Crayons – Toddler

Introduction	Hello Hello!
Book	The Crayons’ Books of Colors by Drew Daywalt
Flannel	BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR Brown Bear, Brown Bear Turn around. Brown Bear, Brown Bear Touch the ground. Brown Bear, Brown Bear Reach up high. Brown Bear, Brown Bear Touch the sky. Brown Bear, Brown Bear Bend down low. Brown Bear, Brown Bear Touch your toe. Adapted Traditional
Book	Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
Nursery Rhyme	Baa, Baa, Black Sheep Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes sir, three bags full. One for my master and one for my dame, And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Traditional Rhyme	This is Big Big Big This is big big big This is small small small This is short short short This is tall tall tall This is fast fast fast This is slow slow slow This is yes yes yes This is no no no Source: Mel’s Desk
Sign Language	Color
Action Rhyme	Put Your Crayons Put your crayons up (raise hands) Put your crayons down (lower hands) Hold your crayons up and turn around (turn in a circle) Put your crayons up Put your crayons down Put your crayons on the ground (touch floor) Source: Adventures of a Bookworm
Action Song	Color, Color Color, Color up and down Color, color all around. Color, color knees and toes, Color, color on your nose. Color, color on your tummy, Color, Color on your mommy Source:I have used this rhyme several times, but I no longer remember the original source.I laminated a bunch of different die-cut crayons and handed them out to the kids.
Dance Song	Paint A Rainbow Georgianna Stewart
Dance Song	Little Red Caboose by Old Town School of Folk Music
Traditional Song	ABC, Count to 15
Goodbye Song	Skidamarink

Craft:

Source: Crafty Pammy

Cookies – Toddlers

Opening Song

Well Hello Everybody, Can You Touch Your Nose

Well hello everybody, can you touch your nose,
Touch your nose, touch your nose?
Well hello everybody, can you touch your nose,
touch your nose?

Well hello everybody can you touch your toes,
touch your toes, touch your toes?
Well hello everybody, can you touch your toes,
touch your toes?

Well hello everybody, can you rub your tummy,
rub your tummy, rub your tummy?
Well hello everybody, can you rub your tummy,
rub your tummy?

Books

1049053 11556479

Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar by David Carter
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems

Traditional Rhymes

This is Big Big Big

This is big big big
This is small small small
This is short short short
This is tall tall tall
This is fast fast fast
This is slow slow slow
This is yes yes yes
This is no no no
Source: Mel’s Desk

Clap, Clap, Clap Your hands

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

Beep, beep, beep your nose
Touch, touch, touch your shoulders
Tap, tap, tap your knees
Shake, shake, shake your feet

Do You Know the Muffin Man

Do you know the muffin man.
The muffin man, the muffin man
Do you know the muffin man.
Who lives on Drury Lane.

Yes, I know the muffin man.
The muffin man, the muffin man.
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane.

Flannel

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

Four little cookies with frosting galore.
Father ate the green one, then there three.

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

Two Little Cookies, oh, what fun!
Brother ate the orange one, then there was one.

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

Finger Rhymes

Five Chocolate Cookies
Five chocolate cookies lying on a tray. (Hold up five fingers).

One jumped up and ran away! (drop one finger and use the other hand to make it runaway)

Four chocolate cookies…
Three chocolate cookies…
Two chocolate cookies…
One chocolate cookie…

No chocolate chip cookies lying on a tray.
Next time I’ll eat them right away.
Source:Storytimes Around the Year by Kimberly Faurot

I changed the lyrics slightly and added my own twist to this rhyme.

Themed Rhymes

Super-Cookie
I’m Super Cookie! (jump up in a power stance)
You’re a cookie! Cookies are for eating! (act like your eating a cookie)
Run, run, run just as fast as you can! (run in place)
You can’t catch me – I’m the Gingerbread Man! (jump back into power stance).

