Toddler Time: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Today was the last day of Toddler Time for the Spring.  The weather has been a bit odd the past week (even for Central New York standards), going from temperatures in the 80s to the 40s!  This week is supposed to be nice, so in honor of Spring and all the beautiful things that grow during this time of the year, I thought a garden themed storytime fit the bill.  Here is what we did.

I started out by asking the children what things grow in gardens.  I got a lot of good responses like carrots, peppers and pumpkins.  So we started out by pretending we had a garden.

FINGERPLAY:  Dig a Little Hole
Dig a little hole,     (pretend to dig)
Plant a little seed,  (pretend to plant)
Pour a little water, (pretend to water)
Pull a little weed.   (pretend to weed)
Chase a little bug,  (shoo with hands)
There he goes!      (wiggle fingers away)
Give a little sunshine, (arms circle overhead)
Grow a little rose.   (pretend to hold a flower)
Source:  Perry Public Library

BOOK:  Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
This is a great book to share with toddlers.  The text is short and the illustrations are bright and bold.  Ask them to identify colors and then share the names of the different flowers on each page.

By this time, the kids were quite wiggly, so we broke out the shaky eggs and got up and danced.

SONG:  "Shake My Sillies Out" by Raffi (from his album More Singable Songs)

FLANNEL RHYME:  Five Little Flowers
One little flower growing just for you.
(hold up 1 finger)
Up came another and then there were two.
(hold up 2 fingers)
Two little flowers growing near a tree.
Up came another and then there were three.
(hold up 3 fingers)
Three little flowers growing more and more.
(move hand up)
Up came another and then there were four
(hold up 4 fingers)
Four little flowers growing side by side.
Up came another and then there were five.
Source:  King County Library System

BOOK:  My Garden by Kevin Henkes
After she helps her mother water and weed their garden, a little girl imagines a garden of her own complete with chocolate rabbits, jellybeans, flowers of all colors and tomatoes the size of beach balls.  A cute story!

PUPPET RHYME:  There's 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.
Hear its funny sound....
RIBBIT - RIBBIT - RIBBIT.
A FROG is what I found!
RIBBIT - RIBBIT - RIBBIT.

There’s something in my garden,
Now what can it be?
There’s something in my garden,
That I can’t really see.
Hear its funny sound....
THUMP - THUMP - THUMP.
A RABBIT is what I found!
THUMP - THUMP - THUMP

There’s something in my garden,
Now what can it be?
There’s something in my garden,
That I can’t really see.
Hear its funny sound....
SQUEAK - SQUEAK - SQUEAK.
A MOUSE is what I found!
SQUEAK - SQUEAK - SQUEAK.

There’s something in my garden,
Now what can it be?
There’s something in my garden,
That I can’t really see.
Hear its funny sound....
CAW - CAW - CAW.
A CROW is what I found!
CAW - CAW - CAW.

Source:  SurLaLune Storytime

Toddler Storytime: Sweet Treats

I'm not sure if it was best idea to do a storytime based upon sugary, yummy things with a bunch of hyper two-year olds, but I went with it, because that's how Miss Jenny rolls!  Here is how you can have sweet storytime, too.

BOOK:  Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler; illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
I found this gem while weeding the picture book section.  When I read it, I knew it would be perfect for storytime.  Full of rhymes and fun noises, this book is a great read-aloud.  Starting out with a toad, a variety of animals get stuck in a big wad of bubble gum melting in the road.  They must try to get out of the way of a big blue truck and a mean bear coming down the road.  We had fun yelling out the different animals and I had fun making the noises.

SONG:  "Shakin' Down the Sugar" by Laurie Berkner (from her album Victor Vito)
My toddlers love using the shakey eggs, so whenever I can bring them out for a song, I do.  This song fits perfectly into the theme as well as being a great outlet to shake and dance around!  I love that they get to shake left, right and up and down.

FINGERPLAY:  Making Cookies
I am making cookie dough,                       (point to self)
Round and round the beaters go,               (rotate hands over each other)
Add some flour from a cup,                       (pretend to pour flour in)
Stir and mix the batter up,                          (pretend to stir)
Roll them, cut them, nice and neat,             (pretend to roll out cookies)
Put them on a cookie sheet,                       (hold hands out flat in front of you)
Bake them, count them...one, two, three,   (count with fingers)
Then serve them to my friends for tea!        (pretend to pass cookies out)
Source:  Avon Lake Public Library

BOOK:  The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
I love the Pigeon books and couldn't wait to share this book with the toddlers.  They loved it!  Seriously, can Mo Willems write a bad children's book?  I think not.  This is a great choice because you can talk about asking for things politely, sharing, and why throwing a fit is not a great option to get what you want.

FLANNEL RHYME:  Five Gingerbread Men
Five little gingerbread men laying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away,
Shouting, "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can...
I'm really quick, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Four little gingerbread men... (count down the numbers repeating the above rhyme)
No more gingerbread men laying on a tray,
They all jumped up and ran away.
Oh, how I wish they had stayed with me to play.
Next time I'll eat them before they run away!
Source:  King County Library System

FINGERPLAY:  Good Things to Eat
Will you have spaghetti,    (wiggle fingers up and down)
Or a piece of pie?             (make a triangle with your fingers)
How about a cookie?        (make a circle with your hands)
Then so will I!                   (pretend to eat cookies)
Source:  Avon Lake Public Library

OTHER BOOKS TO SHARE:
If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff
Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar? by George Shannon
The Donut Chef by Bob Staake
Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson