Fall 2014–Toddlers

Opening Song

If You Want to Hear a Story
Tune: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!

Props

A basket of leaves!

Books

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
The Busy Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

Rhyme

Autumn Leaves
Tune: London Bridge

Autumn Leaves are falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
Autumn Leaves are falling down,
Red, yellow, orange, and brown.
Source: Storytime Magic by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker

Action Rhymes

Grey Squirrel

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Shake your bushy tail!
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Shake your bushy tail!
Wrinkle up your funny nose
Hold a nut between your toes
Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Shake your bushy tail!
Source:Kidz Sparkz

Pumpkin, Pumpkin

Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
Once you were a seed so small (pinch fingers together)
Now you are a great big ball (make a big circle overhead)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
Source:SurLaLune Storytime

The leaves are falling down today

The leaves are falling down today, hurrah, hurrah!
(flutter hands downward).
The leaves are falling down today, hurrah, hurrah!
The leave are falling to the ground,
(touch the ground).
Where I can Jump and play around. (jump).
Oh, the leaves are falling down, to the ground, where I can…
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
source: Artsy Toddler Storytimes by Carol Garnett Hopkins

Flannel Board

Little Acorn, Little Acorn

Little acorn, little acorn where are you hiding?
Are you hiding behind the _______ squirrel.

Source: I did my own version of the little mouse flannel board.

Take Home Craft

Dance Song

The Twist by Chubby Checker

Closing Goodbye Song

We Wave Goodbye Like This
Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

Observations

Alright, I learned a valuable lesson with this storytime. DO NOT throw leaves at the beginning of the storytime, as two-year-olds will think that the leaves are way cooler than anything you planned.

I opened my storytime with the rhyme “Autumn Leaves” and threw my pile of leaves the second time I sung it. This of course led the kids to wanting to play in it. I made my second rookie mistake by thinking that I could read the book while the leaves where still on the floor. After the first book I had all the kids help me clean up my leaves. This actually went really well. Almost all of my kids wanted to help me clean up the leaves.

The books were more meh. The leaves completely overshadowed my storytime. I did have one little girl who was attentively listening and I had her help me tap for Tap the Magic Tree. Busy Squirrel crashed and burned. I stopped half-way through and said that the busy squirrel was busy because he was trying to find his acorn. This is where I was able to redeem my storytime.

The kids became completely quiet for the Little Acorn flannel board. We did the rhyme twice through since the kids really liked it. I then said that it wasn’t fair that only one squirrel had the acorn and gave each squirrel their own acorn. I received a few aaahhhhs from the parents when all the squirrels had their acorns.

Waddlers–Fall

Opening Song

“Let’s All Clap”

Let’s all clap cause _____ is here,
____ is here, _____ is here
Let’s all clap cause _____ is here.
____ is here today!
(insert child’s name)

Rhymes

Little Leaves

Little leaves fall gently down.
Gently down, gently down.
Whirling, whirling, round and round,
Down, down, down.
Source: Babies in the Library! by Jane Marino

Baby Corn

I went to the picnic and what did I see?
A little ear of corn smiling at me!
I slathered it with butter(rub hands over baby’s tummy)
And rubbed my tum, (rub own tummy)
Sprinkled it with salt and pepper on, (mime sprinkling salt and pepper on baby)
Then yum, yum, yum! (pretend to eat baby’s tummy)
Source:Baby Storytime Magic: Active Early Literacy through Boucnes, Rhymes, Tickles and More by Kathy Macmillan & Chrstine Kirker

Book

My Pumpkin by Victoria Karr

Sensory Time

Where’s the scarf. I placed several scarfs in the cardboard tubes. Parents/guardians then would pull the scarf through the tubes.

Source: Gymboree Baby Play

Fun Rhyme With Fact

Pumpkin Bounce

Here’s a little pumpkin bouncing on the vine (bounce baby gently)
Roll it left (sway to one side)
And roll it right (sway to the other side).
And bounce it down the line. (bounce)

Repeat with larger movements
Here’s a medium pumpkin bouncing on the vine….
Here’s a great big pumpkin bouncing on a vine….

Fact:Having your voice and movements reflect the different sizes in the rhyme helps babies begin to understand different concepts.

Source:Baby Storytime Magic: Active Early Literacy through Boucnes, Rhymes, Tickles and More by Kathy Macmillan & Chrstine Kirker

Book Bounding

Ten Tiny Tickles by Karen Katz

This is essentially my closing of storytime. I read the story and the parents/guardians give their babies the designated number of kisses.

Playtime

Observations

This was fun session even if the weather was crappy. The bounce rhymes went really well. However, the real winner was the cardboard tubes. The parents/guardians played with them for a good solid fives minutes and some even started to improvise their games with the scarfs. Don’t expect to get the tubes back, as many babies ended up putting them in their mouths.

Walkers–October 2014

Opening Song

Hello Song
Tune: London Bridge

Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you? How are you?
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you today?

Action Rhymes

Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands
Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Clap, clap, clap your hands.
Clap them now with me.
Clap your hands, let me see.
Clap them now with me.

Additional Verses:
Tap,tap, tap your knees.
Shake, shake, shake your feet.
Touch, touch, touch your shoulders.

Patty-Cake
Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker’s man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with a “B,”
And put it in the oven for baby and men!

Doing the Chocolate Shake
Tune: Hokey Pokey

You squat right down (squat)
Up you stand (stand up)
Stamp your feet (stamp feet)
Shake your hands (shake hands)
Wiggle all over (wiggle)
And mix it real well (roll hands)
Doing the Chocolate Shake! (clap hands)
Yum! (reach up high)

Book

Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli

Flannel Board

Five little cookies, with frosting galore.
Mother ate the pink one, then there were four.

Four little cookies, two and two, you see,
Father ate the green one, then there were three.

Three little cookies, but before I knew,
Sister ate the blue one, then there were two.

Two little cookies, oh, what fun!
Brother ate the orange orange one, then there was one.

One little cookie, watch me run!
I ate the red one, then there none!

Song

The Muffin Man Dance with Carole Peterson

Activity Cd

Shake Your Sillies Out by The Wiggles

Closing Rhyme

This is big, big, big (hold arms out to the side)
This is small, small, small. (cup hands together)
This is short, short, short. (hold hands with palms facing together)
This is tall, tall, tall. (Reach one hand above head)
This is fast, fast, fast. (circle fists quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow. (circle fists slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes. (nods head)
This is no, no, no. (shake head).

Closing Song

Good-bye Song
Tune: London Bridge

Good-bye, good-bye,
We’ll see you soon,
See you soon, see you soon.
Good-bye, good-bye
We’ll see you soon,
On another day.
How are you today?

Observations

I substituted for my co-worker for her walkers’ program, as she got hitched this past weekend. She gave me a full program of different songs and activities, and I just picked which things I wanted to do.

The flannel board was my favorite part. As I read each line, I acted like I was eating the cookie.

Rainbows–Preschool

Opening Song

If You Want to Hear a Story
Tune: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!

Props

Scarves

Books

Duckies’ Rainbow by Frances Berry
Maisy’s Rainbow Dream by Lucy Cousins

Action Rhymes

Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue
Tune: “Head and Shoulders”

Red, yellow, green, and blue,
Green and blue.
Red, yellow, green, and blue,
Green and blue.
Orange, purple, brown, and black.
Red, yellow, green, and blue,
Green and blue.

Let’s Make a Rainbow!

Let’s wave our scarves high!
Let’s wave our scarves low!
Let’s wave our scarves fast!
Let’s wave our scarves slow!
Now let’s crumple up our scarves.
One, Two, Three! (Throw scarves into the air and watch the rainbow of colors fall to the ground.)
Source:Library Village

Rainbow Dancers

Rainbow dancers let’s get ready
Hold your scarves nice and steady.
You’ll hear the colors of the rainbow.
Listen for your time to go.

Shake red…
Shake orange…
Shake yellow…
Shake green…
Shake blue…
Shake purple…

Red scarves turn around,
Orange scarves up and down.
Yellow scarves reach up high,
Green scarves fly, fly, fly.
Blue scarves tickle your nose,
Purple scarves touch your toes.

Everybody dance around,
Swirl your scarves up and down.

Shake purple…
Shake blue…
Shake green…
Shake yellow…
Shake orange…
Shake red…

Rainbow dancers dance around,
Scarves swirl up and down.
Our colorful dance is at an end.
Thank you, thank you, all my friends.
Source:Storytime Abc’s

Flannel Board

Rainbow Stew

Take an apple, put it in the pot
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot.
Take it out. What will it be?
The prettiest red you ever did see.

Take an orange…
Take a banana…
Take a pear…
Take some blueberries…
Take some grapes…
Source: Storytime ABC’s

Take Home Craft

Source: Library Village

Scarf Dancing Song

The Color Game by Jim GIll

Closing Dance Song

Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

Closing Song

We Wave Goodbye Like This
Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”

We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.

Observations

My preschoolers were WAY MORE into this theme than the toddlers. I opened with rainbow stew and the kids even started saying the rhyme with me.

Duckie’s Rainbow was decent with this crowd, but Maisy’s Rainbow Dream was a hit. I would read a page and ask the kids different questions depending on the color. By the end of the book, I had kids practically running to me to point out the answer to my question.

The scarves were awesome. We had fun making our own rainbows with the action rhymes and it was a hoot to see the kids trying to figure out what color Jim was going to ask for next in The Color Game.

Kittens–Preschool

Opening Song

If You Want to Hear a Story
Tune: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!

