Category: Toddler Storytime

Rhyme Time for Littles Videos

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Oh, wow, it’s been a while! How has everyone been?

I’m on another library/storytime hiatus… and I miss storytime sooooo much! I was able to work from home the first couple of months of the pandemic. I enjoyed making little videos for my library. Due to copyright, I’m no longer posting the links to most of my read-aloud videos on this website; but I am posting my Action Songs and Fingerplay Series links below! These are some of my favorites to share with littles and their families, so I hope you enjoy 🙂

Unfortunately, due to health reasons, I had to leave my library last summer… but I’m hoping new and fun and exciting and challenging opportunities will soon head my way. Best Wishes to all, and Happy Storytiming!

Rhyme Time for Littles: Action Songs and Fingerplays Series:

Movin’ and Groovin’ Sequel

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“Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem
“Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
“The Super Silly Tango” from Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael’s Yummy Yellow
“The Freeze!” from Carole Peterson’s Dancing Feet
“Very, Very Tall” from Old Town School of Folk Music’s Wiggleworms Love You
“There’s a Little Wheel A-Turnin’ in My Heart” from Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kids’ Songs
“Jumping and Counting” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem
“Take That Beanbag” from Me and My Bean Bag
“Five Little Monkeys” from Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael’s Bouncy Blue
“Walking, Walking” from Old Town School of Folk Music’s Songs for Wiggleworms
“Shake My Sillies Out” from The Raffi Singable Songs Collection
“Jingle Bells and Stop” from Carole Stephen’s Season Sings!
“Jingle Bells” from Raffi’s Christmas Album
“Can’t Stop the Feeling” from Trolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Movin’& Groovin’ Toddlers

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WAHOO! Another dance party! This time with ages 2-4 🙂 This time, I remembered to take photos…. BUT, unfortunately, none of them turned out 🙁 I need to work on my photography skills!

As a reminder, the next round of storytimes starts up next week!

“Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem
“The Bean Bag” (with bean bags) from Hap Palmer’s Can a Jumbo Jet Sing the Alphabet?
“The Goldfish” (used our bean bags as pillow rocks) from The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band
“Baby Shark” from Pinkfong
“Very, Very Tall” from Old Town School of Folk Music’s Wiggleworms Love You
“Dancing Scarf Blues” (with scarves) from Carole Peterson’s Dancing Feet
“Dance, Freeze, Melt” (kept our scarves out for this one) from Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael’s Rockin’ Red
“Finger in the Air” from Miss Carole’s Baloney!
“I Know a Chicken” (with shakers) from Laurie Berkner’s Whaddaya Think of That?
“Shake with You” (with shakers) from Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael’s Bouncy Blue
 “Monster Mash” (with bubbles) from Halloween Jams Kids Dance Party         
 “Can’t Stop the Feeling” (freestyle/exit music) from Trolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

 

Magical Fall Toddler Storytime

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I can’t believe Fall is officially starting on Saturday! My favorite season! This concludes our last Toddler Storytime of the session. A new session (with Ms. Lisa) begins October 25. I had so much fun! Thanks for a fun and memorable 6 weeks!

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: Blackbirds
Book: Hocus Pocus, It’s Fall! by Anne Sibley O’Brien
*Rhyme: Apples
**Flannel: Red, Red Apple, Where Are You?
*Rhyme: Beehive
Book: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
*Rhyme: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
***Flannel: 5 Little Acorns
*Rhyme: Round and Round the Garden
“Dancing” Song: “Jumping and Counting” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem
*Closing Song: We Wave Good-bye Like This

Craft: Glue small leaf cut-outs onto a paper that has a bare tree illustration. Also: used woodland creature stickers.

