Monthly Archives: September 2023

C is for Caterpillar: A Storytime About the Letter C

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Continuing our Reading through the Alphabet series of storytimes, this week we had fun celebrating the letter C for both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

I started by holding up a Cat stuffed animal, Corn, a Carrot, and a Chicken. I wrote the words on a whiteboard and asked the kids what they had in common. Then we drew the letter C in the air together, before reading our first book.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The classic story about a peddler whose caps are stolen by a tree-full of monkeys. Although it’s a longer story than I usually do for my Outdoor Musical Storytime, the kids loved acting out the part of the monkeys: shaking their hands and saying, “Tsz! Tsz! Tsz!”

Chameleon! by Joy Coyley; photographs by Nic Bishop

I did this one for my Family Storytime. The text is very simple, following the adventures of a beautiful chameleon as he looks for food and avoids danger. The kids were mesmerized by the large, colorful photographs.

Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass & Philemon Sturges; illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Fun variation of the classic rhyme, featuring a wide range of animals, including a raven, a beaver, and a turtle. The illustrations are colorful and fun, and the kids loved the ending, where the culprit turned out to be a whole bunch of ants.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

I couldn’t resist including this essential classic about the hungry caterpillar who eats a wide variety of foods on his journey to becoming a beautiful butterfly. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the different fruits.

Songs:

Monkey See, Monkey Do

This is one of my old standbys, which the kids always seem to enjoy. I asked them for suggestions on things the monkey could do, and they came up with jumping, galloping, and shaking their tails.

When you clap, clap, clap your hands,

The monkey clap, clap, claps his hands,

Monkey see, and monkey do,

The monkey does the same as you!

Repeat with other motions: when you jump up and down; make a funny face; turn yourself around; and sit back on the ground.

Do You See the Color Blue?

We sang this one after reading Chameleon! The kids had the best time pointing out everything they could see that matched the color we were singing about. It’s to the tune of Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Do you see the color blue, the color blue, the color blue?

Do you see the color blue, right here in this room?

Do you see the color red… etc.

Butterfly Song

My coworker Angela taught me this one, which we sang after reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I handed out play scarves before we sang it, and had the kids bundle them up to be chrysalises and wave them in the air to be butterflies. The song is to the tune of Up on the Housetop. Here’s a video by Colleen Niedermeyer:

First comes a butterfly (Wave scarf)

Who lays an egg. (Make a circle with your thumb and index finger).

Out comes a caterpillar (Wiggle your finger like a caterpillar)

With lots of legs.

Now see the caterpillar spin and spin (Spin the scarf),

A little chrysalis to sleep in (Bundle scarf up in a ball).

Oh, oh, oh, wait and see…

Oh, oh, oh, wait and see…

Out of the chrysalis, my, oh, my!

Out comes a beautiful butterfly! (Wave scarf).

Candy Corn for Dinner

We sang this as our instrument play-along (after handing out the shakers). This was one of the first songs I ever wrote.

This song was also on an album we made a long time ago to distribute to storytime families at the Millbrae Library. Here’s a link to that version on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ashley-larsen-1/sets/musical-storytime-2016

           
[C] Mom and dad put me in charge of our [G] dinner to-[C]night.                                                                
[C] They said I could make anything as [D] long as we ate [G] right.                                                            
[C] I had to serve some vegetables, a [G] salad, and a [C] stew.
I thought a while and cooked a bit, and here is [G] my me-[C]nu.

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

[C] I don’t know why Mom and Dad say [G] cooking is a [C] chore.                                                                
[C] ‘Cause I had such a great time [D] going to the grocery [G] store.                                                            
[C] My Mom said we were out of milk, so I [G] bought a big milk-[C] shake.
And since my Dad likes cheese so much, I bought him a [G] cheese-[C] cake.

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

[F] Life is [C] better [G7] when it’s [C] sweet,
[F] Like a big hot [C] plate of [G7] Rice Krispie treat.

[C] So if you have to cook tonight, I hope you’ll [G] learn from [C] me.                                                          
[C] And make your family carrot cake or [D] cherries jubi-[G]lee                                                            
[C] Even if they don’t approve, you can [G] count it as a [C] win.
You’ll have a yummy dinner and you’ll never have to [G] cook a-[C]gain

CHORUS
[F] We’re having candy corn for [C] dinner
[G7] With a side of [C] chocolate stew.
A [F] three jelly bean [C] salad,
[G7] And an ice cream sandwich [C] too.

STAY AND PLAY: DOT MARKER CATERPILLARS

For the Stay and Play, I put out dot markers, white cardstock, markers and googly eyes. As usual, I told the kids they could make caterpillars, or whatever else they wanted with the art supplies. There were some really fun dot marker and line creations.

