Numbers/Counting

Here is what I did at my Numbers preschool storytime.

OPENING SONG: Clap Your Hands from the Miss Anna's Music Class Volume II CD by Anna Stange
(When I first started preschool storytimes I couldn't find the perfect opening song. I tried shake your sillies out for a while but I didn't think it worked very well. Once I found this song I was thrilled. It's really fun and the kids enjoy it alot-plus it gets all those wiggles out and it is different.)

BOOKS: Math For All Seasons by Greg Tang
(I had the kids help me count the things on the page. I paperclipped the pages that I didn't want to read. It is a fairly long book so I left some of it out.)

FINGERPLAY: Two Little Blackbirds

BOOK: Mouse Went out to Get a Snack by Lyn Rossiter McFarland
(Fun story. The kids seemed to enjoy it and my fellow librarian made flannel board food that went along with the story. So I put those up as we read the things the mouse put on the plate. It was a little tough to do this while reading the book. The food kept falling off the board.)

FINGERPLAY: Hickory Dickory Dock

SONG: Jumping and Counting from the Irrational Anthem CD by Jim Gill
(The kids loved this one. It gave them a chance to jump up and down and get all their wiggles out. Then we would stop and count periodically with the song. My only complaint is that they count very slowly during the song.)

BOOK: Duckie’s Ducklings by Frances Barry
(Wonderful story. The kids kept telling me they could see the baby ducklings hiding behind the mama duck. Really fun and interactive. Kept their attention. Nice bright colors and helps the kids to be in on the joke.)

FINGERPLAY: Spaceship Countdown
(This was a great fingerplay that taught the kids to count down from ten. I had them act out of the words and then we crouched down and counted down from ten and then blasted into the air by jumping. They love it.)

Climb aboard the spaceship
We're going to the moon.
Hurry and get ready.
We're going to blast off soon.
Put on your helmets (pretend)
Buckle up real tight. (pretend)
Here comes the countdown,
Ready (have them crouchdown)
10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
BLAST OFF! (jump into the air)

BOOK: Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
(Not the most exciting story but the kids did love the snake, especially the boys. Started to lose their interest but I think it was the timing, storytime was almost over. They needed to get up and move.)

ACTIVITY: I gave each child a blown up balloon and they had to try and keep it in the air and count how many times they hit it. It was just an excuse to use the balloons. They love them. Most of them didn't count but they had fun hitting them. I played Over the Deep Blue Sea in the background (has counting in it and a nice fast beat). The kids loved this activity.

TAKE HOME: I let them keep the balloon.

MUSIC CDs:
Miss Anna's Music Class Volume II CD by Anna Stange (Clap Your Hands)
Irrational Anthem CD by Jim Gill (Jumping and Counting)
Come and Make a Circle CD by Susan Salidor (Over the Deep Blue Sea)