Duck and Rabbit

Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Rosenthal

SONG WITH FELT PIECES
There's a little white duck sitting in the water,

a little white duck doing what he oughter.

He took a bite of a lily pad

flapped his wings and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little white duck sitting in the water

quack! quack! quack!"

There's a little green frog swimming in the water,

a little green frog doing what he oughter.

He jumped right off of the lily pad

that the little duck bit and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little green frog swimming in the water

ribbit! ribbit! ribbit!"

There's a little black bug floating on the water,

a little black bug doing what he oughter.

He tickled the frog on the lily pad

that the little duck bit and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little black bug floating on the water

bzzz! bzzz! bzzz!"

There's a little red snake playing in the water,

a little red snake doing what he oughter.

He frightened the duck and the frog so bad,

he ate the bug and he said "I'm glad.

I'm a little red snake playing in the water

hiss! hiss! hiss!"

Now there's nobody left sitting in the water,

nobody left doing what he oughter.

There's nothing left but the lily pad;

the duck and the frog ran away, I'm sad

'cause there's nobody left sitting in the water

boo! hoo! hoo!

Word of the Day: DUCK

Abracadabra ziggety zing
You can be anything.

Just close your eyes,

And turn yourself around.

Then make a wish with a rhyming sound.

Abracadabra ziggety zabbit.

You can be a bunny rabbit!

Magic box By Katie Cleminson

Here is the box. Put on the lid.
I wonder whatever inside is hid.
I'll bet it's a rabbit without any doubt.
Just open the lid,
CREEEEEAK
And let it pop out!

Just how long can a long string be?! By Keith Baker

STORYTELLING
Herbie the worm string story

Worms up, worms down.
Worms are hiding under ground.
Worms down, worms up.
Look out for birds!
They'll gobble you up.

Silly Animals

OPENING SONGS
Turtle, turtle in your box.
Won't you come out?
Knock. Knock. Knock.

I have a little turtle,
His name is Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub
To see if you he could swim.
He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
And now he's sick in bed,
With bubbles in his throat.
Hiccup.


Pigs make me sneeze By Mo Willems

RHYMING

Let's fill up the farm house with silly animals!
To market, to market to buy a fat pig.
Home again home again jiggety jig.
To market to market to buy a soft sheep.
Home again home again jiggety jeep.
To market to market to buy a big cow.
Home again home again jiggety jow!

Willaby wallaby wee.
An elephant sat on me.
Willaby wallaby woo.
An elephant sat on you.
Willaby wallaby wig.
An elephant sat on pig.
Willaby wallaby weep.
An elephant sat on sheep.


Literacy Tip: Use these simply rhymes for playing with language. Practicing rhyming builds your child's readiness to read. Remember that it's great to make up silly rhyming words, your child is learning through play. Dr. Seuss made up a lot of silly nonsense words!

The squeaky doorby Margaret Read MacDonald

Literacy Tip: This retelling of a folktale is great for acting out - using friends and family, puppets, or toys. Help your child narrate the story by asking questions like, "What happens next?" This builds your child's narrative skills.

MORE RHYMING
A hunting we will go.
A hunting we will go.
We'll catch a bear,
And put her in a chair.
And then we'll let her go.

Repeat this song using rhyming pairs like: "Frog - log", "Cat - hat", "Goat-boat", "Snake-cake". What else can you think of?

STORYTELLING
Sarah's version of "The Exploding Frog"

SONG
Mmm mmm went the little green frog one day.
Mmm mmm went the little green frog.
Mmm mmm went the little green frog one day.
And they all went mmm mmm ah.
But we all know frogs go,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
We all know frogs go,
CLAP, lah dee dah dee dah,
They don't go mmm mmm ah.

Call me gorgeous By Giles And Alexandra Milton

AND EVEN MORE RHYMING!
Abracadabra ziggety zing.
You can be anything.
Just close your eyes,
And turn yourself around.
Then make a wish with a rhyming sound.
Abracadabra, ziggety zoar
You can be a dinosaur!

Literacy Tip: This rhyme has a strong rhythm. Tap your thighs and clap your hands. Then, close your eyes, turn yourself around, and do a drum roll as you say "Abracadabra ziggety _____". Create lots of fun rhyming pairs like "Abracadabra ziggety zie, you can be a butterfly" or "Abracadabra ziggety zopper, you can be a green grasshopper"

GOODBYE SONGS

Bird Friends

OPENING RHYMES

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle...

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill.
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Fly away Jack. Fly away Jill.
Come back Jack. Come back Jill.

Birds By Kevin Henkes
Literacy Tip: Check out a book from the library that has the names of birds in your area. Help your child identify robin, crow, and whoever else lives nearby. Building your child's vocabulary is an essential step in learning to read.

SONG WITH SCARVES
Red bird, red bird through my window.

Red bird, red bird through my window.

Red bird, red bird through my window.
Oh, Johnny I'm tired.
This song can be done with scarves or felt birds, or just with your imagination. If you are using scarves, the children who have the red scarf to circle around the room like birds. Sing for every color in the room.

RHYME

When birds are hungry they may look for worms
Worms up, worms down.
Worms are hiding under ground.
Worms down, worms up.
Look out for birds!
Or they will gobble you up.
SLURP!

Chicken Little By Rebecca Emberley

Literacy Tip: Favorite folktales are perfect for acting out or retelling. Feel free to adapt stories as you play with them. Your child is building narrative skills!

MOVEMENT GAME

5 little monkeys jumping on the bed

From the CD "So Big" by Hap Palmer

FELT STORY

One elephant went out to play
Upon a spider’s web one day.
He had such enormous fun.
That he called another one to come.
El-e-phant!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
Literacy Tip: This story song can be done with felt or with children being the elephants. Keep adding an additional elephant to the circle or the felt board until there aren't any left. Then, the spider can return to his enormous web and all the elephants can jump off and run away!

First the egg By Laura Vaccaro Seeger

VEGETABLE RIDDLES
First the seed – everybody pick up a seed
Plant a little seed, watch it grow.
Soon you will have a vegetable.
I’m thinking of an orange vegetable that rabbits eat!

GOODBYE SONGS

Animals in the Snow

Opening Rhymes

Good morning, good morning.

Good morning to you.

Good morning, goog morning

I'm glad to see you.

Hello toes...

Mother Goose Rhymes

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle...

A big quiet house Retold by Heather Forest

Song with Felt Animals

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm he had a goat, E-I-E-I-O

With a maa, maa here.

And a maa, maa there.

Here a maa, there a maa.

Everywhere a maa, maa.

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

Repeat with your favorite animals and their sounds. If you're working with letters and sounds, try making everything on the farm start with a certain letter, like "B". Balls, bananas, boats, etc. You'll have a fun experience building letter knowledge and phonological awareness.

I spy with my little eye an animal that is red...

Annie and the wild animalsBy Jan Brett

Movement games with teddy bears

Head and shoulders knees and toes,

Knees and toes.

Head and shoulders knees and toes.

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.

Head and shoulders

Oh the Grand Old Duke of York.

He had ten thousand men.

He marched them up to the top of the hill.

And he marched them down again.

And when they're up, they're up.

And when they're down, they're down.

And when they're only half way up,

They're neither up nor down.

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn around.

Teddy bear, teddy bear touch the groun.

Teddy bear, teddy bear climb the stairs.

Teddy bear, teddy bear comb your hair.

Teddy bear, teddy bear turn off the light.

Teddy bear, teddy bear say good night.

Quieting Rhymes
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack.

And one named Jill.

Fly away Jack.

Fly away Jill.

Come back Jack.

Come back Jill.

Snow is falling down, hush.

Snow if falling down, hush.

Let's go dancing.
Let's go play.

Snow is falling down, hush.

What do you wear in the cold to keep from freezing? Use a variety of words to increase your child's vocabulary and build their readiness to read.

Knitty kitty By David Elliott

Literacy Tip: This book is full of rhyming sounds to play with. Emphasize the rhyming to build your child's phonological awareness.

Goodbye Songs

See you later alligator...

Make new friends, and keep the old...

Let it Snow

OPENING RHYMES
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall...
Hey diddle, diddle the cat and the fiddle...

Footprints in the snow By Mei Matsuoka

SONG
Mmm, mmm went the little green frog one day
Mmm, mmm went the little green frog.
Mmm, mmm went the littel green frog one day
And they all went mmm, mmm, ah.

But we all know frogs go CLAP la, di, da, di, da.
CLAP la, di, da, di, da
CLAP la, di, da, di, da
We all know frogs go CLAP la, di, da, di, da
They don't go mmm, mmm, ah.

Other verses:
Grrr, grrr went the big brown bear one day...
Wiggle, wiggle went the little grey worm one day...
Swim, swim went the little green turtle one day...
Splish, splash went the little blue fish one day...

WORD OF THE DAY
S -N-O-W
Literacy Tip: Each week in storytime we talk about the names and the sounds of letters. Playing with the sounds helps children build phonological awarness. The first letters a child will learn to identify are the letters in their own name. Keep letter learning a fun activity, and do not use drills or rote memorization.

RHYME
Snow is falling down, HUSH.
Snow is falling down, HUSH.
Let's go dancing. Let's go play.
Snow is falling down, HUSH.

Literacy Tip: Use a variety of words to describe the environment. What does snow feel like? What does it taste like? Vocabulary is a key element in learning to read.

FELT
5 little snowmen riding on a sled
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mamma called Frosty and Frosty said.
No more snowmen riding on a sled.
Repeat with 4, 3, 2, 1.

Snow party By Harriet Ziefert

MOVEMENT
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees, and toes.
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees and toes.
Eyes and ears, and mouth and nose.
Head and shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees and toes.

"Teddy Bear Playtime" from Hap Palmer's "So Big" CD

Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear climb the stairs.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear comb your hair.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn out the light.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear say good night.



Yes day! By Amy Rosenthal
Literacy Tip: This a great book to motivate even the most reluctant listener. Engage your child in saying "Yes!" to every question. What would your child ask for on a yes day?

GOODBYE SONGS
See you later, alligator. After awhile, crocodile.
See you soon, little baboon.
Bye, bye butterfly.
I'm out the door, dinosaur.

Make new friends, and keep the old.
One is silver, and the other is gold.
A circle is round. It has no end.
That's how long I want to be your friend.