This week, we featured the letter R in both Family Storytime and Outdoor Musical Storytime.
As usual, I started by asking the kids to name any words they knew that started with R. They suggested rain, rabbit, roar, and rainbow. Then we wrote the letter R (upper and lower case) in the air together.
Here are the books and songs that we did:
Books:
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld
This is a fun book to read, especially for two voices, so Claire and I read it together for Outdoor Musical Storytime. Two people argue about the creature they see. One says it’s a duck. The other insists it’s a rabbit. The argument continues until the creature runs away. But now they both have doubts about what it actually was.
Tiny Little Rocket by Richard Collingridge
A story that describes an exciting journey into space in a tiny red rocket ship. The kids loved joining on the “scream!” and calling out things they saw in the illustrations. I had a pretty lively group of preschoolers at Outdoor Musical Storytime, and I was worried this would be a bit too long, but they were very engaged.
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems
One of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books. In this one, Gerald and Piggie are excited to run, skip, and jump outside on a beautiful day, until it starts to rain. Piggie complains that she hates the rain, but then they see two worms having fun, and decide to try having fun too. But just as Piggie realizes how much she loves the rain, it stops. Luckily, Gerald has a plan to keep the fun going.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Jane Cabrera
Colorful, animal-filled adaptation of the classic song, with lots of opportunities for the kids to join in on the animal sounds. I gave out instruments before we read this one at Family Storytime.
Songs:
See the Little Bunnies Sleeping
I learned this song from a local daycare provider, and it’s been a big hit. I have the kids crouch down and pretend to be asleep, then pop up and hop. We usually sing it three times.
See the little bunnies sleeping
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!
Zoom Zoom Zoom
We sang this one with the parachute at both storytimes (I have a little parachute that we used for Family Storytime. The kids put puppets on top, and thought it was hilarious to watch them fly up in the air at the end).
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
If you want to take a trip,
Climb aboard my rocket ship.
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,
We’re going to the Moon.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Blast-off!
Rain is Falling Down
We did this one with play scarves, throwing them up in the air and catching them. I use the tune from JBrary in the video below:
Rain is falling down. SPLASH!
Rain is falling down. SPLASH!
Pitter patter, Pitter patter,
Rain is falling down. SPLASH!
Snow is falling down. SHHH!
Snow is falling down. SHHH!
Swirling, twirling, swirling, twirling,
Snow is falling down. SHHH!
If All the Raindrops
We sang this one as our instrument play-along. I asked the kids to suggest foods that they would like to have fall from the sky. They came up with macaroni and broccoli, bananas and juice, and chicken wings and carrots.
[C]If all the raindrops were[G7]lemon drops and[C]gum drops,
Oh, what a rain it would[G7]be.
[C]I’d stand out-[G7]side with my[C]mouth open[G7]wide,
[C]“Ah, Ah, Ah,[G7]Ah, Ah, Ah,[C]Ah, Ah, Ah,[G7]Ah!”
[C]If all the raindrops were[G7]lemon drops and[C]gum drops,
Oh, what a[G7]rain it would[C]be!
If all the snowflakes were chocolate bars and milkshakes…
If all the sunbeams were bubblegum and ice cream…
If all the raindrops were(ask the kids to suggest other types of foods)…
Stay & Play: Straw Rockets
For this easy Stay & Play, I precut these paper rocket ships from Playdatebox.com. I also rolled some strips of paper into pencil-sized tubes, and taped one end of each one to seal it closed.
For the Stay & Play, I put out the paper rockets, markers, tapes, the rolled paper tubes, and some paper straws. After the kids colored the rockets with the markers, I showed them how to tape a paper tube on the back, with the sealed end on the top. Then they made the rockets fly by putting their paper straw into the tube and blowing (it helps not to push the straw too far in).
Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter R? Please share them in the comments below.
