Camping

Our final Family Storytime of the summer session was camping. I had a little trouble convincing our more chatty older preschool-age kids that camping is really cool...but I figured an enthusiastic take on camping might change anyone's mind.

After our opening songs, we had a few songs and fingerplays.

Here is the Camper
Here is the camper (hold up finger)
Here is the tent (bend finger of other hand like tent)
He crawls inside on a summer night (finger goes under ‘tent’)
Fireflies flicker in a friendly way (flicker your hands)
All is calm till the light of day (head on folded hands)
source: Storytime Katie

If You're a Hiker and You Know It
If you’re a hiker and you know it, climb a hill (exaggerated steps in place)
If you’re a hiker and you know it, climb a hill
If you’re a hiker and you know it, and you really want to show it
If you’re a hiker and you know it, climb a hill

Verses two and three
If you’re a hiker and you know it, look for birds (make binoculars with hands)
If you’re a hiker and you know it, jump over puddles (jump in place)
If you’re a hiker and you know it, hike back home (march in place)
source: ?


Book: "Sheep Take a Hike" by Nancy Shaw

I love this series about the sheep by Nancy Shaw. In this book, the sheep go hiking but get lost on the way. They are able to find their way back by the bits of wool they left along the way.

I wouldn't suggest this for a larger crowd because, size-wise, this is a smaller book. But at the community branch I am at, we typically have smaller crowds for our family storytimes so it works well.


I Am Going Camping
I am going camping, time to pack  (point to chest, then to wristwatch)
My tent, my blanket, and a healthy snack. (make tent with hands; fold to rest cheek, pretend to eat)
I’ll sit by the fire that glows so bright,  (warm hands over ‘fire’)
Then sleep in my tent until morning light. (pretend to sleep then awake with arms overhead)
source: Step By Step Child Care

Hiker, Hiker, Turn Around
Hiker, Hiker, turn around
Hiker, Hiker, touch the ground
Hiker, Hiker, reach up high
Hiker, Hiker, blink your eyes
Hiker, Hiker, touch your nose
Hiker, Hiker, touch your toes
Hiker, Hiker, slap your knees
Hiker, Hiker, sit down please

Book: "Scare A Bear"by Kathy-jo Wargin

This book is cute--a camp full of kids and a stubborn bear that wants to settle in. During storytime, the kids vocalized whether or not they thought the variations of ways to scare a bear would actually work.

I paper-clipped some of the pages to shorten it, especially since it was the second book of storytime (kids get a bit wiggly if they have to sit through another long book).


Five Little Fireflies (We happened to have flannels already made of fireflies so I used five of them for this rhyme during storytime!)
One little firefly shines very bright
Two little fireflies show their lights
Three little fireflies glimmer and glow
Four little fireflies watch them go!
Five little fireflies fly in the night
Blink! Blink! Blink! Blink!  (open and close fingers)
My! What a sight!
source: King County Library System


And then we finished up with our closing songs. Back to the planning board to prepare for our fall storytimes :)!