stories & stations – Storytime with Ms. Emily Library

Stories & Stations: Bugs

Posted on June 5, 2026June 4, 2026 by msemilylibrary

Bugs is such a fun theme – there are so many kinds of bugs and so many ways to think about presenting a program on them! Even though “bugs” is not a scientific category, I like using it as it can include all kinds of creepy-crawlies including insects, arachnids, worms, snails, and even terrestrial crustaceans (AKA roly poly pill bugs!) My colleague planned this one, and I love the different ways she incorporated bugs in the stations. We used one of my flannels, Going on a Bug Hunt, which is a really nice activity that spans the age ranges that we’re seeing.

This was our last storytime of May, and our last indoor Stories & Stations* for the foreseeable future. In June and July we will be doing Stories & Stations outside, and when we return in August we may have a new staff member and possible rethinking of how and what we offer 0-5 year old kiddos in our community. I generally don’t blog over the summer months, so you probably won’t see me again until August – I hope everyone has a great summer! And one last note – if you are someone who maintains your library’s Storywalk, I’ve added quite a few new titles in the last month or so – submissions and ones I’ve done. These include a fun BUG one (Bug in a Bog by Jonathan Fenske) and our newest for the SRP theme Unearth a Story – Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen.

See other versions of this theme from 2021 (old library and new library).

*We are doing a new format for our storytimes in a transition period of personnel change and calling it Stories & Stations (you can read the whole saga of the whys and hows at this post.)

some bugs book cover, showing various bugs including bees, preying mantis, ladybug, wasps and more in a natural setting.

a good place book cover, showing a dragonfly, bee, ladybug and beetle on flowers.

Early Development Tip: When you enjoy a book, let your child know that you like it and why. Sharing your enjoyment gives them a positive attitude toward books. This positive attitude carries over when they get to school and start learning to read. Let your child choose their books and tell you why they like them. –from The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards by Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting

Welcome Song: Hello, Friends*
Even with a larger number of kids, I still go around and sing this with everyone’s name. The kids really do love it, and it helps me learn names and storytime participants to learn each others’ names.

Hello Friends rhyme sheet. Includes a smiling rainbow and two yellow ducks at the bottom. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Warm Up Song: Wiggle and Wiggle and STOP*
This week I rolled my “Bug Movement” cube to select our two additional movements. You can download a copy of the six sides (that can be put on a square tissue container) here!

bug movement cube, showing "March like an ant" "zip like a dragonfly" and "buzz like a bee" showing on three sides.

we wiggle and stop thumbnail, with a graphic of two pink worms. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster*
Okay, this one *seems* to be better for younger kids, but all I have to do is encourage the older kids to jump as high as they can at the end and it is instantly perfect for a 5 year old, too. I always give the option for a lap bounce and lift as well.

Toast in the Toaster thumbnail, with a graphic of a toaster with a piece of bread hovering above it. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Intro: Our planet is home to millions of different kinds of bugs, each with their own special “job.” Some help pollinate the flowers (like bees & butterflies). Others like to eat old leaves and turn it into fresh soil (like worms & beetles). And many bugs are food for other animals (like birds & anteaters)! Whether they crawl, hop, or fly, every bug plays a vital role in keeping our environment healthy and vibrant. Let’s read about some bugs!

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

Straight into our book this week! This is such a perfect book, as it showcases so many bugs and the things they do, with a really short text that’s great for all ages.
Read: Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi & Brendan Wenzel

A great backup with Cousins’ signature bright, bold colors.
Backup Read: A Good Place by Lucy Cousins

So let’s go on our own bug hunt!
Similar to Going on a Bear Hunt, but without the “Can’t go over it…” parts. Each time we get out a new flannel piece, they get excited! Then we do a little motion or sound to go with each. I only ended up doing bee, butterfly, ladybug, ant, and roly poly (who curls up when you flip him over).
Flannel/Rhythm Chant: Going on a Bug Hunt
Pat lap in rhythm and repeat between each bug:
We’re going on a bug hunt! (We’re going on a bug hunt!)
We’re going to see some big ones. (We’re going to see some big ones.)
What a sunny day! (What a sunny day!)
Are we ready? OK! (Are we ready? OK!)

Oh, my! A bee! A black & yellow bee, Flying over the flowers. BUZZ
Oh, my! An ant! A tiny, black ant, Crawling through the grass. SHH
Oh, my! A grasshopper! A big, green grasshopper, Hopping around the tree. BOING
Oh, my! A butterfly! A pretty, orange butterfly, Floating in the sky. WHOOSH
Oh, my! A spider! A big black spider, Creeping on the tree. CREEP
Oh, my! A ladybug! A bright red ladybug, climbing up a flower. CLIMB
Oh, my! A roly-poly! A gray, armored roly-poly, hiding under a rock. ROLL
Source: adapted from Small Town Story Time Lady Blog

Picture of felt bug hunt set, including a tree trunk, grass, flower, and rock, with a roly poly, bee, ladybug, butterfly, ant, grasshopper, and spider.

Closeup of the roly poly felt flipped to the other side, showing it rolled up in a ball.

going on a bug hunt thumbnail, with a graphic of a grasshopper and a bee. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Let’s get out our scarves! Can we roll our scarves like a roly poly pill bug?
Time for props!
Scarf Rhyme: Roly Poly
(roll scarf accordingly)
Roly poly, roly, poly, up, up, up
Roly poly, roly, poly, down, down, down
Roly poly, roly, poly, out, out, out
Roly poly, roly, poly, in, in, in
Roly poly, roly, poly, BIG, BIG, BIG
Roly poly, roly, poly, very, very small
Roly poly, roly, poly, fast, fast, fast, fast, fast!
Rol…ly… po…ly… in… your… lap!
Source: Rebecca Jane Flanagan

roly poly thumbnail, with a graphic of a toy ball. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Bugs have to pay attention to the weather, too.
Scarf Song: Rain Is Falling Down
Rain is falling down (flutter scarf down) –
SPLASH! (sweep scarf to the side)
Rain is falling down – SPLASH!
Pitter patter pitter patter (wave scarf up and down quickly)
Rain is falling down – SPLASH!

Sun is peeking out – PEEK! (hide behind scarf, then peek)
Sun is peeking out – PEEK!
Peeking here, peeking there,
Sun is peeking out – PEEK!
Source: Jbrary

Rain is falling down thumbnail, with a graphic of a sun peeking out from behind a raincloud, both with faces. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Here’s a song about a spider who goes UP and DOWN. Can you make your scarf into a spider?
This was pretty easy to convert to a scarf song – we gripped our scarves in the middle to simulate a spider, climbed her up the spout, then the scarf becomes the rain falling. I held both ends above my head to make the sun before making a spider again.
Scarf Song: The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Up came the sun and dried up all the rain
So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again
Source: traditional

the itsy bitsy spider thumbnail, with a graphic of a smiling spider next to a rain gutter attached to a red brick wall. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Can you scrunch up your scarf in your hands and get small? We’re going to start this rhyme very quietly! Pretend to be a jumping spider!
Scarf Rhyme: Jack in the Box
Jack in the box (scrunch scarf up in fist)
Sits so still
Will he come out?
Yes, he will! (throw scarf in the air)
Source: Jbrary

jack in the box thumbnail, with a graphic of a colorful jester's head coming out of a box with a crank. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

After collecting our props, we released to stations! I let everyone know that I’d put out toys and puzzles in the current room, so they could stay if they wanted, and opened the door to the other room for everyone else to go to stations. I’m noticing that some of the youngest kiddos are staying to just play with toys the whole time and not bothering with stations, which is totally fine.

Art Station: Fingerprint Ladybug Bookmark
My colleague Ali created this, drawing all of the little bugs! She said it was okay to share the template, which you can download here! Kids could stamp their fingerprints to make the ladybug bodies. We put out just a couple of colors – red, orange, and purple. Such a cute and simple craft!

love bug bookmark, one with red stamped ladybugs and one with orange. each says "I will always be your love bug"

finger print art station, showing messy trays holding a bookmark with ladybug heads and spots that says "I will always be your love bug." Large stamp pads are on the table, as well as a package of wet wipes.

Gross Motor Stations: Flower Pistil Leap
We encouraged kids to buzz like a bee or flit like a butterfly from one flower to another for this simple station. Photographs of flower blooms were laminated and stuck to the floor with painter’s tape.

flower pistil leap station, with printed and laminated flowers in a zigzag pattern on the floor.

Fine Motor Station: Sorting Stations
We put out several sorting stations on the rug for multiple kids to enjoy at once. One was a repeat from last week – the craft stick sort. There’s also a ball sort and drop that I have used for several summers past (made with Baker and Taylor boxes, RIP). The instructions I used to make them are from the Taming Little Monsters blog. Then Ali created a spider sorting box – it’s long and skinny and she drew adorable spiders coming down. Each spider body is a hole outlined in a color, and we provided pom poms to put through the holes.

craft stick sort and spider sort stations, with colored craft sticks to be put into small boxes with small color coded holes, and a long cardboard box with spiders drawn on the side and a tray of pom poms nearby. The spider bodies are outlined in a color and are a hole sized for a pom pom to fit in

ball sort station, with brown cardboard boxes with holes in the top, cut to have a "tray" where the balls can be retrieved.

Sensory Station 1: Bug Sensory Bins
Another fun sensory bin, this time with uncooked rice colored green, with various plastic bugs, pom poms, fake flowers and foliage, and collecting/viewing cups to capture the critters!

bug sensory bin showing green colored rice in a bin with fake flowers, foliage, pom poms, and plastic bugs.

bug sensory bin station, showing two bins on a fitted sheet held down by two tables.

Sensory Station 2:
We also put the colored rice in shallow messy trays with letter cards to encourage finger tracing for the older kiddos. I pulled out the letters A N T and B U G to get them started and set the rest of the letter cards to the side.

letter tracing, showing green colored rice in shallow messy trays. letter cards above the trays spell A N T and B U G, with other letter cards to the side.

Toys and Puzzles
Our regular baby toys and puzzles, as well as soft food, babies in a basket, and lacing cards came out as another option for play. I didn’t capture a picture of this one.

After 20 minutes of free station time, I ring our bell to gather everyone again in the storytime room. Everyone helps put away the toys and puzzles before we end with our last two songs.

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

zoom zoom zoom thumbnail, with a graphic of a rocket ship. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

See you later thumbnail, with a graphic of a green alligator, brown crocodile, ladybug, and jellyfish. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! – Bob Barner
Hustle Bustle Bugs – Catherine Bailey & Lauren Eldridge
The Gentleman Bug – Julian Hector
Hello Bugs, What Do You Do? – Loes Botman
A Way with Wild Things – Larissa Theule & Sara Palacios
Six Little Sticks – Tiffany Stone & Ruth Hengeveld
How to Say Hello to a Worm – Kari Percival
Beehive – Jorey Hurley
Step Gently Out – Helen Frost & Rick Lieder
Giant Steps – Anaïs Lambert & Johanna McCalmont
Bug in a Bog – Jonathan Fenske
Becoming Charley – Kelly DiPucchio & Loveis Wise
Holey Moley – Lois Ehlert
Du iz tak? – Carson Ellis
Bugs on the Move – Charlotte Guillain
The Honeybee – Kirsten Hall & Isabelle Arsenault
A Closer Look – Mary McCarthy
One Million Insects – Isabel Thomas & Lou Baker-Smith

This storytime was presented in-person on 5/13 & 5/14/26.

Storytime Handout:

handout with book suggestions, rhyme and song lyrics.

*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

cold crunchy colorful, hello ocean/hola mar, and here book covers

Stories & Stations: Five Senses

Posted on May 29, 2026May 28, 2026 by msemilylibrary

I’ve never done a five senses storytime before, but doing it as a storytime with stations* was a perfect way to explore this concept! I had a lot of fun creating each of the stations, and they seemed to go over well.

*We are doing a new format for our storytimes in a transition period of personnel change and calling it Stories & Stations (you can read the whole saga of the whys and hows at this post.)

cold crunchy colorful book cover, showing photographs of ice cream, walnuts, and red and orange pansies

Hello Ocean/ Hola Mar book cover, showing a girl kneeling and examining a beach with the surf just behind her

here book cover, showing a light skinned child with short brown hair standing and looking up in a field with leaves around them.

Early Development Tip: You can encourage healthy brain development by helping your child explore their five senses. Talk with your child and see, hear, feel, smell, and listen to what is around you together. This will give them lots of new vocabulary to use to describe their world! –North Olympic (WA) Library System

Warm Up Song: Wiggle and Wiggle and STOP*
This week I did “pat” (lap) and “clap” in addition to Wiggle.

Intro: Most people have five different ways to experience the world around us – we call them our senses! Our five senses help us to [put up flannel pieces] see with our eyes, to smell with our nose, to hear with our ears, to taste with our tongue, and to feel or touch – we can feel with our whole body, but when we want to feel something usually we will reach out our hands to touch it. (That’s why I used a hand here [flannel]). See the flannel below, and download a copy of the senses labels here.

