Toddler Story Time - What Does the Fox Say?

My story time themes are usually pretty standard.  I like those that I can easily find enough age appropriate books and activities.  But, when it was suggested that I create a toddler story time based on my favorite song, The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)..  Lets just say - challenge accepted!  The song perfectly lends itself to a spiced up animal sounds story time for little ones.  So, in case you are unfamiliar with the fox craze, here is Ylvis' The Fox.  Enjoy!

Amazing, right?  I love it! 

Book I read...

The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo By Jonathan Allen

What does a rabbit say?  A great book for getting the little ones warmed up on their animal sounds!  Little Rabbit tries out many different animal sounds with the help of his friends.  The little ones joined in by helping me say the different  animal sounds.  They did a great job!

Moo Baa La La Laa By Sandra Boynton

Love Sandra Boynton books for both the super cute illustrations and the wonderful rhymes.  Moo Baa La La La includes many great animal sounds like rhinoceroses and little dogs.

If I Were a Fox... By Jellycat

I searched and searched and searched for the perfect fox book to round out this story time.  Most foxes depicted in stories are, well, not very nice.  They get into all sorts of trouble including eating (or trying to eat) other characters.  This just isn't appropriate for toddlers, especially when we are celebrating the fox!  So I was super thrilled when I discovered this book.  It is a short board book that not only has a cute story about being a fox, but also ends with a furry tail!  What could be better? 

 

How it went...

In order to channel our inner foxes, we started story time with the action rhyme, Foxy, Foxy, Turn Around (Thank you Storytime Sparks!) .  Not only was this rhyme super cute, it was also a great way to get the little ones to sit down for the first story!

Foxy, Foxy, Turn Around
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, touch the ground.
Foxy, foxy, dance on your toes.
Foxy, foxy, touch your nose.
Foxy, foxy, jump up now.
Foxy, foxy, take a bow.
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, sit right down.

A great book with lots of activities for story times is 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children By Abigail Flesch Connors.  I loved the rhythm stick activity Walk in the Woods.  It only took a little bit of tweaking to get it to fit the fox theme.  The little ones loved it and they did a great job tapping the sticks along with the story.   Afterwards we tapped our ABCs with the rhythm sticks as well. 

Walk in the Woods

One day I went for a walk in the woods. 
It was very quiet. 
All of the sudden I heard footsteps behind me –
tap…tap…tap…tap… tap… tap…    (Tap sticks together slowly)
After a while the footsteps got a little faster, like this –
Tip-tap… tip-tap… tip-tap…    (Tap sticks together a little faster)
I didn’t know what it was, so I kept on walking.
Then the footsteps got even faster, like this –
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap…    (Tap sticks together even faster!)
I really wanted to know what it was, so I stopped!    (Stop tapping)
I turned my head to look and saw a fox!    (I had a picture of a fox on the bulletin board to point at!)
And I ran home as fast as I could!    (Tap sticks together very fast!)

Now, the moment I had been waiting for!  Flannel Time!  Ylvis' The Fox and my favorite shirt were my inspiration for this flannel board.  I felted the awesome animals designed by Fablefire and of course wore the shirt.  Twinsies!   Because we were a little bit smaller group this week, I was able to pass out the animals to the little ones so everyone could participate.  A copy of the song lyrics was posted on the bulletin board so adults could follow along.

The Fox

Dog goes woof
Cat goes meow
Bird goes tweet
and mouse goes squeek

Cow goes moo
Frog goes croak
and the elephant goes toot

Ducks say quack
and fish go blub
and the seal goes ow ow ow ow ow

But there's one sound
That no one knows
What does the fox say?

 

In order to make the flannel story interactive, I asked questions about the animal sounds.  For example, "What animal says woof?  If you are holding the animal that woofs, bring it up and put it on the board!"  I did this for each animal until we got to the fox.  For the fox,  I asked what they thought a fox would say.  Several little ones (and adults) made some funny suggestions and we added the felt fox to the flannel board.  This activity was lots of fun!

Always a fan of popsicle sticks, I made each little one their own fox mask to take home with them to color.  I passed these out after Flannel Time to add an extra bit of fun to the last two activities.  The first was the action rhyme Here is Foxy.  (Thanks again to Storytime Sparks for another great activity!)  And lastly, I transformed the classic tune, "If You're Happy and You Know It" into a foxy tune.

Here is Foxy
Here is foxy’s pointed ears.    (point to ears)
Here is foxy’s nose.    (point to nose)
Here is foxy’s bushy tail.    (point to “tail”)
Now up and off he goes!    (trot around)

If You’re a Fox and You Know It…
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
If you’re a fox and you know, then you’ll really want to show it
If you’re a fox and you know it
Swish your tail.
…wiggle your nose…
…show your claws…

And there you have it!  A What Did the Fox Say toddler story time!  As a special treat, I substituted my normal goodbye song with The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?).  It was so much fun watching everyone's reaction when the song began to play!  A couple little ones even danced.  This was definitely a story time success!

RING-DING-DING-DING-DINGERINGEDING!