Frog Storytime
Scott Bahlmann
This came about because I did a pond storytime last year, and there were so many good frog options I decided to let them shine!
Opening: Shake My Sillies Out - Raffi
Book: 999 Tadpoles – Ken Kimura
(Cute, simple illustrations tell the story of tadpoles who outgrew there little pond and face dangers in finding a new home. A little wordy, so I stuck it at the beginning. )
Song: Five Little Frogs
(my favorite version is from the CD Five Little Monkeys by Five Little Monkeys)
Book: Toad – Ruth Brown
(Such great gross illustrations, a good talking book as you can point out the hidden lizard in the pages as it stalks toad.)
Puppet Story: Foo the Flying Frog of Washtub Pond
(from the book by Belle Yang)
(I incorporated the blow up frog when I read this book before, and it transitioned very well into a full puppet experience!)
Book: One Two Three Jump! – Penelope Lively
(I didn't have a very actiony activity, but the kids stayed very engaged! I had the kids jump along with the frog in this book to make sure they weren't getting too restless. I love the squiggly frog when it's in the water!)
Song: Raindrops Fell All Around
(Even the parents giggle when the dinosaur makes an appearance!)
(call and echo style )
There was a pond,
a little pond.
The bluest pond,
that you ever did see.
chorus: (sung all together)
And the raindrops fell all around all around. The raindrops fell all around.
And on that pond,
there was a lilly pad,
the greenest lilly pad,
that you ever did see.
...And on that pad, there was a flower,
...And on that flower, there was a frog,
...And on that frog, there was a tongue,
...And on that tongue, there was a bug,
...And on that bug, there was a dinosaur!,
Chorus: The dinosaur on the bug and the bug on the tongue and the tongue on the frog and the frog on the flower and the flower on the pad and the pad on the pond and the raindrops fell all around all around, and the raindrops fell all around.
Book: City Dog and Country Frog – Mo Willems
(The kids seems a little less engaged during this story, though I adore it. Maybe they were just exhausted from all the awesomeness!) =P
Craft: Frog Hat
(Then I did a craft! [I hardly ever do] Paper plates cut in half for eyes attached to a strip of green paper around the head and a red 'tongue' that had been rolled tightly around my finger. Simple but very popular.)