Books

“Hop Jump” by Ellen Stoll Walsh
“I Spy on the Farm” by Edward Gibbs
“Firehouse!” by Mark Teague

ABC Magnets

I like to start and end the Alphabet program by singing our ABCs. To start I put out all of the letter magnets and have the children tell me what letter is missing, that becomes our letter of the day. After we go through the letter and some words that start with it I invite each child up to take two letters off the board and put it into my bag. At first all the children like to swarm up and will grab as many letters as they possibly can, but after a few weeks they begin to understand that they must wait until they hear their name called. To help them stick with two letters only I count out loud (this program maxes out at 12 children so I know I will have enough letters). The children get very excited when it is their turn, plus this helps them learn patience and how to take turns!

Hurry, Hurry Drive the Fire Truck

Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck (steer wheel)
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck
Hurry, hurry drive the fire truck
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding (ring bell)

Hurry, hurry turn the corner (lean to the side)
Hurry, hurry, turn the corner
Hurry, hurry, turn the corner
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding (ring bell)

Hurry, hurry climb the ladder (climbing motion)
Hurry, hurry, climb the ladder
Hurry, hurry, climb the ladder
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding (ring bell)

Hurry, hurry spray the water (pretend to hold a hose)
Hurry, hurry spray the water
Hurry, hurry spray the water
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding (ring bell)

Slowly, slowly, back to the station (lean side to side)
Slowly, slowly, back to the station
Slowly, slowly, back to the station
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding (ring bell)

Fireman, Fireman

Fireman, fireman turn around
Fireman, fireman touch the ground
Fireman, fireman drive the truck
Fireman, fireman don’t get stuck
Fireman, fireman hurry to the fire
Fireman, fireman spray the water higher
Fireman, fireman give a shout
Fireman, fireman, you put the fire out!

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

For this song I pulled a farm animal puppet out of my bag, the kids loved yelling out what animal it was and making the noise. Having the puppets hidden in my bag added a level of suspense, I had one child try to sneak a peak and another yell “What is going to be next??”

Five Green and Speckled Frogs

We actually never got to this one, the kids lost interest during “Hop Jump” and I knew I would be unable to rally them for this song.

Five green and speckled frogs sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs
Yum yum

One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs
Ribbit, ribbit

(count down)

Marching Around the Alphabet by Hap Palmer

This song has become a story time favorite! Every week the children line up on the outside of the alphabet rug and start to march with their adult. When the whistle blows the children stop, bend down and point out which letter they are standing on. I like to participate as well and sometimes I will ask a child what letter they stopped on and the color of the square.

Parachute

The kids are now pros with the parachute, at first it was a little difficult to cooperate but now they (and their parents) have gotten the hang of it. The children all grab on and we make some waves (fast, slow, big, small) then I ask the parents to hold on to the parachute. The adults lower the parachute and then pop it into the air, the children then go under (lots of happy squeals) and we gently shake the parachute over their heads. We do this 3 or 4 times, there is always one child that doesn’t want to come out but the parents are pretty good about it. Next I have the children hold on again and place foam letters on the parachute. We shake the parachute and watch the letters fly (again lots of happy squeals)!

ABCs

Craft

I always tell the parents to please do not do the craft for their child, feel free to help them use the glue stick but if they want to put an eye where the foot should be well then that’s just artistic license!

How it Went:For the Letter F I read “Firehouse!” first because it is the longest book, I was nervous the children wouldn’t be able to sit through it but the book really intrigued them. The flop of the group was “Hop Jump,” a co-worker recommended that I use this book but my twos just didn’t care, most of them just hopped or danced while I read (while is totally fine with me). As for “I Spy on the Farm,” I only showed the animals that I knew they would be able to guess, they loved making the animal noises!