SENSEational Story Time: "Harvest Time"

Last Saturday was a celebration of the fall harvest. We talked about what harvest time means. "Does anyone have a garden at home? What is your favorite vegetable or fruit? What fruit grows in a tree? What else do you see in the garden? What does a scarecrow do?

Here's the plan:

Welcome song: "The Story Time Ball"

Tune: "Wheels on the Bus"

(Roll ball back and forth to each child)
The story time ball rolls back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth.
The story time ball rolls back and forth,
Let's see who it found. Hi ______!
Now roll it back to me.
(Keep rolling back and forth until each child has said their name.)

Yoga pose: "Scarecrow" (Mountain pose with arms extended out)

Finger puppet rhyme: "Two Little Blackbirds"

(Do motions with puppets or fingers)

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill,

one named Bob and the other named Bill.

Fly away Bob.

Fly away Bill.

Move fingers behind back.

Come back Bob.

Come back Bill.

Move fingers back in front.

Story: Scarecrow, Scarecrow, What Do You See? by Lisa Erwin, SLP

I love using adapted books with simple, repetitive stories and interactive images (attached with velcro). I enlarged this book and interactive image pieces to poster-size, looped ring clips through the top and attached it to our story time easel to flip through.

(source: My Speech Tools)

Stretch band rhyme: "Way Up High in the Apple Tree"

Way up high in the apple tree,

two little apples smiling at me.

I shook that tree as hard as I could,

and down came the apples.

Mmmm... they were good!

Story: One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert

I gave everyone a di-cut apple on a stick to hold up every time they heard the word apple, repeated frequently throughout the story. This engaging idea came from the book Nonfiction in Motion: Connecting Preschoolers with Nonfiction Books through Movement by Julie Dietzel-Glair, which I highly recommend for more sensory story time activity ideas. (ALA store)

After reading the story, I passed around a big, red apple so everyone could see, feel and smell the apples. I then passed around an apple that was cut open to show the apple seeds that were scattered by the wind in the story.

Parachute activity: "Popcorn, Popcorn"

(Kids can walk around holding the parachute or sit underneath as we "pop" the corn over their heads.)

Popcorn, popcorn,

sizzling in the pan.

Shake it up, shake it up,

bam, bam, bam!

Popcorn, popcorn

now it's getting hot.

Shake it up, shake it up,

Pop, pop, pop!

(source: unknown)

Goodbye song and stretch: "Tickle the Clouds"

Tickle the clouds.

Tickle your toes.

Turn around and tickle your nose.

Reach down low.

Reach up high.

Story time's over.

Wave goodbye!

Sensory craft: "Veggie painting"

We dipped pre-cut potatoes and carrots into washable paint to create these harvest works of art!