Plants Story Time – Toddler

Opening Song

Book: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Crockett Johnson

Song: “The Gardener Digs the Soil” (Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The gardener digs the soil. (pretend to dig)
The gardener digs the soil.
High ho the derry oh,
The gardener digs the soil.

Additional verses:
The gardener plants the seeds… (pretend to plant seeds)
The rain falls on the ground… (flutter fingers down to ground)
The sun shines bright and warm… (hold hands in circle overhead)
The seeds begin to grow… (slowly raise hands from ground)
Flowers all around… (hold hands outstretched)
Fresh vegetables to eat… (pretend to eat)

Book: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Planting a Rainbow book cover

Song: “Roly Poly” (Tune: “Frère Jacques”)
Roly poly, roly poly
Up, up, up
up, up, up
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
down, down, down
down, down, down

Repeat with: out/in, fast/slow
(Credit: Jbrary)

Song: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Puppet Song: “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

Additional verses:
THUMP – Rabbit
SQUEAK – Mouse
CAW – Crow
TWEET – Bird
BUZZ – Bee
WIGGLE – Caterpillar
FLUTTER – Butterfly

Book: Dig In! by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Mary Peterson

Song: “The Wheels on the Bus”
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round,
Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town!

Additional verses:
Horn/beep-beep-beep
Wipers/swish-swish-swish
Doors/open and shut
Babies/up & down
Parents/I love you

Scarf Song: “We Wave Our Scarves Together”
We wave our scarves together,
We wave our scarves together,
We wave our scarves together
Because it’s fun to do.

Wave them up high,
Wave them down low,
Wave them in the middle
Because it’s fun to do.
(Credit: Jbrary)

Scarf Song: “Wave Your Scarves”

Song: “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum” – David Landau: Kids and Kitties

Closing Rhyme

Earth Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Red House, Tree House, Little Bitty Brown Mouse by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Blanca Gómez

Song: “Sammy” – Hap Palmer: Getting to Know Myself

Book: The Earth Is Good: A Chant in Praise of Nature by Michael DeMunn, illustrated by Jim McMullan

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

Yoga: Mountain and tree

Social Story: Big Earth, Little Me by Thom Wiley, illustrated by Kate Endle

Closing Song

Craft: Earth suncatchers

Garden Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: How to Say Hello to a Worm by Kari Percival

Song: “The Gardener Plants the Seeds” (Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The gardener digs the soil.
The gardener digs the soil.
Hi-ho, the derry-oh,
The gardener digs the soil. (pretend to dig)

The gardener plants the seeds.
The gardener plants the seeds.
Hi-ho, the derry-oh,
The gardener plants the seeds. (pretend to plant seeds)

Additional verses:
The rain falls on the ground… (flutter fingers down to the ground)
The sun shines bright and warm… (hold hands in a circle overhead)
The seeds/plants begin to grow… (slowly raise hands from ground)
Flowers grow everywhere… (hold hands outstretched)
Fresh vegetables to eat… (pretend to eat)

Book: Flower Garden by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
Flower Garden book cover

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

Yoga: Flower pose

Social Story: Being Responsible by Rebecca Pettiford

Closing Song

Craft: Cupcake liner flowers

Apple Story Time – Preschool

Opening Song

Book: What’s an Apple? by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
What's an Apple? book cover

Song: “Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down” – Junior Jukebox: Four Seasons

Rhyme: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high in the apple tree, (stretch arms in air)
Two little apples smiled at me. (make two fists)
I shook that tree as hard as I could, (shake arms in air)
And down came the apples. (drop fists to floor)
Mmmmm, they were good! (rub tummy)

Book/Flannel: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins

Rhyme: “Wiggle Worms”
Here are some worms who are, oh, so sad.
They’ve lost all the wiggles that they once had.
They wonder if you, just for today,
Would lend them your wiggles so they can play.

Wiggle them up and wiggle them down,
Wiggle the worms around and around.
Wiggle them high and wiggle them low,
Wiggle them fast and wiggle them slow.
Wiggle them over your shoes and your socks,
Then wiggle them back into their box.

Fingerplay: “Five Little Apples”

Song: “Put Your Finger in the Air” – Bob McGrath: Sing Along with Bob #2

Flannel/Puppet Story: Little Mouse’s Big Secret by Éric Battut

Song: “A Little Apple Seed” (Tune: “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”)
Once a little apple seed
Was planted in the ground.
Down came the raindrops falling all around.
Out came the big sun,
Bright as bright could be,
And that little apple seed grew up
To be an apple tree.

