It’s been awhile since I shared a two-fer storytime plan! Here’s a super fun snowy storytime I used with two different mixed-age family groups: my Monday night crowd (primarily composed of school-agers) and my Saturday storytimers (always a mixed bag).
Rhyme: Bread & Butter*
Welcome/Introduction
Sing: Roll the Ball (Monday); If You’re Happy and You Know It… (Saturday)*
Sing: If You’re Ready for a Story…*
Book Excerpt: A spotted brown cow wears wooly mittens, a knit hat and scarf. The blossoms on a nearby tree clearly indicate the spring season. An exasperated rooster says, “Oh, Cow. Not now.”
Read: Not Now, Cow! by Tammi Sauer
This silly cow is always out of sync with the seasons! The story is made doubly silly, of course, by the fact that cows don’t wear clothes.
Lit Tip: Funny Stories and Print Motivation
That sure was a silly story! Grown-ups, reading stories that make you laugh out loud is a great way to help your little ones build print motivation, or the love of reading. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins and serotonin, which make you feel good. When you read funny books and laugh together, your child then associates those positive feelings with books and reading.
Sing: Hat, Jacket, Pants and Boots
TUNE: HEAD, SHOULDERS, KNEES AND TOES
Hat, jacket, pants and boots –
Pants and boots!
Hat, jacket, pants and boots –
Pants and boots!
When it’s cold out there,
This is what we wear –
A hat, jacket, pants and boots.
Pants and boots!CREDIT: PIGGYBACK
We sang this song several times through, going faster and faster each time!
Dance: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies (Scarves/Bubbles)
“Now that we’re dressed for the weather, we can play in the snow and cold!”
I gave the Monday group scarves and they danced around like snowflakes, freezing when I paused the music. They love stop and go songs!
We had quite a few little ones on Saturday, so I brought out the bubble machine instead of scarves and encouraged them to catch the bubble “snowflakes” during the song.
Pause: Hot Chocolate Breaths
This breathing exercise helped us settle down before our next story.
Read: The Mitten (Prop/Puppet Story)
Rather than reading the book, I told the story with our big knit mitten and some puppets.
Play: Hide and Seek Hats (Flannelboard)
Speaking of silly animals in clothes…
Sing: We Are Clapping, Clapping, Clapping (Goodbye Song)*
Book Excerpt: A loud KNOCK KNOCK on the door startles a brown bear dressed for bed in pajamas and a sleeping cap. “Who’s there?” the startled bear asks. A voice outside the door replies, “Ken.” The bear asks, “Ken who?”
Bonus Book: Knock Knock by Tammi Sauer
As always, I invited my older “big kids” to stay for a bonus storytime book. I didn’t have any takers on Saturday, but my regular Monday night school-agers enjoyed another fabulously funny Tammi Sauer read-aloud!
*Please visit this page to learn more about my regular storytime songs and routines.
Storytime in the Stacks 