Preschool Storytime: January 2: Stars

(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. 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...

Today we are going to read stories and sing songs about stars.

Hold up S and s
Talk about sound of Ss
Talk about things that start with s
Make a lowercase Ss in the air
Put the alphabet chart on the floor. Let each child take the pointer and point to the letter Ss.


BOOK #1: "Star in the Jar" by Sam Hay 

After reading the book, pass out copies of the page with the typed songs. Tell the children to find a letter Ss on the page and show it to his/her parent.


SONG: “Five Little Stars” 

Before singing, give each child and parent one of the pre-cut sets of five stickers. Tell them to put one on the fingers of one hand. Model doing this. Tell them they need to keep them on for the rest of storytime because we will use them in all of the songs.


“Five Little Stars”

Five little stars (Hold up five fingers)
Feeling so bored,
One shot off, (Put down one)
Then there were four!

Four little stars (Put up four fingers) 
Winking at me. 
One shot off, (Put down one) 
Then there were three!

Three little stars (Hold up three fingers) 
With nothing to do. 
One shot off, (Put down one) 
Then there were two!

Two little stars (Hold up two fingers) 
Afraid of the sun. 
One shot off, (Put down one) 
Then there was one!

One little star (Hold up one finger) 
Alone is no fun. 
It shot off, (Hide your hand behind your back) 
Then there was none!

BOOK: "The Night the Stars Went Out" by Suz Hughes

Action song with star on finger:

“There's a Little Tiny Star”
(Tune: “If You’re Happy, and You Know It”

There's a little tiny star 
Way up in the sky. (Put finger in the air) 
A little tiny star, 
Up so very high (Put it up higher) 
She twinkles brightly 
Through the night: 
The stars are shining oh so bright.

There's a little tiny star 
Way up in the sky. (Put finger in the air) 
A little tiny star, 
Up so very high (Put it up higher) 
She twinkles brightly 
Through the night,
But during the day, she’s out of sight. (Put hand behind your back)

BOOK: "Pete the Cat; Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" by James Dean

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 rainbow writing page for letter Ss, the Ss dot page, and the craft before the children starting working on them. 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 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. 

Click here for a link for letter formation prompts for capital and lowercase letters. Children need to spend more time working on the lowercase letters than on the capital letters.




Craft: Pipe Cleaner and Straw Beaded Star Ornaments
          Source of craft idea: Craftoart.com

         Materials:

1. Thin straws (various colors)
2. Beads (variety of colors)
3. Pipe cleaners (variety of colors)
4. Cord/yarn/string
5. Scissors

My examples

Instructions:

1. Fold over the first inch of the pipe cleaner to prevent beads from falling off.

2. Choose a straw, and cut it into .5 inch pieces.

3. Place one bead on the pipe cleaner, then one piece of straw, then one bead, and then one piece of straw.

4. Continue this pattern until you have 9 beads and 10 pieces of straw on the pipe cleaner.

5. Fold the remaining inch of the pipe cleaner over to prevent beads from falling off.

6. Fold the pipe cleaner in half, and start at the middle to begin shaping it into a star.

7. Twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together. Trim the ends down to .25 inch. Tuck these ends inside the bead and straws that will be in the middle of the bottom.

*All photos are with parent 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. "How to Catch a Star" by Oliver Jeffers
2. "Blackout" by John Rocco
3. "Shine!" by Patrick McDonnell
4."Touch the Brightest Star" by Christie Matheson
5. "Henry's Stars" by David Elliot
6. "Hopper and Wilson Fetch a Star" by Maria van Lieshout
7."Stars" by Mary Lyn Ray

Book about space in general:
1. "Mae Among the Stars" by Roda Ahmed