Specs
Age group: toddlers (24 - 36 months)
Group Size: about 8 kids and one parent/caregiver per toddler
Time: 10:30am to 11:15am
Parent/Caregiver Handouts
One of my colleagues told me that one of the ways we can encourage parents to participate is to give them printouts of the songs and rhymes we use. This way, they can participate with the child beside them, or on their lap, and the handout close by. Here are the ones we used for this storytime:
Toddler Storytime Songs and Rhymes
Boats Theme Songs and Rhymes
The Plan
Welcome Song
Up Down Turn Around
Hands Are Clapping
Book: Boats by Anne Rockwell
Song: Row Row Row Your Boat (with partner)
Song: Jolly Ship (with partner)
Book: Little Tug by Stephen Savage
Song: Slippery Fish
Craft: fish puppet and floating boat
Activity: What Floats?
Stickers + colouring sheet
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Welcome Song
(sing to tune of “London Bridge is Falling Down”)
Hi hello and how are you
How are you? How are you?
Hi hello and how are you?
How are you today?
It’s a bright and sunny day
Sunny day, sunny day
It’s a bright and sunny day
For storytime and play!
Up Down Turn Around
Up, down
Turn around
Touch the sky
Touch the ground
Wiggle fingers
Wiggle toes
Wiggle shoulders
Say hello!
Hands Are Clapping
(sing to tune of “Skip To My Lou”)
Hands are clapping
Clap clap clap
Hands are clapping
Clap clap clap
Hands are clapping
Clap clap clap
Clap your hands my darling!
Continue with …
-feet are stomping
-arms are flapping
End with…
Now let’s sit on the floor
Now let’s sit on the floor
Now let’s sit on the floor
Sit on the floor my darling!
Book: Boats by Anne Rockwell
A nice introduction to different kinds of boats. It has simple enough text and illustrations that my toddlers were able to sit through the whole book.
Song: Row Row Row Your Boat
Row row row your boat, gently down the stream
Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream.
Row row row your boat gently down the stream,
If you see a crocodile, don’t forget to scream! Ahh!
Row row row your boat, gently to the shore,
If you see a lion there, don’t forget to ROAR!!!
I asked the parents to partner up with their toddler. Sitting cross-legged in front of each other and holding each others' hands, toddler and parent perform the actions of the song. We did this twice and they all seemed to like it.
Song: Jolly Ship
Oh around and around went the jolly, jolly ship
Oh around and around went she
Oh around and around went the jolly, jolly ship
Till she sank to the bottom of the sea
"Pull her up, Pull her up" said the captain of the ship
"Pull her up, Pull her up" said she
"Pull her up, Pull her up" said the captain of the ship
Till she pops to the top of the sea!
Check out this youtube video to learn how to sing the song. I asked the parents and toddlers to continue partnering up and to perform the actions together. For the second verse, the parents can make the pulling motions and the toddler can pop back up, since they would have "sunk to the bottom of the sea" in the previous verse.
Book: The Tug Boat by Stephen Savage
We attempted to read this book, but there was too much energy in the room, so we stood back up and performed...
Song: Slippery Fish
Slippery fish, slippery fish, sliding through the water,
Slippery fish, slippery fish, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!
Oh, no! It's been eaten by an ...
Octopus, octopus, squiggling in the water
Octopus, octopus, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!
Oh, no! It's been eaten by a ...
Tuna fish, tuna fish, flashing in the water,
Tuna fish, tuna fish, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!
Oh, no! It's been eaten by a ...
Great white shark, great white shark, lurking in the water,
Great white shark, great white shark, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!
Oh, no! It's been eaten by a ...
Humongous whale, humongous whale, spouting in the water,
Humongous whale, humongous whale,
Gulp! ... Gulp! ... Gulp! ... BURP!
(Cover your mouth.) Excuse me!
I love how the two awesome librarians at JBrary perform this song. Check out their youtube video!
Craft: fish puppet and floating boat
Materials:
-popsicle sticks
-googly eyes
-construction paper cut out into fish shapes
-stickers
-glue
Materials:
-pool noodle cut into smaller chunks
-plastic straw
-coloured foam sheets cut into triangular sails and hole punched
I was inspired to do this craft from Frog, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails.
Activity: What Floats?
Materials:
-marbles, feathers, paper, and any other material
-the boat craft the toddlers made
To add a little science to the storytime, I asked the kids to guess which materials would float. At first, the activity seemed to be going well, but afterward, when they added their craft boats to the bin, chaos erupted! Some of the parents and caregivers had to take their kids away from the water because all they wanted to do was splash around and dunk their boats :p
Stickers + Colouring Sheet
We didn't have time for the parachute today, but stickers and a boat themed colouring sheet were handed out.
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Credits: I took the songs and rhymes from a variety of sources, some from work, and others from different parts of the internet. I will try to give credit where it is due, so if something is yours and I haven't credited you, please let me know and I will link back to you. Thank you!