Okay, let’s limber up all of our senses.
This is such a silly one! The kids loved the tongue calisthenics, so even though I felt silly doing it, seeing them giggle was worth it!
Themed Action Rhyme: Five Senses Stretch
Rub your hands to get some feeling
Stretch your ears to make sure you’re hearing
Sniff, sniff to test your smell [what do you smell?]
Sniff, sniff to test your smell [do you smell anything else?]
Blink, blink to test your sight [How many fingers am I holding up?]
Blink, blink to test your sight [NOW how many?]
Lastly, it’s time for some tongue push-ups! Ready…
Stick your tongue out!
Up down—up down!
Now left right—left right!
Round and round!
Source: Teeny Tiny Library

five senses stretch thumbnail, with a graphic of a tongue, eyes, ear, hand, and nose. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Can we can identify what senses we would use for these things?
This was a great idea that I saw on The Lion is a Bookworm’s blog. You can essentially use any random flannels you have in your collection, which I did. I tried to choose at least one that incorporated all the senses (food items) and some that *excluded* at least one sense. So, you can’t smell or taste the sun, you probably wouldn’t want to taste your dog, you can’t see the wind – at least not the wind itself! So, you’d put up an item, then go through the senses: Can you see it? Can you hear it? Can you smell it? Can you touch it? Can you taste it? I love that this is a great activity to stimulate conversation and critical thinking. You can download my template for the senses words and symbols here!
Themed Flannel Game: Five Senses Flannel
Source: The Lion is a Bookworm

five senses flannelboard game - showing labels for see hear smell taste and touch, and flannels including an apple, dog, sun, pickup truck, flower, doughnut, and a symbol for the wind.

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

A nonfiction title that’s simple and full of colorful photographs of real objects. This was a good one, but a little bit long. I noticed some kiddos getting antsy toward the end.
Read: Cold, Crunchy, Colorful: Using Our Senses by Jane Brocket

I really love this book. It was a backup as I was thinking that the illustrations may be a little more difficult to see in a big group, but I kind of wish I had just gone for it.
Backup Read: Hello Ocean/Hola mar by Pam Muñoz Ryan & Mark Astrella

A second back up. I liked how this one connected the five senses with mindfulness practice.
Backup Read: Here: I Can Be Mindful by Ally Condie & Jaime Kim

Let’s get out our shaker eggs! Okay, how can you make your shaker SOUND?
Time for props! We did the full song for this one, with all the verses. “Drive your shaker like a car” is my favorite line!
Shaker Song: Shake Your Shakers
(tune of London Bridge)
Shake your shakers in the air,
Shake it here, shake it there
Shake your shakers in the air,
Shake your shakers

additional verses:
Shake it high and shake it low, shake it yes, shake it no…
Shake it up and shake it down, shake your shaker on the ground…
Shake it near and shake it far, drive your shaker like a car…
Shake it fast and shake it slow, shake it stop, shake it go…
Source: Jbrary

shake your shakers thumbnail, with a graphic of three shaky eggs - blue, purple, and yellow. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Mmm, a snack I love to TASTE is popcorn
Shaker Rhyme: Pop, Pop, Pop
Pop, pop, pop, Put the corn in the pot
Pop, pop, pop, Shake it ’til it’s hot
Pop, pop, pop, Lift the lid and what have you got?
Popcorn!
Source: Jbrary

pop pop pop thumbnail, with a graphic of a small pile of unpopped popcorn kernels and two popped. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Shaker Song: Shake it to the East
Shake it to the east,
Shake it to the west
Shake it all around and
Then you take a rest
Shake your shakers up
Shake your shakers down
Shake it, shake it, shake it, and
Then you settle down!
Source: Jbrary

shake it to the east (egg edition) thumbnail, with a graphic of four kids - three dancing with maracas and one sitting with a book. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Can we pretend we are making a tasty milkshake? How would yours smell? Taste like? Look like? Sound like? Feel?
Shaker Song: The Milkshake Song
You take a little milk – pour some milk!
And you take a little cream – pour some cream!
You stir it all up, You shake it and you’ll sing…
Milkshake, milkshake shake it up, shake it up!
Milkshake, milkshake shake it all up!
Milkshake, milkshake shake it up, shake it up!
Milkshake, milkshake shake it all up!
Source: Old Town School of Folk Music, from the album Songs for Wiggleworms via Jbrary

the milkshake song thumbnail, with a graphic of a tall pink milkshake with a straw, whipped cream, and a cherry. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Art Station: Scented Paint
I saw this idea at Play to Learn Preschool. She used baking extracts to make her paint scented, but that seemed a little expensive. I found these “super strength flavorings” intended for candy making that came in small containers, so I opted for them. They worked okay, but our tempera paint had its own fairly strong paint smell. I think that when the paint dried the scent was a little bit stronger, but honestly, it wasn’t as super strong as I’d hoped. I did stick to only three colors/scents so they weren’t overwhelming. The scents that came in the three pack were grape, strawberry, and watermelon. I paired grape with purple, strawberry with pink, and watermelon with green. It was a nice simple art station for free expression, even if the scents weren’t very strong. [You can see the squirrel from the scavenger hunt (see below) on the window here, too!]

scented paint sample, showing abstract pink swirls and dots.

scented paint station, with messy trays with blank paper, and small plates with three colors of paint and brushes.

Gross Motor Stations: Balance Beam
We have a rubber balance beam that we got from a Special Olympics Young Athlete’s grant. I’ve been starting to use the equipment as movement stations (you’ll see more of that in my summer programming), but it’s really nice to be able to use. For this station, I encouraged kids to use their sense of feeling and “sense of balance” to walk the balance beam, and if they wanted an extra challenge, they could do it while balancing a beanbag on their body somewhere. [You can see another scavenger hunt item (see below) – a pink car – in this picture, too!]

balance beam station, with an orange rubber balance beam on a rug, with a sign explaining what to do. a pile of bean bags is nearby.

Fine Motor Station: Craft Stick Sort
Kids could use their SIGHT to match the color of craft stick to the color coded hole in the box. This is a station I have used for summer for many years, and an easy add to this setup.

Craft stick sort station, showing colored craft sticks strewn on a table with two small boxes with color coded holes.

Sensory Stations: Five Senses Stations
This was the biggest part of the station set up and required the most pre-program prep. I had a separate station for each of the five senses. Inspiration for this drew heavily from this post on The Lion is a Bookworm blog.

See Station
For sight I created a scavenger hunt using random flannels from my collection. I put them up around the room with painter’s tape and they stayed up just fine for about a week. There were a few difficult-to-find ones, but I tried to make them pretty findable for littles. I chose ten items – Pete the Cat, a Lois Ehlert squirrel, a pink owl, a soccer ball, a pink car driven by a bunny, a red tractor, an orange stegosaurus, a purple elephant, a mint green fish, and a rainbow popsicle.

See sign: "use your EYES to find objects around the room. Grab a scavenger hunt key and check them off as you find them." a line drawing of two eyes is on the sign.

See station - showing a sign explaining a scavenger hunt, a basket of golf pencils, and a finding aid with a photo of each hidden image.

scavenger hunt finding aid, with a photograph of the flannels used with numbers beside each.

Hear Station
For hearing I put various items in paper bags and stapled them closed. The kids could shake the bags to guess what was inside. These included coins, jingle bells, cotton balls, Lego pieces, popcorn kernels, and rubber bands. I wrote what the answer was on the bottom of the bag.