Books

Cat Secrets by Jeff Czekaj
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
Pete the Cat and his Magic Sunglasses by James Dean

Action Rhymes

Can You Meow Like Me (make appropriate noises)

Meow very loudly.
Meow like a giant cat.
Meow in a squeaky voice.
Meow like a scared cat.
Meow like a happy cat.
Meow like a sad cat.
Meow like an angry cat.
Meow in a whisper voice.
Source:bclschidren

“If You’re a Kitty and You Know It”

If you’re a kitty and you know it, say meow.
If you’re a kitty and you know it, say meow.
If you’re a kitty and you know it, then your face will surely show it.
If you’re a kitty and you know it, say meow.

Lick your paws, show your claws, swish your tail, do all four.
Source:Literary Commentary

Flannel Board

Rainbow Kittens

Six little kittens found a box of paint.
They jumped right in…their mother will faint!
The first little kitten came out all red.
“I’ll be orange,” the second kitten said.
The third little kitten turned bright yellow.
“I’ll be green,” said the next little fellow.
The fifth kitten said, “My favorite is blue.”
“Purple for me,” said the sixth with a mew.
Dancing home the kittens go
To show their mother a KITTEN RAINBOW!
Source: Read Rabbit Read

Take Home Craft

Source: Library Village

Closing Dance Song

Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

Observations

Like the toddlers, the preschoolers ate up this storytime. The kids enjoyed acting like cats when we did the two action rhymes. I even had a kid who arched her back like a cat.

All three of the books were a smashing hit. The preschoolers enjoyed Cat Secrets. They also enjoyed guessing what the cat would sit on in What Will Fat Cat Sit On?. The winner (of course) was Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses. We all started moving pretty groovy as the book went on. The craft fit the book perfectly!

I would say the highlight of the storytime was Rainbow Kittens. Like the puppy storytime, we named the six kitties. The preschoolers actually named the kittens after colors. Then when I started dipping each kitty in their specific color, I received lots of “ooooohhhhhs and ahhhhhs” from the crowd. I did add my own twist on this flannel. Another blogger mentioned that she had cat puppet that licked all the kitties back to white. I decided to make a flannel mama kitty and then have her change to a tie-dye color after she cleaned all her kittens. The crowd really liked this surprise.

The super best part was watching the kids interact with the flannel after storytime. A little boy was dipping each kitten in their colors and putting each kitten back up on the board. He then would take the mommy kitty and clean the kittens back to white. He did this for about five minutes. A little girl even joined in with him. This made my heart so happy!

Puppies–Preschool

Dress-Up Item

Source: Martha Stewart

Opening Song

If You Want to Hear a Story

Tune: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story,
If you want to hear a story, clap your hands!

Books

Bark George by Jules Feiffer
The Doghouse by Jan Thomas
Mister Bud Wears the Cone by Carter Goodrich

Action Rhymes

Some Dogs Bark (make appropriate noises)

Some Dogs bark.
Some dogs growl.
Some dogs yip.
Some dogs howl.
And some dogs just wag their tail. (wiggle bottom)
Source: Storytime Katie

Bingo

There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!

There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
(Clap)-I-N-G-O!
(Clap)-I-N-G-O!
(Clap)-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!

Puppy Dog
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
turn around. (turn in place)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Sit on the ground (sit)
Puppy dog , puppy dog,
Sit and beg. (pretend begging)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Stand on one leg. (stand on one leg)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Bark and wail! (bark and howl)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Chase your tail! (run in circle)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Into your bed creep. (walk softly)
Puppy dog, puppy dog,
Go to sleep! (close eyes, put head on hands)
Source: Librarian Lisa’s Storytimes

Fingerplay

“Five Little Puppies”

Five little puppies were playing in the sun. (Hold up hand, fingers extended.)
This one saw a rabbit, and he began to run. (Bend first finger.)
This one saw a butterfly, and he began to race. (Bend second finger.)
This one saw a pussycat, and he began to chase. (Bend third finger.)
This one tried to catch his tail, and he went round & round. (Bend fourth finger.)
This one was so quiet, he never made a sound. (Bend thumb.)
Source: Storytime Katie

I’m still need to make the eyes, but the puppets still worked for the storytime.
Source: Mollie Makes

Take Home Craft

This was originally designed to be a card, but I thought the puppy dog would be cute as a craft.
Source: mmmcrafts

Closing Dance Song

Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

Observations

The preschoolers had just as much fun with this theme as the two-year-olds. I did switch up the books from my Tales for Two session.

Bark George was still a big hit. The kids were engaged and answered my questions about George. The Doghouse was awesome. Actually anything by Jan Thomas is awesome. The kids loved the animals’ responses to being pushed into the doghouse. Unfortunately, Mister Bud Wears the Cone was not as big as hit as I hoped. It was my mistake for choosing two funny books and then going to a more solemn story. I would probably recommend doing Say Hello to Zorro instead.

The kids also named the flannel puppets. They were a bit more creative than my two-year-old group and actually gave me names.