This week we celebrated the letter O in both Outdoor Musical Storytime and Family Storytime.

I started by asking the kids if they knew any words starting with the letter O. This was a little tricky, but they came up with owl, octopus, and open. I wrote these on my white board. Then we drew the letter O in the air together.

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell; illustrated by Patrick Benson

One of my all-time favorite picture books, this simple story is about three adorable baby owls who wake up to find that their mother is gone. The kids loved joining in on the repeated line, “I want my Mommy!”

I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Hilarious story about a giant squid who brags about being the biggest thing in the ocean, until he is eaten by a whale. But no worries! He’s just as proud to be the biggest thing in this whale. The ending always gets a laugh.

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman; illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby

Clever, rhyming counting book about book dinosaurs hiding from Ten-Osaurus Rex…because they are playing hide-and-seek. The kids loved joining in on the big “Roar!”

Octopus Shocktopus by Peter Bently; illustrated by Steven Lenton

This was my first time reading this book at storytime, but the kids seemed to like it a lot. When an octopus lands on the roof of a family’s house, everyone is surprised. But the family soon learns that an octopus can be very useful, and a lot of fun to have around.

Songs:

I’m a Wide Eyed Owl

You can sing this to the tune of Turkey in the Straw, or just chant it as a rhyme:

I’m a wide-eyed owl (make circles with your fingers to look like eyes)
With a pointed nose (make a V with your index fingers and hold it up to your nose),
I have pointed ears (hold your index fingers up on either side of your head),
And claws for toes (wiggle your fingers like claws).
I live in a tree,
And I’m looking at you (point your finger).
When I flap my wings (flap arms),
I say, “Whoooo! Whooo!”

Slippery Fish

We sang this one after reading I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. It’s one that a lot of the kids know (I think they often learn it in swim classes), and they are always happy to join in.

Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Swimming in the water.
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by an octopus, octopus,
Swimming in the water.
Octopus, Octopus,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

He was eaten by a great white shark,
Great white shark,
Swimming in the water,
Great white shark, Great white shark.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

She was eaten by a humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Swimming in the water,
Humongous whale,
Humongous whale,
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
BURP!! Pardon me!

The Waves on the Ocean

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, we sang this with the parachute to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus.

The waves on the ocean go up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down,
The waves on the ocean go up and down,
All day long.

The waves on the ocean are big, big, big…

The waves on the ocean are small, small, small…

One Bright Scarf

I got this one from the Jbrary video below. We sang it with play scarves for Family Storytime, to go along with One-osaurus, Two-saurus. The kids loved the part where you hide the scarf behind your back.

One bright scarf waiting for the wind to blow. (hold in hand)
Wiggle it high, (wiggle scarf above head)
Wiggle it low, (wiggle scarf by knees)
Shake it fast, (wiggle scarf quickly)
Shake it slow, (wiggle scarf slowly)
Put it behind your back,
Where did it go? (bring out empty hands)

Octopus’ Garden by Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)

We sang this as our instrument play-along at the end:

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] He’d let us in,
[Am] Knows where we’ve been,
[F] In his octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[Am] I’d ask my friends
To come and see
[F] An octopus’ [G] garden
With me.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] We would be warm
[Am] Below the storm,
[F] In our little hideaway
Beneath the [G] waves.

[C] Resting our head
[Am] On the seabed,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
Near a [G] cave.

[Am] We would sing
And dance around,
[F] Because we know
We [G] can’t be found.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
In an [F] octopus’ garden
In the [G] shade.

[C] We would shout,
[Am] And swim about
[F] The coral that lies
Beneath the [G] waves.

[C] Oh, what joy
[Am] For every girl and boy,
[F] Knowing they’re happy
And they’re [G] safe.

[Am] We would be so happy
You and me,
[F] No one there to tell us
[G] What to do.

[C] I’d like to be
[Am] Under the sea,
[F] In an octopus’ garden
With [G] you.

[F] In an octopus’ garden
With you.
[F] In an octopus’ garden
With [G] you.

Stay & Play: Paper Tube Octopus

This project was a variation of one from craftprojectideas.com. They used cardboard tubes, which would probably be easier, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I gave the kids colored paper and Scotch tape, and showed them how to roll the paper up and tape it into a tube.

Then I put out scissors, white glue, pony beads, markers, and googly eyes. The grown-ups had to help the youngest kids cut the bottom of the tube into eight tentacles, but many of the kids enjoyed trying the scissors themselves (I provided loop scissors for kids who don’t have the fine motor skills to use the regular ones yet). Then they glued pony beads onto the tentacles, and added googly eyes and a mouth drawn with markers. It was a more complicated project than I usually do, but the kids (and grown-ups) seemed to enjoy the process.

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

Happy New Year!