I did a bus themed preschool storytime for the first week of September (sorry I’m a bit late posting!) Has anyone else noticed that there are a ton of great children’s books coming out lately? I will be posting on some of my absolute faves soon, but I decided to do this storytime in part because September = school and in part because of the new book “Gus the Dinosaur Bus” by Julia Liu. And let’s face it–I *will* use any excuse whatsoever to read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.
Bubbles–Hello Bubbles and One Little, Two Little, Three Little Bubbles
Opening song: We hit our knees together (Mother Goose on the Loose)
Opening rhyme: Two little dickey birds/Open them shut them
Book: Gus, the Dinosaur Bus, by Julia Liu. (E DINOSAURS LIU) This is the story of Gus, a dinosaur who works as a school bus. It’s a charming book, and I think the kids were just as taken with the idea of a dino school bus as I was.
The Seals on the Bus, by Lenny Hort and G. Brian Karas. (E TRANSPORTATION HORT). This is a fun read-aloud because it gives kids the opportunity to identify animals (vocabulary) AND replicate their sounds (phonological awareness).
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. (E WILLEMS). I won’t bore you with more praise of Mo Willems. I (heart) him. That is all.
Craft: I used this school bus printable to make a school bus craft. I used the bus shape as a template to cut buses out of yellow construction paper, then I let the kids color, cut, and paste the other shapes. In this activity I wanted to encourage vocabulary–parents/caregivers talking about the shapes and colors as they work together with the child to make the bus.
LibrErin 