Preschool Storytime January 21, 2021: Letter 'N'

Singing the Alphabet

Today we sang the alphabet forwards and backwards to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".

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)

Number Chant

Show me your one! One! You've got your one, you've got your one!

Show me your two! Two! You've got your two, you've got your two!

Show me your three! Three! You've got your three, you've got your three!

Show me your four! Four! You've got your four, you've got your four!

Show me your five! Five! You've got your five, you've got your five!

You can go all the way up to ten if you want! We think it's fun to then mix up the numbers and challenge the kids to show you that many fingers or objects as quickly as they can.

Show me your _____!

Five Little Nails

Five little nails, standing straight and steady. (hold up 5 fingers)

Here I come with my hammer ready! (use other fist as "hammer")

Bam! Bam! Bam! One nail goes down! (gently "pound: one finger down)

Now there are only 4 nails to pound! (repeat until all nails are gone)

Down in the Jungle Where Nobody Goes

Tune: Three Little Fishies

Down in the jungle where nobody goes,there’s a great big elephant washing his toes!

With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there, that’s the way he washes his toes!

Chorus:

Rub-a-dub a-rub-a-dub-dub! (3x)

That's the way (s)he washes _____!

Down in the jungle where there’s nobody there, there’s a stripy tiger washing her hair,

With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there, that’s the way she washes her hair!

(Chorus)

Down in the jungle, if you look in the trees, there’s a cheeky monkey washing his knees,

With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there, that’s the way he washes his knees!

(Chorus)

Down in the jungle if you lots and lots, there’s a beautiful jaguar washing his spots,

With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there, that’s the way he washes his spots!

(Chorus)

Down at the river, if you look underneath, there’s a bumpy, grumpy crocodile brushing her teeth,

With a rub-a-dub here, and a rub-a-dub there, that’s the way she brushes her teeth!

(Chorus)

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 of the day (letter N). The hints I gave were that this was a creature that lives in the water and that it's kind of unusual creature. Then I showed part of the puppet to see if they could guess.

Today I had a narwhal puppet in my bag! We knew that they swim and that they look a little bit like a whale. And even though it looks like a unicorn horn, that's not a horn, but a tooth!

I learned lots of things about narwhals preparing for this storytime! Narwhals only live in cold water. The giant tooth that looks like a unicorn horn can grow up to 10 feet long! Narwhals change color as they age. Newborns are a blue-gray, juveniles are blue-black and adults are a mottled gray. Old narwhals are nearly all white.

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"!