Dancing is such a broad topic, you could really do a series on dance! This theme really seemed to work especially well for each of my sessions. I think having a lot of gross motor opportunities plus music appealed to them. Plus, we got out our wrist ribbons for the first time. Everyone loved waving theirs around.
Early Literacy Tip: By integrating movement and literacy, children use more of their senses to retain information. Movement stimulates the brain and memory.
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. I rotate between elbows, cheeks, hips, noses, arms, chins, thighs, heads, shoulders, ears, knees, and fingers.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (FT)
Intro: I love to dance! How about you? It’s so fun to listen to music and move your body. Before we do some moving and grooving, let’s loosen up with some stretching.
Stretch: We stretched down and touched our toes, stretched high up, out to the sides, made a big star shape with our arms and legs out, then lastly crossed the midline by touching opposite hands to opposite feet. (Next level stretching!) I added another quick development tip here about how crossing the midline develops some key brain functions!
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big* I just mentioned in the last blog post that I rarely do this rhyme anymore, but I actually made it a part of this week’s plan. It was a good next step after stretching.
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Read: Everybunny Dance! by Ellie Sandall (TT) (TB) (FT)
This was extremely interactive and fun. The kids followed along as I did the motions and sound effects. We talked about how fox was feeling and how it’s always nice to clap at the end of a performance.
Read: Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig & Marc Brown
I do love this title and its companion book, Farmyard Beat, but Everybunny Dance was so good I used it for all three sessions.
Can we count some ballet dancers on our fingers?
I didn’t end up using this one, purposely for the first session, and then realizing that adding it to the agenda for the other sessions would make everything run too long. The graphics for this flannel I got many many years ago, and am not sure of the source.
Counting Rhyme: Five Ballet Dancers
Five ballet dancers, prancing on their toes
They twirl and spin and jump
then off the stage one goes (count down)
No ballet dancers are left – what do we do now? We applaud!
Source: Jen in the Library
Our fingers can do their own dancing!
Fingerplay: Dance Your Fingers (TT) (TB) (FT)
Dance your fingers up,
Dance your fingers down
Dance your fingers side to side,
Dance them all around
Dance them on your shoulders,
Dance them on you head
Dance them on your tummy,
and put them all to bed (tuck under arms)
Source: Storytime Katie
Now we need to warm up our feet.
Action Rhyme: Walking, Walking (TT) (TB) (FT)
(tune of Frère Jacques) (each line 2x)
Walking, walking
Hop, hop, hop
Running, running, running
Now we stop! (ASL sign for stop)
Tiptoe, tiptoe
Hop, hop, hop
Dancing, dancing, dancing
Now we stop!
Source: adapted from Jbrary
Pass out wrist ribbons. I believe we got these from Lakeshore Learning – they are nice and silky and just the right length for kiddos.
Here are my ribbons drying after the program. PS – I wash my scarves, ribbons, and any other fabric with Soak. I’ll put them in the sink, fill with cold water, add a small squeeze of Soak Unscented, and let them sit for about 15 minutes. No need to rinse, I just squeeze out the water and let them air dry. It’s wonderful, baby safe and really works. I don’t think these ribbons had ever been washed before, and the first sinkful of cloudy water showed it. By the third day, the water was clear and the ribbons were looking brighter.
Who is this? A sheep! A sheep who likes to dance…
Puppet Song: Dancing Sheep (TT) (TB) (FT)
Shh! It’s time to go to sleep
But into my bedroom one sheep creeps
“Don’t go to bed,” the one sheep said
“I would rather dance instead!”
Soon he was…
Dancing on the ceiling!
Dancing on the floor!
Dancing on the window!
Dancing on the door!
He kept on… (repeat the chorus, speeding up)
“Stop that dancing, silly sheep
It is time to go to sleep!”
Soon the sheep lay on the floor
Soon the sheep began to snore
Then I started… (repeat chorus until tired)
Source: Jen in the Library, video at Deschutes Public Library
Well, that was silly! I think the thing for us to do now is… a silly dance contest!
I rely pretty heavily on my flip chart of song lyrics to remind me what to do next, so even though there are too many words to print for this song, I still made a sheet for it.
Recorded Song: Silly Dance Contest (TT) (TB) (FT)
Source: Jim Gill, from the album Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
Breathing Break: 5 Finger Breathing (TT) (TB) (FT)
Whew! I need a breathing break. Will you breathe with me? We’ll take a big breath in while we trace up our finger, and let it out as we trace down.
How about a nice slow song? A waltz! A waltz is a dance of threes. It goes, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 (demo a box step). A waltz is also a partner dance! If you have someone you’d like to dance with, now’s the time!
Many of our grownups picked up their little ones to dance, which was exactly what I hoped would happen!
Ukulele Song: Baby Bear Waltz (TT) (TB) (FT)
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Waltzing with bears
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Dance ‘round the chairs
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 That’s what we’ll do
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Waltzing with you
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Waltz round the room
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Dance ‘round the moon
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Glide past the stars
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 Waltzing to Mars
Source: Kathy Reid Naiman, from the album Say Hello to the Morning
Download a ukulele songsheet for Baby Bear Waltz!
It’s time to shake the sillies out!
Recorded Song: Shake My Sillies Out (TT) (TB) (FT)
Source: Raffi, from the album In Concert with the Rise and Shine Band
I let them keep their wrist ribbons for this one, and collected them after.
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Craft: Ribbon Sticks (TB) (FT)
Now they get to make their own ribbons for dancing! I cut lengths of crepe paper streamers to about 2.5 feet, then cut them down the length to get them a bit thinner and get more material out of what I had. (You can stack 6-8 streamers and cut them together easily.) I used jumbo craft sticks and had grownups staple the streamers to the sticks. (Did you know staplers go through craft sticks?!) They were very excited to make their own ribbons and everyone wanted to show them to me as soon as they were done! (My example one was a little sad – I took the reject streamers that were too short or a little crumpled.)
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)
Firebird – Misty Copeland & Christopher Myers
Hilda Must Be Dancing – Karma Wilson & Suzanne Watts
John’s Turn – Mac Barnett & Kate Berube
I Got the Rhythm – Connie Schofield-Morrison & Frank Morrison
Boys Dance – John Robert Allman & Luciano Lozano
Amy Wu & the Ribbon Dance – Kat Zhang & Charlene Chua
Duck Sock Hop – Jane Kohuth & Jane Porter
How Do You Dance? – Thyra Heder
Téo’s Tutu – Maryann Jacob Macias & Alea Marley
Bea at Ballet – Rachel Isadora
This storytime was presented in-person on 4/15, 4/16, & 4/17/24.
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