Thanksgiving Storytime

Thanksgiving is next week! We celebrated this weekend with books, songs and fingerplays!

We began our storytime by learning the ASL sign for "Thank you." This image is from http://www.babysignlanguage.com/dictionary/t/thank-you/ There were plenty of opportunities to use this sign in our storytime!

Glad to see you

Hello everybody, glad to see you

Clap your hands and show you’re glad to see me too!

Clap your hands everybody, clap your hands.

Clap your hands and show you’re glad to see me too!

…Add additional verses, repeating all of the previous actions at the end of each verse….

Stamp your feet…
Shake your hips...

Nod your head...
Blink your eyes...

If you’re thankful

(tune: If you’re happy & you know it)

If you’re thankful and you know it,
Clap your hands.

If you’re thankful and you know it,
clap your hands.

If you’re thankful and you know it and you really want to show it,

If you’re thankful and you know it,
clap your hands.

… stomp your feet

… shout “I am!”

Bear says Thanks by Karma Wilson

I encouraged everyone to use their new sign, "Thank you" every time we read "Thanks" in the book.

Turkey in the brown straw

(tune: Skip to my Lou)

Turkey in the brown straw,

Ha, ha, ha

Turkey in the brown straw,

Ha, ha,ha

Turkey in the brown straw,

Ha, ha, ha

Turkey in the brown straw, my darling

 … green tree/ hee, hee, hee

… white snow/ ho, ho, ho

…red  barn/ harn, harn, harn

… blue sky/ high, high, high

For this flannelboard, I gave each child a feather and they brought it up and added it to the turkey when we sang about their color.

Turkey Feathers

(tune: Mary wore her red dress)

Turkey wore his red feather, red feather, red feather.
Turkey wore his red feather, all day long!

… orange feather
…yellow feather

…brown feather

Alternate version: 
Turkey Feathers
(tune: Frere Jacques)
Turkey feathers, turkey feathers,
Brightly colored, brightly colored,
Who has the red one, who has the red one, 
Bring it now, bring it now.

One little, two little, three little pilgrims by B.G. Hennessey

I did not read all of this book, but we sang "Ten little pilgrims, then Ten Little Wampanoag and finally Ten fat turkeys" as we read the lyrics in the book.

We repeated our song after the book was finished: 

Ten little pilgrims

1 little, 2 little, 3 little pilgrims

4 little, 5 little, 6 little pilgrims

7 little, 8 little, 9 little pilgrims

10 little pilgrim boys and girls.

We are trying out new egg shaker songs, and this one worked pretty well.
If you’re happy and you know it

If you’re happy and you know it, give a shake

If you’re happy and you know it, give a shake.

If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.

If you’re happy and you know it, give a shake.

…tap your knees

…tap your toes

…beep your nose

… do all four

Ten Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston

There was no mention of Thanksgiving in this book, but it was very cute and matched our theme, anyway. 

Turkey Pokey

You put your right wing in

You put your right wing out

You put your right in

And you shake it all about

You do the Turkey pokey and you turn yourself around

That's what its all about

… left wing

…left foot/ right foot

… tail feathers

… whole turkey self

Two Little Turkeys
Two little turkeys sitting on the hill

One named Jack and one named Jill

Fly away, Jack

Fly away, Jill

Come back, Jack, Come back, Jill

Shake my sillies out

I’m gonna shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

Shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

And wiggle my waggles away.

(Repeat with clap my crazies out, jump my jiggles out,  yawn my sleepies out,  stretch my stretchies out, and shake my sillies out.)

Goodbye Song

(tune: She’ll be coming around the mountain)

Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!"

Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!"
Now it's time to say goodbye,
Wave your hands,
Wink your eye,
Now it's time to say goodbye to all our friends, "Goodbye!"

Who will carve the turkey this Thanksgiving by Jerry Pallotta

We did not have enough time to read this book, but it was very cute and will be part of storytime next year!