Toddlertime 11-21-18: Thanksgiving

My Toddlertime format is:

• Intro and hello
• Book
• Toddlers are basically babies who can run away from you, so I tend to look for books with no more than two lines of text per page. When they're that age, kids are still figuring out how books work, how you hold and treat them, and looking at the pictures. They will listen to the story and participate if the book has an interactive element, so anything that will keep them engaged verbally or physically is Toddlertime gold.
• Movement song
• This is the time for a longer movement song. Ideally one that corresponds to your theme, but that's not a requirement. Some themes just aren't compatible with music, and that's okay.
• Felt story
• My favorites are the ones where the kids have to help you chant, identify colors, count with you, or sing a song.
• Movement song(s)
• Depending on how much time we have, I'll use one 2-3 minute song or two that are under a minute long.
• Goodbye
• 10-15 minute toy time
• Toddler attention spans are short! In this storytime, I only plan 15-20 minutes of content because that's about as long as you can hold their attention. After that, we do a short community playtime with educational toys to give kids the opportunity to learn to play in a group, and parents the opportunity to meet and interact with one another.

Book

All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin

This book didn't go over great with the toddlers, and I think it was because it's too long. I would probably paperclip some of the pages together to make it shorter if I used this book again. However, it is a very cute story about families of different sizes and species sharing pie together and definitely gets you in a Thanksgiving mood.

Movement Song

"Happy and You Know It" by Mr. Jon

Has nothing to do with the theme, just a fun song that most kids know.

Felt Story

"Five Little Turkeys"
[A good way to get kids involved is to ask them to help you count how many turkeys are left after each verse, and invite them to chant with you if they pick it up]

Five little turkeys at the barn door
One waddled off and then there were four

Four little turkeys out under a tree
One waddled off and then there were three

Three little turkeys with nothing to do
One waddled off and then there were two

Two little turkeys in the noonday sun
One waddled off and then there was one

One little turkey--better run away!
It's almost Thanksgiving Day!

Movement Songs

"Follow the Leader" by Ella Jenkins

"Peek-a-Boo"

Both of these songs have a strange hypnotizing effect on small children. Even if they're mid-tantrum, most littles will stop what they're doing and follow my motions until the song is over.

Get Twisty!

Sometimes when I'm short on programs, I refer to those online calendars that list every single local and national holiday that's ever been celebrated. That's how I found out that National Tongue Twister Day is November 8th. I wanted to have a tongue twister program, but couldn't figure out what we would actually DO in that program until I started searching for tongue twister-related crafts and activities. Thanks to a bunch of websites I didn't keep track of, I came up with a plan.

Station 1: Craft
Using only markers and construction paper, you can make this awesome tongue twister craft! I took it one step further and actually cut a slit in the mouth with scissors so the tongue could literally stick through. Some of the results were terrifying (mostly mine because I can't draw faces) and others were downright adorable. This is an example from Teaching Madness. Unfortunately, I was too busy running the program to get pictures of what our patrons made.

Station 2: Twister

I ordered the actual game of Twister for this program. When I was clicking around Amazon looking for the best version, I found out that Finger Twister is a thing, too! I had to order two Finger Twisters in addition to an extra-large Twister board.

Station 3: Tongue Twisters

Of course, no tongue twister program would be complete without people actually reading them aloud. I set up the microphone and encouraged everyone to pick a tongue twister out of a hat and step up to the mic. Everyone who read one was entered into a drawing to win one of four prizes: the two Finger Twister sets, a small tongue twister coloring book, or a 3D printed Einstein with his tongue sticking out. 

This is just the 3D printer template. The finished product was much less terrifying.

This was a fun program that I might repeat in the summer or the next time National Tongue Twister Day rolls around!

Sign Language Storytime: Things That Go

My Sign Language Storytime format is:
Intro and hello
Felt story
Movement song or video
Book
Movement song
Goodbye

This storytime is special for a couple of reasons. First, it's the only one that I give a handout with pictures of the signs on it, so that the kids and grownups can refer to it during storytime and then practice at home. Second, I'm experimenting with adding an AV component to storytime by showing videos to follow along with instead of just listening to songs.

Handout:

Intro and hello:

Hello: "Hello Friends"
Before turning on the music, I teach the kids (and grownups) the American Sign Language sign for "friends." Then we boogie, wave, and sing hello to all our friends!

Warming Up Motor Skills: "Open, Shut Them"
On this song we do the movements described in the lyrics: open our hands, close our hands, clap three times, put our hands in our lap, creep our fingers up to our chin, and don't let them in our mouths.

Stretch: "Tall/Small"
This is a short, easy stretch the kids get a kick out of. While we're stretching, I like to encourage them to reach for the ceiling, touch their toes, then make themselves into a tiny ball.

Felt Story
"This Little Train"
To the tune of "This Old Man." Bolded text is where I encourage storytimers to sing along.
Start out with just the tracks on the board, add each train car with their verses.

This little train, painted black (add black engine)
It comes chugging down the track
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

This little car, painted blue (add blue train car)
It has seats for me and you
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

This little car, painted yellow (add yellow train car)
It shimmies and shakes like a bowl of jello
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

This little car, painted green (add green train car)
It's the fanciest train car you've ever seen
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

These train tracks, metal and gray (point to tracks)
They take you places far away
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

This caboose, painted red (add caboose)
It will take you home to bed
With a choo-coo, toot-toot, hear the whistle blow
This little train goes chugging home.

Movement Song
"Five Little Monkeys"

I decided not to use a video this month, because I once again could not find one with signs relating to our theme that presented a good amount of signs in an accessible way. So, we learned the signs for "boat" and "bus," then rocked out to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Wheels on the Bus."

Book

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman

This book is one of the few that is great for toddlers and preschoolers alike. Even if you don't want to use the official signs for "truck" and "town," it still has a great opportunity for repetition and directed movement. The kids love being included when it's time to "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the trashy town!" An added bonus is, the universal sign everyone uses when pretending to drive a car is actually the official sign for car or truck! 

Movement Song
"Hurry, Hurry, Drive That Firetruck"

Since we already learned the sign for truck (on the handout above), I gave a bonus sign, "fire," and then we practiced our sign for "firetruck" between the usual movements in this song. A lot of the older kiddos seemed delighted to know the sign for firetruck, which was really fun to watch.

Fire

Goodbye
"Until We Meet Again" from Out of the Box
When we sing this song, I help them recall the sign for friends from the hello song, and teach them a couple others as we sing: meet, time, and say.

Friends

Meet

Goodbye

This is the only storytime that I don't close with bubbles, because directly following is another program called Stay and Play where I set out 4-5 bins of toys for a 30 minute free play. Adding bubbles to that seems to be too much stimulation.