School Age Storytime: Apples & Pumpkins

 

A storytime for K-2nd grade celebrating the season

emphasizing empathy & compassion 

Participatory Storytelling/Props:  The Little Red House with No Doors & No Windows, a Chimney On Top & a Star in the Middle (Tip: instantly turn flannel pieces into hanging signs for kids to wear using plastic paper protector sleeves with stiff paper inserts & yarn ribbon to hang around each child's neck, act out the wind blowing the trees and the “plop” of an apple falling in the farmer’s backyard. Prop: real apple & knife to slice horizontally.)

Book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting --This beautiful (and beautifully illustrated) story emphasizes understanding and compassion as Farah, a new student from an unnamed country, goes with her class on a field trip to an apple orchard (defined) and finds that though she is different and doesn’t know the language, she can be accepted and will find friends here.

Participatory Storytelling/Props: Big Pumpkin – from the book by Erica Silverman -- In this variant on the folktale, “The Great Big Enormous Turnip,” the witch, ghost, skeleton, and vampire are unable to pull up the pumpkin until a tiny bat ignores their derisive laughter and suggests they all work together.  I sing/chant this to a tune from an old Scholastic recording – feel free to contact me if you want to learn the tune.

Book: Pumpkins: A Story for a Field by Mary Lyn Ray – A splendid modern environmental myth in which a man, saddened by the thought that the field across from his house is about to be sold, sells everything he has, buys seeds, grows pumpkins, and then sends them all around the world (by planes, trucks, ships, and even flying carpets) to get enough money to buy the field and save it.  

Participatory Storytelling/Props: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything based on the story by Linda Williams (1st grade only, Kdg no time)  props for children to use - shoes, pants, shirt, hat, gloves, pumpkin head, scarecrow)

Booktalked:

Non-Fiction Book: Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices* – 577.16 SCHWARTZ – “UnCommon Core” at its best!  -- Told in the first person by the pumpkin, mouse, squirrel, slug, fly, black rot, bread mold, sow bug, Penicillium, earthworm, yeast cell, slime mold, soil, and seed, this is science “on the hoof.”  Wonderful writing & delightfully yucky photographs complete this unforgettable tour through the life cycle of a pumpkin that kids will find completely enGROSSing!  (Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell is a less-detailed version for a younger crowd. Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller makes a great fictional companion story.)

Book (K-2): Bear’s Bargain – Frank Asch (also published as Moonbear’s Bargain)  Bear wants to fly & Little Bird wishes he was big -- clever problem solving).

See more ideas at: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Apples

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Pumpkins

Bedm K-1 11/1/2024

Memory Cafe (YMCA) - Apples

 I was invited as a storyteller for the Basking Ridge YMCA "Memory Cafe"  - a place of respite for adults with dementia & their caregivers. 

Opened by discussion of the embellishment of the story of Johnny Appleseed - mentioned that he was a real person (John Chapman) but that apples don't grow true from seeds - you don't get the same variety, sweetness etc. - instead they grow from grafting a branch of a tree that produces tasty apples. Johnny Appleseed's seed trees were used for hard cider - alcoholic drinks were drunk by all ages because water and milk were unsafe -- might contain disease producing organisms.  Read: Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh, illustrated with the folk-art styled paintings by Kathy Jacobson. 

Followed with the rollicking "tall tale" Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains by Deborah Hopkinson.  

Crafts: 

https://www.thrive.org.uk/get-gardening/simple-homemade-apple-bird-feeder#

Mentioned the book Night Tree by Eve Bunting - every Christmas Eve, a family decorates a tree in the woods with edible items for the wildlife there.

9/25/24

School Age Storytime : Fall & Apples

 

A storytime for K-2nd grade celebrating the season
emphasizing empathy & compassion (with a nod to the idea of Rosh Hashonah – new year, new beginnings).

 

Kindergarten:

 

Book: Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. Creativity & Imagination.

 

 

 

Book: One Red Apple – Harriet Ziefert (simple beautiful celebration of the cycles of an apple tree)

 

Flannel Song: A Wiggly Worm (Tune: Boom! Boom! Ain’t it Great to be Crazy!)

                Chorus: Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Red and Green and yellow, too…

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

 

                Way up high in an apple tree, I saw two eyes look at me.

                I reached for an apple, it started to squirm…oops! I found a wiggly worm!  Chorus

 

                That wiggly worm is a friend of mine.  We eat apples all the time.

