L is for Laundry: 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

Rhyme with Magnet Board: "Llama, Llama, playing hide and seek--are you behind the [red] door? Let's take a peek!"


Book: Sock Story by CK Smouha OR Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems






Before our first song, let's stand up and act out some things we can do that start with L: We can LIFT. Pretend you're LIFTING a LLAMA. They can weigh up to 450 pounds! We can LATHER. That LLAMA needs a bath. Let's LATHER it up with soap! We can LOVE. Let's give the LLAMA a big loving hug! We can LEARN. Yesterday I LEARNED that baby LLAMAs are called crias. Did you know that before? Then YOU LEARNED it today! And you LEARNED it by LISTENING!

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

Book: Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash by Sarah Weeks



Song: "I Took a Bath in a Washing Machine" by Jim Gill from Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes

[have kids clap to the beat on the guitar chord part--"I took a bath--clap clap clap clap--in a washing machine--clap clap clap clap--then twist side to side and finally spin faster and faster towards end]

Book--selections--if time: Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook


Song with Scarves: "The Walrus Washes His Winter Coat"

 
Song with Scarves (if time): "Freeze Dance" by Hap Palmer

Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with L." Possibles before opening to kids for suggestions: lion! lollipop! locomotive! (lemur, lemon, labradoodle)

C is for Clothing (or G is for Getting Dressed; W is for What we Wear)

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

Talk: "Does anyone here like to pick out what they wear themselves? [discuss answers] This story is about a girl who likes to choose her own clothes, too..."

Book: Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine [have group seated-stomp indignantly and say "AND! MY! RED! HAT!" each time--as well as "No"]

















Action Rhyme: "Hat, Sweater, Pants and Shoes"
[tune: "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".  Slow run-through, then speedy run-through. "What if it was summer? Would we be wearing a sweater then?" "Hat, t-shirt, shorts and shoes"]

Hat, sweater, pants and shoes, pants and shoes,
Hat, sweater, pants and shoes, pants and shoes,
and socks and shirt and underwear, too--
Hat, sweater, pants and shoes, pants and shoes

Song: Dance, Freeze, Melt by The Learning Groove from their album Rockin' Red

Clothing Box: Draw out items from box full of clothes. Put them on wrong body parts/or put them on incorrectly; use wrong names for them; have kids correct. Maybe preface each time I draw out a piece of clothing with rhyme: "I LOVE my clothes! And I know JUST where this goes!"

OR

Matching Activity with Magnet Board: "Sock Match" 

Book: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (or I Love My White Shoes) by Eric Litwin

[Before sharing title, point to buttons on cover. Ask "What are these called? What do they do?" Teach group the song, to say "Goodness, no!" after "Did Pete cry?", and to clap once after each "POP!"]

Action Song with Scarves: "The Walrus Washes his Winter Coat"

Recorded Song with Scarves: "Freeze Dance" by Hap Palmer

Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with "C". Possibles before opening to kids for suggestions: Car! [beep! Beep!] Cookie! [nom nom nom]
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Add-ins and swaps: 

"If You Are Wearing Red" (Tune: "If You're Happy and You Know It")
[First ask kids to look down at what they're wearing today. What colors do they see? Look all over--]

If you are wearing red, shake your head,
If you are wearing red, shake your head,
If you are wearing red,
Then it's time to shake your head.
If you are wearing red, shake your head.
(Blue, touch your shoe

Pink, blink and blink.

Black, pat your back

Yellow, shake like JELL-O

Purple, make a circle [with hands]
Green, move like a machine [robot]
Gray, shout "Hooray!"
White, say goodnight)

Activity/Guessing Game: "Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Behind the ______ Hat?" ["Little Mouse" variation]

Song: "The Silly Hat Song"

Books: Polar Bear's Underwear by Tupera Tupera; Finders, Keepers by Keiko Kasza; I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen; Let's Play In the Forest While the Wolf is Not Around by Claudia Rueda; Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

If NOT doing Clothing Box activity: Where Do Pants Go? by Rebecca Van Slyke
[have kids stand and mime putting clothes on different wrong parts of their bodies, and fill in the blanks for body parts]

H is for Hat: 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

Talk/Act Out: Before we go further, let's do some things that start with the letter "H." We can HIDE our faces. We can HEFT something HEAVY. We can HUM [hum first bit of "Twinkle Twinkle"]. We can HISS like a snake. We can HUG ourselves.

Activity/Guessing Game with Magnet Board: "Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Behind the _______Hat? 

Book: Finders Keepers by Keiko Kasza [Tell group in advance that when I say "finders," I want them to throw their arms up gleefully and say keepers!" Say: "What do you do if you find something like a hat at the library? Do you keep it? No, you take it to the Lost and Found. But there’s no Lost and Found in the forest…"]

Action Song: "Silly Hat Song" 
[Tune: "This Old Man". With silly hat prop. Kids stand, wear pretend hats] "Imagine the silliest hat you can think of. It could have feathers sticking out all over it. It could be made entirely out of LEGO. It could be made entirely out of JELLO!. Now put it on your head so we can sing about it!"

On my head, I wear my hat.
It is such a silly hat
that my head goes wiggle waggle to and fro.
Where else can my silly hat go?
[Repeat using foot, elbow, knee, and/or kids' suggestions]

Song: Dance, Freeze, Melt by The Learning Groove from their album Rockin' Red

Talk with Magnet Board: "One of the things I LOVE about the word "HAT" is that so many other words rhyme with it. [Use magnet board with letters, switching out to show quickly HAT can become RAT or BAT, etc]

Book: I Want My Hat Back by Jonathan Klassen (or This Is Not My Hat by same)

Song: [if time. No theme tie-in] "Body Part Song" by Greg and Steve from Shake, Rattle, and Rock or Jim Gill's "Silly Dance Contest," etc

Book: [if time] A Good Day for a Hat by Sean Bryan

Closing Song: Laurie Berkner's "These Are My Glasses" a cappella. "Today, everything we find in our book will begin with "H". Possibles before opening to kids for suggestions: helicopter [whup whup whup whup]; hungry hippopotamus; hug [hug self warmly]

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Alternates to swap in:

Book: Harold Loves His Woolly Hat by Vern Kousky
Book: Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won (a little long if audience skews young) 

Song [a cappella] "Old McDonald Had a Hat"

Old MacDonald had a hat

He wore it on his head

And on his hat he had a cat--

A cat is what I said!

That cat went here, that cat went there,

That silly cat went everywhere!

Old MacDonald had a hat

He wore it on his head

[Repeat with rat and bat.]

Action Rhyme "I'm A Little Snowman"

(tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little snowman
short and fat--
here are my buttons;
here is my hat.
When the sun comes out, then
you will see
I melt...til there's...no...more...of...me. 

[do standing up, melt down to floor at end]