Books with great sounds and onomatopoeia abound in children’s literature, and instruments and noisemakers are fascinating to kids. I wish we’d been in person for this theme – I don’t think it translates quite as well virtually, but we do our best.
You can see the virtual program that does not include the full books read aloud here.
Early Literacy Tip: One way to support early literacy is to help children recognize that print has meaning. When we talk about the words on the page as we read them, children are making the connection between the written word and the meaning of the word. A great place to begin is by pointing out where sounds are written out differently from the other words, as they are in our book, Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!
Welcome Song: We Clap and Sing Hello
General discussion on sound – how can we make noise? How do we hear noise? Why do we hear noise in our ears? I showed and read just two spreads (pgs 12-15) from a nonfiction title, showing the vocal chords and the inside of the ear.
Read: (selection from) Sounds All Around by Wendy Pfeffer & Anna Chernyshova
Activity: Demonstrating Sound
Put a couple of dried beans on a drum and show how they jump and vibrate with each beat. Ask the kids to touch their throats while humming to feel the vibrations. Block your ears and see how well the sound waves get through.
Action Rhyme: I Played My Drum – Tum, Tum, Tum
(match actions to words)
I played my drum – tum, tum, tum
I played my violin – zum, zum, zum
I played my harmonica – hum, hum, hum
I played my guitar – strum, strum, strum
I played my piano – dee, dee, dum
I’m all quiet now – mum, mum, mum
Credit: King County Library System
Read: Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! by Wynton Marsalis & Paul Rogers
Fingerplay: Quiet Mouse
Here’s a quiet little mouse (show thumb)
Living in a quiet little house (hold thumb in fist)
When all was quiet as could be (shh with other hand)
OUT! popped he! (pop out thumb)
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! (wiggle thumb)
Credit: Mel’s Desk
I did this one only in the YouTube video – it probably would make the storytime with the books being read in full too long. I use my wooden frog rasps for this.
Instrument Song: Three Frogs in a Bog
(find 3 instruments (even pots and pans!) that make a big/deep sound, a middle sound, and a little/high sound to imitate the frogs)
There was a big frog (big sound, big sound)
Lived in a big bog (big, big)
He swam in the water (big, big)
Played on a big log (big, big)
Big log (big, big)
Big bog (big, big)
Big frog (big, big)
(repeat for middle-sized and little frogs)
And then one day (big sound, middle sound, little sound)
The frogs got together (big, middle, little)
They swam in the water (big, middle, little)
In the bright sunny weather (big, middle, little)
Three frogs (big, middle, little)
Three friends (big, middle, little)
The end! (big, middle, little)
Credit: Ada Moreau Demlow
Flannel Rhyme: What Noise Do I Make?
I just used a few animal flannels I had, and decided I needed a vehicle, too, so made the truck to go “vroom!” I realized after doing the YT video that “shake” needed to really be a shaker, not me shaking my shoulders…ay, yi, yi.
Flannel Rhyme: What Noise Do I Make?
I just used a few animal flannels I had, and decided I needed a vehicle, too, so made the truck to go “vroom!” My control-freak heart wishes the styles were all different or all the same, but that’s how it goes. AND – I realized after doing the YT video that “shake” needed to really be a shaker, not me shaking my shoulders…ay, yi, yi.
Clap, stomp!
Clap, clap, shake!
Can you make the noise that I make?
Credit: STEM in Libraries
I love this book, and its companion, Dancing Feet – both have just fantastic rhythm.
Read: Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig & Marc Brown
We couldn’t do a “sound” storytime without our shaker songs!
Shaker Song: Shake Your Shaker
(tune of London Bridge)
Shake your shakers in the air, Shake it here, shake it there
Shake your shakers in the air, Shake your shakers
Shake it high and shake it low, Shake it yes, shake it no
Shake it high and shake it low, Shake your shakers
Shake it up and shake it down, Shake your shaker on the ground
Shake it up and shake it down, Shake your shakers
Shake it near and shake it far, Drive your shaker like a car
Shake it near and shake it far, Shake your shaker
Shake it fast and shake it slow, Shake it stop, shake it go
Shake it fast and shake it slow, Shake your shaker
Credit: Jbrary
Shaker Song: Shake it to the East
Shake it to the east, Shake it to the west
Shake it all around, and then you take a rest
Shake your shakers up, Shake your shakers down
Shake it, shake it, shake it, and then you settle down.
Credit: Jbrary
All these great sounds make me want to dance. Let’s see how these kids do it!
Read: How Do You Wokka-Wokka? by Elizabeth Bluemle & Randy Cecil
Ukulele Song: Shake My Sillies Out
I gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away!
Additional verses:
I gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies out…
I gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out…
I gotta stretch, stretch, stretch my stretchies out…
I gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out…
Credit: Raffi (from the album Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band)
Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet here!
Craft: String Telephone
Decorate two cups with crayons or stickers. Carefully thread the ends of the string into the hole on the bottom of each cup, from outside to inside. Tie a knot on each end of the string. Optionally, you can also tape it down on the inside of the cup. Now, you and a friend hold the cups at a distance that makes the string taut (but don’t pull too hard or jerk the cups). Make sure the string isn’t touching anything else. One person talks into the cup while the other puts the cup to their ear. Can you hear each other? Try whispering and speaking normally. Experiment! Try the different tests on the Experiment sheet. Ask your child to make predictions/guess what will happen before trying each one.
Other Sound Activities:
Collect a variety of containers: plastic cups and bowls, metal or aluminum bowls or pie plates, styrofoam egg cartons, ceramic mugs – and different shapes – a plastic champagne flute, a plastic bowl, a plastic bag, etc. Use dry beans or rice and let your child pour them into the various containers. What different sounds do the beans make as you pour them into different containers? This is an activity that engages several of our senses – hearing, seeing, touching. To contain a potential mess, let them play on the floor with a bedsheet underneath!
Brainstorm what would make good noisemakers from household objects. The kitchen is a great place to start! Explore what sounds different objects make. Does it sound different when you hit a pot with a wooden spoon vs. a whisk? Get the family involved and have a family band or drum circle. A leader can tap out different rhythms and the rest of the family repeats them.
Click here to download the String Phone Experiment Sheet.
I also booktalked these alternative titles during the permanent YouTube video.
So Many Sounds by Tim McCanna & Andy J. Miller
Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump! by K.L. Going & Simone Shin
Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler & R. Gregory Christie
Closing Rhyme: Tickle the Stars
This storytime was presented virtually on 11/10/20.
Storytime Handout:
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 