Monthly Archives: August 2026

Fine Rts: A Storytime about the Letter R

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Early Literacy Tip: Talk about the sounds that individual letters make, and make a game out of coming up with words that start with that sound. Paying attention to the sounds that make up words is a critical part of phonemic awareness, an important skill for learning to read later on.

This week, we focused on the Letter R in storytime. As usual, we started by drawing an upper- and lower-case letter R in the air together (I also wrote it on my whiteboard). I talked about the sound the letter makes (we said it together), and asked the kids if they knew any words that started with R. They had several suggestions: rain, run, rabbit, rat, and rhinoceros. I also pulled some items out of my paper bag: a ruler, a ribbon wand, and some rosemary (I broke off pieces to hand out to the kids so they could smell it).

For our secret words at the end, I handed out slips of paper with some basic letter R words written on them, including robot, rose, rabbit, raspberry, and rocket. This has been a fun addition to storytime, and the kids seem to enjoy the surprise of seeing what word they will get. It’s always nice when someone has a particular connection to the word, like “Oh, raspberries are your favorite fruit!”

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

I love this sweet story that conveys the power of simply sitting with someone who is having a hard time, instead of trying to fix their problems. When Taylor’s block tower gets knocked over by a flock of crows, different animals stop to offer advice, telling him he should shout, or laugh, or ruin someone else’s tower. None of their advice makes Taylor feel any better, until the Rabbit comes and sits beside him, taking the time to listen to all of his feelings.

Rainbow Hat by Hong Hai

Cute, colorful story about a bear whose rainbow hat blows away. It lands on a turtle, and then a duck, and then a frog, and finally gets carried off by a large bird, who drops it right back on Bear’s head.

My Rhinoceros by Jon Agee

I love this book, especially because the author lives in the Bay Area, and has visited some of our local schools. When a boy buys a pet rhinoceros, he is disappointed to learn that rhinoceroses only do two things: pop balloons and poke holes in kites. Neither of those seem particularly useful, until the boy comes across two robbers escaping in a balloon and a kite. When his rhinoceros helps the police catch the robbers, the boy discovers his rhinoceros can also fly! The page with the flying rhinoceros always gets delighted gasps and giggles.

Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood (based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown)

I gave out the egg shakers before I read this book, and we sang the song together at the end of both Family and Outdoor Musical Storytime. I also pulled out my thunder stick (which makes a loud rumbling sound) and shook it whenever we got to the line about the stormy clouds. The illustrations are colorful and charming.

Songs:

The Sleeping Bunnies Song

For some reason, toddlers and preschoolers love songs where you sink down to the ground, and then jump up. This is one of my all-time favorites (I stole it from a local daycare provider years ago). There are lots of different versions, but the one I use is closest to the one in this Little Baby Bum video:

See the little bunnies sleeping (crouch down and pretend to sleep)
‘Till it’s nearly noon.
Come, let us wake them with a merry tune?
They’re so still.
Are they ill?
NO! Wake up little bunnies! (jump up)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop! (jump up and down)
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop, hop, hop!
Hop little bunnies, hop and stop!

Rainbow ‘Round Me by Ruth Pelham

I don’t remember where I first learned this song, but I love it because it gives kids a chance to suggest things that they might see outside their window. We sang this with the ribbon wands at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I told the kids to wave the wands back and forth on the verses, and then spin around in a circle during the chorus. They suggested a red cat, a white garbage truck, and a green duck.

When I [C] look outside my [G7] window,
There’s a world of color I [C] see.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
There’s a [G7] world of color I [C] see.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 

And the [C] cat outside my [G7] window,
Is as red as red can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] red as red can [C] be.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me.

And the [C] garbage truck outside my [G7] window,
Is as white as white can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] white as white can [C] be.
And the cat is as [G7] red as red can [C] be.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me.  

And the duck outside my window…etc.

Roll the Ball to You

I used to work at a library that hosted a weekly Kindermusik class. The teacher would always sing this song in a really operatic style, which always struck me as funny. It is a really simple, catchy song though, and it stuck with me. For Family Storytime, we sang it while rolling a plush ball back and forth between me and each of the kids. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I put a plush ball on the parachute and we rolled it around together (I wish I had brought a lighter ball though, because the plush one didn’t roll very well on the parachute).

I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.
I roll the ball to you,
And you roll the ball to me.

Rocketship Run by Laurie Berkner

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end. I had the kids crouch down and jump up during each countdown.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Sun,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Sun,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be spinning everywhere.
[C]Spinning [G7] round the [F] Sun.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Moon,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Moon,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be dancing through the air,
[C]Dancing [G7] on the [F] Moon.

[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] stars,
[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] stars,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be jumping everywhere,
[C]Dancing [G7] from star to [F] star.[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!
[Am] 5-4-3-2-1 [C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run!

[C]Take me [G7] to the [F] Earth,
[C]Leave me [G7] on the [F] ground,
[C]When I [G7] get there [F] I’ll be [C] home.

[Am] 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

[C] Blast off! Another rocket [E7] ship [Am] run

Stay & Play: Straw Rockets

I got this idea from BuggyandBuddy.com, which also provided the rocket templates. Before storytime, I had our summer intern cut out the paper rocket templates.

For the Stay and Play, I put out the paper rocket templates, along with markers, tape, paper straws, and small pieces of larger plastic straws (our county has a policy of not purchasing disposable plastics if possible, so I cleaned a few used regular sized drinking straws and cut them into 2″ pieces. You can also roll up squares of paper and tape them into tubes instead, but there’s a little more friction, which makes it harder for the kids to blow the rocket off of the paper straw).

The kids enjoyed coloring their rockets with the markers. Then we helped them tape a piece of plastic straw to the back, making sure that the tape fully covered the hole at the top of the straw. When they inserted the paper straw into the plastic one, and blew, their rocket launched into the air.

Do you have any favorite books or songs featuring the letter R? Please share them in the comments below.

Q-riosity: A Storytime About the Letter Q

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Early Literacy Tip: Write simple action words on small pieces of paper (run, clap, jump, etc.), and put them in a bag (or attach them to a die that you throw, or a board game spinner that you spin). Have your child pick out one of the papers, and then do the action together (or have your child direct you to do it). This is a simple, fun way to build print awareness.

This week we celebrated the Letter Q! As usual, we started by writing an upper and lower case letter Q in the air together, and then brainstormed words that started with Q. The kids suggested queen and quack. I also pulled some other items from my paper bag: a quarter, and a picture of quail and a quokka.

I had written three q words on pieces of paper, and I told the kids that there were special motions we would do for each one. For the word quack, we would quack like a duck and make duck bills with our hands. For the word quiet, we would put one finger over our lips and say, “Shhhh!” And for the word quick, we would clap our hands really fast. I spent a couple of minutes, pulling out the pieces of paper and reading the words, and we did the actions together.

HOME EXTENSION: I’ve been trying to add a “secret word” component each week, to help build excitement around printed words, and give the kids something to share with their caregivers after storytime. This week, I let them pick one of the “q” words from the activity above, and told them they could tell their grown-ups they had to do the motion (quacking, shushing, or clapping).

Books:

Quick Little Monkey by Sarah L. Thomson; illustrated by Lita Judge

A beautifully illustrated book about a pygmy marmoset who accidentally slips to the forest floor, and has to flee a giant snake before reuniting with his father. This was an exciting story that held the kids’ attention.

A Quick Trip to the Store by Sam Wedelich

I really like this funny new picture book about a girl and her mother, who have to take a quick trip to the store to buy bananas. While her mother chats with a group of other Mom’s, the girl decides to go shopping by herself, and accidentally crashes her cart (and herself!) into the bin of bananas. Her Mom agrees to buy all of the bruised bananas, and together they make banana bread for the employees at the store. The main character’s opinions about shopping, and mothers, and banana bread are hilarious.

