Baby Storytime Spotlight: Bugs Big and Small

Remembering some happier times today! Here’s a recent pre-pandemic baby storytime plan:

Have you ever noticed how many bug books contain concepts like colors and sizes? Me either – until I saw all the bug books on the concept storytime theme shelf! And thus a new storytime plan was born…

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*Sing: Good Morning to You

Welcome

We skipped introductions today to sing happy birthday to some babies! Gosh they are getting so big so fast… 😭

*Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big (x2)

*Bounce: Toast in the Toaster (x2)

*Sing: I Wake Up My Hands…

Read: Big Bug Little Bug by Paul Strickland

Had to open and shut the pop-out finale MANY times to fully satisfy everyone!

Bounce: There Was a Little Grasshopper (x3)

There was a little grasshopper

Always on the jump.

Because they never looked ahead,

They always went BUMP!

Repeat with other animals: e.g. bunny, frog, kangaroo

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Credit: King County Library System

Sing: Little Red Wagon

Let’s go bumping up and down in a little red wagon!

Rhyme: Itsy Bitsy Spider (x2)

This song reminds me of Little Red Wagon because just like we fell out and got back in, the itsy bitsy spider falls down and climbs back up again. Talk about resilience! 😂

Tickle: Creepy Crawlie (x2)

Speaking of climbing up and falling down… let’s do a tickle!

Creepy crawlie, crawlie, crawlie.

Up the wallie, wallie, wallie.

Watch out little fly!

Don’t you fallie, fallie, fallie!

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Credit: King County Library System

Sing: A Big Green Leaf (Flannel) 

Lit Tip: Building Vocabulary by Singing Songs with Gestures

Grown-ups, I love this song because of all the great gestures! When you sing songs with meaningful gestures, you help your little one learn new words – and the more words they know, the better they can communicate with you!

Read: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Prop Story)

I shortened the story a bit for the babies by having the caterpillar only eat ONE of each thing (e.g. one red apple, one purple plum). When telling this story orally, I like to add in some songs and movements. We sing “Roly Poly” when the caterpillar spins its chrysalis and then we sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to help the caterpillar fall asleep.

*Rhyme: Tick Tock Cuckoo Clock

Look at the clock! Where does our storytime go every week?!

*Sing: Goodbye, Goodbye

Stay and Play

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*Please visit this page to learn more about my regular storytime songs and routines.