Flannel Friday - Goldilocks

We had some really bad weather here in Ohio!  When that happens, and I am home bound with all kinds of materials in my 'crafting lair', this happens.  I didn't expect to make this set, but there you have it.

Every librarian should have a personal collection of story boards of classic tales.  They can be used with several age groups and with many themes.  They also are great for re-telling!  Every time I tell one, someone tells me I am doing it 'wrong'...it starts a great conversation on making stories your own!  I used this classic tale in my BEARS STORY TIME which you can see HERE.

The illustrations are right out of this book:

Unfortunately for story time, the images in this book are smaller than a thumbnail!  I think the pictures are adorable, so I decided to make a felt set.  My daughter Sarah, my artist, hand drew the pictures on a larger scale.  Papa bear is approximately three inches Mama bear 2, and Baby Bear a little more than an inch and 1/2, just for perspective.

Of course, the Three Bears decide to leave their porridge cooling and go to the market.

Goldilocks comes in and, smelling the porridge, decides to try it out.  One was too hot.  One was too cold, and one was JUST right.  So she gobbled it up!

Spotting the chairs by the fire, Goldilocks decides to have a seat.  One was too hard, one was too soft, and one was just right.  So she sat down but broke it!

I changed things slightly here....Goldilocks became sleepy from the porridge so she went into the next room where she saw three beds.  One was too fluffy!  One was too firm!  But the last one was perfect and soon she was fast asleep.

The bears came home.  "Who's been eating my porridge?"  They said one by one!  "Mine is all gone!" Baby bear said. Then they saw the chairs.  "Who's been sitting in my chair?" they said one by one. "Whomever has been sitting in my chair has broken it!" said Baby Bear.  Then they went into the bedroom.  "Who's been sleeping in my bed?" they said. "Someone's been sleeping in my bed...and she is still there!" said Baby Bear.  This woke up Goldilocks, who went screaming out of the little cottage and never came back!

Ok, that was seriously paraphrased but you get the idea.  Everything but the bears was drawn on light peach colored felt and colored with marker.  The bears were drawn on tan felt with puffy paint and marker to fill.

A big THANK YOU to Jenna at Stories with Ms Jenna for hosting this week's Flannel Friday!  If you would like to learn more about Flannel Friday, Click HERE!  Thanks for stopping by!!

Preschool Story Time - BEARy Fun

How do librarians ever settle on which books to read when the theme is BEARS??  From all of Bill Martin's variations of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, to Will Hillenbrand's adorable Bear Sneezes, to Kevin Henkes' Old Bear, this librarian had a tough time with narrowing the field!  Here's what I came up with:

Anytime I can get the preschool crowd to SHOUT at me while I am reading is a good thing! Every turn of the page had the kids saying 'MORE BEARS!'  The down side of this book is, well, it's a little long for little ones.  Gauge your crowd and if you're heavy on the young ones, you might want to skip this.

How could you not?  Even if you don't do it as a song, the kids like the rhythm of the text and some will even want to follow along with you. 

This IS 'A Lovely Little Pop-up Book'!  The illustrations are just too teenie for story time.  Since I really like this I really like the illustrations, I decided to blow them up as a flannel board story!

See the similarity with this image and the bears next to the words Three Bears on the book cover?  These were made with puffy paint and marker on felt.  Here's my Flannel Friday post about this set. 

Last minute switcheroo!  My coworker showed me this book and I was thrilled to use it.  I laughed out loud when I read it the first time and I couldn't wait to share it.  I had all of the kids bring their own teddy bears and we read this one with our favorite fleecy friend. (be sure to bring extra teddy's for anyone who forgot!)

Karma Wilson's books are always a hit.  Jane Chapman's illustrations are warm and attractive, and Wilson's text has that little bit of repetition that makes kids sit up and anticipate when to say "but bear snores on!"

My craft comes courtesy of Captain Crafty's website.  Check out these nesting Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

Retelling is always a big part of my story time, so often my crafts are chosen so the child can bring them home as puppets to retell some of the  more well known tales.  I also typed up a version of this story onto my handout and had lots of versions on display for take home.


Miss Kristen ALSO did bears for a theme this week in Baby Story Time!!  It's very interesting to see how the same theme can be done with different age groups.  If you are interested in seeing this Baby Story Time, make sure to CLICK HERE.

Thanks for visiting!
 

Baby Story Time - Bears!

We made some big changes to Baby Story Time with the new year! My groups were so large that I decided to split them in two - ages 3-12 months in the Baby group, and ages 12-24 months in a special 'Ones' group.  With the winter weather affecting our numbers, it is hard to say how this will go, but I'm excited to try it!

On to story time! Bears always seem like a wintry theme to do:

Wake-Up Rhyme: "Acka Backa" (from Baby Rhyming Time by Linda Ernst)

Acka backa soda cracker, acka backa boo!
     (bounce baby)
Acka backa soda cracker, I love you!
     (give baby hug)
Acka backa soda cracker, acka backa boo!
     (bounce baby)
Acka backa soda cracker, up goes you!
     (lift baby in the air)
Acka backa soda cracker, acka backa boo!
     (bounce baby)
Acka backa soda cracker, I love you!
     (give baby hug)

1st Book: Mama's Little Bears by Nancy Tafuri

These playful bears explore the woods, finding surprises all around them!

Flannel Board Matching Game: "Little Bear, Where is Your Mommy?"
Check out my Flannel Friday post to see what this simple game looks like.

Action Rhyme: "'Round and 'Round the Garden" (from Baby Rhyming Time by Linda Ernst)

'Round and 'round the garden goes the teddy bear,
     (make circles on baby's tummy)
One step, two step,
     (walk fingers up baby's arm)
Tickle you under there!
     (tickle baby!)

Action Rhyme: "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" (traditional)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.

Teddy bear, teddy bear, show your shoe.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, I love you!

Teddy bear, teddy bear, climb upstairs.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, brush your hair.

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say "Goodnight!"

2nd Book: Funny Face by Nicola Smee

A little boy goes through a range of emotion after a big bear takes his ball!

 

Rhythm Time with Shakers:

 

We shook our shakers to the song "Rattle My Rattle" from Elizabeth Mitchell's cd Little Seed, while I visited each child with my bear puppet from Lakeshore Learning.



 

 



Action Song: "Shake Your Shaker" (adapted from 101 Rhythm Instrument Activities for Young Children by Abigail Flesch Connors) (to the tune "London Bridge is Falling Down")

Shake your shaker in the air,
Shake it here, shake it there.
Shake your shaker in the air,
My fair baby!

Shake your shaker way down low,
To your knees, to your toes.
Shake your shaker way down low,
My fair baby!

3rd Book: The Bear Went Over the Mountain by Michelle Dorenkamp

This is a simple book to sing along to, with great illustrations!

 

We finished up with our regular goodbye songs and rhymes (visit my Baby Story Time page for these), and it was play time!  What a fun wintry story time!

 

Want to see how you can use Bears in a Toddler Story Time? See Miss Kristie's post here.



Flannel Friday - Mama and Baby Matching Game

A "Bears" theme is perfect for a winter story time. Here's a simple matching game for babies and toddlers - can you help Baby Bear find his Mama?

I borrowed this idea from Mel's Desk, see her version here.  The idea is to place several "mommy" animals, including a bear, on the flannel board, and then help the babies to find their mommies.

To save time, I actually borrowed premade "mommies" from a Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? storytelling kit that we purchased years ago from Lakeshore.  I just chose the largest pieces, and then made felt babies to match.

Baby Bear, where is your Mama?

There she is!

And here is a close-up of my babies.  I just drew them freehand, based on clipart I found using Google images.  They are outlined in black Sharpie marker, and I added googly eyes.  And voila!

 

 

Big thanks to Future Librarian Superhero for hosting Flannel Friday this week!