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
Good Night, Truck by Sally Odgers
Hello, Airplane by Bill Cotter**
Supertruck by Stephen Savage*
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia*
Early Literacy Tip
Because children love to imitate their parents, it is very important for you to be engaged in all of the activities we do today. Seeing you participate will inspire your children to join in.
Theme Extension Activities
Featured CD: Ladybug Music Green**
Featured Track: #10 Big Fire Truck
Flannelboard: Lots of Cars**
Flannelboard: Red Crane, Red Crane
Repeating Extension Activities
- The Elevator Song**
- Everyone Can March
- Popcorn Kernels**
- This Is Big, Big, Big**
- We Wave Our Scarves Together**
How It Went
Monday morning (9:30)
I didn’t get to do a Monday class because I was at ALA Midwinter. But my fabulous co-worker covered for me and the kids had a good time!
Thursday morning (9:30)
I really missed my toddler classes during our storytime break. So many of my friends came back to visit and they had grown and developed new skills and I missed it! This group really loved waving to “Hello, Airplane” and paid really close attention to the storyline. Our second book — Supertruck — did not hold their attention as well. But I think that’s because this was a first session. Those are always harder because we’re settling into a routine.
Thursday morning (10:30)
Another class that enjoyed “Hello, Airplane” especially when I told the kids that I had just been on an airplane for the ALA Midwinter Conference. I like making personal connections when I can so my families can get to know me & the larger library world. I also used a tip from the most recent Guerrilla Storytime which Kendra shared about doing rhymes in threes so kids can see/hear, learn, and then do.
storytime katie 
Katie, how do you “use” your music in storytime? For example, I see you have the Firetruck song for the plans above. Do you just play it, have kids do motions to it? You have such unique music choices which I love.
I’m not alwaysunderstanding how the songs can be used. I’d appreciate any comments re: this.
The Firetruck song has a great possibility for interaction. I have the toddlers pretend to drive a fire truck and we change how we drive based on the tempo (slow, fast, slow). I will be completely honest and say that I’ve really stopped using recorded music in my Little U storytimes because they’re only a half hour and I prefer singing a capella. I have kept them in my plan for a back-up in case the class loses all focus, but that so rarely happens.
I use a lot of music that has directions in it or obvious motions to accompany it. You can always ask!