Cover Sheet For the Presenter

Transcription

1 Cover Sheet For the Presenter The following storyhour program is designed for toddlers and preschoolers (primarily 2-4-year olds). You don t have to read the leader s comments word-for-word, but try to include the information in your own words especially the asides to the parents. 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. Rhyme IV. Quieting rhyme V. Book VI. Rhyme VII. Story/Book VIII. Song IX. Closing Rhyme Feel free to substitute your own opening and closing rhymes as well as any rhymes with a Thanksgiving or turkey theme that the children have heard before. Repetition of songs and action rhymes from previous storytimes is better than introducing all new ones. We have provided separate documents with printable flannelboard graphics: Thankful Things, First Thanksgiving, and a large clock for the closing rhyme. You might wish to print some of the rhymes in large print to help the adults join in.

2 Thanksgiving Storytime Opening Song (to the tune of Happy Birthday. Sing as the children are arriving.) Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning, dear children, Good morning, to you. Introduction To the caregivers: Welcome to storytime. I am glad you could all be here today. We are going to be sharing some rhymes and books. Adults, please join in with our rhymes and actions. Today we are going to talk about the importance of building narrative skills by allowing the children to answer questions and retell stories. Rhyme (Introduce today s theme by asking the children if they know what holiday is coming soon. Explain that Thanksgiving is when we celebrate having plenty of good food to eat. Then ask what animal they think of when they think of Thanksgiving Day. If they can t guess, try making gobble sounds as a clue.) Now we are all going to pretend to be turkeys... You may use only the first verse of the following rhyme or all three. A few flannelboard pieces (items in bold Thanksgiving Day is represented by the roast turkey) are provided for fun, but they are optional. -1-

3 I m a Little Turkey (to the tune of I m a Little Teapot ) I m a little turkey Singing away Gobble, gobble, gobble Is what I say. I like to spread my tail and Strut this way; Just waiting for Thanksgiving Day. I m a little turkey See me grow. Eating lots of corn I move quite slow. When the skies turn gray and Cold winds blow, Go to the barn And watch for snow. (nod head from side to side) (swing hips) (stretch up taller) (pretend to eat) (take a few very slow steps) I m a big fat turkey Round and wide. Now I just waddle From side to side. When I hear the farmer Just outside I know it s time To run and hide. (hold hands in front of you in a big circle) (slowly sway from side to side) (cup hand to ear) (run in place) [If you use all three verses, ask the children why the turkey wanted to run and hide. You might also ask how many will be eating turkey for Thanksgiving.]

4 Quieting Rhyme We have included a pattern for making some wiggle worms (just copy and cut along the gray lines). You can also use gummy worms or packing worms. Give each child 5 to start with. Decorate a jar or box to put the wiggles in (remember to change the word in the rhyme to go with your container). If you have a group that is too large for this activity to work well, you might use invisible wiggles (wiggle your index finger) and pretend to put them behind your back, in your lap, under your chair, etc. Say I hide one away or something similar. 5 little wiggles I just can t ignore, I put one in the jar And now I have 4 4 little wiggles Inside of me I put one in the jar And now I have 3 3 little wiggles Don t know what to do So I put one in the jar And now I have 2 2 little wiggles Now I m almost done I put another in the jar And now I have 1 1 little wiggle All alone I put it in the jar And now I have none -3-

5 Now that all of our wiggles are safely sealed in our jar/sleeping in our laps/etc., we re ready to sit down and hear a story. To the parents/caregivers: Let s read this book together now. Notice how I pause to ask questions, allow the children to comment on the story, or ask them to predict what might happen next. When you do this at home, be sure to allow your child enough time to respond before moving on. Book Read I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson; Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dave Pilkey (8 children stick 8 turkeys under their shirts and smuggle them home where they all eat veggies for dinner); Its Thanksgiving by Jack Prelutsky (5 poems); Little Bear's Thanksgiving by Janice Brustlein (Because he hibernates, little bear has never head of Thanksgiving. When he gets an invitation he has friends explain it to him and wake him up in time.); Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting (Mrs. Moose wants turkey for Thanksgiving. Mr. Moose and friends find one and he is their guest.); or Squirrels' Thanksgiving by Steven Kroll (Little squirrels discover they are thankful for each other.). All available through SILO interlibrary loan! Rhyme (to the tune of Did You Ever See a Lassie? ) Get the wiggles back out and plan some simple motions to go along with this rhyme! Repeat a few times with different movements. Did you ever see a turkey, a turkey, a turkey? Did you ever see a turkey Go this way and that? Go this way and that way And this way and that way Did you ever see a turkey Go this way and that?