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

**Red, Red Apple, Where Are You? (source unknown)
(Tune: “Are you sleeping?”)
Red, red apple,
Red, red apple,
Where are you?
Where are you?
I’m right behind the (yellow/red/orange/green/brown) leaf.
I’m right behind the (yellow/red/orange/green/brown) leaf.
Peek-a-boo!
Peek-a-boo!
(Repeat with Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Squirrel, Mr. Bluebird, and Mr. Rabbit)
(Used yellow, red, orange, green, and brown big leaf flannels big enough to hide–then reveal– apple, pumpkin, squirrel, bluebird and rabbit flannels. Also had kids do peek-a-boo action with me at that point in the song.)

***5 Little Acorns (adapted from “5 Little Apples”)
(Chanted to Five Little Monkeys Teasing Mr. Crocodile)
Five little acorns hanging in a tree,
Teasing Mr. Bushy Tail “you can’t eat me”,
Along comes Mr. Bushy Tail as hungry as can be…
and…CRUNCH!
(Chant with 4,3,2,1)
(Used tree flannel, 5 acorn flannels and a squirrel flannel or puppet)

Sleepy Toddler Storytime

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Ironically, I’ve been having trouble sleeping this week… the week “Sleepy Stories” is my theme! One more week of this storytime session!

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Book: Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas (Jan Thomas has a song to go with this book on her website!)
*Rhyme: Where is Thumbkin?
*Rhyme: Tommy Thumb
Book: Everyone is Yawning by Anita Bijsterbosch
*Rhyme (with finger puppets): Ten in the Bed
*Rhyme: Round and Round the Garden
Puppet Story: The Napping House from the book by Audrey Wood (See librarian Steven Englefried’s YouTube demonstration.)
“Dancing” Song (with shaker eggs): “I Can Shake My Shaker Egg” from Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael Rockin’ Red
*Closing Song: We Wave Good-bye Like This

Craft: Tuck-Me-In Teddy (Found this craft on this website–scroll to the bottom)

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

I Love Baths! Toddler Storytime

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Who doesn’t love a good bubble bath? Another favorite theme of mine…

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: Sometimes
Book: King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
*Rhyme: Tommy Thumb
Flannel: Five Elephants in the Bathtub
*Rhyme: Round and Round the Garden
Book: Ten Pigs: an Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson
*Rhyme (with puppets): Old MacDonald
Flannel: Mrs. Wishy Washy by Joy Cowley
*Rhyme: Hands Up High
*Rhyme: Blackbirds
“Dancing” Song: “Coconut Soap” from Frank Leto’s Time for Music
*Closing Song: We Wave Good-bye Like This

Craft: Pig in a Bathtub coloring sheet (Used dot markers to create “bubbles” for the bath)

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

I Love Trash! Toddler Storytime

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This week, we repeated one of my favorite themes: Garbage! Trashy Town is one of my favorite storytime books 🙂

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: Hands Up High
*Rhyme: Blackbirds
Book: Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! by Barbara Odanaka
**Prop and Bonus Rhyme: If You See a Piece of Garbage, Pick it Up! (I filled a small can full of crumpled scrap paper. I dumped in on the floor, and sang this song while the kids helped my put the garbage back in the can. Really fun!)
*Rhyme: If You’re Happy and You Know It
Flannel: Five Little Garbage Trucks (found on this site; more garbage-theme fun also there)
*Rhyme: If You’re Wearing Red Today
Book: Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman
*Rhyme: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Dancing Song (with bean bags): “Take That Bean Bag” from Me and My Bean Bag
*Closing: We Wave Goodbye

Craft: For a simple craft, we glued cut-out clip art images of a garbage truck and a trash can to a piece of paper. We also glued onto the paper some paper shreds (“garbage”). I played “I Love Trash” and other songs from Sesame Street: Platinum All-Time Favorites during craft time.

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

**Bonus Rhyme:
If You See a Piece of Garbage, Pick it Up!
(To the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”)
If You See a Piece of Garbage, Pick it Up!
If You See a Piece of Garbage, Pick it Up!
If You See a Piece of Garbage,
If You See a Piece of Garbage,
If You See a Piece of Garbage, Pick it Up!

