Category Archives: Toddlers

Snow – Toddler Storytime

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For our last storytime of the Fall session, we celebrated the start of a new season with stories of snow (even it was a little early for that.).

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:
S is for Snow
Letter-Flannelboard-S-jeninthelibrary

Today we reviewed the sound the letter S makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a smile, a sun, a star and a snowflake.  (I left out the stegosaurus and the sheep for this round of S.)

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Snow”

BOOK:
Gravett-Bear_and_Hare_Snow
Bear & Hare: Snow! by Emily Gravett

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Snowflakes
8_Snowflakes_FB
We counted 7 snowflakes.

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:
5 Little Snowpals
Five_Little-Snowpals_FB
Pattern and rhyme from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes

Five little snowpals, standing in a row
Each has a hat and a big red bow
Out came the sun and it shown all day
One little snowpal melted away.

Repeat using 4… 3… 2… 1…

 

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

MOVEMENT: The Itsy Bitsy Spider*

BOOK:
Root-Snowy_Sunday
Snowy Sunday by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:
Ezra_Jack_Keats_Collection_DVD Keats-Snowy_Day
“The Snowy Day” from The Ezra Jack Keats Collection, based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
George-One_Mitten Thompson-Mouses_First_Snow Sayre-Best_In_Snow Savage-Supertruck Hubbell-Snow_Happy Heiligman-Snow_Dog_Go_Dog Baby's First Word Stories Get Dressed DVD

Book: One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George, illustrated by Maggie Smith
Book: Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan
Book: Best In Snow by April Pulley Sayre
Book: Supertruck by Stephen Savage
Book: Snow Happy! by Patricia Hubbell, illustrations by Hiroe Nakata
Book: Snow Dog, Go Dog story by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by Tim Bowers
DVD: “Let’s Play in the Snow” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: Get Dressed

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I’m not sure that The Snowy Day worked well as a toddler video.  It might be better for a preschool audience.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, November 28, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  43 people      11 am: 43 people

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

Thanksgiving – Toddler Storytime

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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:
Hill-Spot's_Thanksgiving
Spot’s Thanksgiving by Eric Hill

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:
Max and Ruby's Halloween DVD
“Max’s Thanksgiving” from Max & Ruby’s Halloween

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
where-is-babys-turkey-9781534400894_lg Levine-This_is_the_Turkey Dewdney-Llama_Llama_Gives_Thanks All for Pie and Pie for All Thankful Book by Parr

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

Monkeys – Toddler Storytime

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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

Rain – Toddler Storytime

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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

Halloween – Toddler Storytime

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Happy Halloween everyone!

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:
H is for Halloween  (not pumpkin)

Today we reviewed the sound the letter H makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a hand, horse, hen, heart and Halloween.  (I didn’t have a good cutout for Halloween, so I just did a pumpkin, which we discussed does NOT start with H), but the saying on it does!.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Halloween”

BOOK:

Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin written by Mary Serfozo, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Pumpkins / Jack-o-Lanterns

Pumpkins from ArtFelt

Today we counted 9 pumpkins!

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:
Mouse’s Halloween House

(Pattern & story from Mother Goose’s Playhouse by Judy Sierra)

One day in the fall, a little gray mouse found a big orange house.
She nibbled a hole in the middle to make the door.
She nibbled 2 holes near the top to make windows.
She nibbled a wide hole near the bottom so her children could run in and out.
Then she put a candle inside so the house was never dark.

The mouse’s little house
was a sight to be seen.
It was a jack-o’-lantern —
Happy Halloween!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

FLANNELBOARD (10am Storytime):
 
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.)

