Early Literacy Tip: Point out words that share the same letters and sounds (like “La La La” and “Ma Ma Ma” in the book Noisy Night) to help kids learn to keep an eye out for patterns in the words they see.

Last week, we celebrated the letter N. As usual, we started by writing the letter N (upper and lower case) in the air together and then talking about words that started with N. The kids suggested “No,” and “nut.” I pulled a few other items out of a paper bag: a nose flute, a name tag, and a can of nuts (which was really one of those trick cans with a snake inside).

Here’s the rest of what we did:

Books:

That is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

I read this with my Family Storytime group, which tends to skew a bit older. It’s a darkly humorous story about a goose who runs into a fox, who invites her to his house for dinner. Every time he invites her to do something (going for a walk in the deep dark woods, going to his house, tasting his soup), a small yellow gosling warns “That is NOT a good idea!” or “That is REALLY NOT a good idea!” In a surprise twist, the goose pushes the fox into the soup, and the book ends with the goslings saying, “We did try to warn him!” The kids loved joining in on the repeated “That is NOT a good idea!” parts.

I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems

One of my favorite Elephant and Piggie books. In this story, Piggie lets Gerald play with her new toy. He throws it in the air, but it breaks when it lands. Piggie is “mad and sad,” and Gerald is sorry, until a squirrel explains that the toy is actually a break and snap toy that’s meant to come apart. The representation of feelings (both named and unnamed) is spot on.

Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta; illustrated by Ed Young

Adorable, slightly suspenseful story about a ninja on a nighttime mission. Before he can achieve his goal, the kitchen light comes on and he is caught…and revealed to be a boy trying to sneak some chocolate ice cream from the freezer.

Noisy Night by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Brian Biggs

Fun book about a noisy apartment building, where everyone wonders what’s making the noises in the apartment above them: an opera singer singing “La La La,” a baby cooing, “Ma Ma Ma,” a sheep saying, “Baa Baa Baa,” etc. The kids enjoyed repeating the sounds on each page and trying to guess who is making them.

No, David! by David Shannon

A lot of the kids were already familiar with this popular book. I love to tell them (and their caregivers) that the book was based on drawings that David Shannon made as a child, which his mother saved and sent to him. The kids enjoyed seeing all the ways David gets in trouble, especially the page where he runs down the street naked.

Songs & Activities:

Old MacDonald

We sang this after reading That Is Not a Good Idea in Family Storytime. I always have animal puppets out on all of the chairs for that storytime, and it’s fun to ask the kids to hold up an animal for us to sing about.

[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
And on that farm he [F] had a [C] cow,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!
With an moo-moo here, and an moo-moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
Everywhere a moo-moo.
[C] Old MacDonald [F] had a [C] farm,
E-I- [G7] E-I- [C] O!

Repeat with different animals…

Number Play Activity

For Outdoor Musical Storytime, I brought out a foam die and explained that we were all going to clap our hands, but first we would throw the die to see how many times to clap. Once we threw the die (which landed on 5), we counted the dots and then clapped 5 times. Then we tried the same thing with jumping and stomping. I’ve also done this with a second die that has different actions (clapping, jumping, stomping, etc.) on each side.

The Noble Duke of York

We sang this song with the parachute at Outdoor Musical Storytime. I threw a bunch of small animals on the parachute (one little girl volunteered her stuffed rabbit), and we lifted the parachute up and down with the song. Here’s a Barney video with the tune, in case you’re not familiar with it.

The noble Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them all to the top of the hill, (stretch up high or lift parachute)
And he marched them down again. (crouch down low or lower parachute)
And when you’re up, you’re up. (stretch up high)
And when you’re down, you’re down. (crouch down low)
And when you’re only halfway up,
You’re neither up, nor down. (stretch up high, then quickly crouch down)

No One Like You by Andrea Willis Muhoberac

For years, this was our opening song for Musical Storytime, and it’s still one of my all-time favorites. We used it as our instrument play-along at the end. Click on the triangle for the melody.

I like your [C] eyes.
I like your [F] nose.
I like your [G] mouth.
Your ears, your hands, your [C] toes.
I like your face.
It’s really [F] you.
I [Dm] like the things you say and [G] do.

There’s not a [F] single [G] soul
Who [C] sees the [Am] skies
The [G] way you see them.
Through your [C] eyes.
[F] And aren’t you [G] glad.
[E]You should be [Am] glad.
There’s [C] no one, [G] no one
Exactly like [C] you.

Stay & Play: Nature Rubbings

Really simple, inexpensive Stay & Play, which worked perfectly for Outdoor Musical Storytime.

Before storytime, we gathered several different types of leaves. For the Stay & Play, I put out the leaves, white computer paper, crayons and colored pencils and tape (taping the leaves to the back of the paper keeps them from sliding around). I also gave out picture books for the kids to put underneath their paper, since the tables at the park are a bit bumpy.

I showed the kids how to tape a leaf to the back of the paper, and then flip it over and run the crayon or colored pencil back and forth on the part of the paper where the leaf is. Most of the kids had never done this before and were surprised to see the outline of the leaf appear.

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