Storytime: Halloween

Book – Where’s My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi

Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.” (put hands on cheeks)
The second one said, “There are witches in the air.” (shade eyes and look)
The third one said, “But we don’t care.” (shake finger side to side)
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run.” (move arms like running)
The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun.” (punch fist into air)
Then oooooh went the wind and out went the lights. (wave hands and clap them)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight. (roll arms)

Little Ghost
Little ghost, little ghost flying through the air (wave arms)
Little ghost, little ghost tickling my hair (hands on head)
Little ghost, little ghost flying way down low (lower arms)
Little ghost, little ghost tickling my toe (touch feet)
Little ghost, little ghost circling all around (wave arms)
Little ghost, little ghost please sit down

Book – Trick or Treat Countdown by Patricia Hubbard

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom (Witch Style)
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Climb onto my broom
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Climb onto my broom
If you want to go at night
To spread around Halloween fright
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Climb onto my broom
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
BOOO!

Source: Jbrary

Ten Little Ghosts
1 little, 2 little, 3 little ghosts
4 little, 5 little, 6 little ghosts
7 little, 8 little, 9 little ghosts
10 little ghosts say BOO!

Tickle Monster Flannel Board

I came across this on Thrive After Three and knew I had to make it! I have several story time kids that are obsessed with this book (to the point where I almost couldn’t check it out in time for the program). This book makes an amazing flannel board.

Storytime: Boats

Books:
“Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
“Busy boats” by Tony Mitton

Splashin Up and Down
Splashin up and down in my little red rowboat (lapbounce or pretend to row)
Splashin up and down in my little red rowboat
Splashin up and down in my little red rowboat
Won’t you be my darling

(repeat with)
Lookin out to sea in my little red rowboat (shield eyes)
Waving to a whale in my little red rowboat (wave)
Don’t stand up or you might tip over (lean to the side)

Motorboat
Motorboat, motorboat, go so sloooow (roll hands slowly)
Motorboat, motorboat, go so sloooow
Motorboat, motorboat, step on the gas (tap foot)

Motorboat, motorboat go so fast (roll hands quickly)
Motorboat, motorboat, go so fast
Motorboat, motorboat, CRASH (clap)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Row, row row your boat gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat gently to the river
If you see a polar bear, don’t forget to shiver

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream
If you see a crocodile don’t forget to scream

Row, row, row your boat gently to the shore
If you see a lion, don’t forget to roar!

Five Sailboats
Tune: Five Little Ducks

5 sailboats went out one day (hold up 5 fingers)
Over the waves and far away (move hand up and down)
With the wind they begin to rock (lean side to side)
And 1 little sailboat returns to dock

(count down)

Sailboats in the Water
Tune: Do You Know the Muffin Man

To make the sailboats I used a cut out machine we have and used different colors. The kids love this type of activity and get really excited when it is their turn.

If you have a (color) sailboat, a (color) sailboat, a (color) sailboat
If you have a (color) sailboat, put it in the water!

Craft
For the craft I cut paper plates in half and used a razor to make a slit near the top. Next I cut out boats. Children colored the boats and glued them to the popsicle stick. Then they colored the plate and some drew fish in their water. They can put the popsicle stick inside of the plate and move the boat around like it is floating on the water!

 

 

Storytime: Construction

Books

“Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” by Sherri Duskey Rinker
“Construction Kitties” by Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges
“One Big Building” by Michael Dahl

Five Little Nails
(you can just say this rhyme or sing it to the tune of “This Old Man”)

Five little nails, standing straight and steady (hold up 5 fingers)
Here I come with my hammer ready (make fist with other hand)
With a bam, bam, bam (tap fist to a finger)
That nail goes down (lower finger)
Now there’s just four little nails to pound

(count down)

Johnny Works with One Hammer
Johnny works with one hammer, one hammer, one hammer (tap fist on thigh or floor)
Johnny works with one hammer
Now he works with two (hold up both fists)
Johnny works with two hammers, two hammers, two hammers (tap both fists)
Johnny works with two hammers
Now he works with three (hold up both fists and kick out leg)
Johnny works with three hammers, three hammers, three hammers (tap fists and foot)
Johnny works with three hammers
Now he works with four (hold up both fists and kick out both legs)
Johnny works with four hammers, four hammers, four hammers (tap fists and feet)
Johnny works with four hammers
Now he works with five (hold up both fists, kick out both legs and nod head)
Johnny works with five hammers, five hammers, five hammers (tap fists, feet and nod head)
Johnny works with five hammers
And now he takes a rest!

Old MacDonald Has Some tools

Old MacDonald has some tools, e-i-e-i-o
And with those tools he has a hammer, e-i-e-i-o
With a bang, bang here and a bang, bang there
Here a bang, there a bang, everywhere a bang, bang
Old MacDonald has some tools, e-i-e-i-o

(repeat with)
Saw – see saw
Wrench – turn turn
Screwdriver – twist twist
Pliers – pinch pinch
Drill – zzz zzz

Craft

For this craft children colored pre-cut out construction vehicles and glued them to a piece of construction paper. Next they put glue where they wanted their dirt/sand to go. Then we put their paper into a tin, poured a cup of dirt/sand over it and shook out the extra. Some of the children went back and forth adding glue and more dirt/sand because they enjoyed it so much!

How It Went:

I have done a construction theme in the past and wasn’t the biggest fan of it. This time the storytime was a hit! Their favorite song was definitely “Johnny Works with One Hammer,” even the parents got into it and the favorite book was “Construction Kitties.” I thought the families would enjoy the Old MacDonald song but that didn’t go over well (maybe because it was the last song I sang and they were starting to get antsy), I ended up cutting the song short. This was also the favorite craft we have done so far, it’s very simple to set up and the kids loved! I even had parents tell me that they plan on recreating it at home.

Baby Storytime Favorites: Lap Bounces

When I first started having babies in story time I was very intimidated. I was used to have preschoolers who would answer open-ended questions and followed along to songs. I quickly learned that for baby story time it is important to speak instructions and use a stuffed animal to demonstrate (I still feel silly doing this but parents appreciate it). The first time I tried lap bounces I tired some parents out by lifting their child so often, moving forward I inform them they they can lift their child or raise their arms.

Here are some of my favorite lap bounces to use:

Bouncing, Bouncing
Bouncing, bouncing baby on my knee (bounce child)
Bouncing, bouncing
1, 2, 3 (lift child or raise their arms)
Clapping, clapping with baby on my knee (clap child’s hands)
Clapping, clapping
1, 2, 3
Hugging, hugging baby on my knee (hug child)
Hugging, hugging
1, 2, 3

Giddy-Up
Giddy-up, giddy-up ride to town (bounce child)
Giddy-up, giddy-up, up and down
Giddy-up fast (bounce quickly)
Giddy-up slow (bounce slowly)
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up (bounce child)
WHOOAH (dip child to side and dip between legs)

Grand Old Duke of York
The Grand Old Duke of York (bounce child)
He had ten thousand men
He march them up to the top of the hill (lift child or raise their arms)
And he marched them down again

And when they’re up, they’re up (lift child or raise their arms)
And when they’re down, they’re down
And when they’re only half way up
They’re neither up nor down

Icka Bicka Soda Cracker
Icka bicka soda cracker (bounce child)
Icka bicka boo
Icka bicka soda cracker
Up goes you! (life child or raise their arms)

Icka bicka soda cracker (bounce child)
Icka bicka boo
Icka bicka soda cracker
I love you (hug child)

Jack Be Nimble
I encourage parents to use their own child’s name.
Jack be nimble, jack be quick (bounce child on one knee)
Jack jumped over the candlestick (lift them to the other knee)

Mother, Father and Uncle John
Mother, father and Uncle John (bounce child)
Went to town one by one
Mother fell off (lean child to one side)
Father fell off (lean child to other side)
But Uncle John went on and on and on (bounce quickly)

Don’t miss out on Baby Storytime Favorites: Rhymes/Songs!

 

Baby Storytime Favorites: Rhymes/Songs

When I first started having babies in story time I was very intimidated. I was used to have preschoolers who would answer open-ended questions and followed along to songs. I quickly learned that for baby story time it is important to speak instructions and use a stuffed animal to demonstrate (I still feel silly doing this but parents appreciate it).

Here are some of my favorite songs/rhymes to use:

Baby Game:
Touch your eyes
Pat your nose
Tickle baby’s little toes
Hide your eyes
Where are you?
Baby’s playing peek-a-boo

Beehive
Here is the beehive (hold out own fist or child’s fist)
But where are the bees?  (shrug)
Hidden away where nobody sees (cover fist)
Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive
1, 2, 3, 4, 5… (count on fingers)
BUZZZZZZ
They’re alive! (tickle child)

Garden Snail
Slowly, slowly, very slowly creeps the garden snail (place thumb on child’s arm and slowly crawl it up the arm)
Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden rail
Quickly, quickly, very quickly goes the little mouse (place finger tips on child’s arm and scurry it up the child’s arm)
Quickly, quickly, very quickly in his little house (tickle child under armpit)

Round and Round the Garden
Round and round the garden (trace circle on baby’s palm or belly)
Little bunny goes
Hippity hop, hippity hop (hop fingers up child’s arm)
He’s gonna get your nose (gently grab child’s nose)

Where, Oh Where
Where, oh where are baby’s fingers (wiggle child’s fingers)
Where, oh where are baby’s toes (wiggle child’s feet)
Where, oh where is baby’s bellybutton (touch child’s bellybutton)
Round and round it goes (draw a circle on child’s stomach)

Where, oh where are baby’s ears (touch child’s ears)
Where, oh where is baby’s nose (touch child’s nose)
Where, oh where is baby’s bellybutton
Round and round it goes

Next week I’ll be sharing some of my favorite lap bounces!

Storytime: Fruit

Books:

“Blueberry Mouse” by Alice Low
“The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear” by Don & Audrey Wood

Picked a Berry (Tune: Clementine)
Picked a blueberry, picked a blueberry (picking motion)
That was growing in the sun (circle arms above head)
Then I washed it and I ate it (pretend to eat)
And I picked another one

(repeat with other berries such as strawberries, blackberries, etc)

Source: Jbrary

Five Red Strawberries
I love using a bear puppet to gobble the strawberries off the flannel board!

Five red strawberries, sweet to the core
Bear came and ate one, then there were four
Four red strawberries, sitting in a tree
Bear came and ate one, then there were three
Three red strawberries, shining in the sun
Bear came and ate one, then there was one
One red strawberry, left all alone
Bear came and ate one, then there were none!

Source: Sunflower Storytime

Fruit Salad Salsa by Laurie Berkner Band
Get those egg shakers out and start moving!

The Apple Tree by Carole Peterson
I have done this song with and without the music, both work great!

Way up high in the apple tree (point up)
1 little apple smiled at me (hold up 1 finger)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (shaking motion)
Doooown came the apple (wiggle fingers down)
Mmmmm, it sure looks good!

(repeat)

2 little apples under the tree (hold up 2 fingers)
1 for you and 1 for me (point to children, then self)
2 little apples crunch, crunch, crunch (pretend to eat)
2 little apples, lets eat them for our lunch
YUM!

Five Red Apples
This flannel board is based on “Ten Red Apples” by Pat Hutchins. I have a lot of toddlers and was afraid I’d lose them if I went through the whole book so I adapted it to work for my group.

Five red apples hanging on a tree
Yippee, yippee, fiddle-dee-dee
Cow comes to take one
Chomp, chomp, chomp
Moo, Moo and fiddle-dee-dee
“Cow” cries the farmer, “save one for one”

Four red apples hanging on a tree
Yippee, yippee, fiddle-dee-dee
Horse comes to take one
Chomp, chomp, chomp
Neigh, neigh and fiddle-dee-dee
“Horse” cries the farmer, “save one for me”

Three red apples hanging on a tree
Yippee, yippee, fiddle-dee-dee
Pig comes to take one
Chomp, chomp, chomp
Oink, oink and fiddle-dee-dee
“Pig” cries the farmer, “save one for me”

Two red apples hanging on a tree
Yippee, yippee, fiddle-dee-dee
Duck comes to take one
Chomp, chomp, chomp
Quack, quack and fiddle-dee-dee
“Duck” cries the farmer, “save one for me”

One red apple hanging on a tree
Farmer cries “Yippee, there’s one left for me!

