C is for ca-CAW, ca-CAW! Letter C Toddler Story Time!

The third week of story times brought me to one of my favorite letters- the letter C! Usually after story time we open up our meeting room to families so they can play and socialize until the library opens, but there was a staff meeting this morning, so the room was unavailable. Because of this, I planned an extra long story time, to keep them busy and engaged until we opened. It ended up being nearly 45 minutes, which, yes, is a little crazy for toddlers, but they totally hung with it till the end!

To start with, we got our bread and butter out!
Opening medley: Bread and Butter, Open & Shut Them, ABC song

Magic Box CAKE: Pat a Cake
My magic box holds pictures of things that start with the letter of the week and I use it to introduce new concepts, rhymes, and stories. Every time we look in the Magic Box, I knock on it and use a rhyme I learned from jbrary: Here is the box, and here is the lid, I wonder whatever inside is hid!

Then as a group, we identify the picture, say what letter (and sound) it starts with, and say the word together. Then we do the rhyme/activity/story thing. So for a picture of a CAKE, we did a variation on a classic, Pat a Cake.

Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can!
Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with a C,
And put it in the oven for you and me!

Magic Box COW Book #1: The Cow Loves Cookies, by Karma Wilson

Stretching: Stretch to the windows, stretch to the door, stretch to the ceiling and stretch to the door!

Interactive activity: Color dice! 
I covered each side of our tumbling box with a different color, and covered all of the tables in our story time area with corresponding colors of felt. Toddlers took turns (safely) throwing the dice, and then we, as a big silly semi-organized group, walked (or hopped, or crawled, or tip-toed) to the color that was thrown.

Magic Box CAR: Drive drive drive your car 
From Sesame Street!

Magic Box CUP: Here's a cup
One of my favorites! We repeat this until it is clear that no more imaginary caffeine is needed.
Here's a cup, and here's a cup. (make cups with hands)
And here's a pot of tea. (Stick one thump up)
Pour a cup, and pour a cup,
And have some tea with me... DELICIOUS!

Magic Box CHICKEN Book #2: Charlie Chick, by Nick Denchfield & Ant Parker

Shaky egg PARTY!
Shake, Shake, Shake Your Eggs
Can You Shake Your Egg With Me? (my new fave, so cute!)
I Know a Chicken, by Laurie Berkner band (LOVVVE)


Quiet transition: Can You Find Your Lap?
I found this gem on Intellidance, and have returned to it countless times over the years. It is one of my favorites, so calming and interactive and repetitive and kid friendly magic.

Magic Box CAT: Soft Kitty 
From the Big Bang Theory, of course! Instead of pretending our hands were soft kitties, we pretended our whole bodies were.
Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur,
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr.

Book #3: Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes, by Eric Litwin & James Dean (I used a story stick with interchangeable velcro shoes to tell this story, in lieu of the book)

Closing: ABCs, Bread & Butter, letter C stamps