Toddler Storytime: Little Bear's Big Day!

Hi all,

Just a quick post to share one of my favorite little imaginative play book-less stories to share in storytime! I learned and saved this years ago, I think it might have been in a workshop led by Naomi Baltuck. It is a fun alternative to Goin On A Bear Hunt, and the end is the sweetest thing. <3

Enjoy!

Little Bear’s Big Day

Once there was a little bear who was sleeping in his bed in his nice little cave. Let’s all go to sleep!
"Have a little sleep bear, sleep bear, sleep bear.
Have a little sleep bear, sleep bear, sleep."

The next day the sun came out and little bear woke up and stretched. Wake up everybody, let’s stretch!
"Have a little stretch bear, stretch bear, stretch bear.
Have a little stretch bear, stretch bear, stretch."

And since it was a very sunny day the bear decided to go for a walk.
"Have a little walk bear,."

But this was a very active little bear and soon he became bored with walking and began to run!
"Have a little run bear,."

And after all that running he was hot and sweaty. Before him was a big cool lake, so what do you think he did? Yes! He jumped right in and swam! Swim with me!
"Have a little swim bear,."

And after he swam a little while he climbed out of the water and he was all drippy wet. And do you know how bears dry themselves off when they are wet? Yes, they shake!
"Have a little shake bear,."

And after all that shaking he looked up and saw a tall tree. You know how bears love to climb!
"Have a little climb bear,."

And when he got to the top do you know what he saw? Some golden, sweet, delicious HONEY! And you know how much bears love honey! C’mon, let’s have a little taste! Yummy!
"Have a little taste bear,."

But you know wherever there is honey there are honeybees. And those bees did not like that bear messing with their honey. Do you know what bees do when they are angry? They sting!
"Have a little sting bee,."

The bear cried out, "OUCH!" (sing fast and frantic)
"Have a little climb bear, climb bear, climb.
Have a little swim bear, swim bear, swim.
Have a little shake bear, shake bear, shake.
Have a little run bear, run bear, run.
Have a little walk bear, walk bear, walk."

And the bear reached his cave and called out to his Mommy,

"Mommy, Mommy! I went for a walk, and a run, and a swim, and I shook off, and then I climbed a tree, and I found some honey, and it tasted good. But the bees got mad and one stung me on the nose!"

And his mommy said,
"Awww! Have a little hug bear, hug bear, hug bear. Have a little hug bear, hug bear, hug."

<3

Toddler Storytime Planning Series: Stretchy band!

Are you familiar with the stretchy band?? It is so much fun! It is like a parachute, but with no mess of fabric in the middle to worry about. Storytime music superstar Jim Gill sang their praises at a workshop we attended, and we knew we had to have one of our own! Fortunately, we work with a talented seamstress, and she whipped one up using all sorts of different kinds of lycra in no time.

Bonus-- the band doubles as a fashionable scarf till you're ready to use it!

Stretchy bands are good for starting storytime or group activities when you want everyone to sit in a circle as they arrive-- one way to bring parents in and encourage them to engage in the activity with their child. I use it as a fun music and movement tool at the end of storytime. Using the band can help teach concepts (like up & down, slow & fast, in & out), build upper arm muscles, and gives them practice sitting in a circle (a crazy difficult skill to master!). Ours is just big enough for all the kids to stand around it and hold, with their adults behind them. 

I give them simple prompts to orient them with the band when we first bring it out, like "raise it over your head!", "bring your hands together!", "lean back!", "shake it fast!", etc.

There are so many songs that work with the band! Here are some of my favorites:

Sticky Bubblegum (I found this on jbrary's channel and tweaked it, replacing the word "hands" with "band"!)
Sticky, sticky, sticky bubblegum, bubblegum, bubblegum
Sticky, sticky, sticky bubblegum, sticking the band to our head 
Ready.... unstick!
(repeat with as many body parts as you want, and end with sticking the band to the floor!)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat (I assume that you know this song, but do you know any extra verses?)
Have kids practice "rowing" with the band before you start:
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily merrily
Life is but a dream.

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
If you see a dinosaur
Don't forget to roar! (ROAR!)

So many possibilities! If you see a mouse, squeak/ If you see an alligator, scream, etc etc etc.

Wheels on the Bus (again, you probably already know this one, but it is super fun with the band!)
Roll band in a circle in front of you:
The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.

Wave band in front of you like windshield wipers:
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish...

Push band in front of you like a horn:
The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep..

Sit-ups while holding band if they are an older group/capable of it, otherwise raise arms all the way up above you and back down:
The windows on the bus go open and shut...

Bring two hands together like you're clapping:
The people on the bus go in and out...

Have you used a stretchy band in story time? Are there any other songs or activities you've used with it? It is so much fun!

Here are some more helpful posts on using bands in storytime:
http://www.kidsmusic.co.nz/stretchy-ring-activities/
http://prekandksharing.blogspot.ca/2013/03/stretchy-band-my-new-favorite.html
http://lisaslibraryland.blogspot.ca/2014/08/the-giant-dance-scrunchie.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/lnEznd+(Libraryland)
http://prekandksharing.blogspot.ca/2015/05/its-stretchy-band-jam.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+Prekandksharing+(PreKandKSharing)
https://bearpawcreek.com/category/stretchybands/

Happy storytiming, friends! ~Emily

Toddler Storytime Planning Series #1: Themeless Template Plan

Hi friends!


All of the apologies, so many, for the long break. We've had technical difficulties, but are now back up and runnin! I did the alphabet last year with the toddlers here, framing each week around a different letter of the alphabet. I only posted through the letter C here, though- one of these days I will make a massive post listing out the rhymes, books, and vocabulary words for each letter because WOW that was a lot of work comin up with toddler-level themes for every letter of the alphabet. I commend any brave soul embarking on the alphabet journey.

I think it was all that work that pushed me over the edge into themeless storytimes. Guys, it is so much easier! You don't need themes! Toddlers just want the same thing over and over again! Repetition is good! If you find a cute new book or rhyme, you don't have to wait until you find the right theme to fit it into because they really don't care. This has been life changing for me.My plan is pretty much the same every week. It goes as follows:

Opening rhyme 1: When ___ get up in the morning,
I'm not even sure where I originally got this, but it is a fun, low-key easy song to do while everyone arrives. Gather a bunch of animal puppets (or even pictures) into a basket, pull one out, ask them what it is and what sound it makes, and then sing:

When _(animal)_ get up in the morning, they always say good day
When _(animal)_ get up in the morning, they always say good day
_(animal sound)_, _(animal sound)_, _(animal sound)_, that is what they say.
_(animal sound)_, _(animal sound)_, _(animal sound)_, that is what they say.

Magic box refrain: Here is a box, and here is a lid; I wonder whatever inside is hid? This helps tons with transitions, because as soon as I grab the Magic Box and knock on it, everybody wants to know what is inside. Pretty sure it works because *magic*. I put pictures of characters from whatever book we are reading, or vocabulary words, or whatever felt pieces and small props I plan on using next. 

Introduction:

-This is where I introduce myself and orient new parents with important things like where the bathrooms are located and what time the rest of the library opens at. I also like to remind them that what we do in storytime helps build skills that kids will later use to learn to read, and they can help their kid get the most out of it just by joining in and getting a little silly!

Opening rhyme 2: Open & Shut Them

Magic Box X Book #1:

Early Literacy Concept: I try and find at least one early literacy tip for each book I read. My fab Fairy Twin Sara was one of the librarians trained and observed in the VIEWS2 Research Project, and in turn she has shared many great tips and tools and general enthusiasm with us.

Modeling behavior/ Prompts: I then make a note of how to demonstrate it in storytime and a talking point for the adults explaining the magic behind whatever it was I just did.

Stretching: "Stretch to the windows, stretch to the door, Stretch to the ceiling, and stretch to the floor!" I originally found this on KCLS Tell Me A Story, and have used it every week since. It is a nice, mindless, no memorization necessary rhyme to repeat and repeat and repeat.

 STANDING Movement: I'll make a post about my favorite standing rhymes, but ya can't go wrong with "Grand Old Duke of York" or "Way Up High in the Apple Tree". 

ACTION DICE! I swear by these things. I originally got the idea from the blog Growing a Jeweled Rose, and use ours every week. They are interactive, silly, promote literacy, AND kids get to throw them. 

ZOOM ZOOM! I think there would be a riot if I ever skipped this. It is bad enough when I try and take the group to the sun when we haven't yet gone to the stars. Thanks, Jbrary!

Quieting Rhyme: Usually "Here's a Cup", because toddlers love repetition and also love pretending to pour and share cups of tea. I have a few more fall-back chill-out rhymes that I promise to post about too, though!

