Each Preschool Storytime includes activities that support all or most of the five early literacy practices identified as essential in helping your child develop the skills they need before they can learn to read. The five practices – singing, talking, reading, playing and writing – were developed for Every Child Ready to Read®, an initiative of the Association for Library Services for Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA).
Reading:
Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman
Singing:
Hello, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")
Hello friends.
Hello friends.
Hello friends.
We're glad you came today!
Everybody Say Hello!
(tune: "London Bridge")
Everybody say hello, say hello, say hello,
Everybody say hello, hello Wesley!
(Wesley is my turtle puppet who pops out of my apron pocket whenever we sing this song. Then he sits quietly on his rock and listens to the stories and sings along with us. At the end of storytime he says goodbye to the children, gives them high fives, eats pretend food from their hands, blows kisses, and plays hide and seek!)
Old MacDonald
Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o!
And on that farm he had a horse, e-i-e-i-o!
With a neigh-neigh here and a neigh-neigh there,
Here a neigh, there a neigh, everywhere a neigh-neigh.
Old MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o!
The children in Storytime were allowed to pick a farm animal puppet to hold onto during this song. When we sang the verse about their animal, they could hold up their puppet and tell us what sound that animal makes.
Goodbye, Friends!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
We're glad you came today!
(tune: "Goodnight Ladies")
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
Goodbye friends.
We're glad you came today!
(tune: "Sally Wore a Red Dress")
What's in the green box,
The green box, the green box?
What's in the green box
For us to play?
Our green box today contained several felt board stories that could be used while singing "Old MacDonald", or with rhymes about farm animals.
I also offered an activity involving coloring and following directions.
Additionally, I provided pumpkin-spiced playdough and a variety of objects including cookie cutters, wood blocks and cylinders, plastic dinosaurs and sea creatures, and pretend food.
Here is the recipe I used for the playdough:
I also offered an activity involving coloring and following directions.
Additionally, I provided pumpkin-spiced playdough and a variety of objects including cookie cutters, wood blocks and cylinders, plastic dinosaurs and sea creatures, and pretend food.
Here is the recipe I used for the playdough:
Talking/Playing/Writing:
Parents talked with their preschoolers about a wide variety of subjects as they played with the playdough. There were discussions about why certain wood blocks (a wedge) worked better than items such as a plastic dinosaur for scraping the dough off the table. Children experimented with pressing objects into the dough, then lifting it to see the impression it made. Children made playdough "watches" for mommy's wrist, ice cream scoops to add to a plastic ice cream cone, and "spider tacos". Manipulating the dough, pressing objects into the dough, and then gently pulling them out were fun ways to strengthen muscles in their hands and arms!
Parents talked with their preschoolers about a wide variety of subjects as they played with the playdough. There were discussions about why certain wood blocks (a wedge) worked better than items such as a plastic dinosaur for scraping the dough off the table. Children experimented with pressing objects into the dough, then lifting it to see the impression it made. Children made playdough "watches" for mommy's wrist, ice cream scoops to add to a plastic ice cream cone, and "spider tacos". Manipulating the dough, pressing objects into the dough, and then gently pulling them out were fun ways to strengthen muscles in their hands and arms!
Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library®, PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks of the American Library Association and are used with permission.
