To the Beach!

I can’t stand the snow anymore!  We’ve had 72.7 inches in Rochester this winter so far.  So I decided to go with a beach themed storytime.  I thought about putting out beach towels for the kids to sit on but I don’t own enough.  Maybe next time I’ll ask the parents to bring their own – BYOBT!

Rhyme Cube: Click here for description.

Sign Language:  Word of the day was “Beach” and we repeated it often.

Opening Song:
“Open them, shut them,
Give a little clap!
Open them, shut them,
Now put them in your lap!”

First Book: All You Need For a Beach by Alice Schertle

Ukulele Song: I’ve been slowly learning how to play the ukulele and finally worked up the courage to try it out in some of my storytimes.  I know how to play the melody of Frere Jacques so I plucked it out while singing this version of the words:
“I see sea gulls
I see sea gulls,
At the beach,
At the beach,
Soaring, spinning, diving
Soaring, spinning, diving
At the beach,
At the beach.”

Felt Board:  5 Little Seashells

5 little seashells lying on the shore,
Swish! went the waves
and then there were four.

4 little seashells pretty as can be,
Swish! went the waves
and then there were three.

3 little seashells all pearly new,
Swish! went the waves
and then there were two.

2 little seashells lying in the sun,
Swish went the waves
and then there was one.

1 little seashell lying all alone,
I picked it up
and I took it home!

Second Book: Sea, Sand, and Me! by Patricia Hubbell

Song:

To the tune of Wheels on the Bus:
The waves on the sea go up and down, up and down, up and down
The waves on the sea go up and down all day long.
The shark in the sea goes snap, snap, snap…
The fish in the sea goes swish, swish, swish…
The boats on the sea go toot, toot, toot…

Felt Board: We’re Going to the Beach

I added got the idea for this felt board (and the clipart!) from Storytime Secrets. I put the pieces on the board as I recited the song.  I paused each time I put another piece up so the kids could shout out the correct word.

We’re going to the beach,
We’re going to the beach.
I think we’ll see some flip-flops there!
We’re going to the beach.

We’re going to the beach,
We’re going to the beach.
I think we’ll see a castle there!
We’re going to the beach.

We’re going to the beach,
We’re going to the beach.
I think we’ll see a starfish there!
We’re going to the beach.

We’re going to the beach,
We’re going to the beach.
I think we’ll see a beach ball there!
We’re going to the beach.

We’re going to the beach,
We’re going to the beach.
I think we’ll see a seashell there!
We’re going to the beach.

Third Book: Beach Day by Karen Roosa

Felt Board:  So Many Seashells

Next I passed out different colored felt seashells to each child and recited the following rhyme:
“There are so many shells in the hot, hot, sand.
What color shell is in my hand?
If you have a (color) shell, come on up and put on the sand!”

This task is very difficult for the littlest kids.  They want to come up right away and put their shell on the board instead of waiting for their color to be called.  So that inevitably happens but it is good practice for them to try to wait their turn.  Whether they wait for their turn or not it’s fun and our board looked like this: