This 30-minute storytime has been adapted from one I learned from Allison Taylor McBryde in my Children’s Services courses. You can hear all of the songs and rhymes by clicking on the Watch Here links. For more transportation storytime ideas, check out our Pinterest board!
Books I Shared:
Who’s Driving? by Leo Timmers
Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
Down by the Station by Jennifer Riggs Vetter
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Who is Driving? is a highly interactive story that helps kids learn to make inferences. I did this one first, but it could have easily come last because it kept the kids engaged the whole time. When I do Trashy Town, I teach everyone three hand movements that match the refrain in the book: dump it in, smash it down, drive around the trashy town. It’s a great way to emphasize the repetition and get the kids involved. I sing Down by the Station to the tune of Little Bunny Foo Foo. Lastly, I did Freight Train as a felt story. I don’t have the pattern to share, but you can find it here with lots of good early literacy tips as well.
Rhymes and Songs:
1. Welcome Song: I’m in the Mood for Singing
I’m in the mood for singing. Hey, how about you?
I’m in the mood for singing. Hey, how about you?
I’m in the mood for singing, singing along with you.
Hey, hey, what do you say? I’m in the mood for that today.
Hey, hey, what do you say? I’m in the mood for that.
Other Verses: Clapping, Stomping, Listening, Reading
2. Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
We’re going to the moon
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
We’re going to the moon
If you want to take a trip, climb aboard my rocket ship
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
We’re going to the moon
In 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,,, Blast off!
3. Song: I’m Sitting in a Boat
This song is an African American spiritual. I have the kids sway side to side and then lift their arms (or their whole bodies) when the waves are high.
I’m sitting in a boat
And the boat is rocking, rocking, rocking
I’m sitting in a boat
And the boat is rocking, rocking, rocking
I’m sitting in a boat
And the waves are oh so high
Oh so high in the morning
Lord, Lord, Lord
4. Song: Have You Ever Seen A Sailboat?
Tune: “Did You Ever See A Lassie?”
Have you ever seen a sailboat,
A sailboat, a sailboat?
Have you ever seen a sailboat
Waving its sail?
Wave this way and that way,
Wave that way and this way.
Have you ever seen a sailboat
Waving its sail?
Other Verses: Rocking back and forth
5. Sign Language Rhyme: Stop Light Colors
Watch the video to see the sign language demonstrated.
Stop says the red light, Go says the green
Now just wait says yellow in between
That’s what they say and that’s what they mean,
We all must obey them, even the queen.
6. Action Song: I’ll Take You Riding in My Car by Woody Guthrie
I’ll take you riding in my car, car
I’ll take you riding in my car, car
I’ll take you riding in my car, car
I’ll take you riding in my car
The doors on the car go open, shut (x3)
I’ll take you riding in my car
Windshield wipers go swish, swish (x3)
I’ll take you riding in my car
Horn in the car goes beep, beep (x3)
I’ll take you riding in my car
How It Went:
The books were such a hit! Three out of the four were very interactive and I think that helped keep the attention of the 2-year-olds who tagged along with their older siblings. When signing I’m Sitting in a Boat, I mentioned that the rhythm of the song would make a great lullaby or bedtime song for any age group. If I could do it again, I would introduce the sign language stop light rhyme at the beginning of the storytime and then again at the end to reinforce the signs.
Don’t you have the actual tune for “Down By the Station”? It’s a standard, and the book here is notable for the fact that it actually fits the tune perfectly. Wish I could say the same about most of the horrible “piggyback” songs children’s librarians tend to invent to go with their themes….
Okay, so I actually looked up the tune to ‘Down by the Station” and it’s the one I’ve been singing all along. I guess I just thought it sounded similar to the beginning of Little Bunny Foo Foo.
It is the tune of Little Bunny Foo Foo 😉 You guys do an awesome job on this site…thanks for all your inspiration!!
I thought so! Thanks, Kim, for your lovely comment!
Again, thank you for your wonderful blog; it is so helpful to have you sing the songs for us 🙂 Our outreach librarian and I will both be using “I’m in the Mood for Singing.” I get so many great tips from you!
Shelley
Thank you so much, Shelley, for your lovely comment! It absolutely makes our day to get this kind of feedback 🙂
I know you created this a couple years ago, but I just discovered you guys and I have questions! 😉 So, you list books and songs but I was wondering if you incorporated a flannel board, puppets, or any other activities? If not, did 4 books and 6 songs fill up the full 30 minutes? Thanks in advance! I love your blog and YouTube channel. I have an YSL interview coming up so I’m trying to prepare as much as possible. 🙂
Hi Amanda, we always welcome questions! For this particular storytime I didn’t do puppets or flannels. It was for an older preschool crowd (ages 4-5) and I had just started doing storytimes and wasn’t comfortable enough yet to introduce those other elements. It did take up the full 30 minutes because kids this age love talking about the books as you read so the books take up the bulk of the program. If I did this storytime now, I would cut it down to maybe 2-3 books and definitely have a flannel story and perhaps a puppet element. The other thing I’ve done with a transportation theme is at the end of storytime I give out this counting activity: https://fallingflannelboards.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/flannel-friday-count-and-clip-cards/
It takes a bit of prep work to print and laminate the cards, but the kids absolutely loved it and it encourages caregiver-child interaction. Also, please check out our transportation Pinterest board because it has some amazing ideas for this kind of storytime: https://www.pinterest.com/jbrary/transportation-storytime/. Best of luck on your interview and please feel free to email us at jbrary@gmail.com if you have any further questions 🙂
Thank you so much! I love the Clip & Count activity.
*Count & Clip – whoops! Haha 😀