Siblings: Colors

For more information on how I plan and prepare my siblings storytimes, check out this introduction post. I starred the materials used in the plan. Some activities go unstarred because I only do this program once a week.

The Plan

Books

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert (Board Book)*
Meeow and the Big Table by Sebastien Braun
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia*

Early Literacy Tip
It takes longer for children who are just learning to talk to respond to our questions. This happens because four different parts of the brain have to work together for your child to form a response to what you say. We need to be patient and wait anywhere from 5 to 12 seconds for children to respond. Adults only take 2 seconds! The extra time allows children the practice they need to respond more quickly over time.

Theme Extension Activities

Featured CD: Songs for Wiggleworms*

Flannelboard: “The Shape Game”*

Bounce: “A Smooth Road”
A smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road (bounce baby gently)
A bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road (bounce baby faster)
A rough road, a rough road, a rough road, a rough road (bounce baby faster)
A hole! (drop baby gently between your knees)
Credit: Co-worker

Lift: “Elevator Song”*
Oh the city is great and the city is grand
There’s a whole lot of people
on a little piece of land
And we live way up on the 57th floor
and this is what we do when we open the door.
We take the elevator up and the elevator down,
take the elevator up, take the elevator down
Take the elevator up and the elevator down
and we turn around.
Credit: Jbrary

Partnering: “These Are the Colors”*
Toddlers were given scarves to gently wave over baby’s head. I suggested that babies lay down on their backs for this activity so that they could see the colors.
Red and yellow, green and blue
These are the colors over you
Red as a flower, green as a tree
Yellow as the sun, blue as the sea
Red and yellow, green and blue
These are the colors over you
Credit: Read Sing Play

Repeating Extension Activities

• Clap Your Hands
• Open, Shut Them
• Thumbkin

How It Went

I had a small and slow start to this program — only eight kids (four families) came to the first session. But I was so excited for this program. I think the toddler book Toot Toot Beep Beep was more successful today, although many of the toddlers loved sticking their arms and fingers through the cut-outs in Color Zoo. My first experiment with partnering was GREAT and I think really made the class special.