It’s Thanksgiving week! And since we are on the Letter K in our storytime series, I decided to feature the word Kind, and have the kids make Kindness Cards to give to friends and family. Coincidentally, one of our regulars gave me a handmade card right at the beginning of storytime (my coworker said she was almost like a plant in the audience).

As usual, at the beginning of storytime, we talked about the letter K and I asked the kids if to suggest any K words they knew. This was a tricky one for them, because they kept coming up with words that started with C, like Cobra. In the end, with a bit of prompting, they suggested kite, kick, kitten, and kangaroo. I also demonstrated a kalimba (a type of thumb piano from Zimbabwe). I only wish I had thought to bring a kazoo!

Because of the holiday closures, I only had Outdoor Musical Storytime this week, but here are the books and songs we did for that:

UPDATE: I did the Letter K again for my Family Storytime the week after I posted this, so I’m adding in the extra book and songs I did for that.

Books:

King Baby by Kate Beaton

Hilarious look at the world from the point of view of a baby, who sees his parents as his royal subjects who always do his bidding (although they don’t always understand what he wants). Eventually, he learns that it’s even more satisfying to do things himself, as he masters crawling, walking, and more, just in time for the arrival of… Queen Baby! This book always gets laughs from both kids and parents.

I Love You Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark

This was one of my daughter’s favorite books when she was little, and my Family Storytime kids loved it too. Very sweet story about a little girl named Lily and her stuffed Blue Kangaroo. When Lily receives a whole bunch of new stuffed animals, Blue Kangaroo worries that there’s no place for him anymore, but Lily proves him wrong.

Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand

Simple story with large, colorful illustrations about a Bear and a Mole who are excited to make and fly a kite on a windy day, only to have it blow away in the storm. To their surprise, it ends up getting stuck in a tree, where it serves to protect a nest of birds from the rain. I used a thunder tube on the page with the thunder, which the kids loved.

How Kind! by Mary Murphy

When Chicken gives Pig an egg, he is inspired to do something kind for someone else, and starts a chain of kind acts that pass from one animal to the other. The kids enjoyed calling out the names of the animals.

Songs:

Five Days Old by Laurie Berkner

Although this song title doesn’t start with the letter K, it fit so well with the book King Baby that I had to include it. Plus it does have a verse about “kicking my legs.” It’s a lively, happy song that gets the kids moving.

[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] one day old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] two [G7] days [C] old.
[C] I’m sitting here, I’m [F] three days old, and [C] I’m sitting here I’m [F] four [G7] days [C] old.
[F] One [C] day, I’ll [F] be a [C] year, then [F] I’ll be [C] two, then [G7] three, then four.
[C] As for now I’m [F] sitting here, I’m [C] five days old and [F] no [G7] days [C] more!

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old…

I’m clapping my hands, I’m one day old…

I’m kicking my legs, I’m one day old…

Getting really tired, I’m one day old…

I’m jumping up, I’m one day old…

Popcorn Kernels

I do this song every week with the play scarves at Family Storytime, but this week it actually fit with the letter K theme (for kernels). The kids love bundling up the scarves in their hands and then throwing them in the air at the end. It’s to the tune of Frère Jacques.

Popcorn kernels, Popcorn kernels,
In the pot, In the pot.
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
Shake ’em, shake ’em, shake ’em.
‘Till they pop! ‘Till they pop!

My Kite Is Flying High

I found this song on PreschoolEducation.com. We used it with the parachute, lifting the parachute up for the first verse, and then lowering it to the ground for the second. I did it again with play scarves at my Family Storytime.

To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell:

My kite is up so high,
My kite is up so high,
Oh, my! Just watch it fly
My kite is up so high.

My kite is falling down,
My kite is falling down,
Oh, no! It’s down so low.
My kite is falling down.

All Around the Kitchen by Dan Zanes

We did this as our instrument play song at the end. Super catchy and fun, with motions for the kids to follow. The original song is by Pete Seeger, but I used the Dan Zanes version below. You can strum the whole song with Am.

CHORUS:

[Am] All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!
All around the kitchen,
Cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo!

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Put your hands in your hair (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Put your arms in the air (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Spin around in a circle (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Make your arms into trees (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Then you wave them in the breeze (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Walk and wobble your knees (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

[Am] Well, you stop right there (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Make your arms into wings (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Then you flap those things (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).
Fly around in a circle (cock-a-doodle-doodle-doo).

CHORUS

Stay & Play: Kindness Cards

This was such a simple project, but the results were adorable. I just put out white cardstock, markers, dot markers, and googly eyes, and told the kids to make cards to give their friends, families, teachers, or anyone else. Some of the adults helped the kids write messages inside.

If you have favorite books or songs featuring the Letter K, please share them in the comments below.