storytime katie

The Plan

Books

Eli, No! by Katie Kirk
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Yawn by Sally Symes
Yes Day! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Go Away, Big Yellow Monster” (I just changed the color of the popular book by Ed Emberley.)

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter Y”

Action Rhyme: “Big Yellow Moon”
Big yellow moon shines so bright, (circle overhead)
Glides across the starry night (arms to left and right)
Looks down at me (hand shades eyes)
Asleep in bed, (head on hands)
Whispers, “Good night, sleepyhead.” (shh)
Big yellow moon, your turn is done (move arms down)
Here comes Mr. Morning Sun (circle overhead)
I wake up. (arms stretch out)
You go to bed. (head on hands)
“Sleep well, Moon, you sleepyhead.” (shh)
Credit: King County Library System

Action Rhyme: “This Is Big”
This is big, big, big (stretch hands far to sides)
This is small, small, small (cup hands together)
This is short, short, short (hold palms close vertically)
This is tall, tall, tall (hold palms far apart vertically)
This is fast, fast, fast (roll hands quickly)
This is slow, slow, slow (roll hands slowly)
This is yes, yes, yes (nod head)
This is no, no, no (shake head)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Song: “Shake Your Sillies Out”
Gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away
(clap my crazies out, stretch my
stretchies out, yawn my sleepies out)
Credit: Raffi

Craft

I saw this on several different pages, through Pinterest, but the post I actually read was from Mud Hut Mama. I thought this craft went well with “Extra Yarn” and the kids had a lot of fun. It was very nice to see their artwork displayed at the daycare facility when I came back next week for Letter Z.

How It Went

I love Letter Y. It is so much easier than Letter X! I had a lot of options, so I got to pick several favorites for storytime. The kids were spellbound by “Extra Yarn.” Not even the attendance check at the top of the hour took them away from the story; Annabelle is truly magical! “Yawn” was a close second favorite. It’s a great guessing game for the kids! The extension activities were perfect, especially when I had “Eli, no!” (yelling), right before “Go Away, Big Yellow Monster.” The kids got to yell along with both stories’ refrains.

The Plan

Books

A Fox: The Sound of X by Alice K. Flanagan
Max’s ABCs by Rosemary Wells
My Mom Has X-Ray Vision by Angela McAllister
Xavier Ox’s Xylophone Experiment by Barbara deRubertis

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “X-Rays Matching”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter X”

Action Rhyme: “Red Fox, Red Fox”
Red fox, red fox turn around
Red fox, red fox touch the ground
Red fox, red fox reach up high
Red fox, red fox touch the sky
Red fox, red fox find your nose
Red fox, red fox touch your toes
Red fox, red fox find your knees
Red fox, red fox sit down please
Credit: King County Library System

Fingerplay: “Where Is X?” (Tune: Thumbkin)
Where is X? Where is X?
Here I am. Here I am.
How are you today, sir? Very well, I thank you.
Run away. Run away.
Credit: Modified from Childhood

Song: “What Begins With X?”
What begins with x?
What begins with x?
We all know, we’ll tell you so.
What begins with x?
(Xylophone, X-ray, Xavier)

What ends with x?
What ends with x?
We all know, we’ll tell you so.
What ends with x?
(Fox, Box, Ox)
Credit: MotherReader

Craft

This craft came from Totally Tots, a site to which I owe a great deal of thanks in these ABC storytimes. I changed ours up a bit, though, and used paper since foam can be expensive and more frustrating for the kids to glue with. (Gluesticks and foam really do not mix!)

How It Went

The hardest letter in the alphabet — finally done! The kids loved “My Mom Has X-Ray Vision” and also really enjoyed “Max’s ABCs.” They had a great time matching up the x-rays on the flannelboard, and always love singing. The craft was, by far, one of their favorites. The daycare posted it up on their walls in the classroom and they got a lot of compliments on it!

The Plan

Books

I Love Vacations by Anna Walker
Rah, Rah, Radishes! by April Pulley Sayre
Sweethearts by Jan Carr
This Is the Van That Dan Cleaned by Lisa Campbell Ernst
What In the World Is a Violin? by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Six Little Valentines”

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter V”

Fingerplay: “Let’s Count Valentines”
Let’s count valentines – one, two, three
Let’s count valentines, all for me!
Let’s count valentines – four, five, six
Let’s count valentines, match and mix
Let’s count valentines – seven, eight, nine
Let’s count valentines, I’m glad you’re mine
Credit: ChildFun

Song: “Vegetable Song” (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)
Carrots, peas, and broccoli
Vegetables are good for me
For my snack and in my lunch
Veggies sticks are great to munch
Carrot, peas, and broccoli
Vegetables are good for me
Credit: Preschool Education

Song: “What Begins With V?”
What begins with V?
What begins with V?
We all know, we’ll tell you so.
What begins with V?

Violin begins with V.
Violin begins with V.
We all know, we’ll tell you so.
Violin begins with V.
Credit: MotherReader

Craft

This idea came from a Google Image search, but you can see the original post right here at Mrs. Karen’s Preschool Ideas! The flowers and stems were pre-cut by teen volunteers, the kids glued down their flowers and colored their vases. We had some very pretty flower vases once everyone was finished!

How It Went

The kids were fascinated by “What In the World Is a Violin?” and kept telling me that it was a “wrong guitar,” which made me crack up. “Rah Rah Radishes” almost inspired a riot — apparently NO ONE likes vegetables at all in this classroom, so we had lots of “YUCKS” and “EWS.” I was sad, because I’ve used the book in the past and it’s worked well for me before. Valentines were a big hit, and was the only “V” word that they guessed correctly after seeing the book. We’re nearing the end of these alphabet storytimes — only four more to go!

The Plan

Books

Hello, Robots by Bob Staake
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee
Race You to Bed by Bob Shea
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Extension Activities

Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter R”

Flannelboard: “Four Little Rockets”
Four little rockets winking at me
One shot off and then there were three!
Three little rockets with nothing to do
One shot off and then there were two!
Two little rockets afraid of the sun
One shot off and then there was one!
One little rocket alone is no fun
He shot off, and then there were none!

Action Rhyme: “Rain Is Falling Down”
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap loudly once)
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap loudly once)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH! (clap loudly once)
(repeat)

Puppets: “Five Little Rabbits”
Hippety hop and hippety hay
Five little rabbits went out to play
Hippety hop and hippety hay,
One little bunny hopped away.

Craft

The daycare now has over 30 kids attending storytime at a single time, so I’ve tried to make the crafts as simple as they can be. This week, they colored their rabbits and we glued cottontails on with cotton balls and glue sticks.

How It Went

This storytime was a mixed bag. Books were either *HITS* or *FLOPS*! Hits: “My Rhinoceros,” “Wow! Said the Owl,” and “Little White Rabbit.” Flops: “Hello, Robots” and “Race You to Bed.” Honestly, I think the storytime was difficult for several reason. One because one of the classrooms was losing their primary teacher and we had both the new teacher and the old teacher in doing different discipline. Two because the kids had just changed classrooms for the 2012-2013 school year based on their new ages. Add this all up and it made for a bit of a mess. Luckily, my rabbit puppets were giant hits, as well as my rocket pieces on the flannelboard!