By: Justine Ferrara
Do you want to incorporate CLEL Bell books into your storytimes? Are you looking for some caregiver tips, rhymes, songs, and activities to freshen up an existing storytime? Read on for some ideas to plan and execute an engaging storytime all about talking!
CLEL Bell Award Winners, Shortlisters, and Nominees perfect for a baby storytime:
How To Say Hello To A Worm by Kari Percival (2022 Winner)
Can You Whoo, Too? by Harriet Ziefert (2016 Shortlist)
Who’s In the Tree? And Other Lift-the-Flap Surprises by Craig Shuttlewood (2015 Shortlist)
Listen To Our World by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson (2017 Nomination)
Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! by Cori Doerrfeld (2020 Nomination)
CLEL Bell Award Winners, Shortlisters, and Nominees perfect for a toddler/preschool storytime:
Daniel’s Good Day by Micha Archer (2019 Winner)
Say Zoop! by Hervé Tullet (2017 Winner)
Puddle by Hyewon Yum (2016 Winner)
Froodle by Antoinette Portis (2015 Winner)
Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap (2019 Shortlist)
Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays:
The More We Get Together (with ASL signs)
The more (sign “more”) we get together (sign “together”),
together (sign “together”),
together (sign “together”),
The more (sign “more”) we get together (sign “together”),
the happier (sign “happy”) we’ll be.
‘Cause my (sign “me”) friends (sign “friends”)
are your (sign “you”) friends (sign “friends”)
and your (sign “you”) friends (sign “friends”)
are my (sign “me”) friends (sign “friends”),
The more (sign “more”) we get together (sign “together”),
the happier (sign “happy”) we’ll be.
Down by the Bay
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home,
I dare not go.
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a bear combing his hair?
Down by the bay!
Other rhyme ideas (or make up your own!):
Did you ever see a goat riding a boat?
Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail?
Did you ever see a duck driving a truck?
Did you ever see a snake baking a cake?
Did you ever see a fly, wearing a tie?
Did you ever see a bee with a sunburnt knee?
Did you ever see a mouse lifting a house?
Did you ever see a llama wearing pajamas?
Did you ever see a rat wearing a hat?
Did you ever see a goose drinking some juice?
Did you ever see a fox hiding in a box?
Ten In The Bed
There were ten in the bed (hold up ten fingers)
And the little one said,
“Roll over, roll over.” (roll arms)
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.
(Repeat while counting down from ten to one)
There was one in the bed
and the little one said,
(big yawn and stretch) “I’ve got it ALL to MYSELF!”
B-I-N-G-O
There was a farmer,
had a dog
and Bingo was his name-o
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
B-I-N-G-O
and Bingo was his name-o.
(Repeat, but replace B with a clap, then B-I with two claps, and so on.)
Flannelboards:
Animal Pairs (source: http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/flannel-friday-animal-pairs/)
You can make as many animal pairs as you’d like, the only requirement for these activities is that in each pair, there is one bigger version and one smaller version. There are lots of options for talking with these pairs, so I will include just a few here!
- Matching Game
Hand out all of the animals and have one child come up with their animal and stick it to the board. Ask the group which animal they see, then ask everyone to look at their animals and come up to the board if they have the matching animal. Then, talk about how the animals look. Is the second one bigger or smaller than the first? What colors are they? Repeat until all animals are on the board.
- Guessing Game
Stick all of the big animals on the board and hold all of the little animals in your hands. Describe one animal and let the children guess which one you are describing. Once they guess it correctly, match it with the big version on the board.
- Mama-Baby Matching Game
Stick one big animal to the board and 3-4 little animals. Ask the group which little animal is the baby and then remove all of the other animals. Describe how you know which one is the baby (“The baby whale is blue like its mama” or “The baby bird has wings like its mama” or similar).
Relevant Caregiver Asides:
- Researchers find that speaking in “parentese” keeps your babies’ attention longer than using your regular voice. Your babies will respond to your voice and to the rhythm of language.
- Until about six months of age your babies are “universal linguists” They can distinguish among each of the 150 sounds of human speech. By 12 months, they recognize the speech sounds only of the languages they hear from the people who talk and play with them.
- Saying nursery rhymes is one good way for your children to hear the sounds of language. If you are comfortable talking with your children in a language other than English, talk with them in that language, so they hear all the sounds.
This is the fourth in a series of storytime templates for the five Early Literacy Practices. Click here for the templates for Read, Write, and Sing. Stay tuned for Play!
