Preschool Storytime February 4, 2021: Letter 'F'

Singing the Alphabet

Today we sang the alphabet forwards and backwards to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

We like to practice our letters in all different ways! Kids tend to learn the alphabet by rote…they memorize it quickly. Switching up the tune or singing the alphabet backwards really challenges them to connect each letter's shape with it’s name and/or sound. We also slow down (especially spots like LMNOP which to many young learners sounds like it’s meant to be a single name or sound)

Fee Fi Fo Fum

Fee, fi, fo, fum, (touching each finger to your thumb one at a time)

see my fingers, (wiggle fingers)

see my thumb. (wiggle thumb)

Fee, fi, fo, fum, (touching each finger to your thumb one at a time)

goodbye fingers, (fold fingers to palm)

goodbye thumb! (tuck thumb under fingers)

I'm a Knife, Fork, Spoon, Spatula

I'm a knife, fork spoon, spatula, cha, cha, cha!

I'm a knife, fork spoon, spatula ,cha, cha, cha!

I'm a knife, fork, spoon! I'm a knife, fork, spoon! I'm a knife, fork, spoon, spatula cha, cha, cha!

Motions:

Knife...arms straight above head with palms together.

Fork...arms at shoulder height with elbows bent to mimic tines of a fork.

Spoon...arms in a circle above head.

Spatula...just like fork, but with palms facing forward and fingers spread out.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

Five green and speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs. (Yum, yum!)

One jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool, now there are _____ green speckled frogs!

(Repeat with one less frog each verse until they're all gone)

Calming Moment

Our emotions can be SO big and overwhelming when we're little. We love to share tools for calming and self-regulation with kids and caregivers. One of our favorites is the Daniel Tiger hug where we cross our midline by giving ourselves a hug and take a deep, calming breath. The words to the song are:

Give a squeeze, nice and slow. Take a deep breath...then let it go.

The “What Is It?” Game

The "What Is It?" Song:

What is it? What is it? What is it, do you know?

What is it? What is it? Can you tell me so?

I told everyone that I had something in my "What Is It?" bag that started with our letter and sound of the day (letter F).

Today, I didn't give hints...I just took out a piece of paper. But "paper" doesn't start with the ffff sound! But we can fold that paper into a fan! Folding is another great way to exercise our fingers and hands!

We knew that we used fans to help us cool off if we're hot. Sometimes made of paper, but sometimes other things. We talked about how we might have a fan in a window in the summertime, and that there are some fans that you can find on the ceiling! We also talked about how the giant windmills look a little like fans, but do a different job.

Have fun folding!

This game can so easily be played anywhere! Kids LOVE to talk about all of the things they know! You don't even need a bag...you can just have something in mind, and give them a few clues and see if they can figure out what the object is. Once they guess, let them tell you all the things they know about it, and give them a little more information to help expand their knowledge.

Wave High, Wave Low

Wave high, wave low. I think it's time, we've got to go!

Wave your elbows, wave your toes, wave your tongue, and wave your nose!

Wave your knees, wave your lips, blow a kiss with fingertips!

Wave your ears, wave your hair, wave your belly, and your derriere!

Wave your chin, and wave your eyes, wave your hand, and say "goodbye"!