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up by Jane Whittingham; illustrated by Emma Pedersen

This is an adorable story that I’ve shared many times. I especially like to read it for Outdoor Musical Storytime, since there are a lot of California quail in the park. Queenie Quail just can’t keep up with her brothers and sisters, because she is too busy looking at bees and caterpillars and shiny stones. But when she spies a cat hiding in the grass, and alerts her family, her parents realize that her dawdling can be helpful. The kids enjoyed joining in on the repeated “bob bob bob,” “tap tap tap” and “hurry hurry hurry” motions throughout the book.

I Quit! by Kristen Tracy; illustrated by Federico Fabiani

Sweet story about a cat who gets adopted. At first, she is thrilled with her new home, but then she learns there are rules like no licking yourself on the table and no chasing the baby. “I quit!” she declares, and makes her escape. But the world outside is dark and scary, and she quickly decides she wants to go home.

Songs:

Monkey See and Monkey Do

We sang this after reading Quick Little Monkey. It’s a fun, versatile action song, and you can add in any motions that suit your storytime crowd. I always end with “sit back on the ground” to get the kids ready to listen to the next book.

When you clap, clap, clap your hands,
The monkey clap, clap, claps his hands,
Monkey see, and monkey do,
The monkey does the same as you!

When you jump up and down, etc.

Repeat with other motions: when you jump up and down; make a funny face; turn yourself around; and sit back on the ground.

Two Little Quail

We sang this with the play scarves (I gave each child two). A variation of the traditional Two Little Blackbirds song to go along with the book Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up.

Two little quail sitting on a hill, (Hold up both scarves)
One named Jack, and the other named Jill.
Fly away, Jack! (Put one scarf behind your back)
Fly away, Jill! (Put the other scarf behind your back)
Come back, Jack! (Bring the first scarf out in front).
Come back, Jill! (Bring the second scarf out in the front).

Two littlequail sitting on a cloud,
One was quiet, and the other was loud (I make my voice as loud and obnoxious as possible each time I sing the word “Loud!”)
Fly away, Quiet!
Fly away, Loud!
Come back, Quiet!
Come back, Loud!

Two little quail sitting in the snow.
One flew fast!
And the other flew slow!…

Two little quail sitting on a gate.
One was early, and the other was…late!…

Quick, Quick, Quick

We sang this with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I have a bunch of little ducks from a couple of Monkee Mitt sets, and I told the kids to quack each time I threw one on the parachute. Then we sang the song, shaking the parachute quickly and then slowly, and lowering and raising it up. I added a few more ducks each time we sang it.

Quick, quick, quick!
Slow, slow, slow!
Down, down, down!
And up we go!

Letter Q

I wrote this song for my last set of alphabet storytimes, since I couldn’t find a good instrument play-along for letter Q. I had explained to the kids about how the letter Q is almost always followed by U, which is the subject of this song. We sang it at the end with egg shakers.

If you ever need a storytime song for a particular topic, feel free to reach out. I love a challenge!

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Without U, there is no [F] Question.
[G7] Without U, no qualit-[C]y.
No Quiet walks [F] along the shore,
No [G7] Quests of braver-[C]y.
No Quilts to keep you [F] warm at night,
No [G7] Quick trips to the [C] zoo.
There’s nothing quite as [F] lonesome
As [G7] Q is without [C] U.

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

[C] Q is such a quirky [F] letter.
[G7] It is useless on its [C] own.
Without U it cannot [F] Qualify,
It [G7] cannot stand a-[C]lone.
Q would be in such a [F] Quandary,
Without [G7] you to make it [C] sound.
I Quake to think what [F] Q would be
[G7] Without U [C] around!

[C] Oh, Letter [F] Q,
[G7] What can it [C] do?
It just can’t [F] be
[G7] Away from [C] U!

Stay & Play: Origami Paper Quilts

We have a lot of origami paper left over from past programs, so before storytime this week, I asked our summer intern to cut some of the paper into smaller squares.

For the Stay & Play, I put out white computer paper, glue sticks, and the precut origami squares. The kids enjoyed arranging the different patterns on the page and gluing them down.

Do you have any favorite picture books or songs featuring the letter Q? Please share them in the comments below.