Alphabet Fun...Final Storytime

To celebrate that we made it all the way through the alphabet this school year our final storytime--Alphabet Fun!

Book
We just read one book today so we would have plenty of time for all the fun alphabet activities.

Everything to Spend the Night: From A to Z  by Ann Whitford Paul; illustrated by Maggie Smith

Songs/Rhymes
Some of our favorites!

Little Bird
(chant)
Little Bird, little bird fly away
What color nest are you in today?
See my post from January for more information about this activity

Parachute Opposites
(tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

The parachute goes up, the parachute goes down
Up, down, up, down
The parachute goes up and down.

The parachute goes fast, the parachute goes slow
Fast, slow, fast, slow
The parachute goes fast and slow.

The parachute goes 'round, the parachute goes 'round
'Round, 'round, 'round, 'round
The parachute goes 'round and 'round.

The parachute goes in, the parachute goes out
In, out, in, out
The parachute goes in and out.

Repeat verse for fast and slow
Then repeat up and down--instructing the children to hide under the parachute when we put it up!

One, Two Buckle My Shoe
1, 2, buckle my shoe
3, 4, shut the door
5, 6, pick up sticks
7, 8, lay them straight
9, 10, a big fat hen!

Enrichment Activities

Wind-up toys

Playdough with alphabet cutters

Pattern Blocks

Magnetic Letters

Teddy Bear Counters

Z is for Zoo!!

We had a great two days at preschool storytime exploring animals at the zoo!  I could have done this theme for several weeks!!

Books

Who Has This Tail?  by Laura Hulbert; illustrated by Erik Brooks

Two at the Zoo: A counting book  by Danna Smith; illustrated by Valeria Petrone

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

Animal Riddles
(I hung a variety of animals that live in the zoo (pieces from a two bulletin board sets) along a wall.  I had the children look at the animals then listen to the clues to guess what animal I was describing.  I did 4 or 5 animals).

I live in lakes and rivers.

I eat fish and birds.

I have four legs and a long tail.

I have lots of pretty teeth.

I am an...                     (Alligator)

I'm very, very big.

I have four legs and two big ears.

I like to eat peanuts and hay.

My long nose is called a trunk.

I am an...      (Elephant)

I have two small horns.

I have a long black tongue.

I eat leaves off trees.

I am very tall.

I am a…         (Giraffe)

I am very big.

I have short legs.

I love to eat fruit and grass.

I spend a lot of time underwater.

I am a…         (Hippo)

I live in a group called a pride.

I sleep almost all day and all night!

I like to roar.

I have a large mane!

I am a…         (Lion)

I have black stripes.

I know how to swim.

I like to roar!

I am a…         (Tiger)

I am big and black.

I have long arms and short legs.

My ears look alike like your ears!

I am a…         (Gorilla)

Zoo Animals

(Sung to: If You’re Happy and You Know It)

If you want to be a monkey, go Ohh, Ohh!

If you want to be a monkey, go Ohh, Ohh!

If you want to be a monkey, if you want to be a monkey,

If you want to be a monkey, go Ohh, Ohh!

Parrot — flap your wings

Elephant — swing your trunk

Lion — roar out loud

Kangaroo—hop, hop

Hey Diddle, Diddle

Hey diddle, diddle

The cat and the fiddle

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such sport

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

What zoo animal jumped over the moon?  Answers included: alligator, tiger, and elephant

Enrichment Activities

Make a lion

Stamp a zoo

Zoo animal matching

On Thursday I also added these activities (but no pictures):

Little People Zoo Set

Sort farm/zoo animals magnet board activity

S is for Spring!

Outreach Storytime for March 25 and April 7

Books

Spring is Here!  by Will Hillenbrand

Catty Jane Who Hated the Rain  by Valeri Gorbachev

Spring Things  by Bob Raczka; illustrated by Judy Stead

The Very Hungry Caterpillar  by Eric Carle

The children at Kindercare had been asking for the hungry caterpillar so I read that book to them instead of "Spring Things"

Songs/Flannel Board

Hello Springtime!
(Flannel board--sung to "Good Night Ladies")

Hello springtime!
Hello springtime!
Hello springtime!
I hope you're here to stay!

Then we sing hello to lots of springtime things...and we add those to the flannel board.

Blue sky
Green grass
Sunshine
Raindrops
Rainbow
Flowers
Bluebird
Bunny
Butterfly

My Garden  (by Jean Warren)

(Tune: "Skip To My Lou")
 

We first pantomimed getting ready to plant a garden...digging up the earth, deciding on what we want to plant, putting our seeds in the ground and covering them up, etc.

