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

Leaves Story Time – Everybody

Opening Song: “Bread and Butter”

Book: Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall, illustrated by Shari Halpern

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

Book: Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Leaves book cover

Flannel: “The Green Grass Grew All Around”

Book: One Leaf, Two Leaves, Count With Me! by John Micklos Jr., illustrated by Clive McFarland

Song: “Orange, Yellow, Red and Brown” (Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”) (use colored felt leaves)
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
And autumn leaves are twirling all around. (hold your arms out to your sides and spin them around and around)
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.

Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
And autumn leaves are dancing in the breeze. (hold your arms up and dance them all around)
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.

Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
And autumn leaves are falling to the ground. (lay down on the floor)
Orange, yellow, red and brown, red and brown.
(Credit: From the CD Children’s Favorite Autumn Songs & Fingerplays by The Learning Station)

Closing Rhyme

Fall Story Time – Preschool

Opening Song

Book: Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre

Song: “Autumn Leaves” (Tune: “London Bridge”)
Autumn leaves are in the trees,
In the trees, in the trees.
Autumn leaves are in the trees
All over town.

Additional verses:
Autumn leaves are falling down…
Autumn leaves are whirling round…
Everybody rake them up…
Jump into the pile we made…

Book/Flannel: That Pup! by Lindsay Barrett George

Song:Gray Squirrel” – Learning Station: Where is Thumbkin?

Book/Flannel: Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky, illustrated by Susan Swan

Song: “Pumpkin, Pumpkin” (Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground, (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
Once you were a seed so small, (pinch fingers together)
Now you are a great big ball! (make a big circle)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground, (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
(Credit: Step by Step Childcare)

Puppet Show: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
The Busy Little Squirrel book cover

Puppet Song: “So Many Leaves are Falling on the Ground”
So many leaves are falling on the ground,
Orange ones, yellow ones, and even brown.
But the one little leaf that rhymes with…
Is my favorite color, it’s the color…

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

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

Rainforest Story Time – Baby

Opening Song

Sign Language: tree, leaf, rain, sun

Book: Rainforest Animals by Jill McDonald


Song: “Clap Your Hands” (Tune: “Row, Row Your Boat”)
Clap, clap clap your hands
Clap them now with me
Clap your hands, let me see
Clap your hands with me

Additional verses:
Tap, tap, tap your knees…
Shake, shake, shake your feet…
(Credit: Read Sing Play)

Rhyme: Slowly, Slowly
Slowly, slowly, very slowly
Creeps the little snail
Slowly, slowly, very slowly
Up the wooden rail

Quickly, quickly, very quickly
Runs the little mouse
Quickly, quickly, very quickly
All around the house
(Credit: Read Sing Play)

Book: But First, We Nap by David Miles and Darya Dremova

Song:Peek-a-Boo” (Tune: “Frere Jacques”)
Peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo
I see you! I see you!
I see your button nose, and your tiny toes
Peek-a-boo! I see you!
(Credit: Read Sing Play)

Flannel:  “Five Sleepy Sloths”
Five sleepy sloths on the rainforest floor
One swam away and then there were four

Four sleepy sloths climbing up a tree
One stopped for fruit and then there were three

Three sleepy sloths with an upside-down view
One switched branches and then there were two

Two sleepy sloths in circles they spun
One climbed down and then there was one

One sleepy sloth missing everyone
Left to eat leaves and now there are none.

Song:Itsy Bitsy Spider”
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain and
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again

Book: We’re Roaming in the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson

Song (Recording) with shaky eggs:  “Penguin on a Scooter” – Caspar Babypants
Penguin on a Scooter by Kate Endle and Caspar Babypants

Closing rhyme

 

Outside Story Time – Sensory Friendly

Opening Song

Book: Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Rhyme: This is big, big, big  Hold arms out to side
This is small small small Cup hands together
This is short short short Hold hands with palms facing each other
This is tall tall tall Reach one hand above head
This is fast fast fast Circle fists quickly
This is slow slow slow Circle fists slowly
This is yes yes yes Nod
This is no no no Shake head
(Credit: Mel’s Desk)

Book: Let’s Play in the Forest by Claudia Rueda
Let's Play in the Forest while the Wof is Not Around book cover

Song: “Tap, Tap, Tap” – Handwriting without Tears: Get Set for School Singalong

Yoga: spider pushups

Book: Be Who You Are by Todd Parr

Closing Song

Earth Day Virtual Story Time with Ms. Julie – Family

Opening Song

Book: Green on Green by Dianne White, illustrated by Felicita Sala (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster)

Song: “Leaves, Branches, Trunk and Roots” (Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
Leaves, branches, trunk and roots (under the ground)
Leaves, branches, trunk and roots (under the ground)
The leaves grow up and the roots grow down
Leaves, branches, trunk and roots (under the ground)

Song: “This is the Way to Help 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,
we turn off the light, we 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: My Garden by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Song: “Sleeping Bunnies” with ukulele
Sleeping Bunnies (C)
C              [G7]               F               C

See the little bunnies sleeping, till it's nearly noon
G7        C         G7           C

Shall we wake them with a merry tune

C

Oh, so still. Are they ill?
G7   C

Wake up... and

C

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
C                   G7        C

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
C

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop, and
C                     G7         C

Stop little bunnies, stop, stop, STOP!



