Our second storytime of the summer session was all about the concept of OPPOSITES ~ fast & slow, yes & no, black & white, day & night and so on!  

Exposing your toddler to concepts through books, songs and rhymes contributes to brain development.  Just think of the neural connections your  child’s brain is making during our 30 minutes together!

The US Department of Education has a great webpage which outlines the benefits of reading aloud to your child, along with suggestions on how to maximize the fun and learning when you share this activity together.  If you want to access that information, click here:  USDeptEducation

For now, here are the books, songs, rhymes, flannel stories and video we shared for our storytime on Opposites!


Books We Shared

   

In Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox we find the blue sheep, the red sheep, the UP sheep, the DOWN sheep, the NEAR  sheep and the FAR SHEEP…   but we can’t seem to find the GREEN sheep!  Well, not until the very last page at least!  Opposites are woven into the tapestry of this picture book which also teaches children colors, moves through different locales (beach, circus…)  and builds suspense on the way to unraveling  the mystery of the GREEN sheep.

Lucy Cousin’s book, Maisy Big, Maisy Small, takes us on a journey of opposites.  There is Maisy hot and Maisy cold, Maisy slow and Maisy fast, Maisy thin and  Maisy thick… (you get the picture).  Simple language and bright, bold colors make this concept book a perfect lap sit or read aloud for infants.


Flannel Boards We Shared

 Little Ball, Big Ball

A little ball, a bigger ball, a great big ball I see. 
Can you count the green balls? One, two, three.

Repeat for blue and red. 
Add the whie ball and say:
 
Little balls, big balls, another ball I see. 
Can you count all the balls? 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10!


Rhymes & Songs & Fingerplays We Shared

We sing a lot of songs during storytime!  You’ll find lyrics to those songs without music here.

Welcome Song (song)
(to the tune of 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!

Open Shut Them (fingerplay)

Click her for video:  Open Shut Them

Open shut them, open shut them (open hands wide, close them tight)
Give a little clap, clap, clap (clap 3x)
Open shut them, open shut them (open hands wide, close them tight)
Place them on your lap, lap, lap (bounce hands on lap)
Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them (crawl fingers up to chin)
Right up to your chinny, chin chin (tap chin with fingers)
Open up your little mouth BUT (open mouth)
Do not let them in! (quickly place hands behind your back)

This is Big, Big, Big

This is big big big
Hold arms out to side

This is small small small
Cup hands together

This is short short short
Hold hands with palms facing each other

This is tall tall tall
Reach one hand above head

This is fast fast fast
Circle fists quickly

This is slow slow slow
Circle fists slowly

This is yes yes yes
Nod

This is no no no
Shake head

Credit:  Mel’s Desk

You are My Sunshine (song)

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
And I love you more every day…


Music from CDs We Shared

Children love to sing and dance to music.  Here are some of the songs/bounces on CD that we used in storytime.

“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman

Clap everybody and say hello, (clap hands)
Clap everybody and say hello,
Clap everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Stamp everybody and say hello, (stomp feet)
Stamp everybody and say hello,
Stamp everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Wiggle everybody and say hello, (wiggle baby)
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Jump everybody and say hello, (lift baby up high)
Jump everybody and say hello,
Jump everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Sing everybody and say hello, (wave hi)
Sing everybody and say hello,
Sing everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

“Wheels on the Bus” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round,
The wheels on the bus go round and round ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, swish swish swish,  swish, swish, swish,
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!
Repeat with:
The horn on bus goes beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep…
The driver on the bus says move on back, move on back, move on back…
The babies on the bus go wah wah wah, wah wah wah, wah wah wah…
The fox on the bus says I won’t go, I won’t go, I won’t go…
The mamas and the daddies say shhh shhh shhh…
The mamas and the daddies say I love you, I love you, I love you…
The people on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down…
The wheels on bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammet & Elaine Bueffel

Click here for video:  Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

“Roll Your Hands” from  Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammet & Elaine Bueffel

Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Clap, clap, clap your hands as loud as loud can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Tap, tap, tap your feet as softly as can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Shake, shake, shake your feet as quickly as can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!
Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be
Do it now, let me see, do it now for me!

“Goodbye Babies” (in sign)

Click here for video:  Goodbye Babies 

Goodbye babies, goodbye babies
Goodbye babies, it’s time to say goodbye.


Video We Watched

“Wheels on the Bus”


Extend the Fun at Home