Then farmer’s wife comes along…

No red apples, my oh my
No red apples to bake in a pie
Boo, hoo and fiddle-dee-dee
“Wait” cries the farmer, “another apple tree!”

Idea came from: Read It Again!

Storytime: Crayons

 

Books

“Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson
“The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane DeRolf
“Go to Bed, Monster!” by Natasha Wing

How a Crayon is Made

We started the storytime by talking about our favorite colors and how crayons are made. I didn’t read “What Happens at a Crayon Factory?” verbatim but it is a great book to introduce how crayons are made.

Five Little Crayons
Five little crayons standing in a row (hold up 5 fingers)
The first one said, “I’m red, you know!” (wiggle the fingers as you talk about them)
The second one said, “I’m green like a tree”
The third one said, “I’m blue like the sea”
The fourth one said, “I’m yellow as the sun”
The fifth one said, “Being purple is fun!”
Five little crayons, happy as can be (hold up 5 fingers)
Coloring pictures with you and me (point to person and then self)

Source: Storytime Katie

10 Little Crayons
(Tune: 10 Little Indians)
1 little, 2 little, 3 little crayons (count on fingers)
4 little, 5 little, 6 little crayons
7 little, 8 little, 9 little crayons
10 little crayons to take to school

10 Little Fingers
1 little, 2 little, 3 little fingers (count on fingers)
4 little, 5 little, 6 little fingers
7 little, 8 little, 9 little fingers
10 little fingers on my hands

They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together (wiggle fingers and hands)
They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together
They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together
10 little fingers on my hands

They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping (clap)
They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping
They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping
10 little fingers on my hands

Source: Jbrary

Crayons
For the next few songs/activities I handed each child a crayon to act out the motions. When handing out items of different colors I always remind children (and parents) that “You get what you get and you don’t get upset.”

Put Your Crayons
Put your crayons up (raise hands)
Put your crayons down (lower hands)
Hold your crayons up and turn around (turn in a circle)
Put your crayons up
Put your crayons down
Put your crayons on the ground (touch floor)

I Have a Crayon
Children brought their crayon to me when I held up the corresponding color.
I have a crayon, I’ll give it to you
Here is my crayon, my crayon of blue.
I have a crayon, a lovely little fellow
Here is my crayon, my crayon of yellow.
I have a crayon, it’s here on my head
Here is my crayon, my crayon of red.
I have a crayon, we can draw a circle
Here is my crayon, my crayon of purple.
I have a crayon, what do I see?
Here is my crayon, an orange one for me.
I have a crayon, the best ever seen
Here is my crayon, my crayon of green.

Harold’s Other Crayons (Flannel Board)
(Tune: Mary Wore a Red Dress)

Harold was working on a picture, he used his purple crayon
Harold used his purple crayon, purple crayon, purple crayon
Harold used his purple crayon all day long

Then Harold decided to use blue!
Harold used his blue crayon, blue crayon, blue crayon
Harold used his blue crayon all day long

(repeat with other colors)

Wow! Look at all of Harold’s Crayons.
Let’s say the colors one more time.
Do you know why Harold used these colors?
Because he was drawing a rainbow!

Source: Story Time Secrets

Storytime: Penguins

The favorite book we read was “I Like It When…” by Mary Murphy parents got a kick out of the interactive element and it engaged the children when they started to get the wiggles!

Two Little Penguins
Two little penguins sitting on the ice (hold up thumbs)
One bows once, the other bows twice (make thumbs up and down)
Waddle little penguins, waddle away (wiggle thumbs and put behind your back)
Come back penguins, time to play! (bring thumbs back out)

Penguin – Sign Language

I taught the children (and parents) the sign for “penguin.” This is a really fun sign to do and the kids loved it!

Source: My Smart Hands

Penguin, Penguin
We signed penguin every time we said it!

Penguin, penguin, flap your little wings (flap arms)
Penguin, penguin, flap your little wings
You eat fish and swim all day (swimming motion)
You can’t fly but that’s ok (shake finger)
Penguin, penguin, flap your wings

Five Little Penguins

Five little penguins went out to play
On a snowy winter day
The ice was cold and the clouds were gray
So one little penguin waddled away

(count down)

No little penguins went out to play
On a snowy winter day
The sun came out and the clouds blew away
So five little penguins came back to play!

Did You Ever See a Penguin?
Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin (lean side to side)
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that
Waddle this way and that way, that way and this way
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that

Source: Storytime Katie

Penguins on a Stick 

For the next two songs each child received a penguin to do the actions with!

Put your penguins up,
Put your penguins down
Hold your penguins and turn around
Put your penguins up,
Put your penguins down
Put your penguins on the ground

Penguins Everywhere
The penguins are here, the penguins are there
The penguins, the penguins are everywhere
The penguins are up, the penguins are down
The penguins, the penguins are all around
The penguins are in, the penguins are out
The penguins, the penguins are all about
The penguins go low, the penguins go high
The penguins, the penguins all wave goodbye!

Storytime: Body

A lot of children under the age of 3 attend our Monday morning storytime. To make these programs more interactive I try to incorporate a lot of songs and rhymes that require the parent or child to point to different body parts. That is when I got the idea of having a storytime all about our body parts! The parents and children had a blast during this program, this is a high energy crew and the storytime had the perfect amount of movement for them. Also, the books I picked have some great parts that parents truly appreciate. You know a book is good when even the parents are laughing!

My Hands Wave Hello (Tune: Farmer in the Dell)
My hands wave hello (wave)
My hands wave hello
Every time I see my friends
My hands wave hello

(My feet wave hello)
(My elbows wave hello)
(My tongue waves hello)

Source: Mel’s Desk

I Love You Nose, I Love You Toes by Linda Davick

This Big, Big, Big
This is big, big, big (hold hands out to side)
This is small, small, small (bring hands in)
This is short, short, short (lower hands to floor)
This is tall, tall, tall (raise hands high)
This is fast, fast, fast (roll arms quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow (roll arms slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes (nod head yes)
This is no, no, no (shake head no)

Fingers Like to Wiggle Waggle
Fingers like to wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle (wiggle fingers)
Fingers like to wiggle waggle to and fro
Feet like to wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle (wiggle feet)
Feet like to wiggle waggle to and fro
My body likes to wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle (wiggle body)
My body likes to wiggle waggle to and fro

Hurry Scurry
Hurry scurry little mouse (pretend fingers are a mouse)
Starts down at your toes (touch toes)
Hurry scurry little mouse (bring fingers up shin)
Past your knees he goes (walk fingers to knee)
Hurry scurry little mouse
Past where your tummy is (Tickle stomach)
Hurry scurry little mouse
Gives you a mousy kiss (blow kiss)

Source: Mel’s Desk

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

To make this book more interactive I passed out scarves to each child and told them to pretend it was a paintbrush. Children and parents would touch the scarf to the different body parts mentioned in the book and would pretend to paint themselves. Both the kids and parents got a kick out of this.

Where, Oh Where
Where, oh where are baby’s fingers? (touch fingers)
Where, oh where are baby’s toes? (touch toes)
Where, oh where is baby’s belly button?
Round and round it goes (make a circle with finger on stomach)

Where, oh where are baby’s ear? (touch ears)
Where, oh where is baby’s nose? (touch nose)
Where, oh where is baby’s belly button?
Round and round it goes

Source: Jbrary (I do not sing it)

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Lots of Exercise (Tune: Farmer in the Dell)
We’re jumping up and down,
We’re jumping up and down
We’re getting lots of exercise
We’re jumping up and down

(We twist from side to side)
(We bend and touch our toes)
(We stretch up to the sky)

Source: King County Library System

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

10 Little Fingers (Tune: 10 Little Indians)
1 little, 2 little, 3 little fingers (hold up fingers)
4 little, 5 little, 6 little fingers
7 little, 8 little, 9 little fingers
10 little fingers on my hands

They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together (wiggle fingers)
They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together
They wiggle and they wiggle and they wiggle all together
10 little fingers on my hands

They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping (clap hands)
They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping
They clap and they clap and they keep on clapping
10 little fingers on my hands

Source: Jbrary

Here Comes the Little Bird

Here comes a little bird, flying high in the sky.
Where do you think he’ll land?

(have the bird land on different body parts)

Source: Jen in the Library