When I was putting together my Spots and Dots storytime a while ago, I realized that a lot of the books I found were about giraffes!  I pulled them out and decided to give giraffes a whole storytime of their own.

MOVEMENT: Welcome Song*

MOVEMENT: “Clap Your Hands” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

BOOK:

Giraffes Ruin Everything by Heidi Schulz, illustrated by Chris Robertson

MOVEMENT:
I’m a Giraffe
I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
A big tall giraffe, I almost reach the sky (stand up on tip toes)
I eat the leaves from the tallest of trees (pretend to eat like giraffe, rub tummy)
And when I run I move with ease (run in place)
I’m a big tall giraffe stretching way up high (reach arms up overhead)
Way… up… high! (stand on tip toes)

rhyme taken from: Mansfield/Richland County Public Library

FLANNELBOARD STORY:
Count and Color Giraffes

idea taken from Making Learning Fun

Bring out one giraffe and ask the audience: “What color spots does this giraffe have?”
After the children answer sing this song:

(To the tune of “Mary Wore Her Red Dress”)
This giraffe has red spots,
red spots, red spots.
This giraffe has red spots.
Count them with me now.

Count the spots on the giraffe, then bring out another giraffe and repeat.

When you finish, bring out a blank giraffe and sing:
This giraffe has no spots,
no spots, no spots.
This giraffe has no spots.
No more spots to count.

But then I say, I do know one more thing we can count!  And we count the giraffes as I take them off the board.

It’s hard to see from my photo, but the spots my giraffes have are:
red
blue
green
orange
purple

MOVEMENT: “Shake My Sillies Out” from More Singable Songs for the Very Young by Raffi

BOOK:

Abigail by Catherine Rayner

VIDEO:
 
“Giraffes Can’t Dance” from Shrinking Violet… and more stories for young performers.  Based on the book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

MOVEMENT: Storytime’s Over*

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:
  
Book: How Do You Say? ¿Cómo se dice? by Angela Dominguez
Book: One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail
Book: Oh Dear, Geoffrey! by Gemma O’Neill
Book: The Short Giraffe by Neil Flory, illustrated by Mark Cleary
Book: The Starry Giraffe by Andy Bergamann
DVD: A segment from Disney’s Animal World: Giraffes and Zebras
Flannelboard: I Saw a Giraffe Drive Flannelboard

GREAT RESOURCES FOR MORE IDEAS
Fun with Friends at Storytime – Giraffe Wants a Snack! 
The Lion is a Bookworm – Storytime: Giraffes
storytime katie – Jungle!
Madison Public Library – PSST Zebras and Giraffes
Just Call Me Jamin – Giraffe Felt Board Story

HOW IT WENT:
This was a fun storytime!  Sometimes we get a pretty young group for our preschool storytimes, so I wasn’t sure if Giraffes Ruin Everything would be too old, but the kids and the adults seemed to laugh and enjoy themselves along with it. And all the dancing animals in Giraffes Can’t Dance brought giggles from the audience.

ATTENDANCE: 34 (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