Cover Sheet For the Presenter

Transcription

1 Cover Sheet For the Presenter The following storyhour program is designed for preschoolers (primarily 3- and 4- year olds). Arbor Day falls on the last Friday in April in Iowa. (See the Arbor Day website at for more information.) This storytime is also good for celebrating Earth Day on April 22 nd. You don t have to read the leader s comments word-for-word, but try to include the information in your own words. Of course, if you don t have parents attending with the children, you can skip those asides. The information that is just for you is in italics so don t read that text. The general outline of our storytime is: I. Opening Song II. Welcome/Introductory Comments III. Quieting Rhyme IV. Book V. Story Rhyme VI. Interactive Rhyme VII. Book VIII. Extra Rhyme IX. Closing Rhyme Feel free to substitute your own opening and closing rhymes as well as any rhymes with a similar theme that the children have heard before. Repetition of songs and action rhymes from previous storytimes is better than introducing all new ones. Feel free to make a copy of rhymes that you would like to use again in the coming weeks. We have included a take-home sheet and coloring pages here. You may add your library name to the end of the take home sheet before printing. Flannel board artwork is posted on the website where you found this kit. It would be nice to enlarge some of the rhymes to help the adults join in.

2 Trees/Arbor Day Start with a simple song, sung to the tune of Skip To My Lou. Shorten the song if necessary to suit your needs. It helps to have the words enlarged on a flip chart or poster so that the parents and caregivers will find it easy to join in. Opening Song Books (clap), books (clap), books (clap) for you Songs (clap), songs (clap), songs (clap) for you Rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap) for you We ve got... Stories and more Stories and more Stories and more Books (clap), books (clap), books (clap) for you Songs (clap), songs (clap), songs (clap) for you Rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap) for you We ve got... Songs to sing Songs to sing Songs to sing Books (clap), books (clap), books (clap) for you Songs (clap), songs (clap), songs (clap) for you Rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap), rhymes (clap) for you

3 Come... Sit right down And join right in Sit right down And join right in Sit right down And join right in (Invite everyone to sing along as they join the group. You might clap during the chorus as noted.) Introduction Welcome to storytime. I am glad you could all be here today. Our theme today is trees. On Arbor Day, we celebrate the wonder and beauty of trees. Many people plant trees on that day. To the caregivers: Today we are focusing on building narrative skills the ability to tell stories and recount events. We do this by simply giving the children a chance to respond to the stories and rhymes. Quieting Rhyme Now let s put away all of our wiggles to get ready for a story. If you have a pocket, you can put your wiggles there or just place them in your lap as we say this rhyme together. (Add a simple tune if you wish. Use hand gestures to indicate the parts of the body mentioned.) I ve got a wiggle in my toes. I ll put it away. I ve got a wiggle in my nose. I ll put it away. I ve got some wiggles on my lips. I ll put them away.

4 I ve got some wiggles in my hips. I ll put them away. Now, I ve got quiet in my chest And quiet in the rest I m as quiet as can be So, now please read to me! Book Read your favorite book about trees. Some suggestions are: We Planted a Tree by Diane Muldrow, A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma, Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall, A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry, The Big Tree by Bruce Hiscock; Someday a Tree by Eve Bunting. Briefly discuss some of the ideas presented in the book you chose. Ask a few questions about the material be sure to ask questions that can t be answered with simply yes or no. In preparation for the following story rhyme, you might lead the discussion to how trees grow and change. Talk about how bark feels. Together, name as many animals as you can that live in trees. You might ask the children if they will grow to be as tall as their favorite tree. Now, listen to this rhyme about trees. Story Rhyme [Add some gestures like hugging yourself when you say squeeze, or pretending to look up high for the birds.] Squeeze your favorite tree today And gently stroke its bark. Pick a tree to be your friend At home or in the park. Look for the birds up in your tree And squirrels who like the view. Watch and wait for little bugs To share your tree with you.

