Pre-School Storytime: “What’s in a Name?”

 

A preschool storytime program on names, alphabet games, and self-esteem -- incorporating Every Child Ready to Read 2 (ECRR2) concepts of READING, TALKING, SINGING, WRITING and PLAYING + numeracy, music and movement.

 
Opening Music: “Name Game” from Child’s Celebration of Rock & Roll 738 CHIL
Help children write their names on white board as arrive (ECRR2 ”writing”)

Song: “Name Song” (Tune: Farmer in the Dell”)
Greg begins with ‘G’/Greg begins with ‘G’/One clap for ‘Greg’ (clap)/Greg begins with ‘G’
Circled initial letters on board as we sang, afterward counted how many K’s etc. (ECRR2 ”writing” + numeracy)


Book: Waggle – Sarah McMenemy (Younger groups: cute book about a girl playing with her new puppy as she decides what name she should give it) or A Porcupine Named Fluffy – Helen Lester (Older: porcupine named Fluffy feels better after meeting a rhino named Hippo -- self-acceptance)

Flannel/Song: BINGO (ECRR2 “singing/playing” + numeracy —game: each time through removed a letter and asked what letter it was, replaced the missing letter in the song with a clap—kids remembering/counting out how many claps needed each time through)


Book: Silly Sally -- Audrey Wood (wkrm) (Can act this out as it is being read) or for
Older groups: Tikki Tikki Tembo – Arlene Mosel (classic Japanese folk tale) or Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge – Mem Fox (beautiful book about how a young boy helps an older woman recover her past memories – one of those books once read, never forgotten) or Matthew A.B.C.-- Peter Catalanatto (class chock full of Matthews introduces interesting vocabulary e.g. "affectionate," "incognito," and "perpetually perplexed!") or In the Fiddle is a Song – Durga Bernhard (lift-the-flap book about hidden potential)


Song: John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith (ECRR2 “singing/playing – replace a line of the song with claps (humming it for rhythm on each iteration, great game for listening skills, rhythm play.)

http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/johnjacob.html

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,
His name is my name too.
Whenever we go out,
The people always shout,
There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.
Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah (repeat song 5 times)


Action Chant “Everyone has a name” (movement activity -- use whenever everyone needs to get up and move a little)

Everyone who has a name, stand up.
Everyone who has a name, sit down.
Everyone who has a name, stand up.
Everyone who has a name, turn around.
Everyone who has a name, stretch up high.
Everyone who has a name, stretch down low.
Everyone who has a name, roll your hands fast.
Everyone who has a name, roll your hands slow.
Everyone who has a name, turn around.
Everyone who has a name, sit back down.

Optional Book/Song: There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan – Mary Ann Hoberman (kids chime out “begin-agin”at the end of each verse – listening skills.)

Elephant Puppet/Song: Willoughby Wallaby Woo (from Raffi’s Singable Songs collection, track 15) http://www.metrolyrics.com/willoughby-wallaby-woo-lyrics-raffi.html (rhyming game, substituting “w” for first letter of each child’s name before elephant puppet “sits” on child.)

Shakey Eggs/Movement song: “Name Game” and “Purple People Eater” (tracks 9 &10 from “A Child’s Celebration of Rock & Roll”)

Hand Stamping Song: “The Name Song” from Ralph’s World.

Optional DVDs: Chyrsanthemum on “Back to School Stories”(nice but LONG story of overcoming peer name-calling, bullying) or Tikki Tikki Tembo – (classic Japanese folk tale)only with a 4+ group, younger kids lose interest.

Other possibilities: Mary Wore a Red Dress – Peek (wkrm), Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarden; Flannel: Aikendrum
9.10, 9.12, 12.13