November 12: Preschool Storytime: Nocturnal Animals

(Reminder note: When it is time to read a story, I read the titles of three books and then display them. The children pick which one we read. The three fictional ones listed below are the ones they picked. The main exception to this is when I use an information text to teach about a concept such as a type of animal. Additional picture book ideas are listed at the bottom.)

Opening song:                                 (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")

                         We tap hola like this

                         We tap hola like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap hola like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop hola like this...

                          We circle hola like this...

                          We spin hola like this...

                          We toss hola like this...

                           We roll hola like this...

I reminded that last week we talked about spiders as an example of an animal that sleeps during the day and is awake at night. We call animals that do this nocturnal. I said that today we are going to talk about lots of other nocturnal animals.

Letter Nn and its sound
Found it on the Alphabet chart
Talked about things that start with Nn
Made lowercase n in the air

I used books including the two listed below to show the children pictures of some of the nocturnal animals that they might not be familiar with. I also showed pictures of a skunk, a badger, and a raccoon. 

                     

           

Book: "The Moon Man" by Isabel Harris

Song using shakers:

“Little Hoot Owl”

(Tune: "Six Little Ducks")
Who flies around in the dark of night/noche? 
Who glides on wings over silent night/noche? 
Who eats his dinner by late moonlight? 
It's a little hoot owl with his owl eyesight!

Who-who, who-who, little hoot owl/búho. 
Who-who, who-who, little owl/búho. 
Who-who, who-who, little owl/búho. 
It's a little hoot owl/ búho with his night vision.




Book: "The Bravest of the Brave" by Shutta Crum

Action song:

“Raccoon”
(Tune: "Kookaburra")

Raccoon sleeps in a hollow tree
While the sun shines on you and me.
Sleep, raccoon/mapache.
Sleep, raccoon/mapache.
Warm and cozily.

In the darkest part of night
Raccoon has the best eyesight.
Look, raccoon/mapache,
Look, raccoon/mapache.
My, your eyes are bright.

Raccoon hardly makes a sound
When he prowls all around.
Hunt, raccoon/mapache,
Hunt, raccoon/mapache
Find food on the ground.

Book: "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell"

Goodbye song:                               (Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell") 

                         We tap adios like this

                         We tap adios like this

                          Hi-ho cherry

                          We tap adios like this

                          Continue with other verses:

                          We drop adios like this...

                          We circle adios like this...

                          We spin adios like this...

                          We toss adios like this...

                           We roll adios like this...

Craft Time:  

I modeled the Nn dot page and the craft before the children starting working on them. I added in a new writing component called rainbow writing. Before starting the craft, the children write the given letter using 3 different colors of crayons. I have attached a link to the free rainbow writing letters I used. Completing the dot page is now optional.

You can find the free rainbow writing letters here. Since they are free, they lack a dot for where to start. I print one off, add the dots with a black marker, and then make copies of that one. You can find the dot pages here. 

Craft: Paper plate hedgehog

          Materials: paper plate
                          googly eyes
                          markers
                          scissors
                          glue
                          crayons

 I modified a craft found here.

These are my examples.

*All photos are shown with parental permission.

I always let the children pick which three books I read from the ones I bring with me. These are some additional suggested books that the children didn't pick:

1. "Fox Explores the Night" by Martin Jenkins
2. "Prickly Hedgehogs" by Jane McGinness
3. "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon