A Kindergarten class came to visit us today and we had a great time celebrating spring with a lively story time! (Miss Kristen can do something other than Baby ST, you say?? Yes, yes, she can!)
Action Rhyme: "My Hands Upon My Head I Place"
My hands upon my head, I place.
On my shoulders, on my face.On my knees, and at my sides.
Then behind me they will hide.
Then I reach them up so high,
'Til they nearly reach the sky!
Now I clap them: one, two, three!
Now I fold them quietly.
Now are hands are in our laps - ready for a story! Pretty clever, huh? ;o)
1st Book: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
Is there a child alive who doesn't LOVE this pigeon?
We used Miss Sue's fantastic Pigeon flannel set - each child got to hold the word "No." I just had them hold the pieces up every time they shouted "No!" to the pigeon. This was great fun! See how she used this set with Preschoolers here.
Action Song: "Shake My Sillies Out" (from Raffi's cd More Singable Songs)
I gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out,
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out,
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out,
And wiggle my waggles away!
2nd verse: Clap my crazies out
3rd verse: Jump my jiggles out
4th verse: Yawn my sleepies out
5th verse: Shake my sillies out
2nd Book: Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard
This book and its mate, Boo Hoo Bird, are both hillarious!
Action Song: "I've Got Two Hands" (from Peter Allard's cd Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Vol. 3)
I've got two hands that I can clap,
I can clap a song for you,
I've got two hands that I can clap,
Clap a song for you!
Clap, clap a song for you,
Clap, clap a song, it's true,
Clap, clap for me and you,
Clap, clap a song!
2nd verse: I've got two hips that I can wiggle
3rd verse: I've got two legs that I can march
It goes on and on - a really fun song! I've done this with toddlers as well, and just stopped after 3 verses.
Fingerplay: "Wiggle Your Fingers"
Wiggle your fingers just like so,
Wiggle them high, wiggle them low.
Wiggle them left, wiggle them right.
Wiggle your fingers out of sight!
3rd Book: There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems
The kids had never read this book, but they predicted the ending - little smarties!
Rhythm Time: Rhythm Sticks!
"Mama Duck" (from Peter Allard's cd Sing It! Say It! Stamp It! Sway It! Vol. 3)
We tapped our sticks every time we said "Quack!"
Here comes the Mama duck - Quack! (one tap)
Here comes the Mama duck - Quack! (one tap)
Here comes the Mama duck and 1 little duckling - Quack! (one tap)
Here comes the Mama duck - Quack! Quack! (two taps)
Here comes the Mama duck - Quack! Quack! (two taps)
Here comes the Mama duck and 2 little ducklings - Quack! Quack! (two taps)
The song goes up to five, which we discovered is pretty tricky to do! I always sing this song without the cd, so I can control the speed, and stop for directions between each verse. It's lots of fun! See how I do this song with babies here.
"We are Tapping" (to the tune of "Clementine") (from 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children by Abigail Flesch Connors - you NEED this book!)
We are tapping, we are tapping,
We are tapping with our sticks.
We are tapping, we are tapping,
We are tapping with our sticks.
It's as easy as that! Try more verses:
-We are scraping...
-We are drumming...
-We are pounding...
-We are rolling...
Action Song: "If You Wanna Hear a Story" (borrowed this from Miss Sue!)
If you wanna hear a story clap your hands.
If you wanna hear a story clap your hands.
If you wanna hear a story, if you wanna hear a story,
If you wanna hear a story clap your hands.
4th Book: Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand
Not about birds, but a wonderful spring book! I was worried it would be a little too young for them, but they really enjoyed it! Teachable moment: they didn't know what a mole was!
What was inside??
A bird!
You can buy these from Lakeshore Learning, but the bird was something I added - it was supposed to be a beach ball.
Closing Song: "List of Dances" (from Jim Gill's cd Jim Gill Makes It Noisy in Boise, Idaho)
Make your own list to display while you dance to this great song!
What a fun group! A big shout out to Miss Carol, our teen librarian, from whom I stole the "bird" theme for story time!
Want to see a "bird" themed story time for babies? Check out mine here.