Little Boxes…

I’m doing a box themed storytime this week and have had the song “Little Boxes” stuck in my head the whole time I’ve been planning.  Fortunately, we have a “resident hippie” on staff so I had someone to sing with.

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description.

Sign Language:  We learned the word “box” and repeated it often.

Opening Rhyme:  “Open them, shut them…”

First Book: My Book Box by Will Hillenbrand

Flannel Board:  Little Fox, Little Fox

I made a little flannel fox and four different colored boxes.

I hid the fox under one of the boxes and then asked the kids to guess which box he’s under.  We recited this rhyme:

“Little Fox, little fox, are you under the blue box?” (repeat with each color they guess until you find the fox)

We played this game a few times.

Here are the patterns I used for the fox and the boxes

fox pattern

box pattern

Second Book:  Sitting in my Box by Dee Lillegard

Activity: Puppet Box

My co-worker recently did this activity during one of her storytimes and she said the kids loved it so I thought I’d give it a try.  I had a fairly large box with a lid.  I used an old printer paper box.  I covered the box in brown paper so it looked nice and then filled it with different animal puppets.  I recited the following rhyme:

“Here is a box where something is hid
I wonder whatever is under the lid.
Let’s listen for a shout
And see who comes out!”

I reached in the box (using the lid as a shield so the kids couldn’t see) I put on one of the puppets and then made that animal’s noise.  For the kitty I meowed, for the snake I hissed, for the owl I whoo’d…. and so on.  I asked the kids to guess the animal before I showed it to them.

Song:  Wiggle Box (tune of “Buffalo Girls”)
“Throw all your wiggles in the wiggle box,
The wiggle box, the wiggle box,
Throw all your wiggles in the wiggle box,
And lock that box up tight!”

I found this song at Austin Public Library’s storytime blog.

Third Book:  The Happy Little Yellow Box by David Carter

This is a really cute and simple pop-up book and the kids loved it!

Activity:  Nesting Boxes

I finished up the storytime by showing them my nesting boxes.  I have three boxes, each one smaller than the last, that I got from a craft store and then painted different colors.

I put the smaller ones inside the larger ones.  The smallest had stickers in it.  I recited this rhyme:

Here is a box,
Let’s open it wide,
And we’ll find out,
What’s inside…..
1, 2, 3!

Repeat the rhyme until all the boxes are open.  On the last box I showed the kids that there were stickers inside and everyone got one.  Like I always say, to little kids stickers are like crack and I’m their dealer!

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