Jump, jump, jump just as fast as you can.
Swim, swim, swim just as fast as you can.
Source: Storytime Around the Year by Kimberly Faurot

Activity Songs

Who Stole the Cookies by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
Milkshake Song by Songs for Wiggleworms
Animal Crackers in My Soup by Maria Maulder

During the Animal Cracker song I handed out animal crackers to the kids.

Take Home Craft

Closing Activities

The Alphabet Song
Counting to 15.

Closing Goodbye Song

The Goodbye Train is Leaving
Oh the goodbye train is leaving see you soon, toot, toot.
Oh the goodbye train is leaving see you soon, toot, toot.
Oh the goodbye train is leaving, the goodbye train is leaving
Oh the goodbye train is leaving see you soon, toot, toot

Observations

The kid really liked the finger rhyme and the flannel. Books were more iffy with my first toddler group while my second toddler group did fantastic. The biggest surprise was the animal crackers during the song. All the kids sat quietly and nicely while I handed out the crackers.

Dinosaurs–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!

Prop

Meet Bud! I introduced him at the beginning of my storytime. My two-year-olds LOVED him. I almost had a riot with the kids wanting to come pet him.

Books

Rawr! by Todd Doodler
Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald

Action Rhymes

I’m a Mean Old Dinosaur

I’m a mean old dinosaur. (make a mean face)
Big and Tall. (gesture hands big and tall)
Here is my tail, here is my claw. (shake their tails and show claws)
When I get all hungry (rub your tummy)
I just growl (make a growling sound)
Look out kids, I’m on the prowl.
Source:

A Dinosaur Goes

A dinosaur goes like this and that. (sway side to side)
He’s terribly big, ( raise hands up high)
And he’s terribly fat. (make large circle with arms in front of body)
He has two eyes, (circle eyes with fingers)
Yet he makes you pause. ( stop sign)
Goodness gracious, what sharp claws! (claws)
Source:Artsy Toddler Storytimes by Carol Garnett Hopkins

FIVE LITTLE DINOSAURS

Five little dinosaurs sitting in a swamp.
The first one said, “Let’s stomp, stomp, stomp.”
The second one said, “Time for lunch!”
The third one said, “Let’s munch, munch, munch.”
The fourth one said, “Let’s stomp some more.”
The fifth one said, “Let’s all roar!” GRRRR!
Source:Preschool Express

Dinosaur
Dinosaurs lived long ago
Some walked (Stomp feet)
Some swam (Pretend to swim)
Some flew, you know (flap arms)
Some were big (hold hands high)
Some were small (hold hands low)
Some were gigantic (stretch arms out wide)
And VERY tall! (stretch arms up high)
Source: Library Village

Activity Song

We are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner Band

Take Home Craft

I do not know the source for this project, as my co-worker picked this craft.

Dance Song

Silly Dance Contest by Jim Gill

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

The kids enjoyed making dinosaur noises with me. We rawr with hellos and goodbyes.

The books were fun. Rawr was decent. The kids were attentive enough, but they definitely preferred Shape by Shape. I had one little boy who yelled, “It’s a dinosaur, mommy!”

The kids also enjoyed the “We are the Dinosaurs” activity song. One little boy requested that we do it again.

Monsters 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!

Books

Even Monsters by A.J. Smith
Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
Can you Make a Scary Face by Jan Thomas

Action Rhymes

Monsters Galore

Monsters galore, can you roar? (Roar.)
Monsters galore, can you soar? (Flying motions.)
Monsters galore, please shut the door. (Clap.)
Monsters galore, fall on the floor! (Sit/fall down.)
Source:Miss Meg’s Storytime

Monster, Monster
Tune: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Monster, monster, turn around.
Monster, monster, touch the ground.
Monster, monster, reach up high.
Monster, monster, squint your eyes.
Monster, monster, show your teeth.
Monster, monster, stamp your feet.
Source:SurLaLune Storytime

I’m A Little Monster

I’m a little monster hear me growl
Here are my ears.
Here are my claws.
When I get all sneaky, I tiptope up.
I jump in the air and give a big roar.
Source:Artsy Toddler Storytimes by Carol Garnett Hopkins

Flannel Board

“Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed” was my flannel for this week. I found my monster template from Falling Flannel Boards and my bed template from Red Ted Art.

