Opening Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It" [standing up] with whispered added verse "If it's storytime and you know it, say Shhhh..."
Book: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri
OR Book: Fall is not Easy by Marty Kelley
Action Rhyme: "Two Little Gray Squirrels" ("Blackbirds" variation. "Scamper away; scamper back" etc)
Song: “Dance, Freeze, Melt” by The Learning Groove from Rockin' Red
Book: Full of Fall by April Pulley Sayre (at least a few pages--emphasis on rare action words)
Action Rhyme with Scarves:
Once I was a seed and I was small, small, small [begin on haunches]
I've grown into a tree and I am tall, tall, tall [tippytoes]
My branches sway in the breeze so soft--[wave scarf back and forth]
and then comes fall and they all fall off! [toss scarf in the air]
I've grown into a tree and I am tall, tall, tall [tippytoes]
My branches sway in the breeze so soft--[wave scarf back and forth]
and then comes fall and they all fall off! [toss scarf in the air]
Song with Scarves: "Rock and Roll Freeze Dance" from Hap Palmer's So Big
Scarf rhyme: If group is small enough, invite kids to bring scarves into the middle, being careful of each others' bodies. Make a pile together, "raking" with hands:
"I like to rake the leaves into a great big clump.
Then I move back a bit, bend my legs, and jump!"
Everyone gets a turn to jump into the pile.
"I like to rake the leaves into a great big clump.
Then I move back a bit, bend my legs, and jump!"
Everyone gets a turn to jump into the pile.
Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with F."
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Alternatives to Swap or Add In
Action Rhyme with or without Scarves: "If I Were a Leaf"
If I were a leaf,
I'd jump down from my tree [jump]
I'd dance in the wind [dance around]
I'd fly in the breeze [pretend to fly]
I'd turn bright colors [look at arms, down at self in wonder]
I'd spin in the air [spin around],
then I'd land on the ground [fall down gently]--
I just don't know where! [shrug]
Action Song [standing] : "The Roots of the Tree" (to the tune of "Wheels on the Bus")
The roots of the tree grow down, down, down,
down, down, down,
down, down, down;
the roots of the tree grow down, down, down
deep in the woods
(wiggle fingers, pointed downward, down your body from shoulders to toes)
The branches of the tree grow out-out-out
(arms up high)
The wind blows the branches back and forth
(wave arms back and forth over head)
The leaves on the tree come tumbling down
(wiggle fingers up high to down low)
down, down, down,
down, down, down;
the roots of the tree grow down, down, down
deep in the woods
(wiggle fingers, pointed downward, down your body from shoulders to toes)
The branches of the tree grow out-out-out
(arms up high)
The wind blows the branches back and forth
(wave arms back and forth over head)
The leaves on the tree come tumbling down
(wiggle fingers up high to down low)
Book: Leaves by David Ezra Stein
