The Plan
Books
Magic Box by Katie Cleminson
Meeow and the Big Box by Sebastien Braun
My Book Box by Will Hillenbrand
Not a Box by Antoniette Portis
Sitting In My Box by Dee Lillegard
Flannelboards
Extension Activities
Puppets: “Here Is a Box”
Here is a box where something is hid
I wonder whatever is under there
Could it be? Why, yes!
Without any doubt, it is a _______
Let it come out!
Credit: Perry Public Library
Action Rhyme: “I Like to Be a Jumping Jack”
I like to be a jumping jack
And jump out from a box
I like to be a rocking horse
And rock and rock and rock.
I like to be a spinning top
And spring around and round
I like to be a rubber ball
And bounce right to the ground
Credit: Perry Public Library
Fingerplay: “Little Turtle”
I had a little turtle (hands on top of each other, move thumbs)
Who lived in a box (make box)
He swam in the puddles and climbed on the rocks (with hands swim, climb)
He snapped at a mosquito (clap), he snapped at a flea (clap)
He snapped at a minnow (clap), and he snapped at me (clap)
He caught the mosquito (cup hands), he caught the flea (cup hands),
He caught the minnow (cup hands), but he didn’t catch me! (wag finger)
Credit: Childhood/Library School
Craft
This idea came from Sarah at Awesome Storytime. She did it for her tools storytime. I tried to stick with mostly box shapes, but I threw in some half-circles and triangles so that the kids could really get creative! The kids made castles, boats, spaceships, and houses.
How It Went
This was a great storytime to have — the kids loved the interactive flannelboard and as always, “Dear Zoo” was a smash hit. Their favorite book was probably “Magic Box.” The kids were just fascinated by the different things that were conjured up (and of course, the polar bear pet is a great wish for every child!) and the colorful spreads. They especially had fun pointing out all of the food in the birthday party food spread.
What a great theme! I never would have thought it, and it sounds like lots of fun!
It was a ton of fun!
Hi Katie-
LOVE your blog. 🙂 We do a box themed storytime, too. Another great one is “Special Delivery” by Brigitte Weninger. It’s out of print, but maybe you can get your hands on it. If someone on staff has recently made a big purchase, we love to bring in a huge box and have the kids crawl through it to get into and out of the storytime room. They love that part. 🙂
I wish that someone had bought a refrigerator — that would have been PERFECT.
BOX STORYTIME. GENIUS.
It was a GREAT time — highly recommended!