Five little monsters, jumping on the bed.
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said…
No more monsters jumping on the bed!

Take Home Craft

House of Baby Piranha

Dance Song

Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett

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

Unfortunately, I was not able to do as many action rhymes as I like during this session. Our storytime room had turned into a sauna over the weekend, and I did not want children passing out from the room being overheated. OK, the room was not that hot, but it was definitely warmer than normal.

The kids really liked this storytime. I did a build-up. We talked about what kind of activities monsters do with Even Monsters. We even sangs the ABCs right dead smack of the story for the school page. We then talked about how we make monsters go away with Go Away Big Green Monster. The kids always get into this story and were even doing the “go away” hand motion with me. Finally, we worked on our own scary faces with Make a Scary Face.

The flannel board was your traditional “Five Little Monkeys” just with monsters. I also added a mama monster puppet whose tongue squeaks when you close her mouth. When I did the phrase “Mama called the doctor” I made sure Mama talked a lot! My two-year-olds were fascinated with this puppet. I had one little girl who gave me a penny and I made mama monster eat it. The girl’s face was priceless. I had to make mama regurgitate the penny for the little girl.

Sports–Toddler

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

Dunk Skunk by Michael Rex
Goodnight Football by Michael Dahl

Rhyme

A Little Ball
A little ball, (form circle with thumb and finger)
A bigger ball, (form circle with hands)
A great big ball I see.( form circle with arms)

Now let’s count them.
Are you ready?
One,(form circle with arms)
Two, (form circle with hands)
Three. (form circle with thumb and finger)
Source: Sturgis Kids

Baseball Player
Tune: Frère Jacques

Baseball player, baseball player
Swing the bat, hit the ball (Pretend to swing a baseball bat.)
Run around the bases, run around the bases (Pretend to be running.)
Homerun, homerun
Source:Preschool Plan It

Football Player

Football Player, Football Player
Punt the Ball, throw the ball
Run down the field, Run Down the field
Touchdown, Touchdown
Source: I made my own rhyme based off of the Preschool Plan It Rhyme.

Action Rhymes

Bounce the Ball

Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
On the ground, against the wall.
Bounce it low, bounce it high,
Bounce it right up to the sky!

Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
On the ground, against the wall.
Bounce it here, bounce it there,
Bounce it outside anywhere!

Bounce the ball, bounce the ball,
On the ground, against the wall.
This one rule you must abide:
Please don’t bounce your ball inside!
Source:Youth Literature

Bouncing Ball

I’m bouncing, bouncing everywhere,
(make bouncing movements)
I’m bouncing, bouncing like a ball,
I bounce and bounce until I fall. (drop to the floor)
Source:Sturgis Kids

Song

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don’t win, it’s a shame.
For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out,
At the old ball game.

We sang along with Mickey’s Sports Songs

Matching Game

I handed out laminated sports balls and equipment pictures and had the two-year-olds match their picture to the correct picture.

Final Activity

I put several rows of tape down on the ground and had the kids act like they were walking across a balance beam to music.

Take Home Craft

We revamped this project. It was originally a baseball puppet on Free Crafty Ideas. We just made it into a football puppet.

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

I thought a Sports Storytime would be a lot of fun. Little did I know that finding rhymes and books would be a long and tedious process. I was definitely not impressed with the book choices. The kids were not that attentive during Dunk Skunk and I was able to get their attention with Goodnight Football by having them yell hooray and waving goodbye.

The rhymes were the fun part. Bouncing Ball was the favorite. We had to repeat it several times, as the kids wanted to do it again and again.

The matching game and the balance beam were also fun. I had only done 25 sets of pictures based on my average number of attendants. I ended up with 35 plus toddlers. This made storytime go over and we were not able to do our final dance.

