If you are looking for a fun, playful way to introduce some movement into your preschool story time, take the kids to this imaginary barnyard for some moo-vin' and groovin'!
Supplies
First, you're going to need to gather the following materials:
- "Farmyard Beat" by Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown
- New York: Knopf, 2011. ISBN 978-0-375-86455-1; Hardcover; US $15.99/CAN $17.99.
- Follow some fun-loving barnyard animals as they make so much noise they wake up all the other animals ... including farmer Sue! With great rhythm, rhyme, repetition and fun word play ("Puuurrrr! Mee-ooow! All that racket wakes up...cow!"), this story is not only a joy to read but a guaranteed hit with the kiddos.
- "Bedtime for Chickies" by Janee Trasler
- New York: HarperFestival, 2014. ISBN 978-0-062-27468-7; Board-book; US $9.99.
- Along the same theme as "Farmyard Beat," this sweet and playful board-book tells the story of three mischievous chicks that refuse to go to bed, driving sheep, pig and cow crazy.
- Shakers and noisemakers. Sand eggs, rattles, tambourines and thunder sticks all work well.
Program
Start by reading the stories one time through, just to get everyone familiar with the barnyard crew. Ask the kids what sort of noises the different animals make, and have them practice counting the number of animals that show up on each page. Then it's time to get everyone up and dancing!
For the "Bedtime for Chickies" story, have the children choose whether they would like to be a trouble-making chick or one of the other barnyard creatures. Hand out the noisemakers to the chicks. As you read through the story, have the kids act out their parts.
For "Farmyard Beat," divide the group into sleeping animals (let the kids pick which animal they would like to be) and have the others rattle the noisemakers to wake them up while you read the story. Everyone gets a turn pretending to be the sleeper and the waker and everyone gets to improve their physical literacy and have fun.
If you have time and would like to tack a craft onto the story time, have the children make their own noisemakers out of toilet paper tubes or paper plates. There are lots of easy-to-follow tutorials online.
