I’m still enjoying the challenge of our storytime adventures through the alphabet. This week we did the letter F in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime. I started by asking the kids to suggest words that started with the letter F. They came up with finger, fall, flower, frog, and fox. I wrote them down on my whiteboard and then we all drew the letter F in the air. I also demonstrated a few notes on my flute (an instrument I rarely get to play, since I can’t sing while playing it.) The kids were intrigued by the way you make sound by blowing across the hole, rather than into it.

Here’s a combination of the books, songs, and activities I used for both storytimes.

Books:

Foodie Faces by Bill & Claire Wurtzel

This is such a cute book, featuring faces made out of fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, whipped cream, bagels, and lots of other foods. The text is a simple rhyme, which describes different feelings. The kids loved calling out the feelings, and also the different types of foods.

In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes; illustrated by Laura Dronzek

A beautiful book about the Fall, featuring squirrels, apples, pumpkins, and of course, falling leaves. Before we read it, I had handed out play scarves for the song Leaves Are Falling to the Ground, and I asked the kids to hold on to their scarves and then throw them on the page where all the leaves blow off the trees. It was a bit hit!

I’m a Frog by Mo Willems

Adorable Elephant and Piggie book where Gerald is shocked when Piggie tells him she is a frog. He worries that he might turn into a frog too, until she explains that she is just pretending. For Outdoor Musical Storytime, Claire read the part of Gerald and I read Piggie. The kids especially loved the page where they argue, “Yes, you can!” and “No, I can’t!”

Is Everyone Ready for Fun by Jan Thomas

Jan Thomas is one of those authors that really understands what makes a great storytime book: humor, repetition, and opportunities for kids to take part in the story. In this one, three cows declare that it’s time to jump, dance, and wiggle on Chicken’s sofa, with Chicken objecting every time. I did this one for Family Storytime, and the kids loved it!

If You Find a Leaf by Aimée Sicuro

I used this one in place of In the Middle of Fall for Family Storytime, which gets a slightly older audience. It’s a beautiful book about all of the things you can do with fall leaves: pretending they are hats or Halloween masks or parachutes. I had given out play scarves before I read it, and I had the kids pretend they were leaves, as we acted out the different ideas in the book. It would be fun to hand out actual leaves as well.

Songs:

If You’re Happy and You Know It

I did this one to go along with the book Foodie Faces, since it’s all about feelings. I usually add in verses about other emotions:

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

If you’re sad and you know it, cry, “Boo hoo!”…

If you’re angry and you know it, say, “I’m mad!”… (stomp feet while saying, “I’m mad!”)

If you’re shy and you know it, hide your face… (cover your eyes, and then uncover them and say, “Peek-a-boo!”

If you’re sleepy and you know it, yawn and stretch…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout, “Hooray!”

Aiken Drum

For Family Storytime, which draws a smaller crowd, I did this song to go along with Foodie Faces. I brought out a basket of play food, and asked the kids to come up and pick foods to be the parts of Aiken Drum’s face. We laid them out on the floor. In the end he had eyes made of lemons, a nose made of grapes, a mouth made of corn, and ears made of eggs.

[C] There was a man lived [F] in the moon,
[C] In the moon, [G] in the moon.
There [C] was a man lived [F] in the moon,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

Chorus:

[C] And he played upon a [F] ladle, [C] a ladle, a [G] ladle,
He [C] played upon a [F] ladle, and his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

[C] And his eyes were made of [F] lemons,
[C] Lemons, [G] Lemons.
His [C] eyes were made of [F] lemons,
And his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

[C] And he played upon a [F] ladle, [C] a ladle, a [G] ladle,
He [C] played upon a [F] ladle, and his [C] name was [G] Aiken [C] Drum.

And his nose was made of grapes… etc.

Leaves are Falling on the Ground

To the tune of The Wheels on the Bus. I got this one from PreschoolExpress.com, who credits Jean Warren as the author. We handed out play scarves before we sang it, and pretended they were leaves falling through the air, then swished them in the air like rakes for the second verse:

The leaves on the trees are falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
The leaves on the trees are falling down,
All through the town.

Let’s rake the leaves into a mound,
Into a mound, into a mound.
Let’s rake the leaves into a mound
All through the town.

The kids in the town jump up and down,
Up and down, up and down.
The kids in the town jump up and down,
All through the town.

Five Green & Speckled Frogs

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we sang this with the parachute. I had the kids shake the parachute in rhythm as I sang the song and held up toy frogs. Each time we got to the line about the frog jumping into the pool, I threw a frog onto the parachute. For Family Storytime, I had a frog puppet and a fly toy that I let the kids take turns feeding to the frog.

Five green and speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log.
Eating the most delicious bugs! Yum Yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Now there are four green speckled frogs!

Four green and speckled frogs…etc.

You Are My Flower

This is a classic bluegrass song that’s really simple to play. We did it as our instrument play-along at the end. Here is a link to the YouTube video for the version by Elizabeth Mitchell:

[C] The grass is just as green, the sky is just as [G7] blue.
The day is just as bright and the birds are singing [C] too.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

The [C] air is just as pure, the sunlight just as [G7] free,
And nature seems to say, it’s all for you and [C] me.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

So [C] wear a happy smile, and life will be worth-[G7]while.
Forget your tears, but don’t forget to [C]smile.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

When [C] summertime is gone and snow begins to [G7] fall,
Just sing this song and say to one and [C] all.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

Stay & Play: Paper Fans

It’s actually been hot this week in the Bay Area, so this simple activity turned out to be a nice gift to the families, especially at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I pre-folded paper fans accordion style out of different colors of paper. For the Stay & Play, I told the kids to flatten the paper and draw whatever designs they wanted with markers. Then they refolded them to make them back into fans.

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