I LOVE making flannel sets! But what I love even more are versatile flannel sets! If you are lucky, some flannel pieces can be used for more than one rhyme or story. For Flannel Friday this week, I thought it would be fun to give an example of how my simple ice cream cone set gets a lot of use!
#1 Ice Cream Rhyme
The ice cream cone set was originally made for this rhyme. I found this great rhyme here at Perry Public Library Storytime. As soon as I read it, I knew it needed to be felted!
Ice Cream Rhyme
First we need a cone,
Nice and crunchy.
Then we need some ice cream,
Sweet and yummy.
Scoop 'em on,
Stack 'em on,
Up to the sky.
We love ice cream, my oh my!
First comes vanilla,
Cold and sweet.
Then comes chocolate,
A delicious treat.
Here comes strawberry,
Orange sherbet too.
A super-duper ice cream cone
Just for you!
One scoop, two scoops,
three scoops, four.
We love ice cream,
Who wants more?
#2 Hippity Hop to the Ice Cream Shop
After making the set, I stumbled upon this video from the King County Library System. I knew that my ice cream flannel set would work perfect with this short little rhyme/activity.
Hippity Hop to the Ice Cream Shop
Hippity hop to the ice cream shop
To buy an ice cream come!
What flavor would you like?
The toddlers loved coming up and putting the different ice cream flavors on the cone!
#3 I Am Hungry
This last set is not all about ice cream, but the last verse needed an ice cream cone. I knew just where to find one! It is an echo rhyme to the tune of "Are You Sleeping?". I found this rhyme here at King County Library System.
I Am Hungry
I am hungry! (I am hungry!)
What should I eat? (What should I eat?)
Think I'll have some pizza (Think I'll have some pizza)
Without any meat! (Without any meat!)
I am hungry! (I am hungry)
What should I eat? (What should I eat?)
Think I'll have tomato soup (Think I'll have tomato soup)
With lots of heat! (With lots of heat!)
I am hungry! (I am hungry!)
What should I eat? (What should I eat?)
Think I'll have some ice cream (Think I'll have some ice cream)
Cold and sweet! (Cold and sweet!)
It is lots of fun to make new flannel sets, but it is also nice to have go to pieces to use in a pinch! We don't always have an infinite amount of time to create new flannel pieces each week for story time (Wouldn't that be awesome?!). So look through your flannel collection once in a while and see what new stories you can create with what you already have! It might surprise you!
Everybody loves Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed - the book, the rhyme, however you choose to use it!
A while back Miss Sue made us a quick set, but they monkeys seemed to have disappeared! No worries, I made us a cute new set, wearing pajamas, no less!
I just used two different monkey clipart designs from Google Images, and then designed simple pajamas for go over top. This was a pretty quick and easy set to assemble, but one I know we'll use over and over again!
Happy Flannel Friday!
Thanks so much to Lisa at Libraryland for hosting this week! Flannel Friday is for anyone interested in finding and sharing great flannelboard ideas! You can learn more about Flannel Friday and how to participate here.
Is there anything better than a fun bug themed story time in the summer? I don't think so! This week I had the toddlers up and marching to a buggy beat!
We started off with the book I Love Bugs! by Emma Dodd. The little ones especially loved the last few pages describing creepy crawly bugs. This book definitely got us talking about all types of bugs!
Next came the short but cute fingerplay, Beehive. A great find from the Perry County Library Storytime page!
Beehive
Here is a beehive (make a fist)
But where are the bees? (shrug shoulders)
Hiding inside where nobody sees (point to fist)
Soon they'll come out of their hives
1,2,3,4,5 (open fingers one at a time)
BUZZZZZZZ! (wiggle fingers in the air!)
(credit: Perry County Library Storytime)
My original plan was to sing The Ants Go Marching, but at the last minute decided I really needed some cd help with that long of a song. (I must admit, I am not a great singer but the little ones don't usually seem to mind!) I am so glad that I made this decision because once the music started playing and I had everyone marching in place, it just seemed like the perfect opportunity to march around the room! There are lots of children's cds with this song, but I chose the version from the cd Bugs, Bugs, Bugs.
I used the action rhyme 1, 2, 3 directly after our dance break. (A,B,Cs and my new favorite song, Clap Your Hands from the They Might Be Giants cd, No!) This short little rhyme worked great to get their attention back after moving around for a few minutes!
1, 2, 3
1, 2, 3
There's a bug on me! (pretend to knock it off)
Where did it go? (look around)
I don't know! (shrug shoulders)
(credit: Perry County Library Storytime)
Our second book was Look Out, Ladybug! by Jack Tickle. Ladybug is trying to learn to fly. She meets several animals along the way and it has a super funny ending!
