I spend a lot of time reading the very best children's books I can find and then build on the ideas, characters, or illustrations from those books. The goal of each read-aloud experience is to help young children develop a love for reading and to build connections between reading and their everyday world.
Below are many of my absolute favorite read-aloud books along with a few ideas to keep the story going all around the classroom.
K is for kaleidoscope designs
Exploring design, shapes, and colors as we explore the book “I See a Song” and the making of our own kaleidoscope designs in preschool!
More fun with fixing
Continuing with our morning of fixing things by fixing plates, knives, forks, spoons, and a few pictures too!
Reading David McPhail and fun with fixing
Building on the book “Fix-It” by David McPhail, the children explore different tools that they can use to fix things in our preschool classroom.
Holiday in a box
I find that at the end of any holiday we celebrate at home or in my classroom, I often have a variety of different objects
Reading Jan Brett and making our own gingerbread playdough
Reading the wonderfully illustrated book “Gingerbread Friends” by Jan Brett and making the best smelling gingerbread playdough ever!
P is for penguins and pinecones
We read the book “Penguin and Pinecone” by Salina Yoon then expanded the book into our art, science and other content areas throughout the day!
Count a mouse story telling props and game
Retelling the story “Mouse Count” by Ellen Stoll Walsh with our story telling props and then playing a mouse count game!
DIY mouse shape dice game
Playing our own DIY Mouse Shapes Dice game in preschool as a large group and in free play!
Storybook games
A neat way to expand on a favorite children’s book! Anytime I find a children’s book that is really well written and I know my
Our new white shoes
Having fun reading the delightful children’s book “Pete the Cat” by Eric Litwin and making our own white shoes too!
Reading “The Popcorn Book” by Tomie dePaola and more popcorn action
Reading “The Popcorn Book” by Tomie dePaola and exploring the facinating world of popcorn in our outdoor classroom and discovery table!
Exploring robots inside and out
Exploring gears as we take a look at the inside and outside of robots in preschool!
Ffffff is for fish
Enjoy the book “Blue Sea” by Robert Kalan then have fun painting these beautiful fish in the sea!
More buttons, buttons, buttons
Working on our fine motor skills, patterning, and counting as we had more fun with bright and colorful buttons!
Buttons, buttons, and more buttons
Reading “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” then we were off to have a little fun of our own with bright and colorful buttons!
Lots and lots of dots
A colorful and simple process to go with the wonderful children’s book “Lots of Dots.”
The exploration of taste
We explored a wonderful book about five senses and then followed it up by baking up our sense of taste!
More than just a leaf!
Did you know a leaf can be much more than just a leaf? Come and see what our leaves turned out to be!
Sorting through the colors of fall
Taking a walk through our “forest” to gather up the colors of fall!
Little peas all around the classroom | Virtual Book Club for Kids
Exploring peas all around the classroom and the wonderful book “Little Pea” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal!
Exploring the life cycle of a pumpkin
Exploring the life cycle of a pumpkin and planting our own pumpkin seeds in the window!
Pumpkin head discovery bottles
Making and exploring pumpkins with our very own DIY pumpkin heads!