Preschool Fun: A Roaring Good Time at the Zoo!

At the Zoo

Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer

1839-1902

A few years ago, I researched and performed a number of lap sit programs for a local museum. Each week was a specific theme, and this is the one I offered on the zoo. I hope you find some use for it in your work.

As always, I would love to hear your comments at the end of the blog. 

FINGERPLAYS

One elephant went out to play, (hold up one finger)

Over the hills and far away. (wave finger like it is going over the hills)

She had such enormous fun, (on “enormous” circle arms out and around)

That she called for another elephant to come. (cup hands over mouth)

“Oh Elephant!”… (call out and then pound the floor

for the running elephant sound)

Two elephants went out to play, (use two fingers…repeat above actions)

Over the hills and far away.

They had such enormous fun,

That they called for another elephant to come.

“Oh Elephant!”…

(Repeat with as many elephants (fingers) as you want)

Found at: https://www.piercecountylibrary.org/files/library/wigglesticklesall.pdf 

FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS  

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head

Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,

“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

(four, three, two, one)

No little monkeys jumping on the bed

None fell off and bumped their head

Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,

“Put those monkeys right to bed!”
(No known origin: Public  Domain)

SONG

ZOO ANIMALS (To the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It)

If you want to be a monkey, jump up high!

If you want to be a monkey, jump up high!

If you want to be a monkey,

if you want to be a monkey,

If you want to be a monkey, jump up high!

Parrot — flap your wings

Elephant — swing your trunk

Lion — roar out loud

Giraffe — stand up tall

STORY STRETCH

Animal Hokey Pokey

All the animals are ready to sing and move

And do the Hokey Pokey at the Animal Zoo
Go elephants go!
You swing your big trunk in.
You swing your big trunk out
Then you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
Then you swing your trunk around.
And that’s what it’s all about.

Go gorillas go!
You pump one big arm in.
You pump one big arm out
Then you flex it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
Thump your chest all around.
And that’s what it’s all about

Go snakes go!
You rattle your tail right in.
You rattle your tail right out.
You rattle your tail right in.
Then you slither all about
And you ssss all around.
And that’s what it’s all about

Go cheetahs go!
You prowl with both paws in.
You prowl with both paws out
You prowl with both paws in.

Then you shake it all about
You do the Hokey Pokey.
And you growl all around
And that’s what it’s all about
Found at: https://www.songsforteaching.com/jackhartmann/animalhokeypokey.htm

BOOKS

25 Awesome Preschool Books About Zoos
https://homeschoolpreschool.net/preschool-books-about-the-zoo/

Zoo and Zoo Life: Kid’s Books
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/animals-kids/zoos-zoo-life-kids/_/N-29Z8q8Ztul

CRAFTS

I Heart Crafty Things: 50+ Zoo Animal Crafts for Kids

https://iheartcraftythings.com/50-zoo-animal-crafts-kids.html

CURRICULUM

Everything Preschool – Zoo Lesson Plan – An entire weeks' worth of fun and learning!

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/lessonplans/zoo/index.htm

Kidssoup.com – Zoo and Animals Preschool Activities and Printables – You will find several free resources here while others require a subscription.

https://www.kidssoup.com/activity/zoo-and-animals-preschool-activities-and-printables

Pre-K Pages – Zoo Activities for Preschoolers
https://www.pre-kpages.com/zoo-activities-for-preschoolers/

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources V: Stor e Telling 2017

The Storyteller
Hugues Merle, 1874

Below are the Stor e Telling columns I wrote in 2017 for the National Storytelling Magazine, each with a synopsis to help you find what you are seeking in case your time is limited. I normally don’t post the yearly compilation until the New Year has passed but since I have the time today I thought I would get a few steps ahead of myself.

The magazine is a membership perk from the National Storytelling Network. The publication offers outstanding articles from well-known national and international storytellers, and educators from around the world on a wide variety of topics, and of course, stories. If you would like to become a member please visit https://storynet.org/membership/ .

At the end of the blog you will also find links to all of the columns from 2007 – 2016. At the time they were posted all of the links were active. If you find a dead link please let me know and I will do my best to find the updated source.

I hope you find something useful and fun to add to your storytelling repertoire or classroom, business enterprises or school curriculum. As always, I appreciate any comments you wish to share.

