It's that time of year! School has begun and fall is the season of field trips and festivals, often starting with a trip to the apple orchard. "Apples" are a traditional theme for the preschool and kindergarten set around here, so I decided to follow tradition again this year with the Storytime-To-Go program. I began each session with an introduction which included discussing the different kinds and colors of apples, things we liked to eat/drink that were make with apples, and showing them the star inside; followed by our letter-of-the-day ("Aa") and our story song.
I used most of the same books as I did before, with the addition of a couple and the elimination of a few that I just didn't think worked that well before. I would really like to find at least a couple more fun stories with apples. See my blog post from last year for a more complete description of each book.
The Books
I Am An Apple by Jean Marzollo & Judith Moffatt; big book, seasons & life cycle, collage
Tap The Magic Tree by Christie Matheson, magic of the seasonal changes, interactive
Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss (as Theo LeSieg) & Roy McKie, counting, silly
All For Pie, Pie For All by David Martin & Valeri Gorbachev, pictures a little dark & busy
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall & Shari Halpern, seasons, making apple pie
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins; counting, animals, interactive.
Ned's New Home by Kevin Tsang, cute story with fruit and colors to identify
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington, apples & apple products, farm to market
Not pictured:
Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray; cute, but kids get bored with alphabet books
Odd Dog by Claudia Bolt, cute story but illustrations are too pastel
Apples by Gail Gibbons; non-fiction, good to show variety of apples, too detailed to read
The Activities
I used some of the same activities from last year ("Five Little Apples Hanging In A Tree,"
"A-P-P-L-E," and "I'm A Little Apple"), but added some new activities using the apple-sorting set below by Learning Resources that my manager subsequently purchased (it is also available online from Amazon, Target, and Wal-Mart, so depending on your purchasing options, check around online for the best price):
This set contains 27 apples in 3 different colors and 3 different sizes (the smallest is slightly larger than a cherry to give you a sense of scale). Some of them have leaves, some don't; some of them have worms, and some don't. These can be used in a variety of ways, and come with some suggested activities. I would hand one or two to each child, and then ask them to make observations and comparisons between their two apples. Next, I would sort the remaining apples into groups based on either size or color, and then each child would bring their apples up and put them where they thought they belonged. I would encourage them to explain their choice, but some were too shy so I didn't push them.
Another activity I used them for was pattern recognition. I would set up a row of apples in a pattern, and let them tell me what would come next. But I think the most fun activity I used them for was after reading Ten Apples Up On Top, I would give everyone an apple and we would try balancing them on our heads, which was no easy feat. If anyone managed to get their apple to stay, then we would try to hop with them on our heads.
How It Went
The kids seemed to really enjoy this theme, even though I got a little bored with it. Such specific themes that don't have as many good books work fine for an individual storytime, but it gets a little tedious for the presenter if you are doing it multiple times. The books that the kids seemed to like best were Tap The Magic Tree (though they didn't seem as impressed as last year), Ten Apples Up On Top (which I greatly shortened by skipping pages 38-58), and Ten Red Apples, which one of my volunteers does a great job at getting the kids to participate with, using subtraction to say the next number, naming the animal and it's sound, and saying "Yippee, fiddle-dee-dee" and "Save some for me!".
The younger kids also seem to really like I Am An Apple, which we have as a big book, and I make a big show of how big it is by calling up the smallest child in the class and showing how the book is almost as big as they are! I really like the layers and textures in the collage art illustrations, and the life cycle at the end. Ned's New Home seems to work better with slightly older kids, even though it is a short and simple book. Apple Farmer Annie is one I usually don't use because I think it's a little dull and dry, but there was a little girl in one class named Annie, so I pulled it out and she LOVED that the character shared her name, and the other kids were more interested in it as well.
The Apple Pie Tree is okay, but a little meh, the illustrations in Odd Dog are too pale and too busy, so it doesn't hold their attention as well as it could, and while Apple Pie ABC is cute to me, I have yet to try an alphabet book that kids don't get bored with by the time you're halfway through. I really need a couple more truly engaging and fun apple stories. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments! I think I will give this theme a rest next year; maybe just add a couple of the books and an activity in with the "Fall" theme instead.
The kids all seemed to really like the "Five Little Apples Hanging On a Tree", many recognizing it as being similar to the rhyme about the five little monkeys teasing the alligator, which is a favorite among all the classes, and they had a lot of fun trying to balance the plastic apples on their heads, all agreeing we would never be able to do 2, much less 10! While introducing Tap The Magic Tree, I always explain that I'll need their help for the magic to work, and one little boy calls out, "Abra-cadabra!" I responded that no, that was not the kind of magic we would be doing, then another little boy pipes up with "Apple-cadabra!" I thought that was very clever!
I'll close with my usual apple joke I save for the older kids who will get it:
Q: "What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?"
A: "Finding HALF a worm in your apple!"
Sometimes it takes them a couple of minutes, and maybe some prompting, to get it, but when they do there are lots of "Ewww"s ;)
Since one of the apple books turned out to be such a big hit on the storytime bus, and I enjoyed reading it, I decided to go ahead and use the same theme with my regular preschool storytime I do on my own. There was also another book we had tried on the bus that was kind of hit and miss, and I wanted to try it one more time before deciding whether to include it in the "Apple" kit for the future, or not.
