For our last Toddler Storytime of the Spring session (June 9), we ended with a trip to the ZOO!
A heartfelt thank you for sharing your beautiful toddlers with me! It was a joy and an honor.
Let’s take a peek at the books, songs & flannel activities we shared; for a printable list of ALL of the songs & rhymes we explored (including lyrics), click here: TODDLER – Songs-Rhymes
OUR OPENING SONGS:
Welcome Everyone!
Clap Everybody and Say Hello!
OUR ACTION RHYME:
Open, Shut Them
OUR MOVEMENT SONG:
Roll Your Hands
OUR STORIES:
I was able to capture the toddlers’ attention with a classic book, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. This book is about a child who writes to the Zoo asking for the perfect pet; there was quite a bit of trial & error before the Zookeeper sent him a suitable match! The toddlers loved it and I think the parents did too!
I couldn’t resist sharing some creatures from this marvelously illustrated book. It is nonfiction but the visuals are bright, clearly delineated and stunning, so I thought the toddlers would be attracted to the pictures. Packed with many cool facts and visuals on where certain animals live and what they eat, this book captures twenty-five humorous—and very true—explanations of why animals look the way they do in order to exist in this world.
OUR FLANNEL STORIES:
Teasing Mr. Crocodile
We had fun with the flannel version of this story:
Teasing Mr. Crocodile
Five little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile,
“You can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Crocodile,
(finger up to mouth like SHHHH)
Quiet as can be
SNAP
(Both hands clap together like a crocodile’s mouth)
AND SNATCHED THAT MONKEY RIGHT OUT OF THAT TREE…(pull one monkey from the flannel board)
Four little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile,
“You can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Crocodile,
Quiet as can be
SNAP
Three little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile,
“You can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Crocodile,
Quiet as can be
SNAP
Two little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile,
“You can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Crocodile,
Quiet as can be
SNAP
One little monkey
Sitting in a tree
Teasing Mr. Crocodile,
“You can’t catch me.”
Along came Mr. Crocodile,
Quiet as can be
SNAP
No more little monkeys
Sitting in a tree
We also had fun with a flannel version of Eric Carle’s Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? I had a hard time figuring out the sound to make for a hippo but one of the parents chimed in with a PAWWWWT. That worked!
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you hear?
I hear a Lion roaring in my ear (ROAR)
Lion, Lion, what do you hear?
I hear a Zebra braying in my ear (BRAYYYYY)
[Repeat with the rest of the animals and end with the Zookeeper…]
OUR VIDEO:
Goodnight Gorilla
OUR CLOSING SONGS:
Row Your Boat
Itsy Bitsy Spider
I’m a Little Teapot/2 Little Blackbirds
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
You Are My Sunshine
Goodbye Friends (in sign) (to the tune of Hello Ladies)
Storytime’s Over…Let’s Wave Bye-Bye!