Caldecott Storytime: Week 12

I didn't get a chance to get this posted yesterday, so now Monday is storytime day! :)

I'm doing Caldecott themed storytime for preschool storytime in January-April.Check out all my Caldecott Storytime plans here.

Theme: Wordless Picture Books

Skill: Tell Stories

Open: Where is Thumbkin by The Wiggles

I decided to use all wordless picture books in this storytime. I opened the storytime by talking about the Caldecott Award and how it is given for illustrations, like I do every week. Then I asked the kids what we would do if a book had no words-how could we tell the story? They said we could read the title and after a bit more asking them to look inside the book I was holding, I pointed out that the pictures help us tell the story. I told them to look at the pictures and see if they  could help tell the stories of our books this week. I wasn't sure how this would work out, but I thought I would try it and see how it went!

Read: 

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

-I opened this book because I thought it would be the easiest story for the kids to tell and I was right. They loved it and it was fun to watch the adults reaction to the pictures as well-they are gorgeous you just can't help but look at them in awe! The kids loved the book and the adults were engaged as well.

Song: These Are My Glasses by Laurie Berkner

Read: 

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

-This one took a bit more work to explain what was happening in the story, but the kids loved it! They loved that Daisy made a friend and got a new ball-that made the kids all very happy!

Rhyme:  Rags from The Big Book of Stories, Songs and Singalongs by Beth Maddigan

-I have a dog and his name is Rags,

He eats so much that his belly sags, (put arms in front of body to show a big tummy)

His ears flip-flop and his tail wig wags (use hands for ears and tail)

And when he walks, he goes zig-zag. (sway from side to side)

He goes flip-flop (flap hands as ears)

Wig wag (shake hips)

Zig-zag (sway from side to side)

He goes flip-flop, wig-wag, zig-zag,

He goes flip-flop, wig-wag, zig-zag.

I love Rags and he loves me! (give child a hug)

Read: 

Tuesday by David Wiesner

-This is one of my favorites, but I wasn't sure if my preschoolers would really "get it" or like it. We talked about the pictures a lot and I asked if frogs could fly, had they ever seen flying frogs, and what would happen if they really could fly. They ended up surprising me with how much they liked talking about this book and laughing at the pictures.

Song: Animal Action 1 & 2 by Greg and Steve-because just one song wasn't enough and two Animal Actions is always fun!

Activities: 

-Ball Chute-We have a ball chute made of a tube and a cardboard box that the kids love. I put it out in honor of Daisy and had the kids roll balls down the tube for Daisy and it was a huge hit. They never want to leave this activity when it's out.

-Frog Mural-I love murals in storytime and I used our diecut frogs and crayons for the kids to create a flying frog scene mural on butcher paper.

-Mini Books-Since we've been talking about Caldecott books for all of our Spring Storytime Sessions and this week was all about wordless books, I thought it was the perfect time for the kids to make their own books. I put out paper and crayons and showed the kids how they could fold the paper to make a book. I had one boy who was so excited about this and he wrote a book about playing basketball. He even stayed as I was cleaning up so he could finish his book. His mom told me he had been wanting to make a book so this was perfect! I complimented his illustrations and asked if he thought he would win a Caldecott Medal and he said "maybe someday!" 

How It Went: For all my nerves about doing a wordless book storytime, it went great! The kids loved having an active part of storytime by helping tell the stories and even without words on the page, I was able to narrate the story just fine. The kids loved it and I can't wait to do another wordless picture book storytime!