September kicks off the fall story time session beginning this week. This month we will explore the themes of libraries/story times, apples and fall colors. I am ready to meet some brand new story time children and see my old friends again.
I'd like to share some favorite stories for these themes.
To kick off the session I will be using
Coming Down to Story Time by Rob Reid. Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott, this book is a take-off on the song "She'll Be Comin Round the Mountain" that incorporates some of the fun things we do at story time: "We'll hear a funny story when we come. Ha! Ha!", "We'll make a pretty picture when we come. Draw! Draw!" I love stories that allow for lots of participation by the children, so we'll add some hand motions, too!
For apples, I always pull out the favorite
Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington. We follow Annie from her apple farm into the city and learn all the ways that apples can be used. This story can be used for all age groups.
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite fall books. The children love to learn that the collages that make up the illustrations are made from real leaves. For my older groups, we make our own leaf man collages. The children also love to point out the various creatures made from leaves in the book.
Some favorite fall fingerplays are:
Way Up High in the Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree
Make arms into branches above head
Two red apples were smiling at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
Pretend to shake a tree
Down came the apples
Roll hands down
MMM - they were good!
Rub tummmy
Falling Leaves
Falling, falling, falling leaves
Roll hands down
Mother Nature did you sneeze?
Shrug with arms out
Red ones, yellow ones, orange and brown
Big ones, little ones
Stretch big and small
On the ground
Touch the ground
Falling, falling, falling leaves
Roll hands down
Mother Nature did you sneeze?
Shrug arms out
Aaachooooo!
Pretend to sneeze - cover mouth!
I am looking forward to a wonderful fall session of story time! I hope to see you there!
