Why this book is great:
- Short and sweet!
- The short chant will soon become familiar to your child. Repetitive chants and stories are important for young children. They draw their attention to the sounds of language, and give them opportunities to practice their listening skills. Many children will memorize repetitive texts, and will rehearse language using the language they have memorized.
- Rhyming words
- Word play and rhyme is part of phonological awareness, which is a skill set crucial for reading.
- Movement!
- Little bodies need to move! It may be difficult to sit and read a book from cover to cover with very young children, no matter how short the book is. That's fine! But, the chances of reading a book with movement incorporated increases greatly for little ones who need to wiggle.
- Action phrases
- When children turn 2, they generally begin to use 2-word phrases. This book gives great models of 2 word phrase structures (Person + Action), which children pick up on.
Bring the book to life: Extension Activities
- Make your child the main character in the book! Replace "Llama Llama" with your child's name, and have him do the motions.
- "Silly Stephen Hop, Silly Stephen Jump, Silly Stephen, Little Stephen Thump, Thump, Thump!"
- After she has the pattern down, ask your child to pick who the character should be. Feel free to make her favorite stuffed animal, or even the family pet, be the center of the story.
- Make your child laugh by reading the book in different ways. Read it slow, read it fast, read it in a monster voice, in a baby voice, etc. You get the idea! Have your child think of different ways to read it, or different voices to read it in.
- Make a movement pattern! Give your child a basic pattern of movements to follow. Demonstrate it, and do it together, over and over. This builds the early math skill of recognizing that a pattern is something that repeats and repeats.
- Hop, hop, stretch! Hop, hop, stretch! Hop, hop, stretch!
- How do llamas really move? Look up videos online, or check out a book on llamas at your local library.
- Book examples:
- Llamas! Learn About Llamas and Enjoy Colorful Pictures - Look and Learn! (Kindle book) Written by Becky Wolff
- Llamas! (Early Bird Nature) Written by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent; Photographed by William Munoz
- Video examples:
Want to share this information? Download the PDF handout* here!
*This handout is free to distribute for educational purposes only.
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