Animals, Animals, Animals

A Story Hour Program for 4 and 5-year-olds

This program will take place once a week for four weeks and each session will last 45 minutes. Each session will contain picture books on the theme of the week, music, interactive play, and a creative project. The materials needed for each session will be listed under the description of that session.

I chose the main theme of Animals because it is something that small children can relate to in their everyday life. Children are fascinated by animals, have had some experience with them, and are always interested in hearing more about them. My goals in this program are to promote early literacy in children by introducing them to quality children’s literature and discussing it with them. Flannel board activities will help the children become more involved with the stories. Finger plays will do the same, as well as aiding in the improving fine motor skills. Physical games will help develop gross motor skills. And craft projects will help to promote both fine motor skills and creativity. The entire program will help the children increase their social skills by learning to interact with others.

I chose a time span of four weeks for the program and 45 minutes for each session to match the attention span of my targeted age group – 4 to 5 year olds. This program is designed for 10 to up to a maximum of 15 children in each session. For giving the program a librarian and an assistant will be needed. (The assistant will be needed primarily for the craft time.)

For this program I chose to concentrate on cats, dogs, monkeys and pigs. For the future similar programs could be developed for other animals, or for zoo animals, farm animals, pets and jungle animals.

Below are the descriptions of the four sessions in this program.

Story One: Kittens Are Like That by Jan Pfloog

Factual book with realistic cartoon drawings of kittens and their daily life. The kitten pictures are adorable.

Activity One: Interactive Song (sung to the Oscar Mayer Bologna Song)

I had a little kitten,
His name was Mack McCrae;
I lent him to Miss Miller
While I was far away.

She petted him, she fed him
On things to make him fat;
And when I came back home again,
My kitten was a cat!

Activity Two: – Flannelboard.

Three Little Kittens poem.
Need flannelboard and cutouts of Mother Cat, three kittens, mittens, pie, clothesline (to hang up mittens), mouse.

Story Two: Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
The classic story of a little old man and woman who tries to pick out the prettiest cat and end up having hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions of cats, fighting to see who is the prettiest. The couple adopt the one cat that is left.

Activity Three: Finger Plays

Five Little Kittens

Five little kittens standing in a row (extend left fingers upward, palm out.)
They nod their heads to the children, so. (bend fingers forward.)
They run to the left, they run to the right, (wiggle fingers to the left & right.)
They stand up and stretch in the bright sunlight. (stretch fingers slowly.)
Along comes a dog who’s in for some fun, (move right fist slowly toward stretching fingers.)
M-e-o-w, see the kittens run. (run left fingers behind back.)

"Kitten is Hiding" Finger Rhyme

A Kitten is hiding under a chair. (hide one thumb under other hand).
I looked and looked for her everywhere. (peer about.)
Under the table and under the bed; (pretend to look.)
I looked in the corner and when I said, "Come Kitty, come, Kitty, here’s milk for you." (cup hands and make dish and extend.)
Kitty came running and calling "Mew, mew." (run fingers up arm.)

Book Three: One Kitten for Kim by Adelaide Holl

Little boy has to give away all but one of 7 kittens. He ends up trading them for other animals.

Activity Four: Song

The Owl and the Pussycat on Storytime Favorites: Music for Little People
Various Artists (CD)

Need CD player

Activity Five: Craft
Cat Mask

Before the program, cut eye holes in paper plates and attach craft sticks. Let the children color the masks with markers and glue on yarn whiskers, pink pom-pom noses, and precut construction paper ears.

construction paper

washable markers

pink pom-poms

craft sticks

paper plates

yarn

Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Joan Rankin

Mrs. McTats starts out with one cat but ends up with 26 – one the first day, two the next… She names them alphabetically from Abner to Zoom.

The Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr

A classic tale of a shy little kitten and her adventures with other animals.

Book One: Cats Do, Dogs Don’t by Nora Simon, illustrated by Dora Leder

Relates to the previous session on cats with a comparison of the characteristics of dogs and cats.

