Keep reading for some fun preschool activities based on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. These activities are part of our Storytime Club, which includes activities inspired by 12 books to keep your little one learning ALL year long! To learn more about our Storytime Club, click here!
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I have never met a preschooler who doesn’t LOVE Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. & John Archambault. This classic book is great for helping your little one practice identifying letter names and sounds.
“A told B and B told C…I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!” Those words begin the most-fun adventure of all the letters of the alphabet going up the coconut tree…only to tumble down once the tree gets too full!
Good thing the letters’ moms & dads are there to help them out of the mess. But will the letters learn their lesson, or will they try to go back up the tree?!
Click on the picture to learn more about this book!
Check out these fun activities to bring this story to life for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten littles. These are great to use at home with your own kiddos or in your early childhood classroom. If you’re interested, all the printables can be found here.
Click here to check out the song I sing before reading this book!
LITERACY: CHICKA CHICKA NAME ACTIVITY
When you first begin introducing letters to your little one, you might want to start with the letters in your child’s name. We call these “high-value letters” because kids LOVE the letters in their name (and it’s important they have plenty of experience practicing their name before kindergarten).
This activity has your little one identifying which letters are in their name and coloring them in (or using dot markers, which are super fun!) Then they can count those letters, write them on “coconuts,” and glue them on their coconut tree.
MATH: COUNT THE COCONUTS CLIP CARDS
In order to prepare for kindergarten, we want preschoolers to work on counting objects 0-10 and identifying the number that represents the group. This is a super fun way to do that!
Your little one will choose a clip card, count the coconuts, and use a clothespin to clip their answer. This not only works on math skills, but it also sneaks in some fine motor development, too!
FINE MOTOR: POKEY PINS NAME
Here’s another great way to practice your little one’s name that is multi-sensory and fun! First you print out their name in dots (the editable template is included in this pack). Then you tape their name to a piece of cardboard.
Your child will use a pushpin to poke all of the dots in their name. When they’re done, they’ll remove their name paper and see their name has been poked into the cardboard! Have them rub their fingers along their name to feel the texture of each letter.
*Note: Adult Supervision Required: When using pushpins, you need to make sure your child is super safe and doesn’t poke themselves (or someone else) with the sharp end. They also CANNOT put the pushpin in their mouth under any circumstances. Once you can trust them to use pushpins safely, this activity is a blast!
The cool part about the editable name template included in this pack is it also includes a solid-font name box. So your child can practice their name in lots of ways with this editable activity!
GROSS MOTOR: CLIMB THE COCONUT TREE
Let’s get your child up and moving with this fun gross motor activity!
Take them to the nearest playground and have them climb the “coconut tree.” They can re-tell the story as they do this, which will lead into imaginary play and hands-on learning!
CRAFT: COCONUT LETTER TREE
Let’s combine letter time with a hands-on craft to make learning engaging and fun! Your little one will use a paper towel roll and construction paper to make their own coconut tree. This is perfect to use when re-telling this story.
After you write letters on the paper towel roll, write letters on stickers and have your child stick the stickers on the paper towel roll to match the letters. Or have your child write letters on “coconuts” and glue those to the leaves. So many possibilities with this activity!
SNACK: CHICKA CHICKA BANANA TREE
The best part of reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is making your own edible Chicka Chicka Banana Tree! We made this tree with fruit and alphabet cookies we found at Trader Joe’s.
Before you let your child eat this yummy snack, use it for letter review! Ask your little one to identify the letters & sounds, or have them use letters to spell their name or other CVC words.
READING RESPONSE: JOURNAL WRITING & BOOKMARK
To wrap up this unit, you can have your little one write and draw about their favorite part of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I’ve also included a bookmark that your little one can keep forever to remember this story and the main message: Learning letters is FUN!
CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM ACTIVITY PACK
All of the activities in this post can be found in my Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Activity Pack, which can be found in my shop here!
Have you read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom yet? Do you have any fun activities that would be great to add to our list? Comment below or find me on Instagram [@littleslovelearningblog] and let me know!
love these ideas? pin for later!
To check out more book-inspired activities, head over to our Storytime Club!
Happy Learning!
