Who's in the Red Barn? Toddler Song

I fell in love with this FAO Schwarz plush toy and saw the opportunity to use it for a simple toddler story time stretcher. 

It has a set of double barn doors that close with Velcro and the back opens via a zipper. It's the perfect size for a small glove puppet or finger puppet. 

I use it with a song:  "Who's in the Red Barn?"

Who's in the red barn, the red barn, the red barn?

Who's in the red barn?

I don't know. 

Let's find out!

Then I open the doors to reveal the puppet. The children really enjoy it when an unexpected animal is inside, like a dinosaur or iguana. Then I can segue into a dance song to get us moving. 

Super simple. Super effective. Best used with a small audience. 

Lunch!

Super-simple way to incorporate a puppet into story time. Based on Denise Fleming's book, Lunch.

Puppet:
mouse

Props:
I made simple felts of :
a turnip
a carrot
pea pod
an ear of corn
an apple
a bunch of grapes
a slice of watermelon

Mouse is hungry. AAH! Mouse spies our picnic while we're napping! She eats through:
a crisp white, turnip; a crunchy orange carrot; a sweet green pea pod; a crisp ear of yellow corn; a juicy red apple; a sour bunch of purple grapes; and a slice of pink watermelon. Then, she takes a nap until DINNERTIME!

The kids thought this was funny and enjoyed guessing the fruit and vegetables as I pulled them out of our picnic basket.

The Hummingbird Who Chewed Bubblegum

This is based on Artie Knapp's story of a hummingbird who uses bubblegum to build her nest.  I told this to my preschool crowd, and they enjoyed it--who knew hummingbirds could chew bubblegum?!

Puppet:
hummingbird finger puppet

Props:
few pieces of bubblegum (I used large wooden beads instead)
a nest (I made mine of red yarn, to match the red gum)
balloon

The Hummingbird Who Chewed Bubblegum
by Artie Knapp

There was a little hummingbird in my neighborhood that usually perched on my windowsill. I enjoyed hearing her sing, but I hadn't seen the little hummingbird for several days. About a week ago, a bad storm came through and blew all the flowers away. I felt sorry for the little hummingbird. She must be hungry and flew somewhere else to find flowers, I thought to myself. Then one beautiful sunny morning the little hummingbird reappeared on my windowsill.
"Where have you been?" I asked the little hummingbird.
"Just out flying around," replied the little hummingbird.
"Did you find anything to eat?" I asked.
"Oh there's plenty of food, but all the twigs and straw were blown away with last week's storm," said the little hummingbird in a sad voice.
"I am sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?" I asked.
The little hummingbird shrugged her feathers and said, "I'm not sure, but I have a favor to ask of you."
"Sure, anything," I said.
"Can you please give me some bubblegum?" asked the little hummingbird.
I was surprised that a hummingbird would ask for bubblegum, but I was happy to share it with my friend. The little hummingbird chewed the gumballs I gave her, and then blew a bubble bigger than her entire body. She thanked me for the bubblegum and then flew out of sight.
The very next morning the little hummingbird appeared on my windowsill, and asked for a couple more pieces of bubblegum. Like before, I was surprised that a little hummingbird would ask for bubblegum, but I was happy to share it with my friend. The little hummingbird chewed the gumballs I gave her, and then blew a big bubble. She thanked me for the bubblegum and then flew out of sight.
A couple of days passed and I hadn't seen the little hummingbird. I wondered what she was up to. One sunny day I was outside playing when a voice called out my name. I looked around but didn't see anyone. The voice called out my name again, and this time I realized it was coming from the oak tree in my back yard. It was the little hummingbird who was calling out my name, and she was sitting in a red, orange, and blue nest.
"Look what you helped me build," said the little hummingbird.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, since there aren't twigs or straw left from the storm, I had to build something where I could lay my eggs. Because of your willingness to share your bubblegum with me, I was able to build this nest for me and my family. Thank you," said the little hummingbird.
I climbed up the oak tree, and sure enough there were two little eggs the size of jelly beans laying in the nest made of bubblegum. It felt good to share my bubblegum in the first place, and once I realized it helped the little hummingbird build her nest it made sharing feel even better.

THE END

Elmer Elephant's Trunk is STUCK!

