Spring!
Storytime theme: Spring
Books used:
Abracadabra, It's Spring! by Anne Sibley O'Brien, illustrated by Susan Gal
This is a newer book, and it's gorgeous illustrations are simply a treat to look at. This book is a great one to use for storytime because it is a flap book, which helps with creating an anticipatory mood, and there are lots of built-in opportunities for audience participation throughout the story. Additionally, there aren't too many words to overwhelm listeners, and the wonderful rhyming rhythm gives the book a gentle and almost-poetic flow that has the power to calm even the most restless little ones.
The premise of the book is to highlight the transitions that occur all around us from winter to the springtime. The story is laid out in such a way that the first part of each two page spread shows a wintery scene, which then transitions into a spring one when the flap on the second page is opened and revealed. Also included in the text are "magic" words like abracadabra and alakazam, which highlight the almost magical transition that happens in our natural environments from winter to spring. I used the moments of the story before the flap to ask storytime participants what they thought would occur on the page flaps yet to be revealed, and I also had everyone say the magic words together before opening up the page flaps. Using dialogic reading techniques, such as asking questions about the story, help to develop the early literacy skills of preschoolers so that they are better prepared to learn to read once they enter school.
Spring is Here! by Will Hillenbrand
Spring is Here is a cute story about two friends and roommates, Bear and Mole. Mole wakes up and realizes that Spring is here, but his friend Bear is still hibernating. He tries everything he can to wake up Bear to no avail. Finally, the delicious aromas of a hearty breakfast is what finally rouses Bear from his long winter sleep; but Mole, exhausted from all his attempts to wake-up Bear is now the one who has fallen asleep and needs waking. I really enjoy using this book for storytime because it is humorous, has bright & colorful illustrations, and has some repetitive phrases which encourage audience participation. It's also really fun to say Bear's main line throughout the book, "Snore!", which inevitably elicits many giggles from my listeners.
Come Along, Daisy! by Jane Simmons
I first heard Come Along, Daisy delivered by Gay Ducey, who was my storytime instructor for the Books for Wider Horizons program, and I instantly fell in love with this sweet and simple story. Daisy is a young duck, curious about her watery environment and is easily distracted by dragonflies and other pond-dwelling creatures. Mama Duck constantly calls for Daisy to follow her, but Daisy (lost in her own world) manages to wander away from Mama. My favorite part of the book is when Daisy realizes she is all alone. The illustration of this scene highlights the masterful way that author and illustrator Jane Simmons depicts the loneliness of tiny little Daisy lost from her Mama in the big and sometimes scary world, when Daisy is depicted as a small yellow little duck, way down on the bottom right side of a large two page spread. Suspense builds as Daisy becomes aware of spooky shadows and strange sounds, but in the end she is reunited with Mama Duck and has learned her lesson about wandering too far away. While the topic of the story isn't specifically about Spring, I thought it was a good addition because baby ducks floating along in ponds and other baby animals are usual sights during this time of year. I also like that the story isn't too long, isn't overly wordy, and has a slightly suspenseful part to keep the interest of listeners. The pictures are colorful and large, so that even those sitting further back in the room can easily see the detail.
What Does Bunny See?: A Book of Colors and Flowers by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Maggie Smith
What Does Bunny See?: A Book of Colors and Flowers is a great book to introduce a variety of flowers, and their unique colors, that will be blooming in the springtime. The story is told in rhyme, and it is from the perspective of a little bunny exploring his environment. The flow of the text is very poetic and lyrical, and the rhyming words help listeners to predict the colors of the flowers that will appear on the next page. Again, this anticipatory aspect of the story is a great time to employ dialogic reading techniques, and questions about what colors the children see, what other things can they name with that same color, etc. can be asked. I find this story to also be a good way to introduce some new vocabulary words to participants, mainly the different names of the flowers in the book that children might not be familiar with such as tiger-lilies and poppies. Because the story is describing the colors of these flowers that bunny sees, it helps participants learn their definitions by the contextual clues given. Overall, I think this is a great book to use for storytimes with themes about spring, flowers, and colors.
