Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 30, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! We celebrated last week at our toddler storytime, and here’s what we did.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD:
T is for Turkey (and Thanksgiving)
Letter-Flannelboard-T-jeninthelibrary

Today we reviewed the sound the letter T makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a tree, a teddy bear, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a train, and a turkey!

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Turkey” and “Thank You”

BOOK:
Over the River and Through the Wood by Child pictures by Westcott
Over the River and Through the Wood: A Song for Thanksgiving by Lydia Maria Child, pictures by Nadine Bernard Westcott

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Turkeys
8-Turkeys-jeninthelibrary
We counted 8 turkeys.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the whatevers as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

FLANNELBOARD:
Turkey Feathers
Turkey-Feathers-Flannelboard-jeninthelibrary
Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

Here’s a turkey. (Place the turkey on the flannelboard.)
But he’s missing something! What is he missing? (wait for audience to answer)
Feathers!
What color is this feather? (Bring out the red feather)
Red! That’s right! Let’s put it on the turkey. (Place the feather on the turkey.)
(now sing, to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather all day long.

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have? (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

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

MOVEMENT: The Itsy Bitsy Spider*

BOOK:

Spot’s Thanksgiving by Eric Hill

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max & Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where is Baby’s Turkey? by Karen Katz
Book: This is the Turkey by Abby Levine, illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye
Book: Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
Book: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Book: The Thankful Book by Todd Parr

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Toddler – November 25, 2014
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Toddler – November 20, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I thought that by singing the book Over the River and Through the Wood that might keep the toddler’s attention a little better than just reading. I think maybe I should have just chosen a shorter book, which is why I picked Spot’s Thanksgiving for my second read.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 21, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 27 people 11 am: 24 people

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

Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime

Posted on November 30, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving early in our storytimes! (Sorry I didn’t get this posted before Turkey Day!)

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: In the Toaster*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Turkey” and “Thank You”

BOOK:
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Markes
Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, illustrated by Doris Barrette

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Turkey Feathers
Turkey Feathers Flannelboard
Pattern from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes
Song from Everything Preschool

(Continue adding color feathers and singing)

Let’s see, what color feathers does turkey have? (rename all the colors)
And what does that make?
A rainbow!

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:
where-is-babys-turkey-9781534400894_lg
Where is Baby’s Turkey by Karen Katz

TICKLE: Chicken in the Barnyard*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
This Little Piggy
This Little Piggy Flannelboard

This little piggy went to market (wiggle baby’s first finger or toe)
This little piggy stayed home (wiggle baby’s second finger or toe)
This little piggy ate roast beef (wiggle baby’s third finger or toe)
This little piggy ate none (wiggle baby’s fourth finger or toe)
And this little piggy went “wee, wee, wee” all the way home.
(wiggle baby’s last finger or toe)

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Hill-Spot's_Thanksgiving Dewdney-Llama_Llama_Gives_Thanks

Book: Spot’s Thanksgiving by Eric Hill
Book: Llama Llama Gives Thanks

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime (November 25, 2014)
Jen in the Library – Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime (November 20, 2012)

HOW IT WENT:
Whenever I have storytime the week of Thanksgiving I use this theme. It hasn’t changed much from year to year (as you can see if you click on the links to my other Thanksgiving theme).

When I read Thanks for Thanksgiving with the infants, I always skip over a couple of the rhyming couplets to make it shorter.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 21, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 29 people (adults and children)

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

Monkeys – Preschool Storytime

Posted on November 18, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

When it’s my rotation for infant toddler storytime, I’ll often just use the same theme for preschool storytime that week. It saves time, and helps me by just looking for one theme even if it’s across a slightly longer age range. So, this week’s Preschool theme was Monkeys!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Monkey”
Since this sign looks like something you may see a monkey do, I did the sign first, and then asked the kids to see if they could figure out what our storytime was going to be about. I added in other things about monkeys to clue them in more, too.

BOOK:

Be Quiet, Mike! by Leslie Patricelli

MOVEMENT:
Itsy Bitsy Monkey
The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up a palm tree (pretend to climb up tree)
Down came a coconut, and hit him on his knee – OUCH!
(“hit” knee with hand, say ouch loudly)
Out came a lion shaking his mighty mane (ROAR!)
And the itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the tree again
(pretend to climb tree, faster this time)

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Three Little Monkeys

Three little monkeys, swinging in a tree (hold up three fingers)
Teasing Mr. Crocodile, “Can’t catch me!” (shake pointer finger in tsk, tsk, tsk manner)
Along came Mr. Crocodile, as quiet as could be (palms together, wiggle hands back and forth)
and SNAP! (clap hands on “Snap!”)

Remove a monkey from the board, and continue counting down until no monkeys are left.

Two little monkeys…

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs for the Very Young by Raffi

BOOK:

Spunky Little Monkey by Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Brian Won

MOVEMENT:
Monkeys Swinging
(to the tune of “Skip to My Lou”)
Monkeys swinging, swinging all day
Monkeys swinging, swinging all day
Monkeys swinging, swinging all day
Swinging til I saaaaaaay —- STOP!

Other verses:
Monkeys tickling, tickling all day… (this one was an audience suggestion!)
Monkeys eating, eating all day…
Monkeys scratching, scratching all day…
Monkeys chatter, chatter all day…

BOOK:

VIDEO:

“Caps for Sale” from Antarctic Antics …and more hilarious animal stories! Based on the book by Esphyr Slobodkina

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where’s My Mom? by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Book: Mo’s Stinky Sweater by David Bedford, illustrated by Edward Eaves
Book: Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Libraryann – Monkey See, monkey… Do this storytime!
Never Shushed – Preschool: Monkeys

HOW IT WENT:
Monkeys is a fun and silly theme. And I think the families had fun with all the different monkey-themed movements!

ATTENDANCE: 22 (adults and children)

DATE PRESENTED: Saturday, November 18, 2017

*To see the words to these movements and activities I use frequently, please visit my A-capella Movements Section on my Storytime Movements and Music Page

Monkeys – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 18, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

This was another storytime theme inspired by a single book. I saw Spunky Little Monkey by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Brian Won, and just KNEW I needed a toddler storytime with it.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD:
M is for Monkey

Today we reviewed the sound the letter M makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a magnifying glass, a mouse, the moon, and a monkey!

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Monkey”

BOOK:

Spunky Little Monkey by Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson, illustrated by Brian Won

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Monkeys

We counted 7 monkeys

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the whatevers as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Yellow Bananas

Rhyme and idea taken from one little librarian. Template found via Google image search.

5 yellow bananas, and not one more.
The monkey ate one, & then there were 4
4 yellow bananas, so yummy to see.
The monkey ate one, & then there were 3
3 yellow bananas, & he knew what to do.
The monkey ate one, & then there were 2
2 yellow bananas, hanging in the sun.
The monkey ate one, & then there as 1
1 yellow banana, well for goodness sake.
The monkey ate that one, & he got a tummyache
Now there are no little bananas hanging on the tree
Monkey, your tummy wouldn’t hurt if you shared them with me!

Have a monkey puppet “eat” the bananas as you take them off the board

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

MOVEMENT: The Itsy Bitsy Spider*

BOOK:

Little Monkey Calms Down by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Mitzi’s Mess” from Little Bear: Rainy Day Tales

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Two Little Monkeys by Mem Fox, illustrated by Jill Barton
Book: Monkey See, Look at Me! by Lorena Siminovich
Book: Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett
Book: Banana by Ed Vere
Book: Swing Otto Swing! story and pictures by David Milgrim

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
the librariann – Monkey See, monkey… Do this storytime!
Library Village – Toddler Story Time – Monkeys!
one little librarian – toddler time: monkey business
storytime katie – Monkeys!
sunflower storytime – monkey business!
Verona Story Time – Money Story Time – Toddler

Jen in the Library – Monkeys & Apes: Wonderful Primates – Toddler Storytime (November 7, 2012)

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I loved Spunky Little Monkey just as much as I thought it was. I did add a repetition of the moves a few more times though, so the toddlers could get the hang of it.

I wasn’t originally planning on doing Little Monkey Calms Down as my second book, but attention spans had started wandering and I liked how short it was, while still having a story. I was surprised at how well it went over! Sometimes I think I have to have fun, goofy, loud books for toddlers to keep them engaged, but softer, quiet books can work as well. It was interesting how quiet I could be when reading this and kids were still paying attention.

For the DVD, I remembered that Mitzi was some sort of primate, and I did some research online and everything said she was a monkey. But watching the DVD again, I think she’s more of an ape. I’ll have to find a different DVD for the next time I do monkeys only.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 37 people 11 am: 46 people

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

Monkeys – Infant Storytime

Posted on November 18, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

Today was all about monkey fun!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Monkey”

BOOK:

More and More by Emma Dodd

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Four Yellow Bananas

Idea taken from one little librarian

4 yellow bananas, so yummy to see.
The monkey ate one, & then there were 3
3 yellow bananas, & he knew what to do.
The monkey ate one, & then there were 2
2 yellow bananas, hanging in the sun.
The monkey ate one, & then there as 1
1 yellow banana, well for goodness sake.
The monkey ate that one, & he got a tummyache
Now there are no little bananas hanging on the tree
Monkey, your tummy wouldn’t hurt if you shared them with me!

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Little Monkey Calms Down written by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Pop! Goes the Weasel

Song and patterns from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra.

All around the cobbler’s bench
The monkey chased the weasel
The monkey thought it was all in fun
POP! Goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle
That’s the way the money goes
POP! Goes the weasel.

Make the weasel two-sided, with a different bright color on each. When you say POP! flip the weasel from one side to the other.

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Jen in the Library – Monkey and Apes: Wonderful Primates! – Infant Storytime (November 7, 2012)

HOW IT WENT:
A good theme. A few years ago I did a primates theme, which seemed to offer more variety for books for this theme, because you could use both apes and monkeys in that theme.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 14, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 36 people (adults and children)

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

Rain – Toddler Storytime

Posted on November 18, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

Today was all about rainy day toddler tales.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun: songs and rhymes from the parent-child Mother Goose program by Kathy Reid-Naiman

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

LETTER FLANNELBOARD:
R is for Rain

Today we reviewed the sound the letter R makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a road runner, a rocket, a raccoon, a rabbit, and a raindrop!

To make a lot of the pieces for my letter flannels I’ve been using an Ellison die cutter. But sometimes the thick felt makes it difficult to cut, so my R ended up looking really wonky. We didn’t have a lot of dies of things starting with R, so I added in some other flannel pieces I already had.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Rain”

BOOK:

The Rainy Day Puddle by Ei Nakabayashi

For the 10am storytime, I only read half of the book. For 11am storytime I read the whole thing.

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Gray Rain Clouds

We counted 5 rain clouds. Then we tried to count the different ways we could get to five, like 2 and 3, or 4 and 1.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count while I put these in a line.

Then we count the whatevers as they go up.

Sing:
It’s counting time, it’s counting time
so let’s all count as they go bye-bye

10 AM: MOVEMENT: I know I did a movement here for this group, but since I changed my storytime on the fly, I forgot to write down what I did, and now I can’t recall.

11 AM: FLANNELBOARD:
Color Umbrellas

Five umbrellas stood by the back door.
The red one went outside, and then there were four.

Four umbrellas pretty as can be
The blue one went outside, and then there were three.

Three umbrellas with nothing to do
The green one went outside, and then there were two.

Two umbrellas not having much fun
The yellow one went outside, and then there was one.

