Flannel Friday-Five Elephants

You know when you see a really cute flannelboard and add it to your TBD pile?  Mine never seemed to go down until we got a new assistant named Laura.  I gave her my Pinterest board, a pile of felt, and she went to town.  This is the first of my "inspired by" posts with creations by Laura.

Our original inspiration came from Five Elephants Went Out to Play by Flannel Board Fun. This is what Laura came up with.

This week's round-up is hosted by Laura at One for the Books.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

I love bringing nursery rhymes into story time and one of my favorite is Baa Baa Black Sheep.  There is so much you can do with it, from rhyming to talking about colors.  This morning for story time, I made envelope puppets out of different colored sheep.  If you have never made an envelope puppet before, seal the envelope and cut off the end 3 inches or so.  You can make two puppets out of each envelope.  For these, I used different colored die cut sheep and used double-sided tape to stick them to the envelope.  While I could collect them back and reuse them, I like to send them home with the kids to retell the rhymes.  They are cheap and easy to make so I don't mind losing them.

After I pass out the sheep, we say the rhyme using the different colors.  For example:

Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool?

Baa Baa Blue Sheep, have you any wool?

Baa Baa Red Sheep, have you any wool?

In this case, the kids who had each color held up their puppets as we told their verse.

 

Flannel Friday-Pete's Back

We have a great relationship going this summer with our local Parks & Rec department (yay Julie for organizing!) and are doing a lot of neat outreach events out in the community this summer.  Next week we will be doing story time in the park.  There is a good possibility of there being 150+ people there, which means that we began to rethink how we will be sharing picture books with a large crowd.  We are pulling out puppets, props, and our newly painted Pete the Cat prop boards.

This is Pete the Cat painted on a large foam board with acrylic paints.  The buttons all have velcro so we can tell the story of Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin and have the buttons pop off.  Of course,  you need a way to see his belly button so we made a 2nd board.

While we will still be using the book to tell the story, these boards will help illustrate the actions to the crowd.

Kelly at Ms. Kelly at the Library is hosting this week's Flannel Friday round-up.

If you want to know more about Flannel Friday:

• Check out the official Flannel Friday blog that includes schedules and other important information.
• Search for images and links on our Pinterest page.
• Discuss story time stuff (and other ys stuff) on the Flannel Friday Facebook page.
• Follow #flannelstorytime on Twitter.

   

Flannel Friday-Lunch

This is an "inspired by" post as I have always loved Storytime Katie's version of Lunch by Denise Fleming.  When I needed to make a version for our early literacy kits, this is the one that I chose.

Since this flannelboard would circulate and get a lot of handling, I didn't glue as many small pieces as Katie did.  Instead, I used puffy paint for the details on the grapes and the watermelon.

This week's round-up is hosted by Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime.  

If you want to know more about Flannel Friday:

• Check out the official Flannel Friday blog that includes schedules and other important information.
• Search for images and links on our Pinterest page.
• Discuss story time stuff (and other ys stuff) on the Flannel Friday Facebook page.
• Follow #flannelstorytime on Twitter.

Farm Night with Early On

One of my favorite programs of the year that I do with a local group is when our Early On program sets up a special story time at the library.  I find this one especially rewarding as these kids and families really need us and are very appreciative for anything we do with them.  This makes me want to add extra to their program!  I run the program similarly to how I do my 2-year old story times, but add in a craft or 2 to take home.  If I can, I add in some sensory story time elements.

As people come into the room, I have a couple of our flyers out for them to take including our current calendar of events, early literacy calendar, and 100 Books to Read Before Kindergarten booklist.

I have the crafts set up on tables in the back as we tend to get a lot of kids for this event and I am the only staff member in the room with them.  Set-up looks like this:

This year's theme was farm.  The Early On coordinator gives me a theme when we set up the program and this helps her to advertise to her families.  We read some of my favorite books.

We also sang "When the Ducks Get Up in the Morning" with puppets.  This added my sensory part as some of the kids liked to touch the puppets and they all have different textures.  We used a cow, a pig, a duck, and a sheep.

I had two magnetboard rhymes along.  If you ever don't have a magnetboard and need one in a jiffy, the tray for your AccuCut machine works just great!

Then we sang Old MacDonald using one of our craft samples.  This helped to show the kids what to do.  While it looks like a barn on the outside, there are clip art animals inside the bag that we had kids pick to choose our next animal in the song.

