Preschool Storytime: Green Things

With St. Patrick's Day coming up next week, I wanted to do a story time around the holiday.  Alas, there are few picture books about St. Patrick's Day geared towards the under five year old set.  So, I expanded my theme and did "It's a Green Storytime!"

Book:  The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long

I started out by asking the children what animals are green.  They shouted "frogs," so this was our first book.  I love books that I can sing along to, because they make them more interactive and fun.  This book follows "The Hokey Pokey" and involves a frog trying desperately to catch a fly.  Will he catch it?

Flannel Rhyme:  Five Little Froggies

(If you don't feel like making a flannel board, this may be done as a fingerplay.)

Five little froggies sat on a shore,

One went for a swim, and then there were four.

Four little froggies looked out to sea,

One went swimming, and then there were three.

Three little froggies said, "what can we do?"

One jumped in the water, and then there were two.

Two little froggies sat in the sun,

One swam off, and then there was one.

One little froggie said, "this is no fun!"

He dived in the water, and then there were none!

Book:  Snip Snap! What's That? by Mara Bergman; illustrated by Nick Maland

Another green animal the children picked was an alligator (or crocodile).  This book involves a scary alligator that makes its way into a home to scare the children.  But, the children have a trick up their sleeves to get rid of the alligator.  We had fun making alligator noises with our hands.

Puppet Activity:  Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley

Since we read a book about a "scary" animal, I decided to follow with an interactive activity about a green monster that "doesn't scare me!"  I purchased the puppet kit from Lakeshore Learning, handed out different pieces to the kids, and they came up and gave our monster a face.

Fingerplay:  Five Green Peas

Five green peas in a pea pod pressed.

(children hold hand in a fist)

One grew, two grew, and so did all the rest.

(put thumb and fingers up one by one)

They grew and grew,

(raise hand in the air slowly)

And did not stop,

Until one day the pod went POP!

(clap hands together)

(Source: Storytime Katie)

Book:  There Was a Tree by Rachel Isadora

This is one of my favorite "new" books we've got in our picture book collection.  Based on the song "The Green Grass Grew All Around," this book is set in Africa and depicts a tree growing and all the things that land on the tree.  I really loved singing this, and was so happy that the parents and kids sang along with me!

Craft:  Shamrock Crowns

Just because I didn't read any books about St. Patrick's Day didn't mean I wasn't going to get my shamrock on with a craft!  The kids had a blast making these cute crowns.  Thankfully, we have an Ellison machine and a shamrock die shape, so it was easy to prep this.  And yes, that is me modeling my crown (I have a tough job, but someone's gotta do it)!

(Source:  DLTK)

Other Books to Share About Green Things:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover! by Lucille Colandro

In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox; illustrated by Judy Horacek

Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

My Snake Blake by Randy Siegel; illustrated by Serge Bloch

Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator! by Mo Willems

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing