Pigs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on April 5, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Pigs were BIG at storytime this morning!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

SIGN: ASL sign for PIG

from My Smart Hands

BOOK:

This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Pigs

FLANNELBOARD:
Old MacDonald

from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book 2nd Edition by Judy Sierra. You can find the pattern for the flannelboard here.

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

BOOK:

Ten Clean Pigs by Carol Roth, illustrated by Pamela Paparone

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

VIDEO:

“Iggy’s Pet Friends” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: Pets

MOVEMENT: Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye taken from jbrary

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Pigs Love Potatoes by Anika Denise and Christopher Denise
Book: Day by Day by Susan Gal
Flannelboard: This Little Piggy
Flannelboard: Five Pigs so Squeaky clean

OTHER HELPFUL BLOG POSTS:
Pigs Toddler Storytime 2014/02
Pigs – Storytime Katie
Pig Story Time Toddler – Verona Storytime
Flannel Friday – Clean and Dirty Pigs – Mel’s Desk

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
This was a fun storytime. I think that This Little Piggy might have been a bit long for the group. I was hoping that the kids/parents would play along on their fingers and toes, but that didn’t really happen. Maybe I need to look into the song that comes as a download with the book. Using Ten Clean Pigs as my second book seemed to be exactly the right length. While that book has two stories in one, I think I’ve read the Ten Dirty Pigs for other storytimes, so I thought I’d try something new.

I think that the Baby’s First-Word stories are some of the best for this age group. They are so slowly paced, and the kids get so quiet while watching them. It really holds their attention.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 42 people 11 am: 44 people

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

Rabbits and Bunnies – Toddler Storytime

Posted on March 29, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

Spring session has sprung, so it felt only appropriate to pay homage to bunnies in this storytime!

SONG: Now it’s Time to Say Hello*
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say hello,
say hello, say hello,
Now it’s time to say hello,
And start our storytime.

MOVEMENT:
10am: “Wake Up Toes” from Morning Magic by Joanie Bartels
11 am: “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:

10 am: Bunny Fun by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Sam Williams
11 am: Peek-a-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Bunnies

FLANNELBOARD:
Giant Carrot

(Pattern and story taken from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra)

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

MOVEMENT: Two Little Feet
taken from Preschool Rainbow

Two little feet go stamp, stamp, stamp
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap
One little body stands up straight
One little body turns around
One little body sits quietly down

BOOK:

10 am: Peek-a-Boo Bunny by Holly Surplice
11 am: Grandma Rabbitty’s Visit by Barry Smith

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

VIDEO:

“Rebecca Rabbit” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
taken from jbrary

(to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
say goodbye, say goodbye,
Now it’s time to say goodbye,
I’ll see you all next week.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
Book: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Book: Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith, illustrations by Laura Dronzek
Book: Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

Related Blog Posts: Rabbits – Preschool Storytime

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
I forgot that sometimes you need to start storytime out with books for really little ones, even if you’re doing the older age group. I find that helps the kids adjust to me and get used to storytime, since they’ve had a different storyteller if they were in the session prior.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 46 people 11 am: 49 people

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

Fruit – Toddler Storytime

Posted on February 13, 2016 by jeninthelibrary

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.

Take an strawberry put it in the pot

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.

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

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:

“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

Chickens – Toddler Storytime

Posted on August 26, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

Chick-chick hooray! Chickens was the theme of our last storytime of the Summer session.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

This Little Chick by John Lawrence

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Chickens

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Little Chickens

(Patterns and poem taken from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra. I think. It’s not cited, so I have to double-check. )

Said the first little chicken, with a queer little squirm,
“I wish I could find a fat little worm.”

Said the second little chicken, with an odd little shrug,
“I wish I could find a fat little bug.”

Said the third little chicken, with a sharp little squeal,
“I wish I could find some nice yellow meal.”

Said the fourth little chicken, with a sigh of grief,
“I wish I could find a little green leaf.”

Said the fifth little chicken, with a faint little moan,
“I wish I could find a wee gravel stone.”

“Now see here,” said the mother, from the green garden patch,
“If you want any breakfast, just come here and SCRATCH!”

Start with mother hen on one side of the flannelboard, near the garden. (My garden patch is brown instead of green. Note to self: read entire story before making flannel pieces. Must remake.) Make slits in the garden where you can put the things the chicks are looking for. Add each chick when you get to it. Then after you’ve read the poem, see if the children can remember which chick wanted which treat, and match them up accordingly.

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

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

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

VIDEO:

“Diva Hen” from Little Bear’s Band

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri
Book: Here a Chick, Where a Chick? by Suse MacDonald
Book: Wee Little Chick by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by John Butler
Book: The Red Hen by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
Book: Little Chicken’s Big Day by Katie Davis and Jerry Davis
DVD: “Rosie’s Walk” from Chicka Chick Boom Boom …and lots more learning fun

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime. Since it was the last one of the session, and kids can usually settle down for the movie, I decided to do Everyone Ready for fun? which is a fun interactive book that gets the kids jumping up and down. It worked really well. Jan Thomas books are great.

As noted above, I really do need to remake my hill for the Five Little Chickens flannelboard so that it is green — not just because that is what is mentioned in the poem, but also because it will stand out better on our black flannelboard.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 37 people 11 am: 34 people

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

Bedtime – Toddler Storytime

Posted on August 24, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

We got nice and snuggly with this sleepy storytime!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Bedtime Bunnies by Wendy Watson

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Sheep

FLANNELBOARD:
5 in the Bed

Template and song taken from Making Learning Fun

There were five in the bed,
and the little one said,
“It’s crowded!
Roll Over!”
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.

How many were in the bed now?
That’s right! 4!
There were four in the bed…

**Continue counting down until…

There was one in the bed
and the little one said

“I’m Lonely!”
So all the others climbed back into bed.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
And everyone drifted off to sleep.
Goodnight!

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

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:
Tuck Me In by Hacohen
Tuck Me In! by Dean Hacohen & Sherry Scharschmidt

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

VIDEO:

“Four Beds” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: Nighttime

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: No Bed Without Ted by Nicola Smee
Book: Brownie and Pearl Hit the Hay by Cynthia Rylant, pictures by Brian Biggs
Book: I’m Not Sleepy! by Jonathan Allen
Book: Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea
Flannelboard: 10 Teddy Bears (for counting song)
Flannelboard: 10 Teddy Bears Sleeping in the Bed
Other Ideas from my https://jeninthelibrary.com/2012/11/10/bedtime-storybox/

HOW IT WENT:
Sleep is a fun theme. And there are so many great books for toddlers on the topic!

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

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

Buses – Toddler Storytime

Posted on August 5, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

Buses seemed like a fun change from some of the usual transporation theme I do. Especially because some of the newer books on this topic work great with toddlers!

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

The Bus is for Us! by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Gillian Tyler

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Buses

FLANNELBOARD:
Wheels on the Bus

Template and song taken from Felt Board Fingerplays
by Liz & Dick Wilmes, art by Janet McDonnell. Pieces inspired bySouthCentralFlannelboardFactory.

The wheels on the bus go round and round, (roll arms in front of body, fist over fist)
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

Other verses:
The wipes on the bus go swish, swish, swish… (move arms back and forth like wipers)
The door on the bus goes open and shut… (palms facing out, move hands apart then together)
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep… (pretend to be pushing on a horn)
The windows on the bus go up and down… (palms toward you, hands horizontal, move apart, then together)
The babies on the bus go waa, waa, waa… (fists up to eyes and twist)
The parents on the bus go shh, shh, shh… (finger in front of lips)

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

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

The Bus Stop by Janet Morgan Stoeke

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

VIDEO:

“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” from Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus … and more stories by Mo Willems (The Mo Willems Cartoon Collection Vol. 1)

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: The Little School Bus by Carol Roth, illustrated by Pamela Paparone (may need to do some editing to make it shorter for toddlers, but this would also make a cute flannelboard story)
Book: My Bus by Byron Bartonl
Book: The Seals on the bus by Lenny Hort, illustrated by g. Brian Karas (also Storytime Katie has a great version of this as a flannelboard)
Book: The Wheels on the Bus by Jane Cabrera
Book: Don’t Squish the Sasquatch! by Kent Redeker and Bob Staake
Flannelboard: The Lonely Bus Driver from Read, Rhyme and Sing

HOW IT WENT:
Buses was a great topic to use for storytime. I’m surprised I haven’t done a bus storytime prior to this! The kids seemed to get excited about the theme, and that’s always fun when that happens. In the 10am storytime, we also had some older sibling present, which was good when it came to the movie — the older ones said “No” to the pigeon much louder.

I was also thinking I could probably just do a storytime all around the different variant of The Wheels on the Bus.

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

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

Summer at the Beach – Toddler Storytime

Posted on August 4, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

When I was prepping for this storytime, I wasn’t sure if I would have enough books to just make it about the beach. So I was going to use the Summer idea as a back up — but I really didn’t have to.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach by Alison Lester

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Suns

FLANNELBOARD:
Waves at the Beach

Lyrics adapted from Preschool Education. Templates for pieces taken from various online coloring pages and clip art. (Sorry for the weird perspective on this photo. All the flannelboard pieces are about the same size.)

To the tune of: ” Wheels on the Bus”

The waves at the beach go up and down, (bounce baby up and down on knees smoothly)
up and down, up and down,
the waves at the beach go up and down, all day long.

The sun at the beach goes shine, shine, shine… (open and close hands)
The crabs at the beach go pinch, pinch, pinch… (make pinchy motion with hands)
The jellyfish at the beach go wibble wobble wibble….. (wiggle arms like a jellyfish up)
The seals at the beach go arf, arf, arf… (clap hands and bark like a seal)
The seagulls at the beach go skwak, skwak, skwak…
The children at the beach have fun fun fun… (gently lap with hands)

You could continue this for any additional flannelboard pieces you would like to make

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

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Sea, Sand, Me! by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Lisa Campbell Ernst

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

VIDEO:

“At the Beach” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

HOW IT WENT:
Noni the Pony at the Beach was a really fun read and the audience seemed enchanted by it, judging by the “awww”ing at the end of the story. Sea, Sand, Me! seemed a little long, so I did the paperclip trick with just one double page spread.

Unlike the week before, I did remember to go through the guidelines for storytime as a reminder, and that seemed to help during the storytime.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 55 people 11 am: 45 people

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

Dogs – Toddler Storytime

Posted on July 21, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

My last storytime for toddlers about dogs was in 2013, so I thought it was time to revisit that theme. Plus, I had found a few different books I wanted to try out.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

My Dog is the Best by Laurie Ann Thompson, pictures by Paul Schmid

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Dogs

FLANNELBOARD:
Where, Oh Where has my Little Dog Gone?

Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone?

Idea taken from Drake Community Library Story Tree blog

This is a fun hide-and-seek flannel board along the lines of “Little Mouse, Little Mouse”

Start by singing the song:

Where, oh where, has my little dog gone,
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ear so short
And his tail so long.
Oh where, oh where can he be?

While you are singing the song, mix up the flannelboard shapes and hide the dog behind one of them. Towards the end of the song, place the pieces, one with the dog behind it, on the flannel board. Then go shape by shape to see if you can uncover the dog.

It’s fun to pretend you don’t know where the dog is, even if the kids can see it peeking out from behind the shape.

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

MOVEMENT: Grandma’s Spectacles*

BOOK:

Stick! by Andy Pritchett

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

VIDEO:

“Storytime with Spot” from Storytime with Spot

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: That Pup! by Lindsay Barrett George
Book: Time for Bed, Fred by Yasmeen Ismail
Book: Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd (or as a flannelboard)
Book: Shaggy Dogs, Waggy Dogs by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Donald Wu

HOW IT WENT:
It was a good time at toddler storytime today. My Dog is the Best got a lot of “awws” from the crowd, but I’m not sure if it might work better with a preschool audience, so they could get all the jokes in the illustrations. And Stick! was a lot of fun too.

The flannelboard was a big hit — I’m glad I tried something new for that.

Attendance today was lower than usual — maybe because the weather is so hot and muggy. I didn’t remember to go through guidelines this week (but it seems like I didn’t need to), but I will try to remember to do so again after I call more people on the waitlist.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 43 people 11 am: 30 people

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

Let’s Go for a Walk – Toddler Storytime

Posted on July 16, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

Come, take a stroll with me through the toddler storytime I presented this week.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

On Our Way Home by Sebastien Braun

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Shoes

FLANNELBOARD:
I Went Walking

Based on the book of the same name by Sue Williams, illustrated by Julie Vivas. Pattern from 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun written by Liz and Dick Wilmes, illustrated by Janet McDonnell

I went walking. What did I see? (place animal behind the boy)
I saw a black cat looking at me.

Continue with the following animals:
– brown horse
– red cow
– green duck
– pink pig
– yellow dog

You should end up with a parade of animals behind the child.

I went walking and I saw a lot of animals following me!

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

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles

BOOK:

Wiggle Waggle by Jonathan London, illustrated by Michael Rex

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

VIDEO:

“Rosie’s Walk” from Chicka Chick Boom Boom … and lots more learning fun!

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: Baby Can by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Maxie Chambliss
Book: Duckie’s Rainbow by Frances Barry
Book: Oliver Finds His Way by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Christopher Denise
Book: Walking through the Jungle by Debbie Harter
Movie: “A Walk in the Woods” from Baby’s First Word Stories: Nighttime
Movie: “Spot’s First Walk” from Spot Goes to School
Song: “Walking, Walking” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School for Folk Music

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime theme, and I would use it again because there are so many other fun options to switch in and use.

I did have some trouble today with parents chatting all through the storytime. I think next week I am going to try doing a reminder of storytime guidelines, using the excuse that since I’ve added some people on the waitlist we all need a refresher.

Also, there is one child in my storytime who loves to come up and take things off the flannelboard. This child also reaches into the places where I store my pieces and pulls them out. At this storytime, I gave him a flannelboard piece that I wasn’t using in hopes that he would play with that, but of course he wanted to put it on the flannelboard (I mean, that’s what it’s for, right?) I thinking next week I am going to try bringing along a tangle toy or something similar to see if that will work as a distraction.

ATTENDANCE: 10 am: 43 people 11 am: 42 people

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

Birthdays – Toddler Storytime

Posted on July 14, 2015 by jeninthelibrary

I presented this storytime near our nation’s birthday on July 7, 2015. It’s also near my birthday. That merits a celebration. And it sure is easier to find toddler books on birthdays than about the Fourth of July.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

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

MOVEMENT: Open Shut Them*

BOOK:

10 am: The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli
11am: Happy Birthday, Bunny! by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

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

COUNTING SONG:*

10 Birthday Cakes

FLANNELBOARD:
5 Birthday Candles

Idea taken from Storytime Katie.

5 Birthday Candles
wish there were more
Blew out one,
then there were 4.

4 birthday candles,
pretty as can be.
Blow one out,
then there are 3.

3 birthday candles,
Hope my wish comes true.
Blow one out,
then there are 2.

2 birthday candles
Birthday cakes are fun
Blow one out,
Then there is 1.

1 birthday candle,
the party’s almost done.
Blow out one,
Then there are none.

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

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

10am: Happy Birthday, Bunny! by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
11am: A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas

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

VIDEO:

“Birthday” from Maisy’s Birthday section of Play Time Maisy

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: The Fairytale Cake made by Mark Sperring, decorated by Jonathan Langley
Book: I Love Birthdays by Anna Walker
Book: Bears and a Birthday by Shirley Parenteau, illustrated by David Walker
Book: Mouse Birthday by Jane Yolen and Bruce Degen
Book: Pip & Squeak by Ian Schoenherr
Movie: “My Birthday Party” from Peppa Pig: My Birthday Party

HOW IT WENT:
I began the 10am storytime with a book I love and have used before, The Birthday Box. But for some reason, that, paired with my second choice of book Happy Birthday, Bunny! didn’t seem to go over very well with the group. I wanted to read Happy Birthday, Bunny! since it was a newer title, so I decided I would seeing if maybe changing things up a bit would make the book work better. For the 11am storytime I tried it as the first book at storytime, and then used the shorter, more interactive A Birthday for Cow! later in the storytime. This seemed to work better, at least for this group.

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

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

Jen in the Library

Storytimes, Programs and Library Thoughts

Tag Archives: toddlers

Pigs – Toddler Storytime

Rabbits and Bunnies – Toddler Storytime

Fruit – Toddler Storytime

Chickens – Toddler Storytime

Bedtime – Toddler Storytime

Buses – Toddler Storytime

Summer at the Beach – Toddler Storytime

Dogs – Toddler Storytime

Let’s Go for a Walk – Toddler Storytime

Birthdays – Toddler Storytime