I have been working on introducing new elements to my storytimes - especially in the real of early literacy. So far I've added in the Letter of the Day concept, which I'm easing into the program. During summer it's harder to help the little ones do letter recognition and word relation when you have school-age siblings shouting it out all the time. I'm sure that by the time the fall season begins I'll have it all planned out. I've also started having reusable name tags again, which adds a refreshing excitement to the programs again.
BOOKS
One Giant Splash: A Counting Book About the Ocean written by Michael Dahl and illus. by Todd Ouren (T)
The families loved this book. I like how it showed different sea creatures that the children may not have known about yet.
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean written and illus. by Kevin Sherry (T, P)
This is such a fun book! The guardians, especially, enjoyed the humor of the squid discovering that it is, in fact, not the the biggest thing in the ocean.
Wow! Ocean written and illus. by Robert Neubecker (P)
Initially I thought to share this with the Toddler Time group, but knew that all the detailed illustrations may be lost on the little ones. The Preschoolers (and older siblings) liked it more.
Tickly Octopus written and illus. by Ruth Galloway (P)
This was a nice book; however, the children weren't as into it as I would've liked them to be.
SONGS AND RHYMES
Open, Shut Them (T, P)
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Give them 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 let them in!
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Give them a really big clap!
Open, shut them,
Open, shut them,
Lay them in your lap.
My Hands Say Hello
My hands say hello, (wave hands)
My hands say hello,
Everytime I see my friends,
My hands say hello.
Additional lyrics:
Feet (stomp feet)
Nose (wiggle or tap nose)
Ears (wiggle ears)
Tongue (stick that tongue out!)
Five Little Star Fish (T, P)
Five little starfish by the shore,
The yellow one got lost and that left four.
For little starfish in the sea,
the blue one swam far, far away and that left three.
The red one took a seahorse ride and that left two.
Two little starfish in the sun,
The orange one took a dive and that left one.
One little starfish swimming along,
It was time for him to go home and that left none.
Inspiration Source: Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime
The Fish in the Ocean (T, P)
Tune: The Wheels on the Bus
The fish in the ocean go swish, swish, swish, (Make a swimming motion)
Swish, Swish, Swish,
Swish, Swish, Swish,
The fish in the ocean go swish, swish, swish,
All through the sea!
Lobsters... snip, snip, snip (making pinching motion with fingers)
Sharks... chomp, chomp, chomp (chomp with your arms)
Stingrays... flap, flap, flap (move arms in slow, flying motions)
Crabs... skit, skit, skit (run in place or from side to side)
Source: Read it again, Mom!
Touch Your Nose (T, P)
Touch your nose,
Touch your chin,
That's the way this game begins.
Find your eyes,
Touch your knees,
Now pretend you're going to sneeze!
AA-CHOOOO!
Touch your hair,
Touch one ear,
Touch your two red lips right here,
Can you blow a kiss good-bye? (blow a kiss!)
Touch your elbow where it bends
Can you touch your other elbow?
And that's the way this touch game ends.
ACTIVITIES
Egg Shakers (T)
The toddlers love egg shakers. We have a number of new young ones who are still learning to throw caution to the wind and shake their little hearts out.
FLANNEL BOARDS
The Fish in the Ocean (T, P)
I loved the song that I found over at Read it again, Mom!, especially since it was in a tune that I know really well. To help the children get into the song I made flannel pieces. When it came to creating the flannel pieces I used Microsoft Word clip art for most pieces. The shark template came from Sarah over at Repeat Crafter Me (I've used the shark template for everything this summer!). When it came to the stingray I hand cut a shape that worked for me. I'm happy to report that the children did guess "stingray" when I asked what it was. Whew!
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| The Fish in the Sea flannel board, created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014. |
It's hard to tell, but my crab is more of a coral color. I added the water background to not only make it more ocean-like, but it I didn't want to lose my lobster and crab in the felt background. I'm still getting use to the bright red flannel board on our new storytime easel. It is bright!
Five Little Starfish (T, P)
This is a flannel board that I created a couple years ago with some uber cute starfish. To see how I made it pop on over my Flannel Friday post HERE.
LETTER OF THE DAY
"O" for ocean, octopus (T, P)
I cut out felt letters to put on my flannel board.
CRAFT
Mini Whales (T, P)
I discovered this whale on Pinterest and fell in love. The source site is in a foreign language, but you can figure out how to make the whale by following the step-by-step pictures. It was a little hard for some toddlers to make, but the preschoolers did an awesome job. For sake of simplification for the children I did not have two whale pieces. I simply cut out a strip of construction paper with a stub on one end a tail on the other. As for the water spout, I used a fringed cut rectangle. Tri-fold this then fold the bottom portion to glue to the head of the whale. Of course, you have to ask the kids if they can speak whale when they're done! Many of my children are fluent!
Source: Krokotak
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| Mini Whale craft, created by Dorothy WPCC, 2014 |
MORE BOOKS
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea written b Jan Peck and illus. by Valerie Petrone
I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean written and illus. by Kevin Sherry
Somewhere in the Ocean written by Jennifer Ward and T.J. Marsh and illus. by Kenneth J. Spangler
Swim! Swim! written by and illus. Lerch
Hello, Ocean! written by Pam Munoz Ryan and illus. by Astrella
Rub-A-Dub Sub written by Linda Ashman and illus. by Jeff Mack
* Book images were taken from www.goodreads.com
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