Pre-K Bug Storytime ... and Spiders too, Friday, June 3 @ 10:30

No one tells a bug story like Eric Carle, and this one is justifiably his greatest. "What's the big deal?" a friend asked me once about this iconic tale. Hmmm, let's see. Carle manages to work into the mix colors, the days of the week, numbers, and food vocabulary, while (almost) staying within the bounds of a real caterpillar's life.

But more importantly, this story speaks of growth and metamorphosis, the stage of life where a two-year-old finds himself. This is a book which truly speaks to a child in a powerful fashion.

Books

• My Bug Book by Melissa Stewart.  Excellent riddle nonfiction by Smithsonian. 
• Hi Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold. Not an immediate grabber. Irony was a bit much for this group.
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. With no props and a huge audience, I asked how many people had read this story. Everyone raised their hands, so I said we would read it together. "How hungry is this caterpillar?" "VERY hungry." As I read, I paused, and they filled in the fruits, and I paused after "but" and they filled in "he was still hungry."
• The Eensy Weensy Spider FREAKS OUT! by Cummings.  First we sang eensy weensy spider, then we did this.  Pull out the anticipation on it.  Esp. for dog. Is climbing dogs safe, don't they roll on the ground? Etc.  
• Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle. TUrned off house lights, right with the firefly as a little flashlight (It's in the disco ball box), and then turned on the disco ball in the end when he met the cloud of fireflies at the end.  Did skip a few pages. 
• There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed FLY GUY by Tedd Arnold. 
• Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors. by Petr Horacek I got out all the colors to match the bugs on each page -- but the kids were too busy looking at the pages of this beautiful book, which I think is a GOOD thing!
• Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth.  Tell the kids to go Shoo Fly, Shoo Fly Shoo! with you, as you turn the pages. Very interactional and fun -- esp. for an ABC book.

Songs

• There was a little froggy who liked to eat bugs (see frog storyhour)
• Five green & speckled frogs (with frog cut-outs)
• Eency weency spider
• Butterfly Pokey/You put your antennae in/You put your antennae out/You put your six legs in/You put your six legs out/You put your wings in/You put your wings out
• Poor little bug on the wall, no one to love him at all/No one to wipe his nose, no one to tickle his toes/
• 1 2 3, 4 5 6, 7 8 9, 10 11 12, 12 ladybugs went to the ladybug picnic
• There's a spider on the floor, on the floor done with giant spider puppet. I did a mash-up between Raffi's version and Peter, Paul & Mary's Boa Constrictor:
• There's a spider on the floor, on the floor.
  There's a spider on the floor, on the floor.
  This is nutty for sure! To have a spider on the floor.
  But there's a spider on the floor, on the floor.
  
  Now the spider's on my knee, on my knee.
  Now the spider's on my knee, on my knee.
  Oh, gosh, oh gee! There’s a spider on my knee.
  Now the spider's on my knee, on my knee.
  
  Now the spider's on my tum, on my tum!
  Now the spider's on my tum, on my tum!
  Oh, now I’m really bummed, with a spider on my tum!
  Now the spider's on my tum, on my tum!
  
  Now the spider's on my neck, on my neck!
  Now the spider's on my neck on my neck!
  Oh, I'm gonna be a wreck, I've got a spider on my neck!
  Now the spider's on my neck on my neck!
  
  Now the spider's on my head, on my head!
  Now the spider's on my head, on my head!
  Oh, I wish that he were dead. I've got a spider on my head!
  Now the spider's on my head, on my head!
  
  
  There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.
  There’s a spider on the floor, who could ask for anything more?
  There’s a spider on the floor, on the floor.

Plays

I had all my bug critters in my big bag and pulled them out one at a time asking what they were.  This group needs a lot of help:  instead of giving them hints, I should have been silly.  "Is this a dog or a ladybug?" etc.

I passed out my Halloween ring spiders as props for eency weency, and they worked very well for the spider on the floor too.

Craft: 

• butterflies from coffee filters. Lesson: symmetry
• collaged butterflies with tissue paper and then cut out.  One child figured out about scrunching the tissue paper for a nice dotted affect. I also gave them dot stickers because don't butterflies have circles? And they like them so much.

For the VPK+ :