Sun in the sky; shine, shine, shine.
Sun in the sky; shine, shine, shine.
Sun in the sky; shine, shine, shine.
Help me with my garden.

Additional verses:

Rain from the clouds, drip, drip, drip.

Seeds in the dirt, grow, grow, grow.

Rain, Rain 

(Tune: “Row Row Row Your Boat”)

Rain, rain falling down (flutter fingers down)

Falling on the ground

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter

What a lovely sound!

Repeat

Y is for Year...and its Four Seasons!

The year is winding down...and we just moved from winter to spring...so a great time to celebrate the seasons!

Books

All the Seasons of the Year  by Deborah Lee Rose; illustrated by Kay Chorao

Every Season  by Shelley Roner and Anne Love Woodhull; photographs by Shelley Rotner

Songs/Rhymes/Fingerplays

"Sound Bus"
This is a repeating song we do every week, focusing on the "letter of the day".  The letter "drives" the bus, and only things that start with that letter can "ride" the bus.  I give clues about the things that are going to ride and allow the children the opportunity to guess.

Sometimes I make up a little story that links all the objects together.  Today we started with Yoda.  While Yoda is riding the bus he will need a snack (yogurt).  The bus ride is really long so he will need a toy to play with (yo-yo).  He decides to knit a hat because his head is cold...he'll need (yarn).  After we add something to the bus we sing:

(tune: The Wheels on the Bus)

The Y on the bus goes /y/ /y/ /y/

/y/ /y/ /y/, /y/ /y/ /y/

The Y on the bus goes /y/ /y/ /y/

On the bus is....Yoda.

Months And Seasons  (Meish Goldish)

January, February, middle of March,
Brrr! In the cold I'm stiff as starch!
Let's make a snowball, sled down a hill.
Wintertime, wintertime, time to chill!

April, May, to the middle of June,
Ahh! What a nice cool afternoon!
Let's fly a kite, and plant pretty flowers.
Springtime, springtime, time for showers!

July, August, middle of September.
Ouch! Got a sunburn I'll always remember!
Let's go swimming, let's eat a peach.
Summertime, summertime, time for the beach!

October, November, middle of December.
Hey! Each day grows shorter than September!
Let's see the leaves fall, let's bake a cake
Autumn time, autumn time, time for a rake!

Hooray for the seasons all through the year,
One just left and another one's here!
I love the seasons, each is a ball:
Wintertime, springtime, summertime, fall.

It's Raining

It's raining, it's pouring

The old man is snoring

He went to bed and bumped his head

And couldn't get up in the morning.

What else did he bump?  Answers included:  back, elbow, knee, eye, and foot.

Enrichment Activities
Four Seasons spinner from 123Homeschool4Me 

Season sort from This Reading Mama

Puzzles

Beads on pipe cleaner

X is for X-ray--being sick and getting better!

How many of you have had an x-ray? or had to stay in the hospital?  Today's storytime was about being sick (including getting an x-ray).  Here's what we did!

Books

Dr. Meow's Big Emergency  by Sam Lloyd

Bear Feels Sick  by Karma Wilson; illustrated by Jane Chapman

Songs/Rhymes/Flannel Board

Little Fox (chant)

Little Fox, Little Fox come out and play
What color box are you in today?

Beanbag Song  (Totline Magazine, July/August 1999, p. 24)

(Sung to:  If you're happy and you know it)

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair

Put your beanbag on your hair and leave it right up there

Put your beanbag on your hair, on your hair.

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground

Put your beanbag on the ground, now step and step around

Put your beanbag on the ground, on the ground.

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe

Put your beanbag on your toe, lift it high and and lift it low

Put your beanbag on your toe, on your toe.

Put your beanbag on your hand, on your hand.

Put your beanbag on your hand, on your hand.

Put your beanbag on your hand, toss it up and watch it land. 

Put your beanbag on your hand, on your hand.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns

One a penny, two a penny

Hot cross buns!

If you have no daughters,

Give them to your sons

Hot cross buns!

Enrichment Activities

X-ray Craft

Beanbag toss

X-ray ABC dot-to-dot

Find the Fox!

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

April is National Poetry Month!  At the Do It Yourself Table this month we will be celebrating poetry in a special way!  Children are invited to make a kangaroo and put a poem in its pocket!

Children can make up their own poem using words cut from magazines and old  book covers.

We also have a kangaroo coloring sheet and a kangaroo maze.

So stop by the Do It Yourself table anytime this month to make a kangaroo and a poem!