I don’t suggest this delicious theme if you haven’t eaten recently.  It will leave you hungry for both breakfast and more good stories.  I actually took a break while writing this to go have some breakfast for lunch.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Can’t Wait to Celebrate” from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem by Jim Gill

MOVEMENT: Bread and Butter
(taken from Preschool Storytime Outlines)

Throughout this rhyme, pat your lap and clap your hands in time as you chant, except for when you are saying “Hello”.

Bread and butter
Marmalade and jam
Let’s say Hello
as _quietly__ as we can.
Hello.

Other verses:
loudly, slowly, fast, high, low

BOOK:

Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs by Raffi

MOVEMENT: Five Fat Sausages
Five fat sausages frying in a pan (hold up 5 fingers)
All of a sudden one went BANG! (clap hands)
Four fat sausages…
Three…
Two…
One fat sausage frying in a pan (hold up 1 finger)
All of a sudden, it went BANG! (clap hands)
There were NO sausages left.

FLANNELBOARD:
Eggs for Breakfast

(pattern and story from Ready-to-Go Storytimes by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis)

One morning I woke up early and no one was up yet.  I was hungry, so I decided to make myself some eggs.  I got out the griddle (point to flannelboard).  I got out the eggs.  I picked up one egg and:

Give it a whack, (clap hands)
hear it crack, (hand behind ear)
Drop it in the middle, (pat hands on your lap)
One egg frying on the griddle. (place egg on flannelboard)

That egg smelled so good.  Soon, my sister came into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  She said, “I want one too!” I picked up one egg and:

Give it a whack, (clap hands)
hear it crack, (hand behind ear)
Drop it in the middle, (pat hands on your lap)
Two eggs frying on the griddle. (place egg on flannelboard)

Here comes dad, nodding his head.  He likes his on toasted bread. I picked up one egg and:

Give it a whack, (clap hands)
hear it crack, (hand behind ear)
Drop it in the middle, (pat hands on your lap)
Three eggs frying on the griddle. (place egg on flannelboard)

Last up was one.  She gave me a wink and said, “Looks good, I’ll have one too!”  I picked up one egg and:

Give it a whack, (clap hands)
hear it crack, (hand behind ear)
Drop it in the middle, (pat hands on your lap)
Four eggs frying on the griddle. (place egg on flannelboard)

Now my family’s all here and it’s time to eat together.  So we ate 1, 2, 3, 4 eggs! (Take eggs off flannelboard).

MOVEMENT: If You Like Your Eggs Scrambled
(taken from Storytime Source Page)

If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands
If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands
Yes, they’re yummy and they’re yellow
So you’ll be a happy fellow
If you like your eggs scrambled, clap your hands

Other verses:
If you like your eggs fried, jump up high…
If you want bacon with your eggs, wiggle your legs…
If you want toast instead, nod your head (mmm-hmmm)

MOVEMENT: These are Grandma’s Spectacles

These are Grandma’s spectacles (make circles with hands, place over eyes)
And this is Grandma’s hat (make hands into a hat on top of head)
And this is the way she folds her hands (fold hands)
And places them in her lap.  (put hands in lap)

BOOK:

Everyone Loves Bacon words by Kelly DiPucchio, pictures by Eric Wight

VIDEO:

“Spot’s Breakfast” from Spot Goes to School

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book:If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond
Book: Sausages by Jessica Souhami
Book: We’re Making Breakfast for Mother by Shirley Neitzel, pictures by Nancy Winslow Parker
Flannelboard: Flip-Flack Jack (from Ready-to-Go Storytimes by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaiti
Movie: “Breakfast at Farzzle’s” from Farzzle’s World: Breakfast at Farzzle’s

THOUGHTS ON THIS STORYTIME:
Before I came up with this theme for storytime, I was feeling a little blah about having to do storytime for the week.  But once I looked through some books, and realized I hadn’t used Please, Mr. Panda yet, and that we had just gotten Everyone Loves Bacon I knew I had a theme on my hands I was looking forward to.  (You know, I think I do A LOT of storytimes about food.)  I was a little worried about finding a video, but the Spot one worked just fine.

I think there are probably a few other great breakfast themed books I could have used, but since I was putting this together last minute I didn’t have time to request books from the branches.  Do you have a favorite first-meal-of-the-day story?

If I were to do this again, I think I would switch the order I read the stories and do Everyone Loves Bacon as my first book, since it’s a little long.  Also, as I was reading Please Mr. Panda I realized I should probably do a black and white themed storytime sometime.

ATTENDANCE: 36 (adults and children)

*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