For our third Toddler Storytime of the spring session, we read books about pigs.
Books We Shared
Our first book, Pigs and a Blanket by James Burks, tells a story of two little pig siblings who both love their blanket… but they love each other even more.
Our second book, Piggies by Don and Audrey Wood, pictures of pigs dancing and being silly as a metaphor for all the things our fingers can do.
Flannel Board Counting
Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean
(to the tune of Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
(Credit: storytimekatie)
Five pigs so squeaky clean
Cleanest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
One jumped into the mud
Landed with a big THUD
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs!
(Take a pig and flip it over to show it getting dirty. Repeat the rhyme with one fewer pig mentioned, until there are no more clean pigs)
Five Little Piggies in the Bath
(Credit: Artsy Toddler Storytimes by Carol Garnett Hopkins)
One little piggy was taking a bath
The water was splashing and the bubbles were rising
When another little piggy came to join the fun!
Two little piggies were taking a bath…
(Continue up to five pigs, then flip them over to show them all clean:)
The bathtub is full. The piggies are clean.
And the slippery little piggies get out of the bath!
Letter of the Day
To emphasize writing skills I have the toddlers practice drawing the letter of the day in the air. Our letter of the day was “P.” We talked about things that start with P.
Video We Shared
Know what else starts with P? Puddles! We showed “Muddy Puddles” from the show Peppa Pig. I like this show because of how calm and sweet her parents are. They always have a great sense of humor.
Rhymes & Bounces & Songs We Shared without Music
We sing a lot of songs during storytime! You’ll find lyrics to those songs without music here.
Open Shut Them
Open, shut them (open and close fingers)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap (clap hands)
Open, shut them (open and close fingers)
Open, shut them
Place them on your lap, lap, lap (pat knees)
Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them (“crawl” your fingers very slowly from your knees up to your face)
Right up to your chin, chin, chin (touch chin)
Open up your little mouth BUT…(open wide!)
Do not let them in! (quickly and abruptly move hands behind your back and smack lips shut)
To Market, To Market
To market, to market to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggity jig!
To market, to market to buy a fat hog
Home again, home again, jiggity jog!
One Bright Scarf
One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow (gently wave scarf)
Toss it up high (toss the scarf and catch it)
And wave it down low (wave it near the ground)
Wiggle it fast (shake the scarf fast)
And wiggle it slow (wave the scarf slowly)
Hey! (hide scarf) Where did it go?
…Here it is!
(Alternate ending:)
Hey! (put scarf over your or toddler’s face) Where did you go?
(lift scarf)…There you are!
This is the Way We Wash Our Face
(Tune: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we wash our face (move hands on face)
Wash our face, wash our face
This is the way we wash our face
When we go to bed.
(repeat with other body parts)
This is the way we wash our hands…
This is the way we wash our feet…
This is the way we wash our knees…
This is the way we wash our tummies…
I’m a Little Piggy
(Tune: I’m a Little Teapot)
I’m a little piggy, short and stout
Here are my ears (bring hands to top of head)
And here is my snout (use fingers to gesture a long snout)
When I see the yummy food in my pail
I oink, oink, oink (jump)
and I wiggle my tail! (shake imaginary “tail”)
Storytime’s Over
Hands up high! (Put your hands in air)
Now give a big sigh (sigh and bring hands down)
Our storytime’s over
So wave bye-bye (wave)
Music from CDs We Shared
I love to sing and dance to music. Here are some of the songs and cds 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.
“Shake Your Sillies Out” from Raffi’s The Singable Songs Collection
You gotta shake, shake, shake your sillies out
Shake, shake, shake your sillies out
Shake, shake, shake your sillies out
And wiggle your waggles away
You gotta clap, clap, clap your crazies out
clap, clap, clap your crazies out
clap, clap, clap your crazies out
And wiggle your waggles away
You gotta jump, jump, jump your jiggles out
jump, jump, jump your jiggles out
jump, jump, jump your jiggles out
And wiggle your waggles away
You gotta yawn, yawn, yawn the sleepies out
yawn, yawn, yawn the sleepies out
yawn, yawn, yawn the sleepies out
And wiggle your waggles away
You gotta shake, shake, shake your sillies out
Shake, shake, shake your sillies out
Shake, shake, shake your sillies out
And wiggle your waggles away
“I’m a Little Teapot/Two Little Blackbirds” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music
I’m a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle (bring one hand to waist)
Here is my spout (stick the other hand out like a teapot spout)
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout: (wiggle a little bit)
“Tip me over and pour me out!” (bend in the direction of your outstretched hand)
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill (hold both your index fingers out and wiggle them)
One named Jack and the other named Jill (wiggle each index finger)
Fly away Jack and fly away Jill (bring each finger, one at a time, behind your back)
Come back Jack and come back Jill (bring each finger back in front of you one at a time)
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” from Walt Disney’s Children’s Favorite Songs Volume 1
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.
Additional Activities
I also told the story of the Three Little Pigs using pig hand puppets. I wore a hat to play the Big Bad Wolf. As I blow the piggies’ houses down, the pig puppets run into the arms of the children, who are invited to pass the puppets around so that everyone can pet them.
Continue the Fun
Want more stories about pigs? Check these out at your Pasadena Public Library branch: