December 11: Toddler Storytime: Christmas

(Reminder note: When it is time to read a story, I read the titles of three books and then display them. The children pick which one we read. The ones listed below are the ones they picked.)

                                 

             Opening Song:

(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell"

           We tap hola like this

             We tap ho la like this

              Hi-ho cherry

             We tap hola like this

               Continue with other verses:

                  We drop hola like this...

                   We circle hola like this...

                 We spin hola like this...

                We toss hola like this..

                 We roll hola like this....

                     We stomp hola like this...

I explained that in December, there are three different holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Some of us celebrate Christmas, and some of us celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Today we will read stories and sing songs about Christmas. Next week, we will focus on Hanukkah.

Story: "Santa Rex" by Molly Idle

Action song:

“Reindeer Pokie”
(Tune: “Hokey Pokey”)

You put your antlers in,
You put your antlers out,
You put your antlers in,
Then you shake them all about.

You do the reindeer pokie
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.

You put your hooves in,
You put your hooves out,
You put your hooves in,
Then you shake them all about.

You do the reindeer pokie
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.

You put your tail in,
You put your tail out,
You put your tail in,
Then you shake them all about.

You do the reindeer pokie
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.

You put your red nose in,
You put your red nose out,
You put your red nose in,
Then you shake them all about.

You do the reindeer pokie
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.

You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out,
You put your whole self in,
Then you shake them all about.

You do the reindeer pokie
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.


Shaker Song:

“S-A-N-T-A”
(Tune:” B-I-N-G-O”)

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
S-A-N-T-A, S-A-N-T-A, S-A-N-T-A
And Santa is his name-Ho

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
Ho-A-N-T-A, Ho-A-N-T-A, Ho-A-N-T-A,
And Santa is his name-Ho

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
Ho-Ho-N-T-A, Ho-Ho-N-T-A, Ho-Ho-N-T-A,
And Santa is his name-Ho

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
Ho-Ho-Ho-T-A, Ho-Ho-Ho-T-A, Ho-Ho-Ho-T-A,
And Santa is his name-Ho

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-A, Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-A, Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-A,
And Santa is his name-Ho

There is a man we know so well,
And Santa is his name-Ho
Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho, Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho, Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho,
And Santa is his name-Ho


     

Story: "Pete the Cat Saves Christmas" by Eric Litwin

Action song:

“The Lights on the Trees”
(Tune: “The Wheels on the Bus”

The lights on the tree go, blink, blink, blink… Blink, blink, blink… blink, blink, blink. The lights on the tree go blink, blink, blink… All Christmas Day.

The presents at the house go rattle, rattle, rattle… Rattle, rattle, rattle…rattle, rattle, rattle The presents in the house go rattle, rattle, rattle… All Christmas Day.

The train under the tree goes choo, choo, choo
Choo, choo, choo… choo, choo, choo
The train under the tree goes choo, choo, choo
All Christmas day.

The bells on the tree go jingle, jingle, jingle Jingle, jingle, jingle…jingle, jingle, jingle
The bells on the tree go jingle, jingle, jingle
All Christmas day.

The snowman at the house goes melt, melt, melt…
Melt, melt, melt…melt, melt, meltThe snowman at the house goes melt, melt, meltAll Christmas day.

The cookies at our house taste yummy, yummy, yummy…Yummy, yummy, yummy…Yummy, yummy, yummyThe cookies at our house taste yummy, yummy yummyAll Christmas day.





Movement song with scarf:
"The Grand Old Duke of York"

March, march, march
March, march, march

Oh, the grand old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Goodbye Song:

 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

We tap adios like this

 We tap adios like this

Hi-ho cherry

  We tap adios like this

Continue with other verses:

We drop adios like this...

   We circle adios like this...

  We spin adios like this...

   We toss adios like this...

  We roll adios like this...

           We stomp adios like this...

Craft Time:  Beaded christmas tree ornament using two pipe cleaners glued together. The children first put beads on the two pipe cleaners. Then the parent glued the two together.

I modified an idea from happyhooligans.ca
      
        
        Materials:

1. Beads in a variety of colors
2. 2 pipe cleaners (I provided a variety of colors.) 
3. Star beads
4. Elastic cord or string
5. Sequin stars
6. Hot glue gun

My example

*All photos are with parental permission. 

(*I forgot to take pictures of some of the finished tree ornaments. If any
 parents, that attended this storytime, are willing to send me a picture of your
 child with the finished craft, I will add it to this page. I would appreciate it. Thank you.)

Other included books we didn't read:

1. "Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho!" by Doreen Cronin
2. "Merry Christmas, Splat!" by Rob Scotton
3. "Dinosaur vs. Santa" by Bob Shea
4. "Santa Duck" by David Milgrim
5. "Little Blue Truck's Christmas" by Alice Schertle