Here are some activities for a storytime involving pets.
Dear Zoo
… puppet show.
For this show you essentially show these pets to the children as the zoo ‘sends’ them to you. Flannel board pets or actual puppets work fine. You can change the number and type of animals they send as well. As you show the animals, ask kids what noise the animal makes, why they wouldn’t be a good pet etc. You can act like you’re petting the porcupine and jump up in surprise. This puppet show is based on the book Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.
“I don’t have any pets at my house. I wrote a letter to the zoo, asking them if they could send me a pet. I waited and waited,
Finally, they sent me an…
ELEPHANT too big I sent him back
So they sent me a
GIRAFFE.. too tall ..
LION too fierce…
PORCUPINE too prickly
ALLIGATOR too scary
SKUNK too smelly
MONKEY perfect, I kept him.”
I had a Little Turtle
I had a little turtle,
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle,
He climbed on the rocks.
He snapped at a mosquito,
He snapped at a flea,
He snapped at a minnow,
And he snapped at me!
He caught the mosquito,
He caught the flea,
He caught the minnow,
But he couldn’t catch me!
Can You?
Can You hop like a rabbit?
Can you jump like a frog?
Can you waddle like a duck?
Can you wag your tail like a dog?
Can you fly like a bird?
Can you swim like a fish?
Can you sit back down and be as still as this?
Head, Whiskers Knees and Tail
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.
And eyes, and ears, and mouth and nose.
Head, whiskers, knees and tail, knees and tail.
Bingo
There was a farmer had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-o!
Get chords for the above song here.
Web Footed Friends
Be kind to your web-footed friends
For a duck may be somebody’s mother,
Be kind to your friends in the swamp
Where the weather is always damp.
You may think that this is the end,
Well it is, but to prove we’re all liars,
We’re going to sing it again,
Only this time we’ll sing a little higher.
(repeat)
You may think that this is the end….
Well you’re right!
Download a Word Document handout of this storytime here.
Download a cat coloring sheet here – catface.gif.
…and a dog coloring sheet here – dog.gif.
What a fun site! Thanks for the fingerplay and movement activity ideas. I especially like Head, Whiskers,Knees and Tail.
Can You? (Animal Actions) is a great addition to storytime!
For the last line I say “Can you be still as a good child – FREEZE – as still as this?” They love freezing in place and trying to hold the pose.
I love your blog – I just found it today and I already have a list of things to try at my library. =) I plan to steal your Dear Zoo idea for a storytime this summer.