Big & Little!

The Plan

Books

Big Hugs, Little Hugs by Felicia Bond
Every Little Thing by Cedella Marley
Little Mouse by Alison Murray
Maria Had a Little Lamb by Angela Dominguez
Meeow and the Big Box by Sebastien Braun

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: Go Away Big Green Monster

Action Rhyme: “Little Birds”
Little birds, little birds, jump up and down
Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound
Little birds, little birds, tip-toe to me
Little birds, little birds, bend your knees
Little birds, little birds, peep, peep, peep
Little birds, little birds, sleep, sleep, sleep
Little birds, little birds, fly to the leaves
Little birds, little birds, sit down please
Credit: Greatest Resource Education Child Care

Action Rhyme: “This Is Big”
This is big, big, big
This is small, small, small
This is short, short, short
This is tall, tall, tall
This is fast, fast, fast
This is slow, slow, slow
This is yes, yes, yes
This is no, no, no
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Fingerplay: “Little Turtle”
There was a little turtle (put hands on top of one another)
He lived in a box (make box)
He swam in a puddle (swimming motion)
He climbed on the rocks (climbing motion)
He snapped at a mosquito (clap)
He snapped at a flea (clap)
He snapped at a minnow (clap)
And he snapped at me (clap)
He caught the mosquito (cup hands together)
He caught the flea (cup hands together)
He caught the minnow (cup hands together)
But he didn’t catch me! (shake finger “no”)
Credit: Childhood

Craft

I let the kids work on scissor skills since only the preschool class does the craft. (The twos & threes goes back to their classrooms and I’m left with the fours & fives for the activity.) I had cardstock circles print out on paper and the kids cut them out. Then they sorted them by size to string into rainbow necklaces. I had pre-punched the circles with a hole punch prior to arriving. Then, the kids strung the circles with yarn that I had taped at the ends for stability. This amazing idea came from Hands On As We Grow.

How It Went

This was a great opposite set storytime. The kids loved “Meeow and the Big Box” and “Little Mouse.” Doing “Go Away, Big Green Monster” as a flannelboard is always a crowd-pleaser. The kids absolutely adored this craft though and it was easily the hit of storytime. I loved seeing the kids wearing their necklaces as I left the classroom.