Magic Box Y Book #2:  

Early Literacy tip:

Modeling behavior/ Prompts:

Magic Box FLANNEL game or rhyme: Usually a short nursery rhyme or song followed by Little Mouse-- there are a million blog posts on the Little Mouse flannel game, but I'll post my own in coming weeks. Again, this is another activity that the toddlers would freak out if I skipped. 

I close out with a song/rhyme medley for one of the following: 
STRETCHY BAND 
SHAKY EGGS
SCARVES
BUBBLES
OR DANCE PARTY
Blog posts on each coming soon!

            

Closing song: Up, Down, Turn Around
Up, Down, Turn Around
Touch the sky and touch the ground
Jiggle belly, blink your eyes,
Blow a kiss, and say goodbye!

Then I invite them all to come up and get a stamp if they want one. I have been considering changing up the stamp, but they are CRAZY for this mouse stamp we have. It is pretty cute, and I swear some of them come to storytime each week for the mouse stamp alone. They love that guy.

Aaaaand... that's it! All in all, each toddler storytime here is about 30 minutes, with unstructured time for families to socialize, play with blocks, and read together after. Let me know if you have any questions, and again, apologies for the longwinded post and even longer time without posts! Happy storytiming! ~Emily

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

B is for Bug a Boo, Letter B Toddler Story Time!

For the second week of our alphabetic adventure, we delved into all things LETTER B. Because B is for BUST A MOVE! (see also, Bug a Boo).

Opening Medley: Bread and Butter, Open & Shut Them, ABC song
And guys, Bread and Butter, TWO B WORDS!

Magic Box BALL: My Ball is Round
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 BALL, we did one of my favorite rhymes from Intellidance, My Ball is Round.


Book #1: Books Always Everywhere!, by Jane Blatt (SO CUTE)

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

Interactive activity: Little Bear's Big Day
I am not sure where I originally found this story, but I have been bustin it out on the reg year after year because it is just so much fun!

It goes:

Once there was a little bear who was sleeping in his bed in his nice dark cave.
(sing) "Have a little sleep bear, sleep bear, sleep bear.
Have a little sleep bear, sleep bear, sleep."

The next day the sun came out and the bear woke up and stretched.
"Have a little stretch bear, stretch bear, stretch bear.
Have a little stretch bear, stretch bear, stretch."

And since it was a very sunny day the bear decided to go for a walk.
"Have a little walk bear,."

But this was a very active little bear and soon he became bored with walking and began to run.
"Have a little run bear,."

And after all that running he was hot and sweaty. Before him was a big cool lake, so what do you think he did? Yes! He jumped right in and swam!
"Have a little swim bear,."

And after he swam a little while he climbed out of the water and he was all drippy wet. And do you know how bears dry themselves off when they are wet?
Yes, they shake!
"Have a little shake bear,."

And after all that shaking he looked up and saw a taaall tree. You know how bears love to climb!
"Have a little climb bear,."

And when he got to the top do you know what he saw? Some golden, sweet, delicious HONEY! And you know how much bears love honey!
"Have a little taste bear,."

But you know wherever there is honey there are honeybees. And those bees did not like that bear messing with their honey. Do you know what bees do when they are angry? That's right, they sting!
"Have a little sting bee,."

The bear cried out, "OUCH!" (sing fast and frantic)
"Have a little climb bear, climb bear, climb.
Have a little swim bear, swim bear, swim.
Have a little shake bear, shake bear, shake.
Have a little run bear, run bear, run.
Have a little walk bear, walk bear, walk."

And the bear reached his cave and called out to his Mommy, "Mommy, Mommy! I went for a walk, and a run, and a swim, and I shook off, and then I climbed a tree, and I found some honey, and it tasted good. But the bees got mad and one stung me on the nose!" And his mommy said,
"Awww! Have a little hug bear, hug bear, hug bear.
Have a little hug bear, hug bear, hug."

At the end all the kids are giving themselves (and their parents and friends) big bear hugs and your heart, it will melt.

Magic Box BLACKBERRY: Picked a Blackberry
To the tune of Clementine, from jbrary
Picked a blackberry, picked a blackberry
That was growing in the sun.
Then I washed it, and I ate it, and I picked another one.
(repeat with other berries)

Magic Box BABY Book #2: The Baby Goes Beep, by Rebecca O'Connell

Stretchy band fun, featuring The Wheels on the Bus!
We got this idea from a story time workshop with Jim Gill, and our wonderful and talented cofairyworker Naomi brought it to life. It is basically just strips of stretchy fabric sewn together into a gigantic circle. As a general introduction to it, we practiced sitting with it, walking in and out with it, walking around in a circle with it (working up to that), getting inside of it, and stretching it. Then we sang The Wheels on the Bus using it, lifting it up and down for the windows, in and out for the doors, and rolling it up towards us for the bus driver. More cute chaos.

OMG STRETCHY BANNNDDDDDDDDD!!!

I've got crazy eyes here, but LOOK AT THE BAND!! So cool.

Magic Box BUBBLES!!!! Hello, Bubbles (jbrary again!)
Bubble dance party: I Took a Bath in a Washing Machine (Jim Gill)

Goodbye, bubbles!

Magic Box BLACKBIRDS: Two Little Blackbirds

A story time classic that I'm sure ya'll know and love...

Two little blackbirds, sitting on a hill
One named Jack, and one named Jill!
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill,
Come back Jack, come back Jill!

Book #3: Butterfly, Butterfly, by Petr Horacek (they will go crazy for the gigantic pop-up pretty butterfly at the end!)

Closing: Bread & Butter, Letter B stamp!

A is for AWESOME, Letter A Toddler Story Time!

HOORAY NEW TODDLER TIME SEASON! This year I am attempting something new (to me)- letters of the alphabet story time themes! For planning, I made a handy workbook with all of the Toddler Time weeks and all of the letters of the alphabet, and have just been adding theme ideas, rhymes, books, and activities in as I discover or randomly remember them. Perfect system for this scatterbrained fairy. As a result, I already know basically what I am doing next week, or 7 weeks from now, even 5 MONTHS from now, which is craaaaazy. Also, it gives me wiggle room to fit just about any idea I find and fall in love with into a future story time plan, because letters can tie anything together!

 To start. The letter A, for awesome.

Opening Medley: Bread and Butter, Open & Shut Them, ABC song

Bread and Butter
(from jbrary, this is a forever hit)

Open & Shut Them
I can't remember where I actually got the lyrics to the version I use today, it is a combination of many. This will very likely always be a mainstay in my story time routine.

Open them, shut them
Open them, shut them
Give a little clap clap clap!
Open them, shut them
Open them, shut them
Put them in your lap lap lap!
Creep them, creep them, slowly creep them
Way down to your toes toes toes!
Creep them, creep them, slowly creep them
Way up to your nose nose nose!
Open them, shut them
Open them, shut them
Give a great big CLAP CLAP CLAP!
Open them, shut them
Open them, shut them
Put them in your lap lap lap!

Magic Box ARMS: Arms Up High!
Oh, did I forget to mention the fact that WE POSSESS A MAGICAL BOX?? Yeah, it is pretty rad. It 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 ARMS, we did a variation on this fun rhyme I learned from the KCLS tell me a story wiki:

Arms Up High
Arms up high above your head
Arms down low below you
Arms up high above your head
.... smile and wave your hands!

Repeat, ending with:
....Smile and touch your nose!
....Smile and wiggle your toes!
....Smile and tickle the sky!
....Smile and clap your hands!

Book #1: Apple, by Nikki Mcclure (local author/artist love!)

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

Magic Box APPLES: Way up High in the Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree, two little apples were looking at me.
So I shook that tree just as hard as I could, down came the apples and mmmm, they were GOOD!

Magic Box AIRPLANES: I'm an Airplane 
Call and response, from jbrary
I'm an airplane (repeat)
Flying high (repeat)
I can tilt this way (repeat)
In the sky (repeat)

I'm an airplane (repeat)
Flying high (repeat)
I can tilt that way (repeat)
In the sky (repeat)

I'm an airplane (repeat)
Flying high (repeat)
I can make a landing (repeat)
From the sky (repeat)

Book #2: I Went Walking, by Sue Williams (big book edition, I instructed the audience to join in with the line "What did you see?" every time I said "I went walking")

Dance party: I Can't Wait to Celebrate (Jim Gill)

Magic Box ASTRONAUT: Zoom Zoom Zoom (I'm going to the moon)

With extra verses from, you guessed it, JBRARY! 

Zoom, zoom, zoom, we're going to the moon.

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!

Far, far, far, we're going to the stars...

Fun, fun, fun, we're going to the sun....

Book #3: Ants Went Marching, illustrated by Dan Crisp

Closing: Bread & Butter, Letter A stamp!Happy storytiming, friends!

