Opening Songs
“Here, Here” (Tune: “Skip to My Lou”)
Here, here, we’ll all here
Here, here, we’ll all here
Here, here, we’ll all here
We’re all here in storytime
Hello, [Name], how are you?
Hello, [Name], how are you?
Hello, [Name], how are you?
We’re so glad to see you!
(Repeat until every child’s name is said)
“Here, Here” is my favorite opening song, but it doesn’t work well if you have a large crowd, or if you have a lot of drop-ins. I used this in my first storytime (back in Fall 2006), and then again for the Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 sessions.
“Mr. Sun”
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you
To please come down, so we can play with you
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Please shine down on me
I changed things up in Summer 2010, using this opening instead of my traditional one.
“The More We Get Together”
The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
‘Cause your friends are my friends
And my friends are your friends
The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.
Used during the Winter 2010/2011 and Spring 2011 sessions.
“Clap and Sing Hello!” (Tune: Farmer in the Dell)
We clap and sing hello,
We clap and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime,
We clap and sing hello!
(Wave and sing hello; stomp and sing hello.)
And I also started using an opening song after the welcome song to hopefully remind the kids of the storytime rules:
“If You’re Ready” (Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)
If you’re ready for a story, take a seat
If you’re ready for a story, take a seat
Clap your hands and stomp your feet
Make your hands all nice and neat
If you’re ready for a story, take a seat
Closing Songs
Okay, this section almost doesn’t exist — I almost always use the ABCs as my closer.
But in my Winter 2010 session, I am switching to “We Wave Goodbye Like This.”
“We Wave Goodbye Like This” (Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”)
We wave goodbye like this.
We wave goodbye like this.
We clap our hands for all our friends.
We wave goodbye like this.
A great resource!
Thank you! I actually need to update this page, cause I’m singing some different songs now.
I’ve been looking for new opening songs for my 2 year old class for a few months now, but I couldn’t find any. These are perfect. Can’t wait to try them out.
Glad that this helped you out!
A fellow librarian recommended your site. I love it. I added a couple of verses to More We Get Together that have extended the life of the song without becoming too tedious….The more we laugh together…..The more we share together.
The words reinforce that storytime is fun (and of course it is!) and when we get the toys out sharing is the goal.
That’s a great idea — it’s always good to reinforce that storytime is fun!
For “The more we get together” I’ve seen librarians add sign language which seemed really unique and fun for kids and parents
That does sound fun — thanks!
I love your opening and closing songs! Thanks for sharing them.
Thank you for the ideas. I have been using Shake my Sillies out (Raffi) as an opening song, but I think this gets the children too wound up. I would like to tone it down for a beginning song. I really like the Farmer in the Dell rendition.
Starting a story time for expat kids in Atyrau, Kazakhstan and I am very happy to have found your website. My kids loved going to story time at our library in Texas, so I am hoping to create the same kind of fun environment. So grateful to you for sharing your ideas, lessons and songs.
You are so welcome! I would love to hear how it goes, if you feel like following up and sharing — simplykatie [at] gmail [dot] com — or you can always leave a comment on the blog!