We also made paper bag animal puppets.  All of the pieces were precut so kids just had to color and glue their pieces onto their puppet.

The Early On coordinator brought milk and cookies for all of the kids so they each had a snack when they finished their crafts.

This program is so popular that they have asked if they can come more than once a year! My answer was "Yes, please!"

Story Time Emergency Plan

I am going to approach this topic from a different direction than Anne did.  If I were sick, there is often only 1 other staff member in the department at the time and they need to cover the reference desk.  It is entirely possible for someone from outside the department to cover my programs if I get sick.  That can be really intimidating if you are not used to working with kids on a regular basis.  For this brave soul who is venturing into children's programming, I have prepared an outline for them to follow.  For both of my regular groups (12-24 months and 2 year olds), I do have a note that says, "If at any time you feel uncomfortable, put on my iTunes playlist and they will all leave happy."

Babies (12-24 months)

• Song-If You're Happy and You Know It
• Book-Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
• Song-Itsy Bitsy Spider
• Shared book-pass out board book set and read together
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star sung with shakers
• Book-Peek-a-Moo by Marie Cimarusti
• Blow bubbles with bubble gun for 5 or so minutes
• Pull out beach balls to play with for 5 or so minutes 

My actual written out plan has the words for Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle, Twinkle, as well as the locations of the props.

Two Year Olds

Depending on how antsy the kids are, I start with a song or a story and alternate.  Normally we start with a song. 

•  Song-Shake Your Sillies Out 
•  Book-start with the longest 
•  Song-Drivin’ in My Car 
•  Book  
• Song-I’m a Little Teapot
• Book 
• Song-Head and Shoulders 
• Flannelboard
• Song-Jump Up, Turn Around
• Flannelboard 
• Song-Ring Around the Rosie (with the giant scrunchie in the closet)

Notes

• Use the iPod.  All of the songs are on a playlist called Lisa Little Listeners 
• Nametags are on Lisa’s desk in a basket.  They get passed out as the kids come in-I sit up front and they come up and tell me their name.  At the end of the program when I pass out stamps, I collect the nametags back.  Every child who attends gets a sticker on their nametag (or just sticker them all if you forget). 
• The books for the week are on Janet’s desk.  I normally pick the three easiest.  Then I raid my flannelboard files (all of the file cabinets in my office) for 2-3 rhymes.  The files are in alphabetical order by theme.  Yes, there really are 7 drawers of flannelboards.

So how does this work? I have only been sick 1 time in 14 years so it has only had to be used once.  It is easier to have a plan in place, rather than trying to email one in early in the morning while sick.  My boss did have to do my story times and came out of the program with a greater appreciation of what I do.  As long as it isn't the first week, the parents and kids tend to be great about helping out.

The Giant Dance Scrunchie

Once upon a time, I attended a Jim Gill early childhood workshop and he brought out a giant dance scrunchie.  He showed off how he used his scrunchie and it was a lot of fun!  Fast forward about 10 years to when I had extra money in my programming budget and my library got our own giant scrunchie.

I will admit that giant scrunchies are not necessary to putting on a quality story time.  There are many supplies that I would get first (such as books, shakers, and scarves), which is why it took 10 years for me to get one.  There is a lot of good that you can do with them, though, in a group environment.

The scrunchie that I bought is from Bear Paw Creek.  There are various sizes that you can purchase, depending on your needs.  I use the XL stretchy band that they say works with 11-14 people, but I can easily fit 25 2-year-olds around it.  While it would be possible to make your own, this one is brightly colored and durable.

My ideal group to use this with is with kids ages 2-5.  I have tried it with the babies (under 24 months) and they like to squish it.  They just aren't ready for the movement that this entails.  With my 2-year-olds, we used to do Ring Around the Rosie and hold hands in a circle.  My kids here don't like to touch so we would end up with a snaky shape, rather than a circle.  They will hold the stretchy band though.

When looking for songs, I look for ones that use a circle, similar to what I would do when planning parachute activities.  Up and down, fast and slow, and colors all work well too.  Here are some of my favorites:

Ring around the rosie,

A pocketful of posies,

Ashes, ashes,

We all fall down!

While the kids work together on their circle, promoting cooperation and following directions, we all know that falling is the best part of this song.

London bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down.

London bridge is falling down,

My fair lady.

Take the keys and lock her (them) up,

Lock her up, lock her up.

Take the keys and lock her up,

My fair lady.

