Garden Storytime

I just finished my 2-week rotation on the Storytime Bus with a "Garden" theme. We talked about both flower gardens and vegetable gardens, and what we would like to plant if we had a garden. We also talked about how seeds need soil, water, and sunlight to grow, the main parts of the plant and what they do (roots, stem, leaves, flower), and what types of bugs and animals might be helpful or harmful to the garden. I particularly emphasized how important bees are for pollination, and that without pollination we would get no vegetables to eat, or seeds to plant more flowers.

I used mostly the same books and the same songs and rhymes as I did last time, so I'll just link to my previous "Garden" post and highlight the three new books I used this time here.

Maisy Grows a Garden is not actually a "new" book, but we did not have it in our collection previously, so it is new for me. I love these Maisy pull-tab books! They are short and simple enough for the younger kids, but all the pull-tabs and pop-ups keep the older ones engaged, too.

This books shows all the steps of gardening: digging the ground, planting the seed, watering, sunlight, sprouting, weeding, growing, and maturing. I like that it shows both vegetables (carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and green beans), and flowers.

My Sunflower by Mar Ferrero and Martin Taylor is a new pop-up book that is also great for the younger ones because it is short and simple, but the older ones like the pop-ups, too. The first page amazes them because when the book is closed, you see a sunflower seedling in the die-cut circle, with the seed still visible and roots and shoot just started to develop. 

But then when you open the cover, it "magically" changes to a sunflower blossom in full bloom! We see the seed in the ground, then after it gets water and sunshine, the seed cracks open and the roots and shoot start to grow. The seedling grows taller and taller, then a bud appears, and finally blooms into a huge pop-up flower.

I love Christie Matheson's Tap the Magic Tree, so I was excited when her new book, Plant the Tiny Seed, came in a couple of months ago. In this book, we follow the growth cycle of zinnia flowers, from seed to sprout to blossom and back to seed again.

Just like her other books, the reader/audience is prompted to do various motions, such as making it rain, clapping to bring the sun, and pretending to snip the spent flower so more buds will bloom. I will say this book doesn't quite have the same magic as her first, but it's still nice to use.

The kids all enjoyed this theme and talking about their gardens at home, or what they would want to grow in their gardens. One thing I noticed that was very consistent across all groups is that they were *really* distracted by any bugs or worms shown in the illustrations! I made a point to explain how some were good, such as how earthworms keep the soil loose, allow water and air to reach the roots, and fertilize the soil; how ladybugs eat the aphids, and how important bees are for fertilization. Of course we also read my two favorite garden-related books, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! and Carrot Soup, along with several others.

For more books and songs & rhymes, see my previous "Garden" post and my previous "Five Little Flowers" Flannel Friday post!

In The Garden - Preschool Storytime

This week I finished up the trial-run of the "Garden" themed kit I'm developing for the Storytime-To-Go program. I pulled a number of books to try out before deciding on a final selection to order, and selected a number of songs, fingerplays, and rhymes. Variety is the key to avoiding burnout when doing as many as 35 storytimes on the same theme in two weeks! Here are the books and activities I ended up using (in addition to our "Letter-of-the-Day", which was "Gg", and our story song).

The Books

Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres and Nadine Barnard Westcott has bright, bold detailed illustrations with simple, repeating text showing how some vegetables grow up, some grow down (in the ground), and some grow around (on vines). You can add movement by having the kids stand up, sit down, or turn around when they hear the corresponding words in the story. 

How Does Your Garden Grow? by Kate Burns and Dawn Apperley is an older, short pop-up book that is good for younger kids. It is one of the few books that shows both flowers and vegetables growing in the garden. The kids seem to particularly like seeing the green beans grow up the poles, and the large sunflower blossom.

Our Community Garden by Barbara Pollak shows children in a diverse neighborhood working in the community garden, each planting different vegetables. In the end, everyone make a dish from the vegetables they grew for a neighborhood pot-luck. I really like the opportunity to talk about and promote community gardens, and the diversity shown. The illustrations are colorful, but a bit fanciful in scale, which may confuse some. This book is a little longer, so better for older kids.

Flower Garden by Eve Bunting and Kathryn Hewitt is a sweet story about a girl and her father planting a window box flower garden for her mom's birthday. The illustrations are charming and colorful, and again, I like how this portrays an urban setting, multi-cultural population, and shows another alternative way to have a garden if you don't have a yard.  

In Carrot Soup by John Segal, Rabbit's carrots have all disappeared from his garden!  As he questions each animal, observant readers will notice the other animals in the distant background sneaking off with his carrots. Have the other animals stolen his carrots?!? But, all is not as it seems. Surprise!  This is a great, funny book that kids really like.  I just wish the illustrations were a little brighter and larger.

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!  by Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas is another humorous book that tests the kids' skills of observation. Mr. McGreely is determined to keep the bunnies from getting into his garden, but they still manage to get in and munch his veggies. But he finally defeats them in the end. Or does he? This is a little long, but the audience will enjoy saying the repeated "Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!" and predicting if and how the rabbits will get in.

There's A Billy Goat In The Garden! by Laurel Dee Gugler and Clare Beaton is a short, funny, repetitive story that all ages enjoy. A goat gets into the garden, and each of the animals try, and fail, to get him out, until the little bee comes along. The audience can name each animal and make their sounds, and join in saying "....will/does NOT come out" each time.

Elizabite: Adventures of a Carnivorous Plant by H. A. Rey is one I include simply because I like it (I've always been fascinated by venus flytraps). The funny tale of the biting plant that ultimately saves the day is told in rhyming text that helps engage the audience with cute illustrations. It also introduces vocabulary terms such as "carnivorous," "botanist," "frankfurter," and "burglar." After reading it, I show them pictures of real carnivorous plants from a non-fiction book.

In Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw a young girl plans and plants a flower garden, with her mother's help. When the flowers have bloomed she invites her friends over for a garden party. I particularly like that it shows Lola going to the library to do research to plan her garden and choose what kind of flowers she plants. The story also includes the "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" nursery rhyme. Simple, colorful illustrations.

This Is The Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer and Donald Crews is written in the style of "The House That Jack Built" and follows the growth cycle of the sunflower with a rhyming text that builds on itself with each step. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and since the story builds and repeats, the audience can join in with saying the most repeated lines.

Planting A Rainbow by Lois Ehlert features her characteristic brightly colored illustrations. A unique feature of this book is that it shows growing flowers from bulbs and seedlings, in addition to starting from seeds, and explains the steps and time of year for each. Many different flowers of each color of the rainbow are shown. I do find the first part of this book gets a little tedious if you spend too much time name everything pictured.

Big Yellow Sunflower by Frances Barry is a neat little book; instead of turning, the pages open outward to form a huge sunflower blossom by the end. The book starts with a single seed, and each page shows another stage in the growth of plant, culminating in the blooming flower. The audience can name the creatures alongside the developing sunflower plant on each page.

In The Garden: Who's Been Here by Lindsay Barrett George lets the audience try to figure out who has been in the garden, based on the evidence left behind. It is heavy on text, so will need to be paraphrased and greatly shortened.

The Activities
I found several good songs, rhymes, and fingerplays to go with this theme, more than I ended up using, so I'll save those for another time. 

I had this "Five Little Flowers" felt set that I had made, along with several different rhymes it can be used with, which I described in detail in a previous "Flannel Friday" post:

_________________________

Along with that, I used this song, and the following action rhyme:

"The Gardener Digs The Soil"

(to the tune of "Farmer In The Dell")

The gardener digs the soil,

The gardener digs the soil,

Hi-ho, the derry-oh,

The gardener digs the soil.

(pretend to dig)

The gardener plants the seed....

(pretend to plant seeds)

The rain falls on the ground...

(flutter fingers down to ground)

The sun shines bright and warm....

(hold hands in circle overhead)

The plants begin to grow...

(slowly raise hands from ground)

Flowers all around...

(hold hands outstretched)

Fresh vegetables to eat...

(pretend to eat)

_________________________

I also found this cute rhyme at Surlalune about what kinds of animals (and bugs) might be found in the garden, and lets the kids identify each one based on sound.  I also made one of my favorite props, "animals-on-a-stick", in case they needed more help guessing.  These props are so quick and easy to make!  Just find clip art, cut it out and laminate it, then hot glue to craft sticks.  Voila!

"In My Garden"

There's something in my garden,

Now, what can it be?

There's something in my garden,

That I can't really see.

I hear it's funny sound....

RIBBIT - RIBBIT - RIBBIT

A FROG is what I found!

RIBBIT - RIBBIT - RIBBIT

THUMP - Rabbit

SQUEAK - Mouse

CAW - Crow

TWEET - Bird

BUZZ - Bee

WIGGLE - Caterpillar

FLUTTER - Butterfly

How It Went 

In general, all the kids I visited during this rotation were more restless than usual. I don't know if it was the theme, the time of year, or the weather. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the books I was able to find. I really wish I could have found some that explained the whole process of growing a garden and how seeds sprout that were really engaging. I really liked the concept of My Community Garden, but it was just too wordy and the kids and I both found the off-scale of the pictures confusing. I've tried doing Up, Down, and Around several different ways, but it is never as well-recieved as I'd like it to be, and they often get too distracted by the very numerous bugs and critters in each picture.

They kids did really like the funny books, Muncha, Muncha, Muncha; Carrot Soup (my personal favorite); and There's a Billy Goat In The Garden. They did okay with the others as well. I thought they would enjoy the song since they could act out the motions, but none of them really seemed to get into it like my regular storytime group does. They were impressed with my felt flower set, however. I think it was the faces in the centers with the googly eyes; googly eyes make everything better!

If you know of any really engaging books about gardening and/or plant growth cycle, especially any good pop-ups that are in print, please share in the comments!

Flannel Friday - Five Little Flowers

I am in the process of developing a kit for my Storytime-To-Go program with a "Garden" theme, and decided to make this felt set to go with the "Five Little Flowers" rhyme I have used previously to go in it.

"Five Little Flowers"

(place flowers & sun on flannel board)

Five little flowers growing in a row    

(hold up five fingers, gesture to row)

The first one said, "We need rain to grow."    

(hold up 1 finger, imitate rain falling)

The second one said, "Yes, we need water!"    

(hold up 2 fingers, nod head)

The third one said, "Whew, it's getting hotter!"    

(hold up 3 fingers, wipe brow)

The fourth one said, "Look, there are clouds in the sky."

(4 fingers, point to sky; place clouds on board over sun)

The fifth one said, "I wonder why?"    

(5 fingers, hold palms out questioningly)

Then "BOOM" went the thunder,    

(clap hands together loudly)

And "ZAP" went the lightening.    

(draw zig-zag in air; put lightning bolt on flannel board)

That springtime storm was kind of frightening.    

(shiver)

But were the flowers scared?  No, no, no.    

(shake head; remove lightning bolt)

They knew they needed rain to grow, grow, grow.    

(hold hand above ground & raise; put raindrops on board)

*Source:  http://www.hcpl.net, (with modification)

And as you know, I like my flannel sets to be multi-purpose if I'm going to invest the time into making them, so I found some more rhymes to go with them.

Five Little Flowers 2.0

One little flower growing just for you.

(hold up 1 finger, place one flower & sun on flannel board)

Up came another and then there were two.

(hold up 2 fingers, place 2nd flower on flannel board)

Two little flowers growing near a tree.

(hold up 2 fingers)

Up came another and then there were three.

 (hold up 3 fingers, put 3rd flower on board)

Three little flowers growing more and more.

(hold up 3 fingers, move hand up)

Up came another and then there were four.

(hold up 4 fingers; put 4th flower on board)

Four little flowers growing side by side.

(hold up 4 fingers)

Up came another and then there were five.

(hold 5 fingers up, place last flower on board)

*Source:  King County Library System

Five Little Flowers 3.0

(this one counts down, so start with all 5 flowers & sun on flannel board)

Five little flowers growing by my door.

(hold up 5 fingers, 5 flowers on board)

I picked one, and then there were four.

(put one finger down, take 1 flower off board)

 Four little flowers I did see.
(hold up 4 fingers, point to eye)

I picked one, and then there were three.

(put 1 finger down, remove 1 flower from board)

Three little flowers, pretty and new.

(hold up 3 fingers)

I picked one, and then there were two.

(put 1 finger down, remove 1 more flower from board)

Two little flowers out in the sun.

(hold up 2 fingers)

I picked one and that left only one.

(put 1 finger down, remove 1 flower from board)

One little flower growing in the sun.

(hold up 1 finger)

I picked it too, and then there were none.

(put last finger down, remove last flower from board)

*Source:  Our Seasons of Joy (with modification)

Five Little Flowers 4.0

(let the kids call out the colors as you put the flowers up)

Five little flowers growing in a row.

(hold up 5 fingers)

 The first one said, "I'm purple you know."

(hold up 1 finger, put purple flower on flannel board)

The second one said, "I'm pink as pink can be."

(hold up 2 fingers, put pink flower on flannel board)

The third one said, "I'm blue like the sea."

(hold up 3 fingers, put blue flower on board)

The fourth one said, "I'm a pale, white fellow."

(hold up 4 fingers, put white flower on board)

The fifth one said, "My color is yellow."

(hold up 5 finger, put yellow flower on board)

Then out came the sun, big and bright, and 5 little flowers smiled with delight.

(put sun on flannel board, hold up 5 fingers, smile)

*Source:  Zan's Early Childhood Printables (modified to fit colors I used)

 

(Sorry the pictures aren't better, the lighting is really weird in my house)

I found clipart to use as patterns to cut out my felt pieces.  You could also find some you like and print on cardstock, laminate, and put magnets or velcro on the back if you don't have the time or inclination to make them from felt (these were a little more time consuming than I expected since I took the time to outline & add detail with a sharpie).  You could probably draw your own with Microsoft's "shapes" tool in Word or Publisher as well, and I'm sure there are even more "Five Little Flower" rhymes out there than the ones I found.

To see more Flannel Friday posts from other bloggers, go to this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up hosted by Bridget at "What Is Bridget Reading?", or visit the Flannel Friday Pinterest board for tons of inspiration.  For more information about Flannel Friday and how to participate, visit the Flannel Friday site.


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Preschool Storytime: How Does Your Garden Grow....

Today's storytime was about plants & flowers. 

I planned to start off with our usual welcome song , introduction, and lead-in song (detailed in my basic storytime plan), then on to our first book: Up, Down, and Around by Kathryn Ayres.  I wanted to be sure to cover both vegetable and flower gardens, and this covered the vegetables nicely and the illustrations are really cute.  I also like how they have a healthy lunch at the end made with the fresh vegetables from the garden.

Next, on to an action rhyme, "Dig A Little Hole",  with which they can pretend to do all the steps we read about in the first book:

          Dig a little hole   (pretend to dig) 

          Plant a little seed    (drop seeds)

          Pour a little water    (pour)

          Pull a little weed    (pull up & toss)

          Chase a little bug   (brush bug away)

          Look, there he goes!    (point in sky)
          Give a little sunshine    (make sun)

          Grow a little rose    (pretend to pick & smell flower)  
            *Source:  Storytime Katie, who got it from SurLaLune, (with modification)

Then on to the second book, Elizabite:  Adventures of a Carnivorous Plant by H.A. Rey.  I have to confess this book was the whole reason for today's theme.  I have always loved this lesser known book by the creator of Curious George and always had a fascination with carnivorous plants.  I also enjoy the rhyme & cadence, which seems to help keep their attention. Following the story, I pulled out a non-fiction book to show them pictures of real carnivorous plants.  Yay, science! 

After that, another action rhyme, "Five Little Flowers":

          Five little flowers growing in a row     (hold up five fingers, gesture to row)
          The first one said, "We need rain to grow."     (hold up 1 finger, imitate rain falling)
          The second one said, "Yes, we need water!"     (hold up 2 fingers, nod head)
          The third one said, "Whew, it's getting hotter!"     (hold up 3 fingers, wipe brow)
          The fourth one said, "Look, there are clouds in the sky."     (4 fingers, point to sky)
          The fifth one said, "I wonder why?"     (5 fingers, hold palms out questioningly)

          Then "BOOM" went the thunder     (clap hands together loudly)
          And "ZAP" went the lightening.     (draw zig-zag in air)
          That springtime storm was kind of frightening.     (shiver)
          But were the flowers scared?  No, no, no.     (shake head)
          They knew they needed rain to grow, grow, grow.    (hold hand above ground & raise)
             *Source:  http://www.hcpl.net, (with modification)

Then onto the last book, a short but colorful pop-up book, How Does Your Garden Grow by Kate Burns.  While short, it has very bright illustrations and shows both flower & vegetable gardens.  After that, we sang our usual closing song and I gave them flower stickers and we said our good-byes.

How It Went

I have to admit I was a little off today due to not being fully recovered from a bad cold, and the kids were pretty squirrely.  I kept wondering why they were having so much trouble settling down, then after I walked out the door I realized I somehow managed to skip our lead-in song after the introduction, "If You Want To Hear A Story...".  Going thru the progressively quieter verses really helps them settle, and I can't believe I forgot, and they didn't remind me.  Overall, though, it went pretty well, just had to stop & redirect their attention more often than usual.  They seemed to like the stories: the cute, detailed illustrations in Up, Down, and Around inspired lots of comments, they thought it was hilarious when Elizabite bit the maid on the butt, and loved the large pop-up sunflower in How Does Your Garden Grow.  When I asked if they knew what "carnivorous" meant, one boy got close, saying it meant something had teeth.  When we talked about pulling weeds in the first rhyme, the same boy told me they just used weed killer because it was easier.

The best part was at the end, when the teacher thanked me for coming and I asked her if the amount of time I have been using was okay, because I didn't want to mess up their schedule.  She replied "Oh, honey, no.  We arrange our schedule around you!  It is such a treat for them when you come and we all enjoy it."  Then one little boy who had overheard piped up and said, "Yeah, and next time we should have a treat for you!"  So, needless to say my heart just melted.  I just love preschoolers....

[Be warned, reading Elizabite... may result in the urge to sing "Little Shop of Horrors"]