Coming closer to the end of October, I chose a theme that incorporated some classic Halloween animals, without being overtly Halloweeny. The rhyming was incidental but welcome!
I thought that I had a book (or could find a book) that incorporated both animals in a story, but alas, no luck. There was a title I got hopeful about, Oscar and the Bat: A Book About Sound by Geoff Waring, but unfortunately it was developmentally a little beyond my group. And Bat Wings! Cat Wings? by Laura Gehl isn’t a story about cats with bat wings as I anticipated. Instead, I used a nonfiction title to show some photographs of bats, and read Denise Fleming’s Mama Cat Has Three Kittens to great success.
Early Literacy Tip: Encourage and support your child’s pretend play – they are developing their symbolic thinking. This helps them to visualize what is not present, helps with problem solving, and with reading where pictures and text represent real things.
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (TT) (TB) (FT)**
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (TT) (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 it was arms & chins.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (FT)
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big* (FT)
Intro: Today we are talking about two nocturnal animals – animals that (mostly) sleep during the day and are active at night, just like the owl that we learned about last week. But this week we’re talking cats and bats! Does anyone have a pet cat at home? Do they like to sleep during the day? Does anyone have a pet bat at home? Bats are mostly wild animals. Has anyone seen a bat in person or up close before? I showed some of the pictures from the nonfiction title, including a bat eating some fruit, bats roosting in a cave, and a bat flying with their wingspan clearly showing.
Share: Bats by Julie Murray
Let’s do some rhymes about bats and cats! Bats like to sleep upside down, right? So here are our bats! (point index fingers downward)
Fingerplay: Two Little Friends (TT) (TB) (FT)
Two little bats hanging in a cave
One named Dora, and one named Dave
Fly away, Dora, Fly away, Dave
Come back, Dora, Come back, Dave!
Now cats – cats have two pointy ears, can you make two pointy ears?
(put fingers in V shape)
Two little cats prowling under the moon
One named Jasper, and one named June
Jump away, Jasper, Jump away, June (I jumped my finger-cats as well as jumping my body!)
Jump back, Jasper, Jump back, June!
Source: verse 1-Door2Door Librarian, Verse 2-original
I think I need a stretch. Will you stretch with me?
Action Rhyme: My Kitten Stretches (TB) (FT)
My kitten stretches one paw high
With the other she’ll touch the sky
Then say “meow” and turn around
Then fold her paws and sit right down
Source: Lady Librarian Life
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)
A simple but very funny story that worked very well for all of my sessions.
Read: Mama Cat Has Three Kittens by Denise Fleming (TT) (TB) (FT)
Time for scarves! Some of these were a bit of a stretch with the scarves, but it worked.
Action/Scarf Song: The Old Gray Cat (TT) (TB) (FT)
The old gray cat is sleeping, Sleeping, sleeping
The old gray cat is sleeping in the house
The little mice are creeping…
The little mice are nibbling…
The old gray cat is creeping…
The little mice are hiding…
So the old gray cat is sleeping…
Source: King County (WA) Library System
We held our scarves with two corners upside down, then held them in the middle to fly them around.
Scarf Song: Bats Are Sleeping (TT) (TB) (FT)
(tune of Frère Jacques)
Bats are sleeping, Bats are sleeping
Upside down, upside down
Sleeping in the morning sun
Waiting for the night to come
Then they’ll fly around, Then they’ll fly around
Source: Child Care Lounge
Whenever we say the word “pounce” throw your scarf up in the air and try to catch it! Let’s practice: 1, 2, 3, POUNCE!
Scarf Rhyme: Kitty Cat POUNCE (TT) (TB) (FT)
Kitty cat, kitty cat sneaks out of the house
Kitty cat, kitty cat creeps up to a mouse And… POUNCE!
Kitty cat, kitty cat creeps up to a bird
Kitty cat, kitty cat is not even heard And… POUNCE!
But the mouse ran, and the bird flew away,
So kitty cat found a ball of yarn to play And… POUNCE!
Source: Literary Hoots
I have three colors of scarves – red, yellow, and blue. I asked the kids to take a look at their scarf and notice what color it is before we did this. I did the first part of the rhyme for each color. But when it was time to put them away, everyone came up at once so I ended up just saying, Let’s bring our bats back to the cave to roost! I put the colored bats on the board as a visual cue.
Scarf or Flannel Rhyme: Color Bats (TT) (TB) (FT)
The sun is setting, the moon’s rising high
Now all the red bats start to fly! (wave red scarf, or add red bats)
(repeat, changing colors)
The moon has gone, the sky’s getting light
And all the red bats say goodnight! (put away red scarves)
Source: Abby the Librarian
Didn’t end up using this one, but I reworded a couple of parts to make it flow a little better, so I’ll post it here!
Fingerplay Rhyme: Five Little Bats
(wiggle each finger)
Five little bats hanging in a cave
First one said, “Tonight I’m feeling brave”
Second one said, “There are mosquitoes in the air”
Third one said, “Let’s eat them here and there”
Fourth one said, “I’m ready to see the sky”
Fifth one said, “Let’s fly, fly, fly”
Then WHOOSH went the wind And out went the light (clap!)
And the five little bats flew off in the night (hook thumbs together and flap hands)
Source: adapted from Esther Storytimes
I made this flannel last year for a pumpkin storytime, and since it included both a cat and a bat thought it would be a nice closer.
Felt Rhyme: Orange Pumpkin (TT) (TB) (FT)
Orange pumpkin, Orange pumpkin
What do you see?
I see a red leaf looking at me!
Continue with:
Red leaf > Black cat > Gray owl > Brown bat > Yellow moon > Orange Jack-o-Lantern
Source: original
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Craft: Cut Out Cats and Clothespin Bats (TB) (FT)
We have a die cut for the clothespin bats, and I’ve used the adorable cut out cat craft from Literary Hoots (I think originally from Storytime Katie) before at another library. This is the first time I’ve put out scissors for a craft at this library. Mostly the adults did the cutting, but this was during a fall break so I actually had some older siblings who did their own cutting. I let everyone know they could do both crafts if they wanted, but if they choose just one, that’s fine, too. The clothespin bats were just gluing the cardstock to the pins and drawing a chalk face on. Because the directions to make the cats are a little more involved than just looking at a sample, I made tent cards with the how-to to put on each table. (Photos on the instructions from Literary Hoots.)
Play Time
The toddlers 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* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Baby Bat’s Lullaby – Jacquelyn Mitchard & Julia Noonan
How to Be a Cat – Nikki McClure
Fiona the Fruit Bat – Dan Riskin & Rachel Qiuqi
Atticus Caticus – Sarah Maizes & Kara Kramer
Bats at the Library – Brian Lies
Bat Wings! Cat Wings? – Laura Gehl & Monique Felix
Cat’s Very Good Day – Kristen Tracy & David Small
Little Lost Bat – Sandra Markle & Alan Marks
Gato Guapo – Anika Aldamuy Denise & Zara González Hoang
Little Bat Up All Day – Brian Lies
Cookie’s Week – Cindy Ward & Tomie dePaola
This storytime was presented in-person on 10/23, 10/24, & 10/25/23.
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:
(TT) Toddler Time, ages 1-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 
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