TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

SIGN LANGUAGE: Butterfly
Cross wrists, palms toward you, lock thumbs, and flutter fingers to represent the shape and movement of a butterfly.

SONG:  Fly Fly Butterfly
Tune: Skip to My Lou

Fly fly fly butterfly (make the sign for “butterfly” while singing)
Fly fly fly butterfly
Fly fly fly butterfly
Fly high up in the sky.
Credit: The Virtual Vine

BOOK 1: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up by Eric Carle
And just when you thought the Very Hungry Caterpillar couldn’t get any better – it comes as a pop-up book!  And it’s amazing.

FINGERPLAY: Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly
Tune: Twinkle Twinkle

Flutter, flutter butterfly
Floating in the spring sky
Floating by for all to see
Floating by so merrily
Flutter, flutter butterfly
Floating in the spring sky
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

ACTION SONG: Butterfly Driving a Truck by Caspar Babypants
from the album Sing Along!

We danced to this song with colorful scarves and pretended to be butterflies.

BOOK 2:  Butterfly, Butterfly: A Book of Colors by Petr Horacek
Lucy sees a beautiful butterfly in the garden one day, but then can’t find it the next.  While she searches, she sees many other, colorful creatures.  This book has a surprise pop-up at the end!

CLOSING SONG: Skinnamarink
from Sharon, Lois and Bram’s album Skinnamarink TV

SNACK: Butterfly Jello

I picked up a pack of these butterflies on sticks on clearance at the end of last summer.  I wasn’t sure what I was going to use them for, but they ended up looking incredibly cute in pre-made jello cups!  It was a fun (and food allergy friendly) snack for my last storytime of the school year.

TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

BOOK 1:  Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clark

 FLANNEL RHYME: 5 Little Pigs

Five little pigs rolled in the mud – (roll hands)
Squishy, squashy, felt so good.
The farmer took one piggy out.
“Oink, Oink, oink,” the pig did shout! (turn pig over to clean side)

Continue with four, three, two, until…

No little pigs rolled in the mud.
They all looked so clean and good.
The farmer turned his back and then,
Those pigs rolled in the mud again. (turn all pigs over to dirty side again)

Credit: Flannel board from Mel’s Desk; Words from Rovingfiddlehead

ACTION SONG: Mud Puddle Jump! by Kindermusik
from the album What’s the Weather?

SENSORY ACTIVITY:  Make some Mud (non-messy)
 Before reading the next story, mix up a batch of mud.  You’ll need:

• Gallon-size ziplock bag
• Dirt
• Water

Ask your group “How is mud made?” or “What do we need to make mud?”  (Dirt and water, of course!) Pour some dirt into your ziplock bag.  Then add some water and close tightly. Let each child have a turn squishing the bag to make mud.  Ask them what the mud feels like.

BOOK 2: Mud! by Wendy Cheyette Lewison
The children in this story have lots of fun playing in the mud, covering themselves in the sticky stuff from head to toe!

CLOSING SONG: Skinnamarink
from Sharon, Lois and Bram’s album Skinnamarink TV

CRAFT:  Paint with mud
Mix up some dirt, water and white glue, and then let your children have fun painting with it!  Note that potting soil doesn’t work well for this; you’ll need some plain ‘ol dirt from your yard.

TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

BOOK 1: What Does Bunny See? By Maggie Smith
Bunny wanders through the garden finding different flowers…in all different colors.  I had the children name the color, and then I named the flower.  At the end, we tried to name as many of the flowers as we could remember!

 FLANNELBOARD: Ten Little Flowers

Flower clipart- all clipart is from Clker.com

(Tune: Ten Little Indians)
One little, two little, three little flowers
Four little, five little, six little flowers
Seven little, eight little, nine little flowers
Ten flowers in the spring.

(What do flowers need to grow?  Rain and sunshine!)

Give them rain and lots of sunshine
(wiggle fingers down for rain; arms overhead in a circle for sun)
Give them rain and lots of sunshine
Give them rain and lots of sunshine
So they’ll grow up tall
Credit: Modified from The Holiday Zone

ACTION RHYME: Dig a Little Hole
Dig a little hole (dig)
Plant a little seed (drop seed)
Pour a little water (pour)
Pull a little weed (pull up and throw away)
Chase a little bug (chasing motion)
Heigh-ho, there he goes! (shade eyes)
Give a little sunshine (make sun)
Grow a little rose (smell flower, eyes closed)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

ACTION SONG: Rocks and Flowers by Caspar Babypants
from the album More Please!

A fun song to dance to with shaker eggs!

 BOOK 2: Who’s in the Garden?  by Phillis Gershator

CLOSING SONG: Skinnamarink
from Sharon, Lois and Bram’s album Skinnamarink TV

CRAFT: Flowers

TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

Introduce Theme:  Bunnies and Chicks
I brought out bunny and chick stuffed animals, and then we learned the signs for “bunny” and “chick.” 

ASL – Rabbit/Bunny

ASL – Chicken

BOOK 1: Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Little White Rabbit wonders what it would be like to be green, or to be as tall as the fir trees, or to be a rock.  After a long day of daydreaming, he ends up at home with his family who loves him.

I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a good read aloud, but it was definitely a good choice…and one that I would use for storytime again!  It offered great opportunities for interaction.  I asked “What other things do you see that are green? (grass, grasshopper, turtle, etc.)”  “What was it like for Little White Rabbit to be as tall as the trees?”  “What was it like for him to be a rock? What did he do all day?”

