Like most people, I think I sound weird when listening to or watching myself. But maybe it won’t sound weird to you. The latest, seriously overdue, edition of ukulele in storytime features “5 Green and Speckled Frogs” which is, in my world, a storytime staple. So get out your ukes, friends, and learn the D chord with me if you don’t already know it!
Tag Archives: frogs
Someday, My Prince Will Come…to Storytime
22 FebI had my frog puppet, Freddy, with me at storytime yesterday. That’s 
probably why a preschooler felt the need to ask me this:
“Have you ever been kissed by a frog?”
Uh…shouldn’t that be the other way around?
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Flannel Friday! Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
18 NovI’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with Jonathan London’s stellar first book about Froggy. But if not, here’s the Cliffs Notes Version. Froggy wakes up, sees snow out his window, and decides to go out and play in it. His mother tries to convince him to go back to sleep, as “frogs are supposed to sleep all winter. Wake up when the snow melts.” But Froggy is determined, so he puts on his socks, boots, mittens, scarf, and hat and flops out into the snow. Flop, flop, flop.
Froggy’s mom asks him what he forgot to put on, and he realizes he forgot his pants. After returning inside, taking off some clothes, putting on pants, and putting clothes back on, he flops back outside, only to be reminded that he forgot his coat and shirt. Flopping back inside, he remedies his lack of coverage on the top half of his body. On his third trip outside, his mom asks him yet again what he’s forgotten. This time, he can’t figure it out, until his mother reminds him: “your underwear!”
Needless to say, this story always gets a big laugh from the preschoolers. Here’s the flannelboard I created, with pictures via KizClub.
Froggy in bed, with his mom:
First trip outside (flop, flop, flop):
2nd trip outside, pants added:
3rd trip outside, with coat and shirt added:
And here are all the pieces that make up this flannel (socks, shirt, etc.) as you can’t see all of them in the pictures!
Each piece is covered in clear contact paper. Froggy, his mom, and the bed have velcro dots on the back to make them stick to the flannelboard. Froggy also has a piece of double-stick tape, as do all the other pieces, to make them stick to each other. Easy peasy!
I usually read this story with my clothing themed storytime, but it would obviously work with frogs, winter, snow, silly stories, underwear stories (has anyone tried THAT as a theme?)…
Visit Cate’s blog later today for the full Flannel Friday roundup! And click on the icon to the right to see all past and current flannels, handily organized in a visual format via Pinterest!
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Life Isn’t Like the Movies, Especially When It Comes to Frogs
27 AprMy frog puppet, Freddy, was demonstrating his excellent hopping skills. He just kept going, so I asked the kids how we could get him to stop. One young man, holding his hand out as if he held a remote, said, “pause him.”
Oh, that only works in the movies.
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Ribbit! Frog and Friends Storytime
17 AprOne of the preschool teachers I work with LOVES frogs. Really, seriously, LOVES frogs. So every year I do a frog-themed storytime especially for her. Although, I do it for me too – there are so many great frog stories and songs out there! I call this one “Frog and Friends” because I might throw in a turtle or snake book too.
I have an awesome Folkmanis frog puppet; his name’s Freddy and he’s got long limbs and is very flaily. For some reason he speaks
Howdy!
with a southern accent (I think it stems from the New York librarian who used to tell “The Wide-Mouthed Frog” with a southern accent. And she was from Brooklyn). He introduces himself, shows off his amazing hopping ability, and then sits down to listen to stories about “him” (he’s not modest).
- Big Frog Can’t Fit In by Mo Willems. POP-UP BOOK ALERT!! Poor big frog, she’s too big for her book, and that makes her sad. But she has great friends who find a solution.
- Flannelboard/Song: “Little White Duck”. Originally sung by Burl Ives, lots of the preschool teachers don’t know this one – or haven’t used it in a while! It’s a great song, and while it’s not particularly interactive if the kids don’t know the song, for some reason when I sing it they’re hypnotized. Seriously. Dead quiet. I don’t know why. Try it out. I made flannelboard pieces of a duck, frog, bug, snake and lilypad which I put on the board one by one.
- Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson. Cool rhymes! Silly story! And the frog grows a little…bit…bigger.
- Song: “5 Green and Speckled Frogs” Don’t we all know this one? I have a set of little frog finger puppets, and I made a log out of felt (glued in a tube shape) and a felt pond for them to jump into. I set the pond on the floor and the log on my knees, so I can play the tune on the ukulele.
- Jump! Fischer, Scott. We end with this, and everyone gets up so they can jump at appropriate times. Lots of giggling ensues. I love this book.
Other books I might use:
- The Dark, Dark Night. Butler, M. Christina. Frog wants to return to his pond after a winter of hibernation, but when he gets there, he discovers a pond monster! His friends help him find the truth.
- Hop Jump/Salta y brinca. Walsh, Ellen Stoll. There’s room for hopping and dancing in this frog’s world!
- Jump, Frog, Jump!/Salta, ranita, salta. Kalan, Robert. Classic. With a great refrain!
Ribbit! Gotta hop now!
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Miss Mary
Learning to read begins from birth. Children who have caregivers who read with them, talk to them, and LOVE them become readers. It's not just me saying it - it's SCIENCE! Have fun and share books - children who think books are fun want to become readers!
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