Category: Sensory Friendly Story time

Dance Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Ballet Kids by Holly Sterling
The cover of the book Ballet Kids. The light blue cover has illustrations of six children wearing ballet outfits and doing different ballet steps.

Song: “Silly Dance Contest” – Jim Gill: Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes

Book: Dancing Feet! by Lindsey Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
The cover of the book Dancing Feet! The illustration is of an elephant and a ladybug dancing happily together while the ladybug rides the elephant's trunk.

Song: “Mat Man” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Yoga: Dancer pose

Social Story: Glad, Glad Bear! by Kimberly Gee
The cover of the book Glad, Glad Bear! The illustration is of a smiling bear raising its arms and wearing a pink tutu.

Closing Song

Craft: Dancing ribbons (paper plates with streamers)
A photograph of half of a paper plate decorated with stickers that has colorful streamers attached to the bottom straight edge.

Bug Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: I Love Bugs! by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by Shari Halpern
The cover of the book I Love Bugs! The illustration is of a happy child wearing a backpack and tan hat while bugs fly all around.

Song: “Bodies 1-2-3” – Peter and Ellen Allard: Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Vol. 2

Book: Caterpillar’s Wish by Mary Murphy
The cover of the book Caterpillar's Wish. The illustration is of a caterpillar, a ladybug, and a bee talking to each other on a leaf.

Song: “Tap, Tap, Tap” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Movement: Learn the yoga pose “butterfly”

Social Story: Try a Bite, Trilobite! by Jonathan Fenske
The cover of the book Try a Bite, Trilobite! The illustration is of a flying bug trying to show a trilobite a green food while the trilobite holds a bowl of noodles and looks disgusted.

Closing Song

Craft: Paper chain caterpillar
A paper chain caterpillar with paper antenna and a face drawn on the first link in the chain.

Garden Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: My Garden by Kevin Henkes
The cover of the book My Garden. The illustration is of a child wearing a straw hat and pink t-shirt standing in front of a flower garden.

Song: “Will Our Flowers Bloom?” (Tune: “The Wheels on the Bus”)
The seeds from the pack go in the ground, (poke with finger)
In the ground, in the ground.
The seeds from the pack go in the ground.
Will our flowers bloom?

The rain from the sky goes drip drip drop, (flutter fingers down)
Drip drip drop, drip drip drop.
The rain from the sky goes drip drip drop.
Will our flowers bloom?

The sun above is bright and hot, (arms make a circle over head)
Bright and hot, bright and hot.
The sun above is bright and hot.
Will our flowers bloom?

Our little seeds are sprouting fast, (fingers grow upward)
Sprouting fast, sprouting fast.
Our little seeds are sprouting fast.
Look! Our flowers bloomed! (cup hands, then spread open)

Book: Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry
The cover of the book Big Yellow Sunflower. The illustration is a sunflower that takes up the whole cover with a bee and two ladybugs on the petals.

Song/Video: “Dance for the Sun” – Kira Willey: Dance for the Sun

Yoga: Flower pose

Social Story: Hurry Up!: A Book About Slowing Down by Kate Dopirak, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
The cover of the book Hurry Up!: A Book About Slowing Down. The illustration is of a child lying in a field full of flowers and looking at a butterfly with a dog.

Closing Song

Craft: Cupcake liner flowers
A photo of colorful cupcake liners glued to a yellow piece of paper with green stems and leaves drawn beneath them.

Dragon Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light
The cover of the book Have You Seen My Dragon? The illustration is of a green dragon breathing smoke up through a sewer grate that a child is looking at from up above on the street. The colorful characters are set against the backdrop of a black and white city street.

Song: “Dragon Pokey”
You put your claws in, you take your claws out,
You put your claws in, and you scratch them all about!
You do the Dragon Pokey and you turn yourself around,
That’s what it’s all about!

Additional verses:
Feet in/stomp them all about
Teeth in/chomp them all about
Tail in/swing it all about

Book: There’s a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott
The cover of the book There's a Dragon in Your Book. The illustration is of a cute green dragon blowing a flame out of its nose in front of the eggshell it just exited. The blue background is made to look like a hole was burned out of the middle, which is where the title is.

Song: “Mat Man” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Movement: Learn the yoga pose “dragon”

Social Story: Being Friends with Dragons by Katherine Locke, illustrated by Diane Ewen
The cover of the book Being Friends with Dragons. The illustration is of a diverse group of kids playing on an aqua and yellow dragon who is wearing purple glasses.

Closing Song

Craft: Fire-breathing dragon
A photograph of a fire-breathing dragon craft made out of a green toilet paper roll with red, orange, and yellow paper coming out of its mouth.

Earth Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: What Can You Do with a Rock? by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Katie Kath
The cover of the book What Can You Do with a Rock? The illustration is of a child with blue hair crossing a woodland stream on some rocks.

Song: “Tree Song” (Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
Movements:
Hands and fingers are the leaves – wiggle high in the air
Move arms straight out for the branches
Touch upper body with hands when saying “trunk”
Touch legs when saying “roots”

Leaves, branches, trunk and roots, trunk and roots,
Leaves, branches, trunk and roots, trunk and roots,
Trees are important to me and to you,
Leaves, branches, trunk and roots, trunk and roots.
(Credit: KinderNature)

Book: The Earth Is Good: A Chant in Praise of Nature by Michael DeMunn, illustrated by Jim McMullan
The cover of the book The Earth Is Good: A Chant in Praise of Nature. The illustration is of a child running with their arms out past some trees with a dog following behind.

