Preschool Story Time: Pets

I did my first preschool storytime today and I think it went rather well. This week’s theme was Pets. Since I started at the new job, I have been following a slew of storytime blogs. For this one, I used recommendations from several websites.  They had a good reception, but the kids had a big case of the wiggles. Luckily, I had a lot of motion songs for them to do in between books. My storytime guide is below.

Welcome:  Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. We did this three times, getting faster each time. They loved it and very much needed it.

Book: What Pet to Get by Emma Dodd.  The reaction on this one was…muted. I couldn’t tell if they liked it or were silenced by its awesomeness. I am also rather new to this, so maybe I unconsciously rushed because of first time jitters? The illustrations were adorbs and the conversation between and Jack and his mom were cute. If you have relatively calm kids, this could be a good one to use again.

Song/Motion:  “I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee”

I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee.

Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?

I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee.

Ouch! It stung me!

…Squishing up/Eew! It’s all over me!

…Wiping off/Look! All clean!

Book: Pet Shop Lullaby byMary Ann Fraser.  I had the most fun reading this one. This one I used to start a discussion of pets that keep us up at night and how that can influence our decisions on pets. There were lots of sounds on the pages that I got to act out.  I really got the chance to act animated and make up my own voices. I would love to do this one again and the kids seemed to like it.

Song/Motion:  “Puppy dog, puppy dog turn around”

                Puppy dog, puppy dog turn around.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog claw the ground.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog wag your tail.

                Puppy dog, puppy dog let out a wail (AAAAWWWOOOO!)

Book: Hieronymus Betts and his Unusual Pets by MP Robertson. This one had the best reaction. The kids loved the mystery of what pet could be slimier, noisier, greedier, and stranger than the crazy pets that were mentioned. I also loved reading this one and it was the easiest for me to have the words down pat. I highly recommend this one.

Song/ Motion: “If you’re a pet and you know it…”

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                If you’re a dog and you know it and you really want to show it,

                If you’re a dog and you know it, talk like this WOOF WOOF.

                …kitty/meow and bird/tweet.

Craft: For this craft, I showed the kids how to do simple origami dogs and cats. The parents are also very hands-on and helped kids in the trickier parts. I connected this craft to the book Hieronymus Betts and his Unusual Pets and allowed kids to choose whatever colors, eyes, or markers they wanted. They had lots of fun showing me their creations when they left the room. There was one kid who didn’t want a dog or cat, so his mom did an impromptu origami bird.

Supplies:

Multiple sheets of square paper in a variety of colors.

Sticky eyes

Markers

All in all, a very successful first storytime with many more to come!