Dr. Seuss Program

Every year, I offer a program in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday and Read Across America. This year, I decided to host a program for our homeschool community. It was a lot of fun!

Books

Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

As much as I love Dr. Seuss, his books can be a bit lengthy for the storytime crowd. When I host a Seuss program, I select the easy readers or My Many Colored Days. They're always a hit!

Activities

Since this program was open to families, I had a variety of stations.  Below is a picture of each station with a description.

 Pin the Hat on the Cat and Great Day for Up! Building with Cups. 

For this station, participants wrote their name on cutouts of the cat's hat. They could close their eyes or use a blindfold. The goal was to place that cutout as close as possible to the hat on the cat.

The Great Day for Up! station involved stacking the cups in a variety of fun ways!

Lorax Craft

Participants created a landscape with the Lorax and a Truffula tree! They used the following supplies:

• Orange cupcake wrapper for the body
• Orange construction paper for the legs
• Yellow construction paper for the mustache and eyebrows
• Sticker eyes
• Black and white party straws
• Large pom poms
• Blue card stock for the background
• Green card stock for the grass
• Green tissue paper for texture
• Glue sticks

Lorax Bean Bag Toss 

Not much explanation needed here! The kids tossed the beanbags through the openings.

Seuss Photo Booth 

I printed a variety of props to use in our photo booth!

Rhyme Like Seuss 

I created worksheets with different word families. I then printed out small pieces of paper with letters. The child would then select letters and place it in front of the word family to see how may words they could create. I provided a word log so they could record their answers.

Horton Hat 

Supplies:

• Large gray construction paper
• Pink construction paper 
• Staples
• Glue sticks 

Directions:

• Cut the gray construction paper into an elephant ear shape.
• Cut the pink piece to fit the shape of the ear. Glue the pieces together. 
• Cut the paper into thin strips for the headband and nose. 
• Fold the nose piece like an accordion. 
•  Measure your child's head and staple the headband pieces together. 
• Glue or staple the nose to the front. 
• Glue or staple the ears to the side of the headband.

Cookie Crunch Storytime

This is a new storytime series I created. The program is held after school for children ages 5 to 8. It was a great program! The kids and parents had a great time. Afterwards I served cookies!

Books

Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won
Purple Little Bird by Greg Foley
The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague 

Warm Up Song

Let's Get the Rhythm
Courtesy of Jbrary.

Rhythm Sticks

 Rainstorm
(See post in Pizza Pie Storytime for more details) 

Billy Goats
(Courtesy of Jean Warren from Preschool Express)

In our version we do not follow a tune. We acted out the swaying of the bridge as well.

BINGO
I found this rhythm stick activity on YouTube. The video is titled Rhythm Sticks Mary Mac and Bingo. 

Activity 

Freeze Dance

I used the song Freeze Dance by The Fresh Beat Band.

Craft

Owl Bag Puppet

 Supplies:

• Brown sandwich bag
• Orange cupcake wrappers
• Google eyes
• Orange and yellow construction paper
• Doilies
• Feathers
• Glue stick

Pizza Pie Storytime

This program was for children ages 3 to 6. I used this theme before with an older crowd. It's a wonderful, fun topic with lots of exciting songs and activities.

Books

Ding Dong! Gorilla by Michelle Robinson
Pete's a Pizza by William Steig
Pizza at Sally's by Monica Wellington 

Songs & Fingerplays

Pizza Man
Courtesy of Storytime Katie

If You Want to Eat Some Pizza
Courtesy of Storytime Katie

I incorporated the following movements:
Raise your hand
Clap your hands
Stomp your feet
Rub your tummy

Pizza Man, Pizza Man
Courtesy of Storytime Katie

Activity 

Rhythm Sticks

If You Have Some Rhythm Sticks
Courtesy of Jbrary.

Rainstorm
This activity is from 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children by  Abigail Flesch Connors.

One day I was sitting in my house.
(place the rhythm sticks on your lap)
It was very quiet.
All of a sudden, I heard some light raindrops on my roof.
They sounded like this.
(tap sticks softly and slowly).

After a while, the rain got a little heavier,
(tap sticks a little louder and faster)
And then a little heavier.
(tap sticks a little louder and faster)
Then it turned into a rainstorm!
(tap sticks loud and fast)
Then it stopped!
(stop tapping and place sticks on lap)

Bread & Butter
Courtesy of Jbrary

Craft

Make a Pizza Pie!

• Small paper plate
• Glue 
• Scissors
• White yarn for cheese
• Red construction paper, cut into a circle, for sauce
• Green construction paper, cut into strips, for peppers
• Black pom poms for olives
• Brown crayon for crust
• Mushroom clip art (courtesy of My Cute Graphics)

 

Frosty Tales!

This program was for children ages 3 to 6.

Books

Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer
Snow Happy! by Patricia Hubbell

Snow Happy has great rhyming and repetition. Every time I read "snow happy", I asked the group to join in.

Songs

Warm Mittens
Courtesy of Can Teach

View the posting titled Winter Wonderland for more details.

There's Something in the Snow
Courtesy of Storytime Katie

Animals & Noise:

Wolf-Howl, Howl
Polar Bear-Grrr, Grr
Penguin-Waddle
Snow Owl-Hoot, Hoot
Snow Bunny-Thump, thump, thump

The kids loved this rhyme! I created a prop using our plot printer and clip art. I made a little snow mound and printed images of the animals. After we made the sound, I asked the group "Which animal do you think makes that noise?". They would shout the answer and I would show them the picture. Then the animal would "hide" in the snow. This is a great way to incorporate stick puppets and flannel boards.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear
By Jean Warren, courtesy of Preschool Express

Activity

Bubbles!

I used the song Icky Sticky Bubble Gum from the CD Action! Fun! Dance! 


Craft

Ice Skates

• Ice skate clip art
• Jumbo Popsicle Sticks
• Glue
• Stickers
• Crayons
• Sequins

Winter Wonderland!

Although it is rather warm in New Jersey today, I had a Winter Wonderland Storytime! This program was for children ages 3 to 6.

Books

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

These are two of my favorite winter books. The kids always love the silly activities of the snowmen in Snowmen at Night. The Snowy Day is a true classic. It's a sweet story about a boy named Peter and his snow day adventures. I like to engage the kids during this book. I'll ask questions like "Do you make snow angels like Peter?" or "How many of you have built a snowman?". When Peter puts the snowball in his pocket, it disappears. I'll ask, "What do you think happened to the snowball?". The kids love to tell you about their own snow day activities!

Songs

Warm Mittens
Courtesy of CanTeach

In our version, we repeat the first verse at the end. We also have actions for each movement.

I wiggle my left hand,
(shake left hand)
I wiggle my right,
(shake right hand)
Inside of my mittens,
(give yourself a hug)
So warm and so tight.
I wiggle my pinkie.
(wiggle pinkie)
I wiggle my thumb,
(wiggle thumb)
so when I make snowballs,
(pretend to make snowball)
my hands don't get numb.
(rub hands together)
I wiggle my left hand,
(wiggle left hand)
I wiggle my right,
(wiggle right hand)
Inside of my mittens,
So warm and so tight.
(give yourself a hug)

Polar Bear, Polar Bear
By Jean Warren, courtesy of Preschool Express.

Hey! Mr. Snowman
Courtesy of the blog Storytiming

I made the prop using our large plot printer and clip art.

Activity

If You Have Some Rhythm Sticks
Courtesy of Jbrary

The Wheels on the Bus
Courtesy of Jbrary

Bread & Butter
Courtesy of Jbrary

Craft

Polar Bear and Snow Globe

We made two crafts with this program!

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• White card stock or construction paper
• Black pom poms
• Google eyes
• School Glue
• Cotton balls

 Supplies:

•  Two shades of blue card stock 
• Cotton balls
• Sequins
• Snowflake stickers
• White card stock or construction paper
• Black and orange markers for the snowman

Bubblegum & Bubbles!

This program was for children ages 3 to 6. It was a lot of fun! Who doesn't like bubbles?

Books

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum by Lisa Wheeler
Harry and Horsie by  Katie Van Camp

Songs & Fingerplays 

Sticky, Sticky Bubble Gum
Courtesy of Jbrary

In our version we stick our hands to our head, hips, knees, shoulders, and feet.

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum

We sang the classic song Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum in a Dish. During the rhyme, we bumped our fists on top of the other. I started with three pieces of bubble gum. We clapped every time we counted each number. We repeated the song, adding a piece of bubble gum each time. We only went up to number 6. 

I Had a Little Turtle
Courtesy of Jbrary.
Activity

Bubbles!

I used the song Icky Sticky Bubble Gum from the CD Action! Fun! Dance!


Craft

Bubble Machine!

Supplies:

• Paper plates
• Glue sticks
• Pom poms
• Red construction paper
• Gray construction paper

Bedtime & Blankets

This theme was used in a toddler program.

Books

KiKi's Blankie by Janie Bynum
Bears in Beds by Shirley Parenteau

Songs & Fingerplays

Five Little Monkeys

This is the Way We Yawn & Stretch
Inspired by Mel's Desk

In our version we end the song with a hug goodnight. I have the kids give themselves a hug.

Time for Bed
Courtesy of Child Care Lounge

Activity

Shaker Eggs!

Egg Shakers Up!
Courtesy of Jbrary

In our version the kids put their hands behind their back, or cross their arms, when putting the egg to bed.

If You're Happy and You Know It
Courtesy of Library Land

For free dance, I used the song Rockin' Robin by Bobby Day from the CD A Child's Celebration of Rock N' Roll.

Image courtesy of Clipart Panda.