Category Archives: Infants

Halloween – Infant Storytime

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Today is Halloween, so we shared stories about Halloween costumes and pumpkins!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Halloween”

BOOK:

It’s Halloween NIght! written by Jennifer O’Connell and illustrated by Jennifer Morris

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Little Pumpkins

Felt Pieces from ArtFelt

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, “Oh, my, it’s getting late!” (Hands beside face in surprised look)
The second one said, “There are witches in the air!” (hand flies overhead)
The third one said, “Well, I don’t care!” (shake pointer finger)
The fourth one said, “Let’s run, and run, and run!” (run with feet)
The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun!” (point to self)
Then WHOOOOOOSH went the wind (make sound and whoosh hands back and forth.)
and OUT (clap) went the lights.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.  (Roll hand over hand.)

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly, Goes the Garden Snail*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.

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: On Halloween by Lark Carrier

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime.  Plus, a lot of the infants dressed up, and that was adorable.  This was fun when doing It’s Halloween Night, because I was trying to see if y of the kids were dressed as the characters in the book were.  I shorted that book by one character to make it a little better for infant attention spans.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 31, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 50 people (adults and children)

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

Ducks – Infant Storytime

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Things were just ducky at our infant toddler storytime this week!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “duck”

BOOK:

Goodnight, My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Little Duck

Rhyme from: Scott, Barbara A.  1000 Fingerplays & Action Rhymes: A Sourcebook and DVD. New York: Neal-Schuman. 2010.  Image template from Google Search

(to the tune of: London Bridge)
Little duck goes, “Quack, quack, quack, (clap hands when you “quack”)
Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack.
Little duck goes, “Quack, quack, quack.”
Swimming all day long.

Other Verses:
With her feet she paddle, paddle, paddles, (paddle feet back and forth)
With her tail she swish, swish, swishes (shake bottom)
With her wings she flap, flap, flaps ….as she flies away (“flap wings” take duck off flannelboard when she flies away.)

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

I Kissed the Baby! by Mary Murphy

TICKLE: Slowly, Slowly, Very Slowly, Goes the Garden Snail*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Jack and Jill

Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

Jack and Jill
went up the hill,
to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after

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: Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry
Book: Duckie’s Ducklings by Frances Barry
Book: Quick Duck! by Mary Murphy (Board Book)

HOW IT WENT:
It was a good storytime.  I liked the flannelboard because it’s very simple, but you can point to the body parts on the duck, and then have parents interact with their child as they paddle, flap, etc.

I wish I had some other good infant duck books though.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 24, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 24 people (adults and children)

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

Sheep – Infant Storytime

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For my second infant storytime of the fall session I decided to focus on sheep.  I can’t believe I have not had sheep themed storytime since I began this blog!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “sheep”

BOOK:

Sheep Asleep by Gloria Rothstein, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Little Bo Peep
Template and Rhyme from Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone
And they’ll come home
Wagging their tails behind them.

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
Baa Baa Black Sheep

Patterns found in Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra.

Baa baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir
Three bags full.
One for the master.
One for the dame.
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Place the bags next to each person in the rhyme as you name them.

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: Counting Ovejas words by Sarah Weeks, art by David Diaz
Book: Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep! by Mo Willems
Book: One Little Lamb by Elaine Greenstein
Book: Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale, illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Book: Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple
Book: Baby Can’t Sleep by Lisa Schroeder ; illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

HOW IT WENT:
This is so bad, but since this storytime was a whole week ago, I don’t remember!  I blame that I was still getting over being sick.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 43 people (adults and children)

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

Apples – Infant Storytime

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It’s hard to believe it, but it’s my rotation again for infant toddler storytime!  This storytime marks the beginning of my Fall Storytime session.  I was on vacation and then sick until the day before this storytime, so I used a Fall standby theme.  My storytime wasn’t quite as polished as I would have wished, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes, right?

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

BOOK:

Apple by Nikki McClure

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

FLANNELBOARD:
The Apple Tree

(I know there are 4 apples in the image, but I just used three with the group when I did it, hence the rhyme starting with 3…)

Way up high in the apple tree (lift baby up into air)
3 little apples smiled at me (smile at baby)
I shook that tree just as hard as I could (lower baby to lap and gently bounce)
And down came an apple! (“drop” baby between knees)
Mmmmm… was it good! (rub baby’s belly)

How many apples are left?  2!

Way up high in the apple tree (lift baby up into air)
2 little apples smiled at me….

BOUNCE: “Ladies Ride”

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larrañaga

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

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: Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Pasadena Public Library – Infant Storytime: Apples
Library Village – Baby Story Time – Welcome Fall!
Jen in the Library – Apples – Infant Storytime (from 2012)

HOW IT WENT:
As I mentioned, since I was sick right before this storytime, it wasn’t as well-thought out as I would like it to be.  I forgot to look up the ASL sign for apple before storytime, so I left that part out, and I also forgot my Nursery Rhyme flannel at my desk, so I didn’t do that element either.  I figured since this was the first storytime of the session, and I usually spend some time introducing myself and going over storytime guidelines, that took up enough time and I didn’t really need the other elements.

I chose McClure’s Apple because I really liked the black and white images and thought they might carry well for a storytime group.  After reading it to the group though, I’m thinking it may have been a little long.

Here’s hoping next week’s storytime will be better.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

ATTENDANCE: 52 people (adults and children)

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

Spots and Dots – Infant Storytime

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For our last storytime of the Winter session, we had fun with spots and dots!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*
Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Polka Dots”

taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:

Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Pretty Ladybug
  
taken from Storytime Katie, who got the idea from Mollie at What Happens in Storytime, who found the song at Preschool Education.

(to the tune of “The Muffin Man”)
Ladybug has 1 black spot,
1 black spot, 1 black spot.
Ladybug has 1 black spot,
Pretty ladybug!

I put the ladybug up on the flannelboard without any spots at all.  Then, as we add each spot, we sing the song and replace the number 1 with however many spots the bug has at that time.  Fun!

If you click on the blogs that gave me the idea for this, you’ll see they also put numbers up on the board with the song.  I didn’t have a chance to do that before this storytime, but I want to make them for next time.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*
These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
Hey Diddle Diddle

Pieces from Little Folk Visuals

Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed, to see such a sight.
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

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: Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Miss Meg’s Storytime – Flannel Friday: Ladybugs 

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme.  I liked both books that we read and thought they worked well with the age group.  I know Spots, Feathers, and Curly Tails doesn’t have a TON of spots in it, but hey, it’s in the title.  I say that counts.

At the end of each of my storytime sessions, I like repeating all the bounces and tickles that we’ve learned throughout the weeks.  That’s why you see two in each of those slots for storytime, when there’s usually just one.

ATTENDANCE: 34 people (adults and children)

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

Shapes – Infant Storytime

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Today’s storytime was all about shapes!  Prior to today, I don’t think I’ve ever done a shape storytime.  Even in ye olde days before I had a blog.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Square” and “Circle”

taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:

Baby Party by Rebecca O’Connell, illustrated by Susie Poole

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Orange Triangle Fox
 
based on the book Orange Triangle Fox by Sarah Jones.  Flannelboard pieces inspired by Lisa from Libraryland and AnnMarie from Pasadena Public Library.

 

I put each piece up on the flannelboard, and we named what color, shape and animal it was.  As I took the pieces down, I turned them over to just show them the shape and had everyone name the shape.

I realized later that how I SHOULD do this as a flannelboard is put the pieces back side up on the flannelboard first.  We could talk about colors and shapes.  Then — BOOM! — turn them around and show that they are actually all animals as well.  I think that would flow better and be a much better reveal.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Circles by Yusuke Yonezu

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME:
Jack Be Nimble

Pieces from Little Folk Visuals

Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack jumped over the candlestick.

We did this one as a bounce as well as we recited it.

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: What Shape? by Debbie MacKinnon and Anthea Sieveking

HOW IT WENT:
I liked Baby Parade as a story a lot, because I think it does a fun job of incorporating the shapes.  But it does ask those listening to do a lot of clapping — I have to figure out how to better job of integrating that next time I read it.  Circles by Yonezu is a board book, but I was hoping that the stark colors and shapes of the book would carry in spite of the smaller size.  I wish they would make his as lap board books.  I would use those all the time.

And I really think I need to change-up the Orange Triangle Fox like I mentioned up in the flannelboard section — I think then it would tell much better.  Just need to make sure the backs of the pieces all have the correct color felt on them (I think the fox is white now…).

ATTENDANCE: 45 people (adults and children)

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

Sharing – Infant Storytime

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Sharing is caring.  So I’m sharing this infant storytime about sharing with you.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Share”
sign found on Lifeprint.com

BOOK:

Banana! by Ed Vere

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

FLANNELBOARD:
So Much Fun to Share

(Adapted from A-Hunting We Will Go Flannelboard from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra.  She also has a version in her Mother Goose’s Playhouse.  Templates for this story found here.)

(to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)
It’s so much fun to share
It’s so much fun to share
I have a hat
I’ll share with a cat
It’s so much fun to share.

Other verses:
box – fox
log – frog
boat – goat
pail – whale
wig – pig
chair – bear

I put up each item first, to give the kids and parents a chance to guess what animal we would be sharing with.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:

Playdate for Panda by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME:
Baa Baa Black Sheep

Patterns found in Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra.

Baa baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir
Three bags full.
One for the master.
One for the dame.
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

Place the bags next to each person in the rhyme as you name them.

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: Blocks by Irene Dickson

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme!  I loved reading Banana out loud, and being a put-out monkey.

ATTENDANCE: 41 people (adults and children)

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

Shoes – Infant Storytime

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It had been a while since I had done a shoe storytime!  Since this was a long weekend and my prep time was a little shorter, I decided to reuse the shoe theme and update it.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Ride a Little Pony*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Shoe”
asl-shoe-sign
taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:
WhoseShoebyMiller
Whose Shoe? by Margaret Miller

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Counting Feet
Counting Feet Flannelboard 1 Counting Feet Flanneboard 2
(template and pattern adapted by Jean Warren from an idea by Janice Bodenstedt, Jackson MI. from Totline Magazine March/April 1994. pg 24.)

How many boots should a duckling buy
To keep his feet nice and dry?
Let’s count her feet and then we’ll know –
We can count.  Let’s go!
One, Two.
Two new boots is what he should buy.
That will keep the duckling dry.
(Place boots on duckling and count again.)

How many boots should a bunny buy
To keep her feet nice and dry?
Let’s count her feet and then we’ll know –
We can count.  Let’s go!
One, two, three, four.
Four new boots is what she should buy.
That will keep the bunny dry.
(Place boots on bunny and count again.)

How many boots should a spider buy
To keep his feet nice and dry?
Let’s count his feet and then we’ll know –
We can count.  Let’s go!
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Eight new boots is what he should buy.
That will keep the spider dry.
(Place boots on spider and count again.)

I like to end this one by counting all the feet we have on the board, then having the kids say goodbye to each animal as I take them off the flannelboard.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:
OneTwoThat'sMyShoebyMurray
One Two That’s My Shoe! by Alison Murray

TICKLE: Round and Round the Garden*

NURSERY RHYME:
The Old Woman
oldwomanflannelboard1jeninthelibrary oldwomanflannelboard2jeninthelibraryRhyme by Beatrix Potter,  and patterns and rhyme found in The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra.

You know the old woman who lived in a shoe?
And had so many children’s she didn’t know what to do?
I think that if she lived in a little shoe-house
That old woman was surely a …mouse!

Place the mouse behind the shoe for the first part of the rhyme.  When you reveal that it is a mouse, lift the shoe!

