Flower Storytime

This storytime was for a preschool-aged group at my library.

Today's storytime is brought to you by the letter 'F'. So, on the board when the kids walked in was:

Read Aloud Books

What Does Bunny See?Written by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Maggie Smith

Bunny is hopping through the garden and discovering all sorts of colors of flowers. The rhyming text made this one an excellent choice, especially because they started having fun guessing what the next color would be based on the rhyme scheme. It fit in just right.

Planting a RainbowWritten and illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Every summer, we wait to see the rainbow of flowers that will grow. I read this book while the kids were holding their scarves. I instructed them that as I read each color of flower, the kids who had that color of scarf got to wave them. It made for fun, interactive reading.

My GardenWritten and illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Mom works hard in her garden, but if this little girl had her own garden, there wouldn't be any weeds. And the bunnies would be made out of chocolate. And so the imaginary garden begins. This one is a favorite of mine and has just the right amount of humor and imagination. This one got some good laughs.

Songs & Rhymes

Hello Song

Song: The Seed

(Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)

I'm a little planted seed (crouch into a ball)

Planted seed, planted see.

I’m a little planted seed,

This is how I grow.

See the rain come sprinkling down...

Sunshine comes down through the trees...

Now I am a growing bud...

Action Rhyme: Flower Blooming

(with our colored scarves)
This is a leaf, and this is a leaf.

That, you see, makes two.

This is the bud that holds the flower

Watch it bloom for you

(credit: Jbrary)

Song: Wave Our Scarves Together
(with our colored scarves)
We wave our scarves together
We wave our scarves together
We wave our scarves together
Because it's fun to do

Free Dancing: Rocks and Flowers
by Caspar Babypants
(again, with our colored scarves)

Goodbye Song

Games & Activities

Prop: Ten Little Flowers

These were the gloves I wore when we sang "Ten Little Flowers" together:

(Tune: Ten Little Indians)

One little, two little, three little flowers

Four little, five little, six little flowers

Seven little, eight little, nine little flowers

Ten flowers in the garden

Give them rain and lots of sunshine,

Give them rain and lots of sunshine,

Give them rain and lots of sunshine,

So they grow up tall!

Really, though, these gloves are so versatile, they could go with any number of rhymes. 

Puppets: There's Something in my Garden

This idea originally came from SurLaLune. Here's the rhyme:

There’s something in my garden, now what can it be?

There’s something in my garden that I can’t really see

Hear its funny sound…

An [ANIMAL] is what I found!

Really, this can be done with any variety of puppet animals. I focused on animals that started with "f" (fly, frog, etc.) among others. However, I, myself, did not make the animal noises. I had fun with an iPad app called "Animal Sounds" which made much more realistic noises for the game. The kids were fantastic at guessing the animal. But I did do one tricky one that no one guessed: the flamingo!

Craft: Cupcake Liner Flowers

It's very easy and takes little to no preparation. But the kids have a lot of fun with them.

Other Book Ideas

Up in the Garden and Down in the DirtWritten by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

On Meadowview StreetWritten and illustrated by Henry Cole

Flower GardenWritten by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt

Zinnia's Flower GardenWritten and illustrated by Monica Wellington