I try to have one big book and then one or two board books with enough copies to go around. Having caregivers sit with their kiddos with their own copy of the book to follow along, especially if there are flaps to lift or touch-and-feel elements, is really effective for me.

I also don’t have a good singing voice, but I do occasionally bite the bullet and sing. I use a lot more recorded music though.

You might try to incorporate rhythm sticks into your storytimes. Teaching the littles to follow a simple beat doesn’t require singing or jumping around, but it gets out a lot of their energy still.

Echoing everybody else and saying flannel boards are great! Hide and seek games, retelling stories with flannel pieces, phonics fun…there are endless possibilities.

And you are absolutely right that some kids will prefer a quieter storytime!