Dragon Storytime
Scott Bahlmann
This was a storytime I took over last minute when a colleague called in sick. She had some books selected, and I spent about three hours throwing the rest together! (The activity details are at the end of the post)
Opening: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi
Book: The Knight and the Dragon - Tomi DePaula
(this is a great book to chat about during reading, due to some wordless pages being incorporated)
Activity: Little Dragon's Birthday
from this page
Once upon a time there lived a little dragon. He lived with his parents in the great woods. Like all dragons, he puffed fire. Little Dragon puffed orange fire. On Little Dragon’s birthday, his mother said, “I’ve made a birthday cake for you. You may run and look for your friends. Tell them to come and have some birthday cake.” Little Dragon ran into the woods. He found Mouse, Mole, and Turtle there. “It’s my birthday”, he said. “Come and have some birthday cake.” “Thank you,” they answered. “We’d like to come. But tells us something, please. With your breath of fire, how do you blow out your candles?” “Wait and see,” he told them, and they followed Little Dragon to his house. Mother Dragon put the cake on the table. Little Dragon made his wish, and then he blew a big breath of fire. He lit every candle on the cake! “OH,” laughed his friends. “Now we know what dragons do. They don’t blow out the candles. They blow them on!” “That’s what we do,” laughed Little Dragon. “And I got my wish, too.”
(I made a little cake from an oatmeal tube, with straw candles that I could raise and lower the flames of. After the dragon blows them on the first time the kids got to blow them out, then use their dragon breath to blow them on again.)
Book: When a Dragon Moves In - Jodi Moore
(I found out with my first group that this was too long, and it went much better when I paper clipped about five pages from the middle.)
Activity: Dragon, Dragon Turn Around
Dragon, dragon, turn around
Dragon, dragon, touch the ground
Dragon, dragon, fly up high
Dragon, dragon, soar in the sky
Dragon, dragon, clean your scales
Dragon, dragon, shake your tails
Dragon, dragon, give a roar
Dragon, dragon, drop to the floor.
(we took some time acting out each section, ending in a 'nap' pose.)
(This is a variation of the Teddy Bear version, lots of fun!)
Book: Baby Dragon - Amy Ehrlich
(I think this is a very cute story, love the illustrations. It was a little wordy, so I did more telling than reading.)
Activity: Five Knights in Shining Armor
(Used knights on the flannel board, with the words posted as well. It was more popular than I expected, with parents singing along.)
Five knights in shining armor,
Fearless and brave,
Went hunting for a dragon
In a deep dark cave.
The dragon breathed some fire,
The knights were all aquiver
And one little knight
Ran and dove into the river!
(Count down remaining knights)
Book: The Paper Bag Princess - Robert Munch
(Great just the way it is!)
Craft: Paper Plate Shields
(2nd week in a row with crafts! So glad when this inspiration hit, was desperately scrambling and couldn't find anything to round out the storytime. Used paper plates and rolled strips of card stock (like making a paper chain) and glued one roll on the plate as a handle. The kids colored the convex surface.)