FINGERPLAY: Here is a Bunny

Here’s a bunny with ears so funny,
(Make curved bunny ears with two fingers of one hand)
And here is his hole in the ground.
      (Put hand on hip and stick out elbow to make a “hole”)
When a noise he hears,
He pricks up his ears
      (Raise bunny-ear fingers straight and tall)
And jumps in his hole in the ground.
   (Jump bunny-ear fingers into “Hole”)

ACTION SONG: Freeze Dance by Music For Little People Choir
from the album Birthday Party Singalong

This song involves lots and lots of HOPPING, so it is perfect for a bunny storytime.  I had everyone practice hopping like bunnies.  And then we practiced hopping on one foot (and then the other.)

RHYME: Unhatched Egg
I love this lead-in to the next story….although, one clever child in my group said “crack!” when I asked what an egg says.

What does a rooster say?
     (Cock-a-doodle doo)
What does a hen say?
      (Cluck)
What does a chick say?
      (Peep)
What does an egg say?
(Silence)
Good! And now you’re ready to listen to the next story!

Adapted from thebestkidsbooksite.com

Book 2: Chick by Ed Vere
A very cute pop-up book.  A little chick hatches from his egg, eats, sleeps, cuddles with Mama…and yes, even poops.  All of the children in storytime had very good manners and did not laugh out loud when the chick pooped.  But I set the book out afterwards and all of the children read it on their own and giggled. 

CLOSING SONG: Skinnamarink
from Sharon, Lois and Bram’s album Skinnamarink TV

CRAFT: Easter Eggs
We decorated foam Easter eggs with foam Easter stickers that I purchased from Oriental Trading.

TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

BOOK 1: Fire Truck by Peter Sis
Matt LOVES fire trucks.  One morning he wakes up and he IS a fire truck!  He has many adventures saving a teddy bear, a cat, and turning on his siren.  Simple, fun, and perfect for a toddler storytime.

FINGERPLAY: 5 Little Firetrucks
Credit: so tomorrow

1 little fire truck
2 little fire trucks
3 little fire trucks
4 little fire trucks
5 little fire trucks all in a row
Back to the fire station all of you go! 

I used this clipart.

ACTION RHYME: Fireman, Fireman, Turn Around
Here’s a Fireman version of “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” that I wrote:

Fireman Fireman, turn around
Fireman, fireman, touch the ground
Fireman, fireman, drive the truck
Fireman, fireman, don’t get stuck!
Fireman, fireman, hurry to the fire
Fireman, fireman, spray the water higher.
Fireman, fireman, give a shout,
Fireman, fireman, you put the fire out! Hooray!

ACTION SONG: Drive the Fire Truck
from the Old Town School of Folk Music album Songs for Wiggleworms

BOOK 2: Fire Fighter PiggyWiggy by Christyan Fox
I hadn’t read the Piggy Wiggy books before, but after reading this one for storytime, he’s won me over.  With bright, bold pictures and simple text – this one is a winner.  My group was quick enough to realize that Piggy Wiggy rescues a teddy bear, just like Matt does in Fire Truck by Peter Sis. 

CLOSING SONG: Skinnamarink
from Sharon, Lois and Bram’s album Skinnamarink TV

CRAFT: Fire Trucks
Template from Busy Bee Kid Crafts.com

TODDLER PROGRAM

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES: 

• Open, Shut Them
• Two Little Blackbirds

THEME: Stars
Start out by asking some “star” questions.  I asked: “Where do we find stars?”  If the children have trouble, you can say “Do we find them on the ground, or in the sky?”  Then ask, “When do we see stars?”  Again, if they have trouble, you can ask “Do we see them in the morning when the sun is out?  Or at night when the moon is out?”  My group had no trouble with these questions, so we moved right on to our first book….

BOOK 1: Stars by Marla Frazee
“What if you could have a star?”  You could cut one from paper and put it in your pocket.  You could do all sorts of things with it – like being a sheriff or using it for a magic wand.  This book also reminds us of small wonders…snowflakes, blowing a million dandelion seeds into the air, and sparkling green moss.

This book leads perfectly into the next song.  The book talks about cutting out paper stars and putting them in your pocket – and the chorus to the song is “catch a falling star and put it in your pocket.”

ACTION SONG: Catch a Falling Star
from On My Way to Dreamland by Kathy Reid-Naiman

I had stars cut out of yellow construction paper to hand out to everyone.  Then we used them to dance to this song:

Chorus
Catch a falling star (reach up high with your star)
And put it in your pocket; (bring it down to your pocket – hands on thighs)
Never let it fade away. (shake finger “no”)
Catch a falling star (reach up high with your star)
And put it in your pocket; (bring it down to your pocket – hands on thighs)
Save it for a rainy day. (hold star to chest with both hands)

During the verses, we spun in a circle with our stars, touched them to the ground, our elbows, our noses, and slowly brought them all the way to the ground at the end.

BOOK 2/FLANNEL BOARD: Five Wishing Stars by Treesha Runnels
This is a board book, so it is much too small to read to a large audience.  I had luck doing this before (with Chickie: Stop and Go), so I decided to try scanning the pictures, enlarging them, printing them, and using it as a flannel board.  It worked splendidly! The pictures did not look distorted, and everyone could see.

FINGERPLAY AND SONG: Twinkling Stars
At night I see the twinkling stars (wiggle fingers)
And the great big shining moon (arms overhead in circle)
My mama tucks me into bed (fists under chin)
And sings this goodnight tune…
(Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

 CRAFT: Star Wands
These were purchased from Oriental Trading.  The children glued and colored them.