy. Before she was a Union spy, she was a nurse, carrying for those hit with bullets and hatred and fear, tending to them with bandages and words and the bloody dirt of southern soil. Look, she's making them feel better as a nurse. Before she was a nurse, she was Aunt Harriet, daughter of Ben and Rick, who helped her parents flee their master and find their way through woods and streams to the safety of Canada and a new home in the North. Before she was Aunt Harriet, she was Moses, a conductor on an underground railroad with no trains and no tracks. Just passengers traveling to freedom, up north through swamps, past slave catchers across rivers and under the cover of night. Look at Harriet helping those people, seeking the promised land for her people led by dreams in God and faith, a wisp of a woman with the courage of a lion. Before she was Moses, she was Minty of Maryland, of one slave owner and then others, who worked her and punished her with lashes, broke her back, but not her spirit. Before she was Minty, she was Aramenta, a young girl taught by her father to read the woods and stars at night, readying for the day. She'd leave behind slavery along with her name and pick a new one, Harriet. And remember her days as a suffragist, as a general, as a spy, as a nurse, as Aunt Harriet, as Moses, as a conductor. And there she was getting on her train. As Minty as Aramenta, who dreamed of living long enough to one day be old, stiff and achy, and tired and worn and wrinkled and free. Wow, guys, that was a great story. You guys, I am sure you guys are great listeners. And that story, of course, reminded me of our second Storytime song. Are you ready? I'm so excited to share it with you. Okay, this one is called I Believe in Freedom. Are you ready? All right, it goes, I believe in freedom, I believe in love, I believe in peace because it's what this world deserves. I'll believe in you, you'll believe in me, and together we can work and play and live so happily. How about we do that again? Okay? All right, sing it with me this time. I believe in freedom, I believe in love, I believe in peace because it's what this world deserves. I'll believe in you, you'll believe in me, and together we can work and play and live so happily. Good job, guys. Good job. All right, let's get into our second book. And this second book is all about appreciating the skin you are in. Okay? And this book is actually called The Skin You Live In. Ooh, how exciting. Let's see. Beautiful pages. The Skin You Live In, written by Michael Tyler and illustrated by David Lee Cisco. The Skin You Live In. Hey, look at your skin. The wonderful skin you live in. Look at them and their skin. The skin you're in, the skin you're all day in, the skin that you play in, the skin that you snuggle up, cuddle up and lay in, the skin that you beam in, the skin that you scream in, the skin that you dream about eating ice cream in. Look at those ice cream gauze. It looks so yummy. The dream about ice cream. Do you ever dream about ice cream? Sometimes I do. The skin you have fun in, the skin that you run in, the skin that you hop, skip and jump in the sun in, the skin that you laugh in, the skin that you cry in, the skin that you look to, the sky and ask why and it's baby born new skin and your family too skin and glows when it shows that you are in love, you skin. It's face the rainbow skin, it's snow angel cold skin and warm again, let it in, sunshine, behold skin. It's trembling bright skin and cringes at night skin but turn off the lights to make birthday cake bright skin. It's whatever you do skin, be happy, it's you skin. You can't live without it. I'm glad it's neat to skin and look at the shades it comes in, the shades of their colorful skin. Look at all the beautiful colors of skin. Your coffee and cream skin, your warm cocoa dream skin, your chocolate ship double dip Sunday Supreme skin, your marshmallow treat skin, your sponge sugar sweet skin, your cherry top candy drop frosting complete skin. Look how beautiful people are in their skin. Your pumpkin pie slice skin, your caramel corn nice skin, your toffee wrapped ginger snap cinnamon spice skin, your butterscotch goat skin, your lemon tart boat skin, your mountain high apple pie cookie dough rogue skin. It's making me hungry. All this beautiful food that matches all these beautiful skin. Now look once again at your skin, the skin all people live in. We all live in skin. It's all beautiful. It's not tall skin or short skin or best in sport skin or fat skin or thin skin or losing eye wind skin, nor sad skin nor mass skin, your naturally bad skin. I'm rich and your poor. You'll never have more skin. None of those things. Our skin doesn't need any of that. It's not dumb skin or smart skin or keep us apart skin or weak skin or strong skin. I'm right in your wrong skin. Nor she skin or he skin. You're better than me skin. I'm lesser than you skin. It's me against you skin. All the things that it's not. It's not any of these because you're more than you seem. You are all that you think you hope and you dream. Look at that. You're a gifted creation with imagination. You're a new day desire to reach even higher. You're the feelings that start from down deep in your heart. You're the pride and the joy inside each girl and boy. So whenever you look at your beautiful skin from your wriggling toes to your giggling grin, think how lucky you are that the skin that you live in so beautifully holds the you who's within. And like flowers in the fields that make wonderful views. When we stand side by side in our wonderful hues, we all make a beauty so wonderfully true. We are special and different and just the same to the end. Wow. I am so excited that it's going to lead us into our second. Oh, actually third story time song. And this is my one of my favorite songs to do. This one called I love my toes. Okay. And I'm going to sing it for free to sing it with me. All right. Everybody knows I love my toes. Everybody knows I love my toes. I love my hair, my eyes and my nose. But everybody knows I love my toes. That was fun, right? Let's do it one more time. Everybody knows I love my toes. Everybody knows I love my toes. I love my hair, my eyes and my nose. But everybody knows I love my toes. What else can we do? My skin, we just read a book about skin. Everybody knows I love my skin. Everybody knows I love my skin. I love my ears, my teeth and my chin. But everybody knows I love my skin. Oh, that was fun guys. Thanks for singing along with me. Are you guys ready for our last story? It is called We March. It is about the the million man march for peace. Let's read about it. It is by let's see who this is by Shane W Evans. We march. The morning