When families flocked to our second toddler storytime of the Fall session, they heard a storytime all about sheep!
Books We Shared
Lauren Thompson’s Wee Little Lamb, illustrated by John Butler, is about a newborn lamb who is very shy. he doesn’t want to venture far from his mother, even to have fun with the other animals. But when he meets a mouse, he finds another shy friend who knows just how he needs to play.
Our second book was a the rollicking, rhyming romp Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, illustrated by Margot Apple. A group of sheep are out for a jaunt in a jeep, but they are not the best drivers. Will the car survive intact? This is just one of the books in the series of Sheep books by Shaw.
ks in the series of Sheep books by Shaw.
Flannel Board Letter
S is for Sheep
Sheep starts with the letter S! We identified the letter, drew it in the air, made the sound that S makes, and talked about some other things that start with S: snowflake, sun, smile, stegosaurus, and stars!
Flannel Board Counting
10 Sheep
We counted ten sheep during our counting flannelboard!
Flannel Board Story
Mary’s Many Color Lambs
I found this rhyme via Lisa at Libraryland, who found it from LibrErin, who found it on Recipes for Reading. Recipes for Reading linked to a template for the pieces at Making Learning Fun.
We placed the white lamb on the board, then sang:
Mary had a little lamb
little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
its fleece was white as snow.
But did you know Mary had many different lambs. We sang about some of these lambs too:
Mary had a blue lamb
blue lamb, blue lamb
Mary had a blue lamb
its fleece was blue as sky…
We sang about the blue lamb, the green as grass lamb, and the orange as an orange lamb.
Video We Watched
“Sheep” from Maisy’s Friends on Play Time Maisy
Maisy and Tallulah go to visit the sheep. But while she’s there, Tallulah loses her hair bow. When she returns for it, she forgets to latch the gate, and all the sheep escape. How will Maisy and Tallulah get them back in their pen?
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.
Welcome 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
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Give a little clap, clap, clap. (Clap hands on “clap”)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Open, shut them. (Spread fingers wide, then close into fists)
Place them in your lap, lap, lap (Pat lap with hands on “lap”)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up stomach to chin)
Creep them, crawl them (creep fingers up stomach to chin)
Right up to your chin, chin, chin (tap chin with hands on “chin”)
Open up your little mouth (open mouth wide and pretend to put fingers in)
But do not let them in! (Hide hands behind your back quickly)
For a video of me (Jennifer) doing this rhyme, watch the video below:
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands. Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the water spout. (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)
Down came the rain and (wiggle fingers and bring then downward)
Washed the spider out. (make baseball “safe” motion)
Out came the sun and (hands above head in a circle)
and dried up all the rain. (hands out at side of body)
And the itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands. Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the spout again. (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)
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
Sometimes it’s fun to sing along with music. Here are some of the songs and cds used in today’s storytime.
“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman
Clap everybody and say hello.
Clap everybody and say hello.
Clap everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.
Other Verses:
Jump everybody and say hello…
Wiggle everybody and say hello…
Sing everybody and say hello…
“Roll Your Hands” from Toddlers on Parade by Carol Hammett and Elaine Bueffel
Roll, roll, roll your hands
as fast as fast can be
do it now, let me see
do it now with me
Other verses:
Tap tap tap your feet…
Shake, shake, shake your feet…
Roll, roll, roll your hands …
“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by the Old Town School of Folk Music
Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
life is but a dream.
Other verses:
Twist, twist, twist your boat…
Bounce, bounce, bounce your boat…
Sway, sway, sway your boat…
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle your boat…
Tickle, tickle, tickle your boat…
“Two Little Blackbirds” from Fingerplays and Footplays for Fun and Learning by Rosemary Hallum and Henry “Buzz” Glass.
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Fly away Jack
Fly away Jill
Come back Jack
Come back Jill
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Continue the Fun
Want to share more books about sheep? Check out some of these books at your Pasadena Public Library branch:
