We had fun reading about City Traffic during our preschool Storytime!  Here are the books, flannel stories, songs & activities we shared about our theme:


Books We Shared

   

Go!Go!Go! STOP! by Charise Mericle Harper is all about traffic lights and a little miscommunication.  We start with little green who says her very first word – Go!  She says it softly, than medium than LOUDLY.  The cars and trucks obey her command and they GO!  It gets tricky though because it is the only word she knows so she can’t get any of the cars to STOP!  Then little red enters the story.  Can you guess little red’s only word?  STOP!  This book is fun, engaging, interactive and teaches children a number of concepts.  And by the way, little yellow enters the story at the very end to slow things down a bit.

Nicholas Blechman’s book NIGHT LIGHT is part guessing game and part counting book and definitely ALL about things that move!  Count the nighttime lights on a train, a helicopter, a fire truck, and seven more vehicles in this bold picture book with die-cut surprises. 

1 light, shining bright? A train!
7 lights, flashing red and white? A fire truck!

And so on all the way to ten lights!  We revert back to 1 light at the very end – a night light.  Great fun to read aloud – the children loved guessing, discovering new vehicles (snow plow) and anticipating each surprise.

My Bus by Bryon Barton show a bus driver picking up five dogs and five cats on his route through town.  He drops some off at the airport to take a plane, some to the train where “they ride away” and some to the boat where “they sail away”.  The bus driver drives his final passenger home – his dog!  Bold, bright illustrations, simple text and an introduction to basic forms of transportation make this a great read aloud for preschoolers.


Flannel Board Activities We Shared

Green says, “Go!” march quickly
Go! Go! Go!
Yellow says, “Slow!” march slowly
Slow…slow…slow
And red says, “Stop!” stop and freeze

Go! Go! Go! march fast
Slow…slow…slow march slowly
and STOP! stop
Repeat

Credit: Toddler Storytime via Storytime Katie

There are Lots of Cars

There are lots of cars driving down the street (pretend to have a steering wheel)
Tell me what color do you see? (place color car on felt board)
Big cars, little cars (spread arms big and little)
Beep! Beep! Beep! (tap nose three times)

REPEAT until all of the cars are on the flannel board.

Then say:
There are lots of cars driving down the street, (pretend to have a steering wheel)
Which color car is the biggest you see? (Let the children guess)
Big cars, little cars (spread arms big and little)
Beep, beep, beep (tap nose three times)

Then finally:
There are lots of cars driving down the street, (pretend to have a steering wheel)
Which color car is the smallest you see? (Let the children guess)
Big cars, little cars (spread arms big and little)
Beep, beep, beep (tap nose three times)

Credit:  Storytime Katie


Songs & Activities We Shared

We’re Going to the Market (with egg shakers)
From the CD:  I Love to Hear the Sounds  ~ Kathy Reid-Naiman

We’re going to the market, we’re going to the fair, (Shake egg shakers)
To see a senorita with flowers in her hair.  (Shake egg shakers)
So shake it baby shake it, shake it if you can, (Shake egg shakers)
Shake it like a milkshake and drink it from the can (Shake egg shaker, pretend to drink milkshake)
Shake it to the bottom, shake it to the top, (Shake egg shaker down low, then up high)
Then turn around & turn around until we holler STOP!  ~REPEAT ONCE MORE
Click here for video: We’re Going to the Market

I’m a Little Teapot

I’m a little teapot, short and stout.
Here is my handle, here is my spout.
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout,
Just tip me over and pour me out,
Tip me over and pour me out.  Click here for video:  I’m a Little Teapot

Two Little Blackbirds

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill,
Come back Jack and come back Jill!  Click here for video:  Two Little Blackbirds

The Itsy Bitsy Spider 

The itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands.  Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the water spout.   (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)
Down came the rain and (wiggle fingers and bring then downward)
Washed the spider out. (make baseball “safe” motion)
Out came the sun and (hands above head in a circle)
and dried up all the rain. (hands out at side of body)
And the itsy bitsy spider (L shape with both hands.  Place thumb of one hand on forefinger of the other)
went up the spout again. (“walk” your fingers up thumb to forefinger, alternating.)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle little star (open and close fingers into fist to make star)
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high, (move hands up)
Like a diamond in the sky. (make a diamond shape with hands)
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are. (open and close fingers into fist to make star) Y

You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are grey.
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you
And I love you more every day.  Click here for video:  You are My Sunshine

Goodbye Friends (In sign)

Goodbye Friends, goodbye friends, goodbye friends,
It’s time to say goodbye… Click here for video:  Goodbye Friends

Video We Watched


Sharing the Fun at Home

If you’d like to share some more books about transportation or city traffic with your child, check out these titles at your Pasadena Public Library.