Little Movers is held monthly for 2 to 5 year olds who like to get up and move around.  There are stories, movement activities, songs, and musical instruments.  Sitting still is kept to a minimum.  I’ll post more about the general structure of Little Movers soon.

This is the recipe I used on 02/18/2010.  If you have ideas for books or songs I can add next time, please leave them in the comments!

Books to read:

• All of Me: A Book of Thanks by Molly Bang
• Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes: A First Book All about You by Judy Hindley (text) and Brita Granström (art)
• Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (text), and Ted Rand (art)

Songs to sing:

• “The Hokey Pokey”
• “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

Songs to play:

• “Bellybutton Stays the Same” – Coal Train Railroad, from self-titled
• “Clap Your Hands” – Mary Timony, from Play
• “Everybody Clap Your Hands” – Michael Rachap, from Songeez
• “Fingers and Toes” – Milkshake, from Happy Songs
• “Head, Nose, Belly Button, Toes” – The Blankies, from Action
• “Let’s Shake” – Dan Zanes and Friends, from Catch That Train!
• “Look at My Belly” – Brady Rymer, from Look at My Belly
• “This Is Your Body” – Baze and His Silly Friends, from Toddlerville
• “Your Body’s an Instrument” – Charity and the JAMband, from JAM

What worked:

The kids were a little slow to warm up this month.  I decided to read through the stories at the beginning, because the kids were more inclined to sit than to get up and move around with me (!!).  They got into it when I started playing songs, though, so I threw in a couple more than I had planned.

What didn’t:

I need a new cool-down strategy.  A couple running/screaming kids from last month were back, and they got spastic at flashlight time. ^[1]  It was kind of amusing before, but this time it made the front left quadrant of my head throb.  Glad I have a month to come up with new ideas.  Maybe something more structured.

Also:  Never ask “What should we do next?” if it’s a rhetorical question.  Because the kids will answer you.  Still on that learning curve…

^[1]  “I have a flashlight AND a lightsaber!”  –kid holding two flashlights

[ Posted in » Little Movers :: Storytime Recipes ]