Last week was the first of my fall storytimes. They represent another big shift in the way I have been able to present since I started at this library. Last spring when I started, we were still observing pandemic protocols, which meant social distancing (each family sat at a separate table) and a very limited capacity of 7 kids with their grownup and an occasional sibling. Over the summer, I was able to present storytime outside, with no need for capacity limits. Now, with vaccines available to kids ages 6 months and up, and masks optional (and virtually abandoned by 90% of the population where I live in the Midwest), we’re back to what was our pre-pandemic storytime protocols.
That means I have registration for 15 families (which can include multiple kids) and we have open space on the rug for everyone to get close, though I do offer chairs for grown-ups who need them. It was quite a paradigm shift. Monday’s Book Babies program for ages 0-2 was at full capacity, and the rug was just a writhing mass of little limbs, parents reaching for runners, overstimulated kiddos exploring and taking it all in. Overall, it went better than I expected! I credit caregivers for participating and doing their best to keep their little ones interested. I explained at the beginning that I don’t expect a 2 year old to sit still for 25 or 30 minutes and listen intently. That roaming around and being more interested in their neighbor than in me is normal and fine. That we are all learning how this new configuration works and the more we participate, the more the kids will, too. It’s a new challenge.
Funny enough, registration for the Tuesday class for 2-3.5 years was full, but only about half of them showed. It was so strange to see everyone in chairs on the opposite side of the rug from me, sitting quietly and shyly. Now that threw me for a loop, after the previous day’s experience!
Early Literacy Tip: Today we used a lot of movements to represent words in our songs and books. Words like up, down, left, right, small, big, nose, toes, and tummy! Pairing purposeful gestures with words helps little ones learn and put meaning to words. Older kids get practice with fine and gross motor skills and controlling their bodies in space. When we sing and use these purposeful gestures, we help kids develop their minds and bodies.
Instead of singing everyone’s name, after singing the first verse we went around the circle and each caregiver introduced themselves and their little one, giving their age and a favorite plaything.
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (BB) (TB) (FT)**
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (BB) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. This week was arms and knees.
Intro: Today we’re talking about opposite words. Words like up and down, big and small, awake and asleep. Let’s start with a rhyme where we make our hands open (like this…) and shut (like this…) Good!
Fingerplay: Open, Shut Them (Hello/Goodbye Version) (BB) (TB) (FT)
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Put your hands down low, low, low
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Wave and say hello-lo-lo!
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Raise your hands up high, high, high
Open, shut them, open, shut them
Wave and say goodbye, bye, bye!
Source: One Little Librarian
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster (BB)
I’m toast in the toaster,
I’m getting very hot
Tick tock, tick tock,
UP I pop!
Source: Jbrary
Action Rhyme: Up and Down (BB) (TB) (FT)
Put your arms up, Put your arms down
Put them in the middle, Move them all around
One arm to the left, One arm to the right
Give yourself a hug, And hold on tight!
Source: Mansfield/Richland County (OH) Public Library
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (BB) (TB) (FT)
Read: Up, Up, Up, Down by Kimberly Gee (BB)
Read: Big Bear, Small Mouse by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman (TB) (FT)
Scarf warmup: Wave your scarves up high and low, fast and slow, and throw them up and try to catch them.
Here’s a song about a spider who goes UP and DOWN the waterspout! We used our scarves to modify the movements. In the two older classes, we also did the Great BIG Spider (who has a great big voice) and the Very Quiet Spider (who whispers).
Scarf Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider (BB) (TB) (FT)
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
And the itsy bitsy spider
climbed up the spout again
Source: traditional
Scarf Song: Peek a Boo (BB)
(tune of Frère Jacques)
Peek a boo, peek a boo
I see you, I see you
I see your button nose, I see your tiny toes
I see you, peek a boo!
Source: Jbrary
I could not for the life of me get this tune in my head when faced with this song in the moment. Just a total brain failure. The grown ups were very gracious. I did some very strange half-song, half-chant for this. Of course, afterward, I couldn’t get the tune OUT of my head…
Scarf Song: We Wave Our Scarves Together (TB) (FT)
(tune of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow)
We wave our scarves together (3x)
because it’s fun to do!
Wave them up high
Wave them down low
Wave them in the middle
Because it’s fun to do!
Source: Jbrary
Scarf Song: One Bright Scarf (TB) (FT)
One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow
Toss it up high, and wave it down low
Wiggle it fast, and wiggle it slow (hide the scarf)
Hey! Where did it go? (bring out) Here it is!
Source: Jbrary
I let the babies hang on to their scarves until playtime, and grabbed them when they were distracted by toys.
Scarf Collection: If You Have a Red Scarf (TB) (FT)
(tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man)
If you have a red scarf
A red scarf, a red scarf
If you have a red scarf then hold it up high!
(repeat with other colors)
Source: unsure, have used for a long time
Bounce: A Smooth Road (BB) (FT)
A smooth road! (repeat x4) (slowly, and sway baby gently)
A bumpy road! (x4) (a little faster, bouncing gently up and down)
A rough road! (x4) (even faster, bouncing and adding erratic swaying)
Oh, no! A hole! (tip over, lift up, and/or let them fall safely through your knees)
Source: Jbrary
Tickle: Up the Hill (BB)
Here goes a turtle up a hill, creepy, creepy, creepy, creepy
(crawl up arm or body)
Here goes a rabbit up the hill, boing, boing, boing, boing
(bounce up arm)
Here goes an elephant up the hill, thud, thud, thud, thud
(clap up arm)
Here goes a snake up the hill, slither, slither, slither, slither
(slither up arm)
Here comes a rock DOWN the hill, boom, boom, boom, boom, CRASH!
(bounce down, clap hands for crash)
Source: Storytime Katie
Action Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (BB) (FT)
Head, shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes!)
Head, shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes!)
Eyes and ears and a mouth and nose
Head, shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes!)
Source: traditional
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (BB) (TB) (FT)
Recorded Song: Teddy Bear by Jazzy Ash (TB)
Craft: Itsy Bitsy Spider (TB) (FT)
I liked this simple “glue stuff down” craft I saw on the Preschool Wonders Blog. I decided to ask a volunteer to glue all the legs to the spiders so it simplified it a bit, and put out crayons so the kids could decorate however they liked.
Play Time
The babies have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!
Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (BB) (TB) (FT)
Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (BB) (TB) (FT)
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Marta! Big & Small – Jen Arena & Angela Dominguez
Stop, Go, Yes, No! – Mike Twohy
Baby’s Opposites – Nancy Raines Day & Rebecca Evans
Maisy Big, Maisy Small – Lucy Cousins
Big Little – Leslie Patricelli
Spot’s Opposites – Eric Hill
Cat & Dog: A Tale of Opposites – Tullio Corda
A High, Low, Near, Far, Loud, Quiet Story – Nina Crews
My Book of Opposites – Britta Teckentrup
Mine, Mine, Mine, Yours – Kimberly Gee
This storytime was presented in-person on 8/15, 8/16, & 8/17/22.
Storytime Handout:
*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.
**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(BB) Book Babies, ages 0-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 