As always, we started with our "welcome song", which the kids asked to sing again. This group *really* likes that song for some reason. Then I introduced our topic of apples, and showed them several different varieties of apples and the star inside. Next, I decided to add a theme-related rhyme with movement before moving on to our "story song" to see if stretching out the beginning would help them settle down more by the time we got to the story.
"Way Up High"
Way up high in the apple tree, (reach really high)
Ten little apples smiled down at me. (show 10 fingers, smile)
I shook that tree as hard as I could, (pretend to shake tree)
and down they fell. (flutter hands down to ground)
And Yum they were good! (rub tummy)
Then we went into our "story song" after which I had to pause and wait several minutes for them to get the idea I wasn't starting until they were all quiet. It is so hard for a couple of them to stop talking :)
For our first story I chose Tap The Magic Tree by Christie Matheson. This is a very interactive book that I first pulled to try out on the Storytime Bus. It asks the reader to do various motions, tap the tree, knock on the trunk, blow a kiss, etc., to help the magic along. The "magic" of course is the changes that take place throughout the year. It shows the seasons in a very fun way. I knew it would be a great lap read, but wasn't sure how it would be for a group read, but it worked really well on the bus and I had a lot of fun doing it, so wanted to use it with "my" kids (I've been doing this group on my own since long before I had the Storytime Bus gig). I just tell the kids to put their hand up and do the motions in the air, while I actually touch the book (if you had a small enough group you could let each child come up and do one of the actions with the book).
After that, we did a fun rhyme about "Five Little Apples" and a wiggly worm (I have felt pieces for this, but did not use them today):
Five little apples hanging on a tree, (hold up 5 fingers)
Teasing Mr. Wiggle-Worm, "You can't eat me!" (shake head)
Along comes Mr. Wiggle-Worm, as quiet as can be, (wiggle finger like worm)
and...CHOMP!.... (clap hands)
Ate that apple right out of the tree!
*repeat until down to no apples*
No little apples hanging on a tree, (make a zero with hand)
Teasing Mr. Wiggle-Worm, "You can't eat me!" (shake head)
Along comes Mr. Wiggle-Worm as FAT as can be, (wiggle finger, hold arms out)
Because he ate all the apples from the apple tree!
The second story I read was one I tried on the bus with mixed results; sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. The story is really cute, as Little Mouse finds an apple he doesn't want to share, so he decides to hide it by burying it. He is determined to keep his secret, all the while not realizing his secret is revealing itself as the seeds sprout and grow into a tree. In the end, he finds that some secrets are better shared. Great story, and repeating lines the kids can say along with you, BUT the illustrations are really, really small. So I wanted to give it one more try before deciding whether to order a copy for the bus or not.
I had brought another book, Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng in case they were ready for 3 books, but it was obvious 2 is still all they can handle for now, so we went on to our closing song, and I passed out apple stickers.
How It Went
They did pretty well today, but it will still be a while before we work up to three books I think, though they are showing improvement each time. The really liked Tap The Magic Tree and were very attentive for the most part, and loved the "Five Little Apples" rhyme, especially the big "CHOMP!" with the loud clap and giggled every time. Poor Little Mouse's Big Secret didn't fare so well. A few paid attention, but I lost most of them. It's a shame, because it's a really cute story and I'm sure if the illustrations were bigger it would be a great storytime book, but they are just to small for the kids to see well. Maybe re-invent it as a felt board story?
They were all really excited to see me, and several of them already remember my name. The one little girl was still talking about the Little Lost Cowboy book from a month ago, kept asking for "Coyote, coyote!" I just might have to find a away to get her a copy.
This group really likes to sing, so I've got to remember to plan more songs next time!
We began to feel a bit of chill in the air this week, hinting at the beginning of fall, which worked out perfectly for the "Apple" theme I had planned.
With each class we started out talking about apples, what color they were (I managed to trick 1 or 2 classes on this one, but most surprised me by remembering apples came in yellow and green, as well as red), what yummy things we could make with them, and showing them a few different varieties and how the seeds make a star pattern in the center. We used quite a few books with this theme this week, though only used 2 -3 per class:
Tap The Magic Tree by Christie Matheson is a very cute interactive book that shows how the tree changes during the seasons, and starts anew in the spring. At first I wasn't sure how this would work as a group read-aloud, but it worked well.
Ned's New Home by Kevin Tseng is one of the few apple books that truly has a story, and is about a little green worm named Ned who has a perfect little home in an apple. Until it starts to rot, that is. To make it more interactive, let the kids name each fruit Ned tries out for his new home, and explain why his friends couldn't find him in the kiwi.
I Am An Apple by Jean Marzollo has charming illustrations and follows the growth of an apple from bud to harvest, and has a nice, simple illustration at the end of the life cycle of the apple. We had a big book version of this one.
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall, another book that not only shows how the apple tree changes through the seasons, but culminates in baking apple pie. I like how this one also shows the development of the robins from eggs to adults as well, and shows the kids playing outside in seasonal clothing to give more context to what's going on with the tree.
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins shows the farmer's animals eating his apples one by one, and each time he exclaims "Yippee, fiddle-dee-dee" and "Save some for me". This is a very interactive book that calls for lots of audience participation, with number recognition, counting, naming animals and making their sounds, and saying the farmers' repeating lines along with the reader.
Little Mouse's BIG Secret by Eric Battut is a very cute story about a mouse who finds an apple and buries it in the ground to keep it a secret. But of course, as time passes his secret reveals itself! I love the story, the repeating line of "It's my secret, and I'll never tell", and the lesson in sharing, but the illustrations are soo tiny the kids have trouble following what's happening at first.
Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear by Emily Gravett is a cute book with only 5 words. I like this one, but I don't think the kids really quite get it, though a few do and some recognize the rhyming words, pear and bear.
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington shows the process in growing and harvesting apples, making different goods with them, then transporting them to market and selling them. The book is rather small and a little too much information to hold most kids' attention very well.
Apples by Gail Gibbons is a non-fiction book that has way too much text and detailed illustrations to be a good storytime book, but it does have 3 pages showing different varieties of apples that are good to show and talk about.
We also had a few different songs/rhymes we used, generally 1 or 2 per class:
Five Little Apples
Five little apples hanging in the tree, (hold up 5 fingers)
Teasing Mr. Slinky Worm, "Can't eat me!" (shake head)
Along comes Mr. Slinky Worm, quiet as can be, (say quietly, wiggle finger like worm)
And "Crunch" [or "Chomp"] (clap hands)
Ate that apple right out of the tree.
(Repeat, counting down to zero)
No more apples hanging in the tree, (make a "0" with hand)
Teasing Mr. Slinky Worm, "Can't eat me!" (shake head)
Along comes Mr. Slinky Worm, (wiggle finger like worm)
As FULL as can be, (hold hands in front of stomach)
'Cause he ate all the apples from the apple tree!
I also made felt pieces to go with it (using an Ellison die for the apples), inspired by Storytime Katie. Each time the worm went "CRUNCH", I turned the apple over to show the inside with the bite out of it, and moved it to the bottom.
"A-P-P-L-E"
There is a treat that's good to eat,
And "Apple" is it's name-oh.
"A-P-P-L-E"
"A-P-P-L-E"
"A-P-P-L-E"
And "Apple" is it's name-oh.
(Repeat, each time replacing a letter with a clap) I used my felt apples for this as well, along with cut-out letters.
"Apples Juicy, Apples Round"
(to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")
Apples juicy, apples round,
On the tree or on the ground.
Apples yellow, green, and red,
Give us pie and juice and bread.
Apples juicy, apples sweet,
Apples are so good to eat!
And felt pieces for this one, too (I was feeling crafty). I just freehanded quick templates for these, but didn't think to save them. I'm not happy with the apple "bread", so I'll have to figure out a better one.
"I'm A Little Apple"
(to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot")
I'm a little apple, short and round. (squat slightly & hold arms out in circle)
I make a crunchy, munchy sound. (make biting motions with hands)
When you bite into me you will see, (pretend to bite, point to others, point to eyes)
I'm as delicious as can be! (point to self & rub tummy)
How It Went
Although it went pretty well, and I was inspired to be crafty and make several felt pieces, I have to admit I wasn't as enthusiastic about this theme as I'd like, and I'm not sure why. I think partly because I only really enjoyed one of the books, Tap The Magic Tree. The others were okay, but just okay. Also, on one of the days the volunteer working and I just didn't seem to be quite on the same page.
I would say the big winner of the books was definitely Tap The Magic Tree by Christie Matheson. I loved the way this told the story of how an apple tree changes each season, and having the interactive component of being directed to do various actions to help the magic along. I knew this would be an awesome one-on-one read, but was a little concerned about how it would work with a group, but the kids loved it! The younger the group, the more impressed they were with the "magic" and some asked to read it again. Ten Red Apples also gets big points for audience participation, and The Apple Pie Tree scores in having a title that gets the audience's attention, and giving extra context to the seasons. The other books were all somewhat well received, with the exception of Apple Farmer Annie. I really wanted Little Mouse's BIG Secret to work well, but the illustrations really need to be bigger, and it needed to be more obvious that the mouse was burying the apple in the ground to hide it.
Of the songs and rhymes, the kids liked "Five Little Apples", with the cute little worm and bites taken out of the apples, and the apple version of "B-I-N-G-O" the most, as they had actions and props. The "A-P-P-L-E" was not only fun, but a great early literacy activity, including counting, word knowledge, letter recognition, and phonics. It blew one little girl's mind that there were TWO "P"s in the word "apple". "No way!" she said, to which I replied, "Yes, way!" The day before one little boy unfortunately had an accident and left wet spot on the carpet. After the teacher whisked him away to be cleaned up, another little boy pointed to the pee stain and exclaimed, "Look, it looks like the letter 'P'!" And sure enough, it did. That just goes to show, anything can be turned into an early literacy lesson ;)
I'll close with my usual apple joke I save for the older kids who will get it:
