Opening Song: My Hands Say Hello
Memory Box: This week's Memory Box item was swim goggles from Fish Wish by Bob Barner. Interestingly, no one could remember what was in the box from last week and I wonder if that's because they're not as familiar with knitting needles as they might be with other items we've had in the box. Hmmm.
Book: Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood. I just love the bright, computer generated images in this book and it has a nice, catchy rhyme as we count down from 10 fish.
Rhyme: Five Little Fishies Swimming in the Sea. This rhyme is adapted from "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree"!
Five little fishies, swimming in the sea
Teasing Mr. Shark, "You can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark, quiet as can be
And snatches that fish right out of the sea!
Count down...
Book: Fish Wish by Bob Barner. Simple text and bright, colorful illustrations make this a good choice for your storytime. We also talked about how "fish" and "wish" rhyme. I asked them if they could think of any other words that rhymed with "fish" and we came up with "dish", "splish", "squish" and "mish".
Dance Break: After last week's dance storytime, I decided I want to incorporate more music and action in my storytimes, even if it's not thematic (I have mixed feelings about themes, anyway). So I told them they'd been sitting still for a long time and it was time for a dance break. I passed out scarves and we danced to "Silly Dance Contest" by Jim Gill.
Rhyme: Color Fish. My own Miss T made this prop rhyme for us. It's a box with a slit in the top and as you say the rhyme, you can drop the fish into the tank! Miss T has even labeled the back of the box so we know what order to drop the strings in:
There's a plastic baggie holding each fish in order to keep them from getting tangled.
On Saturday, I got my wish
When I found a tank for a fish.
But an empty tank is not much fun,
So I bought an orange fish and now I have one.
I have a fish, but one won't do,
So I bought a purple one and now I have two.
I have two fish swimming happily,
But I bought a yellow one, and now I have three.
I have three fish, but I want more,
So I bought a red one and now I have four.
I have four fish that jump and dive,
But I bought a pink one and now I have five.
On Saturday, I got my wish
When I found a tank for a fish.
A tank full of fish is lots of fun,
But the cat just saw them so I'd better run!
Book: Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert. A lot of fish books have to do with counting. Hmm.
Activity: Felt color fish. I passed out the fish and as I called out the colors, kids came up and put them on the board!
Take-Home Craft: A fish in a fish bowl. We provided all the pieces (die-cut hand shapes, pipe cleaners for seaweed, shells, a google eye, and the outline of the fish bowl to cut out and the outline of bubbles to cut out. Making the outlines is a great task for our teen volunteers and letting the preschoolers cut things out is good for fine motor control. They loved having real shells in their bags!
Alternate Books: If you don't like or don't have some of the books listed above, here are some other choices:
Fish Faces by Norbert Wu
Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean! by Kevin Sherry
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Ugly Fish by Karen LaReau (know your audience with this one - the fish gets eaten at the end!)
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck
