Opening song: Hi Ho the Dairy-O
When the children arrive, we write down their name and after everyone has arrived, we sing the names into the song, like this
Emily is here and Amy is here, hi ho the dairy-o and Avery is here.
We continue singing the song until everyone has been greeted. We ask the parents to lift their child up or have them wave as we sing their name, to familiarize ourselves with the child and to help them understand that their name is important.
Charlie's Doghouse song
We have a cute black and white dog puppet who has a cardboard "doghouse" that he hangs out in at the beginning and end of storytime. He always has something hiding in his doghouse, which introduces the theme of the storytime. His song goes like this:
There is something in my doghouse
Something hiding in my doghouse
What's that something in my doghouse?
Open your eyes for a big surprise
Book: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
These books are always a hit because they are AMAZING FOR TODDLERS. I had them roar with me and stomp our feet on the floor.
Song: This is the Way We Get Ready for Bed
This is the way we wash our face, wash our face, wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face, when we get ready for bed.
This is the way we wash our toes, wash our toes, wash our toes
This is the way we wash our toes, when we get ready for bed.
This is the way we wash our knees, wash our knees, wash our knees
This is the way we wash our knees, when we get ready for bed.
This is the way we wash our tummy, wash our tummy, wash our tummy
This is the way we wash our tummy, when we get ready for bed.
This is the way we snuggle our blanket, snuggle our blanket, snuggle our blanket.
This is the way we snuggle our blanket, when we get ready for bed.
For this song, we passed out a scarf to each child, to use as their "washcloth" and their "blanket."
Choral Reader: Dinosaur's Binkit
Each child got one of these and we read it aloud together.
Recorded Music: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Each child got a maraca to shake while we sang and danced to this song.
Song: Grand Old Duke of York
The grand old duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again
And when they were up they were up
And when they were down they were down
And when they were only halfway up
They were neither up nor down
He marched them to the left
He marched them to the right
He even marched them upside down
Now wasn't that a sight?
The parents hold the kids during this song and swing them up and down and left and right, according to the song's lyrics. The kids just go crazy with them; they love it so much.
Goodbye Song: Clap Your Hands
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands together
Clap, clap, clap your hands
Clap your hands together
Give, give, give a hug
Give a hug to baby
Give, give, give a hug
Give a hug to mommy or daddy
Wave, wave, wave goodbye
Wave goodbye to me
Wave, wave, wave goodbye
Wave goodbye to me
How it went: One dad said, "Amber, you nailed it today! That was spot on!" So, I think it went well.
