Baby Story Time - Goodnight, Moon!

We twinkled and shone like the night sky at this Baby Story Time!

Wake-up Song: "Open, Shut Them"
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
     (bring arms out and in)
Give them both a clap, clap, clap.
     (clap)
Open, shut them, open, shut them,
     (bring arms out and in)
Put them in your lap, lap, lap.
     (pat lap)

Walk them, walk them, walk them, walk them,
     (walk fingers up baby's arm)
Right up to your chinny, chin, chin.
     (tap baby's chin)
Circle around your little mouth, but...
     (circle mouth, pause)
Do not let them in!
     (tickle!)

*note: The second verse traditionally starts with "Creep them, creep them," but I don't like it! So I say "Walk them, walk them!"

1st Book: Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

"Goodnight room; Goodnight moon; Goodnight cow jumping over the moon..."

Action Rhyme: "When the Moon Comes Up" (borrowed from a coworker)

The moon comes up when the night begins.
     (make circle over head)

Sometimes it's full,

     (arms far apart)

Sometimes it's thin.

     (arms close together)

It shines on the houses, its shines on the trees.

     (flutter fingers down)

It shines on you, and it shines on me.

     (point out, point to self)

Action Song: "Skinnamarink" (from cd "Sing Along with Bob #1," although we sang it a cappella)

Skinnamarinky-dinky-dink,

     (right elbow in left hand, wiggle fingers)

Skinnamarinky-do,

     (left elbow in right hand, wiggle fingers)

I love you!

     (point to self, hug self, point out)

(Repeat)

I love you in the morning,

     (make circle over head)

And in the afternoon.

     (start lowering circle)

I love you in the evening,

     (arms form circle under tummy)

Underneath the moon.

     (bring circle back up over head)

Oh, skinnamarinky-dinky-dink,

Skinnamarinky-do,

I love you!

     (repeat beginning motions)

2nd Book: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Jane Cabrera

It was too long to read the whole thing (actually, I sang it), but Cabrera's illustrations are so beautiful, I had to share it.

Next I passed out these fun star wands (simple die-cut paper stars on craft sticks):

And we waved them while we sang:
Nursery Rhyme: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (I played along on my guitar)
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
How I wonder what you are.

*side note: this is my two year old's favorite song right now! :)

They kept their stars while I did a simple counting rhyme with these felt stars:

Counting Rhyme: "Five Little Stars" (borrowed from a coworker)

Five little stars - look at them soar!

One shoots off, and then there are four.

Four little stars winking at me.

One shoots off, and then there are three.

Three little star with nothing to do.

One shoots off, and then there are two.

Two little stars waiting for the sun.

One shoots off, and then there is one.

One little star, alone is no fun.

It shoots off, and then there are none.

3rd Book: Hey Diddle Diddle by Heather Collins

We own a class set of these little board books, so everyone got to hold their own copy and read along with me!

We finished up with our usual songs and rhyme and it was playtime!  This was a new theme for me, and it was a lot of fun to do! Until next time!

You can find my opening and closing songs and rhymes here.

Looking for a Toddler Story Time about Nighttime?  See Miss Kristie's post here.
Looking for a Preschool take on this theme?  See Miss Sue's Space-themed Story Time here.

Toddler Story Time - Shh.. It's Bedtime

Shhh...  This week's story time was about bedtime.  This was the perfect opportunity to get out the teddy bears and scarves and enjoy quieter fingerplays and rhymes.  Did it work?  Not a chance with 18 little ones under 3, but it was lots of fun!

Books I read...
Llama Llama Red Pajama   By Ann Dewdney

Baby Llama wants misses his Mama Llama at bedtime.  Love, love, love this story..  And I loved how four little ones sat at my feet mesmerized by the tale.  I don't think they even blinked!

I’m Not Sleepy   By Jonathan Allen

It’s morning and Baby Owl is determined to stay awake!  This book gave us a chance to talk about how owls sleep during the day.  Most didn't know this and thought that was pretty silly!

