Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers participate in a book sharing about monkeys jumping on the bed.
[Invite several toddlers to join you to read a book. Show the cover of the book and point to the monkeys.]
There are monkeys on the cover of our book. What are they doing?
Yes, the monkeys are jumping on the bed. This is a silly picture! Let’s learn more about what the monkeys do in our story.
[Open the book and hold it for each toddler to see. Use strategies, such as the following, to engage toddlers in the book:
The little monkeys in our book got ready for bed and said goodnight to their mama. Then they jumped on the bed! The little monkeys fell off the bed and bumped their heads. The doctor said no more jumping! What did the little monkeys do?
Toddlers will likely enjoy the book’s rhyming and repetitive text. Some toddlers may say a few of the words with you. Others may want to look at the pictures and listen to the story as you read. Many toddlers will relate to the beginning part of the book when the monkeys are going through a bedtime routine. Some toddlers may be interested in talking about the pictures of the monkeys getting ready for bed.
As the rhyme starts, pay close attention to the toddlers’ reactions. This is a good time to invite toddlers to say repetitive phrases with you. (See Enrichment tip.) Toddlers may say one or more words or nod their heads with the rhythm of the words. Some may look closely at the pictures of the injured and crying monkeys. Others may enjoy the repetitive rhyme and be eager for you to turn each page to keep reading the words. You may wish to revisit the book later in a one-to-one setting with toddlers who would like more or less time on each page. (See Extra support tip below.)
The book uses number words that are important for children to eventually know, but the intent of the book sharing is to emphasize the basic story and repetitive rhyme. Toddlers are not expected to count the monkeys.
Extra support
Enrichment
Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers participate in a book sharing that includes opportunities to act out parts of the story with a toy monkey.
Invite several toddlers to join you to share a book about monkeys jumping on the bed. Give each toddler a monkey to hold during the story. Show the book cover and ask what is shown on the cover that we are holding in our hands. Point out one or more similarities between monkeys pictured on the cover and monkeys held by toddlers. Example: The monkeys you provide may also be wearing pajamas.
Invite toddlers to describe what the monkeys on the book cover are doing. (jumping) Encourage toddlers to move their monkeys like they also are jumping on the bed. Example: “The monkeys on the cover of our book are jumping on the bed. We can make our monkeys jump, too!”
Read the book and encourage toddlers to make their monkeys jump when monkeys in the story jump. At the end of the book when the monkeys go to sleep, encourage toddlers to put their monkeys in their lap or on the floor to sleep like the monkeys in the story.
Conclude by describing each toddler’s actions during the activity. Examples: “Alexander’s monkey made really high jumps!” “David, you had fun holding your monkey and listening to the story.”
Many toddlers will be familiar with this popular story and will welcome the opportunity to hold, and maybe manipulate, a toy monkey. Some toddlers will be content to simply hold a toy, listen to the words, and watch others move their toy monkey. Toddlers who move their toy monkey are likely to differ in whether they make the monkey jump continuously (through all or most of the story) or only when the story describes the monkeys jumping. Accept different forms of participation at this age while also drawing attention to monkeys in our hands and monkeys in the book jumping at the same time. Toddlers are not expected to count and it is not necessary to emphasize the number of monkeys that are on each page.
Extra support
Enrichment
Receptive language, Expressive language
Toddlers act out parts of a story during a book sharing.
This option is for toddlers who are familiar with the book, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Invite several toddlers to pretend to be the little monkeys in the book as you read the story. Explain that we can pretend we are jumping on the bed. Emphasize that we want to stay on our carpet square and keep safe.
Read the story with enthusiasm, encouraging toddlers to jump on their squares when the monkeys in the book jump. In addition to jumping, support active participation in the book sharing with strategies, such as the following:
This option provides the opportunity to enjoy the gross motor act of jumping as well as cognitive tasks of listening and reciting parts of the rhyme. The repetitive, rhyming text of this book encourages toddlers to remember and be able to repeat some of the words. Some toddlers may enjoy filling in a missing word in a familiar line of the story. While some toddlers may focus mostly on the story, many will simply enjoy the act of jumping while you read the text. Toddlers are not expected to jump during specific parts of the story only. You may wish to wrap up the activity with the toddlers pretending to go to sleep like the monkeys in the end of the book. (See Extra support tip below.)
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow, small plush monkeys, dollhouse with furniture
Place the book and toy monkeys on a low table with a dollhouse and furniture. Invite toddlers to play with the monkeys in the dollhouse. Toddlers may enjoy acting out parts of the story, such as the monkeys jumping on a bed. Some toddlers may want to interact with the toy monkeys in different ways. Toddlers may enjoy hearing you read the book while they play with the materials. Talk with toddlers about their ideas and actions as they interact with the materials.
Materials Needed: Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow (optional: small plush monkeys, two toy telephones)
This book can be enjoyed by all young children in your setting. Encourage older children to recite the rhyme with you as you read the book. Invite an older child to lead younger children in acting out the story by holding the plush monkeys (Option 2) or pretending to be jumping monkeys (Option 3). Also, older children may enjoy pretending to be the mama and doctor, talking to each other on the phone. Babies may enjoy holding a monkey or toy phone while they watch the children participate. At the end of the story, invite children to lay down and pretend to be sleeping monkeys.
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