Today we met a turkey, and then met all of his friends from the farm!
Books We Shared
I Spy on the Farm by Edward Gibbs invites kids to guess each animal with three clues: the color of the animal, the first letter of its name, and the sound the animal makes. The illustrations are large and beautiful.
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton is a rootin’, tootin’, fun and interactive book about a hoe down with some barnyard friends!
Puppets
There’s a book I like to tell as a story with puppets, by Deborah Bruss and illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke, called “Book! Book! Book!” I just have animal puppets act it out, and when the chicken comes along and says “Book!” I say, “I think this chicken wants us to read a book!”
Flannel Boards We Shared
Mixed-up Animal Sounds
I told the kids I lost my glasses and couldn’t read the words…
Fortunately, they helped me fix all the words and get the animals saying the right things!
I like this activity for doing lots of literacy-based critical thinking. It also turns the tables and puts the children in the teacher role, telling me “No, that’s not right!” They get exposed to the letters and sounds they make, too.
Letter of the Day
Our Letter of the Day was F. We made “the world’s biggest F” in the air and talked about words that start with that letter.
Action Songs & Bounces We Shared
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
With a “moo-moo” here and a “moo-moo” there
Here a “moo” there a “moo”
Everywhere a “moo-moo”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O
With a (snort) here and a (snort) there
Here a (snort) there a (snort)
Everywhere a (snort-snort)
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a horse, E-I-E-I-O
With a “neigh, neigh” here and a “neigh, neigh” there
Here a “neigh” there a “neigh”
Everywhere a “neigh, neigh”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a chicken, E-I-E-I-O
With a “cluck, cluck” here and a “cluck, cluck” there
Here a “cluck” there a “cluck”
Everywhere a “cluck, cluck”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a duck, E-I-E-I-O
With a “quack, quack” here and a “quack, quack” there
Here a “quack” there a “quack”
Everywhere a “quack, quack”
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Two Little Blackbirds
Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack and the other named Jill
Fly away Jack and fly away Jill
Come back Jack and come back Jill
Goodbye Friends (song in sign)
Click here for video: Goodbye Babies (Friends)
Goodbye friends, goodbye friends
Goodbye friends, it’s time to say goodbye.
Music from CDs We Shared
Did you know singing and dancing improve brain function? Here are some of the songs/dances on CD that we used in storytime to power up our early literacy with some great blood flow!
“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman
“I Know a Chicken” from The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band
“Goodbye in the Bayou” from Bon Voyage by Jazzy Ash
“Goodbye Song” from Shining Like a Star by Laura Doherty
Video We Shared
We watched Rosie’s Walk, based on the book by Pat Hutchins. It’s on our Stories From the Farm DVD.
I invited everyone to say “Uh-oh!” once again, every time something happens to the sneaky fox! We had great participation!
Continue the Fun
Here are some more books about the farm to check out at your Pasadena Public Library Branch:
