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Toddler Programs Chapter

By Laura Douglas

“I’ll Be There For You”

The Rembrandts (1994), Theme Song for Friends

Books To Share

Books to Show or Booktalk

Bulletin Boards

Good Books, Good Times!

Design a bulletin board using the poem “Good Books, Good Times” as the focal point. It is from the book of the same name by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Ask children to bring in pictures of themselves and friends reading a book together to post on the bulletin board. Alternately, use a digital or instant camera to take photographs of children reading with a friend or family member.

Nametags

Animal Friends

Create nametags from a variety of animal die cuts.

Displays

A Dozen Books for Toddlers from the 1990’s

Display the following books along with memorabilia from the 1990’s such as Pogs™, Pokemon®, Beanie Babies®, Koosh Balls, Tamagotchi virtual pets, Tickle Me Elmo, and Furby.

Refreshments

Serve a few of these popular foods that originated in the 1990’s.

Rhymes and Poetry

Two Little Black Birds

(Traditional.)

Two little black birds sitting on a hill, (Hold up two fingers on each hand)

One named Jack, and one named Jill, (Lift one, then the other)

Fly away Jack, (Hide one behind your back)

Flay away Jill, (Hide the other behind your back)

Come back Jack, (Then bring from behind back)

Come back Jill. (Then bring from behind back)

Sometimes I’m Tall

(Traditional.)

Sometimes I’m tall (Stand at full height)

Sometimes I’m small (Bend down close to the floor)

Sometimes I’m very, very, tall. (Streatch on tiptoes)

Sometimes I’m very very small. (Bend close to the floor)

Sometimes tall, sometimes small, (Stretch high, bend low)

And sometimes I’m just me. (Stand normally)

"Five Friends" in Children's Counting-Out Rhymes, Fingerplays, Jump-Rope and Bounce-Ball Chants and other Rhythms by Gloria T. Delamar.

Songs

Audio Recordings

“Make New Friends” on Me, My Family and Friends by Richele Bartkowiak.

Crafts

Draw Me

(Adapted from Games to Play with Two Year Olds by Jackie Silberg.)

Materials
Directions

This is a shared activity between an adult and a child. Working in pairs, the adult first outlines the child’s facial features with a finger, naming it at the same time. Then the adult draws the same feature on the paper, saying for example, “I am drawing your eyes” then asking the child to touch their eyes. When the drawing is complete give the paper to the child to color.

You Are My Sunshine

Materials
Directions

Give each child two pieces of contact paper, and a variety of the colored paper. Remove the backing from one of the sheets of contact paper and have children tear and stick red, orange, and yellow construction paper onto contact paper. Cover with the second sheet of contact paper. Punch a hole in the top of the circle and thread a piece of yarn through the hole to hang in a window at home. Pass out words to the song, “You Are My Sunshine” so the caregivers can sing with their children.

You are my sunshine craft

Early Literacy Skills Activities

These activities support six early literacy skills that children need to know before they learn how to read: letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print awareness, narrative skills, vocabulary, and print motivation. For more information, see the introduction to this manual, or visit the Every Child Ready to Read @ your library web site,www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ECRR/ECRRHomePage.htm.

A Splendid Friend, Indeed

As you introduce the story, A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom, ask if the children have ever been trying to do something and someone just kept bugging them. Ask how it made them feel. Use a goose puppet to bug the reader of the story as she is trying to read aloud and act out the goose’s roll in the story.

Little Gorilla

Use puppets to represent the different characters in the story Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein. Introduce Little Gorilla at the beginning and have a larger monkey representing Little Gorilla at the end. The different animals will make their appearance as they do in the story. Each one could give the Little Gorilla a kiss. Have a birthday cake prop at the end and invite the children to sing “Happy Birthday.”

Pepo and Lolo are Friends

Friends do lots of things together. As part of the introduction to the book, Pepo and Lolo are Friends by Ana Martín Larrañaga, ask the children what they like to do with their friends. Encourage the children to do the things that Pepo and Lolo do in the story such as run in place, jump, sing, etc.

Statements about the six early literacy skills that may be used in the program to educate and inform parents about the importance of early literacy may be found in the book, Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz.

Videos/DVDs/Films

If you have public performance rights, show these videos and DVDs, or segments of them, to the children. Otherwise, display them for home use. The length indicated is for the entire film but a single segment will be appropriate for use with toddlers.

Playtime with Maisy. (138 Minutes)

Professional Resources

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