Tag Archives: transportation

Away we GO!

21 Jun

PRESCHOOL STORYTIME

Wow!  70 children and adults came to storytime again this week!

OPENING SONG - Can’t Wait to Celebrate
from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem album

BOOK 1 -   Dinosaur Train by John Guerney

FLANNEL GUESSING GAME– Vehicle Guessing Game
Credit:  Storytime Magic by Kathy Macmillan

Print my Vehicle Guessing Game CLIPART here.

I have headlights and a steering wheel,
I take you near and far.
My horn says honk! And my engine says VRROOOM!
Hop in!  I am a (car) ……

Find the rest of the words in Kathy Macmillan’s book Storytime Magic.

RHYME – Helicopter; Sign Language
Sign “Helicopter” as you say this rhyme:  Right thumb in palm of Left hand. Left hand fingers spread and shake.  Watch a video clip of the sign here.

Helicopter goes up
Helicopter goes down
Helicopter turns, turns all around

Helicopter goes left
Helicopter goes right
Helicopter goes up, up, and out of sight (hands behind back)

Learning the sign for "Helicopter"

BOOK 2  -   What Do Wheels Do All Day? By April Jones Prince

SONG -  Row, Row, Row Your Boat
MP3 download:  Old Town School of Folk’s album Songs for Wiggleworms. 
This song has everyone rowing, bouncing, wiggling, and swaying  your way down the stream!

BOOK 3  -   Flying by Donald Crews
Have your audience be active participants while reading this book.  Have everyone start out by standing and walking in place to board the plane.  Then crouch down to get ready for take-off.  Everyone stands up with arms out (like a plane’s wings) when the plane takes off.  Everyone keeps their arms out while flying over mountains, through clouds, over cities, etc.  Then slowly drop down, down, down to the ground for the landing.

CRAFT-  Paper Plate Steering Wheels
Credit: Collaborative Summer Library Program Manual
Print INSTRUCTIONS HERE.


Have children make the steering wheels and then sing the following rhyme:

Drive, Drive, Drive
(Tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”)
Credit: Collaborative Summer Library Program Manual

Drive, drive, drive your car,
All around the town.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Up the hills and down.

Turn, turn, turn the key,
Make the engine roar. VROOOOM!
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Let’s go to the store.

Press, press, press the pedal,
Give the engine gas.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Now we’re going fast.

Turn, turn, turn the wheel,
That is how we steer.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Make a turn right here.

CLOSING SONG– If You’re Happy and You Know It
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands…
If you’re happy and you know it stomp your feet…
If you’re happy and you know it wave goodbye…

ADDITIONAL BOOK
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

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Boats

25 Mar

TODDLER STORYTIME

OPENING SONG: Mister Sun

OPENING RHYMES:

BOOK 1: Sail Away by Donald Crews

Crews has a gift for whisking his readers away on exciting trips in different vehicles; in the same form as Freight Train and School Bus, Sail Away takes us out on the water for a day of sailing.

FLANNEL RHYME: 5 Little Boats
Song Credit: Storytime Katie
You can print out my clipart file here.

The first little boat went chug, chug, chug.
The second little boat went tug, tug, tug.
The third little boat went row, row, row.
The fourth little boat went oh sooo slooooow.
Here comes the sailboat, watch it go!

SONG: Row Row Row Your Boat
This activity can be especially fun if you have a box large enough to sit in (e.g. a refrigerator box) and a crocodile and a lion stuffed animal.   Hide the stuffed animals in your “boat” and pull them out at the appropriate times.  At the end of storytime, let all of the kids take a “ride” in your cardboard boat.  I usually start this song by saying something like this:  “Now we’re going to sing Row Row Row Your Boat.  Everyone knows that one right?  So everyone hop into your pretend boat (pretend to step in a boat and sit down), grab your paddle, and start paddling down the river with me.  Let’s sing …”

Row row row your boat, gently down the stream
Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream.

Row row row your boat gently down the stream,
If you see a crocodile, don’t forget to scream! AHH!!!!

Row row row your boat, gently to the shore,
If you see a lion, don’t forget to ROAR!!!

Alternately, there is a really fun version of Row, row, row your boat on Old Town School of Folk’s album Songs for Wiggleworms.  This song has you rowing, bouncing, wiggling, and swaying  your way down the stream!

BOOK 2:I’m Mighty by Kate Mcmullen
From the author of I’m Dirty and I Stink, I’m Mighty is the story of a very strong little tugboat.  Toot toot!

FLANNEL SONG: Riding Around in My Little Red Boat
Song credit: Storytime Katie
Clipart credit: Mel’s Desk – you can print her Color and Counting Boats clipart file from her website

Tune: 10 Little Indians
Riding around in my little red boat,
Riding around in my little red boat,
Riding around in my little red boat,
Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, Splash!
Repeat with other colors.

CRAFT: Halves Boat
Instructions and printable template from DTKL.
I precut the shapes, then asked the children to identify the shapes (circle, triangle, rectangle) before instructing them to fold each shape in half.  Toddlers will need adult help with this part – folding the shapes in half will be tricky for them!  Provide crayons, markers, cotton balls (for clouds) and/or blue tissue paper cut into squares (for water.)

Thank You to Storytime Katie for many of the ideas for this storytime!

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Things that GO!

1 Oct

TODDLER STORYTIME

Trucks, planes, cars and trains  . . . make for a very active storytime!

OPENING SONG: The More We Get Together

OPENING RHYMES:

To parents and caregivers: You have probably noticed that we always start with the same opening songs and rhymes.  We do this, not only because repetition is good for your child’s learning, but also because children love repetition!  Here is a great quote about the importance of repetition from Saroj Ghoting, an early literacy expert.

“Children learn by repetition. Infants and young children have the most active brains. The more stimulation they receive from their environment-what they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell-the more connections are made between brain cells. After a while there are so many connections that the ones that are not used are pruned. It is repetition that keeps these connections between brain cells and makes them strong. So at home or in the car, do these rhymes and songs over and over again.”

BOOK 1: I Wish I Were A Pilot by Stella Blackstone
This book explores many different modes of transportation.  “I wish I were a pilot, race car driver, balloonist, etc. etc.”

FINGERPLAY: Runaway Engine

Runaway engine, Ricketty rack,
Pump arms like a train
Running around the railway track.
Draw large circle with finger
All the way there and all the way back,
Point at audience, point at self
Runaway engine Ricketty rack.
Pump arms like a train.

SONG/CD: Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck
(from Barney’s Favorites Volume 1)

BOOK 2: Flying by Donald Crews
Donald Crews has a magical way of making the reader feel that he or she is actually part of the book. With very simple words and sentence structure, Flying takes us on an airplane ride – from taxing down the runway, to flying over cities, to landing…down, down, down. Children will enjoy acting this one out.

FLANNEL SONG: The Wheels on the Bus (Pattern available from KIDZCLUB.com here)

The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep…
The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish…
The people on the bus go up and down…
The babies on the bus cry waa waa waa…
The parents on the bus say shh shh shh…

ACTION SONG/CD: Bumping up and Down in My Little Red Wagon
(from Raffi’s Singable Songs Collection)
Caregivers with little ones can bounce children along to this song.  Older children can do the actions.


BOOK 3: Freight Train by Donald Crews
Another book by Donald Crews, Freight Train has us feeling as if we are sitting by the tracks, watching a train go by.  The words of this song actually follow the rhythm of a freight train….chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga.  Everyone can help keep the rhythm with shaker eggs.  (Shaker eggs can easily be made by filling plastic Easter eggs with rice, and then hot-gluing them shut.)

CLOSING SONG: We Wave Goodbye Like This

CRAFT
Have children glue planes (pre-cut from construction paper) to blue sheets of construction paper.  Then glue on cotton balls for clouds, and decorate.


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