I’ve been referencing this storytime outline for my past few posts but realized I never talked about how it actually shook out!
*Welcome & Set Expectations
*Sing: Clap Everybody & Say Hello
Read: The Mouse Who Wasn’t Scared by Petr Horacek
A little fearless Mouse proves her bravery by wandering into the woods, but gets bored pretty quickly when none of the big, bad animals want to play. When she comes across a cabin, however, she discovers the forest’s most fearsome creature of all… a cat!
This book set the stage perfectly for my new Mouse House! I asked the kiddos if they remembered where mouse found the cat (in a cabin). Then we looked at some other kinds of houses, too: a birdhouse, a mobile home, a barnhouse, and an apartment – or in this case, one of my kids said it looked like his daddy’s office!
Flannel: Mouse House
Since the early literacy focus this month was building background knowledge, I asked questions mostly about what each building was for and encouraged the kiddos to make connections. We also engaged in some math talk before playing the game:
- Which building is the tallest?
- Which building is the widest?
- Which building is the smallest?
- Which one do you think is the best size for a mouse? Why?
*Sing: If You’re Ready for a Story
Read: Giant Pop Out Farm
I love reading guess who books during background knowledge month! These books are so accessible to all ages, too. The littles love the pop-outs and the older kids love guessing.
Sing: Animal Action Part II by Greg & Steve
This song features lots of farmyard friends – horses, spiders, ducks, and bees.
Rhyme: Put Your Hands Up High… (x2)
We still had lots of wiggles, so we did this fun little rhyme.
Bee Breaths
Picked up this great mindfulness moment from Kara Willey’s Breathe Like a Bear book! I use Snake, Candle and Bumblebee breathing exercises pretty regularly in storytime. They’re great for helping us find our center and focus before the next book.
Read: Horses by Quinn M. Arnold (Seedlings Press)
I let the kiddos vote if they wanted to read and learn more about pigs or horses. Horses won by a narrow margin!
I love the nonfiction Seedlings series for many reasons! The books are a good size for storytime, the photographs are visually appealing, and the kids love reading/waving “Hello” at the beginning and “Goodbye” at the end. These books always end with a diagram that we can use to compare our bodies to the animals.
Lit Tip: Building Background Knowledge With Your Library Card
“Grown-ups, imagine reading a car repair manual if you’re not a mechanic or if you’ve never looked under the hood! That’s what it’s like for kids learning to read when they come to a book with no connections or background knowledge about the topic. The good thing is not only does your library card connect you to great nonfiction books to build background knowledge, your card can also connect you to cool experiences like the Museum of Nature and Science – for FREE! Ask me how during Learning Through Play today!”
Sing: Little Red Wagon (stretchy band)
*Learning Through Play
*Please visit this page to learn more about my regular storytime songs and routines.
Storytime in the Stacks 