Garbage trucks was a super-fun theme! I was inspired by the book Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan, which was one of the nominees for my state’s early literacy book award, the Firefly. It didn’t end up being the winner, but it was definitely my daughter’s favorite of the bunch. It’s an excellent storytime title, with lots of great noises and opportunities for exciting reading.
In order to not do 10 repetitive rhymes and songs only about trucks, I also threw in a couple of trash-adjacent activities, so we did a Litter Bug rhyme and a really fantastic song by Nancy Stewart about raccoons. And using beanbags to represent trash was a nice way to break out a prop we don’t often get to play with.
Early Development Tip: Naming and categorizing things can be fun for children of all ages. Help children make sense of their world by grouping things that go together, such as items of similar colors, shapes, or items like knives, forks, and spoons at a table. –from The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards by Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends*
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet*
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. I rotate between elbows, cheeks, hips, noses, arms, chins, thighs, heads, shoulders, ears, knees, and fingers.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster*
Intro: Once a week, something really exciting happens at my house. The garbage truck comes! Does anyone like to watch for the garbage truck? It might be stinky, but it’s so exciting to see it lift up the garbage can and dump our trash! I’m so happy that we have garbage trucks to take away our trash, so let’s celebrate them!
In some places, garbage collectors work all night and line up in the morning to empty their trucks at the landfill.
I rewrote this rhyme pretty completely, but the original was found in a document from a fellow Indiana library where I found several of my rhymes for this theme: Carmel Clay Public Library. The fact that it didn’t rhyme drove me crazy, but I also wanted to introduce the word landfill in addition to dump as it’s a bit more accurate and modern.
Fingerplay: Morning at the Landfill
Down at the landfill, right around nine
See the garbage trucks waiting in line (show ten fingers)
See them lift the garbage: Dump, dump, dump (bend fingers)
Now they roll away with a bang and a bump (roll arms, clap)
One rolls down MY street, engine a’roar (vroom!)
To fill ‘er up again and gather more (ASL for more)
Source: Ms Emily Library
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*
Mabel is such a great character – she is determined, she is persistent, and she is enthusiastic about her interests! Every group loved hearing her story. Awan is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors!
Read: Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan
A much older title, but a good back up. I like a repeated phrase to encourage participation.
Backup Read: Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman, David Clemesha, & Dan Yaccarino
Can YOU pretend to be a garbage truck?
Another one I changed a bit to make the rhyme scheme be closer to the original tune. I also explained what the hopper and cab were before we started, and demoed opening our hopper (bringing a bent arm up from our side) and driving in our cab (the other hand holding a steering wheel). At the end we tipped over the hopper side VERY similarly to a teapot!
Action Song: I’m a Little Garbage Truck
(tune of I’m a Little Teapot)
I’m a little garbage truck, trash is what I grab
Here is my hopper, Here is my cab
When I get all filled up, the dump is on my route
Just tip me over and dump the garbage out
Source: adapted from Carmel Clay (IN) Public Library
It takes a lot of trucks to haul the garbage for a whole town! How many are here?
I had this one ready, but didn’t end up using it to cut down on my time. I’m finding that my 1s & 2s have a shorter attention span and do better when we end slightly earlier and have more time for play. Download a copy of the garbage trucks here. (also includes Garbage Clean Up graphics)
Counting Rhyme: Five Little Garbage Trucks
Five little garbage trucks painted green
Picking up trash to keep the town clean
They work and they work until they fill up
Now one of the garbage trucks drives to the dump!
Back up: Beep! Beep! Beep! (count down)
Source: Carmel Clay (IN) Public Library
Action Song: The Wheels on the (Garbage) Truck
(tune of The Wheels on the Bus)
The wheels on the truck go round and round
Round and round, Round and round
The wheels on the truck go round and round
All through the town
Additional verses:
The horn on the truck goes honk, honk, honk…
The loader on the truck goes up and down…
The reverse on the truck goes, beep, beep, beep…
The driver of the truck says, “Job well done”..
