Preschool Storytime
Activities

When I first started out as a teacher I wasn't very fond of preschool storytime. The children were always shouting, "I can't see," and other distracting things. Then, I read somewhere that the average sized book is not appropriate to read to a large group of children. Save the average sized book to read to individuals and small groups of children. so instead of reading your average children's book try some of the following ideas.

Using props during preschool storytime is very, very effective. Look over your favorite books and think about how you can use props with the story. The children in my class love the story, "Owl Babies." I had a stuffed owl I could pass around while I read the story. Every time the owl baby said, "I want my mommy" The children repeated the phrase. I was careful to time the passing of the owl (around the cirlce) so that everyone got a turn before the story was over, even if I had to adlib a little as I neared the end of the story. Another favorite was, "Are You My Mother?" I collected all of the characters including the boat, the plane and the big thing. I made sure I had duplicates of some characters. Then each child spoke for his character when It was his turn. (Usually with the help of the rest of the class) I often had to add characters multiplying the number of any character so everyone had a role. Two cows instead of one or three planes instead of one etc.

Acting out preschool storytime is a hoot. I love acting out "The Three Bears" "The Three Billy Goats" and The Three Pigs" among other things. Sometimes I read or told the story several times so everyone would get a turn to act. Sometimes I would add characters, three baby billy goats, three medium goats and three big goats, maybe two or three trolls. That way everyone who wants to be in the story can. It is easier to assign roles as you go and choose your characters in the order children sit in the circle.I seldom use props except maybe a rug for a bridge or something simple. Some great stories for acting out are:

• Owl Babies 
• Stone Soup 
• The Big Turnip 
• The Mitten 
• The Three Pigs 
• Are You My Mother 
• The Three Bears 
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff 

Big books are excellent for preschool storytime. Make sure you look for books that are short in length and or high interest for the children. I especially like books with a repeating text or rhyming text. I always like to lie on the floor with the children. We all lie on our tummies around the book. Sometimes we talk about the parts of the book, or I point to a punctuation mark and tell the children what it is called. Sometimes I point out an extra long word. Maybe we count the letters in the word. Children, of course, chime in and help me read. Sometimes I have the children look for a particular letter in the text as I dismiss them for the next activity. Some of my favorite big books are:

• Who's in the Shed 
• Silly Sally 
• Dinosaur Stomp 
• Nightmare in My Closet 
• Noisy Nora 

Preschool Flannel Board Activities

Of course a valuable tool for preschool storytime is a flannel board. This is super simple to make. Find a good stiff piece of cardboard the size you want your flannel board. Go to a fabric store or Walmart and buy enough flannel to cover it. Or cover the back of a piece of furniture that sits in a good location for a flannel board. Pull the flannel tight around the cardboard and glue it around the back edges. If you want the flannel board to stand up by itself use three sides of a box. Next, you can buy flannel board characters or make them. You may be able to trace the outline of a storybook character from the story or from a coloring book. You don't need detail.

I like to let the children help tell the story using a flannel board but I don't like them to hold the characters while they wait for their turn. So I hand them the character when it is their turn to put it on the board.

A magnet board works just like a flannel board. You can use the front of a metal cabinet, the side of a filing cabinet or a magnetic chalkboard or white board for your story telling. You can also use a cookie sheet. The characters for a magnet board are pretty easy to make. Cut the characters out of old books that are no longer useful, find characters online, trace coloring books characters etc. I would recommend that if you laminate the characters that you might consider laminating only the front. Sometimes the pieces get too heavy to stay put if they have too much laminate. Put a piece of magnetic stripping on the back of each character. Fairy tales are good for this kind of activity: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rumplestitlskin etc. Magnetic story pieces or flannel boards stories offer a wonderful opportunity for children to retell stories. (comprehension) So make them available for children to use after you are done telling the story.

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There are a variety of preschool storytime activities you can do to make a simple reading of a book much more fun for your children!

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