Friday, October 3, 2025

Dinosaur Parade - Baby Toddler Storytime

A Tuesday morning storytime for ages 0-2 years old.  

Opening #1: Skinnamarink (action song from Car Songs: Songs to Sing Anywhere by Dennis Buck from Kimbo)

Opening #2: Sticky, Sticky Bubblegum (fingerplay)

Sticky, sticky bubblegum, bubblegum, bubblegum; 
Sticky, sticky bubblegum;
Stuck to your __________.
1, 2, 3, PULL!

(Repeat with more body parts)

 

 

Book: Dinosaur Parade by Shari Halpern

Themed activity #1: All Around the Swamp (action song to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus” that I found at Storytime Sprout https://www.storytimesprout.com/post/dinosaur-storytime)

Pteradactyl’s wings went flap, flap, flap
Flap, flap, flap, (x2)
Pteradactyl’s wings went flap, flap, flap
All around the swamp.

Triceratops’s horns went poke, poke, poke…

Stegosaurus’s feet went stomp, stomp, stomp…

Their dinosaur mouths went munch, munch, munch…

 

Themed activity #2: Dinosaur Pretend (action rhyme I found at https://www.handleyregional.org/blog/we-are-dinosaurs-storytime)

Spread your arms, way out wide,
Fly like a Pteranodon, soar and glide.
Touch the floor, head down low,
Move like Stegosaurus, long ago.
Reach up tall, try to be
As tall as Apatosaurus eating on a tree.
Using your claws, grumble and growl
Just like Tyrannosaurus on the prowl.   

 

Lap rhyme #1: Tick Tock (lap bounce)

(bounce baby from leg to leg)

Tick tock, tick tock, I’m a little cuckoo clock.
Tick, tock, tick tock, now it is one o’clock… Cuckoo!
(raise baby up for each cuckoo)

(repeat for other times of day)
Now it is two o’clock… Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Now it is three o’clock… Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

 

Lap rhyme #2: Counting Bubbles (counting rhyme I learned during a BrainDance workshop)

One bubble, two bubbles, three bubbles, top.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then place hands on top of head)

Three bubbles, four bubbles, five bubbles, drop.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then drop hands to lap)

Six bubbles, seven bubbles, nine bubbles, pop.
(pat legs with hands for each number chanted, then clap hands loudly in front of body)

Ten little bubbles floating down!
(twinkle hands down to floor)

Now let’s blow _____ bubbles.
(This is a breath exercise.  Pick a number and pretend to blow that number of bubbles through hand.  Don’t forget to pop the bubbles with a loud clap after blowing it up.  I count the bubble while I do the clap.) 

 

Lap rhyme #3: Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (traditional body parts action song)

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes,
Knees and toes.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
And eyes and, ears and, mouth and nose.
Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.

   

***Literacy tip: Practice fine motor skills by taking apart and putting together puzzles with your child.            

Transition: Open-Shut Them (fingerplay) 

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

 

Letter of the day: "D” is for dinosaurs

 

https://www.literacious.com/2016/02/05/flannel-friday-dinosaurs/

 

Flannelboard: Five Enormous Dinosaurs (similar to one seen at https://www.literacious.com/2016/02/05/flannel-friday-dinosaurs/)

Five enormous dinosaurs letting out a roar.
One went away and then there were four!
Four enormous dinosaurs munching on a tree.
One went away and then there were three!
Three enormous dinosaurs didn’t know what to do.
One went away and then there were two!
Two enormous dinosaurs having lots of fun.
One went away and then there was one!
One enormous dinosaur afraid to be a hero.
It went away and then there was ZERO!

 

Closing song with scarves: “Alabama, Mississippi” from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song & Other Contagious Songs by Jim Gill  



 

 

 

 

Monday, September 29, 2025

Passive Craft Table - Parachuting Dinosaurs

 


For this passive program, I wanted to set up a craft table on an early release day during our Dinovember celebrations.  I found these unique parachuting dinosaurs made from craft foam online at Baker Ross.  These fun dinosaurs that can really parachute down to earth were a fun addition to all of our dinosaur activities.      

 Supplies:

-         Parachuting dinosaurs craft kits

-         Coloring pens

-         White glue

-         Glitter glue

-         Googly eyes

-         Tablecloth





Thursday, September 25, 2025

Passive Craft Table - Dino Racers

 


For this passive program, I wanted to set up a craft table on an early release day during our Dinovember celebrations.  I found these unique wooden dinosaurs with wheels online at Baker Ross.  These fun dinosaurs that can really roll were a fun addition to all of our dinosaur activities.      

 Supplies:

-         Dinosaur rollers craft kits

-         Coloring pens

-         White glue

-         Stickers

-         Googly eyes

-         Feathers

-         Tablecloth





Monday, September 22, 2025

Dinosaurs Again - A Family STEAM & Stories event

This program was intended to introduce STEAM concepts through stories and exploration activity stations to families with children ages 3-8 years old.    

Intro song:  Hello Friends (sign language action song for the words hello, friends, math, fun, and time)

Hello friends,
Hello friends,
Hello friends,
It's time to say hello.

Hello science,
Hello science,
Hello science,
It's time to have some fun.  
 

Hello dinosaur,
Hello dinosaur,
Hello dinosaur,
It’s time to give a roar!

 

Demonstration and Storytime:


 

·         Read the book T. Rex Meets It’s Match by Elizabeth Gilbert Bedia, illustrated by Marie Bollmann

·         Show pictures of dinosaurs and try to name them. 

·         Show the word cards for dinosaur, fossil, and extinct.  Talk about what the definitions of these words. 

·         Talk about how large a dinosaur footprint would be.

·         Show the life-size dinosaur footprint (pre-drawn on butcher paper). Guess how many children would fit inside this footprint (nontraditional measurement). 

·         Urge the children to stand in the footprint and count how many children fit inside.     

·         Instruct on how to use the stations. 

 

Stations: 

 


Station #1- Dinosaur scratch art ornament (similar to seen at https://a.co/d/1WgrDBX)

Use the wooden stylus to scratch off the black to create a colorful dinosaur.    

 


Station #2 – Clay fossil print   

Children take a small clump of air dry clay and then press it flat.  Next, they make fossil-like imprints in the clay with the provided materials (such as shells, pinecones, toy dinosaurs, sticks, plastic toy plants, etc.). 

  


Station #3 – Dinosaur classification   

The children look at dinosaur toy figures.  They place the dinosaurs on the classification papers that best match each dinosaur (carnivore, herbivore, four legs, two legs, lives in the ocean, etc.) 

 

 

Station #4 – Dinosaur Memory Game



 

Station #5 – Large 3-D Dino Bones (as seen at https://shop.imaginationplayground.com/products/large-dino-bones?srsltid=AfmBOoqi_RFKZZcZsZ90CPiaMF4v8pWW5od1njSr69Op55FcSR5SCxTL)

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, September 19, 2025

Homeschool Meet-Up: Light Bending Lasers & Spring Gnomes

A monthly Thursday morning library program for homeschool families. 

Goals:

·                     Opportunity to explore STEAM concepts in a relaxed setting.

·                     Participants can socialize and connect with other homeschool families.

·                     Students build confidence and cooperative skills by completing tasks together.  

 


Activities of the day:

 “A” is for art: Spring Gnomes

I put out the leftovers from a previous gnome craft activity and invited the children to make spring gnomes with the art materials on hand. 

  

 

“S” is for Science: Light bending lasers

I got this laser kit from my library’s main office.  The kit included some laser pens and mirrors.  The children were invited to see how many times they could get the laser to bounce off the mirrors.  Easier said than done.    

 

“E” is for Engineering: Build with building toys

I got out the wood stacking rocks and the marble run sets for the children to play with.    

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Storytime at Summer Day Camp, Week 6

 My weekly storytime at a local summer camp for 5- and 6-year-olds.  It is a short storytime with a simple art project, but sometimes when it is hot outside that is about all the children need.  

 

 

Books:

Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien

Crick, Crack, Crow! by Janet Lord, illustrated by Julie Paschkis

  

 

Craft activity:

The children made a place for their paper owls to hide in.  Each child got one die cut owl plus a sheet of green paper.  The green paper had lines for creating fringe cut grass and a line for where to fold the grass.  Then, they used a little bit of glue from a glue stick to hide their owls in the grass.  The campers showed a lot of creativity in coloring and hiding their owls. 

 


 

 

 

 

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Terrific Fire Trucks - Family Storytime

A Tuesday morning storytime for ages 0-6 years old.  

Opening #1: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

Opening #2: Roly Poly Oh So Fast (hand rolling body part chant adapted by Carol Hopkins)

Roly poly, roly poly, oh so fast!
Roly poly, roly poly, oh so slowly.
Roly poly, roly poly, up.
Roly poly, roly poly, down.
Roly poly, roly poly, hands on your head.
Roly poly, roly poly, hand on your feet.

(Repeat with other body parts)

Roly poly, roly poly, hands in your lap.

 

 

Literacy activity flannelboard: Firefighters In Their Color Coats (adapted by Carol Hopkins from a rhyme I found at http://www.preschooleducation.com/sfire.shtml)

I used clip art images I found with firefighters in red, yellow, and black coats.  I then handed each child a firefighter image.  The children placed their firefighter on the board after I said their color in the rhyme.

Lots of little fire fighters sleeping in their beds. 
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" went the bell.
And out come the {red} coats.
They race to the fire and put out the flames.
Then the _____ (count the firefighters on the board) little firefighters went back to bed again.

(repeat for as many colored firefighter coats you have on hand, then move on to this last bit of rhyme.)

The morning has come,
The firefighters finally got some sleep.  
They are all ready now to start a brand new day!


  


Book #1: Fire Chief Fran by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter

Stand-up activity: “Drive the Fire Truck” from Songs for Wiggleworms by Old Town School of Folk Music

Sit-down activity: "Fantastic Fire Truck" action song to the tune of "Wheels On the Bus" that I found in a Mailbox Kindergarten magazine (October/November 2009, page 59)

The wheels on the fire truck go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the fire truck go round and round,
All through the town.

(Repeat with more versus)

The hoses on the truck go spray, spray, spray…

The lights on the truck go flash, flash, flash…

The siren on the truck goes woo, woo, woo…

 

Transition: Open-Shut Them (fingerplay) 

Open, shut them
(open and close hands)
Open, shut them
Give a little clap (clap)
Open, shut them

Open, shut them
Put them in your lap
(put hands in lap)

Creep them, creep them
Under your chin
(creep fingers up chest)
Open your mouth, but don't put them in
(do as words say)

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open shut them
Open shut them
Put them in your lap 

  

***Parent literacy tip:  Play sorting games with your child.  Use items you can find around the house.  Talk about what is the same and different about these items.                       

Book #2: Maisy’s Fire Engine by Lucy Cousins (board book)

Book #3: Elecopter by Michael Slack    

Closing music with scarves: “Flitter Flutter” from The Second Line by Johnette Downing  




Art activity: Metallic pens coloring on a fire truck outline, plus gluing ladders and wheels to it.    

Optional other books:
Fire Trucks (My Favorite Machine series from Xist Publishing) by Victoria Marcos
Flashing Fire Engines by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Ant Parker