Cover Sheet – For the Presenter
The following storyhour program is designed for toddlers and preschoolers
(primarily 2-3-year olds).
You don’t have to read the presenter’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 (the presenter) is in italics –
so don’t read that text.
The general outline of our storytime is:
I.
Welcome/Introductory Comments
II.
Opening Song
III.
Rhyme with flannelboard
IV.
Quieting rhyme
V.
Book
VI.
Flannelboard Activity
VII.
Rhyme
VIII. Book
IX.
Counting Rhyme
X.
Book
XI.
Closing Song
Feel free to substitute your own opening and closing rhymes as well as any
rhymes with a color theme that the children have heard before. Repetition
of songs and action rhymes from previous storytimes is better than
introducing all new ones.
You can create flannel board pieces using clipart that comes with your word
processing program – simply enlarge the artwork to a suitable size.
You might also enlarge some of the rhymes and display those to help the
adults join in.
We like the idea of offering a simple craft or activity after your storytime
has officially ended to encourage caregivers to visit and look at your
library’s books and brochures.
Photocopy the take home materials so that the learning continues all week!
It’s a Colorful World
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. Our theme today
is color.
Let’s start with a simple song, sung to the tune of “Happy
Birthday.” Everyone please join in!
Opening Song (to the tune of “Happy Birthday”)
Good morning to you
Good morning to you
Good morning, dear Tommy,
Good morning, to you.
(Repeat with all of the children’s names if possible – if your group is too
large, just substitute “children” and sing 3 or 4 times.)
Let’s say a rhyme together.
To the adults:
Rhymes and songs are good ways to teach children “phonological
awareness” – that is how to distinguish the different sounds that
make up words. Please say the rhyme along with me!
Rhyme with Flannelboard:
I NEVER SAW A PURPLE COW
I never saw a purple cow.
never hope to see one.
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!
(repeat substituting “orange,” “red,” I
“yellow,”“green,” and “blue.”)
Now it’s time to settle down for a story. Let’s get all of our wiggles out now:
Quieting Rhyme
I wiggle my fingers,
I wiggle my toes.
I wiggle my arms,
I wiggle my nose.
I think that the wiggles
Are all out of me
Now I can sit down
And hear a story.
Book
Read In My New Yellow Shirt by Eileen Spinelli; Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma
Dodd [Use the flannel board “spots” and bones for this book.]; or something
similar about color.
Flannel Board Activity
Use flannel board pieces to review colors with the children. [Print out the
names of colors in large type to display with colored objects.] Ask them to
point out other things (clothing items, etc.) that are each color as well. If
you read Dog’s Colorful Day, you might ask the children to recall what caused
that color of spot.
To the adults:
We don’t expect the children to learn to read the color names, but
showing them the written words helps them get the idea that
printed words are symbols for real things.
Let’s say another rhyme about colors together.
-2-
Rainbow Kittens Rhyme with Flannel Board
Rainbow Kittens
Six little kittens found a box of paint.
They jumped right in . . . their mother will faint!
The first little kitten came out all red.
“I’ll be orange,” the second one said.
The third little kitten turned bright yellow.
“Ill be green,” said the next little fellow.
The fifth kitten said, “My favorite is blue.”
“Purple for me,” said the sixth with a mew.
Dancing home the little kittens go
To show their mother a KITTEN RAINBOW!
To the caregivers:
With this next book I’m going to demonstrate more about what we
call “dialogic or interactive reading.” Notice how I simply discuss
the book with the children and ask them questions as I go along.
This helps them with their narrative skills – their ability to describe
things.
Book
Read another book about color, taking time to ask the children questions
about the color of things and so on. For example, if you are reading Dog’s
Colorful Day, you might randomly ask “Do you remember where the dog got
the red spot?” You might ask if any of the children have a dog of their own
and if they ever give their dog a bath. [Use flannel board “spots” (colored
circles) with this book.]
Now it’s time for a counting rhyme.
-3-
Five Purple Polka Dots
(From p. 59 of 1001 Rhymes and Fingerplays. Use flannel board circles. Or
substitute Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
Book
Choose Elmer by David McKee; Maisy’s Color Collection by Lucy Cousins;
Color Farm board book by Lois Ehlert; Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh or
Color Dance by Ann Jonas.
“Extra Rhyme”
(If you need one more to fill the time, you might use “Five Green Apples”
from the Take-Home Sheet or do “Five Purple Polka Dots” or “Rainbow
Kittens” again – repetition is good, so don’t forget to include one of these in
your next storytime as well.)
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.
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. Something simple is fine.
This gives parents a chance to visit and it reinforces what the children learned.
For a coloring page, photocopy the dog picture posted on the website where you found
this storytime plan. Have children color the spots. [Provide crayons.]
It’s a Colorful World
Take-Home Sheet
Use this rhyme to review colors with your child.
Be sure to point out
common things that are those colors as you say them. Learning colors is just
part of building vocabulary. It enhances the child’s “narrative skills” – or
their ability to describe things.
By the time your child is about 2 years old he or she is ready for a box of
crayons. Coloring helps build fine motor skills.
Rainbow Kittens
Six little kittens found a box of paint.
They jumped right in . . . their mother will faint!
The first little kitten came out all red.
“I’ll be orange,” the second one said.
The third little kitten turned bright yellow.
“Ill be green,” said the next little fellow.
The fifth kitten said, “My favorite is blue.”
“Purple for me,” said the sixth with a mew.
Dancing home the little kittens go
To show their mother a KITTEN RAINBOW!
Five Green Apples
(Use real apples for counting. Substitute “red” if appropriate.)
Five green apples
Hanging in a tree
The juiciest apples you ever did see!
The wind came by
And gave an angry frown
And one little apple came tumbling down.
Four green apples, etc.
When you select books to read aloud to your child, look for books with
large, colorful pictures that have few words on each page. It is good to
include books that introduce new vocabulary words – but only a few at a time.
Rhyme is great because it helps the child be more aware of the sounds that
make up words. Repetition is another feature to look for – it encourages the
child to “chime in” when he or she knows the words. And, of course, look for
topics that interest your child.
Here are some of our favorite books about color:
Elmer by David McKee
Maisy’s Color Collection by Lucy Cousins
Color Farm board book by Lois Ehlert
Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Color Dance by Ann Jonas
In My New Yellow Shirt by Eileen Spinelli
Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown