Toddlers: Shapes

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

Apples and Robins by Lucie Felix
Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert**
Go, Shapes, Go! by Denise Fleming***
Round is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong*

Early Literacy Tip
Identify the shapes you see and talk about them with your child. Circles and triangles are often parts of letters. Being able to see shapes will help children later recognize letters.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Rockin’ Red***

Featured Track: #19 Moving in a Circles (scarves)*

Flannelboard: “The Shape Game”**

Flannelboard: “The Shape Story”

Repeating Extension Activities

• Elevator Song**
• Everyone Can March
• Popcorn Kernels***
• This Is Big, Big, Big***
• We Wave Our Scarves Together***

How It Went

Monday morning (9:30)
This is the toddler class most in demand this session and it was a very full group to start! I had some great, involved caregivers that were champs chiming in on songs that they were just learning. Both books in this group (Go, Shapes, Go! and Color Zoo) went over well. Many of the toddlers were friends of mine from our Shake, Shimmy, and Dance classes so they were glad to get up and move during Go, Shapes, Go. Also, “Popcorn Kernels” got a ton of smiles and we sang it three times!

Thursday morning (9:30)
I had a great time this morning getting to know so many new faces. My co-worker took over toddlers last winter, so it’s been a year since my toddler times and the kids have mostly transitioned over. I shortened Go, Shapes, Go! in this class; I stopped once the monkey was formed and didn’t read the rest of the book. It worked much better than Monday’s class and I continued it for the second Thursday session. I also used my edit as an extra early literacy tip to empower caregivers to end a book when their toddler is ready vs. when the book actually ends.

Thursday morning (10:30)
The 10:30 class was my most wiggly class. We only got through three animals in Color Zoo, and that’s okay! It did mean that I got to not only do the featured CD track — “Moving in a Circle” by The Learning Groove, but also got to teach everyone “The Elevator Song”. I saw a ton of great smiles from the kids as we sang the song twice. It truly is a magical trick for every storytime presenter’s bag!