Storytime - Kites

Books:

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers - When Floyd gets his kite stuck in a tree, he decides to try to get it down by throwing lots of other things up there, to humorous results. This one was a hit with the preschoolers!

Super Duck by Jez Alborough - Duck just wants save the day (and his friend Frog) when a kite goes flying awry. But things don't go as smoothly as anticipated. This is a great, funny rhyming story that my preschoolers also liked a lot.

Someone Bigger by Jonathan Emmett - When Sam asks his dad if he can fly his new kite, his dad replies that it needs someone bigger to handle it. But Dad ends up flying away too! This is another great kite story for kids with a good message about being "big enough" to do something.

Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand - Bear and Mole are flying a kite one day when a storm rolls in and blows it away! They chase after it and where it lands produces a sweet and surprising ending. This is short enough for toddlers and has a lot of great sounds words to have the kids repeat with you.

The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins - In this short and sweet story, the wind blows everything from kites to hats to umbrellas! It's perfect for toddlers.

Kite Flying by Grace Lin - This colorful tale is about a family who makes their own kite. It's a great short picture book that celebrates the Chinese tradition of kite making.






Songs/Rhymes:

Five Colorful Kites (w/ flannel)
Way up high in the sky so blue,
5 (4, 3, 2, 1) little kites flew and flew.
The wind blew hard (blow hard),
The wind blew loud (say “wooooo”),
The wind blew the little red (yellow, blue, green, orange) kite
Off to the clouds! (remove the appropriately colored kite)
Source

The Wind Came Out to Play

The wind came out to play one day
He swept the clouds out of his way (sweeping motions with arms)
He blew the leaves and away they flew (flutter fingers)
The trees bent low, and their branches did too (lift and lower arms)
The wind blew the great big ships at sea (sweep arms)
The wind blew my kite away from me (let imaginary string fly away, put hand over eyes to look for kite)
Source

My Kite (w/scarves)
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)

My kite is up so high, (wave scarf up high)
My kite is up so high,
Heigh ho the derry-o
My kite is up so high.


My kite is falling down, (lower scarves to ground)
My kite is falling down,
Heigh ho the derry-o
My kite is falling down
.

The wind has caught my kite, (wave kite in a circle)
The wind has caught my kite,
Heigh ho the derry-o
The wind has caught my kite.


Note: I also added the verses: "My kite is flying fast" (wave scarf around quickly) and "My kite is flying slow" (wave scarf around slowly)
Adapted from source

Craft:

Windsocks!

I passed out sheets of cardstock that the kids could decorate any way they wanted. I pre-punched holes in the top that were 3 1/4" in from each side. Then I passed out pre-cut strips of party streamers (about 12" long each) to glue to the bottom with glue sticks. Lastly, I helped the kids tie some yellow yarn to the top for a handle.

For preschool storytime, it's just me helping 20 kids complete a craft. So next time, I would pre-tie one end of the yarn to the cardstock to save time since I also had to help the kids make the cardstock into a cylinder. I used tape this time to close the windsock, but next time, I think I would use a stapler.