This is a storytime that I just designed a couple of months ago, and it’s been a really big hit! It’s really interactive, but also teaches some great skills like listening to instructions, both audibly and visually.
Here’s my plan:
Opening Song
“The More We Get Together”–I always open and close with this song for consistency.
1st Rhyme
No matter the theme, I always start the program with one of two rhymes for consistency and to get moving.
“Wiggle Rhyme”
Wiggle your fingers.
Wiggle your toes.
Wiggle your ears.
Wiggle your nose.
(Repeat once.)
2nd Rhyme
This is where we get into the theme. So I start out by explaining what we are talking about, and then show kids my traffic signs. You can find something similar on Amazon easy enough. Why use flannels when you can use the real thing.
We talk about what they say, what colors they are, and what you should do when you see them. From there I do the rhyme but hold up the signs when we get to each part.
“Green Means Go”
Green means Go
Go! Go! Go! (stomp around fast)
Yellow means Slow
Slow. Slow. Sloooooow (stomp around slow)
And Red means STOP! (stop in place)
(Repeat once.)
1st Story
…so I’m on a committee and so will not be recommending books til I’m off it.
1st Song
“Silly Dance Contest” by Jim Gill
So you can either sing this yourself, but I just played it on a bluetooth speaker with my phone. I also tell my families that we often dance to this song at our Library Dance Party (which I’ll talk about in another post) so always good to get some cross-promotion.
It’s a great song since it’s fun but also great for the theme and it’s all about following instructions.
3rd Rhyme 2nd Song
Usually do a 3rd Rhyme here but did “Wheels on the Bus” instead. But for my song, we always put animals on the bus at Bus Stops. So the first time around we sing “Wheels on the Bus” the regular way–emphasizing that I need help making sure the wheels GO round and round; make sure everyone helps by singing and doing the hand gestures.
After that first verse, we get to our first Bus Stop (and I hold out my sign.) Ask the group, “What animal should go on the bus?” so it’s a little bit of audience participation. So if it’s a cat, the cat on the bus will go meow, meow meow, and we’ll put it into our song. Always a hit and sometimes you get a funny thing on the bus like a platypus.
Before we do our Second Story, I tell everyone that we will be SLOWing down (and I hold out my sign) by doing some breathing together. Great way to refocus but also talk about the theme.
2nd Story
Again not recommending books at this time…
Activity
This was the best part of the storytime and would highly recommend doing this. Instead of going into the Kids Room for bubbles like we normally do, we marched around the library, stopping and going when I flipped the sign.
For my big groups, I say to look for the sign, but ALSO look at the person in front of you, and if they are stopped in front of you, you probably should too.
The parade was a big hit. Most people participated, a lot of people wanted to take video so that’s great too. So it’s not just fun, it’s great practice for school and lining up.
If you were looking for another activity, you could also do some sort of variation of the Silly Dance contest, like the gif I have up at the top of this article. When the sign says “Go” you have to do something crazy, or do something all as a group like jumping. When the sign says “Stop” you stop doing it. I saw a few people did a stop light craft for their themed storytime, which I think is fine, but it’s missing an opportunity to teach a great concept. Learning > A Craft! Hope this helps!
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