Story Time Secrets: Flannel Friday: An International Story Time for Ages 3-6

The story time plan that follows was an attempt at using my flannel board to provide structure and context for preschoolers and early elementary school kids to learn a little bit about different cultures. I shared this story time on Tuesday of this week, at Circle Time, a special program my library is running this summer for ages 3 to 6.

Below, I provide songs and lyrics, the basic gist of what I said to transition from activity to activity, book titles, and images of my flannel board pieces. The continent clip art came from Philip Martin Clip Art, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. The images of the children from different countries come from Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz. The languages the children "speak" also come from that same book.

SING

(Tune: Skip to My Lou)

Hello, how are you?

How are you today?

I'm fine; I hope you are, too.

I hope you're fine today.

I'm clapping my hands; you do it too!

Clap your hands with me!

[Repeat verse twice more, using different actions. Repeat chorus.]

Place on flannel board: Seven Continents

SING

(Tune: He's Got the Whole World in His Hands)

There are seven continents on our globe

Seven continents on our globe.

Place on flannel board: North America

SING

North America is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Emily"

Emily is from the same country we live in. The United States of... [have kids fill in "America"]. In America, we speak English, so when Emily says hello, she says, "Hello!"

Place on flannel board: "Carlos"

Carlos is from Mexico. He speaks Spanish, so when he wants to say hello, he says "Hola!" Say "Hola, Carlos!" [Wait for kids to repeat.]

Another country in North America, right on the edge between North and South America is Panama. Let's sing a song for Panama before we leave!

SING

I have an old auntie

My Tia Monica

And when we go out dancing

They all say ooh la la!

Here my [hands] are dancing.

My [hands] are dancing here.

Here my [hands] are dancing.

My [hands] are dancing here.

What else can we dance with? [My group suggested feet, knees, head, and arms. We also clapped when we sang the chorus and put our hands up in the air for "ooh la la."]

Place on flannel board: South America

SING

South America is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Alona"

Alona is from Bolivia. She speaks a language called Aymara. When she wants to say hello, she says, kamisaraki. [Ask kids to try saying kamisaraki.]

Alona is from Bolivia, but our story is from Colombia.

READ
Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter (2010)

Place on flannel board: Antarctica

SING
Antarctica is a continent on our globe

Antarctica is a continent on our globe
Antarctica is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

I don't have any friends for you to meet in Antarctica because hardly anyone lives there all year round. Some scientists live there to work on research, but no one has a permanent address there. But... penguins do live in Antarctica!

Place on flannel board: Penguins

CHANT

(from CanTeach)
Five little penguins swam the ocean floor,
One saw a whale, then there were four.
Four little penguins spun around, whee-ee!
One spun off, then there were three!
Three little penguins, with nothing to do,
One went fishing, then there were two.
Two little penguins, having lots of fun,
One fell of, then there was one.
One little penguin, when the day was done,
Went home to sleep, then there were none.

Place on flannel board: Africa

SING
Africa is a continent on our globe
Africa is a continent on our globe
Africa is a continent on our globe
A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Sadiki"

Sadiki is from Ghana. When he says hello, he uses the word "ete-sen." [Ask kids to repeat.]

Now let's read a story that takes place in another country in Africa: Kenya.

READ
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal (1981)

Place on flannel board: Europe

SING
Europe is a continent on our globe

Europe is a continent on our globe
Europe is a continent on our globe
A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Claire"

Claire is from France, so when she says hello, she says bonjour.

Place on flannel board: "Stefan"

Stefan is from Russia. He says privyet.

Our story comes from Claire's country, France.

READ
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)

Place on flannel board: Asia

SING

Asia is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "May" and "Kenji"

May is from China. She says ni hao. Kenji is from Japan, and he says Konichiwa.

Now we're going to sing a song from Kenji's country of Japan.

SING
Ooki Na Kuri No Ki No Shita De (Under the Big Chestnut Tree) by Elizabeth Mitchell

Place on flannel board: Australia

I bet you know this one - the country where the kangaroos live!

SING

Australia is a continent on our globe

A continent on our globe

Place on flannel board: "Lynette"

Lynette is from Australia. She speaks English, but like a lot of people in Australia, sometimes she says "g'day."

Let's read a story about Australia. Do you know kind of animal this is? Let's see if we can find out.

READ
Hunwick's Egg by Mem Fox, illustrated by Pamela Lofts (2005)

READ
We All Sing With the Same Voice by J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene, illustrated by Paul Meisel (2000)

SING
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
We wave goodbye like this
We wave goodbye like this
We clap our hands for all our friends
We wave goodbye like this

ACTIVITY
As a take-home activity, I provided each child with a "write and draw" sheet.