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. 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 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.in.us .
The Art of Eric Carle
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
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Butterfly Song (tune Up on the Housetop) First comes a butterfly and lays an egg, Out comes the caterpillar with many legs. Oh, see the caterpillar spin and spin, A little cocoon to sleep in. Oh, oh, oh, look and see Oh, oh, oh, look and see Out of the cocoon my, oh, my Out comes a pretty butterfly The Fuzzy Caterpillar (tune Itsy Bitsy Spider) The fuzzy caterpillar Curled up on a leaf, Spun her little chrysalis And then fell fast asleep. While she was sleeping She dreamed that she could fly, And later when she woke up She was a butterfly! I’m a Butterfly (tune Pop Goes the Weasel) I spin and spin my chrysalis, Then I go rest inside. When I come out, ‘ve changed indeed… Look, I’m a butterfly!
Fly Fly Butterfly (tune Skip to My Lou) Fly fly butterfly Fly fly butterfly |
Fly fly butterfly Fly up in the sky so high.
Bugs (tune of Are You Sleeping?) Big bugs, small bugs, Big bugs, small bugs, See them crawl up the wall. Creeping and a –crawling, How do they keep from falling? Bugs, bugs, bugs, Bugs, bugs, bugs Quiet bugs, loud bugs, Quiet bugs, loud bugs Hear them sing in the night. Chirping and a-zinging, All through the night they’re singing. Bugs, bugs, bugs, Bugs, bugs, bugs. All Around My Yard (Tune of the Wheels on the Bus) The firefly at night goes blink, blink, blink, Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink. The firefly at night goes blink, blink, blink. All around my yard. The bees in the flowers go buzz, buzz, buzz… The ants in the grass go march, march, march… The crickets in the leaves go chirp, chirp, chirp… The caterpillar in the field goes creep, creep, creep… The worms in the dirt go munch, munch, munch… |
Parent Tip Take-Home – Narrative Skills
Research indicates that narrative skills, or the ability to describe things and talk about events and tell stories, is one of the six early literacy skills that will help your child be ready to read.
Today at the Library…
we read stories by Eric Carle and created a sequencing craft for The Very Hungry Caterpillar that your child can use to retell the story to you.
The ability to retell a story is part of the narrative skills that children need to develop to be able to understand what they read when they start to read on their own. It is easier for children to retell a story it by putting the events in order.
You can help your child develop this skill by talking about the things you do together in order. Summarize with your child what you did this morning or yesterday. Talk about your activities in the order that they occurred. This will help them to become familiar with the idea that their activities, like stories, have a sequence.
Here is a song that you can change to fit a variety of activities:
(Sing to the tune of “This is the Way We Wash Our Clothes”)
In the morning: For Shopping:
This is the way we wash our face This is the way we write our list…
Wash our face, wash our face This is the way we drive the car…
This is the way we was our face This is the way we buy the food….
So early in the morning. When we go to the store.
This is the way we brush our teeth…
This is the way we wear our clothes….
Have fun making up other songs as you go about your day together!