Storytime: Pigs

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes + play and craft

I seriously had this storytime planned for three weeks before I could actually use it. The first week I ended up getting a bad cold, and while I had lots of energy by storytime day, I had no voice. So I did a music & movement program instead so I didn't have to talk. The second week was really bad weather so only one kid showed up and he didn't want to do storytime with just me. Finally I was able to use it!


1) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

2) If You Give a Pig a Pancake - Laura Numeroff

You can't go wrong with Laura Numeroff's "If You Give a..." books. Unless it's about a cat. For some reason I don't like that one.

3) 5 Little Pigs flannel

I found this little rhyme at Sunflower Storytime (originally from Roving Fiddlehead). I already had five pink pigs cut out of felt, and so it was really easy to add brown marker "mud" on one side of them!

Five lit­tle pigs rolled in the mud (roll hands)
Squishy, squashy, felt so good! (make squishing motion with hands)
The farmer took one piggy out. (take one off board)
“Oink, Oink, oink,” the pig did shout! (cup hands around mouth, then put pig back clean side up)

(Con­tinue with four, three, two, until…)

No lit­tle pigs rolled in the mud.
They all looked so clean and good.
The farmer turned his back and then,
Those pigs rolled in the mud again! (turn all pigs to dirty side again)

4) The Tail of a Pig 

Found this one from The Storytime Lady. To the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus."

The tail of a pig curls round and round (circle finger round and round)
round and round, round and round.
The tail of a pig curls round and round
All through the mud. 

The mouth of a pig goes oink, oink, oink
 (put hand in front of mouth like a snout and “oink”!)

The hooves of a pig go run, run, run
(pretend like you are running)

The ears of a pig go twitch, twitch, twitch
(put hands up by ears and wiggle them back and forth)

The snout of a pig goes root, root, root
(get down on hands and knees and act like you are rooting through the mud with your nose - explain to kids what rooting means!)

5) Huff & Puff - Claudia Rueda

I told the kids and parents that there are lots of books out there with a story about three little pigs, and this is just one of them. I like how it's simple and interactive - when we got to each huffing and puffing page I walked the book around to the dozen kids we had and let them blow on the page.


6) Old MacDonald Had a Farm

I used my finger puppets to do this song. We started with the pig (obviously), then ended with the chicken to transition into the next song.


7) Song - I Know a Chicken - Laurie Berkner
I've been doing this with my 0-2 yr class each week, but the older group really got into the song today! I'll have to use it with them more often. I've started giving a smiley face stamp on the kids' hands when they return their shaky egg to me.

8) The Long-Nosed Pig - Keith Faulkner

What kid doesn't like a good pop-up book? And the adults really seemed to enjoy this story of how the pig got his short nose.

9) I use the same opening and closing songs each week. Click here to see what I do.

10) Playtime/Craft

I brought out the blocks and instruments again. For the table craft I printed an outline of a pig on cardstock. The kids colored the pig with crayons, then I had brown paint for them to make their pig muddy.

Other pigs ideas:

Pigs to the Rescue - John Himmelman
Happy Pig Day! - Mo Willems
Z-Z-Zoink! - Bernard Most
I'm a Pig - Sarah Weeks
Little Oink - Amy Krouse Rosenthal
See How They Grow: Pig - Mary Ling (non-fiction)
Piggy Pie Po - Audrey & Don Wood



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