                 I let him crawl back to that tree… hey!  That worm is looking at me! Chorus

 

Book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting --This beautiful (and beautifully illustrated) story emphasizes understanding and compassion as Farah, a new student from an unnamed country, goes with her class on a field trip to an apple orchard (defined) and finds that though she is different and doesn’t know the language, she can be accepted and will find friends here.

 

Participatory Storytelling/Props:  The Little Red House with No Doors & No Windows, a Chimney On Top & a Star in the Middle (Tip: instantly turn flannel pieces into hanging signs for kids to wear using plastic paper protector sleeves with stiff paper inserts & yarn ribbon to hang around each child's neck, act out the wind blowing the trees and the “plop” of an apple falling in the farmer’s backyard. Prop: real apple & knife to slice horizontally.)

 

Action: Apple Pie chant (suit actions to words)

Chorus:  Apple, apple  (slap legs twice, then clap hands twice)  Apple Pie!

 

First you need apples

So you pick them, pick them  chorus

    Put them in the sink

    And you wash them, wash them chorus

Then you take the apples

And you cut them, cut them chorus

   Next you roll the crust

   & you roll it, you roll it chorus

Drape it in the pan

& you pinch it, you pinch it chorus

    Take some cinnamon sugar

    And sprinkle it, sprinkle it chorus

Put it in the oven

& you bake it, you bake it chorus

   Take it out of the oven

   & you smell it, you smell it chorus

Take out your knife

& you slice it, you slice it chorus

   Take some ice cream

   & you scoop it, you scoop it chorus

Then you take the pie

And eat it, eat it!! Chorus

 

 

Singable Book: Ten Red Apples – Pat Hutchins (numeracy: 1-10 numerals, one-to-one correspondence, subtraction, animal identification, animal sounds)

Read parts of The World’s Birthday by Barbara Goldin (Rosh Hashonah story) but a bit long for this group.

1st & 2nd Grade:

 

Book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting (opened by asking who spoke another language at home, then speaking gibberish and having them imagine going to school and not understanding what their teacher & classmates were saying)

 

Asked: “What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?” – finding half a worm!

Book: Seed by Seed : The Legend of Legacy of John “Appleseed” Chapman by Esme Raji Codell  (Seed by Seed, Deed by Deed – talked about how they – kids – can make the world a better place : being a more helpful member of the family, helping a fellow student who is being ignored or bullied, cleaning up litter, etc.)

 

Apple Pie Chant (above) 

 

Book: New Year at the Pier : A Rosh Hashonah Story by April Halprin Wayland (talked about different kinds of new years – the Jewish new year tradition of apples & honey and Tashlich tossing bits of bread into water and  saying sorry to start the New Year with a “clean heart.”)

Participatory Storytelling/Props:  The Little Red House with No Doors & No Windows, a Chimney On Top & a Star in the Middle – urged kids to practice this story with each other – then tell it to family members tonight. (wonderful practice for listening skills, sequencing, speaking skills)

Bedm. 10/16

PreSchool Storytime: Fall–Leaves & Apples

PreSchool Storytime Ages 2-6 with a focus on numeracy, the life cycle of an apple tree, also incorporates  animal names & animal noises, sign language, and oral storytelling.

Open with Sign Language Song: “Let’s Take a Little Walk” from “Pick Me Up: Fun Songs for Learning Signs” track 15

 

Book: Leaf Man – Lois Ehlert (suggested kids collect leaves on the way home and make their own leaf creatures…)

 

Cut and Tell Story: Autumn Leaf (instructions: http://meusenotes.blogspot.com/2014/09/autumn-leaf.html)

Autumn Leaf: Cut and Tell

(Two sheets of construction paper glued together 1 green: 1 red or yellow)

By Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

I start out green,

Often fragile and small.

 

I grow through two seasons

On something tall.

 

But there are changes

When the nights turn cool,

 

That happen to me

When children return to school.

 

I am a ....... (leaf)

On a growing tree.

(Open to show a green leaf)

 

Watch me turn color

One, two, three!

(Turn it to the other side to show the autumn leaf)

 

Book/Song: The Leaves on the Trees by Thom Wiley

 

Action Song (with puppet): Grey Squirrel

Grey squirrel, Grey squirrel! (bounce up and down on the words)
Swish your bushy tail! (shake it)
Grey squirrel, Grey squirrel!
Swish your bushy tail!

Wrinkle up your little nose!(poke your nose)
Put an nut between your toes( touch your toes)

Grey squirrel, Grey squirrel!
Swish your bushy tail!

 

Storytelling:  Little Red House (oral storytelling – listening and repetition -- lots of versions, here’s one: http://www.missbsclassroom.com/thinking-story-the-little-red-house-with-no-doors-and-no-windows/  Flannel pieces optional, need real apple and knife for the “star” reveal)

 

Flannel Song: A Wiggly Worm (Tune: Boom! Boom! Ain’t it Great to be Crazy!)

                Chorus: Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Red and Green and yellow, too…

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

 

                Way up high in an apple tree, I saw two eyes look at me.

                I reached for an apple, it started to squirm…oops! I found a wiggly worm!  Chorus

 

                That wiggly worm is a friend of mine.  We eat apples all the time.

                 I let him crawl back to that tree… hey!  That worm is looking at me! Chorus

 

Book: One Red Apple – Harriet Ziefert (younger – actually though simple, works well for all ages – simple beautiful celebration of the cycles of an apple tree)

 

Action: Apple Pie chant (suit actions to words)

Chorus:  Apple, apple  (slap legs twice, then clap hands twice)  Apple Pie!

 

First you need apples

So you pick them, pick them  chorus

    Put them in the sink

    And you wash them, wash them chorus

Then you take the apples

And you cut them, cut them chorus

   Next you roll the crust

   & you roll it, you roll it chorus

Drape it in the pan

& you pinch it, you pinch it chorus

    Take some cinnamon sugar

    And sprinkle it, sprinkle it chorus

Put it in the oven

& you bake it, you bake it chorus

   Take it out of the oven

   & you smell it, you smell it chorus

Take out your knife

& you slice it, you slice it chorus

   Take some ice cream

   & you scoop it, you scoop it chorus

Then you take the pie

And eat it, eat it!! Chorus

 

Singable Book: Ten Red Apples – Pat Hutchins (numeracy: 1-10 numerals, one-to-one correspondence, subtraction, animal identification, animal sounds)

Book: Fall is Not Easy – Marty Kelley (a tree’s amusing variations on fall color changes)

 

Action song: This is the way we rake the leaves (Mulberry Bush)

 

DVD: Reading Rainbow: How to make an apple pie & see the world -- Marjorie Priceman

 

Optional before hand stamping: Song: Apples & Bananas – Raffi (phonemic awareness)

Additional book possibilities:  10 Apples Up on Top -- Dr. Seuss,   10 Red Apples – Virginia Barthalamew (younger).  A wonderful book for Kindergarten and up: One Green Apple - Eve Bunting (age 5& up,  Beautiful story about a young newly-arrived immigrant named Fatah who gains self-confidence when the green apple she picks on a school field trip perfectly complements the other students' red apples.) The Terrible Plop -- Ursula Dubosarsky

The Apple Pie Tree -- Zoe Hall (non-fiction elements, life cycle of an apple tree – very similar to her pumpkin book which I will use next week) or Fall Apples: Crisp & Juicy 634.11 Rustad

Additional songs:
Apple Song (Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider, source unknown) 

                Once a little apple seed was planted in the ground.

                Down came the rain, falling all around.

                Out came the sun as bright as bright could be

                And the little seed grew up to be an apple tree.

 

Glove: Five Red Apples (younger, use numeral cards to reinforce number concepts)(source unknown)
                Five red apples hanging in a tree
                The juiciest apples you ever did see.
                The wind came by and gave an angry frown
                And one little apple came tumbling down…

 

Gloves: "1 little 2 little 3 little Apples" (from “Cindy” on Perpetual Preschool, to the tune: “1 little 2 little 3 little Indians”)  (older)

                1 little 2 little 3 little apples,

                4 little 5 little 6 little apples,

                7 little 8 little 9 little apples, 10 apples on my tree.

                                Munch little, munch little, munch little apples

                                Crunch little, crunch little, crunch little apples

                                Bunch of little, bunch of little, bunch of little apples,

                                Good for you and me!

 

Action: Apple Tree Apple Tree Turn Around (source unknown)

                Apple tree turn around; (turn)

                Apple tree touch the ground. (bend)

                See it swaying in the air; (stand swaying arms)

                Apples apples everywhere! (extend arms)

                Apple tree turn around

                Apple tree touch the ground.

