Activity Time!
Help children get ready to read with these fun activities.
READ, WRITE, TALK, SING, PLAY — EVERYDAY!
Read
 Read classic stories, such as “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”, aloud to
children. If you do not have copies of your own, check out the library
collection. Library staff will be happy to help.
Talk
Write
 Get out some crayons and some paper—let
children create some great works of art. Show
them how crayons can make darker and lighter
colors by pressing down lightly and harder on
the crayons.
Sing
 Sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” with
children, make up your own words/actions or
be inspired by the Anytime Storytime good-bye
song. * This is a great song for labeling body parts.
 New words can be lots of
fun! What does ‘gruff’
mean? What does it look like
when someone is ‘gruff’?
How does it feel to be
‘gruff’? Try introducing similar words too, such as: nasty,
surly, brusque and blunt.
Plus introduce opposite
words, such as: cheerful,
kind, polite and tactful.
If you’re happy and you know it _____.
If you’re happy and you know it _____.
If you’re happy and you know it, then you’re
face will surely show it.
If you’re happy and you know it _____.
Play
 Pretend to be characters in a story. For example: be a goat trotting to the
meadow or a goat feeling hungry, be an angry troll or make a bridge with
your body.
*Stories are a great opening to talk about feelings with children.