What are your favorite books or songs about the letter C? Please share them in the comments below.

B is for Book: A Storytime About the Letter B

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I’m enjoying my “Reading through the Alphabet” series of storytimes so far. This week, I focused on the Letter B in both my Outdoor Musical and Family Storytimes.

I started by holding up three objects that start with the letter B: a bird puppet, a banana, and a slice of bread (a wooden one from a toy food set). I asked the kids what they had in common, and some of the older ones immediately guessed “they start with B.” I wrote the letter B on a small white board, and then we all drew it in the air before I read the first book.

I used the same books for both storytimes, but changed some of the songs (for Outdoor Musical Storytime, we did a parachute song; for Family Storytime we did a song with play scarves and another one with bean bags). All of the songs are listed below.

Books:

The Baby BeeBee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie; illustrated by Steven Kellogg

This is a long-time favorite of mine that is so much fun to read aloud. The animals at a zoo are awakened by a very noisy little bird who sings “Beebeebobbibobbi” all night long. Together they hatch a plan to give him a taste of his own medicine. The kids love joining in on all of the animals sounds and “Beebeebobbi’s.”

A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems

My coworker Claire and I read this one together (she read the part of Piggie and the whale, and I read Gerald). In this book, Gerald promises to get Piggie’s “big ball” back from the big guy who took it from her, but the big guy turns out to be a whale who is much bigger than he is. They are both surprised when the whale thanks them for finding his “Little Ball,” and even more surprised to learn that the whale has no friends to play with because “little guys have all the fun.” Gerald and Piggie invite him to play Whale Ball, a game they just made up, and the three of them end up having “big fun.”

The Button Book

Fun interactive book where different animals press colored buttons on each page to see what they do. The red one makes a loud “BEEP!” the orange one makes everyone clap, the blue ones makes everyone sing, the green one makes everyone blow raspberries, etc. In my Family Storytime, which has a smaller group, I had the kids take turns pressing the buttons. In Outdoor Musical Storytime, I had them all pretend to press an imaginary button. They all enjoyed the anticipation of seeing what each button would do.

Songs:

I’m Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

There are lots of different versions of this song, including the gruesome camp version where the poor bumblebee gets squished. The version I do is closest to the one in this video by Dr. Jean. I had the kids suggest different animals, and we created new verses on the spot for them: I’m bringing home a baby elephant/Won’t my Mommy say, “Oh, what a smell-a-phant!”, etc.

I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C]bumblebee.
[G7] Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?
‘Cause I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C] bumblebee.
[G7 ]Ouch! It stung me!

Hop, Little Bunnies!

I learned this one from a local daycare provider, who used it every day with her kids. The motions are pretty self-explanatory, but you can either have the kids physically pretend to sleep and then hop around, or you can have them make bunny ears with their fingers. There are different versions of the song, but the tune I used is the same as in this video by Little Baby Bums Nursery Rhymes for Babies:

See the little bunnies sleeping
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

There’s a Bean Bag on My Head

For Family Storytime, I handed out bean bags, and we sang this song to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It. I asked the kids to suggest other body parts to put the bean bag on and we made up new verses: “There’s a bean bag on my eye…and I toss it to the sky; There’s a bean bag on my toe…and I shake it to and fro,” etc.

There’s a bean bag on my head, on my head. (Put the bean bag on your head)
There’s a bean bag on my head, on my head.
There’s a bean bag on my head,
Now I’ll tuck it into bed. (Hide the bean bag behind your back)
There’s a bean bag on my head, on my head.

We Bounce and We Bounce and We Stop

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we did this one with the parachute. I threw a bunny puppet into the middle and we all shook the parachute to make it bounce. For Family Storytime, I just had the kids bounce in place, and then we added additional verses (We clap and we clap and we stop, etc.). Click on the triangle for the tune.

[C] We bounce and we bounce and we stop!
[C] We bounce and we bounce and we stop!
[C] We bounce and we bounce and we bounce and we bounce,
[C] And we bounce and [G7] we bounce and we [C} stop!

Two Little Blackbirds

I used this one as a scarf song for Family Storytime as a follow-up to The Baby BeeBee Bird. I gave each child two play scarves, and had them pretend they were birds as we sang. We actually changed the lyrics to “Two Little BeeBee Birds,” but the other lyrics were the same as below.

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill, (Hold up both thumbs)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one thumb behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other thumb behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first thumb out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second thumb out in the front).

