Toddlers: Counting

For more information on how I plan and prepare my toddler storytimes, check out this introduction post. And for a complete list of the repeating extension activities, visit this post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one session.

The Plan

Books

Animals 123 by Britta Teckentrup**
Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker***
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Fish, Swish, Splash, Dash! by Suze MacDonald*

Early Literacy Tip

Singing to your children is very important. Babies as young as one week can distinguish a family memeber’s voice from a group of stranger voices. Singing helps trigger speech developments.

Theme Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “One Elephant Went Out to Play”*

Flannelboard: “Ten Fluffy Chickens”***

Puppets: “When Animals Get Up in the Morning”***

Song: “Ten in the Bed”**
There were ten in the bed (Hold up five fingers)
And the little one said, “Roll over, roll over!” (Make rolling motion)
So they are rolled over and one fell out. (Hold up one finger & surprised face)
// Count down until
There was one in the bed (Hold up one finger)
And the little one said, “I’ve got it all to myself!” (Spread out arms)
Credit: Childhood

Repeating Extension Activities

• Dance Your Fingers*
• The Elevator Song**
• My Thumbs Are Going to Wiggle**
• Open, Shut Them*
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat**
• Wake Up Toes*

How It Went

Tuesday morning
The flannelboard was a big hit today — we did both of them. Lots of toddlers were obsessed with petting the board and pieces. “Animals 1 2 3” is a multi-copy board book set that a lot of kids remembered from our baby storytime. They really enjoyed passing the books in and out.

Tuesday afternoon
Caregivers have been complementing this smaller session. I’m very glad that we tried this afternoon timeslot to give families this opportunity. “Animals 1 2 3” was also really successful here. And the group has really settled in nicely compared to last week.

Thursday morning
For this session, I tried to sit on the floor which maybe wasn’t the best idea. But this group for whatever reason loves to fight over who sits in my chair when I get up for the flannelboards. I thought removing the chair might fix the problem. But since I was on the floor, one of my toddlers volunteered to be my baby.