 

Bark! Meow! Toddler Storytime

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Here’s one of my favorite themes: Dogs and Cats!

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: Where is Thumbkin?
Book: Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
Prop: Swallowing “George” Puppy (with finger puppets inside; I put on latex gloves and removed the animals from inside George)
*Rhyme: Old MacDonald
**Flannel: Five Little Cats
Book: What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
*Rhyme: Apples
Puppet Story: Who Said Meow? from the book by Maria Polushkin (See librarian Steven Englefried’s YouTube demonstration.)
*Rhyme: Beehive
Dancing Song: “Animal Action” from Greg and Steve’s Kids in Motion
*Closing: We Wave Goodbye

Craft: Dog and Cat popsicle stick puppets

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

**Five Little Cats (Source Unknown)
5 little cats were playing near the door.
One ran away, and that left 4.
4 little cats were underneath a tree.
One heard a dog bark, and that left 3.
3 little cats were wondering what to do.
One chased a butterfly, and that left 2.
2 little cats were sitting in the sun.
One ran to chase his tail, and that left 1.
1 little cat was looking for some fun.
He heard his mommy calling… and now there are none!

Wow! Color Toddler Storytime

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I’m filling in for a 6-week session of the in-house baby and toddler storytimes at the Poplar Creek Public Library. This blog actually started when I was doing toddler storytimes in California, so I feel like I’m going back to my roots in a way. I’m excited to repeat some of my favorite storytimes, maybe tweaking them a bit to add in some new books or flannels. Back in the day, I didn’t post the order I did my stories, rhymes, and songs. So this time around, I’ll be sharing my actual plans.

We started last Thursday with a fun Color theme. I loved meeting new friends, acting silly, and dancing with scarves. I’m already looking forward to next time!

*Opening: The More We Get Together
*Rhyme: If You’re Wearing Red Today
Book: Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood
*Rhyme: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
**Flannel: Little Mouse House
*Rhyme: If You’re Happy and You Know It
***Visual Prop: Baa, Baa [insert color] Sheep & Sing “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” song
Book: Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Flannel: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Dancing Song (with scarves): “Dancing Scarf Blues” from Carole Peterson: Dancing Feet
*Closing: We Wave Goodbye

Craft: Doily Sheep

*Rhymes can be found on the August/September 2018 Toddler Rhyme Sheet

**Little Mouse, Little Mouse, Are you in the [insert color] house?
(Underneath different colored flannel houses, I place different flannel animals. Using a cat puppet, we go in search of the mouse flannel… This time, under the houses that didn’t have the mouse, I put all sheep flannels. That was pretty silly!)

***Created “flash cards” of colorful sheep. One side of each card has a colored sheep. The other side of the card is blank… except the Black Sheep card. On back of Black Sheep card, there is an illustration of three bags. We chanted “Baa, Baa, [insert color] Sheep, have you any wool?” (Show side with colored sheep.) “No, sir, no, sir, no bags full.” (Show empty back side of card.) UNTIL you get to the Black Sheep. Then say, “Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.” (Show the illustration of the three bags.) We sang the traditional rhyme. Then, we counted the bags on the back of the card.

March 2017 “Road Trip” Toddler Storytime

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Opening: If You Want to Hear a Story
Book: Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
*Flannel: Five Fast Race Cars
Action Song: Hands Up High
Song: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Flannel Song: The Wheels on the Bus
Dancing Song: “Silly Dance Contest” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song
Closing: We Wave Goodbye

Schools visited: Little Bear Academy

*Five Fast Race Cars (Source unknown)
Five fast race cars speeding round the track.
The first car said, “I can’t look back!”
The second car said, “Oh, no! I’m out of gas!”
The third car said, “Beep! Beep! I’m fast!”
The fourth car said, “Watch my tires spin.”
The fifth car said, “Vroom, vroom. I win!”
Then beep went a horn and flash went the lights,
And five fast race cars sped out of sight!