is quiet. The sun rises and we prepare. What are they preparing for? To march. We pray for strength. We work together all their writing signs. We come from all over to march. We follow our leaders. Anyone recognize them? And then some of the signs say we are marching for freedom now. We want equal rights. We walk together. Look at all those people. All those people who look different, but all believe in freedom and love for everyone. We sing. We just finished singing the song. We are hot and tired, but we are filled with hope. We lean on each other as we march to justice, to freedom, and to our dream. All right, guys. Great job. We're going to do our last song. And then I have a surprise special craft for you guys. Okay. Are you guys ready for our last song? It's all about marching. My feet go up and down. My feet go up and down. Every time I march for peace, my feet go up and down. Okay, you got it? Let's try it one more time. My feet go up and down. My feet go up and down. Every time I march for peace, my feet go up and down. What else can we do? How about our arms? My arms go swish, swish. My arms go swish, swish. Every time I march for peace, my arms go swish, swish. And they had signed in the book. How about signs? My sign goes wave, wave. My sign goes wave, wave. Every time I march for peace, my sign goes wave, wave. All right, guys. That is the end of our stories. And now we are ready for our ultra special Black History Craft. I'm so excited. I'll meet you guys in a few seconds. Okay. Hey, guys. Thank you for joining me for the craft part of our story time. Today, we're going to be making a unity wreath using some very simple things that you can find at your home. We're using a paper plate with the middle cut out. Scissors, if you have kid safety scissors, that would be great. If you don't, make sure you ask a parent to help you cut out a pencil or a marker, a ribbon. Any ribbon will do. This is just what I had lying around. You can also, if you don't have ribbon, you can go ahead and feel free to skip it. And several pieces of color construction paper, any colors will do. And of course, glue. Okay, let's get started. The first thing we're going to do is move some of this stuff out of the way. And then we're going to put our hands flat down and spread out our fingers. And then we're going to take our pencil and we're going to trace our hand just like that. Okay. Then once you have your hand nice and traced, you're going to cut it out. And once you're done cutting it out, you're going to repeat that several more times. Okay, you want about maybe 10 hands for your projects. Okay. And so I'm not going to actually cut out 10 hands because that would take too long. I have some pre-cutout. I also use a friend's hands because Mr. Crawl has giant hands and they would not fit on his paper plate. So this is just to show you guys how your hand should look once you're done with it. It should look just like that. A copy of your hand. And again, like I said, Mr. Crawl has giant hands and it would take up too much room on my plate. So I was lucky enough to have a friend trace their hands. And then I just simply cut them out ahead of time. I used all the colors I liked, all the colors of my friend's skin and my skin and greens and reds, just any color I like. It's about all the colors coming together and all our hands coming together to create one picture of unity. So the next thing I'm going to do is put my paper plate and I'm going to start spacing my hands where I want them. And I want to make sure that you can't see any plate when we're done. So I'm just going to make sure I put these hands all around like this. And so I get a complete circle. And if you need more hands, you can stop and cut some out. And I used about my friend has smaller hands. So I used about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight hands. So you may need more or you may need less depending on the size of your hand. Once you have your hands the way you want them, you're going to take your glue and you're going to glue them down. You're going to put a little blue on the back like that, spread it around. And then you're just going to press it down right here. Okay. And just follow that exactly where you mapped it out at. You may get some adult help if you need some help operating the glue. You can also do this part with a glue stick. And maybe that will be a little faster. But I'm going to go ahead and keep using my tacky glue. And remember, we don't want to see too much of the plates. It's okay to overlap your hands. Okay. I'm just using my bottle cap to sort of smear glue where I want it to go. We'll just start placing these in the order that I want them to what looks good to me. We're going to let this dry for a little bit. Okay. While we're letting this dry, I'm going to clean up and move some things out of the way because we're done with our hands. And we're done with our, we're not done with our scissors. Yes, we are done with our scissors. And we're done with our pencil. Oh, no, we're going to keep our pencil. We are done with our glue. Okay, next you want to take your ribbon, you're going to decide where it's going to go. You want it either at the top or at the bottom. I'm going to put mine at the bottom. And what I'm going to do is just have a simple bow tied into it. Just a simple bow or not. And you may need to get some adult help with this and that's okay. That's what they're there for. They're there to help you. Simply tie a bow and it doesn't have to be perfect. This is your unity wreath. You do it the way that you want to do it. Here's my bow that I tied. And it looks just like that. You just simply knotted it into a bow. And I'm going to put my right smack dab in the middle, right smack dab in the middle of the bottom. Of course, I'm going to choose the side that has the most sparkle on the outside. That'll be that side. And I'm just going to glue it down right here on my paper plate, on top of my hands. And at the end of the day, at the end of the craft, it should look something like this. Now, what you can do is you can hole punch. If you have a hole punch at home, you can either poke or hole punch a hole at the top and you can tie it to your front door or you could put this unity wreath above your mantle or anywhere you want to display unity. If you want to take this craft up a notch, you can research prominent people who have contributed to African-American history. And you can write their names right here on these hands. So for instance, we can write, I want to do this, right there. And people can know what the unity wreath represents. Thank you guys for joining me for Storytime and thank you for joining me for this craft. Bye guys.