Song: “Tap, Tap, Tap” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Yoga: Tree pose

Social Story: Big Earth, Little Me by Thom Wiley, illustrated by Kate Endle
The cover of the book Big Earth, Little Me. The illustration is of a child lying in the grass with a caterpillar on her finger and a butterfly in the background.

Closing Song

Craft: Earth suncatchers
A photograph of an earth suncatcher made with green tissue paper in the shape of the continents and blue tissue paper for the water.

Garbage Truck Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan
The cover of the book Every Monday Mabel. The illustration is of a girl dragging a chair past a window where you can see the garbage truck driving by.

Song w/Book: The Wheels on the Garbage Truck by Jeffrey Burton, illustrated by Alison Brown
The cover of the book The Wheels on the Garbage Truck. The illustration shows a garbage truck with four animals in garbage collector outfits.

Book: Garbage Collectors by Laura K. Murray
The cover of the book Garbage Collectors. The photograph is of a garbage collector next to a big green truck that is collecting trash.

Song/Video: “Dance for the Sun” – Kira Willey: Dance for the Sun

Yoga: Garbage truck (dump truck)
(Credit: Diggory the Dumptruck | A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure! Pose begins at 1:53)

Social Story: Being Grateful by Rebecca Pettiford
The cover of the book Being Grateful. The cover has a photograph of a hand holding a thank you card.

Closing Song

Craft: Garbage truck coloring sheet with “trash”
Colored in garbage truck coloring pages with colorful tissue paper glued on to represent trash.
(Credit: justashleyreed on Instagram)

Rain Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Rainy by Tessa Kenan
The cover of the book Weather Report: Rainy. It has a photograph of a girl holding an umbrella.

Song: “Itsy Bitsy Spider” – Old Town School of Folk Music: Songs for Wiggleworms

Book: The Rainbow Snail by Karin Åkesson
The cover of the book The Rainbow Snail. The illustration is of a snail with a rainbow for a shell.

Song: “Mat Man” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Yoga: Umbrella, rain boots, & puddle poses
(Credit: Pyramid Kids Yoga)

Social Story: Sunny-Side Up by Jacky Davis, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock
The cover of the book Sunny-Side Up. The illustration shows a happy girl standing in a shower of colorful raindrops.

Closing Song

Craft: Streamer and cotton ball rainbow clouds
A photo of a paper cloud with cotton balls glued on top and rainbow colored streamers glued to the bottom of it.

Outdoors Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Let’s Go Outside! by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Marina Ruiz
The cover of the book Let's Go Outside! The illustration is of children hiking, running, and exploring outside.

Song: “Goin’ on a Bear Hunt” – Greg & Steve: Kids in Action

Book: How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside by Kari Percival
The cover of the book How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside. The illustration is of a child with a pink polka-dotted hood peering into a garden bed with sprouting plants and a worm.

Song: “Tap, Tap, Tap” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Movement: Learn the yoga pose “tree”

Social Story: Thank You, Bees by Toni Yuly
The cover of the book Thank You, Bees. The illustration is of three bees flying towards a purple flower.

Closing Song

Craft: Binoculars made from toilet paper rolls & washi tape
Binoculars made out of two toilet paper rolls held together by colorful washi tape.

Bicycle Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
The cover of the book Duck on a Bike. The illustration is of a duck waving at the reader while riding a red bike.

Song: “The Goldfish” – Laurie Berkner: Victor Vito

Book: My Bike by Byron Barton
The cover of the book My Bike. The illustration is of a child riding a green bike and wearing a blue helmet and purple backpack in front of a bright pink background.

Song: “Mat Man” – Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer: Get Set for School Sing Along

Movement: Learn the yoga pose “pedal laughing”

Social Story: Bike Safety by Sarah L. Schuette
The cover of the book Bike Safety. The photograph is of a smiling child on a bike.

Closing Song

Craft: Stand-up bicycle
The photograph shows a paper cutout of a child on a bike that is attached to a paper base by two paper strips formed into circles.
(Credit: Krokotak)

Turtle Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Sign Language: Turtle

Book: Turtles by Emily Green
The cover of the nonfiction book Turtles. The cover has a photograph of a turtle on a green background.

Song: “Turtle, Turtle” (Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)
Turtle, turtle, moves so slow,
Crawling, crawling, watch him go.
At the pond he looks around,
See his head move up and down.
Turtle, turtle, wants to swim,
Now he slides and dives right in!
(Credit: PreschoolExpress)

Book: Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
The cover of the book Scoot! The illustration is of a turtle on the ground looking up at a tree where a squirrel is leaping. A bird, a dragonfly, and a frog are also nearby.

Song/Video: “Dance for the Sun” – Kira Willey: Dance for the Sun

Yoga: Turtle pose

Social Story: “Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think” by Rochelle Lentini, Lindsay N. Giroux,
and Mary Louise Hemmeter
The cover of the story Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think: A scripted story to assist with teaching the "Turtle Technique." The illustration is of a happy turtle standing on two legs next to a pond.
(Credit: From the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations)

Closing Song

Craft: Paper turtle
A photograph of a paper turtle craft. The turtles are made out of paper cutouts, with googly eyes and square paper pieces glued onto their shells for decoration.