M is for Monsters: Storytime Plan

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: Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Action Rhyme: "Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed" 

OR 

Action Song with Magnet Board: "It's Almost Time for Lunch"

[tune: B-I-N-G-O]

It's almost time for lunch, but there's a monster on my sandwich!

Monster, you get off!

Monster, you get off!

Monster, you get off! 

Get off of my sandwich!

...broccoli...apple...ice cream

Song: "We Are Monsters" by The Learning Groove

Action Rhyme with Magnet Board: "Five Hairy Monsters"
[tune: "5 Little Ducks"--adapted from version at Mel's Desk]

Two hairy monsters went out to play
near a haunted house one day.
They had such fantastic fun,
they called for another hairy monster to come.

[Raise hands to cup mouth, and call all together] "Oh, Hairy Monsterrrr!"
[Slap hands on thighs to make sound of monster running to join]

[Count down...ending]
They had such fantastic fun, they played and played 'til the day was done.

Book with Puppet: Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

Book: Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere

Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with M." Possibles before opening to children...Motorcycle! [VROOM!] Monkey [ee ee, ahh ahh, ee ee ahh ahh]

Dancing with scarves: "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr.

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Alternates to swap in: 

Book: Eat Pete by Michael Rex

Action Song: "If You Ever See A Monster"

(Tune: "Did You Ever See a Lassie?")
If you ever see a monster,
a monster, a monster--
if you ever see a monster,
then here's what to do!
Make this face......
and this face.....
and this face.....
and this face.....
and if you ever see a monster,
be sure to shout BOO!

"Monster on my Sandwich"--song with magnet/flannelboard option

[Tune: B-I-N-G-O. Identify the foods on the board together, explaining that that's what you're having for lunch today, before adding the monster to the board.]


It's almost time for a lunch, but there's
a monster on my sandwich!
Monster, YOU GET OFF!
[shake fist dramatically each time]
Monster, YOU GET OFF!
Monster, YOU GET OFF!
Get off of my sandwich.

It's almost time for lunch, but there's a monster on my apple...

[Cycle through other foods, then remove monster if using magnet/flannelboard. Congratulate the kids for scaring the monster away from your lunch... but admit that somehow, now that those dirty monster feet have been all over it, you've lost your appetite. :( Link to graphics]

M is for Mouse: Storytime Plan

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..."

Letter of the Day

Activity/guessing game: "Little Mouse, Little Mouse, Are You in the Blue House?" etc

Book: The Mouse Who Ate the Moon by Petr Horacek

Action Rhyme [standing]

Hickory dickory dock [clap hands on thighs 3 times]
The mouse ran up the clock [run fingers up body from waist]
The clock struck one...BONG! [lightly bonk head with fist]
The mouse ran down [run fingers down body to waist]
Hickory Dickory Dock [clap hands on thighs 3 times]

The clock struck two...BONG! BONG!

And down he flew.

The clock struck three...BONG! BONG! BONG!

The mouse said, “Wheeee!!!!”

The clock struck four...BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!

There is no more—

Hickory Dickory Dock.

Letter Verbs [now, before our first song, let's do a few things that start with the letter of the day]:

We can MOO like a cow. We can MILK a cow, too [milk pretend udders, explain udders if necessary]. We can MEOW like a cat. We can MARCH in place.  [“We MARCH and we MARCH and we stop.”] We can MEASURE something. [What’s one tool we use to measure something?] After storytime, if you like, you can use this ruler to MEASURE your arm from your elbow to your hand.

Song: “Dance, Freeze, Melt” by The Learning Groove from Rockin' Red

Book: The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood [Have group say "red, ripe strawberry" each time it comes up]

Action Rhyme:

Five little mice, as bold as can be,

teasing Mr. Kitty Cat, “You can’t catch me!”

Along comes Mr. Kitty Cat, quiet as can be---and SNAP!

4 little...3 little..2 little...

[NOTE: Have kids vote on whether the last mouse gets eaten, too--if no, end "Off goes Mr. Kitty Cat...FULL as can be." [rubbing tummy]

Action Rhyme [standing--1 time as below, then mix it up]
Tall as a tree
Wide as a house
Thin as a pin
Small as a Mouse

Song with Shaker Eggs: "Milkshake Song" (for M) by Anne-Marie Akin from album At Before song, do "Mouse is sleeping; don't wake it up...etc by having kids gently pet their eggs then shake them really hard. Songs for Wiggleworms [if crowd too large for enough shakers, have kids jump up and down when they would usually shake their shakers]

Book: Lunch! by Denise Fleming [or Whose Mouse Are You? by Robert Kraus]

Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with M." Possibles before opening to kids for suggestions: Monster! Monkey! Motorcycle!

There's a Monster in my Closet

[Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know it"]

There’s a monster in my closet and he’s green  (roar, roar)

There’s a monster in my closet and he’s green  (roar, roar)

There’s a monster in my closet and he’s really, really green

There’s a monster in my closet and he’s green  (roar, roar)

He snores

He cries

He snorts

He jumps

He's tall...

[adapt: a dragon in my closet, a lion in my bathroom, etc]

Coach MacDonald Had a Team

Coach MacDonald had a team
(GO TEAM, GO TEAM, GO!)
and when they practiced they would STRETCH
(GO TEAM, GO TEAM, GO!)--
with a stretch stretch here
and a stretch stretch there,
here a stretch, there a stretch,
everywhere a stretch, stretch,
Coach MacDonald had a team
(GO TEAM, GO TEAM, GO!)

and when they practiced they would JUMP (JOG...SQUAT...BEND...others?)