Storytime would not be storytime without a couple of hit songs, from classics like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” to songs that are new to our audiences. My storytime group is so much fun to work with, but sometimes the little ones just need to get their wiggles out! Here are some movement songs you can incorporate into your storytime.
The Elevator Song
This is my go-to song when my storytime group is feeling a little antsy. This song allows the children to stand up and move up and down. I also like to do this song twice: once at a normal pace and then the second one really fast. The kids have a blast with the fast version!
Oh the city is great and the city is grand
There’s a whole lot of people on a little piece of land
And we live way up on the 57th floor
and this is what we do when we go out the door.
We take the elevator up and the elevator down,
take the elevator up, take the elevator down
Take the elevator up and the elevator down
and we turn around.
Credit: Jbrary
Bananas Unite!
This is a fun and silly song that I love to incorporate into storytime. Before singing the song, I always go over how to eat bananas with the song’s movements, i.e. peeling the banana, chopping, mashing, and eating.
Bananas unite!
Peel bananas, peel, peel bananas
Chop bananas, chop chop bananas
Mash bananas, mash mash bananas
Eat bananas, eat, eat bananas
Go Bananas!
Credit: Jbrary
Do You Like to Jump Around?
Here is the ultimate movement song! This is a perfect song for toddlers who cannot stop moving. From jumping to shaking, this song has all the right moves!
Do you like to jump around?
Jump around, Jump around?
Do you like to jump around?
Jump and now let’s FREEZE!
Continue with: Roll, Clap, Shake, Jump
Credit: Westerville Public Library
What movement songs do you use in your storytime?