Go Green!

 Book: I Don't Want to Be a Frog

Fingerplay/Flannel: I am Sam

I am Sam, Sam I am.  I do like GREEN eggs and ham!

*For this I have different colored eggs.  I will say the words above and hold up any egg but the green one.  The preschoolers love correcting me and telling me I have the wrong egg.  A great way to help with color recognition.

Book: Green Eggs and Ham (With Novel Effect app)

Fingerplay: Color Hop Song

I see something that is green, do you see it too?

I see something that is green.  Hop there if you do.

With a hop, hop here.   And a hop, hop there.

Here a hop, there a hop, everywhere a hop hop.

I see something that is green, do you see it too?

*I like to have my volunteer behind me so that they can pop a puppet out.  I usually use a snake, frog and alligator puppet for this.

Book: Little Pea

Extra Books:

Go Green! (Preschool and Two's)

Preschool Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay/Flannel: I am Sam

I am Sam, Sam I am.  I do like GREEN eggs and ham!  

*The preschoolers love it when they can tell what I have incorrect. For this storytime, I told my preschoolers I wanted to find my "green" egg. Of course, I couldn't find the green egg on the first try, or the second. It took me quite a few tries until I found the correct egg. I have no idea where I found this, so if it's your fabulous idea, please let me know!

Book: Green Eggs and Ham

*For this wonderful book, I get to eat real green eggs! Now don't fret, they are green because of food coloring. My volunteer reads the part of Sam I am, and I read the other part. I don't read every page, since this would take up over half of the storytime. This book was received very well, especially when I ate the green eggs and enjoyed them!

Fingerplay: Color Hop Song (Tune: Old MacDonald)

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

         I see something that is green.

         HOP there if you do.

         With a hop, hop here.

         And a hop, hop, there.

         Here a hop, there a hop.

         Everywhere a hop, hop.

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

         (Have puppets pop up: snake and alligator.)

*I love to do something fun like this, but I never expected the reaction I received from the preschoolers. When the green animal popped up behind me, they all screamed like crazy! Again, I've been doing this one for years, so if it's your fab idea, speak up!

Book: I’m a Frog by Mo Willems

*I've never read this book in storytime before, but I'm so glad I did! I was the part of Piggie and my volunteer was Elephant. The preschoolers loved seeing me jump around and holler "Ribbit" over and over. Even the adults thoroughly enjoyed this book too!

Fingerplay: 5 Green Apples (Feed to puppets, use tree from 5 little monkeys)

Farmer Brown had 5 green apples, hanging on the tree

*Along came the pig and what did he see?  A green apple that he ate up so quickly!

Leaving 4 green apples, a-hangin’ on the tree.

…Continue counting down to 1 green apple…

Farmer Brown had 1 green apple, hanging on the tree

He plucked that apple and he gave it all to me,

Leaving no green apples, a-hangin’ on the  tree.
Credit: Sunflower Storytime

*I love feeding food to my puppets and the fingerplay above presented the perfect opportunity for it. I made five flannel apples and placed them on my flannel tree, so that we could all count down from 5 to 1. I did change the bold line to one I wanted to use myself instead of original.

Book: Can You Make a Scary Face?

*This is another classic book I love using, and it's great to get the preschoolers up and moving! Why? Because you are trying to help the ladybug inside the book. She is trying to get a little bug out of her book. So you do the chicken dance, and other things. During all that, the little bug gets stuck in your shirt! My favorite part of this was when a little boy told me that he had already gotten that pesky bug out of his shirt! That's why I love doing this, you never know what will happen!

Our craft today was a spotted frog with his tongue sticking out!

Extra Read-Alouds:

Time for Two’s Storytime:

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: I Spy With My Little Eye

*The two's love guessing games and this book is perfect! Our puppets came to visit us during this book also, which made for a very fun time.

Fingerplay: 5 Little Frogs

One little frog goes hop… Another comes along and they just can’t stop!

So, two little frogs go hop, hop… Another comes along and they just can’t stop!

So, three little frogs go hop, hop, hop… Another comes along and they just can’t stop!

So, four little frogs go hop, hop, hop, hop… Another comes along and they just can’t stop!

So, five little frogs go hop, hop, hop, hop, hop… They all got tired so they had to stop!

*Start out with 5 frogs up, say:

5 little frogs go hop, hop, hop…..(Have volunteer take down frog)..STOP!

Let’s count those frogs again!

*I like to just start out with 5 frogs up, and we will all jump until one frog disappears! Then, we will all count together to see how many frogs there are and repeat until no more frogs are left.

Credit: Preschool Education

Book: Where is the Green Sheep?

*I have not read this book in years, and I have a funny story why. All through the book you are looking for the green sheep. So, the last time I used this in storytime I had my volunteer hiding behind a big bulletin board that we can move around. I had a green sheep cut out that she would pop up every time I read the phrase "Where Is the Green Sheep?". This is repeated at least five times throughout the book. Well, to make it more interesting, after about the third time, I got up, and leaned back so that she could reach up and tape the sheep to my back. Then I walked around and asked again where that sheep was. The preschoolers hollered and pointed at my back, but I played it up and said I couldn't find that sheep. I read the next few pages and then stood up and asked again where that sheep was. I was planning on leaning back so that my volunteer could quickly snatch that sheep off my back. Did that work? Of course not! Before I could get back there I had a preschooler run up, quickly snatch that sheep off my back and say, HERE IT IS! All I could do was just stop and laugh quite hysterically! I couldn't let it ruin the book because I did keep asking where that green sheep was, didn't I? Well, I learned my lesson from that, so for the two's I kept the green sheep behind me. My volunteer just popped it up every time I asked and the two's caught on very quickly to let me know where it was. If you have a funny storytime story to share, I'd love to hear it!

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree

Fingerplay: 5 Green Apples (Feed to puppets, use tree from 5 little monkeys)

Farmer Brown had 5 green apples, hanging on the tree

*Along came the pig and what did he see?  A green apple that he ate up so quickly!

Leaving 4 green apples, a-hangin’ on the tree.

…Continue counting down to 1 green apple…

Farmer Brown had 1 green apple, hanging on the tree

He plucked that apple and he gave it all to me,

Leaving no green apples, a-hangin’ on the  tree.

Credit: Sunflower Storytime

*I love feeding food to my puppets and the fingerplay above presented the perfect opportunity for it. I made five flannel apples and placed them on my flannel tree, so that we could all count down from 5 to 1. I did change the bold line to one I wanted to use myself instead of original.

Dancing: Green Egg Dancing

Our craft today was a spotted frog with his tongue sticking out!

Extra Read-Alouds:

Go Green! (Preschool and Two's)

Preschool Storytime:

*Unfortunately, we had no heat in our auditorium, so we moved our storytime downstairs to the Youth Services department. I had to rearrange what I had planned a little bit, but we made it work with a great crowd of 28 kids!

Opening: Big Books

Book: Green Eggs and Ham

*My volunteer read the part of Sam I am.  I had actual green eggs to eat when I got to the end of the book.  The best part?  After I ate the green eggs, I got choked!  The kids thought it was hilarious!  

Fingerplay: Color Hop Song (Tune: Old MacDonald)

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

         I see something that is green.

         HOP there if you do.

         With a hop, hop here.

         And a hop, hop, there.

         Here a hop, there a hop.

         Everywhere a hop, hop.

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

*We had the alligator and frog visit us!

Book: Go! Go! Go! Stop! (With props)

*For this, I held up a green sign that said "Go". My volunteer held up a red sign that said "Stop". I told the kids to shout out each word every time we held up our signs. Since we were downstairs, I told the kids it was okay for us to be loud. I was worried that they wouldn't participate, but no need for that! They shouted right along with me, and it was so much fun! I almost didn't use this book, but I am so happy that I did.

Fingerplay/Flannel: “Five Green Shamrocks” (use puppets)

           Five green shamrocks growing outdoors

         [Alligator] picked one, and that left four.

                  Four green shamrocks, green as they can be.

                  [Snake] picked one and that left three.

         Three green shamrocks playing peek-a-boo

         [Lion] picked one and that left two.

                  Two green shamrocks nodding in the sun,

                  [Monkey] picked one, and that left one.

         One green shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day fun.

         [Dinosaur] picked it, and that left none.

Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster!

*This is my favorite green book, don't you agree? The best part that happened while I was reading this book. Three little girls put their arms around each other, and gasped each time parts of the monster disappeared. Priceless!

*Our craft today was three green frogs spinning around on the lillypad!  We put a brad in the middle of the lillypad, so that the kids can turn the frogs around and around.

Extra Read-Alouds:

Time for Two’s Storytime

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: I Spy With My Little Eye (with puppets)

Fingerplay: “Color Hop Song” (Tune: Old MacDonald)

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

         I see something that is green.

         HOP there if you do.

         With a hop, hop here.

         And a hop, hop, there.

         Here a hop, there a hop.

         Everywhere a hop, hop.

         I see something that is green.

         Do you see it too?

         (Have puppets pop up: snake and alligator.)

Book: Go Away Big Green Monster!

*The two's went crazy over this book! A few of them came up and wanted to help me turn the pages! It was wonderful watching their reactions watching the green monster disappear.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree

Fingerplay/Flannel: “Five Green Shamrocks” (use puppets)

           Five green shamrocks growing outdoors

         [Alligator] picked one, and that left four.

                  Four green shamrocks, green as they can be.

                  [Snake] picked one and that left three.

         Three green shamrocks playing peek-a-boo

         [Lion] picked one and that left two.

                  Two green shamrocks nodding in the sun,

                  [Monkey] picked one, and that left one.

         One green shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day fun.

         [Dinosaur] picked it, and that left none.

Credit: Sunflower Storytime

Fingerplay/Flannel: Green Egg

I am Sam, Sam I am.

I do like {pink} eggs and ham.

*I apologize, I have no idea where this came from. If it's your fabulous idea, please tell me! I start out telling the kids I want to show them my "green" egg. Of course, I show them every egg but the green one. I was worried this would be too confusing for the two's, but they loved it! One of them told me I was just being silly!

Dancing: Green Egg Dancing

*Our craft today was three green frogs spinning around on the lillypad!  We put a brad in the middle of the lillypad  so that the kids can turn the frogs around and around!

Go Green! (Preschool and Two's)

Preschool Storytime

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay/Flannel: Green Guessing Game

*I don't have the words with me for this, but I describe green items, such as a frog, or a traffic light. The kids can guess what I am talking about, then I hold up the item. They had a lot of fun with this, and I'll be glad to send you the rhymes, just leave a comment if you'd like this.

Book: Green Eggs and Ham

*This was so much fun to read! My volunteer read the part of Sam I am, and I read the other. I had real scrambled eggs dyed green, and all through the book I had them out on a paper plate. When it came time for me to eat the eggs, everyone in the room, including the adults got super quiet! You could even hear a pin drop. It was priceless! I love doing this book at green storytime, and its even better when you eat real green eggs.

Fingerplay: If You’re Wearing Green

If you’re wearing green today, dance a jig,

If you’re wearing green today, dance a jig,

If you’re wearing green today,

Dance a jig, then smile and say,

“Have a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day”

“If you’re wearing green today, clap your hands”….

“If you’re wearing green today, spin around”….

“If you’re wearing green today, shout “Hurray!””….

“If you’re wearing green today, stamp your feet”….

*I was really looking forward to doing this with the kids, but they didn't enjoy this like I had hoped. Still, it's a great fingerplay to do this time of year. I found this wonderful movement here.

Book: Can You Make a Scary Face?

*This book is such a great one to read aloud, and the kids really got into it. Especially when we had to make a scary face and make the frog disappear, that was the best part!

Fingerplay: “Color Hop Song” (Tune: Old MacDonald)

      I see something that is green.

      Do you see it too?

      I see something that is green.

      HOP there if you do.

      With a hop, hop here.

      And a hop, hop, there.

      Here a hop, there a hop.

      Everywhere a hop, hop.

      I see something that is green.

      Do you see it too?

      (Have puppets pop up: snake and alligator.)

*This was a huge hit with the kids, but I have to say anytime we jump up and down they love it. I apologize, I can't find where I found this wonderful idea.

Book/Music: Five Speckled Frogs by Steven Anderson

*I was super excited to use this book along with the CD, and at the last minute decided not to play the music, which was a big mistake. I wrongly assumed everybody knew this beloved song, but nobody did! We propped up five frogs on my puppet stage, and I started singing the song as I showed the pictures in the book. I thought by the time we got down to two frogs the adults would start singing with me, but nobody did! I guess nobody knows this song like they used to. I still recommend this book, the music that is included with this book is the best that I've ever heard.

Fingerplay/Flannel: “Five Green Shamrocks” (use puppets)

           Five green shamrocks growing outdoors

      [Alligator] picked one, and that left four.

               Four green shamrocks, green as they can be.

               [Snake] picked one and that left three.

      Three green shamrocks playing peek-a-boo

      [Lion] picked one and that left two.

               Two green shamrocks nodding in the sun,

               [Monkey] picked one, and that left one.

      One green shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day fun.

      [Dinosaur] picked it, and that left none.

*This fingerplay went over great! The kids loved seeing the puppets take my shamrocks. You can find this along with other great St. Patrick's Day fingerplays here.

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster!

*My favorite green book of all time! I love having the monster disappear right before the kids eyes, and this book never fails to enchant the kids.

Action Rhyme: “Monster, Monster”

Monster, monster, turn around

Monster, monster, touch the ground

Monster, monster, reach up high

Monster, monster, touch the sky

Monster, monster, touch your nose

Monster, monster, grab your toes

Monster, monster, touch your knees

Monster, monster, sit down please

*We ran out of time to do this fingerplay today, but it's a great one! I found this here.

Storytelling: “I’m Being Eaten By a Boa Constrictor” (With giant prop snake)

*This is one of my favorite things to act out, and this was done before I started doing storytime. I can't take credit for it. What you do is make a giant snake out of a hula hoop. I ended up taking green tablecloths and taping them to the top of the hula hoop. Then you add eyes and a tongue. You step inside the snake so that it pools around your feet. As you recite the poem by Shel Silverstein, you slowly pull the snake up around your body. As you get to the last line, you flip the snake up and over your head, so that you have disappeared and the snake's eyes and tongue are now facing the kids. They go crazy over this! Sadly, I forgot to do this today but have it down in my plans for April. I will include a picture of this in my future plans so that my explanation makes more sense.

Four our craft today, the kids made a turtle! The kids glued down the turtle head, arms, legs, and shell. We used green scrapbook paper for the shell. Below is what our turtle looked like. I found this adorable idea here.

Extra Read-Alouds:

Big Frog Can’t Fit In!

Nighty Night, Little Green Monster!

Snip Snap! What’s That?

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover!

Where is the Green Sheep?

Time for Two’s Storytime

Opening: Big Books

Fingerplay: If You Want to Hear a Story

Book: Go Away, Big Green Monster!

*My favorite green book of all time! I love having the monster disappear right before the kids eyes, and this book never fails to enchant the kids.

Fingerplay: “Color Hop Song” (Tune: Old MacDonald)

      I see something that is green.

      Do you see it too?

      I see something that is green.

      HOP there if you do.

      With a hop, hop here.

      And a hop, hop, there.

      Here a hop, there a hop.

      Everywhere a hop, hop.

      I see something that is green.

      Do you see it too?

      (Have puppets pop up: snake and alligator.)

*This was a huge hit with the kids, but I have to say anytime we jump up and down they love it. I apologize, I can't find where I found this wonderful idea.

Book: I Spy With My Little Eye

*The kids enjoyed this book. Next time I will use the puppets, which I normally do. I think they would have enjoyed this book more that way.

Fingerplay/Flannel: Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree

Book: Nighty Night Little Green Monster

*Another great book to read with this age. I think at this point they were done with listening, but they all did quiet down and seem to enjoy this book.

Fingerplay/Flannel: “Five Green Shamrocks” (use puppets)

           Five green shamrocks growing outdoors

      [Alligator] picked one, and that left four.

               Four green shamrocks, green as they can be.

               [Snake] picked one and that left three.

      Three green shamrocks playing peek-a-boo

      [Lion] picked one and that left two.

               Two green shamrocks nodding in the sun,

               [Monkey] picked one, and that left one.

      One green shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day fun.

      [Dinosaur] picked it, and that left none.

*This fingerplay went over great! The kids loved seeing the puppets take my shamrocks. You can find this along with other great St. Patrick's Day fingerplays here.

Dancing: Green Egg Dancing

*We didn't have time to dance with anything today.

Four our craft today, the kids made a turtle! The kids glued down the turtle head, arms, legs, and shell. We used green scrapbook paper for the shell. Below is what our turtle looked like. I found this adorable idea here.

Extra Read-Alouds:

Big Frog Can’t Fit In!

Nighty Night, Little Green Monster!

Where is the Green Sheep?

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!