Closing Rhyme

Garden Story Time – Baby

Opening Song: “Hello Bubble”
Hello bubble, hello bubble,
Come and land, come and land,
Right in the middle, right in the middle,
Of my hand, of my hand.

Puppet Song: “When Ducks Get Up in the Morning”
When ducks get up in the morning, they always say good day.
When ducks get up in the morning, they always say good day.
Quack, quack, quack, quack, this is what they say.
Quack, quack, quack, quack, this is what they say.

Repeat with other animals/sounds
(Credit: King County Library System)

Sign Language: Garden, flower, bugs

Puppets: Who’s in the Garden? by Phillis Gershator, illustrated by Jill McDonald
Who's in the Garden? book cover

Fingerplay: “Round and Round the Garden”
Round and round the garden,
Like a teddy bear. (trace circles on baby’s hand)
One step, two steps,
A tickle under there! (crawl up their arm and tickle armpit)
(Credit: Storytime Katie)

Fingerplay: “Five Fat Peas”
Five fat peas in a peapod pressed,
One grew, two grew, so did all the rest.
They grew and they grew and they wouldn’t stop.
They grew and grew until they popped!
(Credit: Jbrary)

Song: “Ten Little Flowers”
One little, two little, three little flowers,
Four little, five little, six little flowers,
Seven little, eight little, nine little flowers,
Ten flowers in the spring.

Give them rain and lots of sunshine,
Give them rain and lots of sunshine,
Give them rain and lots of sunshine,
So they’ll grow up tall.
(Credit: Modified from The Holiday Zone)

Flannel: “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary”
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Book: Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Up, Down, and Around book cover

Lap Song: “Bunny Hop”
Hop, hop, hop along,
And bounce on someone’s knee,
Higher & higher & higher & higher,
Bunny-hop with me.

Lap Song: “A Bouncing We Will Go” (Tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”)
A bouncing we will go, a bouncing we will go,
High-ho the dairy oh, a bouncing we will go.

Repeat with rocking and tickling
(Credit: King County Library System)

Lap Rhyme: “I’m a Little Beetle”
I’m a little beetle (bounce baby)
And I wiggle all day. (wiggle baby)
If you get too close to me, (hug baby)
I’ll FLY away! (lift baby)

Additional verses:
I’m a little bumblebee…
I’m a little ladybug…
(Credit: Mel’s Desk)

Shaker Eggs: “The Valley of Vegetables” – Laurie Berkner: Buzz Buzz

Shaker Eggs: “Shake Your Shakers”
Shake your shaker up.
Shake your shaker down.
Shake it side to side.
Shake it all around.
Shake it on your shoulders.
Shake it on your head.
Shake it on your knees,
And shake it right to bed!

Closing Rhyme

Earth Story Time – Everybody

Opening Song: “Bread and Butter”

Book: Reuse This Book! illustrated by Emma Morris

Song: “To Help Our Mother Earth” (Tune: “Mulberry Bush”)
This is the way we pick up trash,
Pick up trash, pick up trash.
This is the way we pick up trash
To help our Mother Earth.

This is the way we turn off the light,
Turn off the light, turn off the light.
This is the way we turn off the light
To help our Mother Earth.

This is the way we plant a seed,
Plant a seed, plant a seed.
This is the way we plant a seed
To help our Mother Earth.

Book: Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond by Mary Quattlebaum, illustrated by Laura J. Bryant

Song: “All the Fish” – Sue Schnitzer: Wiggle and Whirl, Clap and Nap

Book: It’s Earth Day, Cookie Monster! by Mary Lindeen

Song: “Shakin’ Like a Leafy Tree” – The Wiggles: Racing to the Rainbow

Book: The Earth and I by Frank Asch

Song: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” – Old Town School of Folk Music: Songs for Wiggleworms

Song: “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum” – David Landau: Kids and Kitties

Closing Rhyme

Tree Story Time – Preschool

Opening Song

Book: Apple and Magnolia by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Patricia Metola

Action Rhyme: “Once I Was a Seed”
Once I was a seed and I was small, small, small.
I grew into a tree and now I’m tall, tall, tall!
My branches sway in the breeze so soft.
And when it’s autumn, all my leaves fall off!
(Credit: Storytime in the Stacks)

Flannel: “The Green Grass Grew All Around”

Book: The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Lisa Falkenstern

Shaker Eggs: “Shakin’ Like a Leafy Tree” – The Wiggles: Racing to the Rainbow

Shaker Eggs: “Shake Your Shakers”
Shake your shaker up.
Shake your shaker down.
Shake it side to side.
Shake it all around.
Shake it on your shoulders.
Shake it on your head.
Shake it on your knees,
And shake it right to bed!

