We had fun with colors & counting during our preschool Storytime!  Here are the books, flannel story, songs & activities we shared about our theme:


Books We Shared

 

Press Here by  Herve Tullet involves counting, color identification and sorting.  It is also offers a preschool friendly introduction into spatial skills.  We had fun shaking the book, pressing the dots, turning the book upside down and even blowing onto the pages to enlarge the dots!  You get the picture!  Herve Tullet is known for his innovative concept books about art, design & color mixing AND, most importantly his books are interactive, educational and FUN!  Click onto his name for a list of his other books:  Herve Tullet

In Audrey & Bruce Wood’s The Deep Blue Sea, we start with the beautiful blue sea, then we see a red rock jutting out from the deep blue sea, then a green tree growing up from the red rock…as you can SEE this book is cumulative and it eventually ends with a “rainbow” surprise.  Rich in color saturation with clean lines and succinct corresponding text – this is a calming book that teaches children color identification, math and story building concepts.


Flannel Board Story We Shared

Seven Blind Mice

This flannel board story is based on the picture book by Ed Young – Seven Blind Mice

The story begins with seven blind mice (each a different color) who use their sense of touch to “feel” their way around the world.  They decide to run to the pond near their home to play – it’s a pond they always frequent but this time they “feel” a large SOMETHING right in the middle of the pond.  They can’t figure out what it is so they all run back home a bit scared.  But curiosity eventually gets the best of them as each mouse picks a day of the week to go back to the pond to try and figure out what that big SOMETHING is!

As you can see from the progression of images – the BIG THING IS AN ELEPHANT.  But, until all of the pieces of the flannel puzzle appear, it remains a mystery.

Great for teaching counting, colors, story anticipation and linking small pieces to a greater whole.  The story also introduces the concept of blindness and how it relates to utilizing the other senses (sense of touch).  The children were mesmerized as each mouse took her/his turn.  The days of the week are also mentioned since each mouse ventures out on a different day of the week.

  • Monday – The Red Mouse (“I know…it’s a pillar!”)
  • Tuesday – The Green Mouse (“I know…it’s a snake!”)
  • Wednesday – The Yellow Mouse (“I know…it’s a spear!”)
  • Thursday – The Purple Mouse (“I know…it’s a fan!”)
  • Friday – The Blue Mouse (“I know…it’s a great cliff!”)
  • Saturday – The Orange Mouse (“I know…it’s a rope!”)
  • Sunday – The White Mouse (who puts all of these clues together as we turn over the remaining pieces)
    • “I know…it’s an ELEPHANT!”


Video We Watched

Waiting for Wings


Songs & Activities We Shared

WITH MUSIC

We’re Going to the Market (with egg shakers)

from I Love to Hear the Sounds CD ~ Kathy Reid-Naiman

Lyrics:

We’re Going to the Market

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~


You are My Sunshine & Goodbye, Goodbye

from Songs for Wiggleworms CD ~ Wiggleworms

Lyrics:

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.

Goodbye, Goodbye

Well we had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye, goodbye (wave bye)
We had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye to all the girls – bye girls (wave bye to the girls) 
Well we had some fun and now we’re done, 
Goodbye, goodbye 
We had some fun and now we’re done, 
Goodbye to all the boys – bye boys (wave bye to the boys)

Well we had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye, goodbye (wave bye)
We had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye to all the wiggleworms – bye wiggleworms (wave bye to all the children) 

Well we had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye, goodbye (wave bye)
We had some fun and now we’re done,
Goodbye to EVERYONE! (wave bye to EVERYONE) 


ACAPELLA

Lyrics:

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)

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.)

More Books to Share at Home