Theme:
Spots and Dots
Books:
Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier
Press Here by Hevre Tullet
600 Black Spots by David Carter
Spots in a Box by Helen Ward
Board Story:
The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story
(Can’t find the original but the version I have is very similar to the version in this post.)
Once there was a ghost family. Here is the father ghost. How many children were there? Let’s count them! (8)
Now, I bet you didn’t know this but ghosts can only eat foods that are white. Can you think of any white foods? (mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, vanilla ice cream, milk, marshmallows, etc.)
One day, the father ghost went to make dinner and noticed that the family whose house they lived in was all out of white foods. So he said goodbye to his children and went to the grocery store.
While he was gone, the first little ghost got hungry and went looking for food. He opened the cupboard and found some bananas… He ate them and the next thing he knew, he had turned yellow!
The second little ghost found some lettuce and when he ate it he turned green!
The third little ghost found some strawberries outside and ate a whole basket full. Then she turned red!
The fourth little ghost found some pink lemonade and when he drank it, he turned pink! The fifth little ghost found a fruit bowl filled with plums. He ate all of them and turned very purple.
The sixth little ghost found a mango at the way back of the refrigerator and when he ate it he turned orange!
The seventh little ghost ate a whole plate full of Ms. Deni’s famous blueberry muffins and turned blue!
The eighth little ghost was a little smarter. She noticed that all of her brothers and sisters had turned colors and she didn’t want anything like that to happen to her so she searched everywhere to find something that a ghost could eat, like milk, cottage cheese, whipped cream, or marshmallows. When she looked in the freezer she saw some ice cream! She took it and she ate it all. Then she looked at herself. OH NO! She was covered in brown polka dots … because it wasn’t vanilla ice cream… it was CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM!
When the father came home, he cried, “Oh my goodness! Look at all of you!” And that night all 8 little ghosts had a long bath with extra soap!
Action Rhymes / Songs:
I Had A Little Turtle
I had a little turtle
His name was Tiny Tim
I put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap
Now he’s stuck in bed
with a bubble in his throat.
Bubble Song
(Tune:Happy and You Know It)
There are bubbles in the air, in the air. POP! POP! / There are bubbles in the air, in the air. POP! POP!
There are bubbles in the air, there bubbles everywhere. / There are bubbles in the air, in the air. POP! POP!
There are bubbles on the floor… / There are bubbles on my toes…
Can You Pop a Big Bubble?
(sung to “The Muffin Man”)
Can you pop a big bubble? A big bubble, a big bubble? / Can you pop a big bubble, pop it with your nose?
Repeat with finger, toes, etc.
Five little bubbles cruising through the air – fingerplay
Five little bubbles cruising through the air. [Hold up five fingers. Close fist.]
The first bubble said, “I haven’t a care!” [Hold up index finger.]
The second bubble said, “It’s warm in the sun.” [Hold up the index and middle fingers.]
The third bubble said, “I’m having such fun!” [Hold up ring finger.]
The fourth bubble said, “It’s great to be free.” [Hold up little finger.]
The fifth bubble said, “I’m happy as can be!” [Hold up thumb.]
A bird flies by. Its wings go flop. [flap hands]
Five bubbles — Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! [Poke finger into air five times.]
MY BUBBLE – fingerplay
Here I have a new bubble (make circle with thumb and pointer finger)
Help me while I blow: Small at first, then bigger (make circle with thumbs and pointer fingers)
Watch it grow and grow. (make circle with arms)
Do you think it is big enough? / Maybe I should stop; For if I give another blow,
My bubble will surely POP! (clap hands)
Play time:
Art with bingo dabbers! I put out blank sheets of paper and tons of different colored bingo dabbers and let the kids use their imagination to create “dot” art.
Early Literacy Asides:
Aside #1: Today we’ll talk about narrative skills. These are the skills that your child needs to tell stories. This is an important skill in becoming an independent.
Aside #2: I love wordless picture books for working on narrative skills because you can use the pictures to make the story yourself. Another way to work on narrative skills is to have your child help you retell a story after you read it – ask questions like “and then what happened?” “Why or how did that happen?” Point to pictures in books and ask your child what is happening before you read the words. When your baby makes sounds, listen and respond as if the sounds have meaning.
Other books considered / used for display:
Whose Spots are These? by Sarah Wohlrabe
The Nuts Sing and Dance in your Polka-Dot Pants by Eric Litwin
Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
Lots of Spots by Lois Ehlert
Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Resources Consulted:
Me!
Reflection: This is my all time favorite storytime to do. It is also one that I created entirely from my own ideas without consulting other storytime blogs. I based this theme off my strong desire to share the book Press Here, which is by far one of the coolest books on the planet. I also really like 600 Black Spots. And the Chocolate Chip Ghost story is always a hit. The kids love the bingo dabbers. Sometimes I also use the bubble machine at the end and we have a dance party in the bubbles. All in all, this is a super fun storytime.
msdenilibrarian 