Hear sign: "Use your EARS to guess what is in each container, based on the sound it makes when you shake it! Note to adults: the answers are on the bottom of the containers." a line drawing of an ear is on the sign.

hear station, with a sign explaining and six white paper bags that have been stapled shut

Smell Station
For smelling I used various scented items on a cotton ball in a small condiment cup for sniffing. These were vanilla extract, almond extract, coffee grounds, and lemon, cinnamon, and spearmint essential oils. I wrote what they were on masking tape labels on the bottom of each cup.

Smell sign: "Use your NOSE to guess what is in each container. Note to adults: the answers are on the bottom of the containers." a line drawing of a nose is on the sign.

Smell station, showing six small condiment cups. Each has a cotton ball - the sign prompts participants to smell each and guess what it is, with answers written on the bottom of the cups.

Taste Station
For taste I wanted to provide something to actually taste, but I didn’t want to give anyone with allergies any trouble. Per The Lion is a Bookworm blog, I used table salt, Country Time lemonade mix, and granulated sugar to represent salty, sour, and sweet! I got the smallest paper tasting cups I could find (1/2 oz) and just put a few granules in each one. I marked them 1, 2, and 3 and had a post it on the back of the sign holder to show adults what was in each. I set up this station on the counter next to our sink and also provided some disposable cups in case someone wanted to rinse out a taste! [You can see a little bit of Pete the Cat from the scavenger hunt in this photo.]

Taste sign. "Use your TONGUE to guess what is in each container. Note to adults: the answers are on the back of this sign." a line drawing of a mouth with a tongue sticking out is on the sign.

taste station, showing three messy trays with small tasting cups on them, labeled 1, 2, 3. A sign explains what to do, and there are styrofoam cups next to the nearby sink.

Touch Station
For the touch station, I just gathered a bunch of items with different textures! It was fun to choose. I tried finding things that were natural as well as synthetic. You could do LOTS with this one. The items I ended up with were: a dust mop head, a natural sponge, cardboard with the corrugation exposed and ridged craft paper (similar but different feels), a smooth polished rock and a rough rock, a feather, a bit of tree bark, cotton balls, a small branch with needles from a pine tree, and a sprig of a juniper bush.

touch sign: "Use your HANDS to feel these objects! Describe them with words like rough, smooth, soft, and hard." A line drawing of two hands is on the sign.

touch station showing a sign explaining, with various textured objects - a fuzzy mop head, natural sponge, ridged cardboard, smooth rock, feather, rough rock, tree bark, pine branch with needles, and cotton balls.

Toys and Puzzles
Our regular baby toys and puzzles, as well as soft food, babies in a basket, and lacing cards came out as another option for play. I didn’t capture a picture of this one.

After 20 minutes of free station time, I ring our bell to gather everyone again in the storytime room. Everyone helps put away the toys and puzzles before we end with our last two songs.

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Five for a Little One – Chris Raschka
I Hear a Pickle – Rachel Isadora
My Ocean Is Blue – Darren Lebeuf & Ashley Barron
A Sense of Red – Kate Riggs & Eleonora Pace
Baby Loves the Five Senses – Ruth Spiro & Irene Chan
Have You Ever Seen a Flower? – Shawn Harris
Stop and Smell the Cookies – Gibson Frazier & Micah Player
I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea – Janice Milusich & Chris Raschka
All Food Is Good Food – Molli Jackson Ehlert & Fanny Liem
Listen – Holly M. McGhee & Pascal Lemaître
Taking the Long Way Home – Jake Hope & Brian Fitzgerald
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – Bill Martin, Jr. & Eric Carle

This storytime was presented in-person on 5/6/26.

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

change starts with us and the earth book book cover gallery

Stories & Stations: Earth Day

Posted on May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 by msemilylibrary

April 22 is Earth Day! Here is our Stories & Stations* storytime, planned by my wonderful colleague (we alternate planning weeks.) There were a few activities that were planned but for time reasons weren’t ready, so we made adaptations. It was a good reminder that our families like the experience of storytime, and they roll with us on our themes, but all the theming is really more for our ease of planning and not really something our 2- and 3-year-olds care about. It’s okay to repeat activities. It’s okay to go off-theme. Everything we do should be to promote early literacy and associate the library and books with fun, and all the rest is icing!

This week’s prop was beanbags, which I don’t use often enough in my regular storytimes! It was really great to see everyone shaking, tossing, and balancing their beanbags and having a really fun time with them.

See another version of this theme from 2021.

*We are doing a new format for our storytimes in a transition period of personnel change and calling it Stories & Stations (you can read the whole saga of the whys and hows at this post.)

change starts with us book cover, showing five children doing various things with the earth, including planting a tree, throwing away recycling, and holding protest signs.

the earth book book cover, showing a large picture of the planet earth with a heart on it and being held by two children.

Early Development Tip: Moving to music, dancing, swaying, running, and jumping help young children feel rhythm and begin to understand how their bodies work. Such movements also help them gain muscle control and improve their balance, which all contributes to your child’s gross motor development. –from The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards by Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting

Warm Up Song: Wiggle and Wiggle and STOP*
This week I did “Stomp” and “Roll” (arms) in addition to Wiggle.

Intro: Today is a very special day called Earth Day! Our Earth gives us so many wonderful gifts: the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the crunchy apples we eat for a snack. Today people all over the world are on a mission to be kind to our Earth. We might check the ground for “lost” trash, or turn off the lights when we’re not home – there are lots of actions we can take to help keep our world clean, green, and beautiful.

Let’s start with a story about things we can do to help the Earth.
Sometimes it just makes more sense to start with our book and then go to the themed activity.
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

Even though this is a board book, it is a relatively large format one, so it still works for reading to a group. It’s cute and age appropriate, although I always skip the page about eating less meat that shows a barnyard scene. It just feels a little too omnivore-shaming – I don’t disagree with the sentiment, but I wish the illustration featured a plate full of vegetables instead.
Read: Change Starts with Us by Sophie Beer

I read this title for my evening program, and it worked okay. Some of the points made feel just a little too simplified.
Read: The Earth Book by Todd Parr

Here’s an old song about loving our Earth. Someone wrote a new verse for Earth Day – let’s sing them both together!
Ukulele Song: This Land Is Your Land (Earth Day Edition)
This land is your land, This land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream Waters
This land was made for you and me

This land is your land, This land is my land
Let’s work together to make it better
From the tall green forests to the clear blue waters
This land depends on you and me
Source: Woodie Guthrie, Earth Day verse from Santa Clarita Public Library

Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet for “This Land Is Your Land” here!

thumbnail of ukulele songsheet for this land is your land

this land is your land thumbnail, with a graphic of an earth with clouds. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Let’s get out some beanbags! Let’s see, can you gently toss your beanbag and catch it? Okay, can you let your beanbag drop to the ground? How about tossing it from one hand to the other – if you can’t toss, then try just moving it from hand to hand. Okay, you are ready for our first beanbag rhyme!
I’ve adapted the traditional Tommy Thumbs rhyme for different uses – like for egg shakers and scarves. It also works for beanbags, but the motions are a little bit different since they are especially fun to toss and drop.
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 two hands)
Source: adapted from the traditional Tommy Thumbs

beanbags up thumbnail, with a graphic of four square beanbags: yellow, purple, red, and blue. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Earth Day is a great time to celebrate all the animals of the planet. How about the frog? Can you pretend your beanbag is a frog?
We start by bouncing our “frogs” on our toes – at the end, I made my frog jump extra high on the “Ribbit!” Then you can move to any other body parts.
Beanbag Song: Froggy’s Hopping
(tune of Round the Mulberry Bush)
Froggy’s hopping on my toes
On my toes, on my toes
Froggy’s hopping on my toes…
RIIIIIIBBIT!
Source: Allegan District (MI) Library

froggy's hopping thumbnail, with a graphic of a green frog about to land from a hop. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Mmm, the earth provides so many delicious things to eat! Can you pretend your beanbag is an apple now?
Beanbag Rhyme: Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree (beanbags/fists up)
Two red apples smiled at me (wiggle apples)
I shook that tree as hard as I could (shaking motion)
Down came the apples… (beanbags/fists fall)
And mmm, they were good! (rub tummy)
Source: traditional

way up high in the apple tree thumbnail, with a graphic of a tree with two red apples in it. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Okay, it’s beanbag hard mode now! Can you balance your beanbag on your head?! If that’s too difficult, you can try balancing it on your hand, instead.
Beanbag Rhyme: Walk Along the Tightrope
With my bean bag on my head
I stand so very tall
I walk along my tightrope
And will not let it fall
Source: Allegan District (MI) Library

walk along the tightrope thumbnail, with a graphic of a figure on a tightrope and a child balancing a beanbag on their head. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Art Station: Fingerprint Stamped Flowers
I think originally we were planning to use actual flowers on the stamp pad, but that seemed too fragile for a bunch of kids to cycle through. So instead, we made flowers using our own fingerprints! We have these large stamp pads that are perfect for this sort of craft. This was a nice one since it didn’t require a lot of clean up (like the paint crafts from the last few weeks!)

Craft showing a stamped hand in green. Each finger tip has a flower stamped in different colors.

art station with paper, stamp pads, and baby wipes.

Gross Motor Stations: Walk the Plank
I think this was originally going to be a different activity, but we just grabbed a sign from a previous program (Oceans of Possibilities) and taped a line on the floor. Kids still enjoyed it!

walk the plank activity, showing a blue taped line on the floor and a sign

Gross Motor Station 2: Animal Habitat Building
Another borrow, this time from the Baby Animals program a few weeks ago. We got out our big blocks (like Legos, but much bigger!) to build habitats for some of our animal puppets. I love how the kids can be so creative in what they build with fairly limited materials.

Fine Motor Station 1: Seed Sorting & Cut the Grass
This was a re-use of two stations from the Garden program. It’s always good to have several activities available!

table showing a seed sorting station on one side and a cut the grass (construction paper) on the other.

Sensory Station: Kinetic Sand
Another quick one from the past is kinetic sand – and it’s always a hit. We had some little colorful animal figurines that were hidden in the sand.

Kinetic sand station, with two bins on top of a fitted sheet held down by two tables.

closeup of a kinetic sand bin, showing the bin, some plastic shovels, and plastic animals

Toys and Puzzles
Our regular baby toys and puzzles, as well as soft food, babies in a basket, and lacing cards came out as another option for play. I didn’t capture a picture of this one.

After 20 minutes of free station time, I ring our bell to gather everyone again in the storytime room. Everyone helps put away the toys and puzzles before we end with our last two songs.

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
To Change A Planet – Christina Soontornvat & Rahele Jomepour Bell
Thank You, Earth – April Pulley Sayre
The Earth Book – Todd Parr
My Friend Earth – Patricia MacLachlan & Francesca Sanna
Stand Up! Speak Up! – Andrew Joyner
We Are Water Protectors – Carole Lindstrom & Michaela Goade
Milk and Juice – Meredith Crandall Brown
Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival – Lindsay Moore
What a Wonderful World – Bob Thiele, George David Weiss & Tim Hopgood
The Old Boat – Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey
Lights Out – Marsha Diane Arnold & Susan Reagan
Earth Day – Emma Carlson Berne & Mike Bundad
Go Green With Sesame Street – Jennifer Boothroyd & Mary Lindeen
A Little Round Panda on the Big Blue Earth – Tory Christie & Luciana Navarro Powell
Home – Matt De La Peña & Loren Long
What Does It Mean to be Green? – Rana DiOrio & Addy Rivera Sonda
On Earth – G. Brian Karas
A Pocket Full of Rocks – Kristin Mahoney & E.B. Goodale
I Love Our Earth – Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson, Dan Lipow
Home – Isabelle Simler

This storytime was presented in-person on 4/22 & 4/23/26.

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

up down and around and goodnight veggies book covers

Stories & Stations: Garden

Posted on May 8, 2026May 15, 2026 by msemilylibrary

This week we celebrated spring with a gardening theme! We are doing a new format for our storytimes in a transition period of personnel change and calling it Stories & Stations (you can read the whole saga of the whys and hows at my last post.)

I had worked with a community member earlier in the year to do a one-off all-ages drop-in evening program about gardens, so I reused some of those activities in the planning for this, and added a few others. Gardens and gardening is a fun theme – you can talk about flowers, vegetables, bugs, dirt, weather, the earth, and the environment – so many possibilities!

See another version of this theme from 2021.

up down, and around book cover, showing kids by a large corn stalk

goodnight, veggies book cover, showing a cutaway side vew of a garden, with two beets on either side of a worm wearing a sneaker and hat.

Early Development Tip: Helping children hear the smaller sounds in words, the syllables, by clapping them out is one way to develop their phonological awareness. Children can hear the syllables more easily than each individual sound in words. –from The Early Literacy Kit: A Handbook and Tip Cards by Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting

Warm Up Song: Wiggle and Wiggle and STOP*
This week I went with garden themed actions so in addition to wiggling, we also did “dig” and “pick” – digging was a little frenetic, which is fun, but for “pick” I said that we’re picking some delicate berries, so we were very fastidious! Spinning the actions in different ways (do it slowly! Make your voice quieter! Pick as high up on the berry bush as you can!) is a great way to give this song some dynamics.

Intro: Today we’re talking about gardens and gardening. It’s fun to grow plants and this is the time of year we see little plants start to grow. In a garden, you can grow flowers or vegetables or fruit. Do any of you have a garden at home?

A garden can attract a lot of wildlife! Let’s see who else is enjoying our veggies!
I made this flannel set awhile ago, it’s always nice to get more use out of them. For time, I only did the frog, crow, mouse, and worm.
Guessing Game: Something In My Garden
There’s something in my garden, Now, what can it be?
There’s something in my garden,That I can’t really see.
I hear its funny sound…. RIBBIT – RIBBIT – RIBBIT
A … FROG is what I found! RIBBIT – RIBBIT – RIBBIT

Repeat with other animals found in a garden.
Ribbit – Frog – bugs from a lettuce plant
Thump – Rabbit – nibbling a carrot
Squeak – Mouse – tasting a blackberry
Caw – Crow – pecking at some corn
Buzz – Bee – gathering pollen from a flower
Wiggle – Worm – chewing an old leaf
Flutter – Butterfly – sipping nectar from a hyacinth
Source: Storytime Katie

Laminated printed "flannel" showing a frog, lettuce plant that has bugs on it, rabbit, carrot, crow, corn, mouse, blackberry, worm, flat brown leaf, hyacinth flower, bee, and butterfly.

something in my garden thumbnail, with a graphic of a rabbit hiding behind some carrot greens and a frog behind some lettuce. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Let’s play a game with some gardening words. We are listening for the syllables that make up the words – a syllable has the smaller sounds in words.
I planned to do garden, flower, worm, vegetable, but was running behind so we only did garden and vegetable!
Word Game: Super Duper
Super duper, 1 – 2 – 3
Can you say this word with me?
Say it! Clap it! Pat it! Tap it! Whisper it! Shout it!
Practice words and separate the syllables for great early learning!
Source: Betsy Diamant-Cohen & Saroj Ghoting

super duper thumbnail, with a graphic of a red and yellow diamond shaped superhero insignia with the word wow in the middle. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

This is an oldie but a goodie, and I make it interactive by telling the group to either stand up or raise their arms when I say UP, crouch or touch the floor when I say DOWN, and either spin their bodies or their arms when I say ALL AROUND.
Read: Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres & Nadine B Westcott

Another awesome title for my backup – I love the illustrations so much, especially that cool worm with his knee sock, sneaker, and hat.
Read: Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray & Zachariah OHora

Let’s get out our ribbons! I know a song about a little teapot, do you? I was thinking about gardening, and something we use in the garden also has a handle and a spout – a watering can! So let’s be watering cans to help our gardens grow.
We go straight to our props after the book! This week was our wrist ribbons. There’s no need to theme these prop activities, but if I can find some kind of thread, I can’t help myself. I kind of balled up the ribbons in my hand until the last line and let them be the “water” coming out. I am sure someone else could change the “steamed up” line to be more like a watering can, but I never got there.
UPDATE: Miss Liz from the Bethel Library in CT sent me her PERFECT words to replace the “steamed up” line. Thank you, Miss Liz! I’ve updated the rhyme sheet.
Ribbon Song: I’m a Little Water Can
I’m a little water can short and stout
Here is my handle, here is my spout
~~When I get all steamed up then I shout:~~
When it’s time to water then I shout:
“Tip me over and pour me out!”
Source: adapted from the traditional, with help from Miss Liz from the Bethel Library (CT)

i'm a little water can thumbnail, with a graphic of a yellow watering can tipped and watering a small sprout. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

I usually do this one as a shaker song, but it works just as well with scarves or ribbons.
Ribbon Song: Wave Your Ribbons High
(tune of Grand Old Duke of York)
You wave your ribbons high
You wave your ribbons low
You wave your ribbons fast, fast, fast
And then you wave them slow
Source: Harris County (TX) Public Library

wave your ribbons thumbnail, with a graphic of blue, yellow, and green ribbons. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

A garden needs pollinators like bees and butterflies!
This one was originally a beanbag rhyme. It works really well with ribbons or scarves, too! For the last line, we threw our ribbons up in the air and caught them.
Ribbon Rhyme: Butterfly, Butterfly
Butterfly, butterfly in the sky
Flap your wings and up you fly
Back and forth to and fro
Up, up, up and… Away you go!
Source: Evansville-Vanderburgh Co (IN) Public Library

butterfly butterfly thumbnail, with a graphic of a yellow and blue butterfly. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

King County shows the first two lines as a chorus repeated between every other two lines, but for time I just did it straight through. The tune I did was something akin to Going to Kentucky (which I think sounds like some traditional clapping/jump rope songs like Miss Lucy had a baby…)
Ribbon Song: I Have a Little Streamer
I have a little streamer, I wave it in the air
I wave it over here and I wave it over there
It can be a flag waving way up high
It can be a sailing ship slowly floating by
It can be a carousel going round and round
It can be a shooting star falling to the ground
It can be a branch swaying in the breeze
It can be a flying kite caught up in the trees
Source: King Co (WA) Library System

little streamer thumbnail, with a graphic of a pennant flag, a shooting star, and a kite. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Art Station: Garden Process Art
We cut the tops off brussels sprouts and celery into sticks to do some paint stamping, and also had brown paint and brushes and dried beans for kids to create their gardens however they liked. I was inspired by this post by Buggy and Buddy.

garden art station, with messy trays with brown construction paper, plates with paint, brussels sprouts and celery, and bowls with dried beans.

Gross Motor Stations: Weed Toss & Garden Yoga
This is just a beanbag toss game with a sign to help kids imagine their beanbags are weeds in the garden that need to be pulled and tossed into the bucket. I also had a poster with “Garden Yoga Poses” over by the rug, but I didn’t see anyone doing them and I forgot to get a picture. The free printable poster is from Childhood 101.

garden weed toss, showing beanbags and buckets with a sign on the wall explaining that the beanbags are weeds to pull and toss

Fine Motor Station 1: Seed Sorting
Someone put this container on the free table in our break room – it was originally for tea, and has six compartments in a box with a hinged lid. It was perfect for this! I printed some labels and added some dried seeds from our seed library and beans from the sensory bins. There were tongs for older kids to practice, but anyone could sort the seeds using their fingers, too.

seed sorting station, showing a box with 6 sections. a mix of seeds are in the two middle sections, and the four others are labeled: sweet corn, lima beans, pinto beans, and black beans.

Fine Motor Station 2: Match the Seed to the Plant
I did some extra stations since I had these activities leftover from the previous program. This was a set of cards that show a plant and a seed that could be matched. The cards are a free printable from Preschool Powol Packets. I did modify the cards: cards said something like “sunflowers” and “sunflower seeds” which felt too easy. I kept the label on the plant but removed it from the seeds.

Garden seed match card station, showing cards with either a plant or its seed for matching.