BOOK (11am Storytime):

Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Bat” from Good Night Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
    

 

Book: It’s Halloween Night! written by Jennifer O’Connell, illustrated by Jennifer Morris
Book: Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
Book: Sheep Trick or Treat by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple
Book: What Am I? Halloween by Anne Margaret Lewis, illustrated by Tom Mills (make this into a flannelboard)
Book: Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming
Book: Ten Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage
Book: Mouse’s First Halloween by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan
DVD: Tucker’s Spooky Halloween based on the book by Meslie McGuirk
DVD: Max & Ruby’s Halloween
DVD: Little Bear: Halloween Stories

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Halloween is an exciting day, and in my 10am storytime it was a little hard to keep the excited toddlers focused on a book.  I started, as I usually do, reading a second book, but quickly realized that that was no going to hold their attention.  So I stopped reading about two pages in, put the book down, and pulled out the Five Little Pumpkins flannelboard instead.  My tip for parents was, “If you realize that your child is not interested in a book, you don’t have to keep reading it!  Find a better time.”  Some times we need to take our own advice. 🙂

11am storytime was a little more focused (after nap time), so I was able to read two books with them.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 31, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  48 people      11 am: 46 people

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

Ducks – Toddler Storytime

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Ducks seem like a tried and true theme to me, but it looks like I haven’t done a toddler duck storytime since I started blogging!

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:
D is for Duck

Today we reviewed the sound the letter D makes, drew it with our fingers, and talked about a dinosaur, a dog, a dragon, and our storytime theme, a duck.

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Duck”

BOOK:

Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Ducks

Today we counted 8 ducks!

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 ducks as they go up.

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Four Little Ducks

While usually there are five little ducks, sometimes that seems a little long for toddlers.  So today we had four little ducks!

Four little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only three little ducks came back.

Three little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only two little ducks came back.

Two little ducks Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But only one little ducks came back.One little duck
Went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried,
“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”
But no little ducks came back.No little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck cried, “Quack! Quack! Quack!”
And all her little ducks came waddling back!

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Lucky Ducklings” from I Want My Hat Back…and More Happy Stories based on the book by Eva Moore, pictures by Nancy Carpenter

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
     

Book: A Cuddle for Little Duck by Claire Freedman and Caroline Pedler
Book: Little Ducks Go by Emily Arnold McCully
Book: Dimity Duck by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Sebastien Braun
Book: Goodnight, My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri
Book: Duck & Goose: Let’s Dance! by Tad Hills
Book: Firefighter Duckies! by Frank W. Dormer
Book: Quack and Count by Keith Baker

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I like ducks as a theme, and I enjoyed the books I read with this group.  The movie I chose, however, wasn’t as good.  I had never used it before with toddlers, but when I watched it, the slowness of the iconography seemed like it would be a good fit.  Unfortunately, it was not.  I would choose a different video next time, and save this one for a preschool audience.

Also — Why are almost all the duck books for young children about ducklings wandering away from their mothers???  Is this a common problem in the duck world?

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 24, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  37 people      11 am: 39 people

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

Sheep – Toddler Storytime

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For our second storytime of the Fall session, I realized it had been quite some time since my last sheep storytime.  (So long that I don’t have any blog posts about it!) With some new sheep tricks up my sleeve, I was excited to present this one.

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: S is for Sheep

This is an element that I stole from my co-worker AnnMarie, as a way to address letter knowledge.  To introduce the theme of my toddler storytime, I start by talking about what letter it starts with.  I put the letter up, and then we say the name of the letter, draw it in the air with our finger, and then do the sound it makes.  Then we talk about some items that start with that letter.  For this storytime, I picked a snowflake, a sun, a smile (inside the sun), a stegosaurus, and a star.  As my very last element I put up I use what our storytime will be about — this time, a sheep!

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE SIGN: “Sheep”

BOOK:

Wee Little Lamb by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by John Butler

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

COUNTING FLANNELBOARD:
Sheep

I wanted to change-up my counting song, and I did a little bit last time I did storytime in the spring.  So this session, here’s what I’m doing:

I tell the kids:  I have some sheep here.  Shall we see how many I have?

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 sheep as they go up.

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

And we count sheep again as I take them off the board.

FLANNELBOARD:
Mary’s Many Color Lambs

I found this rhyme via Lisa at Libraryland, who found it from LibrErin, who found it on Recipes for Reading. Recipes for Reading linked to a template that I used to make my pieces at Making Learning Fun.

Start by placing the white lamb on the board.  Ask if anyone knows the song, Mary Had a Little Lamb”.  Then sing:

Mary had a little lamb
little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
its fleece was white as snow.

