For our July eStorytime we shared apps and stories all about airplanes! These might be a great choice to help prep your preschoolers if you are going to take a flight soon!
Apps We Shared
To get everyone excited about airplanes we spent some time looking at real plane photos and videos with 100 Planes from Michael Krynski ($2.99; iOS). This app has so many different images – if you have a little one who likes airplanes it would be easy to get lost tapping away.
Then, before we flew into some of the stories we built an airplane with Build and Play 3D from Croco Studio ($2.99 ; iOS, Android, Samsung app). This wonderful app has many different toy items such as airplanes, trucks, robots and more that children can put together on the screen by dragging and placing. It’s a great exercise in puzzle solving!
Next, we read our first ebook, Planes by Byron Barton from Oceanhouse Media ($1.99, iOS). This is a fun story that highlights all different types and procedures involved with airplanes in a brightly colored, vibrant app.
For a digital flannelboard we used Felt Board from Software Smoothie ($2.99; iOS) to sing a song about 5 Little Airplanes:
Five Little Airplanes
Five little airplanes flying around
Zoom…zoom…zomm
One decided to touch down …zoom
Leaving 4 little airplanes flying around.
Continue song with 4…3…2…1…
There were not little airplanes flying around
Then all 5 airplanes left the ground
Zooooooom!
All five airplanes flying around.
If you want to hear this rhyme sung, check out pattyshukla on YouTube.
Oh no! With so much fun taking our airplanes for a spin in storytime, they got dirty! Time to play with Plane Wash from Happy Touch Apps (FREE; iOS) to get them clean! This is an app where you water, scrub, and dry a messy airplane to get it sparkling clean. We took turns to make our pink biplane shine.
We finished with another estorybook Around the World by James Carter and Anne Wilson from Collins Big Cat (FREE; iOS). A boy and a girl travel to different parts of the world to see the sights. This app (and all free storybook apps from Collins Big Cat) also have the option of creating your own story using the backgrounds, characters, and images from the app. While we didn’t use this feature in storytime, it would be great to share with a child at home.
Print Book
My First Airplane Ride by Patricia Hubbell, illustrated by Nancy Speir.
We shared the story of a young boy making his way to visit his grandma in his first airplane ride.
Movements
The Airplane
The airplane has great big wings (arms out at sides)
Its propeller spins around and sings (move arms in circle)
The airplane goes up (raise arms)
The airplane goes down (lower arms)
The airplane flies high (arms out at sides)
Over our town. (turn in a circle with arms out at sides)
Continue the Fun
Want some more fun apps to play with?
Visit the Children’s Room and play with these on our iPads.
Or, check out our Pinterest pages: