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:

Dear Zoo

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
creature features
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

Monkey and alligator2

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

polar_bear_book

 


 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!

 

 

 

 

 
animals flannel
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

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!