Springtime on the Farm Storytime
Recommended Books
The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett. Walker & Company, 2011.
In fairy tales, kissing a frog turns him into a prince, but if you kiss a pig,will you get a princess? In this clever and fun new book, the characters base all of their fortune and misfortune on what they have read before in fairy tales. When Priscilla the princess accidentally switches places with Pigmella, the farmer’s new piglet, the farmer and his wife believe it’s the work of a good witch, while the king and queen blame the bad witch. Isn’t that what happens in fairy tales? This book is entertaining for both adults and children and provides a wonderful opportunity for extension lessons discussing other fairy tales referenced.
Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein. Candlewick Press, 2010.
Every night Papa Rooster tries to get Little Red Chicken to settle down and goto sleep by reading a few bedtime stories. But every night, Little Red Chicken gets too excited by the stories Papa Rooster reads and interrupts Papa to save the characters in the story – THE END! Unfortunately, Little Red Chicken’s involvement in the story doesn’t make her sleepy, so Papa Rooster suggest Little Red write her own story and tell it to him. Soon Papa Rooster is interrupting Little Red Chicken in his own way, but Little Red knows just what to do.
Song
Springtime on the Farm
(To the tune of “Down on Grandpa’s Farm”)
Chorus
It is spring, it is spring, springtime on the farm!
It is spring, it is spring, springtime on the farm!
Springtime on the farm, there is a new baby calf,
Springtime on the farm, there is a new baby calf.
The calf, he makes a sound like this – moo-moo.
The calf, he makes a sound like this – moo-moo.
…chick…cheep-cheep
…piglet – oink-oink
…lamb…bah-bah
…duckling…quack-quack
Flannelboard
Springtime Five Little Ducklings
Five little ducklings went out one day,
exploring the flowers and lost their way.
The mother duck said “Quack, Quack, Quack,”
but only four little ducks came back.
Four little ducklings went out one day,
exploring the flowers and lost their way.
The mother duck said “Quack, Quack, Quack,”
but only three little ducks came back.
Three little ducklings went out one day,
exploring the flowers and lost their way.
The mother duck said “Quack, Quack, Quack,”
but only two little ducks came back.
Two little ducklings went out one day,
exploring the flowers and lost their way.
The mother duck said “Quack, Quack, Quack,”
but only one little ducks came back.
One little duckling went out one day,
exploring the flowers and lost his way.
The mother duck said “Quack, Quack, Quack,”
but no little ducks came back.
Wah, Wah, Wah, cried mommy duck.
She looked for her ducklings with no luck.
The mother duck said, “Quack, Quack, Quack.”
and covered in flowers her ducklings came back!
Craft
Baby Bird Puppet and Nest
Pieces Needed: paper bags, twigs or other small woodsy items, craft stick,bird (cut out of a magazine or construction paper)
Directions:
- Crumple up the bag a few times to give it a soft, wrinkled appearance.
- Cut a small hole in the bottom of the bag that a craft stick could fit through.
- Fold the sides of the bag down about half way.
- Glue assorted woodsy items onto the bag to create a natural looking nest. Give it time to dry thoroughly.
- Glue the bird to the craft stick, and place in the bag with the stick through the hole in the bottom of the bag.
After making your craft, show off your puppet with this fun little rhyme.
Little bird, little bird, up in the tree,
Little bird, little bird, say hi to me!
(Pop up bird and “tweet, tweet, tweet!”)
Storytime Stuff 