Magical Creatures Family Storytime

This was the most fun I have had to date picking out books. It was so hard to narrow it down but I ended up reading:

• You Are My Magical Unicorn by Joyce Wan
• There's a Dragon in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
• and Mermaid School by JoAnne Wetzel (this one I shortened by skipping a few pages)

My Outline:

• Song: Shake Your Sillies Out by Raffi
• Literacy Tip Explain: Letter Recognition including shapes for younger kids
• Letter Activity: I do this every storytime. I pick two letters to focus on usually having to do with the theme, this weeks was D and M. I have the letter printed BIG on a popsicle stick (one upper case and one lower case). We talk about the name of the letter, the sound it makes, what the upper case and lower case look like, I ask for examples for words that start with the letter and then we sing a remixed version of Where is Thumbkin that goes like this:

Where is letter D (put both pictures behind back)

Where is letter D

Here I am (bring out upper case letter)

Here I am (bring out lower case letter)

How are you today dear

Very well I thank you

Run away (put upper case behind back) 

Run away (put lower case behind back)

• Read book one: You Are My Magical Unicorn
• Song: Walking, walking 
• Finger play: Two Little Fairies and Two Little Dragons (a variation of two little blackbirds that I adapted from a few different sources)

Two little fairies

Dancing on a gate.

One danced early

And one danced late.

Dance away early.

Dance away late.

Come back early,

Come back late!

Two little dragons

Flying in the sky

One flew low

And one flew high

Fly away low

Fly away high

Come back low

Come back high

• Literacy Tip Example - Point out letters that relate to your child, like the first letter of their name. Also point out the shapes that are within a letter like a line and circle that form a d. 
• Read book two: There's a Dragon in Your Book (for smaller crowds) or If I Had a Gryphon (if the crowd is too big for an interactive book)
• Finger play: Five Green Dragons (GrandmasNurseRhymes.com)

Five green dragons making such a roar.

One danced away and then there were four.

Four green dragons dancing around a tree.

One danced away and then there were three.

Three green dragons dancing around you.

One danced away and then there were two.

Two green dragons dancing in the sun.

One danced away and then there was one.

One green dragon having lots of fun

She danced away and then there were none.

• Read book three: Mermaid School
• Closing Song: Bean Bag Song by Hap Palmer
• Craft: Unicorn Masks from It's Always Autumn