Fruit – Baby Storytime

This was my first time covering Baby Storytime in a while, and I only knew I was going to be covering the night before.  So I pulled together a few books and things I had on hand and started the week with Baby Storytime.

Since I was covering for a colleague for this storytime, I tried to incorporate a lot of the elements that she uses in her storytimes.

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MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOUNCE: I Bounce You Here
I bounce you here, I bounce you there,
I bounce you, bounce you everywhere.

I tickle you here, I tickle you there,
I tickle you, tickle you everywhere.

I hug you here, I hug you there,
I hug you, hug you everywhere.

MOVEMENT: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

BOOK:

One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano, illustrated by Kat Whelan

MOVEMENT: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

MOVEMENT: Two Little Blackbirds

BOUNCE: Row Row Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Rock, rock rock your boat…
Bounce, bounce, bounce your boat…

FLANNELBOARD:

Five Red Strawberries
5 red strawberries, sweet to the core
Bear came and ate one, and then there were 4.

4 red strawberries, growing near a tree
Bear came and ate one, and then there were 3.

3 red strawberries, for you and you and you
Bear came and ate one, and then there were 2.

2 red strawberries, sitting in the sun
Bear came and ate one, and then there was 1.

1 red strawberry, left alone
Bear came and ate it, and then there were none.

BOUNCE:
Grand Old Duke of York
The grand old duke of York  (Bounce baby in lap)
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill (Lift baby up above head)
And he marched them down again. (lower baby down)
And when they’re up, they’re up. (Lift baby up)
And when they’re down, they’re down (Lower baby down)
And when they’re only halfway up they’re neither up nor down
(Keep baby midway, then lift up and down)
He marched them to the left (Bounce/Sway baby to the left)
He marched them to the right (Bounce/Sway baby to the right)
He marched them ’til they’re upside down.(Lift baby upside down over head)
Oh what a funny sight!

MOVEMENT: I’m a Little Teapot

SONG: Jo McDonald Had a Farm
My colleague sings this song every time, and pulls out different small stuffed animals to represent the different animals of the farm.

BOOK:

Pepo and Lolo and the Red Apple by Ana Martin Larrañaga

BOUNCE: Icky Bicky Soda Cracker

BOOK/SONG:

The Babies on the Bus  by Karen Katz
My colleague sings/reads this one at every storytime.

BOOK:

Yum Yum! by Yusuke Yonezu

BOUNCE: Zoom Zoom Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon (Bounce baby on lap)
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
If you want to take a trip, climb aboard my rocket ship
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
In 5…4…3…2…1..
Blast Off! (Lift baby over head)

SONG: If You’re Happy and You Know It

ATTENDANCE: 105

PRESENTED: November 3, 2025 at Central

*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

Fruit – Toddler Storytime

I filled in for a colleague who was out sick this week for infant/toddler storytime.  We had a fresh fruit theme that was bananas!

MOVEMENT: 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*

BOOK:

One Little Blueberry
 by Tammi Salzano, illustrated by Kat Whelan

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

FLANNELBOARD:
Rainbow Stew
idea taken from Storytime ABC’s

Start this flannelboard with the 6 different fruit on your board, and the 6 rainbow colors in your pot.
Rainbow Stew2croppedjil Rainbow Stew1croppedjil

Take an strawberry put it in the pot
Rainbow Stew3croppedjil
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot (stir, not letting the kids see inside the pot)
Take it out now
What will it be? (pull out the color band that matches the fruit)
The prettiest red I ever did see.
Rainbow Stew4croppedjil

Continue doing this for all the fruits/colors, until you have a full rainbow on the board:
Rainbow Stew5croppedjil

Then I recited the other rhyme mentioned by Storytime ABC’s

Rainbow Colors
(to tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”)
Rainbow purple,
Rainbow blue,
Rainbow green,
And yellow too.
Rainbow orange,
Rainbow red.
Rainbow smiling overhead.
Come and count the colors with me.
How many colors do you see?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!

 

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

MOVEMENT: I’m a Little Teapot from Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 4 performed by Larry Groce and the Disneyland Children’s Sing-along Chorus

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Orange Pear Apple Bear
 by Emily Gravett

VIDEO:
VeryHungryCaterpillarDVD
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” from The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories

MOVEMENT:  Itsy Bitsy Spider

MOVEMENT: Twinkle Twinkle

MOVEMENT: Goodbye Friends

MOVEMENT: Tickle the Clouds*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
   

Book: Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Book: Apple by Nikki McClure
Book: Lunch by Denise Fleming (or as a flannelboard)
Counting Flannelboard: Apples
DVD: “Grandma’s Berry Patch” from Max and Ruby Berry Bunny Adventures
DVD: “Each Peach Pear Plum” from The Napping House…and more stories that rhyme

Related Blog Posts: Berries – Preschool Storytime

st.

ATTENDANCE:  10 am:  39 people      11 am: 38 people

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

Fruit – Infant Storytime

We do infant/toddler storytimes in 10 week sessions at my library, which is why you usually see a bunch of those posts together.  This time, however, my colleague was sick, so I just filled in for her (hence this one-off post).  To keep things the same for those that were coming to her session, I tried to stick to her routines, which was fun because it allowed me to learn some new songs!

MOVEMENT: 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

BOUNCE: Tiny Little Babies* (this was a new one for me I got to learn!  Fun!  Make sure to check it out on my Acapella rhymes page)

BOUNCE: The Grand Old Duke of York*

BOOK:

Orange Pear Apple Bear
 by Emily Gravett

MOVEMENT: “My Little Hands” from Diaper Gym: Fun Activities for Babies on the Move by Priscilla Hegner & Rose Grasselli

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Red Strawberries
FiveRedStrawberriesFlannelbaord
Taken from Mel’s Desk

I was thinking about doing the flannelboard Lunch with this group, so I had my mouse puppet ready.  I changed the Bear in this rhyme to Mouse so I could use my puppet to gobble up the berries as they came off the board.

Five red strawberries, sweet to the core.
Mouse came and ate one and then there were four.

Four red strawberries, growing near a tree.
Mouse came and ate one and then there were three.

Three red strawberries, for you and you and you.
Mouse came and ate one and then there were two.

Two red strawberries, sitting in the sun.
Mouse came and ate one and then there was one.

One red strawberry, left all alone.
Mouse came and ate it and then there were none.

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

BOOK:

Guess What? – Fruit
 by Ysuke Yonezu
This one is a really fun board book where fruit turns into animals with a lift of the flap!

TICKLE: These are Baby’s Fingers*

NURSERY RHYME FLANNELBOARD:
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:
Goodbye Babies with ASL signs
(to tune of: “Goodnight Ladies”)
Goodbye babies
Goodbye babies
Goodbye babies
It’s time
to say
Goodbye.

This video from Champaign Public Library is really helpful for learning the signs!

 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Jamberry by Bruce Degen
Book: Lunch by Denise Fleming (book or flannelboard)

HOW IT WENT:
For planning in less than a day, this came together really well.  I enjoyed the fruit theme and would do it again.  Guess What? – Fruit was a really great read, I think I’ll have to look into the others in that series.  I was worried it might be a little small, but with the fold out pages it worked really well.

ATTENDANCE: 33 people

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