Saturday, April 30, 2016

Preschool Storytime: Rainbows & Weather

I opened this storytime with the wonderful Magical Rainbow Stew. We start with foods in a variety of colors. Each food goes into the pot to magically come out as a strip that adds to the rainbow.

Flannelboard Activity: "Magical Rainbow Stew"

Take an apple, put it in the pot
Stir it, stir it, stir it a lot.
Take it out. What will it be?
The prettiest red you ever did see.

Repeat with carrot, corn, pea, blueberry, grapes

(Credit: Andrea at Rovingfiddlehead Kidlit)




We briefly discussed the weather conditions that are necessary to produce a rainbow (clouds, rain, and sun). 




Song: “What’s the Weather?” 
(To the tune of: “Oh My Darling Clementine”)

What’s the weather, what’s the weather,
What’s the weather, everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain, or is there sun?

(Credit: Perpetual Preschool)


Book: Little Cloud by Eric Carle

 


Action Rhyme: “Rain Is Falling Down” 

The rain is falling down,             (flutter fingers down) 
SPLASH                                     (clap)
The rain is falling down,            (flutter fingers down) 
SPLASH                                    (clap)
Pitter patter pitter patter            (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down,           (flutter fingers down) 
SPLASH                                    (clap)

(Credit: King County Library System)


Action Rhyme: “Splash! Fall the Raindrops”

Splash! Fall the raindrops, (Clap hands softly)
To the ground they go;         (Point to the ground)
We need the raindrops,         (Wiggle fingers down from head to waist)
To help the flowers grow. (Make cup of hands for flowers)


Shaker Song: “Shake it to the East” by Kathy Reid-Naiman (on the album Reaching for the Stars): video on Jbrary


Shaker Song: “Egg Shakers Up

Egg shakers up,                                            (shakers above head)
And egg shakers down,                                (shakers on the floor)
Egg shakers dancing all around the town.    (move shakers back and forth)     
Dance them on your shoulders
Dance them on your head
Dance them on your knee
And tuck them into bed                               (fold shaker inside hands, under head)


Book: Blue on Blue by Diane White



Fingerplay: “The Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout             
Down came the rain and washed the spider out          
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain 
And the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again


Action Song: “Mister Sun

Oh, mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, please shine down on me
Oh, mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, hiding behind a tree
These little children are asking you to please come out so we can play with you
Oh, mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, please shine down on me

(Credit: Raffi)


Action Rhyme: “The Big Round Sun” 

The big round sun in the springtime sky   (form large circle with arms)
Winked at a cloud that was passing by         (wink eye)
The little cloud laughed as it scattered rain         (flutter fingers downward)
Then out came the big round sun again. (form large circle with arms)


Book: All the Colors of the Rainbow by Fowler (excerpts) 


I used the illustrations and shortened text from this nonfiction book to briefly describe how rainbows are made by light shining through water in the air. 


Flannelboard Activity: “Build a Rainbow” 

I put all the semi-circles on the flannelboard and the kids helped me put them in order from biggest to smallest. When we finished, we had a rainbow!












Scarf Rhyme: “Rainbow Dancers”

Rainbow dancers let’s get ready
Hold your scarves nice and steady.
You’ll hear the colors of the rainbow.
Listen for your time to go.

Shake red…
Shake orange…
Shake yellow…
Shake green…
Shake blue…
Shake purple…

Red scarves turn around,
Orange scarves up and down.
Yellow scarves reach up high,
Green scarves fly, fly, fly.
Blue scarves tickle your nose,
Purple scarves touch your toes.

Everybody dance around,
Swirl your scarves up and down.

Shake purple…
Shake blue…
Shake green…
Shake yellow…
Shake orange…
Shake red…

Rainbow dancers dance around,
Scarves swirl up and down.
Our colorful dance is at an end.
Thank you, thank you, all my friends.

(Credit: K at Storytime Fun)


Scarf song: “Let’s All Twirl”
(To the tune of: “The Mulberry Bush”)

Let’s all twirl with our scarves today,
Scarves today, scarves today,
Let’s all twirl our scarves today,
All around the room.

Repeat: jump… clap… stomp…wave


Book: A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman



Closing Song: “The More We Get Together

The more we get together, together, together
The more we get together, the happier we'll be
'Cause your friends are my friends 
And my friends are your friends
The more we get together, the happier we'll be.


Craft, Manipulatives, Exploration:

Fluffy Cloud Rainbow craft




Color sorting activity: I put out lots of small objects in a variety of colors and plastic tubs that each had the bottom lined with colored construction paper. The kids sorted objects into the bin of the corresponding color. They also could use large plastic tweezers to move the objects, for fine motor practice.

Playdough


Inspiration for this storytime came from the lovely folks at: 



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