Welcome to the first letter in my alphabet series! I’m doing the whole series with my daycares and have (at this point) plans to do every letter until I wind up doing “XYZ” together.
The Plan
Books
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse by Eric Carle
I Love Planes! by Philemon Sturges
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
Extension Activities
Flannelboard: “Five Little Apples”
Flannelboard Puzzle: “Letter A”
Fingerplay: “Way Up High in the Apple Tree”
Way up high in the apple tree
I saw two apples looking at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
And down came the apples
And mmmm, they were good!
Credit: Childhood
Song: “ABCs”
Credit: Childhood
Song: “Apples and Bananas”
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas (each x2)
(repeat with other vowel sounds)
Credit: Childhood
Song: “The Ants Go Marching”
The ants go marching, one by one, hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching, one by one, hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching, one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb
And they all go marching down to the ground, to get out of the rain
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom
(Two by two/the little one stops to tie his shoe; Three by three/the little one stops to climb a tree; Four by four/the little one stops to say “no more!”)
Credit: Childhood
Craft
Alligator Masks! I got this template from KidsSoup and my teen volunteers cut everything out and assembled it. At the daycare, I only have access to crayons and glue, so I’m doing the most basic crafts possible when I’m there.
How It Went
This was my first outreach storytime in a long time. (I think in over a year, actually.) Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about the logistics of the room set-up and how everything would go. I packed up all the books, puppets, and my travel flannelboard and had a WONDERFUL time. The kids were super receptive to the theme and while I was reading “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse,” they tried to come up with all “A” names for the animals. That led to the crocodile becoming an alligator and one child calling the cow an “ACOW.”
storytime katie 
Shh…don’t tell. Sometimes? I prefer my outreach STs to those at the library. The outreach groups are always SO eager to participate, SO excited to see me, and SO on board with everything I through at them. Glad you enjoyed yourself!
My groups are the same way. I get hugs the minute I walk into their classrooms and then they run to the rug!
Great idea, I’m looking forward to seeing all the books you share for each of the letters! 🙂
Thanks — I’m up to Letter G (planning wise, I just did letter E this morning), so keep your eyes out for the updates on Wednesdays!