Displaying Books for Preschoolers

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

                                                                                           — Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

You may not throw the TV away, but there's no reason you shouldn't have a book display. One of the easiest ways to get your preschooler interested in books and reading is to create a display for books. This is an essential in any preschool classroom but takes a little effort  in your home or home day care.

1. Find a some-what secluded area. 
2. Gather as many different kinds of books as you can.
3. Store them on a small shelf, shoe rack, or crate facing forward. 
   If you have to use a crate leave enough space so the fronts of the books are visible. 
4. Provide books related to the season, theme or event in the child(ren)s life. 
5. Change out books accordingly, leave the favorite books to be read again and again.

      
After I wrote this post one of my Anonymous readers suggested I check out book slings.
If you're feeling pretty crafty you should check out "book slings" too. They seem fairly easy, fun and you can customize them too.

Head over to Penny Carnival to get instructions on making a book sling.

I also found some great display ideas at

  Chic & Cheap Nursery. 

Early Childhood Books with Extended Activities

A few years ago I went to an Early Childhood Conference here in Orlando. One of the workshop presenters had us make this cute prop to tell the story "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly".

The old lady is actually a brown sandwich bag, her dress is made of construction paper. The mouth was cut so the pieces would fit inside and drop into the bag. We colored all of the small pieces first, cut them out, then laminated them. I've enjoy telling this story and the kids get a kick out of watching the old lady eat the props. Sometimes they say no, no, no and we all laugh like crazy once I put the pieces in her mouth.



Each year when I tell the story it's always a huge hit. It's so awesome, it got me considering a whole list of books with extended activities. When I posted this in our discussion group at Early Childhood Education there were over 30 responses. Here are some of the great ideas from our group.

Centers and Circle Time favorites:


"If you give a mouse a cookie" by Laura Numeroff                 
My class gets to bake cookies after we read the book.










"If you give a mouse a muffin" by Laura Numeroff
We usually read this story around Mothers Day so we can bake "Muffins for Moms" 

                   "If you give a pig a pancake" 

by Laura Numeroff

                                                I send home a note to the parents 

for every child to bring an item 

and we have a complete breakfast

"Old Macdonald has a farm"                              
I usually read this with our "farm" unit.
The activity is a flannel board with
pieces I put out so the kids can re-tell the story.    
It's pretty cool to hear them tell the
story in their own words.                               

And of course we all have to do this just once...

"Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Suess. 

And then we get to make "green eggs and ham" 

in our class. 

Here are favorites from some of my friends.

Deborah loves to read "The listening walk" with her students. 

"Then, then they go outside for a listening walk and talk about all they hear" says 

Deborah.

Deborah has a wealth of Early Childhood ideas and knowledge, you can check out her work

at teachpreschool.org. 

       

"It's Mine! by Leo Lionni and we make frogs afterwards. Paint a paper plate green, 

fold it in half and glue to 

bottle caps on the fold to represent eyes, 

we also roll a strip of red construction

 paper around a pencil and then glue 

it on the frog for the tongue."

Thanks to

Angie Gregory

Kerrick Michelle Gills says, 

"I love The Kissing hand, then we do an art activity with a kiss mark on a paper hand and then I give them a kiss with lipstick on their hands:)"

Teachr Cheryl Golangco told us...

"Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann! It's a picture book and the only words are "Goodnight" and the animal names. After listening to the story, we would make gorilla masks, animal sounds, zoo animals using tissue tubes and of course... my favorite culminating activity for the story.. a PAJAMA PARTY...oh and it's potluck! :)"

Laura Balma Eldredge said...

"Love these ideas! My favorite activities are ones that we can combine with books. "One that we did at the beginning of the year was "Llama Llama Misses Mama" and we talked about all the feelings that Little Llama had about going to school. We then took pics of the kids making faces of different feelings (mad, sad, happy, etc) and put them together into a book of emotions"

You can find this activity and a related activity on Laura and Tressa's fabulous website "theseedsnetwork.com" where their mission is to provide early childhood professionals with the resources and services that support them in their quest to provide quality care and education to children ages six weeks to through age 5.


Hope you enjoyed our favorite picks. If you have a favorite book or activity feel free to share your  book and activity in the comment section below. 


Thank you to all my friends in the Early Childhood Education group you make everyday a fantastic learning experience for me and the families I serve.