Spring Stories
One of my favorite books to read during this time of year is Ruth Krauss’s The Carrot Seed, about a little boy who plants a seed and everyone around him says, “It won’t come up.” Ah, but it does come up and then some. Some days it feels like our children “won’t come up”, but with some daily reading they are sure to “come up!” Children that are read to twenty minutes a day build early literacy skills, improve their listening and are prepared for kindergarten. Share some of these Spring stories and activities with the growing readers in your life!
Spring Activities:
- Plant a Seed, Grow a Reader: Read A Handful of Sunshine and then let the children plant their own little seedlings. Start with some soil in a plastic cup, plant the seed two inches down, and watch it grow! The kids can water them each day and learn a little about responsibility, as well!
- Butterflies: Paint some white coffee filters with watered-down paint or food coloring. Once dry, tie a black pipe cleaner around the middle and fluff out the sides. Now you have made a beautiful and colorful butterfly. This craft is also easy for the very young!
- Garden Alphabet: Have everyone sit in a circle and try to think of things you might find in the garden. Have each child say one thing for each letter in the alphabet!
Spring Songs:
Spring Is Here (tune "Are You Sleeping")
I see robins,
I see bird's nests,
Butterflies too,
flowers too.
Everything is growing,
The wind is gently blowing.
Spring is here, spring is here.
The Flower
A hand is a bud
Closed up tight (close hand into a fist)
Without a tiny
Speck of light.
Then slowly the petals (slowly open hand, one finger at a time)
Open for me
And here is a beautiful
Flower I see!
Planting Flowers
Planting flowers, planting flowers
In the ground, in the ground,
Water them and they grow,
Water them and they grow,
All around, all around.
Five Little Ducks
Five little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only four little ducks came back.
Four little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only three little ducks came back.
Three little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only two little ducks came back.
Two little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only one little duck came back.
One little duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But none of the five little ducks came back.
Sad mother duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
The sad mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack."
And all of the five little ducks came back.
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