Our library stays open for holidays like Veteran’s Day, President’s Day, and Martin Luther King, Jr Day. The idea is that these are holidays that have some deep meaning behind them and we should be available to provide information, education, and context. These usually end up being some of our busiest days, since kids are out of school and some other businesses are closed. This year, my coworker and I decided to do a “Community” theme for the week of MLK Day, since it is also a day of community service.
This theme was a little tricky to plan. I really wanted to focus on the community/communities that kids are a part of, as well as what it means to be a good community member. Searching for “Community Storytimes” online brought back results about “Community Helpers” almost exclusively. That is more about the jobs that people do rather than what a community is and how we can be a part of it. It also made searching for books more difficult, for the same reason. But I widened my searches to friendship, neighborhoods, citizenship, helping, and anything else I could think of and I’m really happy with the plan I put together. It’s simple enough to work well for toddlers, while still focusing on the aspects of the theme I wanted to hit, which did include community helpers, but didn’t focus on that concept alone. It flowed well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. (Gee, how many times can I write “community” in this intro?!)
Early Literacy Tip: Singing games and playing music in groups encourage social responsiveness. Such activities also help your child learn to feel comfortable in a group setting. When your child begins school, such positive associations will help them adjust to being part of a class. 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 live in a community of people, and the people in our community help each other. Some people have jobs that let them help others. Many people are helpful even outside of their job! We can all do our part to make our community beautiful and welcoming.
Here’s a rhyme about some of those helpers and the jobs they do.
My nod to the community helpers idea! But I liked that the last line puts it back on the kids to be helper, and asks them to think about what they would like to do to help.
Fingerplay: This Little Helper
This helper builds our houses (thumb)
This helper brings our mail (pointer)
This helper teaches the children (middle)
And this one has groceries to sell (ring)
And this little helper, yes, it’s me (pinky)
When I grow up, what kind of helper will I be?
Source: North Olympic (WA) Library System
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*
Such a great book, with so much diversity and inclusion!
Read: All Are Neighbors by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman
Although this one is, yes, about community helpers, it also shows that kids can be hero helpers, too, which I loved. I think that is the element that is missing from too many of the other jobs books and lesson plans.
Read: They’re Heroes, Too: A Celebration of Community by Pat Brisson & Anait Semirdzhyan
What does your neighborhood look like?
The easiest community to understand, I think, is the physical one of a neighborhood.
Fingerplay: Five Little Houses
One little house, all alone it stood (count on fingers)
Then another was built. There grows the neighborhood!
(count up)
Five little houses, All together they stood
On a beautiful street in a happy neighborhood
Source: Jbrary
We can start being a helper by being a good neighbor! Let’s greet each other
I simplified the actions on this a little bit, and changed hip bump to fist bump. I don’t love doing two songs with the same tune, but occasionally it’s fine.
Action Song: Hello, Neighbor
(tune of Goodnight Ladies)
Hello, neighbor (wave)
What do you say? (high five)
It’s going to be a beautiful day
Greet your neighbor (wave)
Boogie on down (wiggle)
Give a bump (fist bump)
And turn around!
Source: Dr. Jean Feldman
Let’s sing an old song about how good it is when we get together and work together
ASL Song: The More We Get Together
See ASL movements here: https://youtu.be/YZLlZoD3gU8
The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together the happier we’ll be
For your friends are my friends
and my friends are your friends
The more we get together the happier we’ll be
The more we read together, together, together
the more we read together the happier we’ll be
Read big books and small books (hands wide and then close horizontally)
Read short books and tall books (hands close and then wide vertically)
The more we read together the happier we’ll be
Source: traditional, verse 2: Story Time Secrets
Parachute Intro: A parachute is really hard to have fun with all by yourself. We need a community of friends!
I don’t get the parachute out very often for our indoor storytimes, so it’s a treat when we do.
If we lived in a tall apartment building, we could visit our neighbors by riding in the elevator!
Parachute Song: Let’s Go Riding On an Elevator
Let’s go riding on an elevator, elevator, elevator
Let’s go riding on an elevator, Ride along with me!
First floor, Second floor, Third floor, Fourth floor, Fifth floor…
And down-down-down-down-down!
Source: Jbrary
Let’s work together to row the boat!
I remind everyone to start rowing very gently, then after the first verse, say, “Oh, the wind is picking up, can we row more firmly?” and before the third verse, “Oh, no, there’s a storm! Row as strongly as you can!”
Parachute Song: Row Your Boat
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream (wave gently)
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream
(wave more intensely and replace “gently” with firmly and strongly)
Source: traditional
Breathing Break: Wow, rowing the boat really made me out of breath! Can we take a little breathing break? Let’s breathe in when we lift up, breathe out when we set it down. I repeat for about 5 breaths.
At this point, they don’t care about anything but shaking the parachute and crawling under it, so it doesn’t really matter how it connects to the theme! Our space and the participants are such that it would be difficult to actually walk in a circle for this one, so we just wave it and fall and then get back up.
Scarf/Parachute Song: Ring Around the Rosie
Ring around the rosie (walk in a circle and/or wave the parachute)
A pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down! (stay seated/down)
Cows are in the meadow
Eating buttercups
Thunder, lightning, (vigorous waving)
We all stand up! (stand!)
Source: traditional
This is a great way to put the parachute away. I ask for only grownups to hold on, and then let them know they are letting go at the end.
Parachute Song: Parachute Fly
(tune of Skip to my Lou)
(kids go under the parachute and adults raise and lower)
Up, up, up it goes,
Down, down, down so low
Raise our parachute to the sky
Count to 3 and watch it fly
Spoken:
Up on one…
Down on two…
Up on three…
and FLY! (adults let go and leader pulls ‘chute in to themselves)
Source: Gymboree
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*
Craft: My Neighborhood Craft
We used some leftover square and triangle shapes in varying construction paper colors to make houses and apartments on a sheet of light blue construction paper, and added details with crayons and some 3D clouds with cotton balls.
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)
Cheer – Uncle Ian Aurora & Natalia Moore
All the Beating Hearts – Julie Fogliano & Cátia Chien
All of Us – Kathryn Erskine & Alexandra Boiger
A Little Book About Activism – Courtney Ahn
What Can a Citizen Do? – Dave Eggers & Shawn Harris
Miguel’s Community Garden – JaNay Brown-Wood & Samara Hardy
I Am We – Susan Verde & Peter H Reynolds
Thank You, Neighbor! – Ruth Chan
Stand Up! Speak Up! – Andrew Joyner
The All-Together Quilt – Lizzy Rockwell
Around the Neighborhood – Sarah L. Thomson & Jana Christy
The Power of One – Trudy Ludwig & Mike Curato
Fix-it Familia – Lucky Diaz & Micah Player
Maybe Something Beautiful – F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell & Rafael López
The Umbrella – Beth Ferry & Tom Lichtenheld
I Promise – LeBron James & Nina Mata
All Kinds of Special – Tammi Sauer & Fernando Martin
This storytime was presented in-person on 1/21/26.
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 