our story time pick for October 2026: I went walking!

1 hour ago

7 min read

Monday, October 26, 2026

As Grands - and retired kindergarten teachers - we couldn't agree more!

There's something magical about opening a book with our Littles,

discovering new stories together

and finding simple ways to make reading both fun and meaningful!

The snuggles, the giggles, the familiar words,

and the excitement of turning each page together

makes story time about so much more than reading.

Welcome back to Season 2 of

During the last school year, we had such fun sharing

favorite children’s books through this monthly series.

With each book, we also highlighted a simple way to encourage beginning readers,

using strategies we used with our kindergarten students

that could easily be adapted at home!

We just couldn’t wait to do it all over again!

Today, we're kicking off this new round of favorites with a delightful picture book

filled with colorful animals, a wonderfully repetitive pattern,

and plenty of opportunities for our Littles to join in!

Our first pick for this new year of Story Time Faves

follows a child’s exciting stroll through the countryside!

Repetition, beautiful illustrations and a visual guessing game created by

introducing each animal only partially at first,

makes this children’s book a captivating one indeed!

During this simple, funny read-aloud,

the child sees one animal after another and, before you know it,

the child is being trailed by an entire parade of colorful creatures!

And here’s our pick for the month of October…

I Went Walking

written by Sue Williams & illustrated by Julie Vivas

I went walking…

What did you see?

From recognizing color words and building vocabulary to predicting what comes next, this simple story offers lots of GRAND possibilities!

So grab a favorite Little, snuggle up,

and let's make some reading memories together!

Top 3 Reasons This Book Is a GRAND Choice!

The Power Found in Predictable Text!

What is predictable text? Why is it powerful for beginning readers? Predictable text is writing that follows a familiar pattern, repeats words or phrases, or gives readers clues about what comes next. Think of a story like I Went Walking, where the repeated language and colorful animal encounters help children anticipate what they'll hear and see on the next page.

When we read a familiar, repetitive story with our Littles, something wonderful happens! At first, they're listening to us read the words. Before long, they're anticipating a familiar phrase, filling in a missing word, or joining us in telling the story. They're beginning to experience what it feels like to be a reader!

Predictable books help bridge the gap between listening to a story and reading a story. Repeated phrases allow children to become comfortable with the language, while familiar patterns give them the confidence to participate. As they follow along, they can also begin connecting the words they hear with the words on the page.

One more thing… There's no need to rush or turn story time into a lesson. Simply enjoy the story together and celebrate each little step toward becoming a reader! After all, those joyful moments of “I know what comes next!” are more than just fun. They're little building blocks on the journey to reading!

If you don’t have access to the actual book

(which is always our preference, of course)

you can still introduce your Little(s) to this sweet story and enjoy it together!

We’ve included a link to the Youtube version of I Went Walking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vryFPYJr7co

After reading I Went Walking together,

(no doubt you’ll do this MANY times with your Littles)

we’ve got a few engaging ways to continue with the fun!

A Story Telling Chain!

To reinforce the concept of predictable text,

Laura made story telling chains with her two Littles!

MATERIALS NEEDED

• colored construction paper strips that match the animals in I Went Walking

• glue stick, tape, or stapler

• the book I Went Walking by Sue Williams

DIRECTIONS

Look at the book, I Went Walking, and help your Little(s), as needed, form the first paper link in their chain (use a black strip for the black cat). Secure the ends of the first loop, using a glue stick, tape or a stapler. Thread the next strip (a brown strip for the brown horse) through the first loop and secure that one.. Continue linking the strips together in the order the animals appear in the story.

Use your colorful chain as a storytelling tool. Point to each link as you and your Little retell the story in your own words. Encourage your Little to remember which animal appeared next, describe its color, and use familiar phrases from the book.

A Color Walk!

Laurie and her Little P went on their own special walk

after reading the story together…

They went looking for colors all around them!

We read the story on a beautiful fall day so it only felt fitting

to head outside and go for a walk of our own!

Little P will soon turn three

so during our walk we focused on finding colors.

We made a little chart to keep track of what we saw!

I helped Little P snap photos of the things she spotted!

When we got home,

I created a simple book, using our photos to tell the story!

Our book followed the pattern from I Went Walking.

Building confidence as she reads her own version of

I Went Walking!

More GRAND Adventures!

Here are a few simple activities to extend the fun even more!

PLAY “I WENT WALKING!”

Gather a few toy animals or animal pictures. Take turns choosing one and saying, “I went walking, and I saw…” Your Littles can name the animal and describe its color. It's a playful way to practice vocabulary and oral language.

Laura and her youngest Little, Little P,

had fun matching our color chain with animal pictures we’d made!

As you can see, we taped these images to popsicle sticks

and used them to play “Hide and Seek” and to do a puppet show, too!

Here’s a set of the images we made in Canva,

if you’d like to make your own set!

PLAY “I SPY”

To build vocabulary, play this fun version of “I Spy”! You can also use the predictable text from I Went Walking to find the various animals, either from the story (as shown on the Canva animal sheet above) or from a larger selection of animals, as shown below.

MATERIALS NEEDED: I Spy animal sheet (we’ve provided two possibilities), a glass baking dish, water, food coloring, a short plastic cup or two

DIRECTIONS

Print either I Spy animal sheet, depending on how many images you’d like to use for the activity. NOTE: If you are playing with toddlers, use the I Spy sheet with fewer animals/the ones from the book (screenshot shown above). If you are playing with older Littles, you may want to challenge them by using the I Spy sheet we’ve included below. It has sixteen animals to choose from!

Fill the glass baking dish with water. Add food coloring (several drops) and mix so that you cannot see through to the bottom of the pan.

Place one of the I Spy animal sheets under the baking dish. (Do you see it under there?)

Use a clear plastic glass and move it carefully along the bottom of the dish to reveal the hidden animal pictures.

We had fun giving each other clues about which animal to find from simple directions like, “Find the bear!” to more challenging ones, “Find the animal that waddles.”

REAL LIFE NATURE WALK!

Take Littles on a walk outside in your yard or neighborhood. As you walk, use the refrain from the book: "I went walking, what did I see?" Encourage your Littles to spot real animals, bugs, or birds and describe them using color and action words.