Sleeping Bunnies (G)
G               [D]               C                G

See the little bunnies sleeping, till it's nearly noon
D         G         D            G

Shall we wake them with a merry tune

G

Oh, so still. Are they ill?
D    G

Wake up... and

G

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
G                    D         G

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop
G

Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop, and
G                     D           G

Stop little bunnies, stop, stop, STOP!
(Credit: Storytime Ukulele)

Book/Song: If You’re Happy and You Know It by David A. Carter (Scholastic)

Song: “Icky Sticky Bubblegum”- David Landau: Kids and Kitties

Closing Song

 

Owls Story Time – Baby

Opening song

Sign Language: morning, night, good morning, good night, bird, sing

Book: Hooray for Today! by Brian Won


Song:
“Baby Put Your Pants On” (Tune: “Short’nin’ Bread”)
Baby put your pants on, pants on, pants on         (move baby’s legs)
Baby put your pants on, one, two, three              (gently poke baby’s belly)
Baby put your pants on, pants on, pants on
Baby put your pants on, one, two, three

Leg to the left, leg to the right                            (move legs)
Wiggle and jiggle and pull them up tight
Leg to the left, leg to the right
Wiggle and jiggle and pull them up tight

Baby put your pants on, pants on, pants on
Baby put your pants on, one, two, three
Baby put your pants on, pants on, pants on
Baby put your pants on, one, two, three!
(Credit: Jbrary)

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big
This is big, big, big. Move arms out to side
This is small, small, small. Move arms back to center.
This is short, short, short. Hold hands with palms facing each other
This is tall, tall, tall. Reach one hand above head
This is fast, fast, fast. Circle fists quickly
This is slow, slow, slow.  Circle fists slowly
This is yes, yes, yes. Nod
This is no, no, no. Shake head
(Credit: Mel’s Desk)

Book: Night Owl by Toni Yuly

Song: “Wise Old Owl” (Tune: “Frere Jacques”)
Wise old owl, wise old owl,
In the tree, in the tree.
Who-oo are you winking at?
Who-oo are you winking at?
Is it me? Is it me?
(Credit: North Mankato Taylor Library)

Song/Flannel: “One Little Owl” – Muffin Songs

Rhyme: Rock the Baby
Rock the baby, rock the baby, 1-2-3
Watch the baby, watch the baby, smile at me
Bounce the baby, bounce the baby, on your lap
And teach the baby how to clap, clap, clap!
(Credit: Read Sing Play)

Book: Hoot! Hoot! By Richard Powell

Song (Recording) with shaky eggs: “Wise Old Owl” – John Feierabend: Had a Little Rooster

Closing Song

Fall Story Time – Baby

Opening Song

Sign Language: orange, brown, yellow, not, mine, yours, tree, apple, pumpkin, leaves

Book: Hocus Pocus, It’s Fall! by Anne Sibley O’Brien

Song: “Did You Ever See a Baby?”
Did you ever see a baby, a baby, a baby?
Did you ever see a baby go this way and that? (lean side to side)
Go this way and that way and this way and that way (lean front to back, side to side)
Did you ever see a baby go this way and that? (lean front to back)

Rhyme: Great A, little a
Bouncing B,
The cat’s in the cupboard,
But she can’t see me.

Book: Let It Fall by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Song: “Over in the Barnyard” (Tune: “Down by the Station”)
Over in the barnyard,
Early in the morning,
See the little baby chicks,
all in a row, (hold up five fingers of one hand and wiggle them)
See the busy farmer,
Scattering their breakfast, (scatter chicken feed with other hand)
Peck, peck, (hold your four fingers together and place your thumb below to form a beak and make pecking motions)
Cheep, cheep (open and close your beak)
Off they go!

Song (with scarves): “Autumn Leaves” (Tune: “London Bridge”)
Autumn leaves are in the trees, in the trees, in the trees.
Autumn leaves are in the trees all over town.

Additional verses:
Autumn leaves are falling down…All over town.
Autumn leaves are whirling round…All over town.
Everybody rake them up… All over town.
Jump into the pile we made . . .All over town.

Book: Baby Loves Fall by Karen Katz
Baby Loves Fall book cover

Song (with shaky eggs): “Shakin’ Like a Leafy Tree” – The Wiggles: Racing to the Rainbow

Closing rhyme

Earth Story Time – Preschool

Opening Song

Book: The Earth Book by Todd Parr

Song: “This is the Way to Help 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,
we turn off the light, we 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: The World is Waiting For You by Barbara Kerley
Song/Flannel: “The Green Grass Grew All Around”
Book:  A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma

Song/Rhyme: “Tree Song” (Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
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)

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”
Credit: http://kindernature.storycounty.com/display.aspx?DocID=2005914946

Song/Fingerplay: “Five Bottles of Juice on the Wall”
Book: The Earth is Good by Michael DeMunn
Craft: Tissue paper Earths