Last week was National Exercise with Your Child Week, so I thought it would be fun to do a storytime about different types of exercise families could do together (yoga, dancing, playing catch, etc.). Here is what we did.

Books:

You Are a Lion: And Other Fun Yoga Poses by Taeeun Yoo

There are a number of Yoga-themed picture books, but this one is my favorite. It asks the kids to try different poses, and then tells them which animal the pose is based on: lion, butterfly, dog, cat, etc. It’s a little tricky to demonstrate the pose while holding the book, but the kids loved calling out their guesses about the name of the pose.

Watch Me Throw the Ball by Mo Willems

Funny Elephant and Piggie story where Piggie tries to throw a ball. When it lands behind her, she thinks that she has thrown it all the way around the world, until Gerald tells her what really happened. My coworker Claire read the part of Piggie, and I read the part of Gerald.

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig; illustrated by Marc Brown

Simple rhyming book that asks kids to guess what kind of animal has a particular kind of foot. My Family Storytime group was WILD because for many of them it was the evening after their first day of school, but this one caught their interest and helped them refocus.

The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin; illustrated by Scott Magoon

Catchy musical story about Hazel Nut, whose family members are too busy to dance to her new song. Luckily, Grandma shows up to save the day. I gave out egg shakers before I read it, and the kids played along.

Songs:

Shoo, Fly!

We sang this one after reading You Are a Lion, and I had the kids suggest different animals they would like to be. For Family Storytime, I handed out the play scarves before we sang it, and we waved them in the air for the “Shoo Fly” parts. There are lots of different versions of this song, but the one I use is closest to the one in this video by Greg and Steve.

CHORUS:

Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me! (Wave hands or scarf as if shooing a fly)
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me!
Shoo, Fly, don’t bother me,
I’ll tell you what I want to be.

I hop, I hop,
I hop like a kangaroo.
I hop, I hop,
I hop like a kangaroo.

CHORUS

I roar, I roar, I roar like a lion…

Elephants Have Wrinkles

We sang this after reading Dancing Feet. I asked the kids to suggest different body parts where elephants have wrinkles (on their foreheads, on their bottoms, etc.), and we added a new one each time.

Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles, Wrinkles, Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Elephants have (pat legs on each syllable)
Wrinkles (clap hands on each syllable)
Everywhere! (stomp feet on each syllable)
On their nose! Oh-oh! (touch your nose, and mime a trunk)

Repeat

Elephants have wrinkles…

On their legs! On their nose! Oh-oh!

Throw the Bean Bag and Catch!

For Family Storytime, I handed out bean bags before we sang this song. The kids had fun tossing and catching them, and then trying to balance them on their heads.

Chorus:
Throw the bean bag and catch
Turn around, turn around, stamp, stamp, stamp
Throw the bean bag and catch
Turn around, turn around, stamp, stamp, stamp

Put it on your head and walk around the room
Put it on your head and walk around the room

Chorus:
Throw the bean bag and catch
Turn around, turn around, stamp, stamp, stamp
Throw the bean bag and catch
Turn around, turn around, stamp, stamp, stamp

When the Dogs Come Bouncing In

Fun variation of When The Saints Go Marching In. We sang it with the parachute for Outdoor Musical Storytime, and I put three small dog stuffed animals on the parachute. The kids loved watching the dogs bounce up and down.

Oh, when the dogs go bouncing in,
Oh, when the dog go bouncing in,
Oh, how I want to be in that number,
When the dogs go bouncing in!

The Hokey Pokey

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end.

[C] You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out.
You put your right hand in,
[G] And you shake it all about!
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That’s what it’s all [C] about!

You put your left hand in…

Stay & Play: DIY Sock Bean Bags

There are lots of ways to make no-sew bean bags, both out of socks and even balloons. For our Stay & Play, I put out a variety of mini crew socks, along with a bowl of black beans, a paper cup for scooping, rubber bands for closing the socks, and washable markers for decorating.

The kids loved filling the toes of the socks with the beans! They needed a little help wrapping the rubber band around the sock when they were done, and then folding the top of the sock down over the filled part (you can also just tie the top of the sock closed). Then they decorated their socks with the markers. They all seemed really happy to have their own bean bags.

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