Activities:
Opening song:
I like to open each storytime with the same opening song to give everyone a familiar signal that the program is beginning, and that it is time to sit and listen. For my Head Start storytimes I've been using the following opening song:
(To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell")
We clap and sing hello,
We clap and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime, we clap and sing hello!
We wave and sing hello,
We wave and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime, we wave and sing hello!
We stomp and sing hello,
We stomp and sing hello,
With our friends at storytime, we stomp and sing hello!
I found this great opening song from Storytime Katie. I like this song because there are actions built into it, so everyone gets to participate together while singing it. I usually do the different actions (clapping hands, waving hand, and stomping feet) in time with the rhythm of the song. So far I really like this opening and plan on continuing to use it.
Fingerplay: Five Little Ducks
Five Little Ducks is a classic children's fingerplay song. There are many variations of it, even among the different children's librarians where I work! I usually just stick with the version that I learned in my storytime training, even if my storytime participants know a slightly different version. This song is awesome because it is adaptable in many different ways- for example, you can perform it as a fingerplay, use small finger puppets, or even create flannel board props to give it another visual dimension. I like the classic version of doing different hand motions and counting down the ducks on the fingers of my right hand. Before moving on to the next stanza, I like to count out each finger to show how many ducks are left. During the last stanza, sad Mama duck goes out in search of her missing ducklings and I have everyone quack extra loud and long together to help call the duckling back!
Five little ducks went out one day, (show five fingers on hand)
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
But only four little ducks came back! (put down one finger on hand to indicate one less duck).
Four little ducks went out one day, (show four fingers on hand)
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
But only three little ducks came back! (put down one finger on hand to indicate one less duck).
Three little ducks went out one day, (show three fingers on hand)
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
But only two little ducks came back! (put down one finger on hand to indicate one less duck).
Two little ducks went out one day, (show two fingers on hand)
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
But only one little duck came back! (put down one finger on hand to indicate one less duck).
One little duck went out one day, (show one finger on hand)
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
But none of the little ducks came back! (show fist to show no ducks left).
Sad Mama duck went out one day,
Over the hill (motion going up and down a hill with hand), and far away (place hand on forehead as if trying to see something far away),
Mama duck said, "Quack, quack, quack quack!" (use hand to mimic a duck's beak in time with each quack),
And all five little ducks came running back! (put down one finger on hand to indicate one less duck).
Fingerplay: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
This is another classic children's fingerplay song that everyone knows. Some people grew up with the eensy-weensy spider, but I always sang the itsy-bitsy version. To spice things up and make this shorter fingerplay a little longer I added stanzas about the "great big spider" and the "eensy-weensy spider" and changed my voice and my actions a little bit to match the different sized spiders.
The itsy-bitsy spider went up the waterspout, (use fingers to show the spider moving upwards)
Down came the rain (wiggle fingers from up to down) and washed the spider out (bring arms together and cross them while quickly pulling them away from each other),
Out came the sun (arc arms above your head in a semi-circle) and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy-bitsy spider went up the spout again! (use fingers to show the spider moving upwards).
(In a deeper and louder voice)
The great big spider went up the waterspout, (stick out arms and legs and pretend to be a big spider walking up spout)
Down came the rain (wiggle fingers from up to down) and washed the spider out (bring arms together and cross them while quickly pulling them away from each other),
Out came the sun (arc arms above your head in a semi-circle) and dried up all the rain,
and the great big spider went up the spout again! (stick out arms and legs and pretend to be a big spider walking up spout).
(In a higher pitched, squeaky voice)
The eensy-weensy spider went up the waterspout, (pinch fingers together and move the tiny spider up a shorter, tinier spout)
Down came the rain (wiggle fingers from up to down) and washed the spider out (bring arms together and cross them while quickly pulling them away from each other),
Out came the sun (arc arms above your head in a semi-circle) and dried up all the rain,
and the great big spider went up the spout again! (pinch fingers together and move the tiny spider up a shorter, tinier spout).
Flannelboard: And The Green Grass Grows All Around
This is another classic rhyme/song that is known by different names and can be sung with slightly different lyrics. The version I like and use is, "the green grass grows all around", rather than "the green grass grew all around".
I was first struck with the idea of making this folk rhyme into a flannel board when I was shelving a copy of And the Green Grass Grew All Around: Folk Poetry from Everyone by Alvin Schwartz. This flannel board is the first I ever made, but I thought it came out pretty well.
The song is a cumulative one, meaning that it continuously builds upon itself, so I felt it was the perfect candidate for a flannel board that I could keep adding elements to. There isn't any template that I used for the hole, the grass, the branch, the nest, and the egg- these were all just free handed to match the size of the tree itself. I used one of these free printable tree truck templates for the trunk part of my tree. I free handed the green leafy part of the treetop. I used the sewing pattern for this Spring Felt Robin ornament as a template for my bird felt pieces, and initially just glued the pieces together. After a few years (and a cross-county move from California to Virginia) the glued pieces started to come apart, so I hand-sewed on the head, wing, and breast pieces of the bird as a stronger adhesive solution.
And the Green Grass Grows All Around
There was a hole,
In the middle of the ground.
The prettiest hole,
That you ever did see.
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And in that hole,
There was a tree.
The prettiest tree,
That you ever did see.
And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And on that tree,
There was a branch.
The prettiest branch,
That you ever did see.
And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And on that branch,
There was a nest.
The prettiest nest,
That you ever did see.
And the nest on the branch,
And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And in that nest,
There was an egg.
The prettiest egg,
That you ever did see.
And the egg in the nest,
And the nest on the branch,
And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And in that egg,
There was a bird.
The prettiest bird,
That you ever did see.
And the bird in the egg,
And the egg in the nest,
And the nest on the branch,
And the branch on the tree,
And the tree in the hole,
And the hole in the ground,
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
And the green grass grows all around, all around, and the green grass grows all around.
Song: Little Bunny Foo Foo
Little Bunny Foo Foo is another classic children's song, but I hadn't ever heard it before, due in part to the fact that I never attended preschool or went to storytime when I was a kid myself. I learned this one from my friend and former co-worker, Jen, during our Books for Wider Horizons storytime train course. This is kind of a silly song, but I think it paired well with the book What does bunny see? The also involved some fingerplay, as you make a little bunny with your hand and show him hopping around. It's fun to scoop up the field mice and bop them on the head too. The original lyrics of this song include the Good Fairy's threat to turn Little Bunny Foo Foo into a "goon" if he doesn't behave, but since no one (including myself) really knows what this means I changed it to "spoon" instead. I end the song with pulling out a big silver serving spoon that I have hidden, and telling my storytime participants that it is Little Bunny Foo Foo!
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.
Down came the Good Fairy,
And she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice,
And Bopping them on the head."
"Little Bunny Foo Foo, I'll give you three chances to behave.
But if you don't I'll turn you into a- spoon!"
And the next day...
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.
Down came the Good Fairy,
And she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice,
And Bopping them on the head."
"Little Bunny Foo Foo, I'll give you two more chances to behave.
But if you don't I'll turn you into a- spoon!"
And the next day...
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.
Down came the Good Fairy,
And she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice,
And Bopping them on the head."
"Little Bunny Foo Foo, I'll give you one more chance to behave.
But if you don't I'll turn you into a- spoon!"
And the next day...
Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest,
Scooping up the field mice,
And bopping them on the head.
Down came the Good Fairy,
And she said,
"Little Bunny Foo Foo,
I don't want to see you,
Scooping up the field mice,
And Bopping them on the head."
"Little Bunny Foo Foo, I gave you three chances to behave and to stop treating the field mice so poorly. Because you didn't *hocus-pocus* I turned you into a spoon!"
Craft Activity: Spring coloring sheet
For my first storytime program, I wanted to keep everything simple. This is why I included so many classic children's songs during it. I copied some sheets of a spring coloring page that we had on hand that included spring flowers, and I die cut some pretty purple butterflies to paste on it. A good free resource for something similar is this coloring page from Pipoclub.com. I really like that this page has the word spring on it that can be traced to help kids practice their writing skills.
