Names Preschool Story Time

Story time season is officially back in Fairy Twins Land!  We had a crazy awesome summer (including some great Sciencey Story Times, which we WILL post at some point), and I am super happy fall is here so I can get back in the regular swing of preschool story time.  Our first session was on 10/2/14, and I decided that I was going to start with a names themed story time.  I had the special privilege of being involved in the VIEWS2 research project for the University of Washington (at some point I'll write an entire blog post just about my experience being involved in that, but today is not the day), and one of the things we talked about in our training was how important a step it is for kids to be able to recognize and write their own names.  So here it is -- the first preschool story time of fall 2014!  Enjoy!

Entrance Activity: Since this was kind of my "first day of school" equivalent for preschool story time, I decided I wanted to create a little bit of community in my gigantic group of preschoolers!  To do this, I set up a table just outside of the story time area with some dye cut maple leaves, and some markers.  I asked the parents as they were entering to write their child's name on a maple leaf and drop it in the basket I had set on the table.  I am planning on creating a tree out of poster board between this story time and the next one, and taping all the leaves to it.  At the end of story time, I'll give each kid a sticker, and have them find their name-leaf on the tree and put a sticker on it!  I'm hoping it'll help with name recognition, and also just be fun and adorable.  The more story times they come to, the more full their leaf will be with stickers by the end of the season.  I'll post a photo of this when I get it done!

Opening Song:  Open Them Shut Them (Click here for the link to my version!)

Opening Activity: Spell the word "NAMES" on the flannel board in felt letters.  I also printed out pictures of myself and the two other library staff in my department, and taught them all three of our names.  I want them to know who we are and what we want to be called!

Opening Nursery Rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock



  Book #1: A Porcupine Named Fluffy by Helen Lester

I wasn't super thrilled about this book when I first saw it, but after I read through it a few times I knew it would be PERFECT for our first, long book at story time.  It's a great book to teach preschoolers about misnomers (although I didn't use that word...I probably should have!).  By the end, they all got that it was super hilarious that a porcupine would be named Fluffy.  We talked a lot about what more accurately descriptive names would be for a porcupine -- and a rhino, of course.

Action Song/Finger Play: 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 (glug glug glug glug)
He hate up all the soap (nomnomnomnomnom)
And now he's home, sick in bed with bubbles in his throat!
Bubble bubble bubble, bubble bubble POP!
Bubble bubble bubble, bubble bubble POP!

This was adorable.  I actually had the kids name our turtle -- I told them it could be ANY name as long as it rhymed with the word "swim".  They actually ended up picking "Pim", which is ridiculously cute.  So our little turtle was a girl, and her name was Tiny Pim.

Book #2: My Name is Elizabeth by Annika Dunklee

I really love this book -- it's a great opener for talking about nicknames (and what a nickname is, and if anyone else in the room has one).  I think it was a little bit too conceptual maybe for the preschoolers in my crowd?  I'm not sure they quite understood the story, but it's a really short book so if it falls flat it's not the end of the world.  I might try it again later in the season once they are story time veterans.

Movement Activity: Tall as a Tree



Tall as a tree!
Wide as a house.
Thin as a pin.
Small as a mouse (squeak squeak squeak!)

I use this stretching activity preeeetty often in story time.  It's great for wiggly children.  I often have them do it over and over again, and we get faster and faster and faster every time.  At the end of this story time, one little girl collapsed and said, "I'm EXHAUSTED."

Book #3: Call Me Gorgeous! by Giles and Alexandra Milton

At first, I wrote of this book as being a little too simple for my preschool story time crowd -- it seemed more like a toddler book to me.  But oh man, if you read it right...it is PERFECT for preschoolers.  There is something to talk about on EVERY page.  On the page with the porcupine spines, I asked them what they thought it would feel like to touch a porcupine, and one little girl thought for a second, and then looked at me and said, "OUCH!"  After that, all the kids wanted to try saying "OUCH!" so I gave them some time pretend to be in immense quill-induced pain.  It was hilarious.  I will totally use this again with preschoolers.

Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Clouds 

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