I love my BODY! Toddler Story Time

This week we learned all about our bodies and how great they are. Bodies are fantastic for toddlers to learn about, because everybody has one, and you don't need any fancy books or rhymes or bells or whistles to learn about it! I was heavily inspired by The Born Librarian's wonderful post on how we can build healthy self esteem in young children through Body Positive Story Times, so we spent a lot of time talking about how much we love every part of our crazy awesome bodies.

Opening Medley:  

  Bread and Butter, Hello Friends (in Sign Language!), & Open Them Shut Them!

Introduction/ lesson:

Hey, look, it's me! Flannel me, that is :D Since we are learning about our bodies this week, let's see if we can name all the parts of me. Point to flannel you, or real you, using directions like "ok, under the head, what do we have?", ask kids to name all the parts of the body!

 

Thematic Rhyme:

Oh, wow, look, what is this? A hat? It isn't just any hat, though, it is a SILLY hat! It makes everywhere I put it wiggle waggle like wild- see? Let's all make our silly hats with our hands!  

From KCLS Tell me a Story, I bring you: MY SILLY HAT!

 On my head I wear my hat.
It is such a silly hat that my head
will wiggle waggle to and fro
Where else can my silly hat go?
(foot, elbow, knee… ask kids for ideas, moving the hat on the flannel with each verse)

Before-our-first-book-Rhyme: These Are My Glasses

 

Book #1: From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle

This book was pretty much made for Toddler Story Time. Thank you, Eric Carle, for encouraging kids to bend their necks like a giraffe and thump their chests like a gorilla. Hooray for active listening!

Consistent movement activity: DICE PLAY!

Instead of actions this week, we had body parts on each side of the dice. They were: chin, head, toes, belly, legs, and arms. We took turns throwing it, and as a group, we alternated between touching and wiggling whatever body part the dice told us to do. So much fun.

 

Action rhyme time!: Head and Shoulders, Baby

Thank you again, KCLS and your fantastic song & rhyme wiki! This is like a jazzy Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. So catchy, so fun. Check it.

 

Head and shoulders baby, 1, 2, 3.

Head and shoulders baby, 1, 2, 3

Head and shoulders, head and shoulders,

Head and shoulders baby, 1,2, 3.

Hips and thighs baby..

Knees and ankles baby...

Do the twist baby...

Eyes and ears, baby

Tummy and back, baby

Shake them all, baby

Scooby-dooby, baby

That's the end, baby

Book #2: Under My Hood, I Have a Hat, by Karla Kuskin

I love this book. In any body story time, it is important to talk about the clothes we put on our body, because fashion. Also, this particular book has minimal words, has a dog, and teaches kids about a very real problem: hat hair. All important things.

 

DANCE BREAK: Jim Gill's Hands Are For Clapping

(track #2 on The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes)

Have you noticed how fangirly we are about Jim Gill? We dig his jams- so catchy and totally written with early childhood education in mind. Swoon.

Ahem, gratuitous random YouTube child jamming out to the refrain. 

D'awww! Cute!

Time to say HELLO to our TOES!

Action rhyme: Hello, Toes 

This is another rhyme that I originally found on the KCLS wiki, but check out this video of me doing it below. Hello!

 

 Flannel fun: How do we put it on?

Getting yet more use out of my flannel mini-me, it is time to mess with the kids and put clothes on all the wrong places and in all the wrong ways. This is a great one for teaching toddlers how to sit down and use their words when the flannel-board is out, as opposed to standing up and using their hands XD

 

Book #3: I Like Me, by Nancy Carlson

Three cheers for body acceptance and recognition of self-awesome-ness! Love that this book celebrates her round tummy, and teaches us to greet ourselves with a big "HI, GOOD LOOKING!"

Closing Rhyme: Bread and Butter

Welcome and Goodbye Song: Bread and Butter

Marmalade and Jam

Let's say goodbye as quiet as we can

(whisper: goodbye)

...loud as we can (slow, fast, silly, nice)

Happy storytiming, friends!

--Emily