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.

Zoo–Toddler

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

I put several different animals into these two boxes. I then pulled each animal out of the box and we talked about what noises they made.

Books

Peek-A-Zoo by Marie Torres Cimarusti
Zoo Animals by Pop and Play

Action Rhymes

Let’s Hear You Roar Like a Lion

Let’s hear you roar like a lion!
Let’s see you jump like a frog.
Let’s see you snap your jaws like a crocodile.
Let’s hear you woof like a dog.
Pretend you’re an elephant with a big, long trunk.
Pretend you’re a monkey; let’s see you jump, jump, jump.
And now you’re a mouse. Just let me see
How very, very quiet you can be.
Source:So Tomorrow

Elephant

An elephant goes like this and that,
He’s terribly big,
And he’s terribly fat,
And he has no toes,
But goodness gracious, what a nose!
Source:Storytime Source Page

The Elephant Hokey Pokey

You put your elephant ears in.
You put your elephant ears out.
You put your elephant ears in,
And you shake them all about.
You do the elephant pokey,
and you stomp yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!

…elephant trunk…
…elephant foot…
…whole self…
source:Falling Flannelboards

I Know a Giraffe

I know a giraffe
With a neck that’s so high
She stretches and stretches it
Up to the sky (stretch head high or raise arms above head)
She lives on the plains
With her family, too
But you might see her
When you visit the zoo.(Point to others)
Source: Preschool Education

Flannel Board

Five Elephants in a Bathtub

One elephant in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock, (Clap twice)
Splash, Splash, (Slap knees twice)
Come on in! (Motion with both hands to come in.)
Two elephants elephants in the bathtub… etc.
(Until…)
Five elephants elephants in the bathtub
Going for a swim.
Knock, Knock,
Splash, Splash,
They all fell in!
Source: Storytime Katie

Take Home Craft

Source: First Palette

Closing Dance Song

See Ya Later Alligator by Laura Doherty

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

I do not believe you can go wrong with a zoo storytime. The kids really enjoyed themselves, and I even had two of them try to break into my preschool storytime! One had to be carried out by his mother because he refused to leave.

This is also a great storytime to introduce younger children to new animals. I had one mom tell me that her daughter wanted books about bears and pandas after we talked a little bit about each one.

The books were very age-appropriate for this session. We all guessed the animals in Peek-a-Zoo and the kids demanded to count the teeth and bugs in Zoo Animals.

The flannel board was very fun. By the second elephant, the parents were helping me sing the tune. They were all surprised when I knocked down the elephants.

My only advice for this storytime is to have water! I got very thirsty and had trouble saying some of the action rhymes by the end.

Rainbows–Toddler

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
Color Dance by Ann Jonas

Action Rhymes

Colors

Blue is the lake, (point to the floor)
Yellow is the sun (point to the sky)
Silver are the stars,
When the day is done (wiggle fingers in the air)
Red is the apple, (make circle with hands)
Green is the tree (raise arms over head like branches)
Brown is a chocolate chip cookie (rub tummy)
for you and me!
Source:Harris County Public Library

Let’s All Twirl
Tune: “The Mulberry Bush”

Let’s all twirl with our scarves today,
Scarves today, scarves today,
Let’s all whirl our scarves today,
All around the room.
Source:Harris County Public Library

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

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

Scarf Song

Rainbow of Colors by The Wiggles

Take Home Craft

Source: Library Village

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

This theme was a bit harder for my toddlers to get excited about.

I started my storytime with the rainbow stew flannel board. The kids liked telling me what kind of fruit I was about to put in the pot.

As for my stories, they were kind of meh about Duckie’s Rainbow and Color Dance was a complete flop. I quickly ended the story and transitioned to scarves. This is where the storytime took off. We did action rhymes with the scarves and the kids LOVED when we got to throw them up in the air. I also added an extra dance song about rainbows so that the kids could keep dancing with the scarves.