Miss Tara's blog has some other great ideas! http://storytimewithmisstara.blogspot.com/2012/10/wiggle-worms-10-2-12.html

10/16 BWL

School Age Storytime: Apples &Pumpkins

 

A storytime for K-4th grade celebrating the season emphasizing empathy & compassion, with a great (un-common core) non-fiction component showing the many de-composers (animals, insects, molds and slimes) that make up the life cycle of a pumpkin.

 

Participatory Storytelling/Props:  The Little Red House with No Doors & No Windows, a Chimney On Top & a Star in the Middle (Tip: instantly turn flannel pieces into hanging signs for kids to wear using plastic paper protector sleeves with stiff paper inserts & yarn ribbon to hang around each child's neck, prop: real apple & knife to slice horizontally.)

Book: One Green Apple by Eve Bunting --This beautiful (and beautifully illustrated) story emphasizes understanding and compassion as Farah, a new student from an unnamed country, goes with her class on a field trip to an apple orchard and finds that though she is different and doesn’t know the language, she can be accepted and will find friends here.

 

Participatory Storytelling/Props: Big Pumpkin – from the book by Erica Silverman -- In this variant on the folktale, “The Great Big Enormous Turnip,” the witch, ghost, skeleton, and vampire are unable to pull up the pumpkin until a tiny bat ignores their derisive laughter and suggests they all work together.  I sing/chant this to a tune from an old Scholastic recording – feel free to contact me if you want to learn the tune.

Non-Fiction Book: Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices* – 577.16 SCHWARTZ – “UnCommon Core” at its best!  -- Told in the first person by the pumpkin, mouse, squirrel, slug, fly, black rot, bread mold, sow bug, Penicillium, earthworm, yeast cell, slime mold, soil, and seed, this is science “on the hoof.”  Wonderful writing & delightfully yucky photographs complete this unforgettable tour through the life cycle of a pumpkin that kids will find completely enGROSSing!
(Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell -- less-detailed version for a younger crowd. Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller makes a great fictional companion story.)

Participatory Storytelling/Props: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything based on the story by Linda Williams

 

Book: Pumpkins: A Story for a Field by Mary Lyn Ray – A splendid modern environmental myth in which a man, saddened by the thought that the field across from his house is about to be sold, sells everything he has, buys seeds, grows pumpkins, and then sends them all around the world (by planes, trucks, ships, and even flying carpets) to get enough money to buy the field and save it.  (10.14 – omitted in kindergarten, did action song “Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate” instead.)

Other possibilities – no time in a 40 minute program:

• Bear’s Bargain – Frank Asch (Bear figures out how he can help Bird feel big & Bird helps Bear figure out how to fly In this tale emphasizing creative problem solving)
• Sophie’s Squash – Pat Zietlow Miller (girl adopts squash as her doll, then sees it start to change until it is reborn the following year – twin squash!)
• The Perfect Pumpkin Pie – Denys Cazet (a not-too-scary ghost story with a great refrain – good to make the refrain into a poster and chant it together!)
• Pumpkin Heads – Wendall Minor (quick book celebrating creative pumpkin carving – great lead-in to a craft)

See also the songs & stories in: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=pumpkins

*Other great resources for Rotten Pumpkin:
Rotten Pumpkin Curriculum Guide
Rotten Pumpkin Activities
Rotten Pumpkin Play
Ingram review of Rotten Pumpkin
Interview with the creators of Rotten Pumpkin

10/18 Bedm.

Apples & Pumpkins -- combined both because we didn't have time for two separate fall storytimes this year...had used One Green Apple in Back to School program a few weeks before

Storytelling: Little Red House
(Kdg) Book: One Red Apple – Harriet Ziefert
Singable Book(K only): Ten Red Apples – Pat Hutchins (numeracy: 1-10 numerals, one-to-one correspondence, subtraction, animal identification, animal sounds)

(Kdg) Book : Bear’s Bargain – Frank Asch
Book: Pumpkins: A Story for a Field – Mary Lyn Ray
Participatory Storytelling/Props: Big Pumpkin – from the book by Erica Silverman

(Kdg) Book: Pumpkin Circle 635.32 LEVENSON -- didn't keep interest, try Pumpkin Jack next time
(1st-2nd grade) Non-Fiction Book: Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices* – 577.16 SCHWARTZ – “UnCommon Core” at its best!  completely enGROSSing! 