Then say something like, “But Mary had more than one lamb.” and pull out the next lamb you have.  The unexpected, un-lamb-like colors usually get a giggle.  Ask the kids what color the lamb is, and if they can name something else that is that color.  Then sing your song again:

Mary had a blue lamb
blue lamb, blue lamb
Mary had a blue lamb
its fleece was blue as sky…

Continue using as many lambs as you’d like.  I used four different sheep with the toddlers.

 

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple

I have the large lap-sized board book edition of this title and I love it.  The illustrations are even larger than they are in the hardback version, making it easier to share with a group.

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds*

VIDEO:

“Sheep” from Maisy’s Friends on Play Time Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Where Is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
Book: Counting Ovejas by Sarah Weeks, art by David Diaz
Book: When Sheep Sleep by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by David McPhail
Book: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep by Jane Cabrera
Book: Sheep Asleep by Gloria Rothstein, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
Book: No More Blanket for Lambkin! by Bernette Ford, illustrated by Sam Williams

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
one little librarian – toddler time: feeling sheep-ish today!
Miss Mary Liberry – Flannel Friday: Counting Sheep
The Wielded Pen – Baa – Sheep! – A Storytime Outline

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

This was a fun storytime!  I think the letter flannelboard is a great way to incorporate those early literacy skills and ease us in to storytime, allowing for the late arrivals to get here too.

After I read Sheep in a Jeep I asked the crowd if sheep should drive.  A parent in the audience responded, “No, they’re BAAAAA-d drivers.”  I love a good sheep pun.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

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

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

Apples – Toddler Storytime

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As this was the beginning of the Fall storytime session, and due to vacation/illness I didn’t have a lot of planning time, so I pulled out an old storytime standard: apples!

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: A is for Apple

BOOK:

Tap the Magic tree by Christie Matheson

MOVEMENT: “Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett & 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 (raise arms up into the air)
3 little apples smiled at me (hold up number of fingers, and smile)
I shook that tree just as hard as I could (use both hands to pretend to shake the trunk of a tree)
And down came an apple! (take an apple off the flannelboard)
CRUNCH! (pretend to eat the apple)
Mmmmm… was it good! (rub belly)

How many apples are left?  2!

Way up high in the apple tree
2 little apples smiled at me….

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larrañaga

VIDEO:

“Max’s Apple” from Springtime for Max & Ruby

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
 

Book: Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Book: Brownie & Pearl Grab a Bite by Cynthia Rylant, pictures by Brian Biggs
Book: Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett
Book: Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
Book: All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin, illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
Book: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins (I want to make this one into a flannelboard as well)
Flannelboard: I Gave My Horse an Apple
DVD: “Chicka Chicka 1 2 3” from Chicka Chicka 123 …and more counting fun!

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
storytime katie – Toddlers: Apples
Library Village – Toddler Storytime – A is for Apple
Pasadena Public Library Kids Blog – Toddler Storytime: Apples
Jen in the Library – Apples – Toddler Storytime (from 2012)

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
There are a lot of good books for toddler apple storytime, but a lot of these had been used recently in storytime, and I didn’t want to repeat them.  So, I thought I would take a try at something new with Tap the Magic Tree.  It was rather long, but I think the interactivity of it made it okay for toddlers.  Rather than bringing the book around and having the kids tap on the page individually, I have them all do it from their seats so everyone can participate at once.  I think this would work better with toddlers if I had used it a little later in the storytime session, when they were used to sitting for longer periods of time.  It wasn’t a bad choice, and I would totally use it again.

One of my colleagues for her toddler storytimes does a letter flannel to get started, and I decided to steal that idea and start using it for some of my storytimes.  I hope she doesn’t mind (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?), and I’m excited about adding this knew letter knowledge element to storytime.

PRESENTED: Tuesday, October 10, 2017

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  45 people      11 am: 44 people

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

Spots and Dots – Toddler Storytime

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Spots and dots!  We had fun with these two elements during our last Toddler storytime of the Winter session.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE: sign for “Polka Dots”

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

BOOK:

Spectacular Spots written and illustrated by Susan Stockdale

MOVEMENT: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNT & RHYME SONG:

10 Ladybugs

Counting time, it’s counting time
So let’s all sing a simple rhyme

Ten little ladybugs here we go
Let’s all count them as I put them in rows.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little ladybugs, again we go
Now let’s count them nice and slow
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little ladybugs, in neat rows
Let’s count them as away they go
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

FLANNELBOARD:
Dog’s Colorful Day

Based on the book Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd

Dog has an adventurous day!  Each interaction he has gives him another color dot on his usually white fur.

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

MOVEMENT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

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

VIDEO:

“Spots” from Good Morning Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
 

Book: Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
Book: Animal Spots and Stripes by Britta Teckentrup
Book: Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Book: Spots: Counting Creatures from Sky to Sea by Carolyn Lesser, illustrated by Laura Regan
Book: Spots, Feathers and Curly Tails by Nancy Tafuri
Flannelboard: 5 Green and Speckled Frogs

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS:
The Wielded Pen – Polka Dotty Monster – Flannel Friday
Storytime ABC’s – Flannel Friday: Monster Mania Fun
Storytimes and More – Spots and Dots Storytime
Literacious – Sensory Story Time Theme: Polka-Dots
Story Time Secrets – 12 Picture Books about Spots and Dots

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:

I really liked this theme for storytime.  I went back and looked at the list I keep of books that I think would work for infant or toddler storytimes, and I saw that I had Spectacular Spots on the list, but had never used it.  Since I want to incorporate more nonfiction into my storytimes, it seemed like a fun one to use and there are a lot of other great spot and dot books to go along with it.

I thought Dog’s Colorful Day might be too long as a flannelboard, but I cut the storytelling down to bare bones, and it seemed to work ok.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  47 people      11 am: 28 people

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

Shapes – Toddler Storytime

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Shapes.  I just noticed that all three of my latest storytimes have themes that begin with the letter ‘S’.

SONG: Welcome Song

MOVEMENT: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

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

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

BOOK:

Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes written by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin

MOVEMENT: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

COUNT & RHYME SONG:

10 Squares

Counting time, it’s counting time
So let’s all sing a simple rhyme

Ten little squares here we go
Let’s all count them as I put them in rows.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little squares, again we go
Now let’s count them nice and slow
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Ten little squares, in neat rows
Let’s count them as away they go
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

FLANNELBOARD:
Could You Lift Up Your Bottom?

Based on the book of the same name, written by Hee-jung Chang, illustrated by Sung-hwa Chung.

The story starts out with Frog, happy in her favorite hat.  Then along comes a wind and whisks the hat away.  Before Frog has a chance to get her hat back, the very large Elephant sits on it.


Frog politely asks Elephant, “Could You Lift Up Your Bottom?”  But Elephant is too hungry to move, and demands something good to eat, something… round.


But the orange that Frog brings is not enough.  Soon Elephant wants a delicious triangle (a sandwich), a rectangle (chocolate bar), a circle within a circle (a bagel in the book, but I changed it to a donut because it was easier to convey in flannel), and then something round inside of something triangular (an ice cream cone).

None of these satisfy Elephant, and he wants a nap.  But when Frog asks Elephant to move his bottom, he demands something to eat in a… special shape.


Frog finds something, but it is too large to carry.  So Elephant stretches out his trunk, and eats the honey from this very special shape.  But you know what comes with honey?


Bees!  A swarm of bees chase Elephant away.  And, finally, Frog gets her favorite hat back.

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

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Go, Shapes, Go! by Denise Fleming

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

VIDEO:

“Puzzle”, “Squares” and “Swan” from Doodle Baby Vol. 1

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
  

Book: What Shape? by Debbie MacKinnon and Anthea Sieveking
Book: Shoes Shoes Shoes by Ann Morris
Book: Ship Shapes written by Stella Blackstone, illustrated by Siobhan Bell
Book: Shape by Shape by Suze MacDonald
Book: Up Close by Gay Wegerif (May be a stretch, but it seems so fun!)
Book: Shoes by Elizabeth Winthrop, illustrated by William Joyce
DVD: “Build a Birdhouse” and “Shape Train” from Curious Buddies: Let’s Build
Flannelboard: Ship Shape

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I’m not sure I picked the best stories for this storytime.  They all felt like they may be better suited to a preschool storytime, rather than a toddler time.  Or maybe I should have just skipped over a few pages.  It was just an off day today in storytime, as some of them are.

I was really surprised how well the video worked though.  Doodle Baby seemed really soothing, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  47 people      11 am: 39 people

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