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Toddler Programs Chapter

By Laura Douglas

“We Are The World”

Various Artists (1985)

Books To Share

Books to Show or Booktalk

Bulletin Boards

You And Me Together

Decorate the bulletin board with a large picture of the globe. Have children bring in pictures of themselves and their families and friends. Post the photograph on the bulletin board. You might also post a form with the children’s first names and a description of who is in the picture and what is happening.

We Are the World

Decorate a board with a solid color background. Draw a large outline of the world on the board. Have different colors of construction paper and crayons available for the children to use to outline their hands. Have an adult help them cut out their hand and write their names on it. Place the hands on the board to fill in the outline of the world with color.

Nametags

Going Global

Create a nametag from a hand or globe die cut.

Displays

A Dozen Books for Toddlers from the 1980’s

Display the following books along with memorabilia from the 1980’s such as Rubic’s Cubes, Walkmans®, Cabbage Patch Kids®, Care Bears, and My Little Pony.

Refreshments

Serve a few popular foods that originated in the 1980’s.

Rhymes and Poetry

Wiggle Fingers

(Traditional.)

Wiggle fingers, wiggle so, (Hold up hands wiggle fingers)

Wiggle high, wiggle low, (Suit actions to words)

Wiggle left, wiggle right

Wiggle fingers out of sight (Behind back)

Songs

Where is Thumbkin?

(Traditional. Sing to the tune of “Frere Jacques.” As you begin the song, hide your hands behind your back. Bring out fingers as indicated in the actions.)

Where is Thumbkin?

Where is Thumbkin?

Here I am! (Bring out one hand with your thumb up)

Here I am! (Bring out the other hand with your thumb up)

How are you today, sir? (Wiggle one thumb)

Very well, I thank you, (Wiggle the other thumb)

Run away, run away. (Hide hands behind your back)

Fun With Hands

(Traditional. Sing to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Continue the song by substituting other actions, such as clap your hands, shake your hands, or stamp your feet.)

Roll, roll, roll your hands

As slowly as can be;

Roll, roll, roll your hands;

Do it now with me.

Roll, roll, roll your hands

As fast as fast can be;

Roll, roll, roll your hands;

Do it now with me.

All Around the World

(Adapted by Laura Douglas. Sing to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush."Continue and substitute other actions that children do worldwide, such as run and play, wave bye bye, or go to sleep.)

This is the way we wake up early, (Yawn and stretch)

Wake up early, wake up early,

This is the way we wake up early,

All around the world. (Make a circle in air with hands)

This is the way we eat our breakfast, (Mime eating)

Eat our breakfast, eat our breakfast,

This is the way we eat our breakfast,

All around the world. (Make a circle in air with hands)

Flannel Board

Overboard!

Read Overboard! by Sarah Weeks and create a flannel/magnet board from the patterns provided at the end of this program. As you introduce the story ask the children to help you with the word “Overboard!” Place all of the pieces on the board at the beginning of the story. As you read the story and the objects go “Overboard”, pull them off. If you are brave, try throwing them on the floor.

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.

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.

The Saucepan Game

As you introduce The Saucepan Game by Jan Ormerod, hold up a saucepan. Ask the children, “What is this?” “Can it be a toy?” Then as you read the story, use the pan and its lid as a prop. At the end, put a plush cat or other puppet inside of the pan.

Wake Up, Me!

Introduce Wake Up, Me! by Marni McGee so that it connects to the theme, “Children all around the world wake up every morning.” This story is about a child who wakes up and greets the day. Encourage the children to find the different body parts named in the book. Ask them to make the sounds of the animals mentioned or ask them questions about what the child is doing. Or, ask the children to help with the story by saying, “Wake up” each time it is mentioned in the story. Point to the words “Wake up” in the book each time they appear.

We've All Got Bellybuttons!

We've All Got Bellybuttons! by David Martin can be extended with puppets and props. As the different body parts are mentioned in the story, find them on the puppet, and ask the children to act out the motions presented in the story. For example, the first animal pictured in the book is an elephant. Find the ears on the elephant puppet and pull them. The text then asks, “Can you?” Encourage the children to pull their ears too, gently of course.

Audio Recordings

Crafts

Squish Bags

(Adapted from Making Toys For Infants & Toddlers: Using Ordinary Stuff For Extraordinary Play by Linda G. Miller.)

Materials
Directions

Let the children assist the adult in placing some of the shaving cream into the baggy. Squirt a few drops of food coloring into the bag. Add more shaving cream so that the food color is in the middle of the shaving cream. Tape the bag closed with duct tape. Show the child how to squeeze the bag to see the color change. Talk with them about what happens.

Hand Art

Materials
Directions

Ask adults to trace around the child’s hand onto the paper. They can do it as many times as they like. Let the children color or decorate the page with crayons and markers, or stickers, as they wish.

Hand art

Games and Activities

Sticker Fun

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

Materials
Directions

In advance, purchase larger stickers with familiar characters represented. Oriental Trading Company, www.orientaltrading.com, sells stickers featuring various Disney characters, Dora the Explorer, and pirates. Let each child put a sticker on the end of a tongue depressor or large craft stick to make a stick puppet.

Sticker fun

Professional Resources

Craft Materials

Overboard Flannel Board (1 of 3)

overboard flannel board patterns

Overboard Flannel Board (2 of 3)

 

overboard flannel board patterns

Overboard Flannel Board (3 of 3)

 

overboard flannel board patterns

 

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