Activity One: Games

Dog, Dog, Cat
Similar to Duck, Duck, Goose. Children sit in a circle and one child walks around the circle tapping children on the heads as he/she says dog. When the child says cat then the person tapped runs after the child, the child tries to make it back to the picked child's spot.

Trainer Says

Play this game like Simon says except it is the "trainer says". You could use: lie down, beg for a treat, roll over, speak, scratch your ear, and wag your tail, etc.

Book Two: Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
Henry, an only child, gets a dog that grows and grows and grows. They are best friends and have adventures together. This book has spawned a very popular 18-book series.

Activity Two: Interactive song

Bingo

There was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o
B-I-N-G-0, B-I-N-G-0, B-I-N-G-0, and Bingo was his name-o.

Children and librarian then clap instead of saying the B, clap twice instead of saying the B-I, etc. If the song is popular do it again, only stomp instead of clap.

Activity Three: Flannel Board

Poem: Old Mother Hubbard
Need flannelboard, cutouts of Mother Hubbard, cupboard, dog, dish, pipe, flute, hat, cat, wig, coat, goat, news.

Book Three: No Roses for Harry by by Gene Zion, Margaret B. Graham (Illustrator)
Harry, a white dog with black spots, receives an incredibly ugly sweater from Grandma and concocts several plans to get rid of it without hurting Grandma’s feelings.

Activity Four: Craft project:

Trace student's foot (in shoes or stocking feet is best) on brown, black or white paper. Have children cut shape out (help those having difficulty).Have different ear shapes--long and floppy or short and pointy, etc.--on the table for them to glue on their dog. Then the children may add wiggly eyes and black pompom noses.

Supplies:
Marker
Brown, black and white construction paper
Precut ears made from construction paper
Glue
Wiggly eyes
Black pompoms

Backup books
Angus & the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
The adventures of a Scottish terrier who escapes from his yard and has a close encounter with ducks.

The Poky Little Puppy by by Janette Sebring Lowrey, Gustaf Tenggren (Illustrator) The classic story of the puppy who’s always slower than his siblings and has adventures because of it.

Book One: Curious George by by Hans Augusto Rey

Activity One: Finger Play

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed (jump fingers on the palm of the other hand)
One fell off and bumped his head (hold head in hands and move side to side)
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said (pretend to dial phone)
No more monkeys jumping on the bed! (wag finger)

(Repeat movements for rest of verses)
Count down to zero.

No little monkeys jumping on the bed
None fell off and bumped his head
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
Put those monkeys back in bed!

Book Two: Don't Wake Up Mama! : Another Five Little Monkeys Story by Eileen Christelow (Illustrator)

The five little monkeys wake up early to bake a cake for their mother's birthday, with messy results.

Activity Two: Interactive Song:

I'm a Little Monkey (Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little monkey in the tree 
Swinging by my tail so merrily 
I can leap and fly from tree to tree 
  have lots of f un you see.

I'm a little monkey watch me play 
Munching on bananas every day 
Lots of monkey friends to play with me 
We have fun up in the tree.

Book Three: Caps for Sale : A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina (Illustrator)

A peddler selling caps stacked on his head wakes up from a nap under a tree to find his caps are gone -- and the tree is full of cap-wearing monkeys. A classic.

Activity Three: Song

Aba Daba Honeymoon in Sillytime Magic by Joanie Bartels (CD)

Need CD Player

Activity Four: Craft
Paper Bag Monkey Puppet
Cut out the monkey face, tail, ears, mouth and hair before program. Have kids color the individual pieces and glue to lunch bag. Have one prepared as example.

Supplies:
Brown paper lunch bag
Glue
Markers or Crayons
Template of monkey face, tail, ears, mouth and hair available at the website StoryPlace at the following URL:
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/takehomeprint.asp?themeid=1

One Little Monkey by Stephanie Calmenson

Counting book. A monkey stung by a bee leads all the animals on a mad dash through the jungle.

"Not Me!" Said the Monkey by Colin West

A mischievous monkey causes trouble for all the other animals in the jungle but denies it to the end.

Book One: If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff, Felicia Bond (Illustrator)

Activity One: Interactive Song.

Are you Listening (to the tune of Are You Sleeping?)

Are you listening, are you listening 
To the pig, to the pig? 
Hear the pig calling, 
Hear the pig calling. 
Oink,oink,oink; 
Oink,oink,oink.

Activity Two: Finger Play.

Two Mother Pigs
Two mother pigs lived in a pen. (show thumbs)

Each had four babies, and that made ten. (show fingers and thumb)

These four babies were soft and pin. (hold up one hand, four fingers up)

These four babies were black as in. (hold up other hand, four fingers up)

All eight babies loved to play.

And they rolled and they rolled, in the mud all day. (roll hands over each other)

At night with their mothers, they curled up in a heap,

And squealed and squealed until they went to sleep. (makes fists palms up)

Book Two: Olivia by Ian Falconer

Caldecott Honor Book, 2001. The days of this young pig are busy from morning to night, as Olivia excels at everything, including wearing people out!

Activity Three: Flannel Board and Interactive Song. Old McDonald Had a Farm

Need cutouts of the farmer, a barn, and assorted animals. Classics are a pig, cow, dog, horse, cat and sheep.

Activity Four: Song. The Three Little Pigs by Greg and Steve in Playing Favorites (CD).
Need CD Player.

Book Three: Annabel by Janice Boland ; pictures by Megan Halsey

A little pig with a desire to be important and do something wonderful ventures off to ask a horse, dog, and hen why each of them is unique.

Activity Five: Craft: Make "Pig Slop."

Explain to the kids how farmers will feed pigs a mixture of leftover foods. Then the kids will make "pig slop." Start with chocolate pudding for each child and then provide mixers like chopped nuts, raisins, cereal, chopped bananas and apples, candy sprinkles, M&Ms etc. Kids can eat craft after finishing it. (Make sure you check with parents for food allergies.)

The Pig in the Pond by Martin Waddell and Jill Barton

A pig on a hot summer day envying the ducks and geese decides to enjoy the pond too. Lots of sound effects.

Little Pink Pig by Pat Hutchins

A colorfully illustrated tale follows the adventures of Little Pink Pig as his mother looks for him at bedtime, getting all the other animals involved in the search, when actually he really is not lost at all.

Evaluating a program for young children is not as simple as one for adults where you can have the participants fill out questionnaires. The easiest way to evaluate the program is to observe the children as the program takes place. Are they distracted? Are their eyes everywhere but on you? Are they busier talking to their neighbors than listening to the book? Do they ask questions about and answer questions about the book? Do they all participate in the finger plays and interactive games? Do they interact with each other? Are they interested in doing the craft?

Make sure that the finger plays and crafts are not too difficult for the age group the program is designed for. If the children are struggling to create the craft then for the next program make sure the craft is simpler.

After each story ask the kids if they liked the story. Discuss what they liked about it. At the end of the program ask the kids what their favorite part of the program was. Talk casually to the parents and ask them how the kids are enjoying the program. Ask other staff observing the program how successful they think it was. Ask for honesty!

And another important indicator: do the kids and parents come back for all the sessions? And do the kids seem excited and pleased to return? This is an excellent indicator of a good program.

Briggs, Diane

Chance, Sharon Galligar
Story Hours: Children’s Book Reviews
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/5116/children.htm

Child Care Corner: Preschool Activities
http://preschool.topcities.com/preschool_activities.htm

Clancy, Lorraine

Early Childhood – educational preschool and kindergarten teaching activities

http://members.tripod.com/~Patricia_F/learning.html

Hasbrouck, Ellen
Library Story Hour from A to Z

PBS Teacher Source – Arts and Literature: Preschool

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/arts_lit/preschool_arts.shtm

Peterson, Carolyn Sue and Benny Hall

Pratt’s Educational Resources: Animal Themes

http://www.fastq.com/~jbpratt/education/theme/animals.html

Raines, Shirley C. and Robert J. Canady
Story S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-R-S