The Plan
Books
From Anne to Zach by Mary Jane Martin
My Father Knows the Name of Things by Jane Yolen
My Name Is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee and Matthew Forsythe
Naming the Cat by Lawrence Pringle
Princess Baby by Karen Katz
Extension Activities
Action Rhyme: “My Name Is…”
Hi, my name is Joe
And I work in a button factory
One day, my boss said to me, “Joe, are you busy?”
I said no.
“Push the button with your right hand.”
(keeping pushing with right hand; add left hand, right foot, left foot)
…
One day, my boss said to me, “Joe are you busy?”
I said yes!!
Credit: Childhood
Action Rhyme: “Sing Hello”
Stand up (child’s name) stand up (child’s name)
Turn around, turn around
Reach up high to the sky
Reach back down, touch the ground
Sit back down, sit back down
Credit: A to Z Kids Stuff
Activity: “Name Train”
The name train is coming
Get on board! Choo-choo
The name train is coming
Get on board! Choo-choo
…
Welcome to…(child’s name)
Get on board! Choo-choo
(repeat until all kids are on board)
Credit: Modified from A to Z Kids Stuff
Craft
Originally found on Pinterest, this craft idea comes from Tippytoe Crafts. My volunteers assembled the cars/wheels and engine/wheels. The kids were able to write their names (some with parent’s help, of course) and put together their train.
How It Went
I had a pretty bad cold during this storytime and I think that, unfortunately, it suffered because of how I was feeling. The biggest hit from this storytime was “Princess Baby.” BINGO was also a great song/flannel to do with them and all the kids cracked up during “My Name Is…” when I was doing all the motions. The name train was a sudden stroke of genius when I pulled out my wooden train whistle and we marched around the room. Everyone hopped on the train then!
storytime katie 
I love this! I’m going to pick it up and do it myself. I’ve been looking for a great train craft for a long time because there are so many great train books, I’ve finally found it! Your blog is amazing. I’m just wondering about the proportions on the name train. How many inches are each box? Did you use poster board for the back or extra large sheets of paper? Thanks!
The boxes are about two and a half inches (from what I can remember) and I used a sheet of construction paper folded in half to back the train. Some kids needed the whole sheet to fit their names and unfolded the paper. Others doubled up letters on their trains.
I’m using poster board, cutting it the long way into thirds. I’ve got dies for all of the pieces so they should come together quick. Thanks again for your help.
I have another song to add to your “NAME” theme. _____ here today, _____ here to day. Hi Ho the dairy oh, ______ here today. . If you like to add this to your page here for others to use. I love your themes and the work you have done to make our storytime hours so much easier.