One umbrella sad and all alone.
Decided to go join his friends and that left none.

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

10 AM & 11 AM – MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

10 AM MOVEMENT: “Reach for the Ceiling” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

11 AM: BOOK:

Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt, pictures by Emilie Chollat

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“The Rainy Day Game” from Peppa Pig: Sun, Sea and Snow

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Rain by Manya Stojic
Book: Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Sam Williams
Book: Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee
Book: Thirsty Thursday by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig (this would also make a good flannelboard)
Book: Raindrops Fall All Around by Charles Ghigna, illustrated by Laura Watson
Book: Raindrop, Plop! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, illustrated by Pam Paparone
Book: Red Rubber Boot Day by Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Lauren Stringer
Book: Rabbits & Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
Book: The Big Storm: A Very Soggy Counting Book by Nancy Tafuri

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
storytime katie – Rainy Days!
yogibrarian – “Rain” Toddler Storytime
State Library of Iowa – “Puddle Jumpers” Storytime Kit

Jen in the Library – Rain – Toddler Storytime (Feburary 3, 2014)
Jen in the Library – Rain – Toddler Storytime (December 2, 2014)

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Lesson Learned from today’s storytime: Storytime after a Daylights Saving time change is going to be difficult. Kids don’t pay attention to time, so of course they would have a hard time adjusting! I think the 10am group had a harder time of it because 11 am is usually naptime for so many of them.

So, I decided to change things up from my usual and do mostly songs and movements with the 10 am group, while I stuck to my more traditional storytime schedule for the 11 am group.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 7, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 31 people 11 am: 40 people

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

Rain – Infant Storytime

Posted on November 18, 2017 by jeninthelibrary

Since we don’t get snow here, the colder months always makes me long for rain. We may not have it in the weather, but we can have it in storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: I’m a Little Cuckoo Clock*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Rain”

BOOK:

The Rainy Day Puddle by Ei Nakabayashi
I only read half of this one — up to where all the animals are in the puddle, and it says “Hooray for Rainy Day puddles!”

MOVEMENT: “Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Little Raindrops

Idea taken from Recipes for Reading

Five little raindrops
(hold up five fingers)
Dancing on the walk
(move hand from side to side)
Pitter patter, pitter patter, that’s the way they talk.
(pat hands on legs to make a pitter patter noise)
Out comes the yellow sun, shining in the sky
(raise arms up like the sun, if using a flannel sun piece, hold this up)
And away goes one raindrop
(take away a raindrop)
Bye, bye, bye!
(wave goodbye)

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt, pictures by Emilie Chollat

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Hickory Dickory Dock

Pattern taken from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Hickory Dickory Dock
The mouse ran up the clock (tickle baby up one side)
The clock struck one (lift baby up in the air as you say, “Ding Dong!”)
The mouse ran down (tickle baby down other side)
Hickory Dickory Dock.

Repeat this as a bounce having clock strike two, three, etc, and have caregivers little their little ones in the air as many times as the clock strikes.

MOVEMENT: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 3 from Walt Disney

MOVEMENT: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Thirsty Thursday by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
storytime katie – Rainy Days!
yogibrarian – “Rain” Toddler Storytime
Mel’s Desk – Baby Storytime: Spring and Rain

Jen in the Library – Rain – Infant Storytime (Feburary 1, 2014)
Jen in the Library – Rain – Infant Storytime (December 2, 2014)

HOW IT WENT:
I’m a little late in putting this one up, so I don’t remember too much — which means it must have been ok. I think Rainy Day Puddle worked well as a shorter story, and I like doing Hickory Dickory Dock as a Bounce.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 7, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 26 people (adults and children)

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

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Monthly Archives: November 2017

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

Thanksgiving – Infant Storytime

Monkeys – Preschool Storytime

Monkeys – Toddler Storytime

Monkeys – Infant Storytime

Rain – Toddler Storytime

Rain – Infant Storytime