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:
shoesshoesshoesbymorris shoebabybydunbar
Book: Shoes Shoes Shoes by Ann Morris
Book: Shoe Baby by Joyce Dunbar and Polly Dunbar
Flannelboard: All Kinds of Shoes
Flannelboard: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
Jen in the Library – Infant Storytime – Feet 

HOW IT WENT:
This was a good storytime theme, but I wish there were some more great infant stories about shoes.  What are some of your favorites?

ATTENDANCE: 34 people (adults and children)

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

Polar Bears – Infant Storytime

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I noticed there were a bunch of good stories about polar bears a while ago, enough to make up a storytime just about them.  So I decided to try it out!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Bear” and “White”
asl - bear
asl-white
taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:
followtheleaderbyford
Follow the Leader by Miela Ford

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Bears
Bears Flannelboard logo

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Grizzly bears are big and brown,
Big and brown, big and brown.
Grizzly bears are big and brown,
And live in the woods.

Polar bears are soft and white,
Soft and white, soft and white.
Polar bears are soft and white,
And live in the cold.

Teddy bears are just my size,
Just my size, just my size.
Teddy bears are just my size,
To cuddle with at night.

BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:
snowbabiesbyanderson
Snow Babies by Laura Ellen Anderson

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
Hickory Dickory Dock
HickoryDickoryFlannelboardCroppedwithLogo
Pattern taken from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

Hickory Dickory Dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory Dickory Dock.


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:
treasurebybloom
Book: Treasure by Suzanne Bloom

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime!  I love Follow the Leader by Ford, because the photographs are so wonderful.  The caregivers really seemed to enjoy that one was as well, since I heard a lot of giggles and awws with it.  Snow Babies is a board book, but it is a little larger, so I thought it could work with this audience.

ATTENDANCE: 43 people (adults and children)

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

Groundhogs & Shadows – Infant Storytime

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With February coming soon, that means groundhogs!  And since there are not a lot of good groundhog books for the youngest ones, I expanded our stories to include shadows as well.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Peek-a-Boo*

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Shadow”
asl-shadow
taken from Costello, Elaine Ph.D.  Random House Webster’s American Sign Language Dictionary.  1994.

BOOK:
shadowsbysayre
Shadows by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Harvey Stevenson

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Five Little Groundhogs
5-little-groundhogs-flannelboard-jeninthelibrary
Patterns and Rhyme from Preschool Favorites: 35 Storytimes Kids Will Love by Diana Briggs

 

Five little groundhogs on Groundhog Day,
The first one said, “I’ll have a peek if I may.”
The second one said, “Is it warm or cold?”
The third one said, “Let’s get out of this hole.”
The fourth one said, “Is that a shadow I see?”
The fifth one said, “No, it’s only me.”
When the groundhogs popped their heads out,
No shadows did they see.
“Spring is finally here!” they shouted.
“And we’re free, free, free!”

As I put the groundhogs up on the board, I encouraged the caregivers to do this as a finger/toe rhyme with their little ones, similar to “This Little Piggy.”


BOUNCE: “Smooth Road to London Town” from A Smooth Road to London Town: Songs from the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program by Kathy Reid-Naiman.

MOVEMENT: Patty Cake*

BOOK:
grayhoundagroundhogbyjenkins
A Greyhound A Groundhog written by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Appelhans

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME:
Little Miss Muffet
LittleMissMuffetFlannelboard
Flannelboard from Little Folk Visuals

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.


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*

 

 

HOW IT WENT:
Years ago I had done an infant storytime with this theme, and I thought I would try it again, especially since I love A Greyhound A Groundhog.  I think the storytime went fine, but I don’t think this is the most effective theme to use with infants.  I did add some elements to the storytime to make it more infant-friendly though.  When we read Shadows we did different motions to go along with the book: running, kicking rolling our hands when a ball rolled, etc.  And the adults loved A Greyhound a Groundhog, so that was great.  I just want to be on the lookout for other, better options for this theme.  There are not a lot, as you can see from the lack of additional materials ideas I have here.  Do you have any great groundhog or shadow ideas for this age group?

ATTENDANCE: 53 people (adults and children)

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