Halloween Toddler Story Time

I am so ridiculously behind on these blog posts, case in point: Halloween Story Time posted in December. It is definitely still worth telling you about, if nothing else but for Fall 2014 Story Time planning purposes XD

We started the way we always start, with our Bread and Butter. Thanks, jbrary! In addition to our usual modes of saying hello (fast, slow, quiet, loud, silly, nice, etc), we said hello as spooooooky as we could, and boy, was it eery.

After our usual Open & Shut Them, we were ready to get down to business. 

I found this great flannel adaptation of Ed Emberley's Go Away, Big Green Monster through Flannel Friday on Miss Courtney Meets Bobo. She transformed the titular monster into a Big Orange Monster, and the result is pretty perfect.

Picture lifted from her blog, because I forgot to take photos.

 Big Orange Monster has..
 2 heart-shaped, yellow eyes
and a big, red mouth
2 leafy, green ears
purple, squiggly hair
sharp white teeth,
and a long, bluish nose,
But you don't scare me, Big Orange Monster!

Go Away...
long, bluish nose
sharp white teeth,
purple squiggly hair,
leafy, green ears
big, red mouth
heart-shaped eyes
And don't come back... until Halloween!

Then we did the classic action rhyme, "Five Little Pumpkins".
In case you don't know or remember this gem, it goes:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate (Start with five fingers up)
The first one says, my it’s getting late. (Put one finger down)
The 2nd one says, there are witches in the air. (Ooh! Another one down)
The third one says, but we don’t care! (And another one down)
The fourth one says, I’m ready for some fun! (And another one bites the dust!)
The fifth one says, lets run and run and run!
Then WOOOOOO went the wind, (Make creepy woooooo-ish motions with your hands!)
and OUT went the light, (CLAP!)
And five little pumpkins rolled outta sight. (Hide hands behind back)

Then Jbrary hooked us up again with another wonderful action rhyme: Pumpkin, Pumpkin.



Finally, after we put on our glasses, it was time to start the first book!

It's Halloween Night, by Jennifer O'Connell
Super cute, toddler friendly intro to costumes with plenty of opportunities for guessing!








For our thematic tumbling dice movement, we used a dice with different animals on each side of it. Before each throw, I would say, "Sleeping, sleeping, all the children were sleeping, and when they woke up they were....". Then I would throw the dice, and we all pretended to be whatever animal was rolled. Then we all went to sleep and did it all over again. Again, again!

Next I busted out an old classic, Little Miss Muffett. We went through it slowly a couple times to figure out what it all meant, and then acted it out. We pretended to be skittish Miss Muffett, and then we pretended to be the creepy spider. Fun and screams abound.

This provided a natural segue to our next rhyme, Itsy Bitsy Spider. You all know this, I'm sure, but do you know the teeny tiny spider? Or the GREAT BIG SPIDER?! Jessica from Intellidance turned us onto these variations, and we bust them out on the reg.

Then we read Brooms are for Flying, by Michael Rex together, and it was the best.

This book has tons of imaginative movement prompts, and is pretty much perfect for this theme and age. The kids lovvvved it.









After a little dance party (with scarves!) to Play Date's Dance Like A Monster, it was time to pretend to be monsters (and skeletons and ghosts and bats and...) ourselves.

If you’re a monster and you know it, stomp your feet!

If you’re a monster and you know it, stomp your feet!
If you’re a monster and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re a monster and you know it stomp your feet!
 
If you’re a skeleton and you know it, shake your bones!
If you’re a bat and you know it, flap your wings!
If you’re a pumpkin and you know it, roll around!
If you’re a kid and you know it, say TRICK OR TREAT!

I found this amazing little rhyme on KCLS's wiki, so we did that. We were now all little ghosts.

Little ghost, little ghost, turn around,
Little ghost, little ghost, touch the ground.
Little ghost, little ghost, make a scary face,
Little ghost, little ghost, run in place.
Little ghost, little ghost, count to two,
Little ghost, little ghost, now shout, “BOO!”
Finally, it was time for our final book.

Skelly, the Skeleton Girl, by Jimmy Pickering
Super cute, minimal words, right amount of creep. Love.







And with some bread and some butter, it was time to say goodbye.

Happy Storytiming, friends!
~Emily 

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

Size (Big and Small) Toddler Story Time

This week we are learning about size- big things, little things, and everything in between! Size is a fun thing to explore with the toddlers, because they are totally not little kids any more, they are BIG!!! Also, if they can describe how big something is in words, they are using adjectives, which is crazy advanced vocabulary, yo.

Opening rhymes:  
  Bread and butter & Open Them Shut Them

Thematic Rhyme:
Yay, SIZE! Look at these balls? Do you think you can tell what one is the smallest, or what is the biggest? Let's try together!

(Flannel and rhyme adapted from the fabulous Storytime Katie. Check out the original here! Pictures blatantly stolen from Google image searches. Lil' Bub and Snoopy the Cat both deserve credit.)

Little, big, and the biggest!

A little ball, a big ball, and the biggest ball I see
Now help me count them, one, two, three!

A little cat, a big cat, and the biggest cat I see
Now help me count them, one, two, three!

A little truck, a big truck, and the biggest truck I see
Now help me count them, one, two, three!









Before-our-first-book-Rhyme:
These Are My Glasses
These are my glasses, this is my book.
I put on my glasses, and open up my book.
Then I read read read, and I look look look.
Then I take off my glasses, and whoop! close up my book!

Book #1: I'm The Biggest Thing In The Ocean, by Kevin Sherry

THANK YOU, KEVIN SHERRY! This book is so great, it is pretty much the greatest thing in this whale. Kids love pointing out the little fishies, and the shark, and parents love/hate the dark twist at the end.







Consistent movement activity: DICE PLAY!
Our return to ACTIONS! Guys, this is easily the most popular part of my story time. Highly recommended. Our actions were: dance, sit, sleep, stand, walk, and wild/blank/storytime-lady-forgot that-a-cube-has-six-sides. We took turns throwing it, and as a group, we did whatever the dice told us to do. So cute. We were inspired for these "Get Up & Move Dice" by the blog Growing a Jeweled Rose.

Action rhyme: I'm A Little Teapot
Bet ya know this one, but just in case, here is a cute, choreographed, costumed, catchy  little version to jog that memory and get your little teapot movin:

I’m a little teapot short and stout,

Here is my handle, here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout! (wooo!)
Tip me over and pour me out!

 

 

AND CHECK IT OUT, SUPER SECRET B SIDE VERSE BELOW!:

I’m a special teapot, yes it’s true,

Here’s an example of what I can do.
I can change my handle and my spout,
Tip me over and pour me out!

Book #2: The Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake, by Thomas Taylor

This one may have been a little long for the toddlers, especially so late in the game, but I chose it over Big Hungry Bear, because cupcake. Also, there are cute animals to point out, and voices, and sharing and new friends and it all works out in the end.

Also, an aside, did you know how many great "Little Mouse" books there are? So many. Enough to do an entire story time.




Flannel Game: Little Mouse, Little Mouse are you in the _______ house?
This fun little game has been floating around my library system for years. I was also inspired by Guybrarian's wonderful script, found here. This game was requested almost every time last year, the kids lovvve it.)

Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the pink house?
No, he isn't in the pink house... what house should we guess next?
 and on, and on, until...

Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the green house?
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!
You WERE in the green house!!

SHAKING EGG DANCE PARTAY!
Rock n' Stop, by Eric Chapelle
We have this wonderful CD of funky jazzy instrumental dance music that we got from a training with Nurturing Pathways- it is called "Nurturing Pathways Dancing Feet: Creative Dance Music" and it has the jams, I tell ya. Rock n' Stop is as good as the freeze dance music genre gets- groovy beats, perfectly timed breaks, good length.. check it out! We swear by it in Book Babies, and it lends itself well to Toddler Time as well. Super cute, silly fun. Also, we have these shaky eggs filled with popcorn kernels and sealed with magazine tape. The kids LOVE those things.

Calming rhyme: Here's a Cup
Here's a cup, and here's a cup, (make cups with your hands)
and here's a pot of tea! (stick one thumb up- bam! pot of tea!)
Pour a cup, and pour a cup, (pour from pot hand to cup hand, then switch)
and have some tea with me! (mmm.. delicious!)

Because one finger-play is never enough...
Two Little Blackbirds
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,
One named Jack, and one named Jill.
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill,
Come back Jack, come back Jill!
(super repeat-able and adaptable and pretty much a universally accepted story time standard at this point)

Book #3: Charlie Chick, by Nick Denchfield and Ant Parker

 

Easily the most popular book of the day. Also, we have a little boy named Charlie in our group, so this book is pretty much about him.

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