I Like School

Materials

White, yellow, and green construction paper

Black and green marker

Glue

Scissors

Instructions

1. Get the children's attention by placing a piece of fabric on the floor. Take
time to smooth it out and fuss over it. Hold it up again so the children may
see it. Then smooth it out again. When the children come over, don't say
anything and continue fussing over the material. Point to where you want
them to sit. Gently help a child to sit down to demonstrate what you want,
but don't use any words!
2. After everyone is settled, take out two more pieces of material. Tie one piece
around your waist and wrap the other piece around your head, turban style.
Put on the necklace. Again, don't say anything. Sit on the first piece of fabric.
Take out a flyswatter and start swatting with it.
3. Look at the children, one at a time. Start telling the following story. The story
is based on an old folk tale.
Once a long time ago in the land of Africa, there once lived Brown Crocodile who
liked to eat all kinds of animals. She ate fish. She ate frogs. She even ate birds. She
would lay on the edge of the river and wait for her dinner to come down to the
water to get a drink. Then SNAP! went her jaws on her dinner!
One day, a whole herd of elephants passed by the river where Brown Crocodile
lived. In those days, elephants had small noses just like a pig. As the elephant
family ate the tall grass, Baby Elephant went down to the river to get a drink. Baby
Elephant did not remember that her mother said not to go to the river by herself.
As she bent down to get her drink, Snap went Brown Crocodile on Baby
Elephant's nose.
What a noise the two of them made! "Let my nose go!" yelled Baby Elephant.
"No!" cried Brown Crocodile. "I'm hungry!"
"Let my nose go!" yelled Baby Elephant again. And she dug her feet into the mud
so she wouldn't fall in.
Now Brown Crocodile had lots and lots of trouble pulling Baby Elephant into the
water. So she pulled even harder! As a matter of fact, Brown Crocodile pulled so
hard that Baby Elephant's nose began to stretch and stretch and stretch!
Baby Elephant's mother heard the noise and ran down to the river to help her
baby! She grabbed Baby Elephant's tail and yanked on it so hard that they both
fell down. "Yea!" Baby Elephant said. "Brown Crocodile won't get me today!"
Brown Crocodile was so mad that she turned around and swam back into the
river. When Baby Elephant joined the herd, everyone stared and stared at her new
trunk. You see, Brown Crocodile had pulled and pulled on the elephant's nose so
hard that her nose was now stretched out very long. And that's why all elephants
today have long noses!
4. Be sure to end the story to allow the children to separate you from your
"storyteller" role. Take off all of the props and start speaking the chant to
transition to another area. For example:
Oh Mister Crocodile, don't bite me!
(Child's name) go wash your hands now.
One! Two! Three!
5. Ask one of the children to re-tell the story.
More to do
Literacy: Write down a story someone tells.