Toddler Time: Black and White

I thought that after doing so many books about things that were colorful, we should give black and white things a chance to shine. This was a surprisingly easy toddler time to grab books for, once I started thinking outside the color box!

Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello

Nursery Rhyme: Baa Baa Black Sheep

Nursery Rhyme: Five Fat Sausages

Book: Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews

This book is definitely a classic! Some parts of it seem a little dated (I don’t think anyone under the age of five knows what a rotary phone looks like), but I really love how much it plays with the same shapes and emphasizes imagination.

Game: Little Bird

Book: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

Yet another animal, animal book. A solid entry into the well-loved series, emphasizing sounds instead of sights. The drawings are characteristic of Carle – beautiful and expressive while still retaining their almost primitive simplicity (don’t I totally sound like I know what I’m talking about? Spoiler alert: I don’t at all!)

Song: Storytime Cube

Book: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean

Pete the Cat, loving his shoes and knowing that no matter what you step in, you just gotta keep going along and singing your song. I mean, this book is so popular at storytimes for a reason: it’s fun to sing with, it’s simple enough to read. I love it, although I think it’s strange that after his shoes turn red, he steps in blueberries and they turn blue instead of purple. Color mixing, people. COLOR MIXING.

Shaker Song: Shake It to the East

Shaker Song: Shaking your Shaker!

Song: Rum Pum Pum

Goodbye Song: Goodbye, Goodbye I’ll See You Soon

I really liked all these books, and I think they balanced each other in terms of length, plot, and interest level. I did this toddler time in the children’s area, instead of the meeting room, because my library hosts early voting and we got booted. It’s always a challenge for kids to focus when there are so many books around and a brand new environment, but these books kept their attention strikingly well. I’m almost sad to see our color series come to an end. Next week, we tackle all the colors together and color mixing!

Toddler Time: Colors, Again!

I did this toddler time on September 4, but it’s been a pretty crazy week and I didn’t blog it. So, thanks for your patience! Colors is such an easy story time because there are so many great concept books out there, especially for the toddler level!

Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello

Nursery Rhyme: Baa Baa Black Sheep

Nursery Rhyme: Five Fat Sausages

Opening Fingerplay: Dance Your Fingers Up

Book: Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin

Dear Pete the Cat: I love you; never change! Toddlers, preschoolers, younger elementary schoolers, and parents can all get in to stories about one groovy cat and his laid-back adventures. The easy concepts, the bright art work, the simple plot, and the songs make it a storytime all star. My only qualm with this book is that when you step in something blue after you step in something red, it should turn your shoes PURPLE! not blue. But hey, nobody’s perfect.

Song: Free dancing with ribbons!

I just grabbed a random kids’ CD from the music rack (I think I ended up with Laurie Berkner), put on the music, and we danced with the wrist ribbons. The younger toddlers were not so in to this (they don’t really want to get up and move around as much, strangely!), but the older toddlers in my second session were jamming down with me.

Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear is one of those books that when I, as an adult, look at it, I think, “yeah, that’s a pretty good book”. But then when I read it to toddlers or preschoolers, they are ENTRANCED. Maybe it’s the simple words, the bright illustrations, and the repeating text. It’s always ALWAYS a hit, though. Not one toddler moved as I read about the animals.

Song:  Red, Red is the Color that I See

I have no idea who I borrowed this from. Oops. If I stole it from you, I’m sorry! Email me and I’ll definitely link back. This song in it’s original iteration that I used back in March had the children turning around, but I realized that lots of toddlers aren’t confident turning around on their own, yet. So, wiggling it is! Wiggling is more fun, anyway! We did this enough times that everyone got to stand up at least once.

Red, red is the color that I see.
If you’re wearing red, then show it to me.
Stand up, wiggle around,
Show me your red, and sit back down.

Song: Driving Around in My Little Red Car

Borrowed from Storytime Katie, this song is short and easy! I like letting the kiddos call out the colors for the next cars.

Book: Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dod

Dog is super great! I love that this book incorporates colors AND counting so seamlessly. I also think the vocabulary is incredibly rich without being too in your face about it. Three winners today in terms of book selection!

Shaker Songs: New shaker songs, too!

Shake It to the East

Shaking your Shaker!

Song: Rum Pum Pum

Goodbye Song: Goodbye, Goodbye I’ll See You Soon

This is a great storytime! Pretty much it was populated with all-star books, fun and interactive songs, and enthusiastic kids.