“A told B and B told C… I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree”!
I think it is the sign of a good book, if I can read it every year and still love and have fun with it (which of course means the children love it too). This is one of those books. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert.
In preschool, the children are either being introduced to letters, learning the letters, or reviewing them. The more fun we can have learning letters the better. This story also has a “beat”, so it makes it a little more engaging, and for some children, a little easier to remember. I like to use a drum with this story. Some people just use their laps and or clap to it. But if you are not inclined to a beat, this story is still great.
After I read the story, I always tell the children to be on the look out for the “sneaky” letters that might have escaped from the book. I then put letters in books, backpack, in their classrooms, in the halls, on the playground. They just sort of appear throughout the next few weeks for the children to discover. Oh, the delight in finding a letter!
We usually have our own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree in the library. The children pick out a letter and let it climb the tree and then find a spot for it (with a little glue).
During non-covid times, the children love being “letter detectives”. I provide small notebooks with letters on each page, magnifying glasses and letters on the wall. They LOVE it!
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