Welcome Song: Hands Go Up and Hands Go Down
(to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Hands go up and hands go down
I can turn around and round
I can hop upon two shoes
I can listen so can you
I can sit, I’ll show you how
Story time is starting now
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 round and round
All through the town
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish //
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep //
The doors on the bus go open and shut //
The driver on the bus goes move it on back //
The people on the bus go up and down //
The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah //
The people on the bus go shh, shh, shh
Book: The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent
A bragging caterpillar thinks she’s the only one who changes but her polliwog friend has his own surprise transformation. My outreach kids already knew a polliwog was a baby frog so it slightly spoiled the ending but they still enjoyed the journey.
Song: Row Row Row Your Boat
I do three verses of this classic:
Row row row your boat (the traditional way) //
Rock rock rock your boat, sway from side to side
Merrily merrily merrily merrily what a bumpy ride (bump hands on lap) //
Row row row your boat, gently down the stream
If you see a crocodile (crocodile snap with arms)
Don’t forget to scream (*AH*)
Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
Itsy Bitsy Spider (sung normally)
Teeny Weeny Spider (sung in falsetto)
Great Big Hairy Spider (sung deeply)
Song: The Life of a Butterfly (to the tune of Skip to My Lou)
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
I’m a caterpillar, wiggle with me
Wiggle with me my darlin’
(A chrysalis, sleep with me / A butterfly, fly with me)
Adapted from Storytime Katie
Book: Houdini: The Amazing Caterpillar by Janet Pedersen
A classroom caterpillar dazzles his audience with amazing feats like chomping through leaves at the speed of light and balancing on his thin, high wire branch. When the kids find new distractions, Houdini plans his biggest trick of all. I wasn’t sure how this would go over but the kids really liked that caterpillar transformation set to a magic show theme.
Flannel: Five Little Flowers
One little flower in our garden grew,
Up popped another and now there are two.
Two little flowers were all that I could see,
I found another and now there are three.
Three little flowers — if I could find one more,
We’d give them to my mother and then we’d have four.
Four little flowers — in the spring they thrive!
Here is another and now there are five.
Song: Baby Shark
Baby shark do do do do do do (shark mouth with two fingers)
Baby shark do do do do do do
Baby shark do do do do do do
Baby shark
Other verses:
Mama Shark (shark mouth with hands connected at the wrists)
Daddy Shark (shark mouth with whole arms)
Grandma Shark (shark mouth like mama shark but with fists)
Shark attack (snap arms overhead)
Swim away (swimming motion with arms)
Safe at last (jazz hands)
Source: Adapted from Kindergarten Nation
Book: Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming & G. Brian Karas
My pre-K storytimers only tolerated this book while my outreach kids really got into the tale. Each time the farmer added a new obstacle we stopped and discussed how the clever bunnies got around it.
Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Sung three times, getting faster each time.
Wiggle Rhyme: Watch Out for the Bugs (to the tune of Jingle Bells)
Clap your hands, stomp your feet
Wiggle all around
Throw your hands up in the air and now let’s touch the ground
Touch your head, touch your hips, give yourself a hug
Now sit down upon the floor
But watch out for the bugs!! (stamp out the bugs)
Egg Shakers: Shake It by Sally’s Music Circle
Book: Whose Garden Is It? by Mary Ann Hoberman; illustrated by Jane Dyer
A gardener, the garden creatures, and the elements all claim the garden is theirs because they contribute the most. Told in lovely rhyming stanzas and with beautiful dreamy illustrations (all the animals are very smartly dressed), I told my outreach kids they were my guinea pigs for this book and to let me know if they enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure if the old-fashioned illustrations would fly. They liked it so much I was sorry I didn’t read it for my pre-K story time at the library! I’ll definitely keep it in mind for next spring.
Song: The Farmer and the Seeds (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
The farmer plants the seeds, (pretend to plant seed)
The farmer plants the seeds,
Hi, Ho, the dairy-o, (slap knees)
The farmer plants the seeds.
Other verses:
The sun comes out to shine (circle arms overhead)
The rain begins to fall (flutter hands down)
The seeds begin to grow (flutter hands up)
Adapted from SurLaLune Storytime
Book: Butterfly, Butterfly by Petr Horácek
A short one for my outreach group but the big pop-up reveal at the end always gets a reaction! They were no exception.
Song: Mr. Sun
Oh Mr. Sun. Sun. Mr. golden sun, (arms over head)
Please shine down on me. (move hands back and forth and down)
Oh Mr. Sun. Sun. Mr. golden sun, (arms over head)
Hiding behind a tree. (hide face behind hands)
These little children are asking you. (point to the children)
To please come out so they can play with you. (gesture ‘come here’ with hands)
Oh Mr. Sun. Sun. Mr. golden sun. (arms over head)
Please shine down on me. (move hands back and forth and down)
Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.
The Short Stack Librarian 