Toddlers: Farm

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

Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee***
I Went Walking by Sue Williams*
Peek-a-Moo by Marie Cimarusti*
Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch by Mary Peterson and Jennifer Rofe*

Early Literacy Tip
By joyfully watching other children follow directions and applauding their success, you are teaching your children an important social skill — how to appreciate other people.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Rocketship Run***

Featured Track: #20 Farm (That’s What I Did)*

Flannelboard: “Open Up the Barn Door”***
Open up the barn door, the spring goes “Boink.”
There’s a pig in the barn, saying, “Oink, oink, oink.”
Open up the barn door before the clock strikes two.
There’s a cow in the barn, saying, “Moo, moo, moo.”
Open up the barn door, it’s a sunny day.
There’s a horse in the barn, saying, “Neigh, neigh, neigh.”
Open up the barn door, singing, “Tra-la-la.”
There’s a sheep in the barn, saying, “Baa, baa, baa.”
Open up the barn door, while the sky is blue.
There’s a rooster in the barn, saying, “Cock-a-doodle-do!”
Open up the barn door and don’t get off the track.
There’s a duck in the barn, saying, “Quack, quack, quack.”
Credit: Addison Public Library

Puppet Song: “When Cows Get Up in the Morning”**
When cows get up in the morning, they always say hello
When cows get up in the morning, they always say hello
And what do they say? Mooooooo
And that is what they say.
Credit: Jbrary

Repeating Extension Activities

• My Thumbs Are Starting to Wiggle
• Open, Shut Them*
• This Is Big, Big, Big***
• Tick, Tock**
• Wiggle Your Finger & Stomp Your Feet*

How It Went

Tuesday morning
Week two always sees us adding a few new faces as people get moved up from the waitlist. This group was probably the most affected by those changes; they stuck pretty close to their caregivers because of all the new faces. That made Clip-Clop work SO GOOD as a bounce and a book that I almost cried from joy. I used the CD recording and because the group was so tentative, no one really got up and danced. I passed on the song for the next two groups.

Thursday morning (9:30)
I forgot my puppets for “When Cows Get Up in the Morning” for the Tuesday class. I remembered them for this class! When in doubt, hide things from toddlers and slowly pull them out. It’s magic! This was also reinforced by the flannelboard this week and I know the parents really got into that activity as well.

Thursday morning (10:30)
This class was another group that really enjoyed hiding things. I decided that Peek-a-Moo would be a natural choice and we spent the better part of storytime looking for hidden objects. 😀 I have some really great, involved parents in this group and several dads which I *love* seeing in storytime!

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