Owls make a great theme for the fall months. Thom Borden posted this rhyme on his blog. The owls came from clips art that I had found. As always, the toddlers at my storytime love to help put the owls up on the board. They wind up right side up, upside down and any other direction you can think of. Their random placements always look better to my eyes than what I would have done.
Can You Say It, Too? Hoot! Hoot! by Sebastien Braun Hoot: A Hide-and-seek Book of Counting! by Jonathan Litton Hoot! Hoot! by Richard Powell Night Owl by Toni Yuly
An Owl Sat Alone on the Branch of a Tree from King County Library System
An owl sat alone on the branch of a tree, Use arm as branch; holding owl puppet
And she was as quiet as quiet could be.
‘Twas night and her eyes were wide open like this; Circle eyes with fingers and look around
She looked all around, not a thing did she miss.
Some little birds perched on the branch of the tree, Fingers of other hand fly on tree
And sat there as quiet as quiet could be.
The solemn old owl said “whoo-whoo-whoo,”
And up jumped the birds and away they flew. Wave hand away, fluttering fingers behind back
Five Little Owls
Five little owls lived in a tree.
Father thumb
Mother, little finger
And babies three. Three fingers
Father caught a worm. Catching motion
Mother caught a bug.
The three little robins began to tug tugging motion.
This one got a bug.
This one got a worm.
This one said, “Now it’s my turn.
One Little Owl from King County Library System Hold one arm horizontally to represent tree branch, and sit one finger on top of arm for owl. ‘Fly’ the owl behind your back, and bring back two fingers to sit in the tree. Sing/repeat as many times as you want, up to five.
There was one little owl, sitting in a tree
He was so lonely, didn’t want to be
So he flew far away, over the sea
Brought back a friend to live in the tree.
There were two little owls, sitting in a tree
Now they aren’t lonely anymore!
Wide-Eyed Owl from King County Library System
There’s a wide-eyed owl circle your eyes with your hands
With a pointed nose point to nose
Two pointed ears point to ears
And claws for toes wiggle toes
He lives way up in the tree point way up
And when he looks at you point to childrenv
He flaps his wings flap your wings
And says, “Whoo! Whoo!” say “whoo whoo”
Music
The Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell
I made a flannel board to go with this song. I find it to be gentle and relaxing.
Little Bird, Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell
This is great to bounce along or flap our arms too.
Mother Gooney Bird by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael
In turn we wiggle first one arm, then two. Next one leg, then two. For the head portion of the song we sway side to side.
There is not a lot of music that is owl specific. I branched out and used some general bird songs to round things out.
Five Busy Ducklings by Rookie Toddler Five Little Ducks by Jose Aruego In My Nest by Sara Gillingham This Little Chick by John Lawrence Whose Chick Are You? by Nancy Tafuri Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood
Bounces, Rhymes & Fingerplays
I’m A Little Cuckoo Clock Tick tock, tick tock I’m a little cuckoo clock Tick tock, tick tock It’s one o’clock… CUCKOO!
Tick tock, tick tock I’m a little cuckoo clock Tick tock, tick tock It’s two o’clock… CUCKOO! CUCKOO!
Two Little Blackbirds Two little blackbirds sitting on a wall. One named Peter, one named Paul Fly away Peter! Floy away Paul! Come back Peter! Come back Paul!
Two little blackbirds flying in the sky. One named Low and one name High…
Two little blackbirds sitting on a pole. One named fast and one named slow…
Little Duck I saw a little duck go hop, hop, hop bounce I told the little duck to stop, stop, stop hold up hand for stop I went to the window to say, ‘How do you do?’ hold out hand for handshake He wagged his little tail and far away he flew! wave arms
Five Little Robins Five little robins lived in a tree. Father thumb Mother, little finger And babies three. Three fingers Father caught a worm. catching motion Mother caught a bug. The three little robins began to tug tugging motion. This one got a bug. This one got a worm. This one said, “Now it’s my turn.
Storytime Shenanigans 