Sticking with ladybugs, we did the fingerplay Five Little Ladybugs. Instead of inserting kids names in this rhyme, I used family members. I have been having larger than normal groups during story time recently and didn't want to leave anyone out (or have to repeat the rhyme four times!).
Five Little Ladybugs
Five little ladybugs on our front door, (Hold up five fingers)
One flew to Daddy, and that left four.
Four little ladybugs, oh so wee, (Hold up four fingers)
One flew to Mommy,, and that left three.
Three little ladybugs saying "howdy-do," (Hold up three fingers)
One flew to Sister, and that left two.
Two little ladybugs snoozing in the sun, (Hold up two fingers)
One flew to Brother, and that left one.
One little ladybug alone on the door, (Hold up one finger)
It flew to Baby, then there were no more.
(credit: Perry County Library Storytime)
Can't have a bug themed story time without The Itsy Bitsy Spider! We sang along with my flannel set to add a fun visual to the words. So much fun we did it twice!
Our last book was Butterfly, Butterfly: A Book of Colors by Petr Horacek. I have used this book before in story time. The little ones love the pop-up butterfly on the last page!
As a special treat, I made all the little ones butterflies to take home with them. They were very easy to make. I just printed the outline of a butterfly on card stock, cut it out, and taped it to a popsicle stick. We waved out butterflies to the the song Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly. It is tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I changed the wording a little bit to fit summer instead of spring.
Flutter, Flutter, Butterfly
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.
Floating by for all to see,
Floating by so merrily.
Flutter, flutter, butterfly,
Floating in the summer sky.
(Credit: Storytime Katie)
I decided to try a fun, new activity to end story time this week. We played Bug in a Rug! I got the idea from the blog Falling Flannelboards. I made a set of flannel bugs (different colored ladybugs) and a little rug. I lined all the bugs up with the rug underneath. Then I told them to close their eyes. I moved one of the bugs under the rug and let them open their eyes. They all did a great job guessing which bug was in the rug. To make it more interactive, I chose volunteers to come up and lift the rug. I also left this activity up on the board so they could continue to play with it after story time. Several little ones had fun hiding bugs and making Miss Kristie guess!
And just in case you are not familiar with the They Might Be Giants song Clap Your Hands, here it is..
Isn't it wonderful?!?!
Miss Kristen also used a bug themed story time recently with the babies! Check it out here.
Back in the spring, Miss Kristie and I attended a workshop about pretend play in the library, and we were inspired to create an Imagination Station in our own branch!
We worked hard to get it set up for the beginning of the summer reading program, and our theme for the month of June was "Let's play 'Library'!" Miss Kristie made some super cute and eye-catching sign out of felt!
We commandeered a table in the children's area for our library "desk" and made a pretend computer out of a cardboard box. Our IT guys were kind enough to send us a box of old tech equipment, such as a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard, and we had a broken scanner that I cut the wire off of and covered the end in duct tape.
Every librarian needs a pair of glasses, obviously.
I made a sign for the kids, with ideas of what they could do at the 'library,' such as sort and check out books, make a library card, and recommend books for others. I also made a sign for the parents, discussing why pretend play is so critical for developing young minds, and how it helps their emotional and social development.
Miss Kristie found these great pretend book spines from Deceptively Educational, which we printed off, laminated, and added call numbers and author's names. Our idea was that children could practice putting them in order, but these are often the books that they 'scan' and 'check out'!
Kristie also made some pretend library cards. They are just printed on cardstock so kids can take them or leave them. We have some crayons and pencils sitting out so they can practice writing their names.
These are slips for book recommendations that children can leave in their favorite books. Mostly, they just like to write their names on them. :o)
Here is our supervisor, Miss Ann, having some fun playing with some kids :o)
And this sweet girl is working hard on the computer!
People were a little hesitant at first, but the Imagination Station has really taken off! It has been wonderful to see children playing and pretending, especially when the adults join in! This is something we are eager to keep doing, and we're just about ready to change it out for the month of July. Next month's play station will be a Veterinarian's office! Check back for details!
Are you hiding from outreach in your community because of time or extra effort? Perhaps you just don't know where to start, or you don't see the value in it. Outreach however, in the form of visits to care centers, preschools, or even nursing homes, can be really valuable to the library and to you as a librarian.
I love to do outreach. I really enjoy taking my show on the road and giving the community a taste of what I do every week in the library.
Pros:
make connections in the community. I love getting 'hellos' from teachers and aides, and being recognized by the kids.
Teachers get to know you and what other services you can provide. By offering teacher collections and the library calendar, you may see an increase in your attendance and circulation numbers.
Speaking of attendance, my program attendance is up! I invite care centers over to attend some programs, and even help them out by having a program or two during school breaks, when they are busier.
Instant field trip. One care center didn't want me to go to them, so why not come over before the library is open for a private story time?
Monthly reports - it looks great on your report that you have been out in the community - so why not?
Minimal planning, maximum impact. I'm doing story times anyway!
The kids LOVE it!
Cons:
Scheduling - I am not always available on the third Wednesday of the month, for example.
Time - ? Less than an hour, once a month, isn't too taxing is it?
Mindset change - tell us WHY we can't just come to your regular story times again?
Here are some tips for outreach success:
Find out your contact person by checking out the website of the care center and give the director a call. They will probably be too busy to talk, but at least they have heard your name and you have planted the seed.
Send a followup email with some (SHORT) information. "I would love to come once a month! These dates, times are good for me, but we can work out other times too."
If they are slow to respond, talk to the teachers when they come in to the library. Really sell it. You are providing a personalized service to the teachers, and promoting early literacy with their kids. If they like it, try the director again. "I talked to your teachers, Jack and Ashley, and it sounds like we could really make this work."
Ask questions! Then really listen. If they want 15 minute story times, stick to it. Usually they are on a schedule themselves. Everyone gets squirrelley when you run into snack or free-play time!
Have a plan. 15 minute story time is 2 books and a flannel board for me. I pull these items from my weekly story time so there is no additional prep.
Be ready if your plan falls flat. I bring an extra book, flannel, or puppet. Just-in-case!
If you want a flannel board, CD player, or whatever else you may need, bring it. You don't know what you will find or what kind of room you will be in. I made my own travel flannel board using a donated canvas, a 1/2 yard of plain flannel on sale, and a staple gun.
Be on time and be patient.
Let the teachers teach. If there something happening with one of the students, the teacher should be able to take care of it.
Be the reason they are excited for the librarian to come that day. Have fun and do stories you love to tell. Sometimes I bring my own 'show and tell' to them. They can't wait to see what is in my bag.
I have done outreach where I did 7 classrooms in one center visit, or where I visit a preschool in the morning, then back for a multi-generational story time with the preschool and the elders. I have also encouraged in-house visits. Really almost all of the work is up front in scoring that regular time. There is no planning involved outside of my normal story times, and I get a chance to practice my books and flannels one more time. If you have a rough start, or the outreach isn't working, try something else (another time or day? What about an in-house visit or off hours?).
Stay positive and enjoy it! Thanks for dropping by!
So as I was making flannel board sets to some of Matt Novak's other books (My Froggy Valentine and Too Many Bunnies), I decided to search for any others, since I enjoy his story telling. I found this one called Rock-a-bye Christmas:
His stories lend themselves to story time because they are repetitive and anticipatory. The trouble is, the books themselves are small and better for one-on-one reading. Flanneling them makes them accessible to a larger crowd. All of his books are themed around a holiday, but the holiday references are easily removed (or used) in felt too.
The story goes (and is paraphrased for this blog post):
Farmer Ben was finishing up his Christmas preparations and decided it was time for bed. Suddenly it was too noisy to sleep! The chicken was up squawking! "She must be cold," he wondered.
So he brought her inside and soothed her with a lullaby. The chicken fell asleep. But then the pig started yelling!! Oh no! He must be cold too!
So Farmer Ben brought the pig into the house and soothed him with a lullaby. The pig fell asleep. Just as Farmer Ben thought there was to be peace, the sheep started hollering! Oh dear.
So again Farmer Ben brought the sheep into the house and soothed her with a lovely lullaby. By the time the sheep fell asleep and Farmer Ben thought he was done, the cow started to bellow. What a night!
So Farmer Ben pushed and pulled the cow into the house and sang his little lullaby. The animals were finally asleep! But Farmer Ben could not sleep. The chicken snored. The pig's nose whistled. The sheep's throat gurgled. The cow's stomach growled. What's a farmer to do??
Ah perfect! The barn wasn't so bad. I wonder why they were complaining? Farmer Brown fell fast asleep in the soft hay and didn't hear another sound all night long.
Now in the book, the animals all wake up and party in the house, but I thought that would be hard to transition to in felt so I will leave the story like I did. As you can see, it doesn't need to be a Christmas Story but you can use it that way if you would like. That makes it more versatile!!!
I also decided it wasn't necessary to have all of the pieces reverse like they do in the book, with the other side having them asleep. I only did that with the farmer. I can always go back and make the animals asleep if I decide to later.
Big thanks to Hannah at Lovin' the Library for hosting Flannel Friday this month! Click over to her new blog and catch up. I had a great time lunching with Hannah at the PLA this year. She has some great ideas.
If you would like to read more on how you can get involved with Flannel Friday, CLICK HERE!
Thanks for visiting!
