Some of baby’s first gestures are waves, so a hello and goodbye theme is great for babies and toddlers! We did a lot of waving and smiling and tried different kinds of greetings. My coworker did the majority of the planning and a lot of the rhyme sheet designs this week, though I did move a few things around and added one song I really wanted to try with this group. We thankfully have the freedom to be flexible with our own styles. I did try to balance hello and goodbye, but we may have skewed a little more on the hello side.
See another version of this theme from 2021.
Early Literacy Tip: The concept of loud and soft plays an important role in music and throughout life. Children need to know when a loud voice is OK and when a soft voice is required. Through music they can have fun learning the difference between loud and soft. 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: We can say hello & goodbye in many different ways – hi, howdy, hiya, bye, see ya, later! If you speak another language, you may have different words, like in Spanish you can say hola and adios. You might say hello and goodbye without words, like giving someone a hive five or fist-bump. Sometimes saying goodbye to things or people we love can be hard, but each goodbye brings a chance for a new hello!
Here’s a fingerplay you might know about friends saying hello and goodbye!
I gave the adults a heads up that the last line is a bit different from what they may have learned (the traditional “run away” is not really the best way to say goodbye!)
Fingerplay: Where is Thumbkin?
Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?
Here I am! Here I am!
How are you today, friend? Very well, I thank you!
Say goodbye. Say goodbye.
Source: traditional
If you were a dog what might you say to say hello? What if you were a cow?
I do this one very often with my Book Babies programs, but hardly ever with the toddlers. They loved seeing the puppets and making the animal noises.
Puppet Song: Dog Says Hello
(tune of Farmer In The Dell)
The dog says hello
The dog says hello
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof
The dog says hello
(Repeat with other animals)
Source: King County (WA) Library System
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*
Lots of fun and opportunities for movement and noises to make.
Read: Say Hello Like This! by Mary Murphy
My backup. I wish there was a nice title that includes both hellos and goodbyes featuring humans and simple enough for toddlers. Tall order! This one only seems tangentially related to greetings, but it is a beautiful book.
Read: Hello, Hello by Brendan Wenzel
Action Rhyme: How Do You Say Hello?
Hey! Hi! Howdy! Yo!
There are many ways to say hello!
Wave your hand, Nod your head
Smile big or wink instead
Blow a kiss, Tip your hat
Shake your hands, Give a pat
Of all the ways to say hello,
Here’s the way I like to go…
HELLO! (choose your favorite!)
Source: Storytime Katie
Let’s practice saying hello and goodbye in different ways!
I chose a few words ahead: HELLO Quiet, loud, happily, GOODBYE silly, sadly, musically (like an opera singer!)
Action Rhyme: Bread and Butter
Bread and butter, marmalade and jam (pat knees rhythmically)
Let’s say hello as quiet as we can
Hello! (whisper)
Source: traditional
When we wave, we use our hands – let’s open and shut them.
Open Shut Them is a rhyme I’ve known for a long time – the person doing storytime here 20 years ago used it regularly. This is not that version (lay them in your lap, lap, lap), but a hello and goodbye version.
Fingerplay: Open Them Shut Them
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
Let’s try this goodbye song.
This is the goodbye song my home library uses! I searched online and it appears to be an Mother Goose on the Loose song.
Action Song: Can You Kick with Two Feet?
Can you kick with two feet?
Two feet? Two feet?
Can you kick with two feet?
Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick
additional verses:
Can you clap with two hands…
Can you kiss with two lips… (blow kisses)
Can you wave bye-bye…
Source: Mother Goose on the Loose via the IndyPL
Let’s get out our shakers! Can we sing hello to them?
My colleague put the words for the hello and goodbye portion of this on the same rhyme sheet, but I did them separately, so I just flipped back to the sheet when I was ready to put them away.
Shaker Song: Hello, Shakers
(tune of Goodnight, Ladies)
Hello, shakers!
Hello, shakers!
Hello, shakers!
It’s nice to play with you!
Source: adapted from our hello song
Shaker Song: Can You Shake?
(tune of London Bridge)
Can you shake along with me?
Along with me, along with me?
Can you shake along with me?
Put your shaker on your… knee!
(repeat with different body parts)
Source: Jbrary
The recording sings “clap” but we sang “shake” for the first verse.
Recorded Shaker Song: Clap Everybody and Say Hello
Clap everybody and say hello
Clap everybody and say hello
Clap everybody and say hello
No matter what the weather
(repeat: stamp, wiggle, jump, dance, sing)
Source: Kathy Reid-Naiman, from the album Sally Go Round the Sun
A reprise of our “Hello Shakers!”
Shaker Song: Goodbye, Shakers
(tune of Goodnight, Ladies)
Goodbye, shakers!
Goodbye, shakers!
Goodbye, shakers!
We’ll see you again soon!
Source: adapted from our hello song
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*
Craft: Hello, Goodbye, Worm Craft
My colleague put this one together – it’s so cute. We have dies for a worm and a rectangular sheet with a square flap cut out. So the idea is to make our own lift-the-flaps so we can say hello and goodbye to the worm. She drew a window (though I noted that they could draw a door if they wanted) which opened to see the worm.
Is it helpful to see the setup for crafts? This is what it looked like on each table. I put everything on a messy tray.
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)
Hello – Aiko Ikegami
Hello, Baby! – Mem Fox & Steve Jenkins
Hello, Day! – Anita Lobel
Hello Day – Charlie Mylie
Hello, Sun! – Sarah Jane Hinder
Hello, Friend! Hola, Amigo! – 123 Andrés & Sara Palacios
Hello, Hello Opposites – Brendan Wenzel
Hello, New House – Jane Smith
Hello, Tobi! – Andrea Cáceres
Hey, Wake Up! – Sandra Boynton
Ploof – Ben Clanton & Andy Chou Musser
Hello Goodbye Dog – Maria Gianferrari & Patrice Barton
Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! – Cori Doerrfeld
Bad Bye, Good Bye – Deborah Underwood & Jonathan Bean
Bye Bye Time – Elizabeth Verdick & Marieka Heinlen
Bye-Bye, Crib – Alison McGhee & Ross MacDonald
Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away – Meg Medina & Sonia Sánchez
How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye? – Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
The Goodbye Book – Todd Parr
This storytime was presented in-person on 2/4/26.
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 