Source: Carmel Clay (IN) Public Library
There’s an animal who lives in cities and is very resourceful, finding food wherever they can – even in your garbage!
This was a total hit. I actually bought the Folkmanis raccoon in a trash can puppet on eBay just for this program, and I think it was money well spent. Check out Nancy’s page (link below in the Source) to see a video of her performing the song in a preschool. It is magic! I’m planning to repeat this song with the puppet for an upcoming Nocturnal Animals program in October.
Puppet Song: I’m A Raccoon
I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, Ramblin’ around in the night
I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, you can see me if the moon is bright
I’ve got rings on my tail, a mask on my eyes
If you see me at night you might be surprised
Oh I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, ramblin’ around in the night
I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, you better cover up your trash
I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, If you don’t I’m gonna steal your stash
I’ve got rings on my tail, a mask on my eyes
If you see me at night you might be surprised
Oh I’m a raccoon, I’m a raccoon, I ramblin’ around in the night
Source: Nancy Stewart
Garbage trucks haul away our trash, but it’s up to us to make sure the trash gets into the bins and not on the ground. If no one used a trash can, our streets and parks would be full of trash.
I walked around while tossing beanbags out of a bucket while reciting this one. The eyes got a bit wide at first – what’s she doing?! Then they all helped me pick up the “trash.” It was a fun way to pass out our prop!
Beanbag Song: Litter Bug
(tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)
Once there was a litter bug
Who went from town to town
Throwing out his garbage
That landed on the ground
The garbage grew so high
That when he turned around
The litter bug got buried
And could not make a sound! EEK!
Source: Yogibrarian
Just a little generic bean bag rhyme to give them some different things to do with the bag.
Beanbag Rhyme: Beanbags Up
Beanbags up (toss gently)
Beanbags down (let drop)
Beanbags dancing all around (toss from hand to hand)
Beanbags on your shoulder,
Beanbags on your head
Beanbags on your tummy
And tuck them into bed! (between hands)
Source: adapted from the traditional Tommy Thumbs
Time to clean up! Can you help me match the beanbag color to the right garbage truck?
I created four color-coordinated garbage trucks in Canva to print and laminate, then attached them to four bowls with jumbo craft sticks to gather up the beanbags. It was a bit chaotic when I announced this, with all the kids rushing up to put their beanbags in the bowls, so I just read the rhyme over the chaos. Next time I would have us all read the rhyme together before putting the bowls out for them to put their bags in. Download a copy of the garbage trucks here. (also includes Five Garbage Trucks graphics)
Beanbag Rhyme: Garbage Clean Up
Garbage trucks, garbage trucks
Cleaning up the town
Do you see any garbage lying around?
Pick up the trash and match it to a truck
Soon the whole town will be all cleaned up
Source: Miss Sarah’s Storytime
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*
Craft: Garbage Truck
I think this is the third time I’ve done this craft, but perhaps the first time I’ve blogged about it. I use a coloring sheet of a garbage truck that I’d saved years ago and provided multi-colored tissue paper squares and liquid glue, as well as crayons. After coloring their truck, they could crumple up the tissue squares and glue them to the truck to look like garbage. The tissue grasping and crumpling is great fine motor practice, and everyone always thinks the 3D art is really cool.
And I remembered to take a picture of the setup, too!
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*
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
I Stink! – Kate & Jim McMullan
King of the Dump – Tim Wynne-Jones & Scot Ritchie
I’m Trying to Love Garbage – Bethany Barton
Garbage Trucks on the Go – Beth Bence Reinke
Revenge of the Raccoons – Vivek Shraya & Juliana Neufeld
Hooray for Garbage Collectors – Tessa Kenan
I Am Picky – Kristen Tracy & Erin Kraan
Kitty – Rebecca Jordan-Glum
The Duck Is Stuck! – Dana Regan & Berta Maluenda
Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue! – Sherri Duskey Rinker & AG Ford
This storytime was presented in-person on 8/18 & 8/19/26.
Storytime Handout:
*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.
† Click the image of rhyme/song sheets to download a non-branded PDF
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 