We had a very special guest at our Outdoor Musical Storytime today–a wild turkey! It was fitting for a storytime at the beginning of November, and also because our theme was an ancient ancestor of the turkey: dinosaurs!

We almost cancelled today, because it had been raining overnight and the ground was still a bit damp. But since the skies were clearning, we decided to give it a try. I posted a picture of the picnic area on a couple of Facebook groups for local families, explaining that we were still holding storytime, but to be sure to bring a towel or blanket to sit on. I also mentioned our Dinosaur theme, so one little boy showed up with his prized dinosaur collection!

BOOKS:

Here are the books and songs that we did:

Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

Crunch, the Dinosaur, is very shy, and likely to hide if you say “Hello” too loudly. This is a fun, interactive book that asks the kids to sing “Happy Birthday,” shout their names, and say “Goodnight,” as Crunch slowly warms up to them. This was a great way to get my shy group talking.

Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Groovy Joe is a lot like Pete the Cat, especially since the books are written by the author of the first few Pete books. In this one, Groovy Joe is preparing to enjoy his favorite ice cream, and singing his song “Love My Doggy Ice Cream!,” but he keeps getting interrupted by hungry dinosaurs. But that’s okay because, as Joe says, “It’s awesome to share!” The kids loved chiming in on the ROARs, and the families were singing along with the song every time.

Dinosaur Stomp by Paul Stickland

I love to throw in pop-up books whenever I can, because the kids are always mesmerized by them. In this colorful, rhyming picture book the dinosaurs pop off the page in surprising ways. It was fun to ask the kids to name some of the more recognizable dinosaurs.

SONGS:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

This one fit well with Crunch, the Shy Dinosaur, because we sang about lots of different emotions: If you’re sad and you know it, cry “Boo hoo!”; If you’re angry and you know it, say “I’m mad!”; If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face…peek-a-boo!

The chords are:

If you’re happy [C] and you know it, clap your [G7].

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your [C].

If you’re [F] happy and you know it,

And you [C] really want to show it,

If you’re [G7] happy and you know it, clap your [C] hands.

If All the Raindrops

The perfect song for our recent weather, and as a follow-up to Ice Cream and Dinosaurs. I asked for suggestions of favorite foods, so we made the rain into gummy bears and pasta, and pizza and grapes. Here’s an old video I made for the tune:

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a rain it would [G7] be.

[C] I’d stand out- [G7] side with my [C] mouth open [G7] wide,

[C] “Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah, Ah, Ah, [C] Ah, Ah, Ah, [G7] Ah!”

[C] If all the raindrops were [G7] lemon drops and [C] gum drops,

Oh, what a [G7] rain it would [C] be!

We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner

The little boy who brought his dinosaurs already knew this song, and it worked perfectly for our instrument play-along. I used the chords from this site: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/the-laurie-berkner-band/we-are-the-dinosaurs-chords-702750

STAY AND PLAY: Dinosaur Footprints

For our Stay and Play activity, we gave the kids paper plates and small handfuls of Crayola Air Dry Clay, and showed them how to flatten their clay into a small disc on the plate. Then we gave them toy dinosaurs, so they could press the footprints into the clay, or lay them on their sides to make a full body print. We also encouraged them to decorate their clay with leaves from around the park. This turned out to be a lot of fun! Thank you to Big Happy House for this idea. You can also do this craft with Salt Dough, which is cheap and easy to make.

What are your favorite dinosaur books or songs? Please let me know in the comments.