This past weekend, during my second bout of the flu since August (welcome back to public facing service!), I did something I don’t do anymore: I opened up Instagram and let the algorithm take me down the long dark tunnel of reels and memes. It turns out, when you stumble upon the world of early childhood music the tunnel is actually quite bright and cheerful. And inspiring! I discovered a few props that look really fun to use in storytime.
Stretchy Bands
I love anything that encourages the group to be in a circle because it feels more like a community and less like a performance. This Bear Paw Creek band looks great for small groups or class visits, plus they include some ideas for using.
Canopy Scarf
When my girl La La Librarian says I should try something, I try it. Similar to a parachute, this prop can be used for a variety of storytime activities.
Rings
According to the comments these were purchased at the dollar store. My favourite thing about them? They can be easily washed! Shannon demonstrates a few creative ways to use in storytime.
Pool Noodle
Noodle dancing! What a great way to support executive functioning and have fun at the same time.
Feathers
Pass out feathers. Turn on some classical music. Encourage kids to move feathers around as they feel the music. You can have them follow you or not. Great for building finger strength. So simple, so easy.
Has anyone used any of these? How did it go? What other fun props are using in storytimes these days?
I’ve used a stretchy band to act out and dance along with the song Trains! by Louis Apollon. This was in a workshop with all librarians, and it went really well! Haha. I would love to explore the stretchy band more in the storytime setting.
Another fun prop I tried for the first time in storytime last week was soft balls. First we tapped the balls on the ground and our heads and other silly ways with a song and then we played a passing game while singing.
You are a brave, brave person to try balls in storytime! I love the idea of a passing game and could see it working with a K-3 crowd. Do you have a link for the type of balls you purchased?
What are some recommendations for Canadian vendors for these kind of good quality programming props? We have quite a few things at our library already, but I’m especially interested in the very large scarves and stretchy bands.
This has been a constant struggle for us, especially now with all the tariffs. Here is a list of Canadian vendors, though you’ll have to look through them. We bit the bullet and ordered from Bear Creek Paw for our stretchy bands.
Perfect Day Store
Scholar’s Choice
Wintergreen
Special Needs Toys
I bought a set of ring toss rings and have used them with the song Drivin’ in My Car by Ralph’s World.
This sounds so fun! And ring toss toys would be an easy thing to find.
This was such a great post and you found so many amazing things. I legit just shared with my YS department because I would use so many of these in my storytimes. I agree with Kim using the rings to the song Drivin’ in My Car!
Thanks for spreading the love, Sarah!
The stretchy bands are a unique prop, but don’t seem to be a huge hit when I use them. I never give up trying! The most fun the kids had was pretending they were puddles and jumping in and out of them while the bands were flat on the ground. The bicycle song is great and I’ll try it.
The puddles are a brilliant idea and you should give yourself credit for finding creative ways to utilize the prop! Not everything works with every group. I imagine the first few times in particular would take a lot of patience.
I am so sorry you were sick, things are going around the schools and libraries in my area of Maine as well. The ideas and sites that you have shared from your deep dive are fantastic. I especially enjoyed Shannon’s Music. Her ideas and fingerplays are so fun and fun to do. I used some of her finger play songs with babies and toddlers and they loved them. Thank you for sharing and doing the deep dive.
I have just discovered Shannon’s music and I love her! It’s great to see so many people are sharing songs and rhymes online these days.
I love to use the Stretchy Band in Baby Storytime. My favorite thing to do is adding additional props to it. For instance I like to tie coordinating scarves to the colored sections of the band and let them hang down. We sing peek-a-boo, or colors over you and use it as we would a parachute lifting up and down. I like this as an alternative for when babies are a little apprehensive of the big woosh of the parachute. I also like to put the velcro bells around the stretchy band and sing bell horses. This rhyme is perfect for it, because at the end you say “woah” and lean back with the stretchy band. I also enjoy using the canopy scarf. This week we put black pom poms on it as we sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider (the pom poms would bounce off as we shook it gently, and then “go back up the waterspout” by placing them back on top.
Kelly, you are knocking my socks off with all these ideas! Do you want to write a guest post? If you could take some pictures (without kids) I would totally feature this as a write-up.
Thank you so much! Props are so much fun for storytime and I will definitely take some pictures. I wouldn’t mind doing a write up as well. Thank you so much for your kind words and all you do for us library programmers!
We just purchased a stretchy band, and I have used in a Storytime. It was fun and the parents commented how it was quite a workout when we rode a horse and had the stretchy band go to the tune of the finale of the William Tell Overture.
I am always conscious of how much I am making the caregivers work during storytime, haha! I try to be aware of accommodations or places when we can rest for those who can’t do things like lift their child in the air. I never thought about how this would apply to a stretchy band, but I can see now how it would really get the arms moving.
I LOVE using a stretchy band in my storytime. I feel like it’s always a hit, especially with preschoolers. My go-tos are “Wheels on the Bus”, “Ram Sam Sam”, and “Row, Row, Row your Boat”. I’ve also done what the previous poster said and added jingle bells and used Stephanie Leavell’s song “Jingle All the Way”. We put it away by making it as big as we can and then all letting go on the count of 3! Always a fun incentive to transition away from that activity.
Incorporating a noodle is next on my list of props to try!
I am obsessed with this video of the pool noodle dancing! I already envision a noodle themed preschool storytime, and using the book Pasta! by Felice Arena.
This is a great post Lindsey! Love all of these ideas. I have not done the noodle!
We sang This is Big and Open, Shut Them with the stretchy bands today. It worked well! It takes quite a bit of coordination for the kids, but it added a gross motor element and was fun to watch them figure it out.
I think starting with familiar songs is the way to go. Then they can focus on the prop and not learning a new song at the same time. Props (haha, get it?) to you for trying something new!
I also love using themed props for passing songs with preschoolers! Passing a globe around for We’ve Got the Whole World In Our Hands, passing around a giant penny or heart pillow for Magic Penny, giant cookie for Whose Got the Cookie in the Cookie Jar, letter for Tisket-Tasket, beanbag for Hot Potato, etc. I think it’s so important for young children to play those simple passing games to develop sharing and cooperation skills and they love it! (Marching songs are great for practicing spacial awareness and line-walking as well!)
Those are great ideas, Jessica! I have never been brave enough to try a passing game but you are giving me the confidence to try.