Storytime - Dragons

Toddlers

Books: Waking Dragons by Jane Yolen and Who Wants a Dragon? by James Mayhew.

Songs / Rhymes: “Good Morning”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You’re a Dragon and You Know It”, “Three Little Knights” on the felt board, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, “and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Crowns. Materials: die cut construction paper crowns, foam shapes, yarn, crayons, glue, and tape. The toddlers glued the shapes to their crowns. Their caregivers used the yarn to fit the crowns to the toddlers’ heads.

Preschool

Books: Me and My Dragon by David Biedrzycki and The Pet Dragon by Christoph Niemann (If I had to do this storytime again, I wouldn't pick The Pet Dragon. It didn't have quite the appeal factor my kids needed to pay attention.)

Songs / Rhymes: “Welcome to the Library”, “Hello, How Are You?”, “Head and Shoulders”, “Open, Shut Them”, “If You’re a Dragon and You Know It”, “Three Little Knights” on the felt board, “I Wiggle My Fingers”, and “The More We Get Together”.

Craft: Crowns. Materials: die cut construction paper crowns, jewel stickers, yarn, crayons, glue, and tape. The preschoolers stuck their jewels to the crowns. Their caregivers used the yarn to fit the crowns to the preschoolers’ heads.

Songs/Rhymes

If You’re a Dragon and You Know It

Sung to: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

And you really want to show it,

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

--Miss Mollie

Three Knights in Shining Armor

Three knights in shining armor,

Fearless and brave,

Went dragon hunting

Deep in a cave.

The dragon started breathing fire,

The knights’ knees were all aquiver,

And one little knight

Took off running for the river!

...

One little knight in shining armor….

So the last little knight

Took off running for the river!

--JPL

*I did this rhyme using the felt board. I used this dragon and this knight.

Storytime - Chinese New Year

Books

My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz

Toddler and Preschool

 

Yum Yum Dim Sum by Amy Wilson Sanger

Toddler

*Note: I grabbed this book in haste, something I rarely ever do. I only glanced at the text, and was quite embarrassed during storytime when I couldn't pronounce the food names. I probably wouldn't use this title again, but anyone familiar enough with the terms will find it fun.

Max Celebrates Chinese New Year by Adria F. Klein

Preschool

*Note: This is an easy reader, but perfect for storytime audiences.

Songs

If You’re a Dragon and You Know It

Sung to: “If You’re Happy and You Know It”

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

And you really want to show it,

If you’re a dragon and you know it,

Show your claws.

--Miss Mollie

*This is a song I made up at the last minute. Feel free to change it for your needs.

Four Red Dragons

Four red dragons

Dancing 'round a tree
One danced away

And then there were three 

Three red dragons

Dancing 'round you
One danced away

And then there were two

 

Two red dragons

Dancing in the sun
One danced away

And then there was one

One red dragon

Having lots of fun

She danced away
And then there were none

--PerpetualPreschool

Felt Board

Chinese New Year

Sung to: “Mary Had a Little Lamb"
See the dragon dance and prance

Dance and prance

Dance and prance

See the dragon dance and prance

On Chinese New Year’s Day

Hear the firecrackers pop pop pop
Pop pop

Pop pop
Hear the firecrackers pop pop pop
On Chinese New Year's Day

--PerpetualPreschool

Crafts

Dragon Puppets. Materials: Print out of dragon head and tail from Mrs. Walley's First Grade Website, two popsicle sticks, glue or tape, and an accordion folded strip of red paper. *I had volunteers cut the heads and tails out ahead of time, but preschoolers could cut them out on their own.*

Tape or glue the popsicle sticks onto the backs of the head and tail. Attach the strip to each piece, and you have your dragon! When ours were all finished, we sang "See the Dragon Dance and Prance".

Flannel Friday - Four Red Dragons

I almost didn't think I'd have an entry for this week's Flannel Friday, until I remembered my dragons from today's Chinese New Year storytime. 

Four red dragons

Dancing 'round a tree
One danced away

And then there were three

Three red dragons

Dancing 'round you
One danced away

And then there were two

Two red dragons

Dancing in the sun
One danced away

And then there was one

One red dragon

Having lots of fun

She danced away
And then there were none!

--PerpetualPreschool

The rhyme originally calls for five red dragons:

Five red dragons

Making such a roar
One danced away

And then there were four.

But I decided four was a good number for our group.

Melissa is hosting the roundup over at her blog, Mel's Desk. If you have a moment, take part in Melissa's invitation to Flannel Friday participants, submitters and readers alike, to share your FF experiences. And don't forget to stop by the Flannel Friday Celebration post, where Melissa has listed some awesome FF facts.

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