Falling into Autumn - A Storytime Outline

To date this is my best fall/autumn storytime I have done! The guardians loved the books and the children had fun with our special activity.

BOOKS

Ten Red Apples written and illus. by (T)

Leaf Man written and illus. by Lois Ehlert (T, P)
One mom loved the illustrations and the children could see the animals made out of leaves!

Every Season written by Anne Love Woodhull and Shelly Rotner and photographs by Shelley Rotner (T, P)
I only read the portion about autumn.

Dappled Apples written by Jan Carr and illus. by Dorothy Donohue (P)

SONGS & RHYMES

Opening Rhyme: Open, Shut Them (T, P)
(follow actions)
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap
Creep them, creep them up to your chin
Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a big clap
Open, shut them
Lay them in your lap.

Autumn Leaves Are Falling Down (T, P)
Tune: London Bridge is Falling Down
Autumn leaves are falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
Autumn leaves are falling down,
Yellow, red and brown.
Source: Read Rabbit Read

Here We Go Around the Apple Tree (T, P)
Tune: All Round the Mulberry Bush
(follow actions)
Here we go round the apple tree,
The apple tree, the apple tree
On a frosty morning.

Additional verses:
- This is the way we climb the ladder
- pick the apples
- wash the apples
- peel the apples
- cook the apples
- eat the apples
Source: King County Library System

Closing Rhyme: Touch Your Nose (T, P)

(follow actions)

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it ends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

POEM

"Apples" and "Who Are You?" from the book Shrinking Days, Frosty Nights: Poems About Fall written by Laura Purdie Salas. (P)

CRAFTS

Colored leaves (T)
The toddlers got to glue small colored shapes onto a leaf cut out.

Falling Leaves (P)
The preschool children glued colored shapes to a sheet of paper that also had a leafless tree.

SPECIAL ACTIVITY

Autumn Leaves are Falling Down (T, P)
We used our colorful gauze scarves for this song. We tossed them up in the air and let them float down before we caught them/ picked them up to do it all over again. Everyone LOVED it!