6 Book/Story Tell about the first Thanksgiving using flannelboard pieces. [ A long time ago, a group of people called pilgrims came to America on a tiny ship. The ship was named the Mayflower. It was winter when they arrived and the food that they had was running out. It was a very bad winter for the hungry pilgrims. But when spring came the Indians who lived nearby came to help the pilgrims learn to grow and find food in their new country. When the fall came again, the pilgrims harvested lots of food thanks to the Indians. They were so thankful that they planned a big feast. The pilgrims and the Indians all brought food to share. There was wild turkey and corn and fruits and pies. They all had a great Thanksgiving dinner together.] Or, you might read My First Thanksgiving by Tomie DePaola or something similar. Take some time to answer any questions that the children may have. To the caregivers: Remember, when you are reading to your child, allow some pauses for your child to ask questions or comment on the story. Song (to the tune of O Christmas Tree ) Notice that this song is very repetitive. After singing a verse or two, you might ask the children to suggest some things that they are thankful for. You can simply shorten the song for younger groups. I have underlined some of the words that you could replace with other things. For example, you could sing For my dog Spot and pumpkin pie or For cars to drive and all we need. Try pointing to the Thankful Things flannelboard pieces to get the children to name some of the things they are thankful for. For family and pumpkin pie, For fun and friends and treats oh my!

7 For my teddy bear and soccer ball, For cozy homes when snowflakes fall. For Farmer Brown who grew the corn, Turkey roasting since early morn. For toys to play and books to read, For food to eat and all we need. Read a third story now if you have time. Closing Rhyme (Put up the flannelboard clock as a sign that storytime is over.) Good-bye now, good-bye. The clock tells us we're done. I'll see you next storytime, Good-bye now everyone.

8 To the caregivers: Feel free to stay a while and do a craft or check out some books to take home. (Point out any brochures or tip sheets that you have on display for parents, etc.) Crafts: We like the idea of providing a craft at the end of storyhour. You can allow some craft time before your closing rhyme if you prefer. Something simple is fine. This gives parents a chance to visit and it reinforces what the children have learned. Make turkeys by drawing around hands; making handprints with finger paint; or gluing feather shapes to paper circles. Or, you might have turkey tails for snack by placing a round cookie/cracker on a napkin and letting the children use M & M s or Froot Loops cereal to make a tail around the cookie then gobble them up! You could make this a counting game, too, by counting how many feathers a turkey should have. You could also make men s pilgrim hats using the simple idea found at -7-

9 Thanksgiving Take-Home Sheet Today we talked about the importance of building Narrative Skills the skills your child needs to be able to tell stories or recount events. Be sure to practice these skills when you are reading to your child by asking simple questions about what is happening. You might also ask your child to read a familiar book by turning the pages and explaining what is happening in the pictures. Another way to build narrative skills is to practice putting things (such as events in a story) in their proper order. Talk with your child about how pumpkin pie begins with a seed, etc. Use the pictures on the back of this page as a guide. Later, you might wish to color and cut the pictures out and make a game of putting them in order again! Here is a rhyme that we used in today s storytime. Younger children will probably prefer repeating the first verse only! I m a Little Turkey (to the tune of I m a Little Teapot ) I m a little turkey Singing away Gobble, gobble, gobble Is what I say. I like to spread my tail and Strut this way; Just waiting for Thanksgiving Day. I m a little turkey See me grow. Eating lots of corn I move quite slow. When the skies turn gray and Cold winds blow, Go to the barn And watch for snow. I m a big fat turkey Round and wide. Now I just waddle From side to side. When I hear the farmer Just outside I know it s time To run and hide.

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