We had a wonderful time reading books about fish during Toddler Storytime this week.  We met Fred the Fish, sang songs, had fun with action rhymes, shared a flannel story and watched a brief video about pet fish.

We also learned that the word Fish begins with the letter F and we talked about two other things that begin with the letter F:  Frog and Flower.

 

Books We Shared

Fun FACT:  Did you know it is good to read early and often to your infant?  You might think that your baby isn’t able to benefit from books when they are just a few months old, but that is not true. 

Beginning early is important because the roots of language are developing in a baby’s brain even before they can talk! The more words your baby hears over time, the more words they learn.  Zero to Three

We started with a book by Lucy Cousins titled:  Hooray for Fish!  If you read the blog post about our storytime on Birds, you’ll know that she has a similar book titled:  Hooray for Birds!  Both are colorful, bold, bright and full of directional concepts like up and down, round and round and upside down.  You’ll also find opportunities to talk about counting, shapes, movement – a whole host of things that offer teachable moments.  These books are great for infants and toddlers.

One Lonely Fish (a counting book with bite) was written by Andy Mansfield and illustrated by both Thomas Flintham and Andy Mansfield.  It is a counting book that is cumulative; with each turn of the page we see another fish.  But each fish is bigger than its predecessor!  Hmmmm…this means trouble.  Eventually we reach the 10th fish and he is BIG enough to swallow all 9 of his predecessors in one big gulp!  Visually interesting with a lift-the-flap feel to it, this book’s surprise ending does not disappoint!

Flannel Board We Shared

5 BIG FISH

5 big fish swimming in the sea (make swimming motions with arms)
5 big fish having fun and feeling FREE! (wiggle fingers in the air on FREE)
One big fish started swimming to shore
And that leaves us with only 4! (count aloud 1-2-3-4)

4 big fish swimming in the sea (make swimming motions with arms)
4 big fish having fun and feeling FREE! (wiggle fingers in the air on FREE)
Another big fish decided to flee
And that leaves us with only 3! (count aloud 1-2-3)

3 big fish swimming in the sea (make swimming motions with arms)
3 big fish having fun and feeling FREE! (wiggle fingers in the air on FREE)
Another fish said:  “I have things to do!” so he swam away
And that leaves us with 2! (count aloud 1-2)

2 big fish swimming in the sea (make swimming motions with arms)
2 big fish having fun and feeling FREE! (wiggle fingers in the air on FREE)
Another fish said: “I want to feel the sun!” so she swam away
And then there was 1! (count aloud 1)

Slowly say…

1 big fish swimming in the sea (make swimming motions with arms)
1 big fish feeling sad and feeling free (wiggle fingers in the air very slowly)
This big fish felt so sad and all alone that she decided to swim back HOME!

Sadly say…

No big fish swimming in the sea, no more fish having fun and feeling free…

Action Songs & Rhymes

We share a lot of songs & rhymes during storytime!  You’ll find lyrics/words to those songs & rhymes we shared.  We even sang a song with our scarves titled:  “One, Two, Three…Wheee!”   We had to count to 8 so I warmed everyone up for that exercise!  (We counted up to 8 using the flannel numbers you see above.)

I’ve included a video clip of the song by the original artist, Eric Litwin.  You might be familiar with his famous character, Pete the Cat!

Welcome, Welcome Everyone (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle)

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! (see “CDs section” below to find this song in our CD collection)

Clap everybody and say hello, clap everybody and say hello, clap everybody and say hello, no matter what the weather

Stamp everybody… (stamp feet)

Wiggle everybody… (wiggle your body)

Jump everybody… (jump up and down)

Sing everybody… (open arms wide)

Roll Your Hands (see “CDs section” below to find this song in our CD collection)

Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be! (roll hands)

Do it now, let me see, do it now with me.

Clap, clap, clap your hands as loud as loud can be!  (clap hands)

Do it now, let me see, do it now with me.

Tap, tap, tap your feet as softly as can be! (quietly tap feet)

Do it now, let me see, do it now with me.

Shake, shake, shake your feet as quickly as can be!  (quickly shake feet onto the ground)

Do it now, let me see, do it now with me.

Roll, roll, roll your hands as fast as fast can be! (roll hands)

Do it now, let me see, do it now with me. (keep rolling until the end of the song)

Two Little Eyes  fingerplay rhyme)

Two little eyes to look around (point to eyes)
Two little ears to hear a sound (point to ears)
One little nose to smell what’s sweet (point to nose)
One little mouth that likes to eat! (point to mouth)

Open Shut Them – Video:  Open Shut Them

Open, shut them, open, shut them, (open and close hands)
Give a little clap, clap, clap.  (clap three times)
Open shut them, open shut them (open and close hands)
Put them in your lap, lap, lap. (place hands in lap and bounce them 3X)

Creep them, crawl them, creep them crawl them, (crawl fingers up arms)
Right up to your chinny, chin chin (place fingers on chin)
Open up your little mouth (open mouth and say ahhhhhh)
But do not put them in!! (put hands behind your back)

This is Big

This is big, big, big (stretch hands far to sides)
This is small, small, small (cup hands together)
This is short, short, short (hold palms close vertically)
This is tall, tall, tall (hold palms far apart vertically)
This is fast, fast, fast (roll hands quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow (roll hands slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes (nod head)
This is no, no, no (shake head)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star– Video:  Twinkle Twinkle

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle Twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are.

You are My Sunshine (short version)

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray.

You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
And I love you more every day.

Goodbye Friends (in sign) – Video:  Goodbye Friends

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

Music from CDs We Shared

Children love to sing and dance to music.  Here are some of the action songs & rhymes on CD that we used in storytime.  Click onto the CD titles to find these items in our library catalog.

“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

“Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Kathy Reid-Naiman

“I’m a Little Teapot” from Toddler Favorites by Music for Little People

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” from Its Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

“ABC”  from Go Baby Go! Baby Loves Jazz by Baby Loves Jazz Band

“Two Little Blackbirds” from  Circle Time: songs and rhymes for the very young by Lisa Monet

“We’re Going to the Market” from I Love to Hear the Sounds by Kathy Reid-Naiman

“Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes” from Its Toddler Time by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel

“I know a Chicken” from Whaddya Think of That? by Laurie Berkner

Video

So Smart!  Pets
My Pet Fish

CONTINUE THE FUN

If you want to read more books about fish make sure to check these out from your local Pasadena Library!