Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Super-simple puppet song I used with the toddlers.

Puppets:
butterfly, duck, crocodile
(You could use any water-related puppets on hand.)

Props:
none

Row, row, row your boat
see a butterfly
flapping her lovely wings as she flutters by.

Row, row, row your boat
see a hungry duck
quack his bill
and shake his tail
digging in the muck.

Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream
if you see a crocodile,
don't forget to scream!

Who Said Meow? Polushkin

I told the book Who Said Meow? with a little adaptation. It was a simple skit, with the children helping make animal sounds.

Book:  Who Said Meow?--Polushkin

Props:  None

Puppets:
dog
mouse
bee
bird
frog
cat

Fleagle the puppy is sleeping when he hears a "MEOW!" Awakened from his sweet puppy dreaming, he goes in search of the source of the meow and encounters different animals along the way. He asks each one, "Did you say MEOW?" and each answers with their own sound. (Children love helping with this part).
Finally, he gives up, goes back to his nap and is again awakened by a "MEOW!" He sees cat. Of course, she is the source of the "MEOW!"

Very simple. Very effective.

I Spy Toddler Puppet Rhyme

I Spy With My Little Eye . . .

Any number of puppets can be used. For example:
     "I spy with my little eye
     a red bird flying by.
     I spy with my little eye
     a brown kangaroo hopping by."

You can go as long as they're interested.

Easy and simple.
    

Bugs!

A really simple puppet song; good with toddlers.

Puppets:
bugs, whatever you may have on hand


Props:
none

This particular day I used:  a bee, a butterfly, and a grasshopper.

"The Bugs in the Field"
[tune:  The Wheels on the Bus"]

The bee in the field goes bzzz bzzz bzzz . . . all day long
(Repeat with as many bugs as hold children's interest.)

Counting

A quick counting puppet skit for toddlers.

Puppets:
One puppet, two of the same puppets, three of the same puppets
Props:
None

I told the children I had puppets in my bag:
"I have puppets in my bag, wanna see?
They will help us count to three!
Can you help me count to three?
1,2,3!"

I used one pink pig.
Then, pulled out two green frogs.
Finally, three red birds.

The Animals on the Bus

Modeled after Larry Hort's Seals on the Bus, this is a simple animal-sounds puppet skit, perfect for toddlers.

Puppets:
Your choice. On this particular day, I used a bee, a duck, and a lion.

Props:
None.

"The Animals on the Bus"
[tune: "Wheels on the Bus']
The bee on the bus goes
buzz! buzz! buzz!
Buzz! buzz! Buzz!
buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The bee on the bus goes
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
All through the town.

Continue with as many animals as you wish.

Easy-peasy.

The King, the Mice and the Cheese

Or, as I called it, The King, The Mouse, and The Cheese.

I used this skit as part of a "royalty" themed storytime. I have to say it was one of the most successful stories I've tried with the preschoolers so far. The story is simple, repetitive enough for kids to help with, and funny. It took little prep effort and reaped big rewards. Some of the children stayed after our craft to reenact the story with the puppets again--magic.

I can't take credit for adapting this book to a puppet story; Steven over at Beyond the Book Storytimes (http://btbstorytimes.blogspot.com/) recently posted this idea and I ran with it.

Puppets:
mouse
cat
dog
lion
dragon (in the book it's an elephant)

Props:
a faux block of cheese
a small paper crown that fits your mouse

I adapted the story a little to suit our needs. I kept all of the animals singular, I changed the elephant to a dragon, and in the end I made the dragon afraid of mice so that he flew away--the king was so elated to be rid of the mean lion that he crowned the mouse and decided to share his cheese.

It worked really well and was a lot of fun!