Here's a simple skit I incorporated into a recent story time. It was a story timer's birthday (I knew in advance) so I threw this in and it was successful.

Puppet:
elephant

Props:
flower
pepper
**could use a feather
faux cupcake
party hat

I put a party hat on Elmer before I put him in my puppet bag; I also had his trunk pulled all the way in.
When I pulled him out of the bag, I asked the children if something looked different about Elmer. They told me he was wearing a hat--one child asked where his trunk was. I pretended Elmer was whispering in my ear. I pulled the cupcake out of my bag and told the children that today was Elmer's birthday, but he couldn't enjoy his cake because his trunk was stuck!

So we brainstormed ideas. I tried holding a flower under his nose, thinking maybe he was allergic, but that didn't work. I tried shaking pepper (pretending to shake) under his nose, but that didn't work. Then, I tickled him. THAT worked! His trunk popped out and he could enjoy his cake.

(You could use a feather to tickle him; I just used my fingers and it was fine.)

Super simple.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

I'll admit it:  I am wild about Pinterest. I re-pin many craft ideas on a story time pinboard, and this was an idea I ran with, combining the craft with a rhyme I modified.

I made four yarn pom poms (Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob) from the book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas. I went through the rhyme and then handed out our bean bags and had children pretend the bean bags were dust bunnies. We recited the dust bunny rhyme together.

It was very simple and effective. We all got a chuckle out of it.

Props:
four yarn pom poms (instructions found readily online)

Book:
Rhyming Dust Bunnies--Jan Thomas


"Ed, Ned, Ted and Bob are Bouncing on My Head!"
or  "I Met a Little Dust Bunny"

I met a little dust bunny, he said his name was Ed;
and all he ever wanted to do was bounce upon my head!
Bounce upon my head! Bounce upon my head!
All he ever wanted to do was bounce upon my head.

(Bounce the pom pom on your head. Repeat with each one.)

For the tune, see this video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOAQakCZbAQ&feature=share&list=PLeQ12HBJmWnBKdwNhgB4EVrvvgVYQRot0

You could also easily add more verses, if your audience was interested. For example, jump upon my bed, bounce beneath my bed, etc.

Over in the Meadow

I adapted the Raffi version from his "Baby Beluga" album. I shortened it to fit toddlers' attention spans, but it could easily be lengthened to the full version. I also used different animals based on the puppets we have at my branch library. I used the corresponding number of puppets as animals in the song; so, one sheep, two frogs, and three cardinals. You could also play the recorded version and pull puppets out as Raffi sings; then you wouldn't have to memorize lyrics!

Puppets:
sheep
two frogs
three cardinal finger puppets

Props:
None needed



Here are the lyrics I used:
(Pull puppets from bag as you sing the song.)

Over in the meadow in the grass in the sun
lived a happy mama sheep and her baby one.
"Baa," said the mama; "baa," said the one
and they baa-d happily in the grass in the sun.

Over in the meadow under skies so blue
lived a happy daddy frog and his babies two.
"Ribbit," said the daddy; "ribbit, ribbit," said the two
and they croaked happily under skies so blue.

Over in the meadow in a nest in a tree
lived a happy mama cardinal and her babies three.
"Tweet," said the mama; "tweet, tweet, tweet," said the three
and they sang happily in their nest in the tree.

Over in the meadow in the noonday sun
sat a new, happy mother and her baby one.
"Listen," said the mother . . .
"Tweet, tweet, tweet," said the three;
"ribbit, ribbit," said the two;
"baa," said the one;
and the little baby laughed just to hear such fun!

Move Over Rover by Karen Beaumont

This is a super-simple storytime that works well for preschool storytime or toddler storytime. I had the materials for Rover's doghouse on hand and modified the story to fit the puppets at my branch. I ended the story with a dragon, because we don't own a skunk puppet and it still turned out fine!

Puppets:
dog
cat
beaver
frog
bird
mouse
dragon

Props:
a dog house (though you could easily tell this without a doghouse and stack the animals in your lap)
I used my favorite theater supply--a cardboard tri-fold display to make Rover's doghouse.

Let children help you with the repeating, "move over, rover." I even have my children roll their hands as we say it.

This story basically tells itself, and the children love seeing the animals stack up in Rover's house.

Give it a try!