Into the Wild

I tried to plan science-y storytimes for the summer to go along with the summer reading program theme.  I was mostly successful – there were a few weeks where I wanted to get some traditional summer themes in there too.  This week we did Wild Animals.  It was going to just be big cats, but at the time I started planning it, I could only find one big cat book that I really liked.

BOOKS:

We read The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Tricia Noble and It’s a Tiger by David LaRochelle.  I was originally going to do Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown, but I stumbled upon It’s a Tigerand I KNEW I had to do it for storytime.

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash was okay.  The first day I read it, my voices weren’t distinct enough and I got confused about who was talking.  I think that this one works a lot better for early elementary school kids.  It’s a Tiger was GREAT though.  We had done We’re Going On a Bear Hunt not too long ago and this has the same kind of feel.   It was FABULOUS.  Jeremy Tankard’s illustrations combined with David LaRochelle’s cheeky story warm the cockles of my heart.  I would definitely put it on a must-read-for-storytime list.

SONG:

I attempted “There Was a Crocodile…” that I learned from Jbrary’s Youtube.  Most of the kids didn’t sing along, but they really liked making the animal gestures.

CRAFT:

After a disaster a few weeks ago with NON WASHABLE paint, I learned my lesson and bought some washable stuff for this craft.  We gave leopards their spots using cotton balls pinched by clothespins as our brushes.  So cute!