Little Clues
Books to Share
- Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri.
- The Shape Detectives by Angela Santomero.
- Welcome To Blue’s Clues by Angela Santomero.
- Who Took the Farmer’s Hat? by Joan Nodset.
Books to Show and Booktalk
- Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg.
- Weather Games With Blue! by Deborah Reber.
- Whose Hat? by Margaret Miller.
- Whose Shoe? by Margaret Miller.
Display
Can You Guess Who’s Reading These?
Display hats or tools for various community helpers along with books about those professions. For example: Show a fire hat and read Fire Engines by Anne Rockwell.
Puppet Rhyme
Queen of Hearts
(This is a “Mother Goose” rhyme. Create a Queen of Hearts glove puppet by cutting three small red hearts and attaching them to the finger tips of a black glove. On the first heart, put a pink crown for the queen; on the second heart, a brown top hat for the knave, and on the third heart, a blue crown for the king.)
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts
All on a summer day;
The Knave of Hearts,
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away.
The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the Knave full sore;
The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he’d steal no more.
Cut ‘n Tell Story
Tell “The Little Orange House” from Paper Stories by Jean Stangl.
Flannel Board Story
“Davy Crockett and the Bear” in Storytelling with the Flannel Board Book One by Paul S. Anderson.
Adult/Child Craft
Little Clues Notebook
Materials
- Cardstock
- Typing paper cut in half
- Hole punch
- Yarn or string
- Optional: Markers and stickers
Directions
Photocopy the notebook pattern at the end of this chapter onto cardstock. Give each child a blank sheet of card stock and a notebook on cardstock along with 5 or 6 sheets of typing paper. Adults align the cardstock and typing paper and punch two holes on the “X” at the top of the notebook pattern. Children thread string or yarn through holes to create their Little Clues Notebooks and then decorate them with stickers or markers.
Activity Sheet
Who Left Each Clue?
Distribute a photocopy of the “Who Left Each Clue? Matching Game” here to each child. Adults guide the children as they draw a line between the footprints and the person or animal that made them.
Shape Detectives
Hide circles, triangles, and squares in the storytime area. Let the children hunt for them, one shape at a time and say, “Let’s find circles now”, or “Now let’s look for squares”, or “It’s now time to look for triangles.” Hide plenty so every child can find one of each shape.
Activity
Name That Community Helper
Play a guessing game with the children by bringing props and miming actions of various community helpers. Dress-up hats can be found at a teacher’s supply store, or borrow them from library patrons. For example, put on a postal worker’s hat and say, “I am wearing a special hat. I sometimes carry a bag or drive a truck. Here’s another clue.” Hold up a group of letters and say, “I bring letters to your mailbox. Who am I?”
Audio Recordings
“We Are Going To Play Blue’s Clues” on Goodnight Blue by Blue’s Clues.
Web Sites
- Childcraft Education Corp
- www.childcraft.com
- Nick Jr.
- www.nickjr.com
- PBS Kids
- www.pbskids.org
Professional Resource
- Paper Stories by Jean Stangl.
- Storytelling with the Flannel Board Book One by Paul S. Anderson.