This one works best for me if the parents hold the ring up tall while the kids walk around the room.  When you get to the second verse, have the parents bring the ring down to trap the kids.  You will get a lot of giggles as everybody wants to be trapped.  Since the ring is stretchy and there is some give in it, it isn't scary like being trapped.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

Round and round, round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

All through the town.

The people on the bus go up and down,

Up and down, up and down.

The people on the bus go up and down,

All through the town.

For the first verse, we spin the circle as we walk with the scrunchie.  For the second verse, we bring the scrunchie up and down.  While there are more verses to the song, my 2-year-olds can't handle more and continue to pay attention.

Here we go round the mulberry bush,

The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.

Here we go round the mulberry bush,

So early in the morning.

This one is just a spinning circle song with the scrunchie.

Row, row, row your boat, 

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

Row, row, row your boat, 

Gently down the stream.

If you see an alligator,

Don't forget to scream.

For this one, we sit on the floor in a circle and row the giant scrunchie.  Since there is some tension in it, we are working the kids' arm and hand muscles.  At the end of the second verse, we all do our fake scream.

These are some songs to get you started.  Which ones work best for you?

Flannel Friday-Orange Triangle Fox

You know those days when you are perusing your newly cataloged books and find the perfect flannelboard book?  That's the case with this week's version of Orange Triangle Fox by Sarah Jones.  This is a 2013 board book that deals with some of my favorite concepts-shapes, colors, and animals.  My only problem was that it was a board book, which makes sharing it with a large crowd more difficult.

As you can see by my picture of all of the shapes, each animal is formed around a shape.  This would pair well with My Heart is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall.  Each animal is also a different color.  There are also only 3 words on a page-the color, the shape, and the animal (see below).

yellow star frog

 

 green semicircle turtle

All of the pieces are made out of felt with puffy painted details.  If you don't have this title in your collection, it is definitely worth picking up.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Anna at Future Librarian Superhero.  For more information about Flannel Friday, check out the official blog.  

Give Me a Break

For those who are just tuning in, back in early March, a survey popped up on Mel's desk based on a Twitter discussion.  We were curious about what all of us were doing-how many story times, how many staff, how many programs, etc.  The first set of results appeared here and discussed non-story time programming.  Today's post will focus on story time breaks.

At my library, breaks are extremely important.  Not only do they allow you to reenergize before the next story time session, but this is when I fit in professional development, weeding, special projects, and those thousand tasks that I just don't have time for during a story time week.  We run our story times in 5-6 week sessions and have a 3 week break afterwards.  This isn't exact-sometimes around the holidays, the break ends up a bit longer.  In 2014, we will have story time for 30 weeks (6 5 week sessions) and will be on break for 22 weeks.  We've tried different methods of breaking up the sessions, but this is what works for us and our community.

Below shows the results of us asking, "Do you take breaks in between sessions, or weeks off from regular weekly story times?"

Do you have a story time break?

It surprised me that the "No" category is so high.  Let's talk about possible reasons that I have heard in the past.

Story time is my favorite part of my job!
I get that.  I love story time too.  I am really excited when it starts.  It allows me to meet all of the families at a young age.  I also love coming up with new ways to promote early literacy. On the other hand, isn't there anything else that you would like to try?  My breaks are when I can pull out dance parties, toddler crafts, and iPad programming.  These are the things that don't fit in the regular schedule, but I still love to do them.

If I stop doing story time, the families won't come back.
I get it.  This is a legitimate concern, especially for smaller libraries.   We have always been lucky and breaks have figured into our schedule, but we have fiddled with lengths.  One year we had month-long breaks (one month on and one month off).  I thought our parents were going to throw a fit.  By the time you remember to come to story time again, the session is over.  We went back to three week breaks because that is how long most of our books circulate.  Also, we are able to remind parents in the last week that they are able to register for the next session in another week.

For those libraries who just aren't ready to try a break yet, why don't you do a couple of weeks of traditional story time, then a week of early literacy stations, followed by a week of toddler crafts?  Keep it at the same time, but change it up a bit.  Story times are extremely important for early literacy and libraries, but so are crafts where kids can work on fine motor skills which will prepare them to write or early literacy stations that show parents how to replicate the effort at home.

Keep in mind, though, that these are just my thoughts and opinions.  You will have to do what is best for both you and your community.  You know what you can handle on a given week and what will or will not work.

Go Away, Big Green Monster

I have been working on all things Go Away, Big Green Monster this week for our early literacy program.  Obviously, I needed a flannelboard for Flannel Friday too!

