Orange!

The second color in my colors storytime cycle: orange! (Red can be found here.) I have to admit I was a little frazzled because I did not know my group was coming. (They missed a week and didn’t call to let me know they were still interested in coming.) But a librarian is ALWAYS prepared to go.

Started off storytime with “Where Is Tippy-Toes?” by Betsy Lewin.

I first saw this book in one of Sarah’s Storytime Contenders posts and immediately put it on a list that I keep of books that I want to incorporate into a storytime one day. Tippy-Toes’s bright orange fur gave me the perfect opportunity for this week. This was an instant attention grabber and the kids eagerly stayed with the book until the sleepy ending.

I tried to match activities with books, instead of doing a bunch of color extensions. So, after reading about Tippy-Toes, I led the group in a little kitten fingerplay:

Fingerplay: “Kitten”
A kitten is fast asleep under the chair [Hide thumb under one hand.]
And I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve looked everywhere! [Circle eyes.]
Under the table and under the bed. [Peek under each hand.]
I looked in the corner and then I said: [Motion to come.]
“Come Kitty, come Kitty, this milk is for you. [Cup hands for dish.]
And out cam the kitty calling, “Meow, meow.” [Thumb walks across lap.]
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Next, a last minute find in the orange category, “Waiting for Wings” by Lois Ehlert.

I was SO happy to find this book because it features Monarch butterflies, which are orange. A lot of other butterfly books are wonderful, but they don’t feature Monarchs as much as I wanted them to. The kids really enjoyed this one, I think because of the vibrant colors (they were quick to point out any orange on the page) but also because of the size of the book and the size of the pages.

Then, I used our Folkmanis butterfly finger puppets to do this song:

Song & Puppet: “Flutter, Flutter” (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)
Flutter, flutter butterfly,
Floating in the spring sky
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily
Flutter, flutter butterfly,
Floating in the spring sky
Credit: Best Kids Book Site

Then, we played a slightly different version of “Can We Find?” that I used two weeks ago in Hello, Goodbye storytime.

Flannelboard Game: “Can We Find?” (Tune: Muffin Man)
Can we find an orange cat,
An orange cat, an orange cat?
Can we find an orange cat?
We want to say hello!

I just used all orange items hidden behind the houses. This was once again a BIG hit, and I was so pleased that by the last verse I had almost every kid singing along with me.

Then, continuing in our participation elements, I had the kids read me “Orange Pear Apple Bear” by Emily Gravett.

I always introduce this book as only having four words, and most of the time I have the kids read it along with me, if they want to. This time, I asked them to read me a book and after teaching the four words to them, they did it! We only had one major misstep — when bear was pear bear, because the pear shape wasn’t as obvious — and the kids were very proud of themselves for reading me a book.

I let our action rhyme introduce our next orange item.

Action Rhyme: “Pumpkin, Pumpkin”
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
Once you were a seed so small (pinch fingers together)
Now you are a great big ball (make a big circle overhead)
Pumpkin, pumpkin on the ground (touch the ground)
How’d you get so big and round? (make a big circle)
Credit: Step by Step — Pumpkin Theme

And then, I read “Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch” by Mary Peterson and Jennifer Rofe.

This is such a good book for storytime. It’s got a great build to action and a nice, soft ending. When I introduced the book and told them the title, I asked the kids why a piggy was at a pumpkin patch. The unanimous answer was that piggies live in pumpkin patches, silly Miss Katie!

I did a quick modified “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” just substituting Dinosaur instead of Teddy Bear like I did in dinosaur storytime.

After thoroughly wearing them out, we sat back down to read “Brontorina” by James Howe.

I know I say this all the time, but I LOVE this story. And so did the kids. I was very proud of their behavior during this one — it was the longest book and I did save it for last — and the kids completely rose to the occasion. (Also, I think the story is JUST THAT GOOD to capture their attention.)

After the last book, I did a quick flannelboard: “Ten Little Dinosaurs” (tune of “Ten Little Indians”), of which three of the dinosaurs in my homemade set are orange!

And that brought us to our craft: dinosaur finger puppets!

This was a great craft, and the kids were tickled by my dinosaur wearing her ballet shoes.

(I believe that Sarah’s friend drew this for her dinosaur storytime — the file was in her storytime folder on our library’s network, but Sarah has it uploaded for download on her site!)

Also, I did make a handout. I can email it to anyone who wants it, but my PDF Complete put its label right over the word “orange.”