Planning a seasonal storytime can be a little overwhelming because there are SO many books, songs, and rhymes about seasons. I've tried to divide up the book suggestions by putting them in sub-categories. The book lists are at the bottom of this post. First here are some action rhymes, songs and crafts all about springtime.
Spring Action Rhymes and Songs and Crafts
Most of these rhymes I've used for years, some are traditional, some are adaptations. I didn't make note of where I got them, so I'm sorry I can't give credit. If you know the origin of any of these, leave a comment.
Craft: Tissue Paper flowers. Cut circles in tissue paper. Pile up a dozen or so layers. Fold in half and punch a hole at the center, bottom edge. I use a small bore 1/8" hole punch. Thread a chenille stick through the hole and twist the stick to secure it. . Unfold and lightly crumple the layers. They look like ranunculus, very pretty!
Action Song: The Gardener tune: The Farmer in the Dell
actions: match actions to words
The gardener plants the seeds
The gardener plants the seeds
Hi ho the cherry-o
The gardener plants the seeds
v. 2 The sun shines down so warm...
v. 3 The rain falls gently down...
v. 4 The plants begin to grow...
v.5 The flowers smile and sway...
Action Song: Roots, Stem, and Leaves and Flowers tune: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
I may have written this, I don't remember. I've used it for years and it's lots of fun to do.
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers.
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers.
Butterflies, bees, and sunshine and rain showers,
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers!
Talk through the song and actions once or twice till kids know what to do. Sing once slowly. Repeat several times getting progressively faster. Sing last time at normal pace.
Actions
Roots - touch toes
Stem - stand up straight and clap arms to sides
and leaves - bend elbows and hold hands out at sides
and flowers - frame face with fingers and flutter fingers like petals
Butterflies - make butterflies with your hands - cross at wrist, palms facing you, link thumbs and
flutter fingers like wings
Bees - make an OK sign with thumb and forefinger, and waggle hand
and sunshine - circle arms overhead
and rain showers - fingers flutter down
Craft: Zip Bag Butterfly Have kids fill zip top bags with scraps of tissue paper. Zip closed. Fold the zip top down. Twist a chenille stick around the middle and curl the tips. Cute & fast! I've also done this with fold over sandwich bags.
Action Poem : Spring
Showers - flutter fingers down
Flowers - hands grow up
Trees - yoga tree pose, sway
Bees - make wings with arms & buzz
Sun - circle arms over head
Fun - jump up and down
Muck - pretend to be stuck
YUCK!
Craft: Honey Bee Use up your construction paper scraps. You can do this in different ways. Have kids glue skinny scraps onto a rectangle scrap. (I believe artists can use any colors.) Then cut out the bee body shape (oval or jelly bean shape, or give them a pattern or template). Or have them cut the bee shape first, glue on stripes then trim along the edge. Add an eye and face. Stick on some antennae (paper or chenille sticks), add a stinger. The main thing that is distinctive and cool is the bubble wrap wing - you could put one on each side. We always have boxes full of bubble wrap saved from packages, it's a great craft material.
Fingerplay Song: Spring is Here! tune Are You Sleeping (Frere Jacques)
I think I found this in one of Jean Warren's Piggyback Songs books
I see flowers - "grow" hand up through other fist
I see birds' nests - cup hands
Butterflies - link thumbs with palms facing you, flap hands
Rainy skies -wiggle fingers down through air
Everything is growing -wiggle fingers up through air
The wind is gently blowing -sway hands back and forth
oo-ooo-oo
Spring is here!
Action Poem: A Robin
When a robin cocks his head -make wings with arms
Sideways in a flower bed -tilt head to side
He can hear the tiny sound -tap ear, cup ear
of a worm beneath the ground - wiggle finger
Craft: Rockin' Robin I like to play the song Rockin' Robin at our spring storytimes. I use either the Jackson 5 version or the Toddlers Sing Rock and Roll version. The kids love to get up and dance. It's just a little too long at 2 and half minutes. And here is a rockin' robin craft. from Happy Hooligans. There are a lot of versions of Rockin' Robin, but this one is the cutest I think. The original instructions start with painted paper plates, but at library storytimes we don't have time to wait for paint to dry so we just use circles cut out of construction paper. It works just as well. Tap the corner of your bird and it will rock. If you want a more realistic robin see the same Happy Hooligans website for the robin colored craft.
________________________
Okay enough rhymes and songs and crafts for now. I will do Spring showers in another post.
Here are a few of my favorite springtime books.
Spring Flowers
The Happy Day / Ruth Krauss
Buster and the Dandelions / Hisako Madokoro
Dancing the Breeze / George Shannon
Planting a Rainbow / Lois Ehlert
Alison's Zinnia / Arnold Lobel
Flower Garden / Eve Bunting
Spring Robins
My Spring Robin / Anne Rockwell
Little Robin Redbreast / Shari Halpern
Round Robin / Jack Kent
Robin's Home / Jeanne Atkins
2 nonfiction picks to show kids:
A Nest Full of Eggs / Priscilla Belz Jenkins
The Robins in Your Backyard / Nancy Carol Willis
Spring is Coming
Possum and the Peeper / Anne Hunter
It's Spring! / Samantha Berger
Spring Action Rhymes and Songs and Crafts
Most of these rhymes I've used for years, some are traditional, some are adaptations. I didn't make note of where I got them, so I'm sorry I can't give credit. If you know the origin of any of these, leave a comment.
Action Song: The Gardener tune: The Farmer in the Dell
actions: match actions to words
The gardener plants the seeds
The gardener plants the seeds
Hi ho the cherry-o
The gardener plants the seeds
v. 2 The sun shines down so warm...
v. 3 The rain falls gently down...
v. 4 The plants begin to grow...
v.5 The flowers smile and sway...
Action Song: Roots, Stem, and Leaves and Flowers tune: Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes
I may have written this, I don't remember. I've used it for years and it's lots of fun to do.
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers.
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers.
Butterflies, bees, and sunshine and rain showers,
Roots, stem, and leaves, and flowers
leaves and flowers!
Talk through the song and actions once or twice till kids know what to do. Sing once slowly. Repeat several times getting progressively faster. Sing last time at normal pace.
Actions
Roots - touch toes
Stem - stand up straight and clap arms to sides
and leaves - bend elbows and hold hands out at sides
and flowers - frame face with fingers and flutter fingers like petals
Butterflies - make butterflies with your hands - cross at wrist, palms facing you, link thumbs and
flutter fingers like wings
Bees - make an OK sign with thumb and forefinger, and waggle hand
and sunshine - circle arms overhead
and rain showers - fingers flutter down
Craft: Zip Bag Butterfly Have kids fill zip top bags with scraps of tissue paper. Zip closed. Fold the zip top down. Twist a chenille stick around the middle and curl the tips. Cute & fast! I've also done this with fold over sandwich bags.
Action Poem : Spring
Showers - flutter fingers down
Flowers - hands grow up
Trees - yoga tree pose, sway
Bees - make wings with arms & buzz
Sun - circle arms over head
Fun - jump up and down
Muck - pretend to be stuck
YUCK!
Fingerplay Song: Spring is Here! tune Are You Sleeping (Frere Jacques)
I think I found this in one of Jean Warren's Piggyback Songs books
I see flowers - "grow" hand up through other fist
I see birds' nests - cup hands
Butterflies - link thumbs with palms facing you, flap hands
Rainy skies -wiggle fingers down through air
Everything is growing -wiggle fingers up through air
The wind is gently blowing -sway hands back and forth
oo-ooo-oo
Spring is here!
Action Poem: A Robin
When a robin cocks his head -make wings with arms
Sideways in a flower bed -tilt head to side
He can hear the tiny sound -tap ear, cup ear
of a worm beneath the ground - wiggle finger
Craft: Rockin' Robin I like to play the song Rockin' Robin at our spring storytimes. I use either the Jackson 5 version or the Toddlers Sing Rock and Roll version. The kids love to get up and dance. It's just a little too long at 2 and half minutes. And here is a rockin' robin craft. from Happy Hooligans. There are a lot of versions of Rockin' Robin, but this one is the cutest I think. The original instructions start with painted paper plates, but at library storytimes we don't have time to wait for paint to dry so we just use circles cut out of construction paper. It works just as well. Tap the corner of your bird and it will rock. If you want a more realistic robin see the same Happy Hooligans website for the robin colored craft.
________________________
Okay enough rhymes and songs and crafts for now. I will do Spring showers in another post.
Here are a few of my favorite springtime books.
Spring Flowers
The Happy Day / Ruth Krauss
Buster and the Dandelions / Hisako Madokoro
Dancing the Breeze / George Shannon
Planting a Rainbow / Lois Ehlert
Alison's Zinnia / Arnold Lobel
Flower Garden / Eve Bunting
Spring Robins
My Spring Robin / Anne Rockwell
Little Robin Redbreast / Shari Halpern
Round Robin / Jack Kent
Robin's Home / Jeanne Atkins
2 nonfiction picks to show kids:
A Nest Full of Eggs / Priscilla Belz Jenkins
The Robins in Your Backyard / Nancy Carol Willis
Spring is Coming
Possum and the Peeper / Anne Hunter
It's Spring! / Samantha Berger
No comments:
Post a Comment