PreSchool Storytime: Apples

PreSchool Storytime Ages 2-6 with a focus on numeracy, the life cycle of an apple tree, also incorporates  animal names & animal noises, sign language, and oral storytelling. 

Open with Sign Language Song: “Let’s Take a Little Walk” from “Pick Me Up: Fun Songs for Learning Signs” track 15

Storytelling:  Little Red House (oral storytelling – listening and repetition -- lots of versions, here’s one: http://www.missbsclassroom.com/thinking-story-the-little-red-house-with-no-doors-and-no-windows/
flannel pieces optional, need real apple and knife for the “star” reveal)

Song: Apple Song (Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider, source unknown) 

                Once a little apple seed was planted in the ground.

                Down came the rain, falling all around.

                Out came the sun as bright as bright could be

                And the little seed grew up to be an apple tree.

Book: One Red Apple – Harriet Ziefert (younger) or The Terrible Plop -- Ursula Dubosarsky (older)

Glove: Five Red Apples (younger, use numeral cards to reinforce number concepts)(source unknown)
                Five red apples hanging in a tree
                The juiciest apples you ever did see.
                The wind came by and gave an angry frown
                And one little apple came tumbling down…

Gloves: "1 little 2 little 3 little Apples" (from “Cindy” on Perpetual Preschool, to the tune: “1 little 2 little 3 little Indians”)  (older)

                1 little 2 little 3 little apples,

                4 little 5 little 6 little apples,

                7 little 8 little 9 little apples, 10 apples on my tree.

                                Munch little, munch little, munch little apples

                                Crunch little, crunch little, crunch little apples

                                Bunch of little, bunch of little, bunch of little apples,

                                Good for you and me!

Action: Apple Tree Apple Tree Turn Around (source unknown)

                Apple tree turn around; (turn)

                Apple tree touch the ground. (bend)

                See it swaying in the air; (stand swaying arms)

                Apples apples everywhere! (extend arms)

                Apple tree turn around

                Apple tree touch the ground.

Book: The Apple Pie Tree -- Zoe Hall (non-fiction elements, life cycle of an apple tree) or Fall Apples: Crisp & Juicy 634.11 Rustad

Action: Apple Pie chant (suit actions to words)

Chorus:  Apple, apple  (slap legs twice, then clap hands twice in rhythm)  Apple Pie!

First you need apples

So you pick them, pick them  chorus

    Put them in the sink

    And you wash them, wash them chorus

 Then you take the apples

 And you cut them, cut them chorus

   Next you roll the crust

   & you roll it, you roll it chorus

 Drape it in the pan

& you pinch it, you pinch it chorus

    Take some cinnamon sugar

    And sprinkle it, sprinkle it chorus

Put it in the oven

& you bake it, you bake it chorus

   Take it out of the oven

   & you smell it, you smell it chorus

Take out your knife

& you slice it, you slice it chorus

   Take some ice cream

   & you scoop it, you scoop it chorus

 Then you take the pie

 And eat it, eat it!! Chorus

Singable Book: Ten Red Apples – Pat Hutchins (numeracy: 1-10 numerals, one-to-one correspondence, subtraction, animal identification, animal sounds)

Flannel Song: A Wiggly Worm (Tune: Boom! Boom! Ain’t it Great to be Crazy!)

                Chorus: Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                                Red and Green and yellow, too…

                                Yum! Yum! Don’t you know I love apples?

                Way up high in an apple tree, I saw two eyes look at me.

                I reached for an apple, it started to squirm…oops! I found a wiggly worm!  Chorus

                That wiggly worm is a friend of mine.  We eat apples all the time.

                 I let him crawl back to that tree… hey!  That worm is looking at me!  Chorus

After hand stamping: Song: Apples & Bananas – Raffi (phonemic awareness)

Additional book possibilities:  10 Apples Up on Top -- Dr. Seuss,  How to make an apple pie & see the world -- Marjorie Priceman (age 5+),   10 Red Apples – Virginia Barthalamew (younger).  A wonderful book for Kindergarten and up: One Green Apple - Eve Bunting (age 5& up,  Beautiful story about a young newly-arrived immigrant named Fatah who gains self-confidence when the green apple she picks on a school field trip perfectly complements the other students' red apples.)

Miss Tara's blog has some other great ideas! http://storytimewithmisstara.blogspot.com/2012/10/wiggle-worms-10-2-12.html

9/2013