Fine Motor Station 3: Cut/Tear the Grass
I’ve used this activity before, and it’s a fun one. We put out safety scissors for the older kids, but younger ones can tear. It works on lots of developmental skills, including crossing the midline as well as pincer grip/scissor manipulation. Plus it’s fun to see what is hidden! I taped a few of the sheets to the edge of the table so they were vertical, but put the others down flat for varying ways to interact. Download a printable PDF of the artwork here!

cut the grass station, showing green construction paper sheets with 1 inch strips cut halfway down to make grass. Underneath are papers with various things that may be found in grass: flowers, apples, bugs, etc.

green construction paper sheets with 1 inch strips cut halfway down to make grass. Underneath are papers with various things that may be found in grass: flowers, apples, bugs, etc. Pictured is a leaf and a pillbug

Sensory Station: Garden Sensory Bins
I made these for that earlier program (mentioned in the intro, above) and I knew we had a garden theme planned, so I’d saved everything, making this a really easy station! The “dirt” was made of a mix of dried black beans and pinto beans (giving it a look of potting mix with perlite in it) and added various “garden” things like shovels, fake flowers and foliage, plastic bugs and critters like frogs and salamanders, little seed starter peat pots, pom poms. Like last week’s kinetic sand station, I put this one on a fitted sheet held down by two tables to make cleanup easier.

garden sensory bin, showing two bins on a fitted sheet with black beans and various gardening toys like shovels, plastic bugs, fake flowers, plant labels, and small seed starter containers

Toys and Puzzles
Our regular baby toys and puzzles, as well as soft food, babies in a basket, and lacing cards came out as another option for play. I didn’t capture a picture of this one.

After 20 minutes of free station time, I ring our bell to gather everyone again in the storytime room. Everyone helps put away the toys and puzzles before we end with our last two songs.

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Miguel’s Community Garden – JaNay Brown-Wood & Samara Hardy
Lola Plants a Garden – Anna McQuinn & Rosalind Beardshaw
Here Are the Seeds – JaNay Brown-Wood & Olivia Amoah
How to Say Hello to a Worm – Kari Percival
No Nibbling! – Beth Ferry & AN Kang
Prunella – Beth Ferry & Claire Keane
Flower Garden – Eve Bunting & Kathryn Hewitt
My Garden – Kevin Henkes
Planting a Rainbow – Lois Ehlert
Jayden’s Impossible Garden – Mélina Mangal & Ken Daley
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt – Kate Messner & Christopher Silas Neal
Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden – Jenan A. Matari & Aya Ghanameh
The Hidden Rainbow – Christie Matheson
Uncle John’s City Garden – Bernette G. Ford & Frank Morrison
No, No, Gnome! – Ashlyn Anstee
See Marcus Grow – Marcus Bridgewater & Reggie Brown

This storytime was presented in-person on 4/15/26.

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

I was born a baby and animals move book covers

Stories & Stations: Baby Animals

Posted on May 1, 2026May 21, 2026 by msemilylibrary

My library is in a transition time. Our longtime and beloved preschool programmer just retired after more than 40 years! We won’t be hiring her replacement for several months, so we are doing some creative programming solutions. Rather than splitting age groups for Itty Bitty (0-3.5) and Preschool (3.5-6) ages as we have up until now, my Itty Bitty colleague and I are increasing our capacity and offering storytime for ages 0-5 until the end of summer. To streamline and make it relevant to that wider age range, we changed our format to “Stories & Stations,” using my summer programming formula as a basis. We’ll be indoors in April and May, and outdoors (as weather permits) in June and July.

So, what does that mean? Instead of a 45 minute storytime (which included a craft and playtime), we are doing just 15-20 minutes of traditional storytime activities and then doing 20 minutes of exploring various stations in a more free-form way. That helps with breaking up a bigger group. We are fortunate to have two children’s storytime rooms that adjoin and have a temporary wall and pass-through door. That gives us a lot of flexibility. We ultimately decided to keep the wall closed and keep the storytime portion in one room and the stations in the other, opening the door when we are ready to release to stations.

We also decided to go “light” on our themes – really only having one or two truly themed songs/rhymes during the storytime portion and a themed book, then moving to props and songs that work well for them regardless of whether they’re on theme or not. I realize a lot of libraries do this already!

For the stations portion, we planned four stations in the second room: art, gross motor, fine motor, and sensory. Then we put out our baby toys and wooden puzzles in the storytime room as another station. This spread out the group enough that everyone got a chance to try different things and not feel crowded doing it.

Our first session was around Easter, so we chose “baby animals” as the theme. It was my colleague’s turn to do the planning, and we have both enjoyed how easy it is to put together a plan with this new template. Baby animals was a cute and fun theme (and one I’ve never done before), and the plan worked well for our older newcomers as well as our tried-and-true itty bitties. We had to do some tweaking on timing, but stations were all received well and everyone seemed to have a good time.

I was born a baby book cover, showing a small Black boy in a diaper only, with various baby animals standing behind him, including a cow calf, fawn, piglet, bear cub, rabbit kit, and horse foal.

animals move book cover, showing a photograph of a kitten pouncing in a meadow

Early Development Tip: Musical activities stimulate the auditory cortex and language centers in the brain. When children listen to and create rhythms, they’re engaging the same brain processes needed for decoding language. –My Little Conservatory

Warm Up Song: Wiggle and Wiggle and STOP*
I’ve used this as my warm-up song every summer for a few years! We decided with the broader age range to put “Wake Up Feet” on hold as it skews a bit younger. Wiggle and STOP is one everyone enjoys! I realized after re-watching the Jbrary video that I’ve morphed into a different tune. One of these days I’ll record my version. I have been doing “Wiggle” and two other verses/actions that change each week. Some options are jump, twirl, run, splash, hop, swim, stretch, stomp, wave, sway, march, lean, roll [arms,] hug, but you can really use any action here!

Intro: Spring is here, and this is the time of year that many animals will have their babies! Did you know that most animals have a special name we use for their babies? Who knows what a baby cat is called? A kitten! A baby owl is called an owlet, and he likes to stay in the nest until he’s ready to fly. A tiny kangaroo is a joey, and when she travels, she sits in her mama’s pouch. And a baby goat is called a kid (just like you!) Learning their names helps us understand how every big animal started out small.

Let’s see if you can guess the names of these animals.
My colleague had both some printed photographs of baby animals and she also made a flannel that highlighted the babies in their natural habitats. We talked about the photos and then she had a very cute guessing game rhyme for the habitats. I unfortunately forgot about the rhymes and didn’t have them printed out, so I just showed the animals and asked them to guess the baby names – which were not easy! It was good to have a few stumpers – I think everyone learned something! Rabbit was maybe the most surprising. I noted that we sometimes call a baby rabbit a bunny, but that’s really just a nickname. Rabbit babies are actually called kits! The flannel she made for this was really beautiful, too.
Flannel Game: Guess that Animal
My baby is called a tadpole.
I have four legs that help me jump.
I like to live near ponds and rivers.
I say “ribbit”.
What am I? A frog!