5 Enjoy the shade and pretty leaves That change from spring to fall. See how much your tree will grow As you are growing tall. ~S. Gruber Interactive Rhyme To make this rhyme interactive, read through it once with the flannel board (see the artwork document that goes along with this storytime), then read it a second time having the children fill in the blanks as shown below. ChangingTrees In summer trees have green leaves. Some have apples or pears in the Fall. Then their leaves turn yellow, And in winter they have none at all. In summer trees have green (pause and point to flannel board; if children do not respond, ask some leading questions, say the word leaves emphatically to end). Some have apples or pears in the (pause again; ask when we pick apples; let parents help if necessary). Then their leaves turn (pause; ask what colors leaves turn in the Fall; accept other colors as answers even if they do not rhyme), And in winter they have (accept any answers, but end by saying none at all ). To the adults: You can play games like this with favorite rhymes or stories that you ve read many times.

6 Book Read another book about trees. Flannel Board Game Using the flannel board pieces provided, play which of these foods comes from trees? Extra Rhyme Use if time permits. Above Me in the Trees The birds in the branches go chirp, chirp, chirp Chirp, chirp, chirp Chirp, chirp, chirp The birds in the branches go chirp, chirp, chirp Above me in the trees. The babies in the nests go peep, peep, peep Peep, peep, peep Peep, peep, peep The babies in the nests go peep, peep, peep Above me in the trees. The squirrels overhead rush to and fro To and fro, To and fro, The squirrels overhead rush to and fro Above me in the trees The bugs on the leaf go chomp, chomp, chomp Chomp, chomp, chomp, Chomp, chomp, chomp. The bugs on the leaf go chomp, chomp, chomp Above me in the trees.

7 Now it s time to end our storyhour. To the caregivers: Feel free to stay a while and do a craft or check out some books to take home. Remember to talk to your child about the books you read together this week! Closing Rhyme See you later, alligator (use hand to shade your eyes as if searching) In a while, crocodile (point to watch or clock) Bye-bye, butterfly (wave) Toodle-oo, kangaroo (wave hankie) Time to go, buffalo (look at watch and shake head as if running late) Just like that, fat cat (snap fingers) It s the end, my friend. (shrug shoulders and throw up hands in a giving up gesture) Crafts: We like the idea of providing a craft at the end of storyhour. Something simple is fine. This gives parents a chance to visit and it re-inforces what the children learned. If you have parents leave for storytime, you might invite them to come back for crafts as they drop off their child. Coloring pages are provided. You might also try sponge-print trees print out tree trunk shapes on construction paper (you might photocopy the bare tree from the flannel board patterns). Cut sponges into small irregular shapes. Provide small bowls of tempera paint in shades of green (or red and yellow for fall). Have children use sponges as stampers to paint leaves on their trees. You could do something similar with glue sticks and small pieces of cut or torn colored paper to make the leaves.

8 Trees/Arbor Day Take-Home Sheet Today we talked about trees. We focused on building narrative skills through simple discussion with the children. Please continue the discussion at home by telling stories about planting trees, how much a special tree in your yard has grown, and so on. Show photographs showing how a tree has changed if you have them. Or find a book about seasons that shows trees. Here is a rhyme we heard today: ChangingTrees In summer trees have green leaves. Some have apples or pears in the Fall. Then their leaves turn yellow, And in winter they have none at all. ~S. Gruber When you read to your child, ask a few simple questions about the story questions that require more than a one-word answer. You might even ask your child to retell parts of the story in his own words. Say things like What happened after the moose ate the muffin? Remembering events in order is also an important part of developing narrative skills. It is important, too, to make a child feel that his answers are not wrong. Simply make suggestions that lead her to a better answer. For example, if your child says, He wants you to make more muffins, say, Yes, the moose wanted more muffins, but first didn t he ask for something to put on the muffins? That way you aren t contradicting the child, but encouraging him to think again. Remember, too that it takes longer for a child to form a response to a question.

9 Now let s play a rhyming game. How many words can you think of that rhyme with tree? Use the pictures to help you get started. (bee, tea, knee) Help your child think up more rhyming words like three, free and me. What words can you think of that rhyme with trees? (freeze, peas, and sneeze) Help your child think up more rhyming words like please and squeeze. Even silly made-up words are OK.

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