Closing Rhyme

Nature Story Time – Toddler

Opening Song

Book: Dig In! by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, illustrated by Mary Peterson

Song: “Roly Poly” (Tune: “Frère Jacques”)
Roly poly, roly poly
Up, up, up
up, up, up
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
down, down, down
down, down, down

Repeat with: out/in, fast/slow
(Credit: Jbrary)

Flannel Song: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high in the apple tree,
Two red apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could,
Dooowwwwwwwn came an apple,
Mmmm, it was good!

Repeat with other fruit.

Book: Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Song: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

Puppet Song: “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”
Five green and speckled frogs
Sitting on a speckled log,
Eating the most delicious bugs. Yum, yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool.
Now there are four green and speckled frogs. Glub, glub!

Repeat, counting down until there are no green and speckled frogs.

Book: Look and Listen by Dianne White, illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford

Shaker Eggs: “Shake Your Shakers” (Tune: “The Wheels on the Bus”)
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,
Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake shake.
Shake your shakers, shake, shake, shake,
Shake your shakers.

Additional verses:
Shake your shakers high, high, high
Shake your shakers low, low, low
Shake your shakers fast, fast, fast
Shake your shakers slow, slow, slow

Shaker Eggs: “Egg Shakers Up”
Egg shakers up.
Egg shakers down.
Egg shakers dancing all around the town.
Dance them on your shoulders.
Dance them on your head.
Dance them on your knees,
And tuck them into bed!

Song: “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum” – David Landau: Kids and Kitties

Closing Rhyme

Earth Story Time – Toddler

Opening Song

Song: “Hello Friends”
Hello, friends
Hello, friends
Hello, friends
It’s time to say hello.
(Credit: Jbrary)

Song: “Roly Poly” (Tune: “Are You Sleeping?”)
Roly poly, roly poly
Up, up, up
up, up, up
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
down, down, down
down, down, down

Roly poly, roly poly
out, out, out
out, out, out
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
in, in, in
in, in, in

Roly poly, roly poly
fast, fast, fast
fast, fast, fast
Roly roly poly
roly roly poly
slow, slow, slow
slow, slow, slow
(Credit: Jbrary)

Book: The EARTH Book by Todd Parr

Song: “Slippery Fish”
Slippery fish, slippery fish, sliding through the water,
Slippery fish, slippery fish, Gulp, Gulp, Gulp!
Oh, no! It’s been eaten by a/an…

Repeat with: Octopus, Tuna Fish, Great White Shark, Humongous Whale

Song: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.

Book: Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Fingerplay: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high, in a tree (point up)
Two little apples looking down at me (two fists up in the air)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could (two fists shake ‘trunk’)
Down fell the apples (fists fall to ground)
Mmmm! Were they good! (rub tummy)

Song: “My Two Hands”
My two hands go clap, clap, clap
My two feet go tap, tap, tap
My two hands go thump, thump, thump
My two feet go jump, jump, jump

My one body turns around and it quietly sits down.

Book: Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman

Song: “Bear is Sleeping” (Tune: “Frère Jacques”)
Bear is sleeping, bear is sleeping (lay head on hands)
Wake him up, wake him up (make peek-a-boo motion with hands)
Come and say hello bear, come and say hello bear (wave hello)
Time to eat, time to eat (grab food and put in mouth)
(Credit: Jbrary)

Song: “Icky Sticky Bubble Gum” – David Landau: Kids and Kitties

Closing Rhyme

Garden Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Book: Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson

Song:
“If You’re Happy and You Know It” – Laurie Berkner: Laurie Berkner’s Favorite Classic Kids’ Songs
Book: Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
Yoga: Butterfly
Social Story: “Greeting My Teacher” from Quinn at School: Relating, Connecting, and Responding at School by Rick H. Warren
Quinn at School: Relating, Connecting and Responding - A Book for ...

Closing Song