Talk Like a Pirate Day Preschool Story Time

September 19th was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we celebrated our first preschool story time of the season by exploring the high seas!


Opening Song:  Open Them Shut Them (Click if the video below doesn't work)

Opening Activity: Spell "PIRATES" in Felt Letters

Opening Nursery Rhyme: Humpty Dumpty

I like to start my preschool story times with a familiar nursery rhyme or two to get kids warmed up by matching words to actions.

Activity #1: Pirate vocabulary lesson!  I taught the kids to say the following piratey phrases:

Ahoy, me matey: Why hello there my friend!

Avast: STOP!

Shiver me timbers!: My goodness, that is surprising! Holy cow!

Aye-aye, cap’n!: Right away, captain!

YAARRRR:  I’m angry and threatening! (can be said after anything)

Book #1: A Pirate's Guide to First Grade by James Preller

This book was fun because kids had to look at the pictures to understand what was happening.  The words are super complicated, so connecting the pictures with the words helps build vocabulary!







Flannel Board Activity: Dress Up the Pirate

Book #2: Port Side Pirates by Debbie Harker

This one comes with a CD that has both a version with the words, and a karaoke version!  I used the karaoke version and it was really fun.

This book is kind of an exercise in endurance.  It's long and repeats a lot, which makes it an ideal song for preschoolers to know all the words by the end, but it's also kind of exhausting.








Action Rhyme: I'm a Little Pirate

Sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"
I'm a little pirate with a treasure map! (pretend to unroll a map)
Here is my eyepatch (put one hand over eye), here is my cap (put hand on top of head)
When I pulled the plug, the ship it sank (Slowly sink down until crouching)
That's why they made me walk the plank (jump up on the word plank!)

Book #3: Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

I was going to do a longer book as my third book, but we ran out of time.  This is a cute fluffy quick book if you need something fast and succinct.









Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Clouds

Tickle the clouds
Tickle your toes
Turn around
Tickle your nose!
Reach for the ground
Reach up high!
Story time is over,
Wave goodbye!

I got this rhyme from this awesome Jbrary video: Jbrary Goodbye Songs

--Sara