Last September (2014) I changed my Storytime for Growin' Beans from theme-based programs to letters of the alphabet. When I start storytime again next month (I take a break after summer reading), I'll continue to use the alphabet as a "theme". I'm hoping that these posts will be helpful reminders about what I did last year & how I can improve each letter session.
We started off by singing the alphabet. We talked about the letter A & I showed the kids some items that I had collected that began with "A". We practiced making letter A sounds.
We then created the letter A by putting together pieces of a puzzle. I loved this idea when I saw it on Storytime Katie's blog, so I "borrowed" it!
Books We Read:
It's An Orange Aardvark! by Michael Hall
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Songs We Sang:
Ants Go Marching from the CD Wee Sing Animals, Animals, Animals
I played the song & let the kids march around the room.
Activity:
Alpha-gator! I loved the flannel(ish) board post Miss Mary Liberry made about her Alpha-gator, so I did a version of it as well. My library had a large blow up alligator (as you can see from the photos above), so I used him to tell my story. I had foam letters to help. The kids were so young that I'm not sure they exactly understood the humor in the story, so I went through it quickly once I saw that I was losing their attention. I gave them each one foam letter & I brought the Alpha-Gator around to each child to "eat" the letter from their outstretched hands & we practiced making that letter's sound. The kids enjoyed that part!
It's An Orange Aardvark! by Michael Hall
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
Songs We Sang:
Ants Go Marching from the CD Wee Sing Animals, Animals, Animals
I played the song & let the kids march around the room.
Activity:
Alpha-gator! I loved the flannel(ish) board post Miss Mary Liberry made about her Alpha-gator, so I did a version of it as well. My library had a large blow up alligator (as you can see from the photos above), so I used him to tell my story. I had foam letters to help. The kids were so young that I'm not sure they exactly understood the humor in the story, so I went through it quickly once I saw that I was losing their attention. I gave them each one foam letter & I brought the Alpha-Gator around to each child to "eat" the letter from their outstretched hands & we practiced making that letter's sound. The kids enjoyed that part!
Craft:
"A Is for Alligator" from Oriental Trading. I used Glue Dots to help the parents & kids put it together.
"A Is for Alligator" from Oriental Trading. I used Glue Dots to help the parents & kids put it together.
My alphabet theme got off to a great start!