Squirrels are my son’s favorite animal. This is handy when we lived in New York City and the only two animals we reliably saw were squirrels and pigeons. When we see them in the park he stops, observes, and then chases them with acorns or leaves.
He is truly disappointed that he has yet to convince one to eat whatever he’s offering. I’m relieved of course and horrified by the idea that he might eventually find one brave enough to attempt.
Whether you live somewhere with a more exciting animal population or not, squirrels are always busy rushing around this time of year saving up acorns. This story time celebrates these squirrel-y animals and their busy Fall activities.
affiliate links are included below. thank you for your support!
Acorns & Squirrels Story Time
Read Alouds
Featured Book: Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
This is this tale about a hilarious, nervous squirrel who is afraid to leave his tree and really likes his routines. My kids have insisted on reading it several times a day since we got it and laugh out loud every time.
Those Darn Squirrels! by Adam Rubin
Apparently squirrels give us the giggles. This is another silly one and a fun one to read aloud.
Song Cubes for Story Time
Children love to sing and be sung too. Music also has countless benefits for language development, motor development, and social/emotional development. The Song Cube is another fun way to include music in your story time.
Our song cube has a variety of animal songs (“Hey Elephant” “Alice the Camel”, etc) and was first introduced to our children after a trip to the zoo. Your cube could have songs on another topic, such as Fall or Transportation, or it could simply be favorite songs everyone in your group knows. Looking for song ideas? This post has some of our favorite CDs for kids.
Materials:
- Piece of Cardboard or Small Box. I used a small tissue box.
- Scissors
- Tape. I used hot pink duct tape but clear is the more obvious choice.
- 6 Photos or Pictures (See below for the Fall Themed ones I used!)
Download: FREE Fall Themed Song Printables
To Create:
- Cut Cardboard into Six Squares or if using a box, cut two sides to fold it inside out. For the PopTarts box one side needed to be trimmed to make it a cube.
- Tape a picture onto each side
- Tape the squares together into a cube shape
To Play:
Sit down with your child(ren) – this works best with at least 3 people. As a toddler teacher I used a similar cube during group time. Our librarian in Baraboo used one during the infant/younger toddler storytime. We also had our on the shelf at home for a while and would play during the day sometimes so this can work in a variety of situations.
The first time, explain that you have a Song Cube with a song they know on each side. Show them a couple of examples. Demonstrate how to throw or roll the cube. The side that lands face up is the song you get to sing. Sing the song together.
Songs included on our Fall Cube:
- Gray Squirrel Shake Your Busy Tail (Watch Here)
- This is the Way We Make the Soup (From the Fall Story Time Pack)
- Fall Apple Farm Song (From the Apple Farm Story Time)
- Falling Leaves (From the Fall Leaves Story Time)
- Pigs are Oinking (From the Fall Story Time Pack)
- I’m a Little Pumpkin (From the Fall Story Time Pack)
Invite the next person to throw the cube. Sing their song. Repeat as interested.
This is a good activity to practice turn taking. I often give them a verbal cue of when their turn is coming. For example, “it is william’s turn right now, Addy’s turn will be next”.
Extension Ideas:
- Bring the cube with you to use the next time you are waiting
- Make a differently themed cube (holiday songs, songs about zoo animals, etc)
- Create a movement cube with different cues for moving their bodies
Don’t Forget Your FREE Fall Song Printable
Table Invitations about Acorns & Squirrels
Here are some more extension ideas about Acorns and Squirrels to do in your classroom or after story time at home, the library, anywhere.
Literacy Activities
Help a Squirrel Find His Acorn Pre-Literacy Activity from Mama Smiles
Acorn Alphabet Sensory Jar Game from The Educators’ Spin On It
Math Activities
Acorns Sharing Game from Witty Hoots
Fall Sensory Bin Acorns and Squirrels Color Match from Sea of Knowledge
Making Shapes with Acorns from To Be a Kid Again
Acorn Ordering and Sorting Activity from Rainy Day Mum
Counting Acorns Printables from Moments at Home
Squirrel and Acorns Ten Frame Printables from JDaniel4’s Mom
Acorns Fine Motor and Counting Game from View From a Stepstool
Science, Technology, or Engineering Activities
Acorn Discovery Table from Inspiration Laboratories
Colorful Acorns Ramp Play for Toddlers from Toddler Approved
Movement Activities
Squirrel Brain Breaks from The OT Toolbox
Find the Acorns Printable Sight Word Game from Artsy Momma
Squirrel Action Rhyme from Preschool Powol Packets
Subscribe Below for Weekly Ideas!
GET FULL FALL STORY TIME PACK
My kids love it when we sing. They would have fun with this!
My kids do too. My daughter in particular loves everything in song.
I love this theme — I’ll be doing for our story time this fall! One question: when making the cube from a box, why do you turn the box inside out?
Hey! I had to re-read it myself to try to figure out what I meant. I’m sorry. I’ll have to clear that explanation up. Inside out isn’t important. I think I did that just in case some of the under part peaked through around the pictures, but it didn’t. I think I did deconstruct the box a little in order to cover up the side where the tissues normally come out. Does that make sense? Adding another square of cardboard from a cereal box or something would also work though. At the end of the day, you need a sturdy cube to put the pictures on – how you get there isn’t important.