Stor e Telling January February March 2017:  Impacting Speaker and Listener

This issue focused on the varied ways stories impact the speaker and the listener. Also, stories for the Chinese New Year: Year of the Rooster. Also some tales to celebrate National Pig Day on March 1, devoted to celebrating their place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals. April 15 is Husband Appreciation Day so of course there are stories to share for that day as well.
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2018/01/stories-impacting-speaker-and-listener.html

Stor e Telling Spring 2017: Storytelling World

Unwrap some fun and fabulous resources to love and add to your repertoire. The theme was Storytelling World so you will find hundreds of public domain tales from many cultures. There are also legends to savor on Tea for Two Tuesday on March 21, Noodlehead tales to tickle your funny for International Moment of Laughter Day on April 14, and folktales for Bat Appreciation Day on April 17.https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2018/02/storytelling-world-stor-e-telling.html

Stor e Telling Winter 2017:  Peace and Justice
Resources below to complement the theme along with finger plays, songs and stories to complement the winter months. . I hope you find something useful for your work; goodness knows we could use some more peace and justice in our world.

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2018/08/stor-e-telling-winter-2017-peace-and.html  

SOMETHING EXTRA

1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources IV: Stor e Telling 2016

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/09/1001-nights-to-2001-story-resources-iv.html

 

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources III: Stor e Telling 2015
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/01/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources II: Stor e Telling 2014

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/01/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources: Stor e Telling 2013
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2014/06/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

Stor e Telling Columns: 2007 to 2012 with Synopses

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/12/stor-e-telling-columns-2007-to-2012.html

 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

All Aboard for Preschool Fun: Trains!

The Locomotive
by
Claude Monet, 1875

A few years ago I researched and performed a number of lapsit programs for a local museum. Each week was a specific theme and this is the one I offered on trains. I hope you find some use for it in your work. 

STORY STRETCH

Choo Choo Train

This is a choo choo train (bend elbows)
Puffing down the track (rotate arms in rhythm)
Now it's going forward (push forward, continue rotating motion)
Now it's going back (pull arms back, continue rotating motion)
Now the bell is ringing (pretend to pull the cord - ding ding)
Now the whistle blows (hold fist near mouth and toot toot)
What a lot of noise it makes (cover ears)
Everywhere it goes. (stretch out arms)

Zoo Train (Tune: Down By the Station)

Down by the Zoo Train
Next to the zoo
On came an animal
Do you know who?

The engineer says an animal...such as "A Kangaroo came and it was hopping."

Sing: We picked up a kangaroo
And what do you know
This is the way the train started to go.
(Hopping, Hopping) watch us go.
(Hopping) fast then (Hopping) slow
(Hopping) down, then (Hopping) back
Watch us (Hop) around the track.

SONG

Down by the Station

Down by the station
Early in the morning
See the little puffer bellies

All in a row
See the station master
Turn the little handle

Puff, puff, toot, toot

Off we go!

I've Been Working On The Railroad

I've been working on the railroad,

All the live-long day.
I've been working on the railroad,

Just to pass the time away.
Can't you hear the whistle blowing,
Rise up so early in the morn,
Can't you hear the captain shouting,
"Dinah, blow your horn."

Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow, your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow, your horn.

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah,
Someone's in the kitchen, I know,
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah,
Strummin; on the old banjo.

BOOKS

All Aboard! The Best Books for Kids Who Love Trains – Pre-K/Growing Reader
https://www.readbrightly.com/childrens-train-books/


CRAFTS

A Preschool Train Craft: The Little Engine that Could

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/preschool-crafts-activities/45170-the-little-engine-that-could-craft/

Easy Train Paper Craft
https://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/transportation/mtrain.html

Train Crafts for Kids
https://entertrainmentjunction.com/train-crafts-kids/


CURRICULUM

Trains Preschool Lesson Plan
https://preschoolcurriculumbytheme.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/trains/


STORIES

Railroad Folklore
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/railroad-folklore/

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to this page via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Stor e Telling Winter 2017: Peace and Justice

“Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.”  - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Allegory of Justice and Peace
Corrado Giaquinto 
1753-1754

This is the final Stor e Telling installment for 2017. This column was for the winter issue and its theme was Peace and Justice. I offer resources below to complement the theme along with fingerplays, songs and stories to complement the winter months.

American Friends Service Committee - “Founded in 1917, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action.”
https://www.afsc.org/ 

American Friends Service Committee: Peace Works - Inspirational stories connected to the above organization; search by decade, topic or location.
http://peaceworks.afsc.org/

YES Magazine – Many of you may have read some of their powerful articles on social media. There are sections on Teaching Peace and Justice, This Planet, Economy, People Power, and Happiness; stories that will make your heart smile.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/

United Network of Young Peace Builders: 25 Stories for Peace – “The book … is the culmination of a year of celebrating youth in peacebuilding…we want to honor the work of young peacebuilders around the globe, by giving them a space to tell their story.”
http://tinyurl.com/yajzc4ks

Two bibliographies featuring books about peace building and conflict transformation.

Conflict Transformation and Peace Building: A Selected Bibliography
“…a short list of book for young children on peace, justice, kindness, courage optimism and other virtues.” There are additional resources as well.

http://tinyurl.com/yc4cm4eb

Stories of peace, justice, and being judged.

How Violence is Ended – Buddhist Legend
http://tinyurl.com/yc3ku4qg

United Network of Young Peace Builders: 25 Stories for Peace – In celebration of their 25^th anniversary this publication of personal stories was compiled in “honor of the work of young peacebuilders around the globe”, by giving them a space to tell their story
http://tinyurl.com/yajzc4ks

When the Hyena and the Billy Goat Signed a Peace Treaty - Chad

http://tinyurl.com/y8ffpkp3

When the Twins Went to War – Russia

http://tinyurl.com/y7fmhzxx

The Bell of Justice – Variants of the same folktale from different countries.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0207c.html

The Blossom Tree - Tibet

http://tinyurl.com/ybbkj4pl

The Cruel Creditor and the Judge’s Wise Daughter - Morocco

http://tinyurl.com/y8gjxurb

The Fire on the Hill - Kenya

http://tinyurl.com/y9dms6kd

The Legend of the Peace Pipes – Native American/Arikara

http://tinyurl.com/y73uhqbh

The Lion’s Wedding – India
http://tinyurl.com/yba5v5kt

The Nodding Tiger - China

http://tinyurl.com/y8jxean5

The Peace Queen – Native American/Iroquois

http://tinyurl.com/ybpss9dt

Poetic Justice - Persia
https://tinyurl.com/yxlx9ewo

The Shepherd Judge

http://tinyurl.com/y8s8fq6k

A few tales to light your way through the dark winter nights.

The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds - Bulgaria

http://tinyurl.com/y9hbcz57

The Winter Rose - Germany

http://tinyurl.com/ybgk8j4y

The Winter Spirit and His Visitor – Native American Folktale
http://tinyurl.com/ycuohwhb

Winter Melon Boy - Hmong
http://tinyurl.com/y8xkpesg

Celebrating Snow with the Small Ones – From my own blog, a post filled with fingerplays, songs, and more to delight the children in your winter lapsit program.
http://tinyurl.com/ybdy79mg

SOMETHING EXTRA

Below are links to a yearly compilation of my Stor e Telling column from 2007-2017. At the time they were posted all of the links were active. If you find a dead link please let me know and I will do my best to find the updated source

Store e Telling January February March 2017:  Impacting Speaker and Listener
This issue focused on the varied ways stories impact the speaker and the listener. Also, stories for the Chinese New Year: Year of the Rooster. Also some tales to celebrate National Pig Day on March 1, devoted to celebrating their place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals. April 15 is Husband Appreciation Day so of course there are stories to share for that day as well.

Stor e Telling Spring 2017: Storytelling World
Unwrap some fun and fabulous resources to love and add to your repertoire. The theme was Storytelling World so you will find hundreds of public domain tales from many cultures. There are also legends to savor on Tea for Two Tuesday on March 21, Noodlehead tales to tickle your funny for International Moment of Laughter Day on April 14, and folktales for Bat Appreciation Day on April 17. 
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2018/02/storytelling-world-stor-e-telling.html

1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources IV: Stor e Telling 2016

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/09/1001-nights-to-2001-story-resources-iv.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources III: Stor e Telling 2015
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/01/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources II: Stor e Telling 2014|

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/01/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

From 1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources: Stor e Telling 2013
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2014/06/from-1001-nights-to-2001-story.html

Stor e Telling Columns: 2007 to 2012 with Synopses
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/12/stor-e-telling-columns-2007-to-2012.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Shower Your Story With Similes: A Storytelling Worksheet

Rainy Day in Paris
by
Gustave Caillebotte, 1877

I am always searching for new ways to help my storytelling students connect with their stories and make them their own. I use a variety of worksheets I created, which can be found in my book, Story by Story: Creating a StudentStorytelling Troupe. However, since I have returning students from year to year I try to offer something new and fresh.

Recently I asked them to work with their stories, adding a few similes using the worksheet I created below. Here are some of the examples my fourth and fifth grade students added to their stories, the simile portions are underlined.

• So he took out his slingshot and shot the sparrow with the aim of a skilled archer.
• With the roar of a lion he demanded to know how he had become rich so suddenly.
• As quick as a squirrel the older brother began to climb, and climb, and climb.
• The woods were as dark as an evil castle.
• She went home as sad as a dog without food.
• As softly as a mouse she asked her, “Do you see him? Do you see my brother?”
• Her face healed as fast as butter melted.
• In days long ago, the sky was as close to Earth as a little boy is to his mother.

It was a good exercise for them to further visualize details about their characters and setting

Please feel free to use the worksheet below in your personal work with your students. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without written permission. (Please refer to full copyright statement at the end of the blog post.)

