TBT Silly Animals Storytime

Since I only go to the daycare every other week, I decided to go back and post some of the storytimes I did before I started this blog on the off weeks.  The one I'm posting today was from the first storytime after Christmas break.  Since it had been a month since I'd seen them and they had been out of the normal routine, I decided to cut back to two books (and add an extra rhyme) and picked ones I knew would be sure hits:

We started with our usual welcome song, introductions, and lead-in song.  Then I found this great action rhyme about making cookies that was a great lead-in to the first book.

          I am making cookie dough.              (hold out arms like a bowl)
          Round and round the beaters go.     (roll hands)
          Add some flour from a cup.             (shake a pretend cup)
          Stir and stir the batter up.               (stirring motion)
          Roll them, cut them nice and neat.   (rolling pin motion)
          Put them on a cookie sheet.            (place pretend cookies)
          Bake them, count them 1-2-3.         (counting motion)
          Serve them to my friends for tea.    (take a bite!)

          *Source: Sunflower Storytime

Then onto our first book, Who Ate All The Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont.  This is a great book in several ways.  First of all, it's not too long for the younger kids.  Second, it's interactive in not one, but two ways:  they get to keep guessing who the culprit is, and it has a repetitive refrain so the kids can say it along with you.  And last, the surprise ending when you lift the flap and reveal the baby joey. The illustrations are cute, but not distracting.

Next, we sang a song to the tune of "The Wheels On The Bus" incorporating different animal actions and sounds.  I got the idea from www.preschooleducation.com , and modified it to incorporate both some of the exotic animals from the first book, and the farm animals in the book we will read next to tie them together.  I also made simple props of laminated pictures of animals attached to craft sticks to hold up for each verse.

                                   "The Animals Go..."

          The kangaroos at the zoo go jump, jump, jump;

          Jump, jump, jump; jump, jump, jump.
          The kangaroos at the zoo go jump, jump, jump;
          All day long.

          Lions at the zoo go roar…                     Pigs in the pen go oink….

          Monkeys at the zoo go ooh, ooh…         Ducks in the pond go quack...
          Cows on the farm go moo…                 Cat in the barn goes meow...

 After that, on to a quick action rhyme about dogs to lead into the last book:

                            "Some Dogs Bark"

           Some dogs bark.                Some dogs beg.
          Some dogs growl.               Some play catch.
          Some dogs yip.                  Some dogs sit.
          And some dogs howl.          And some dogs scratch.
                       But all dogs wag their tails!

                          *I'm afraid I've lost the source for the first stanza, but I made up the second.

Then we were ready for our last book, Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer.  This is another book that is perfect for this group.  Again, relatively short, simple silly story; a lot of repetition, interactive with guessing and/or making animal sounds, and a funny ending.  We finished off with our regular closing song. 

How It Went

It went it extremely well, and I think my strategy of shortening it slightly was a good one for the first time back after a break.  The kids listened and were very engaged, and seem to love both books, and participated in the songs and rhymes.  They did get a little boisterous with the "Animals Go..." song (maybe not a great idea to start with "kangaroos go jump"), but they thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved pretending to be puppies for the "Some Dogs Bark" rhyme.  I also asked them to be good little doggies and "sit" and "stay" to listen to the last story.  I really had a lot of fun with them, and I think these two books will definitely be on my "go to" list!