Two little blackbirds sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little blackbirds sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little blackbirds sitting on a gate.
One was early,
And the other was…late!…  (I like to drag the pauses out as long as possible before saying “Late!” until the kids are all yelling it out.)

Bananaphone by Raffi

I used this one as our instrument playalong for both storytimes. It’s such a catchy, fun song!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[E7] Bananaphone
[Am] I’ve got this feeling, [G] so ap-[Em]pealing
[A7] For us to get together and [D7] sing, sing!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Ding dong ding dong [D] ding dong ding
[E7] Donanaphone!
[Am] It grows in bunches. [G] I’ve got my [Em] hunches.
[A7] It’s the best! Beats the rest
[D7] Cellular, modular, interactivodular!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone!
[G] Ping pong ping pong [D] ping pong ping
[E7] Pananaphone
[Am] It’s no baloney. [G] It ain’t a [Em] phony,
[A7] My cellular [D7] Bananular [G] phone.

Don’t [F#] need quarters, don’t need dimes,
To [Bm] call a friend of mine!
Don’t [F#] need computer or TV
To [Bm] have a real good time!
I’ll [E7] call for pizza, I’ll call my cat
I’ll [A] call the white house, have a chat!
I’ll [A7] place a call around the world.
[D7] Operator get me Beijing-jing-jing-jing!

[G] Ring ring ring ring [D] ring ring ring
[G] Bananaphone! [D]
[G] Yin yang yin yang [D] yin yang ying
[E7] Yananaphone.
It’s a [C] real live mama and [C#dim7] papa phone,
A [G] brother and sister and a [E7] dog-aphone,
A [A7] grandpa phone and a [D7] grandmaphone too! [E7] Yeah!
My [A7] cellular, [D7] bananular [G] phone!

[G] Bananaphone, ring [D7] ring [G] ring!
[G] Bananaphone, ring [D7] ring [G] ring!

Stay & Play: Make-Your-Own Book

For the Stay & Play, I brought multicolored construction paper, a stapler, white paper, and markers. The caregivers and I all helped the kids choose a color for their book cover, fold it in half, along with two or three sheets of white paper for the inside, and staple it together with two or three staples near the fold. I brought some multicolored duct tape for any families who wanted to cover up the staples.

After they made their books, the kids were free to write and draw on the covers and inside. They seemed very engaged and excited to have their own books.

If you have any favorite Letter B books or songs, please share them in the comments below.

A is for Alligator: A Storytime About the Letter A

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Recently, I decided to do a series of storytimes about each letter of the alphabet, something I haven’t done for a long time. So this week, I started with the letter A for both my Outdoor Musical and Family Storytimes.

I started by holding up three objects that start with the letter A: an Anglerfish puppet, an Alligator stuffed animal, and an Apple. As I asked the kids to call out the names of each one, I wrote them on a small dry erase board, and asked what they had in common. Several kids called out, “They start with A.” We talked about the sounds the letter A makes, and I joked that if you were a little fish who saw an Anglerfish, or if you yourself saw an Alligator, you might yell out, “AAAAHHHH”

Here are the books, songs, and rhymes that I used:

Books:

Ah Ha by Jeff Mack

I’m so sad this book is out of print, because it worked perfectly for reinforcing the “Ahh!” sound of the letter A. It’s also just a very funny, simple book about a frog who escapes being caught in a jar, only to almost get eaten by a turtle, a flamingo, and an alligator. The book alternates between the “AAHH!” of fear, the “AH HA!” of discovering a safe place to go, and the “AAHH!” of relief. The kids loved joining in.

There’s An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

This was a long-time favorite of my own kids, and one of my favorites to read aloud to them. It’s about a young boy who has an alligator under his bed that disappears whenever his parents come to look, so he takes matters into his own hands and lures it into the garage with a trail of food. Although it’s an empowering story about how to deal with your own under-the-bed-type monsters, I’m always a little worried about implanting new fears, so I took a couple of minutes before I read the story to ask the kids if they thought it was possible to have an alligator under your bed. They all agreed that it wasn’t.

Avocado Baby by John Burningham

This is another long-time favorite, about a family with a baby that appears very weak, until they start feeding it avocado (which the book calls an “avocado pear.”) Suddenly it can lift pianos and push the car, and it saves the family from both a burglar and couple of mean bullies. It got lots of laughs from my Family Storytime group.

Peanut Butter & Aliens by Joe McGee; illustrated by Charles Santoso

This is the sequel to Peanut Butter & Brains, so I had to briefly explain that the town in the book was inhabited by both people and zombies. In this story, the town of Quirkville is invaded by space aliens, who demand something called, “Sploink!” In their anger, they squirt cosmic grape jelly all over town, until Reginald the Zombie figures out that they are looking for peanut butter. I had done a couple of scarf songs before I read it, so I had the kids throw a play scarf whenever the aliens made the “Brazzap-Splat” sound as they fired off their blasters full of grape jelly. They also enjoyed joining in on all the “Sploinks!”

Songs & Rhymes:

Mmmm-Ahhh, Went the Little Green Frog

I did this as a follow-up to Ah Ha! There are LOTS of different versions, and additional verses. The one I do is fairly close to the one in the JBrary video below:

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog one day. (blink your eyes and then stick out your tongue)

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog.

MMM-AHH! Went the little green frog one day.

And they all went MMM-AHH- AHH!

But we all know frogs go “Flow-do-di-o-di-oh! (wiggle your fingers)

“Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

“Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

We all know frogs go “Flow-do-di-o-di-oh!

They don’t go MMM-AHH-AHH!

Alligator Pie

This is a fun, easy clapping rhyme that I learned from an Orff Music lesson years ago. We chanted Alligator Pie twice, and then I asked for other types of pie to substitute for Alligator. The kids suggested pumpkin, blueberry, apple, and everything.

Alligator Pie, Alligator Pie,

If I don’t get some, I think I’m going to cry.

Take away my basketball and take away the sky,

But don’t take away my Alligator Pie!

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

I did this one with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime (we lifted the parachute up high and threw two apple-shaped maracas on it, then shook it and lowered it down), and with scarves at Family Storytime (I had the kids hold two bundled play-scarves in their hands and throw them in the air at the end). It’s also fun to do it just with the motions. I always ask the kids to suggest other types of fruit or food (it’s fun to do silly things like a cookie tree).

Way up high in the apple tree (stretch arms up)

Two little apples smiled at me (made circles with the thumb and fingers of each hand).

I shook that tree as hard as I could! (shake imaginary tree)

Down came the apples (lower arms quickly)

Mmmm! They were good! (rub stomach)

I’ll See You Later, Alligator

We had a debate in my Family Storytime the other day about the differences between alligators and crocodiles, so I wrote this song to help me remember. My daughter helped me make this YouTube video with DaVinci Resolve, using public domain photos (credits in the description). Enjoy!

[C] If you see something in the water
With [F] scales and lots of teeth,
[G7] Looking like a floating log
With [C] four legs underneath.
[C] You can tell that it must be a type
Of [F] dangerous reptile.
But is it an alli[C]-gator
Or a [G7] hungry croco[C]-dile?

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

[C] Alligators like to live in swamps,
While [F] crocs prefer a river.
No [G7] matter where you find them,
They’re sure to make you [C] shiver.
On crocs you see their bottom teeth,
On [F] gators just the top.
If you’re able to see [C] either,
You’re [G7] way too close, so [C] STOP!

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

A [C] crocodile has lighter skin,
While [F] gator’s skin is dark,
To [G7] help them hide out in the mud
Waiting to [C] catch their mark.
Learning of their differences
Can [F] be a lot of fun,
But one thing they have in [C] common,
If you [G7] see one you should [C] run!

I’ll see you [F] later, Alligator,
With your [G7] mouth shaped like a [C] U,
But [F] Crocodile, with the V-shaped [G7] smile,
It’ll be a while
‘Till I see [C] you.

Stay & Play: Collage Aliens & Letter A Alligators

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we made Letter A Alligators.

I had cut strips of green paper and small white paper triangles ahead of time. For the Stay & Play, I put out the green strips to make the letter A, along with white paper, the white triangles (for teeth), glue-sticks, and googly eyes. In retrospect, I think it might have been better to use a different colored paper for the background, so the teeth would stand out more, but the kids seemed to enjoy the project anyway.

For Family Storytime, I challenged the kids to make aliens out of different paper shapes, googly eyes, pieces of yarn, and markers. It was great to see all of the different designs.

If you have any favorite Letter A books, please share them in the comments below.

By the Numbers: A Storytime About Counting

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Last week was National Literacy and Numeracy Week. I figure all of my storytimes are connected to literacy, but I don’t often get to focus on numbers and counting, so I made that the theme for both my evening Family Storytime last week, and today’s Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

How to Count to One (And Don’t Even Think About Bigger Numbers!) by Caspar Salmon; illustrated by Matt Hunt

This book is a little longer than I usually read for my Outdoor Musical Storytime crowd, but they loved it anyway. It’s a funny book that asks the reader to count…to 1. After starting out with one apple and one elephant, the pages get increasingly tricky, showing, for example, three bowls of soup on a page, but asking you to count the one fly. Once the kids caught onto the joke, they loved shouting out, “ONE!”

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin; illustrated by James Dean

One of my favorite Pete the Cat books, which features lots of elements for the kids to repeat, including Pete’s song (“My buttons, my buttons, my four groovy buttons”) and the “POP! Oh No!” as each button pops off and rolls away. Like I Love My White Shoes, it also includes the “Did Pete Cry? Goodness, No!” refrain, which the kids enjoy joining in on. Plus the punchline, when Pete looks down and sees his belly button, always gets a laugh.

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman; illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby

Adorable rhyming book about nine colorful dinosaurs who all hide when ten-osaurus rex appears. It seems like they might all be in danger, but wait, they’re actually all just playing hide-and-seek. The rhymed text and the large, clear numbers make it easy for kids to join in on the counting, and there’s a page in the middle where everyone gets to roar. The book ends with the dinosaurs playing Simon-Says, so I introduced the kids to that game for a minute or two after we read it.

Five Hiding Ostriches by Barbara Barbieri McGrath; illustrated by Riley Samels

This book is surprisingly similar to One-osaurus, Two-osaurus, so I read it for my Family Storytime, but not my Outdoor Musical one. This one features five ostriches hiding from a lion, who once again turns out to be playing Hide-and-Seek. The rhyme is reminiscent of Five Little Pumpkins.

Songs & Activities:

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as a follow-up to One-osaurus, Two-osaurus (after a brief game of Simon Says). The kids loved stomping around and roaring. Laurie Berkner’s video is below:

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food on the [Dm] ground.
[F] We stop and eat our [C] food, [F] when we’re in the [C] mood.
[F] Stop and eat our [C] food, and [Dm] then we march [A] around.

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest at the end of the [Dm] day.
[F] We stop and take a [C] rest, [F] over in our [C] nest.
[F] Stop and take a [C] rest, and [Dm] then you’ll hear us [A] say…

[Dm] We are the [C] dinosaurs marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs. [A] Whaddaya think of that?
[Dm] We are the dinosaurs [C] marching, marching.
[Dm] We are the [A] dinosaurs. [Dm] We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.
We make the [C] earth [Dm] flat.

[A] And then we RO-AR-OAR!
[A] Because [Dm] we [C] are the [Dm]dino-[D]saurs!

Counting with Dice

This was just a simple counting activity I threw in between books. Our library has a giant inflatable die that we used for a summer program years ago. I let the kids take turns throwing the die, and we counted the dots together. Then I asked for suggestions of something we could do that number of times (jumping up and down, spinning around, walking like a robot, etc.). It was a big hit at both storytimes.

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!

We did this one with the parachute (it’s a shorter version of the Zoom, Zoom, Zoom song):

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! We’re going to the moon! (shake the parachute in rhythm)

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! We’re be there very soon! (shake the parachute in rhythm)

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (shake the parachute for each number)

Blast Off! (raise or throw the parachute as high as you can, then let it fall back down).

The Ladybug’s Picnic by Donald Hadley and William Luckey

I’m dating myself, but I love this old Sesame Street song, which was a lot of fun for our instrument play-along at the end of storytime.

[C] One, two, three
Four, five, six
Seven, eight, nine,
Ten, eleven, twelve
[G7] Ladybugs
Came to the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.

[C] One, two, three,
Four, five, six
Seven, eight, nine,
Ten, eleven, twelve
[G7] And the all played games
At the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.

[F] They had twelve sacks so they ran sack races.
[C] They fell on their backs and they fell on their faces.
[G7] The ladybugs twelve
At the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.
[F] They played jump rope but the rope it broke,
So they [C] just sat around telling knock-knock jokes,
[G7] The ladybugs twelve.
At the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.

[C] One, two, three
Four, five, six
Seven, eight, nine,
Ten, eleven, twelve
[G7] And they chattered away
At the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.

[F] They talked about the high price of furniture and rugs,
[C] And fire insurance for ladybugs.
[G7] The ladybugs twelve
At the ladybugs’ [C] picnic.

Stay & Play: Air Dry Clay Dice

For the Stay & Play, we put out small amounts of white air-dry clay on individual paper plates, along with some markers. I explained to the kids how they could make their own dice by rolling the clay into a ball, and then flattening the sides against the plate. I told them they could put as many dots on each side as they wanted, and then do the dice activity (above) with their family. As usual, I also told them they were free to make whatever they wanted with the clay as well, so we also had some kids making adorable snakes and dinosaurs.

What are your favorite counting books or songs? Please share them in the comments below.