This past fall I did an apple themed storytime (so original, I know…) and it was fun. Here’s what I did:
Rhyme Cube: (click here for a description)
Sign Language: word of the day is “Apple”
Don’t forget to have the kids repeat the word often!
Opening Rhyme: Open them, shut them…
First Book: Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
Rhyme:
“Way up high in the apple tree
Two little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could.
Down came the apples.
Mmmmmm were they good!” (Rub stomach)
As I recited this rhyme I used a prop I made out of poster board. Here are pics of the front and back:
The apples (on the front) are held up with magnets (on the back). I glued a popsicle stick onto the magnets to use as a handle. When I recite the part of the rhyme that says “down came the apples”, I slide the popsicle stick down so it looks like the apples are falling.
Second Book: Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Song: A-P-P-L-E
Sung to the tune of B-I-N-G-O
“I know a fruit that’s good to eat and apple is its name-o.
A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E, A-P-P-L-E
And apple is its name-o.”
We sang the song and I used cards that I hung up on the wall and flipped over as we went through each verse. It looked like this:
When I flipped the cards over we said “crunch” in place of the letter so it went like this:
“I know a fruit that’s good to eat and apple is its name-o.
Crunch-P-P-L-E, Crunch-P-P-L-E, Crunch-P-P-L-E
And apple is its name-o.”
…and so on until we flipped over all the cards.
I got this fun idea from Falling Flannerboards and the kids and parents had fun singing along.
Third Book: Dappled Apples by Jan Carr
Flannel Board:
I use this flannel board with finger puppets. It goes like this:
“Five little apples
Hung in a tree
The farmer wasn’t looking.
So guess who came to eat?
Frog!- Munch munch munch!”
Take one apple down and repeat the rhyme with a different finger puppet each time. I use a frog, a rabbit, a mouse, a moose, and a shark! The kids thought it was funny that a shark would get an apple from a tree. I said “you silly shark, you belong in the ocean!”
Here are some pics:
AnnesLibraryLife 