Counting

Week #11 was the theme of counting. This one was fairly easy because you can use any flannel of "Five Little...". I used one of my favorite five little flannels about gnomes, but also a new "Five Little" script I found on Jbrary. 

Books:

Toddler Books:

Ten, Nine, Eight - Molly Bang

I Spy Under the Sea - Edward Gibbs

Preschool Books:

I Spy Under the Sea - Edward Gibbs

One Boy - Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Wombat Walkabout - Carol Diggory Shields

Dog Loves Counting - Louise Yates

Rhymes/Fingerplays/Songs:

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom:

*We used this several times over the past few storytimes. Mostly because the kids loved it so much, but also because repetition is very important. So, if they love it so much and it relates to the theme, I don't mind repeating an element several times.

Source: Jbrary

Five Little Elephants:

One little elephant in the bathtub, going for a swim.

Knock, knock (clap twice)

Splash, splash (slap knees twice)

Come on in! (motion with both hands to come in)

Count up to 5:

Five elephants in the bathtub, going for a swim.

Knock, knock (clap twice)

Splash, splash (slap knees twice)

They all fell in! (knock felt pieces down)

Source: Jbrary

*I did this at one of the storytimes with ducks instead of elephants. As long as you have a flannel bathtub, you can substitute any animal in for the elephant. 

Five Tiny Gnomes:

Five tiny gnomes, in little cloth suits,

Wearing funny hats and pointy boots.

When the sun has gone to sleep,

The gnomes come out and play hide-and-go-seek.

The first gnome ducked behind an old wooden door.

The second gnome nestled into grass growing on the forest floor.

The third gnome climbed a tall, tall tree.

The fourth gnome crawled into a log where no one could see.

The fifth gnome hid under a mushroom cap,

Where he decided to take a nap.

Five tiny gnomes, in little cloth suits,

Wearing funny hats and pointy boots.

Once the sun rises in the sky,

The gnomes head home and say, "Goodbye."

Source: Sunflower Storytime

*This is, by far, one of my favorite flannels I have ever made. Sunflower Storytime has a template on her site that I downloaded and used to make the flannels. I have used it at several storytimes so far, but I have gotten the best reaction from the preschoolers. One of the kids lit up like a Christmas tree when I started bringing the gnomes out. He was ecstatic!