At my site, we’ve recently begun doing outreach visits to some of the local elementary schools.  The schools used to come in to the library to visit, but with bus funds cut, it now makes more sense for us to go out and visit the schools.  Monday – Thursdays myself or one of my colleagues goes and visits a school.  Each week is a different school.  We visit a wide range of grades when we go out, so you’ll see that reflected in my class visit posts.

I usually try to pick a theme or idea to stick with for the visit to help me prep my materials.  This time around, I thought it would be fun to tell some fables, or stories with a lesson.

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Kindergarten
BOOK:

Rabbit’s Gift by George Shannon

FLANNELBOARD:

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Too Many Pears! by Jackie French

ATTENDANCE: 25 people

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1st Grade
BOOK:

Too Many Pears! by Jackie French

FLANNELBOARD:

The Giant Carrot

MOVEMENT: My Wiggles*

BOOK:

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

ATTENDANCE: 25 people

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2/3 Grade
BOOK:

The Crocodile and the Scorpion by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley

FLANNELBOARD:
Rattlesnake, Mouse and Coyote

Pattern and Story from: The Flannel Board Storytelling Book  by Judy Sierra.

BOOK:

“The Elephant’s Son” from Fables by Arnold Lobel

BOOK:

“The North Wind and the Sun” from You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman

ATTENDANCE: 20 people

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3rd Grade
BOOK:

The Miller, the Boy and the Donkey by Brian Wildsmith

FLANNELBOARD:
Rattlesnake, Mouse and Coyote

Pattern and Story from: The Flannel Board Storytelling Book  by Judy Sierra.

BOOK:

“The Peacock and the Crane” from You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman

BOOK:

“The Fox and the Stork” and “The Fox and the Crow” from Three Aesop Fox Fables by Paul Galdone

ATTENDANCE: 30 people

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4th Grade
BOOK:

Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes by Margie Palatini

FLANNELBOARD:
Rattlesnake, Mouse, and Coyote

Pattern and Story from: The Flannel Board Storytelling Book  by Judy Sierra.

MOVEMENT: Aroostasha*

BOOK:

“Grasshopper Logic” from Squids Will Be Squids by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

BOOK:

“The Peacock and the Crane” from You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman

ATTENDANCE: 20 people

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

BOOK: “A Drink for Crow” from Stories to Solve: Folktales from Around the World by George Shannon
BOOK: The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner
BOOK: The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens
BOOK: The North Wind and The Sun illustrated by Brian Wildsmith

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HOW IT WENT:
Overall, I think most of these class visits went over well.  Rattlesnake, Mouse, and Coyote is a fun flannelboard story to tell, and it is a good one to get the kids talking.  It’s also fun, because the kids get really exasperated when the Coyote pretends to not know what is going on.  I also really enjoyed doing the You Read to Me stories.  Originally, I thought I was going to ask the teachers to read with me, as a way to help them be engaged.  A lot of the classes on the day had substitutes – some who felt comfortable reading with me, and some who didn’t.  I also read with one of the 4th graders for that group, which was really fun.  “Elephant’s Son” and “Grasshopper Logic” didn’t seem to work as well — maybe I need to do a little more prep for those stories before I try them out again.  And Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes may have been a touch too long, but I still think it was fun.

*To see the words to these movements and activities I use frequently, please visit my A-capella Movements Section on my Storytime Movements and Music Page