Today’s Infant Storytime was about the grasslands or savanna, and we started out by putting together circles, rectangles, diamonds, triangles and hearts to make these animals from the savannas of Africa:

savanna animals shapes

We guessed at the animals hiding in my “I Spy” box and then read a book about an animal that lives in the savannas of Australia: the kangaroo! David Ezra Stein is one of my favorite authors for very young children. Pouch! is about a kangaroo who ventures outside of his mother’s pouch to see the world, but quickly jumps back in every time he sees a new animal, until one day he sees an animal that looks just like him.

Pouch

Then we sang a bouncy song about being a kangaroo baby:

Bouncing up and down in my mama’s pouch,
Bouncing up and down in my mama’s pouch,
Bouncing up and down in my mama’s pouch,
I’m a kangaroo baby!

We played a game with the flannelboard, looking under various brightly colored hats for a meerkat:

meerkat 1

meerkat 2

(it’s hard to tell but the one on the end is a black top hat)

Meerkat, meerkat,
Are you under the blue hat?
No… It’s a zebra!

Meerkat, meerkat,
Are you under the white hat?
(continue until you find the meerkat)

We learned a new song to the same tune as our bouncy song:

Are you small like a mouse,
Or tall like an elephant,
Tall like an elephant,
Tall like an elephant?
Are you small like a mouse,
Or tall like an elephant?
What do you think you are?

Additional verses:
Are you slow like a snail
Or fast like an antelope?…

Do you stand very still
Or jump like a kangaroo?…
(from http://wiki.kcls.org/index.php/Are_You_Small_Like_a_Mouse%3F)

Then we bounced to Ladies Ride, and read another book. Hide and Seek Harry Around the House is a funny board book by Kenny Harrison about a hippo who is always far too easy to find!

Hide and Seek Harry

We did a counting activity on the flannelboard with five little lions:

one little lion

One Little Lion
Rhyme from ABC Literacy Storytimes: Storytimes to Promote Literacy and Learning by Marilyn Lohnes

One little lion, roaring at the zoo,
Called for another: ROAR!
Then there were two.
Two little lions, underneath a tree,
Called for another: ROAR! ROAR!
Then there were three.
Three little lions, who heard a distant roar,
Called for another: ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
Then there were four.
Four little lions, happy and alive,
called for another: ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
Then there were five.
Five little lions.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
Ran off to play
And then there were no more.
(found at http://rovingfiddlehead.com/kidlit/flannel-friday-safari-animals/)

We brought out our puppets for some more furry fun, and sang a song to the tune of “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”:

Do you see the kangaroo, the kangaroo, the kangaroo?
If you see the kangaroo, hop up now!
Do you see the hippo’s mouth, the hippo’s mouth, the hippo’s mouth?
If you see the hippo’s mouth, open wide!
Do you see the tall giraffe, the tall giraffe, the tall giraffe?
If you see the tall giraffe, stretch up high!
Do you see the fuzzy lion, the fuzzy lion, the fuzzy lion?
If you see the fuzzy lion, give a great big ROAR!

Hope everybody had a fun time and I’ll see you all next week!