Fall is starting to come to Indiana, so my coworker, C, and I are doing a bunch of storytimes on Fall topics. Last week I did the theme of Leaves since ours are just beginning to change. Later on in the storytime, I put in a little science by talking about why leaves change their color in Fall. The kids were really interested in that process and I ended up finding some books on the color process at the end of storytime to help some curious minds! Here’s the full storytime script below:
Opening Song: We sang our opening song, and then got started!
Opening Question: In Fall, something begins happening to the trees. Can anyone describe what they’ve noticed happening to the trees and leaves, lately?
Sign of the Day: Leaf
Transition: That’s right! The leaves begin changing colors and eventually they fall off the trees right before Winter comes. I’ve noticed some of the leaves already changing! So let’s see how this all affects squirrel in our first book!
Book: The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming
Squirrel’s leaves keep going missing and Squirrel begins to think that his friends might be taking them. But Squirrel’s friend, Bird, knows what’s actually happening. Our preschoolers loved this book for squirrel’s spastic and funny energy and their caregivers related to the patient explanations of Bird.
Transition: So what happened to squirrel’s leaves? That’s right! They fell from the tree, they weren’t stolen at all! Now that we know what happens to the leaves, let’s try a rhyme that’s about 5 leaves during the Fall.
Rhyme: 5 Little Leaves w/ASL sign for “Leaf”
Five little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing about on a tree one day.
The wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.
[Continue with 4 leaves, then 3, 2, & 1.]
Transition: That was a great rhyme! Have we all wiggled enough? Because I think it’s time for our next book! And it’s about…drumroll please!….Leaves! Again! Do you know that trees have different names? Well, in our next book we get to visit with three different types of trees that have leaves with different shapes. Let’s visit with Birch, Oak, and Maple to see how their Fall is going.
Book: A Very Big Fall by Emmy Kastner
I love books that have characters with really distinct voices/personalities and this book delivers on that front! Maple is my kind of leaf but kids will relate to all three as they deal with the changes Fall brings.
Transition: That was such a funny book! But do you know why leaves change color? Most of the year, leaves are green because of something called chlorophyll which they use to absorb energy from sunlight. The leaves use the energy to feed the tree. As the Fall time comes and temperatures drop and days get shorter, trees get less sunlight, and the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down and goes away. With chlorophyll gone, the yellow and orange or red colors that were already in the leaves are brighter! Now we’re going to do a song about a different part of an Oak tree. The seed of an oak tree, which is an acorn!
Song: I’m a Nut
We’ve been doing this new practice of using 2-3 songs or rhymes that we repeat during a season in addition to any on-theme songs or rhymes we do from week to week. I’m a Nut is one of our repeating songs for Fall and the storytime patrons seem to love it! I myself am really loving the practice of these repeating rhymes because the patrons really are latching onto them and it’s empowering them to join in more confidently.
Transition: I love singing that song, do you too? Wow, we’ve read and learned so much about trees in the Fall, what leaves do and why and so much more! Now, I have a special treat for you! We’re going to read about a MAGIC tree. I’m going to need your help for this one, though. The book is called Tap the Magic Tree. But since we can’t all tap the book all together, I’m going to ask you to tap your knee. Grownups, if you’re next to your child, you can tap their knees or just join in by tapping your own kne
Book: Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
I love interactive books for a lot of reasons, but this one was perfect for keeping the attention after two longer books because the kids got to tap, shake, and blow air to help them wiggle during the story.
Transition: That was such a silly little book, wasn’t it? Do you think that trees can do all the things the magic tree did? Maybe not. But maybe during Fall, we can all go on walks and watch to see if we can spot a magic tree. Ok, we have just enough time to pass out our scarves and do a couple songs with them!
Scarves: We did two songs with the scarves. Once I Was A Seed and The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow.
Once I Was A Seed
Once I was a seed and I was small, small, small.
I grew into a tree and now I’m tall, tall, tall!
My branches sway in the breeze oh-so-soft,
And when it’s autumn, all my leaves fall off!
The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
[Verse 1]
When all the cows were sleeping
and the sun had gone to bed.
Up jumped the scarecrow
And this is what he said…
[chorus]
I’m a Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
with a flippy floppy hat.
I can shake my hands like this
and shake my feet like that.
[Verse 2]
When all hens were roosting
And sleeping in the loft.
Up jumped the scarecrow
Who whispered oh-so soft…
[Repeat Chorus in a whisper]
[Verse 3]
When all the pigs were resting
With the moon behind a cloud.
Up jumped the Scarecrow
Who shouted very loud…
[Repeat Chorus loudly]
Transition: Great job, everyone! Now we’re ready to sing goodbye and move on to our craft. As you leave for craft time, I’ll collect the scarves. For now, let’s keep them and wave them as we sing goodbye to each other!
Closing: We closed out with our goodbye song and then went on to craft time!
Craft Time: My coworker, J, is responsible for our storytime crafts and always has the room nextdoor set up for the kids to flood into after we end our goodbye song. This session, J set up two different crafts. The first was watercolor painting on a pre-printed leaf shape. The second craft took those same printed leaves set out all over a table with contact paper on top (sticky side up). Kids then would take tissue paper squares and stick them on the contact paper, mimicking the shapes of the leaf printouts below the contact paper. J plans on cutting out the tissue paper leaves and making garland to decorate our desk for Fall. Both crafts were a hit and most kids wanted to try both!
More Books to Check Out:
Librarian Ginny 