Storytime: Houses & Homes

This week, I wanted to try something different, so my theme was houses and homes.  This was definitely a fun and easy theme to both plan and implement, though I’m not sure if it was a big hit with the kids.  It got kind of a lukewarm reaction.

Opening Song:  Open, Shut Them

Book #1:  Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino

This is a newish book that I absolutely love!  Owl and Rabbit are neighbors, but when Rabbit’s garden blocks Owl’s view of the forest, the two neighbors end up building bigger and bigger houses until their houses are so tall that they crumble.  I love Owl’s expression when Rabbit accidentally pours water on him!

Activity #1:  Bird Houses

We matched different shaped birds to their appropriate houses.  Since I only had four birds (and more than four storytime kids), I held up each bird individually and had the children use their words to tell me which house it belonged in.  Some shouted out the color of the house, other shouted out the shape of the entrance/bird.

Book #2:  A Home for Bird by Philip C. Stead

This is a story about a friendly frog named Vernon who stumbls upon a discarded cuckoo clock bird one day.  Thinking that the bird is real and that it’s silent due to missing its home, Vernon sets out on a journey with the bird in tow to bring it home.  The kids especially loved the ending when the cuckoo bird finally “talks.”

Activity #2:  Where’s My Home?

For this flannelboard activity, we matched different animals to their habitats (such as bird lives in a nest and tiger lives in a jungle).  I started by showing each individual habitat and asking the kids to tell me about it (such as a desert is very hot and has cacti).  Once all the habitats were on the board, we matched the animals.

Rhyme Cube

Book #3:  A Dragon Moves In by Lisa Falkenstern

In this story, rabbit and hedgehog find a dragon egg.  When the egg hatches, they raise the baby dragon in their cozy little house.  However, it doesn’t take long for the dragon to outgrow the small home, so rabbit and hedgehog decide to build a bigger home and end up building a castle.  This book has become one of my favorite dragon books (it’s right up there with the Sunflower Sword).

Book #4:  Boot & Shoe by Marla Frazee

This is the story about two dogs who live in the same house, eat from the same bowl and pee on the same plant.  But one of them is a front porch dog and the other a back porch dog.  When they lose each other one day, both pups are sad.  However, they cheer up when they find each other in the end (in a hilarious circumstance).  I was a little nervous about the slight potty humor and the word ‘pee’ but everyone seemed to be okay with it.

Closing Song:  Children, Children, Turn Around

How It Went:

This was a decent storytime theme.  I really enjoyed it, and the kids really loved our extension activities, but I’m not sure how much they enjoyed the books?  About half the kids were wiggly during the stories, but the other half listened quietly and participated when I asked questions.  So I’m guessing the books weren’t a huge hit, but not horrible either.  I would definitely read them again in another storytime.