Earlier this month, I kicked off our fall season of
storytimes with an Autumn-themed family storytime. As a huge fan of Raffi, and
of getting wiggles out before starting storytimes, I have changed the opener to
“Shake My Sillies Out”.
After our intro, I started with some fingerplays and rhymes.
Autumn Winds
Autumn winds begin to blow (blow)
Colored leaves fall fast and slow (wave hands)
Twirling, whirling, all around (turn body around)
Until at last they touch the ground (touch the ground)
Source: Perry Public Library
Autumn winds begin to blow (blow)
Colored leaves fall fast and slow (wave hands)
Twirling, whirling, all around (turn body around)
Until at last they touch the ground (touch the ground)
Source: Perry Public Library
The Leaves are
Falling Down (tune: “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The leaves are falling down
The leaves are falling down
Red, yellow, green, and brown
The leaves are falling down
Source: Preschool EducationThe leaves are falling down
Red, yellow, green, and brown
The leaves are falling down
Book: “I Know It’s Autumn” by Eileen Spinelli
Even the cover makes you think of apple pies, decorating pumpkins, and drinking hot chocolate. Ahh, fall.
And the tune I chose to use as a theme throughout the session, since we are focusing on forest-themed storytimes, is about what you might see in the forest. I am just changing what they might see depending on that week's storytime theme:
You Might See Some…
(Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?) – “A is for Autumn”
If you’re ever in the forest,
The forest, the forest,
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some…autumn leaves
Source: Preschool EducationThe forest, the forest,
If you’re ever in the forest,
You might see some…autumn leaves
Book: “Fall Is Not Easy” by Marty Kelley
Read this hilarious book if you haven't already. The kids love the bizarre color combinations and will love to voice their opinions about each one. It is a wonderful storytime book to read aloud.
And we already had flannels for "Four Autumn Leaves", so I finished up with this fun rhyme.
Four Autumn Leaves
Four Autumn leaves in a big old tree
One blew away and then there were three
Three little leaves with nothing to do
Another blew away and then there were two
Two little leaves in the autumn sun
One blew away and then there was one
Being all alone wasn’t much fun
The last one blew away and then there were none!
Source: Doc StocWe had a great showing for our first storytime of the season, and hopefully we'll keep getting more as the session goes on!
