Infant & Toddler Storytime – My Body

Books about the body are such fun to read with infants and toddlers! So many of the books are splendidly interactive!

Books We Shared

For infant storytime, we started with a lift-the-flap story that uncovers ears, eyes, elbows and more: Toes, Ears & Nose by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Karen Katz. Caregivers had a fun pointing out all the parts mentioned to their little ones. We also shared Look at the Baby by Kelly Johnson, a photographically diverse wonderful book that gives a close up look at many different children.

In toddler storytime, African animals helped up celebrate that We’ve All Got Bellybuttons!. This great story by David Martin, illustrated by Randy Cecil encourages listeners to stretch, kick and move in fun ways with all of their different parts. And of course, since bellybuttons are involved there’s gotta be some tickling! Our second book cries out to be sung: Nose to Toes, You are Yummy! by Tim Harrington. So, I sang and everyone did the movements! If you want to share the song at home, you can find it here.

Flannelboard Story

Here Comes Little Bird
little bird flannelboard 1 cropped little bird flannelboard 2 cropped little bird flannelboard 3 cropped little bird flannelboard 4 cropped
(Pattern and Rhyme taken from Felt Board Fingerplays by Liz & Dick Wilmes, art by Janet McDonnell)

Here comes little bird
He’s landing on your HEAD.
Bye bye little bird.
Bye! Bye! Bye!

Continue, replacing HEAD for other body parts like feet, hand, etc.

Rhymes & Songs We Shared

We had a lot of fun doing action rhymes at storytime! Here are the ones we shared without musical accompaniment.

INFANT STORYTIME

Now it’s time to Say Hello
(to tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)
Now it’s time to say hello, say hello, say hello
Now it’s time to say hello and start our storytime.

Peek-a-Boo
(to tune of Frere Jacques)
Peek-a-boo, Peek-a-boo (play peek-a-boo)
I see you, I see you (point at baby)
I see your little nose (touch baby’s nose)
I see your tiny toes (touch baby’s toes)
Peek-a-boo. Peek-a-boo. (play peek-a-boo again)

See a video of Peek-a-Boo.

Trot, Trot to Boston
Trot, trot to Boston (Bounce child gently on lap)
Trot, trot to Lynn.
Look out baby
Don’t fall in! (gently let baby “fall” between your legs)

Patty Cake
Patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man. (Clap your hands)
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it (Roll your hands, hand over hand)
and pat it (pat baby’s legs)
And mark it with a B (write a B on baby’s tummy)
And put it in the oven for Baby and me. (point to baby, then point to you)

Round and Round the Garden
Round and round the garden (circle finger around baby’s bellybutton)
Goes the teddy bear
A one step, a two step, (move fingers up the chest)
A tickle-y under there. (tickle under the chin)

See a video of Round and Round the Garden.

TODDLER STORYTIME

Now it’s time to Say Hello
(to tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)
Now it’s time to say hello, say hello, say hello
Now it’s time to say hello and start our storytime.

Open Shut Them
Open, shut them. (hands palms out with fingers stretched, then close into fists)
Open shut them. (hands palms out with fingers stretched, then close into fists)
Give a little clap, clap, clap. (clap hands on each clap)
Open, shut them. (hands palms out with fingers stretched, then close into fists)
Open shut them. (hands palms out with fingers stretched, then close into fists)
Place them on your lap-lap-lap. (pat lap three times)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up from lap towards chin)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up from lap towards chin)
Right up to your chin-chin-chin (tap fingers on chin)
Open up your little mouth (open mouth wide)
BUT DO NOT LET THEM IN! (say quickly and hide hands behind back).

See a video of Open Shut Them.

Now it’s Time to Say Goodbye
(to tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)
Now it’s time to say goodbye, say goodbye, say goodbye
Now it’s time to say goodbye
I’ll see you all next week.

Music We Shared

Singing is a great way to share words and rhythms with your baby. While you don’t need a music cd to do this, we do share some songs from cds in our storytimes.

INFANT STORYTIME

“Clap, Tap and Bend” from It’s Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel