Flannel Friday Roundup August 28, 2015

What happened to summer?  It just seems like yesterday when it was Memorial Day and we were starting Summer Reading Program...and here we are the week before Labor day!  Library Village is back to blogging after a hiatus though and we couldn't be more excited about hosting this week's Flannel Friday ROUNDUP!!!

Let's get this party started!

First up is Kathryn from Fun With Friends at Story Time.  Kathryn is usually my first Flannel Friday Roundup post but she never disappoints.  Take a look at this darling camping set!  I always wanted to do a camping story time - and this set set is wonderful!  She takes her inspiration from Welcome to Storytime.  Check it out!

Roving Fiddlehead Kidlit works this weeks felt set in foam felt.  5 littles are very useful in story times for all groups because of the rhythms and predictability.  I love the snakes in the shape of an S so the set can be used in multiple themes for story time! Here are 5 little snakes with rhyme!

Laura from Literacious did exactly what all good children's librarians do - follow the best blogs, find the perfect 'something' to use in story time, felt something to go with it, and share for everyone else.  She found a great acorn song on Jbrary (and who doesn't love Jbrary???) and made an acorn to go with the song.  Hey guess what?  It's almost the perfect time for fall story times!  Check it out!

Lauren at the Dilly Dally starts her post with "This is going to be a boring blogpost" but it is SO NOT!  Making your own flannel boards is sometimes a necessary thing for lots of reasons  - budget, portability (outreach), or in this case, so every story timer can have their own board!  I am sure the moms in her story time love this idea as much as I do!

Awnali from The Librarian is on the Loose shows us that necessity is the mother of invention, since she needed a felt to go with her upcoming Library Story Time.  She took her inspiration from Storytime Katie.  Looks like her fun books will be spreading that 'Library Cheer' soon!

Finally Shawn from Read, Rhyme, and Sing brings us inspiration from Mel's Desk.  It is a fun, versatile game that can be adapted for many different themes and age groups.  Check out This is/This isn't!

I love that children's librarians are taking inspiration from each other and making something new - and especially sharing their inspiration with others.  It's such a great thing to see and to be part of it.  If you would like more information on Flannel Friday, make sure to visit the website http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com/ .  You can also find them on Pinterest, and Facebook and by following #flannelstorytime on Twitter!

Thanks for stopping by!

So we taught this class...

If you follow us regularly, you will discover quickly that we have this 'thing' for felt. It all started back in a medium sized library in Southwest Ohio where three children's librarian started sharing ideas as a team.  Next came inspiration from Mel's Desk, Story Time Katie, and the Flannel Friday Pinterest board.  With "SQUEE'S" of delight, a love-affair was born.

Which brings us to some of the things we have been working on in the past year!

You might remember we did a "poster session" at the Ohio Library Council's Convention and Expo in October of 2014.  Here is a link to that post if you would like to see more.

Soon after, we got a VERY kind email from the Division of Children's and Youth Services asking us if we would consider turning that poster session into a full program for the Children's and Youth Services Conference this year. Ummmm.........YEAH!!!

So how do we turn this poster session in to a 45 minute break-out session?  We decided that talking about our felt, with tips and tricks, was just not enough.  I mean, we could talk about our felt All.Day.Long. but we knew we had to do something different. Kristie and I decided to go with a hands-on felt extravaganza!  We brought our templates for our 5 Little Monsters set and had some pre-cut felt pieces, scissors, and sharpies so all of the participants could start making their own sets while we talked tips and tricks. Who doesn't like keeping their hands busy when in a presentation?  There was lots of lively discussion about how we store our felts, making your own felt board, and how to make some of our more intricate sets.

In the vein of our poster session, we also talked about making the most of your felt sets, by making sets that can be used in multiple ways.  We also gave a template for a monkey and a teddy bear, so the participants could use the bed we made in two more rhymes.  That's what it is all about - using your resources to save yourself time and money with your story time planning!

Once we got going, the conversation really flowed.  There were lots of questions, ideas, and sharing going on in that room!  Thank goodness for that - because this is what my presentation notes looked like after my first 5 minutes.  I was off script just past our introductions!

Of course we talked about all of our online peeps!  We wouldn't be where we are without YOU!  Our blogroll on the side of this post just scratches the surface of the awesomeness out there.  So go follow them.  Follow the Pinterest Flannel Friday board.  Go find Story Time Underground on Facebook.  View. Felt. Share. Credit. Repeat.  We are a community of amazing story time artists.  While Kristie and I were the ones at Kent State University sharing our love of felt, you all were there with us.  We salute you!

Thanks for stopping by!