Story Time Starter: Noisy Animals

Grrr! Mooo! Baa Baa! Squawk! Animal sounds are so fun to make! Not only are animal sounds fun, they also are great for enhancing young children's, especially baby's, language skills! Sounds are much easier for the littlest ones to imitate and initiate! Did you know that there are many great books that involve animal sounds? Below are some of our favorites!

• Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming
• Cat Says Meow and Other Animalopoeia by Michael Arndt
• Cock-a-Doodle-Doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth
• Oink-a-Doodle-Moo by Jef Czekaj
• Say Hello Like This! by Mary Murphy
• Say What? by Angela DiTerlizzi
• What Noise Does a Rabbit Make? by Carrie Weston
• Can You Growl Like a Bear? by John Butler
• Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm

It's rhyme time! Add some animal rhymes to be like a noisy animal! Classics like "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and "Six Little Ducks" are easy to remember and recite. Here's a few more to try:

Farm Sounds (Sung to "Wheels on the bus")
The cow in barn goes moo, moo, moo,
Moo, moo, moo. Moo, moo, moo,
The cow in barn goes moo, moo, moo,
All around the farm.
The pig in the pen goes oink, oink, oink…
The hens in the coop go cluck…
The lambs on the hill go baa…
The ducks on the pond go quack…

Over in the Barnyard (Sung to "Down By The Station")
Over in the barnyard
Early in the morning
See the yellow chickies
Standing in a row
See the busy farmer
Giving them breakfast.
Cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep.
Off they go!
(Substitute other barnyard animals)

The Pigs Go Marching (Sung to: "The Ants Go Marching One by One")
The pigs go marching one by one (make fingers march)
Oink-oink! Oink-oink!
The pigs go marching one by one.
Oink-oink! Oink-oink!
The pigs go marching one by one.
The little one stopped to eat a bun
And they go all marching around their pen
And they want to march again;
Oink, oink, oink!

No story time is complete without some music! Singing enforces rhyming and phonological awareness (important early literacy skills!) and is just plain fun! Here are some noisy animal songs to sing along with:

• Six Little Ducks: Classic Children's Songs (Songs: Six Little Ducks, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Little White Duck)
• Animal Songs & Stories (Songs: Five Little Speckled Frogs, Five Little Ducks, Old MacDonald)
• What a Zoo!  (Songs: If You Go, Animals in Concert)

Finally, finish story time with a noisy animal craft, like this rooster or a lion mask. Then you can practice your animal noises beyond story time! Enjoy!