Storytime: Boats

Opening Rhyme: Open Them, Shut Them
Rhyme: Two Little Blackbirds
Book: Sail Away by Donald Crews
Song: "If You're Happy and You Know It"
Book: Boats by Byron Barton
Rhyme: Dinosaur, Dinosaur, Are You Behind the [Color] Door?
Song: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"
Book: Little Tug by Stephen Savage
Closing Rhyme

Our craft today was actually a science experiment. I gave each child a sheet of aluminum foil as well as a variety of craft supplies: craft sticks, crayons, string, pipe cleaners, straws, etc. They were to construct a boat that would float when we put it in water. For an extra challenge, I had a bag of pennies to use as "passengers" on our boats. If their boat floated, we added passengers to see how many it would hold before it sank.

This is a great project to demonstrate to parents that science learning can be simple and is something they can do in their homes with supplies they probably already have on hand. Kids were encouraged to make multiple versions of their boat as well, and most of them chose to take them home at the end of storytime.