Storytime: Donuts

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, D is for Donuts!


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I put a real donut in the box...

3) The Case of the Missing Donut  - Alison McGhee

I did end up paper clipping a couple of pages in this one. I made sure to point out that the dog's name was Deputy, so the kids wouldn't get too confused. A very cute book.


4) Shape Monster feltboard

Since the boy and the dog ate the donuts in the previous book (oops! I gave away the ending! but you knew it was coming, right?), it made sense to pull out our shape monster and let him eat too. This is a great activity to let ALL the kids be involved in the rhyme. It can easily work for small groups (we've done it with only 3-5 kids, each with a different shape), or for a bigger group (using multiples of each shape). My monster is just a piece of brown felt cut to the basic shape above, with a pair of googly eyes.


5) Curious George and the Donut Delivery - Margret & H.A. Rey (18-36 mo), The Donut Chef - Bob Staake (3-5 yrs)

I used the Curious George book with my younger class (with pages clipped), and it went ok. It helped that most of them knew who George was, but it wasn't the best read-aloud book. The older class might have been able to understand it a little better, but I really wanted to use the Donut Chef book with them. THAT is a cool book. I wish I had tried it with the younger ones.


6) Mmm Donuts 
Found this little game at Lindsy's Preschool Alphabet (I did change the words slightly). I cut 10 donut shapes from some foam sheets we had, scattered them on the floor in front of me, and one by one had each kid come pick one up.

Down around the corner, at the bakery shop,
There were (#) little donuts with colored frosting on top.
Along came (name), hungry for a treat,
And s/he picked the (color) one to take home and eat!

We counted out loud how many donuts were left before moving on to the next person. Once everyone had one, I went down the line asking "[name], what color donut do you have?" and they would tell me and I'd take it from them.


7) Song – We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner
My kids LOVE this song. They ask for it every week. The dinosaurs stop and eat in the song, so we pretended they were eating donuts. :)


8) If You Give a Dog a Donut - Laura Numeroff

This was the book that inspired the theme today. I love the "If You Give a..." books (my daughter's second birthday party was themed around the mouse and cookie book).


9) D is for Donut coloring page (18-36 mo.) or D is for Donut craft (3-5 yrs)
Basic idea for this craft from Jean Warren. I cut out a large D (with a tiny center) from brown paper. The "frosting" was white glue mixed with a bit of white tempera paint (so it wouldn't dry completely clear). The kids used paint brushes to apply their frosting. Then I'd chopped some small "sprinkles" out of scrap paper that they scattered over the frosting.

My 3-year-old daughter's version

10) Snack
Ok I couldn't have a storytime about donuts without bringing some in... Just a small thing of glazed donut holes for the kids and parents. And a bigger box of the good stuff for the staff. :)


Other donut ideas:
The Great Doughnut Parade - Rebecca Bond
Arnie the Doughnut - Laurie Keller

This was a very hard storytime to find books and activities for. But I really really wanted to read the Laura Numeroff book, and we'd already done a dog storytime over the summer. We made it work!!