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Storytelling World: Stor e Telling Spring 2017

Spring Flowers (Peonies)

William Merritt Chase, 1889 

Time to share my second Storytelling Magazine column from 2017. The theme for this issue was Storytelling World. Get ready to visit Ceylon, India, England, Africa, Wales and other ports of call.

The magazine is a membership benefit of the National Storytelling Network.  If you are interested in getting fabulous articles from around the world, featuring renowned storytellers and educators, along with my most recent column, join us at www.storynet.org.  I will not be sharing anything from the 2018 publications until 2019 rolls around. 

I would be delighted to know if you find something useful to add to your repertoire.

STORIES

The Animal Story Book by Andrew Lang, 1914 – Among the stories you will find within are What Elephants Can Do, The Taming of an Otter, The Story of a Weasel, and more.

http://tinyurl.com/hfzzy7r

English Fairy and Other Folk Tales by Edwin Sidney Hartland, 1890 – A collection of historical and local tales, complemented by goblins, faeries, goblins, and drolls!
http://tinyurl.com/kvg8kj

Eskimo Folktales by Knud Rasmussen, 1921 – Fifty-two stories “collected in various parts of Greenland, taken down from the lips of the Eskimo story-tellers themselves.”

http://tinyurl.com/ht6jox8

Hawaiian Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods collected and translated by W.D. Westervelt, 1916 – “The legends of the Hawaiian Islands are valuable…they reveal an understanding of the phenomena of nature and unveil their early history with its mythological setting.”
http://tinyurl.com/hw32wxh

Myths and Legends of All Nations by Logan Marshall, 1914 - Stories from Greece, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy and more.
http://tinyurl.com/hkosa5v

Tales of the Sun or Folktales from Southern India by Mrs. Howard Kingscote and Paṇḍit Naṭêsá Sástrî, 1890 – Twenty-six chapters filled with eclectic folktales.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37002/37002-h/37002-h.htm

Village Folktales of Ceylon by Henry Parker, 1914 – You will find The Turtle Prince, The Wax Horse, The Story of the Cobra’s Bite, and more within these pages.
http://tinyurl.com/jjhr4a7

Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories by P.H. Emerson, 1891. Twenty four tales await. Come visit with The Old Man and the Fairies, meet Billy Duffy and the Devil, and many more. http://tinyurl.com/htyvhtb

March 21 is Tea for Two Tuesday. Legend tells us that tea was discovered in China in 2737 BC by the Emperor Shen Nung, when the leaves of a wild tea bush accidentally fell into a pot of boiling water.

The Accomplished and Lucky Tea-Kettle - Japan
http://tinyurl.com/gprhlhc

The Ancestor of Tea – Chinese Folktale
http://tinyurl.com/gudo3vz

The Ghost’s Tea Kettle – Yupik
http://tinyurl.com/jz3vmmk

Learning to Act - India
http://tinyurl.com/jmzo8nl

The Samurai and the Tea Master – Japan
You can listen to the audio or read the story at this link.
http://tinyurl.com/jevklty

The Tea-Kettle – Japan

http://tinyurl.com/htpcp6l

Verdant Tea – Legends associated with tea.
http://tinyurl.com/hnxzshx

April 17 is National Bat Appreciation Day so start flapping your wings!

Bedfordshire Bat Group – Seventeen bat folktales from around the world.
http://tinyurl.com/hzmbxx3

April 14 is International Moment of Laughter Day; time to tickle your funny bone!

American Folklore: Funny Stories – Forty-nine folktales to make you smile.
http://tinyurl.com/7fskn4p

Fools Cannot Count Themselves – Five variants of this Noodlehead tale.
http://tinyurl.com/ze9l9hf

The Fools of Spring
http://tinyurl.com/zxljjpy

Hans, Who Made the Princess Laugh
http://tinyurl.com/ok9tkxu

Till Eulenspiegel in the Tower 
http://tinyurl.com/zuwg9jb

Till Eulenspiegel Finds A Cure
http://tinyurl.com/j2lb9lk

SOMETHING EXTRA

In case you missed the first installment from 2017 you will find the link below.

Stor e Telling January/February/March 2017: Stories – Impacting Speaker and Listener
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2018/01/stories-impacting-speaker-and-listener.html

At the link below you will find the blog which lists all of the columns I wrote in 2016, each with a synopsis to help you find what you may be seeking. At the end of the blog you will also find links to all of the columns from 2002 – 2015. At the time they were posted all of the links were active. If you find a dead link please let me know and I will do my best to find the updated source.

1001 Nights to 2001 Story Resources IV: Stor e Telling 2016

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/09/1001-nights-to-2001-story-resources-iv.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.