Siblings: Bedtime

For more information on how I plan and prepare my siblings storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan. Some activities go unstarred because I only do this program once a week.

The Plan

Books

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (Board)*
Baby Bedtime by Mem Fox*
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

Early Literacy Tip
It takes longer for children who are learning to talk to respond to our questions. We need to be patient and wait anywhere from five to twelve seconds for children to respond.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Tickles & Tunes*

Flannelboard: “The Shape Game”*

Bounce: “Toast in the Toaster”*
I’m toast in the toaster
And I’m getting very hot!
Tick, tock,
Tick, tock
Up I pop!
Credit: Jbrary

Lift: “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom”*
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship,
Zoom, zoom, zoom, we’re going to the moon
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off!
Credit: Jbrary

Partnering: “Put Your Scarf On” Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It*
Toddlers had scarves and I sang through the verse the first time using “your”. Then, for the second time I sang the verse with the same body part as “their”, asking them to put the scarf (gently!) on their sibling’s head. This was MUCH MORE successful with the scarves than with the bean bags!!
Put your scarf on your head, on your head
Put your scarf on your head, on your head
Put your scarf on your head, put your scarf on your head
Put your scarf on your head, on your head
Credit: Modified from Co-worker

Repeating Extension Activities

• Clap Your Hands
• Open, Shut Them
• Thumbkin

How It Went

I know I already wrote about it up there under the “Partnering” section, but the scarves worked SO MUCH BETTER than the bean bags. I’m so happy that I tried again. Since we read Goodnight Moon, we had a lot of sentimental attachment to the book. At least two of the grown-ups “read” the book without looking. I was also able to talk about how wonderful it is for children to hear rhyming words like you do in Goodnight Moon.