A story-time workshop is a little more than reading a story, it is a wonderful way to bring books to life and help children fall in love with the wonder of reading.
My Little Bookcase was contacted to help put a workshop together for 40 five-year-old children. The children were thoroughly engaged with the story and activities.
This workshop involves four stages:
- Tuning In Capturing the child’s interest and attention so they can gain as much from the story as possible
- Reading the story
- Making Connections: Providing the child with an experience that can help them relate to the story
- Book-chatting: A chance to talk about the story, characters, and messages in the book
The stages can take place in one session or they can take place over several days, depending on the age of the child. I hope you can find a way to incorporate some of these activities in your home, as this is one very special book to share with your children.
This workshop is inspired by:
Out of the Egg, written and illustrated by Tina Matthews (Published by Walker Books)
Read details about the book here
TUNING IN (Before Reading)
1. Make cat, rat, and pig ear headbands
2. Sing ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm’ introducing each of the characters in the story (hen, cat, rat, and pig). Wear your animal ears for added enjoyment.
3. Take a Picture Walk through the book: Look at each of the pictures without reading the story. Take in the details in the background and talk about the style of the artwork and the timing and development of the colors used.
READING THE STORY
1. Invite your children to help you read the story. While wearing their animal ears, the children can say the words ‘Not I’ when their characters speak in the story. For a wonderful story time, get a group of children together.
MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH THE STORY (After Reading)
1. Plant your seeds. Buy your seeds and follow the instructions on the pack. You could plant your seeds:
- In the garden
- In a pot
- In egg cartons or egg shells for a nice Easter touch. This idea comes from Small Fry: Outdoors, written by Caroline Webster
2. Sing some songs, poems, or rhymes about planting seeds. Here are a few I particularly like:
My Garden (Fingerplay)– Author Unknown, sourced from Pre-school Education
This is my garden (Hold out a hand, palm faced up)
I’ll rake it with care (Use three fingers to stroke along the palm of outstretched hand)
And Then I some flower seeds I’ll plant there (Pretending to sprinkle seeds into the palm)
The sun will shine (Stretch hands above head)
And the rain will fall (Wiggle fingers)
And my garden will blossom,
and grow straight and tall (Stretch all fingers tall)
Seeds (Sung to ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)– Author unknown, sourced from Pre-school Education
Dig a hole deep in the ground
Spread some tiny seeds around
Pat them down – so they will keep
They are lying fast asleep
Rain will help the seeds to grow
Sunshine keeps them warm I know
A Little Seed (sung to the tune of ‘I’m a Little Teapot’)– Author Unknown, sourced from Pre-school Education
Here’s a little seed in the dark, dark ground.
Out comes the warm sun, yellow and round.
Down comes the rain, wet and slow.
Up comes the little seed, grow, grow, grow!
Planting Poem- Author Unknown, source from Pre-school Education
I took a little seed one day
About a month ago
I put it in a pot of dirt
In hopes that it would grow
I poured a little water
To make the soil just right
I set the pot on the sill
Where the sun would give it light
I checked the pot almost every day,
And turned it once or twice
With a little care and water
I helped it grow so nice
BOOK-CHATTING (During or After Reading)
Out of the Egg covers a variety of themes, so many questions could be asked. The questions below focus on helping others, forgiveness, and planting seeds.
Literal Questions:
- What did the cat, rat, and pig do when they were asked to help?
- What did the hen give the little animals at the end of the story?
Inferential Questions:
- Why do you think the animals didn’t want to help the hen?
- How do you look after a seed that has been planted?
- Why was the little chick nice to the other animals?
Application Questions:
- Have you ever said ‘No’ to someone?
- Have you ever had to do something on your own? How did it feel?
Analysis and Evaluation Questions:
- What would you do if you were the hen and no one helped you?
- What would you do with the seed if the hen gave it to you?
- How could the other animals have helped the hen?
