This is a sample handout for a preschool storytime for children ages 4, 5 and 6 years old.  Much of the wording and activities are borrowed from Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz's book Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library and the ALA Every Child Ready to Read @ your library training manual.  The How Now Brown Cow activity is from The Mailbox, the idea magazine for teachers.  This sample was a handout from a preschool storytime at the Harrison County Public Library in Corydon, IN.  Parents are not required to stay during the library's storytime.  That is why the back of the double-sided handout is a take-home parent tip because most of the parents are not in the activity room during the storytime.  These tips let the parents know what early literacy skill was featured during the storytime and how to make a connection at home.  Most of the storytimes at HCPL include a craft or activity time in addition to the stories, fingerplays and songs.  Not all of the books included are read during each storytime.  Books are selected based on the children present and their response to the material.  For more information contact Alisa Burch, Youth Services Manager, Harrison County Public Library at aburch@hcpl.lib.
 
 
 
Set the moo-oo-ood to read until the cows come home with these great cow tales.


Calling All Cows

Cow by Malachy Doyle

Cows Can’t Fly by David Milgrim

The Cow in Apple Time by Robert Frost

Cows in the Kitchen by Jane Crebbin

And the Cow Said Moo! by Mildred Phillips

Daddy Played Music for the Cows by Maryann Weidt

Manny’s Cows the Niagara Falls Tale by Suzy Becker

Millie in the Meadow by Janet Pedersen

Moo Who by Margie Palatini

Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow by Mary Ann Hoberman

No Moon, No Milk! by Chris Babcock

Too Many Pears! by Jackie French

When Cows Come Home by David L. Harrison
 

Hello, Hello

Hello, hello, hello and how are you?

I’m fine, thanks, I’m fine, thanks.

I’m hoping you are too!

 

 

Cows in the Kitchen!

(tune: Skip to My Lou)

Cows in the kitchen, Oh, no, no!

Cows in the kitchen, Oh, no, no!

Cows in the kitchen, Oh, no, no!

Cows are in the kitchen!


Ten in the kitchen, Shoo, cow, shoo!

Ten in the kitchen, That won’t do!

Ten in the kitchen, Shoo, cow shoo!

Nine cows in the kitchen.

(Repeat second verse, substituting the appropriate number words
each time. When you reach zero, speak the last four lines in unison.)


Ah, at last!

But what’s that noise I hear in the shower?

Cows in the shower, Oh, no, no!


Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey, diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such sport.

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Milk a Cow

(tune: Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we milk a cow,

Milk a cow, milk a cow.

This is the way we milk a cow,

Early in the morning.


Milk the Cow

(tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Milk, milk, milk the cow

While sitting on a stool.

Pulling, squirting, pulling squirting,

Till the bucket’s full.


Cow on a Walk

A brown cow went for a walk on a sunny day.

She walked up a hill (walk fingers up arm)

And down a hill (walk fingers down arm)

And up a hill, and down a hill.

And up a hill, and down a hill.

She stopped to look around. (fingers stop walking)

She nibbled a bite of grass. (fingers kneel on arm)

She lay down for a rest. (lay hand on arm)

Time to go home,” she said. (stand fingers up)

So she walked up a hill, and down a hill.

And up a hill, and down a hill.

And up a hill and down a hill.

Until she got home (fingers stop walking.)

Traveling is nice,” she said, “But home is best.”


Parent Tip Take-Home – Phonological Awareness


Research indicates that phonological awareness, or the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words, is an important skill for children to know before they go to school.

Today at the Library…



We read some stories about cows and the adventures they had. We are practicing rhyming because it is a skill that will help children decode words. One of the ways you can help your child improve his or her reading skills is by pointing out rhymes where you hear them. After you read a book together that has rhyming words in it, go back through the story and talk about the words that rhyme. You can play How Now, Brown Cow with your child using the cow cards we sent home. First cut the cards apart and ask your child for some words that rhyme with cow. Write the words on the blank cows. Also include a couple words that will not rhyme.


How to play How Now, Brown Cow


To begin, hold the card labeled cow in your right hand and another card of your choice in your left hand. Read (or have your child read) the two cards aloud. If the words rhyme respond “How now, brown cow? Moo-oo!” If they do not rhyme, say “Not now, brown cow!” After the game, your child may try to read and match the rhyming cow cards.


Sample words to rhyme with cow

bow pow chow how wow plow now

brow meow sow…


Keep your ears ready to hear rhyme. You can use rhyming words from songs that you sing as well as make up your own sets of rhyming words. It is fun to play with words this way, so enjoy! You can make up words that are silly and don’t make sense, just as long as they rhyme!


Created as part of the final project for S603 High Tech Learning taught by Professor Annette Lamb as part of the SLIS program at IUPUI.