Meow Meow!  I thought we would start this session out with cat stories.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands, Clap Your Hands” from Tickles and Tunes by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

INTRODUCTION: with Cat Hand Puppet from ArtFelt

I mentioned that I brought a friend along, then had the kitty wave to the kids, and the kids wave back.  I’m not super comfortable with puppets, but I’m trying!

BOOK:

Mama Cat has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming

MOVEMENT: “Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Cats

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Kittens in the Bed

(rhyme and pattern from page 116 of a book that I do not have the title of!  This flannelboard was one of my mom’s, colored by my dad, so I don’t know where it’s from)

(Adapted from “Ten in the Bed”)
There were five kittens in the bed,
And the little one said, “It’s crowded.  Roll over.”
So they all rolled over, and one fell out;

There were four kittens in the bed…
There were three kittens in the bed…
There were two kittens in the bed…

There was one kitten in the bed,
And the little one said, “I’m lonely.”

So they all got back in the bed,
And the little one said, “Good night!”

MOVEMENT: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Thumpy Feet by Betsy Lewin

MOVEMENT: “Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass

VIDEO:

“The Truth About Puppies and Kittens” from The Poky Little Puppy and Friends

MOVEMENT:  Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
Book: I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec
Book: Where is Tippy Toes? by Betsy Lewin
Book: Meeow and the Pots and Pans by Sebastien Braun (or any Meeow book)

HOW IT WENT:
Every time I finish one session of infant toddler storytime I think, “I am going to find some new music to use with this group!”  And then the weeks go by, and I think about it, but I have so much other stuff that I am working on that I forget about it, then before you know it, it’s time to start storytime again.  So, while I didn’t revamp all my songs, I did decide to try out a new opener — and I think this one is going to work well.  (Which isn’t surprising.  All Kathy Reid-Naiman’s stuff is great.)  Also, Thumpy Feet worked really well with the toddler group. Before I began the story I told the group that we were going to pretend to be cats, and do the same things that Thumpy did.  Interactive fun!  The video wasn’t my favorite, but I wanted something rather short since it was the first storytime of the session and the kids are not used to sitting for so long.

EDITED TO ADD:  I had forgotten about this until I was writing my outline for the next storytime, but I did have a child upset because we didn’t do the Wheels on the Bus.  My fabulous colleague, Marie, who did the Summer session of infant toddler storytime would do that as a regular song with the kids, I think.  This kid really wanted to do the Wheels on the Bus on the Screen that we use for our films.  What do you do when your rotate storytellers?  Do you try to incorporate things that others do to provide continuity?  Or do you each do your own thing?  I felt kind of bad because he looked like I was breaking his heart.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  48 people      11 am: 51 people

* For these songs, please see my Storytime Movements & Music page