Cover Sheet – For the Presenter
The following storyhour program is designed for toddlers and preschoolers
(primarily 2-3-year olds).
You don’t have to read the leader’s comments word-for-word, but try to
include the information in your own words especially the asides to the
parents. The information that is just for you is in italics – so don’t read that
text.
The general outline of our storytime is:
I.
Opening Song
II.
Welcome/Introductory Comments
III.
Rhyme with Flannelboard
IV.
Flannelboard Activity
V.
Counting Rhyme
VI.
Quieting rhyme
VII.
Book
VIII. Flannelboard Activity
IX.
Rhyme
X.
Book
XI.
Closing Song
Feel free to substitute your own opening and closing rhymes as well as any
rhymes with a similar theme that the children have heard before.
Repetition of songs and action rhymes from previous storytimes is better
than introducing all new ones.
We have provided several props that we think will be helpful.
*Flannel board cut-outs.
* Coloring pages and craft ideas to offer after your storytime has officially
ended.
*Take home sheets.
The Night Before Christmas
Opening Song (to the tune of “London Bridge”)
Hello Song
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you?
How are you?
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you today?
(Repeat several times as the group settles in..)
Introduction
To the caregivers:
Welcome to storytime. I am glad you could all be here today. We
are going to be sharing some rhymes and books especially for the
holiday season.
Rhymes and songs are good ways to teach children “phonological
awareness” – that is how to distinguish the different sounds that
make up words. So, let’s start with a rhyme . . .
Rhyme with Flannel Board:
The Night Before Christmas – Toddler Version
[Use the cadence of the traditional “Night Before Christmas” poem. You can
use artwork provided to create the numbered flannelboard pieces (or create
your own!). Just print the artwork and add velcro pieces to the backs.
Number the pieces to help keep them in order.]
It’s the night before Christmas,
And all ‘round our house
The creatures are sleeping:
The cat and the mouse.
The stockings are hanging 
All straight in a row
With neatly-wrapped presents
Piled up just below.
We’ve left cookies for Santa;
Oats for his reindeer. 
But no one will see them,
We’ll be dozing, I fear.
We’ll awake in the morning
When the sun shows its light.
We’ll find toys in the stockings
Santa left overnight.
I’m so sorry to miss
Santa’s sleigh as it flies, 
But I’m so very sleepy
I must close my eyes. 
As a follow-up, use Christmas stockings for a flannel board counting activity.
Set up your flannel board to resemble a fireplace. Make five or more holiday
stockings. Ask the children how many stockings they will hang up (parents
can help!). Put up that number of stockings and count them again. Repeat for
several children’s answers. You might make pairs of stockings and ask the
children to match the pairs as well (if your group is small enough to get close
to the flannel board).
Then say the rhyme below together.
-3-
Five little stockings
Hanging up so high
Ready for the evening
When Santa stops by
The cat chased the mouse
Along the mantle top
And one little stocking
Fell ker-plop.
Four little stockings
Hanging up so high
Ready for the evening
When Santa stops by
The cat chased the mouse
Along the mantle top
And one little stocking
Fell ker-plop.
Etc.
Now, let’s get all of our wiggles out so that we can read a story:
Quieting Rhyme
I wiggle my fingers,
I wiggle my toes.
I wiggle my arms,
I wiggle my nose.
I think that the wiggles
Are all out of me
Now I can sit down
And hear a story.
Book
Read your favorite book that has something to do with Santa. Few words
and large, bright pictures are best. Remember that “group reading” is more
limited for this age group than what they might read one-on-one with a
parent. Some nice books can be “edited” to be appropriate for storytime.
One example that is Christmas is Coming by Anne Bowen – you can cut a few
of the words and still keep the main points – be sure to point out Santa in
the little girl’s dream.
Flannel Board Activity
Use flannel board pictures of assorted food, toys, and animals to play “What
Belongs in Santa’s Sleigh?” Present each item and ask whether or not it
belongs in Santa’s sleigh. The more ridiculous some of the choices are, the
better for this game! If you use exaggerated expressions, the children may
get into the spirit of the game – shouting “yes” or “no” with a lot of
enthusiasm. Place the items that do belong on or above the sleigh. Don’t
argue over “wrong” answers – simply ask something like “Do you know anyone
who got a tiger for Christmas?” Stop at any time if the game doesn’t seem
to be working well with your group. You may have to keep reinforcing the
idea that Santa brings toys in his sleigh.
To the adults:
You can play simple games like this at home. Pick 3 related items
and one that doesn’t belong. Ask your child to pick out the one
that should not be in the group. This kind of thinking exercise will
help with distinguishing letters later on.
Let’s say another rhyme together.
Choose one of the action rhymes on pages 245-247 of 1001 Rhymes &
Fingerplays (or one of your own favorite action rhymes about Christmas).
Book
Read another Christmas or wintertime book. Some suggestions are: Mouse’s
First Christmas or Mouse’s First Snow by Lauren Thompson, Little Miss
Spider: A Christmas Wish by David Kirk, Where is Christmas, Jesse Bear?
By Nancy White Carlstrom.
Closing Rhyme
(Practice saying this rhyme so that you develop a nice rhythm. You may even
add a simple tune of your own.)
Our storytime is done.
We all had lots of fun.
Please come back again.
We’ll read more books then.
And enjoy spending time with our friends.
To the caregivers:
Feel free to stay a while and do a craft or check out some books to
take home. (Point out any brochures or tip sheets that you have on
display for parents, etc.)
Crafts:
We like the idea of providing a craft at the end of storyhour. Something simple is fine.
This gives parents a chance to visit and it reinforces what the children learned.
For this storyhour theme, you might have children decorate construction paper stockings.
Encourage them to add their first initial or first name to the stocking.
Coloring pages have been provided on the website where you found this storytime plan.
-5-
The Night Before Christmas
Take-Home Sheet
We all know how hectic this time of year can be.
You can still build literacy
skills as you go about shopping and preparing for the holidays. Here are a
few suggestions:
Point out signs as you shop – we call this “creating print awareness.”
Listen to music in the car. Sing along – sing “la, la, la” if you don’t know
the words.
Talk about the weather when you go outside. Help your child build
vocabulary by describing colors and textures and talking about how the
world outside has changed recently.
Talk about food. Your child will learn many descriptive words from
talking about the colors, smells and shapes of food as you eat or as you
prepare a meal. Cut sandwiches into different shapes for a bit of fun!
If you have doctor visits during this cold and flu season, take along a box
of crayons and draw on the exam table paper. Help your child practice
writing his or her name.
One of these things . . .
You may remember the Sesame Street game “One of these things is not like
the others.” Just like the “Santa’s Sleigh” game that we played at
storytime, games like this will develop skills for learning the alphabet. Any
activities that involve sorting or making pairs are good for teaching the basic
concepts of “same” and “different.” Use the following sheet to practice
sorting. Color the squares, cut them apart or leave them as is. Ask your
child to pick out “things to wear” or “things to eat” or “things to play with.”