My baby is called a kit.
I have four legs.
I like to eat carrots.
I am small and fast.
What am I? A rabbit!

My baby is called a calf.
I have four legs.
I have a trunk that I use to grab my food.
I am big and gray.
What am I? An elephant!

My baby is called a pup.
I live in the ocean.
I have fins and a tail.
I’m a carnivore. I like to eat meat.
What am I? A shark!
Source: Ms Ali

printed cards of photos of baby animals - a kitten, puppy, lamb, calf, and chicks.

animal habitat flannel showing a pond with lily pad, a meadow with flowers, a savannah with acacia tree, and ocean with small school of fish

animal habitat flannel revealing animals: frog on the lily pad, a rabbit in the meadow, an elephant on the savannah, and shark in the ocean

What if we had a whole farm of baby animals?
I think we ended up doing 3 or 4 verses total. The phrasing was a little awkward, but it almost made it even more silly fun!
Themed Song: Old MacDonald Had a Baby Farm
Old MacDonald had a baby farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on that farm he had a puppy, E-I-E-I-O!
With a woof, woof here
And a woof, woof there
Here a woof, there a woof,
Everywhere a woof, woof!
Old MacDonald had a baby farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Additional verses:
kitten – meow, lamb – baa, calf – moo, chicks – cheep, foal – neigh
Source: adapted from traditional

old macdonald had a baby farm thumbnail, with a graphic of a red barn. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story*

This title would be a little long for the youngest group, but with a mixed group it seemed to work okay.
Read: I was Born a Baby by Meg Fleming & Brandon James Scott

A neat back up – the photographs are pretty cool, and there were some very unusual babies, like porcupettes. It also has a built-in interactive element with all the movement!
Read: Animals Move by Jane Whittingham

Let’s get our scarves out now. Baby animals love to play! Can we roly poly our scarves like a baby puppy likes to roll in the grass?
We go straight to our props! There’s no need to theme these, but if I can find some kind of thread, I’ll make it! My coworker did this one like Jbrary does, to the tune of Frere Jacques, but I do it more as a chant like I saw in a video from storyteller Rebecca Jane Flanagan.
Scarf Rhyme: Roly Poly
(roll scarf accordingly)
Roly poly, roly, poly, up, up, up
Roly poly, roly, poly, down, down, down
Roly poly, roly, poly, out, out, out
Roly poly, roly, poly, in, in, in
Roly poly, roly, poly, BIG, BIG, BIG
Roly poly, roly, poly, very, very small
Roly poly, roly, poly, fast, fast, fast, fast, fast!
Rol…ly… po…ly… in… your… lap!
Source: Rebecca Jane Flanagan

Let’s have a snack. Ms. Ali says that before it becomes popcorn, we have baby kernels!
Scarf Song: Popcorn Kernels
(tune of Frère Jacques)
Popcorn kernels, popcorn kernels (wave scarves overhead)
In the pot, in the pot (bunch up scarf in your fist)
Shake them, shake them, shake them!
Shake them, shake them, shake them! (shake)
‘Til they POP! ‘Til they POP! (toss scarves up into the air)
Source: Jbrary

popcorn kernels thumbnail, with a photograph of two popped popcorn kernels. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Can you scrunch up your scarf in your hands and get small? We’re going to start this rhyme very quietly!
Scarf Rhyme: Jack in the Box
Jack in the box (scrunch scarf up in fist)
Sits so still
Will he come out?
Yes, he will! (throw scarf in the air)
Source: Jbrary

We had one more scarf song ready but I was out of time at this point, so I skipped it!
Scarf Song: Fish In The Sea
(tune of Wheels on the Bus)
Fish in the sea go swish, swish, swish,
swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish
Fish in the sea go swish, swish, swish
All day long

additional verses:
Dolphins in the sea swim round and round
Waves on the sea go up and down
Source: Jbrary

Fish in the sea thumbnail, with a graphic of waves at the bottom and photos of a clownfish, small school of fish, dolphin and yellow tropical fish. click the image to download a non-branded PDF

Now we released to stations! I asked littles to come first, then the older kids, then I got out the toys and put them up in the storytime room for those who wanted to play right away.

Art Station: Sponge Paw Print Painting
My colleague cut out different kinds of animal prints from sponges, including birds, elephants, lizard/dino, humans, and die cut dog paws. We had art smocks and just let everyone make whatever they wanted from the sponge prints.

animal paw print art station showing a table with blank paper and paint, and on the wall is a sign for the station and examples of art

animal paw print art station table, with 8 messy trays and small plates with paint and sponges in the shape of different animal prints. there are art smocks on the chairs.

Gross Motor Station: Koala Swing
We have some small athletic cones, so this was basically a slalom, which turned into a Koala swing! Kids could grab a beanbag to be their koala joey and safely swing them from “tree” to “tree.”

koala swing station, showing athletic cones with pictures of trees on them

Fine Motor Station: Habitat Building
So this went through a bit of an evolution – I think the original idea was to make habitats with smaller materials, but it got changed to using our big blocks (like Legos, but much bigger!) to build habitats for some of our animal puppets. It was a very popular station, even if it was a little less “fine motor” skills. We are happy to be flexible and use the materials we have!

big blocks habitat station showing big legos on a rug with realistic animal puppets

Sensory Station: Animals on Vacation (Kinetic Sand)
Ha, so we didn’t feel like we really needed to theme every station, but this was just too good. We got out our kinetic sand from summers past and added our plastic farm animals for fun. Another very popular station.

kinetic sand station, showing a fitted sheet held down by two tables, and two clear bins with sand and plastic farm animal figurines

Toys and Puzzles
Our regular baby toys and puzzles, as well as soft food, babies in a basket, and lacing cards came out as another option for play. I didn’t capture a picture of this one.

After 20 minutes of free station time, I ring our bell to gather everyone again in the storytime room. Everyone helps put away the toys and puzzles before we end with our last two songs.

Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!*

Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator*

Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Little Blue Truck’s Springtime – Alice Schertle & Jill McElmurry
Close Your Eyes: A Book of Sleepiness – Lori Haskins Houran & Sydney Hanson
Five Fuzzy Chicks – Diana Murray & Sydney Hanson
Pouch – David Ezra Stein
Puppies – Julie Murray
Baby Penguins Love Their Mama – Melissa Guion
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? – Eric Carle
Hello, Baby! – Mem Fox & Steve Jenkins
Kitty’s Cuddles – Jane Cabrera
Baby Animals Moving – Suzi Eszterhas
Hello, Baby! I’m Your Mom – Eve Bunting & Jui Ishida
In Between – April Pulley Sayre
The Little Lamb – Phoebe Dunn
Loon Baby – Molly Beth Griffin & Anne Hunter
Peep Leap – Elizabeth Verdick & John Bendall-Brunello
Sweetest Kulu – Celina Kalluk & Alexandria Neonakis

This storytime was presented in-person on 4/8/26.

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