Children are naturally curious about their abilities to see, hear, taste, touch and smell. As the new season offers its own unique delights, help your youngsters explore the sensory-rich world around them through books. Immerse them in imaginative settings where colorful characters reflect children’s own sensory experiences. When they use their senses to gather information, children naturally develop observation and inquiry skills, which helps them make sense of the world around them.
Below are 6 great stories about sights and sounds to build discussion during your preschool Circle Time in December. These stories come to life in the Experience Preschool Cozy Winter Senses Curriculum Kit. Order yours today!
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
by Al Perkins
Creative movement enhances any activity for children of any age. In addition to improving coordination and balance, it helps build focus and persistence. It’s also just fun!
In Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, monkeys drum, strum, dance and hum to their hearts’ content. More monkeys follow till there are millions of fingers and millions of thumbs! That can mean only one thing: more monkey business!
Invite your children to keep rhythm with the monkeys by drumming on an upside-down bowl throughout the story. The rhythm and repetition of phrases on each page makes this book more fun than a barrel of baboons.
The Mississippi Musicians
by Leslie Falconer
Stories about animals are traditional favorites for children. Teachers who ask simple questions during read-alouds about plot and setting help children build the foundation for reading readiness.
In The Mississippi Musicians, a group of four unwanted farm animals decides to run away to form a blues band. In this new life together, they hope to share their talents and find new meaning to their lives. After reaching the Mississippi River, they settle in for the night but do not feel safe. Suddenly a light in the distance offers the promise of warmth and security. Peeking into the window of an old cabin, they devise a clever plan to scare away the thieves inside and make the home their own.
This modern retelling of “The Town Musicians of Bremen” looks at the collective power of friendship while offering an opportunity for children to explore sounds of instruments and animals alike.
Snow Birds
by Kirsten Hall
Children are always eager to discover how they connect to the world around them. Understanding that birds and animals have needs similar to theirs is key to developing a sense of empathy.
In Snow Birds by Kirsten Hall, children learn about many types of birds, from the cardinal and bluejay to the snow bunting and ruffed grouse. They learn about what birds eat, how they hunt for food, the sounds they use to communicate and the tracks they leave as they forage in winter.
The beautiful illustrations by Jenni Desmond and Hall’s poetic language (bird sounds among them!) are sure to capture every child’s imagination and spark conversation about universal needs like food and shelter.
Bang! Boom! Brave
by Leslie Falconer
Learning how to monitor their own emotions and reactions is a big task for little ones! Stories can help them learn ways to cope when things are a little scary or unfamiliar.
In Bang! Boom! Brave by Leslie Falconer, a ferocious thunderstorm sends Mouse scurrying to the safety of his bed. When the storm is still rumbling after three days, Mouse decides to face the thunder with a little noise of his own. As he bangs pots and pans together, he realizes he is no longer afraid of the storm.
The Forest Friends series of books by Experience Early Learning features a cast of friendly characters who demonstrate qualities of kindness, generosity, resourcefulness, responsibility and bravery. Their memorable stories are always a hit with youngsters!
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?
by Mo Willems
Fairness doesn’t just happen by chance! It must be carefully taught and modeled. And who can do that as adorably as a fuzzy duck?
In The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?, a tiny duckling knows that politeness goes a long way in cooperating with others. So when a loud pigeon complains repeatedly about the unfairness of not having his own cookie, the little fowl exemplifies good manners and gives his treat to him, just because!
Author Mo Willems has been entertaining children for many years with his recurring cast of colorful characters, always with delightful results.
Snowmen At Night
by Carolyn Buehner
What DO snowmen do at night? If you thought they just stared silently across the snowy lawn or dozed in the cold, you may be mistaken!
In Snowmen at Night, a little boy wonders why his snowman looks droopy just one day after he was built. This leads him to think of all kinds of wonderful things that snowpeople must do when the rest of the world is asleep. He imagines snowman baseball games, snowman sledding and even snowman ice skating! No wonder they’re so tired when they return early in the morning to their snowy front yards!
Moonlit images of snowpeople playing together joyfully will capture every child’s imagination. Perhaps some readers will even build their own snowmen and share stories about what they might do overnight!
