Pre-School Storytime: Everything Green

 

 

Everything Green (Ages 3-6)

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day and the beginning of spring with this storytime incorporating color identification, music and movement, participatory storytelling,

rhyming practice, and non-fiction elements.

(Note, this is a long program, need to pick and choose or if in a child-care setting,

use the elements over the course of a week.)

Opening Music: Hap Palmer's "Sally the Swinging Snake" (from album of the same name)

Book: Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni (2016) or  Green by Laura Seeger

Action Song:  “If your clothes have any green” (tune “If You’re Happy & You Know It”)
If your clothes have any green, any green (3x)….stand up  so you’ll be seen…

                                             red…tap your hands upon your head, 

         blue…touch your shoe,

         yellow …jump up & down like a happy fellow,

         grey..sway, black..clap, pink…blink, brown…sit down!

 

Book (non-fiction) : Green: Seeing Green All Around Us by Sarah L. Schuette (2016) – read main text and ask kids what it is – good for listening skills since the last 2 are tricky.

Action/Music:  dance with Hap Palmer's "Sally the Swinging Snake" (from album of the same name) and have the children "dance" swinging pieces of green yarn to the musical instructions (listening skills)

 

Book: Little Green by Keith Baker (2016 a.m. only  - might save for Spring next year)  or Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes

 

(omitted this 2016 – saved for spring storytime)

Song Flannel: “And the Green Grass Grew All Around” (echo song: children repeat each line) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Green_Grass_Grew_All_Around

 

Book: Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold (2016) or  Moonbear’s Pet by Frank Asch (arrived too late 2016, sweet story of tadpole growth and friendship) or Scoot by Cathryn Falwell (6 turtles, beautiful torn paper illus) or Ribbit! – Bender (flip book –no longer in system, Folgiera, lovely but long) or Frog Song -- Brenda Z. Guiberson 597.89 GUI - non-fiction)

 

Song/Puppets/numeral cards: “5 Little Freckled Frogs” (sat on a speckled log)
http://www.nurseryrhymes.org/five-little-speckled-frogs.html

Book: Wide Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner (pop-up)

Interactive Song/Flannel or Puppets:  “Deep in the Jungle” from Joe Scrugg’s album by the same name. (clever variation on the 3 little monkeys teasing the crocodile rhyme, I have child volunteers handle the monkey puppets/flannels, I handle the croc.) http://www.hellojoe.com/lyrics-ditj.html 

 

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems (beautiful story of friendship & loss, seasons of the year)

 

Song: “Make New Friends But Keep the Old”

 

Video: A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog (live action film by Weston Woods based on the book by Mercer Mayer)

 

Hand-stamping Music:  “Deep in the Jungle” from Joe Scrugg’s album by the same name.

 

Not used:

Video: There’s an Alligator Under My Bed – Mayer

   Alts: Green Eggs & Ham or “Deep in the Jungle” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0t7RUnF41g

 

Silly Song: Alligator Pie  http://barney.wikia.com/wiki/Alligator_Pie (only with older groups, sometimes make up additional verses e.g. “alligator cheese…I think I’m going to sneeze”)
Puppet/Action/Song: “I’m Being Swallowed by a Big Alligator” before goodbye song

Hand-stamping Music:  “Deep in the Jungle” from Joe Scrugg’s album by the same name.

 

Youtube “Yertle the Turtle” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqjEsttx-IU

Optional (2014 saving for "eggs" storytime later this session):

Interactive storytelling: Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs & Ham I hand out picture/word cards to the kids for all the places the green eggs & ham are refused (here, there, house, mouse, box, fox, car, tree, train, dark (or use flashlight), rain (or use umbrella), goat, boat) and have extra laminated green eggs & ham pieces so everyone in the room can have a part. If you have another adult you can use laminated neck cards with pictures of Sam-I-Am and the friend (picky eater) --  Script here:  http://files.havefunteaching.com/fun-activities/readers-theater/green-eggs-and-ham.pdf or you can read the book aloud and have kids hold up the cards as the words are read.  The kids holding green eggs & hams are the enthusiastic chorus waving them about… and everyone chimes in on “I will not eat them anywhere!”

 

Take home rhyming practice activity –from http://www.obseussed.com/2012/03/green-eggs-and-ham-activities-and-free.html

 

Additional Material:

Songs:            There’s a Little White Duck (flannel)

Gary Rosen's  "Kelly the Caterpillar

Books:  One, Two, Three Jump – Lively

Spring Green – Selkote

Picasso the green tree frog

I'm green and I'm grumpy
Five green and speckled frogs by Priscilla Burris

Grandpa Green – Lane Smith
Green Queen – colors, ok for young groups
Finn McCool & the Great Fish 398.209415 Bunting (great Irish folktale beaut illus)

 

3/2017: Storytime/Craft:

 

 

Book: City Dog, Country Dog – Mo Willems (dialogic reading, act out actions, anticipate seasons, text to text frog on head in river and gingerbread man)

Sing: “Make New Friends but Keep the Old” (made a circle and circled round, then fell down at the end!")

Book: Green – Sarah Schuette (guessing game book)

Flannel/Song: “And the Green Grass Grew All Around” (echo and response)

 

Green Wilma – Tedd Arnold (asked if they thought it was a girl dreaming she was a frog or a frog dreaming she was a girl!)

Glove w/ Frogs: “5 Little Freckled Frogs”  (number cards)

Puppets/Song: “Deep in the Jungle” (child volunteers)

Action/Music:  dance with Hap Palmer's "Sally the Swinging Snake" (from album of the same name) and have the children "dance" swinging pieces of green yarn to the musical instructions (listening skills)

DVD: Mercer Mayer’s wordless live action “A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog”

 

Craft – talked about all the different colors of green we see around us. We had snow last week but some spring green returning – make spring green pictures – B&T cardboards, scrap colored papers of various tones of green, glue sticks, scissors, markers, tissue paper squares of various colors for squishing into flowers…