During our December 12th toddler storytimes, we read about winter and snow. Brrrr…it was cold! Below are some of the stories, songs and activities we explored.
Books
We read Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson. In this book, Mouse follows his Poppa as they explore sledding, ice skating, making snow angels & building a snow house AND a snow mouse! All kinds of mouse fun in the snow! For our second story, we shared Cynthia Rylant’s Brownie & Pearl See the Sights. Brownie is a young girl whose best friend is a cat named Pearl. Brownie & Pearl are always together and one snowy day they decide to take in the sights of the city. But where to go first? A hat shop, of course! Then off to a shoe shop and a cupcake shop and finally back home “because sights are good, but home is better.” Bold, bright illustrations and simple text make this perfect for toddlers. In Oh What a Surprise! by Suzanne Bloom, we see Fox impatiently awaiting his very own surprise gift from Bear. Can Fox hang on until the very end of the story? Barely! A sweet story about anticipation, waiting and the spirit of giving.
Flannel Board Story
Five Little Snowmen Fat
Five Little Snowmen Fat
Five little snowmen fat,
Each with a funny hat
Out came the sun and melted one (place sun over a snowman)
What do you think of that?
(Down, down, down)
(Repeat with four, three, two, one until none are left)
THEN
Five hats are all around
No snowmen to be found
But have no fear
The sun will disappear (cover sun with cloud)
And the snowmen will come back! (bring snowmen back)
Rhymes & Songs We Shared
We have a lot of fun doing songs and action rhymes at storytime! Here are some of the ones we shared:
Welcome Song (tune: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Welcome, welcome everyone
Now we’re here let’s have some fun.
First we clap our hands just so
Then we bend and touch our toes
Welcome, welcome everyone
Now we’re here let’s have some fun.
Clap Everybody and Say Hello Sally Go Round the Sun CD by Kathy Reid-Naiman
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).
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.
“Itsy Bitsy Spider”
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
“You Are My Sunshine” – Click here for CD: Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music
“Goodbye, Goodbye” – Click here for CD: Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music
“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” – Click here for CD: Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman
“Roll Your Hands” Click here for CD: Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett & Elaine Bueffel
“Goodbye Friends” (in sign)
Goodbye friends, goodbye friends, goodbye friends,
It’s time to say goodbye…
See video here: Goodbye Friends
Film We Watched in Toddler Storytime
Let’s Play in the Snow
More Fun
If you’d like to read more books about snow/winter, check these out at your local public library:
