Toddler Time Week 2

I had a good size group the second time around, which means at least they liked my program enough to come back. I'm still working out the kinks of working with toddlers. For some reason this population seems completely different than the toddlers I've worked with before. I've always had pretty good success with the books I shared, but today they just didn't seem to work. Perhaps it was the new element of storytime I tried.

We've had two autism in-service programs recently and one of the speakers mentioned that it can help if everyone has something to hold on to. She also said that it can help non-autistic children focus as well. I thought I'd give it a try and toted 16 puppets and stuffed animals to our make shift story room. I passed out the soft animals before I started the first book and after our opening routine. While they didn't do badly with the experiment, neither did it really seem to help anyone. I wonder if I didn't explain it well enough or this group just wasn't in to it. I'll try it again and see what happens.

This week was also different in that I was using a new stereo (my ipod hooked up to a speaker) and experienced some technical difficulty. It was still better than finding out halfway through that the CD player didn't want to work that day. That happens far too often.

I love working with preschoolers, but I don't think I understand the toddler brain. Hopefully I can get back in the groove. I used to enjoy them more.

Opening Song: Let's All Clap . . .
Song: "Shake your Sillies Out" by Raffi from Raffi and the Sunshine Band Live
Rhyme: Jump, Jump, Jump
Flannel: Pippa's Penguins by Susan Dailey
Book: Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin
Song: "Mitten Song" by Rachel Buchman from Sing a Song of Seasons
Book: Snow by Manya Stojic
Song: "Let's Play in the Snow" by Rachel Buchman from Sing a Song of Seasons
Activity: Bubbles/Dancing
Action: Wave your nose . . .

As always, the bubbles were the best part.