 

Yawn  By Sally Symes

This rhyming board book is super fun.  It has a hole through the pages that follows a yawn from critter to critter starting with a little boy named Sean.  I really like using books that have a unique feature like this. 

How it went...

A great finger play for bedtime (or nap time) is Here is a Baby (Another great idea from Perry Public Library Storytimes!).  This can also be used for a younger audience by using the babies and not your fingers.  Babies would love to be rocked during this! 

Fingerplay: Here is a Baby

Here is a baby                                  (index finger)
Ready for a nap
Lay her down in her mother's lap.     (place finger in palm)
Cover her up so she won't peek.        (curl fingers around index finger)
Rock her till she's fast asleep.            (rock)

The next finger play I used was adapted to fit in nicely after reading Llama Llama Red Pajama.  It was originally about elves (Thanks to the 2012 Dream Big SRP!) but worked great with llamas too.  There wasn't much action to it other than counting fingers, but it was still super cute. 

Fingerplay: Tired Little Llamas (count on fingers)

Said this little llama "I'm as tired as can be"
Said this little llama "My eyes can hardly see"
Said this little llama "I'd like to go to bed"
Said this little llama "I want to rest my head"
Said this little llama "Come climb the stairs with me"
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 they tiptoed          (tiptoe fingers)
Just as still as still could be    

I had not had the opportunity to use scarves at a story time yet, but discovered how cool they are recently.  This theme fit perfectly for trying out something new!  Scarves quickly became wash clothes as we all got ready for bed! 

Action Song:  This is the Way We…
This is the way we wash our face, wash our face, wash our face.
(rub scrunched scarf on face)
This is the way we wash our face,
When we get ready for bed.
…wash our toes…
…wash our arms…
…wash our tummy…
(Thanks Sunflower Storytime!)

This story time was FULL of props for the little ones to play with.  Children learn a lot about language through playing!  So far, we had used scarves, musical instruments (for our weekly rendition of ABCs), and now the teddy bears marched in!  You get a teddy bear..  You get a teddy bear..  And you get a teddy bear!  (I was very popular by the end!)  We used our little teddy bears to act out the popular action rhyme, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear.

Action Rhyme: Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around.            (Turn around)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground     (Touch the ground)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, show your shoe.      (Point to your shoe)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, I love you.                (Hug yourself)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, climb upstairs.         (Pretend to climb stairs)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, brush your hair.       (Pretend to brush hair)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light.    (Pretend to switch off the light)
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say “Goodnight.”     (Hands together and lean head on them)

Flannel Time this week was also about teddy bears, so I let the little ones keep their bears while I told the flannel story Red Ted Said (Thank you to Loons and Quines for the idea!).  This also seemed to help with not touching the flannel board.  I made simple colored teddy bears to go along with a bed made by Miss Sue.  I decided not to include the group participation portion of this flannel story even though I really liked the idea.  I had a lot of activities to fit into my small window of time and knew having the little ones come up would take a huge chunk of it. 

Flannel Time! Red Ted Said

There were five in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and yellow fell out.
There were four in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and brown fell out.
There were three in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and green fell out.
There were two in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"Roll over, roll over".
So, they all rolled over and blue fell out.
There was one in the bed, and Red Ted said,
"I'm lonely, so lonely".
So they all climbed back in, and their momma said,
“Good night!”

I have been filling in during Baby Story Time for Miss Kristen the last couple weeks and learned her closing rhyme.  Many of the toddlers are new graduates from Baby Story Time and I think it is really cute so I decided to include it this week before we shook our ribbons to Looby Loo! 

Closing: “Thank You” Rhyme

Our hands say thank you     (Hold hands up)       

With a clap, clap, clap;        (Clap hands)                      
Our feet say thank you         (Point to feet)         
Clap, clap, clap;                    (Clap hands)
Tap, tap, tap.                         (Tap feet)
We roll our hands around,    (Roll hands)                                           
And say, “Good-bye.”          (Wave good-bye)

I must say, by the end of this story time I was ready for bed!  The room was full of happy contagious energy.  Thankfully, I chose a nice quiet craft to finish things off, inspired by a craft I saw on Storytime Katie.  It was super simple - black cardstock plus a precut crescent moon and eight sparkly star stickers equals a darling night sky.  I saw many beautiful constellations as they left this week.  Good night! 

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Toddler Story Time - Shh... It's Nighttime!

This week’s theme changed directions several times while I was planning it.  But, I was really happy with the end results!  The theme was nighttime.  It primarily focused on the moon, but ended up with a sprinkling of stars too!    

Books I read…

Moongame by Frank Asch

This book was longer than the books I usually read.  I was a little concerned, but I read it first and we did make it all the way through!  It is a cute story about a bear playing hide and seek with the moon.  

 

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

A wonderful story about a kitten who thinks the moon is a bowl of milk.  This story did not hold the little ones attention as well as I thought it would.  However, they did enjoy the kitten jumping into the pond! 

Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown

You simply cannot go wrong with this book!  This was a great way to end our busy story time.  I tried to read it slowly so it would bring the excitement level down a bit.  Most of the little ones sat very still throughout this book and I could see they were enjoying it.

How it went…

We began with the action rhyme Moon Ride from SurLaLune Storytime via Storytime Katie.  (Thanks: SurLaLune Storytime)  This was a great rhyme to begin with because it ends with “Sit back down, and I’ll read you a book.”  An awesome segue into book one! 

Do you want to go up with me to the moon?      (Point to friend, self, then to sky)
Let's get in our rocket ship and blast off soon!      (Pretend to climb in ship)
Faster and faster we reach to the sky.      (Jump and reach)
Isn't it fun to be able to fly?      (Stretch arms out)
We're on the moon, now all take a look.      (Look down)
Sit back down, and I'll read you a book.      (All sit down)

 

After reading our first book, we were back up on our feet with the song, The Moon Up Above

(to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”). 

(Thanks: Morristown Centennial Library)

 

The moon up above is      
Big and round                                  
Big and round                                  
Big and round                                  
The moon up above                       
Is big and round                              
In the sky                                          

The moon up above is

Near the stars 
Near the stars
Near the stars
The moon up above is
Near the stars
In the sky 

The moon up above helps

Me to sleep
Me to sleep
Me to sleep
The moon up above helps
Me to sleep
In my bed!

Our flannel this week was Hey Diddle Diddle!  The little ones love to look at the felts so Flannel Time is always a bit crazy.  Once I had all the pieces on the board, we were able to say the rhyme together, giggling along with the dog! 

With the felt pieces safely put away, I passed out bells and we jingled our way through Aikendrum from Raffi’s cd Singable Songs for the Very Young.  Most of the little ones were not familiar with this song, but Aikendrum was a man from in the moon after all, so it totally needed to be included in this story time!

Slowing it down a bit in anticipation for a quiet storytelling of Goodnight Moon, we did the fingerplay Stars.  (Thanks: Concord Public Schools) This sweet fingerplay was so much fun, we did it twice!  We followed it up by singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

At night I see the twinkling stars      (Fists up and open hands over your head)

And a great big smiling moon      (Circle arms overhead)

My Mommy tucks me into bed      (Lay pointer of one hand across the palm of the other hand)

And sings a good-night tune.      (Rock your hands back and forth)

 

This was my most well attended story time and the energy in the room was contagious!  It can be a little difficult to accomplish some activities with a large room of little ones.  But, overall it went fantastic!  I think everyone was ready for nighttime when it was over!

 

Flannel Friday - Hey Diddle Diddle

Nursery rhymes are a great addition to any story time!  These classic rhymes are easy to use at a moment’s notice because we typically already know the words!  What better way to teach new little ones these rhymes, but with a fun flannel set to accompany it.

Hey Diddle Diddle

 

   Hey diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon,

The little dog laughed,

To see such sport,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

This week I am using this flannel as part of my nighttime/moon theme, but I am excited to use it again and again!

--- Miss Kristie