Like many people before me, I used the pattern on Kidzclub to make my flannelboard.  I printed it out and copied it again at 129% to make a bigger pattern (and to fill the board).  Just like in the story, the pieces are removable.

  
For some extra flannel fun, this is going to remain in our Activity Room for the next couple of weeks for kids to play with.  In addition to the original pieces, I cut out some extra shapes so he can be in the style of Mr. Potato Head.

I don't know why, but this is my "cool" monster.

Here's another monster with all of the extra shapes.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is being hosted by Meg at Miss Meg's Storytime.  As always, for more information about Flannel Friday, check out the official blog or our Pinterest page.

Flannel Friday-SANTA

It's time for the Flannel Friday Holiday Extravaganza!  I found a great flannelboard this week (that I did not create-it was in one of the file drawers at the new location) that goes well with one of my favorite Christmas program songs.  I like to also sing this song when Santa visits the library as we tend to have a very young audience.

S-A-N-T-A

To the tune of B-I-N-G-O

I know a man who wears big black boots. SANTA. 

I know a man who wears big black boots. SANTA.  

SANTA. SANTA. SANTA. And Santa was his name-o.

I know a man who wears a bright red suit.  *ANTA. 

I know a man who wears a bright red suit.  *ANTA. 

*ANTA. *ANTA. *ANTA. And Santa was his name-o.

I know a man who wears a fancy belt. **NTA.

I know a man who wears a fancy belt. **NTA.

**NTA. **NTA.  **NTA. And Santa was his name-o.

I know a man with a long white beard. ***TA.

I know a man with a long white beard. ***TA.

***TA. ***TA. ***TA. And Santa was his name-o.

I know a man with a sack of toys. ****A.

I know a man with a sack of toys. ****A.

****A. ****A. ****A. And Santa was his name-o.

I know a man with a hearty laugh. *****.

I know a man with a hearty laugh. *****.

*****. *****. *****. And Santa was his name-o.

(Sing "ho" instead of clapping the missing letters.)

These are the individual parts.

 

This is Santa all put together.

 

Mollie at What Happens In Storytime... is hosting this week's Holiday Extravaganza.  Stop on by for some great ideas!

 

 

Flannel Friday-Brown Bat, Brown Bat

This week is Flannel Friday's Halloween Extravaganza and I knew that I wanted to participate.  Unfortunately, all of my felt and flannelboards are still in boxes from the big move.  As I am doing baby story times for the first time ever, I have been trying to beef up my younger flannelboards.  Who better to be inspired by than Mel's Desk?

Brown bat, brown bat, what do you see?
I see a red leaf looking at me.

Red leaf, red leaf, what do you see?

I see an orange pumpkin looking at me.

Orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin, what do you see?

I see a black cat looking at me.

Black cat, black cat, what do you see?

I see a yellow moon looking at me.

Yellow moon, yellow moon, what do you see?

I see a gray owl looking at me.

Gray owl, gray owl, what do you see?
I see a white ghost looking at me.

I like this rhyme for young children because it is based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear which many of them can recite by heart.  It also uses simple shapes (die cuts) and bright colors.

 

Kay at Storytime ABC's is hosting this week's Flannel Friday round-up.  If you are looking for new ideas, check it out!

Flannel Friday-Squirrels!

We are starting to prep here for our fall story times and one of our themes will be squirrels.  To add a little fun to the program, I made squirrel finger puppets for this week's Flannel Friday post.

I really like how he turned out.  Mine is made out of felt and sewn together. You could also glue the edges and use puffy paint for the details.  The pattern is included here.  I just made 2 of them, but you could make 5 if you are doing some "5 little" rhymes.  Here are some rhymes you can do with 2 squirrels:

This little squirrel said,"Let's run and play."
This little squirrel said,"Let's hunt nuts today."
This little squirrel said,"Yes, nuts are good."
This little squirrel said,"Yes, they are our best food."
This little squirrel said,"Come climb a tree." 

 I just alternate back and forth with this one since we aren't actually counting.

I also like to redo "Two Little Blackbirds" to fit my themes.

Two little squirrels sitting on a hill.

One named Fred and one named Phil.

Run away Fred.  Run away Phil.

Come back Fred.  Come back Phil.

Kay at Storytime ABC's is hosting this week's Flannel Friday round-up.  Stop on by for some great ideas! 

Shake Shake Shake

I'll admit that I am a BIG fan of using props in story times.  One of my favorites to use are shakers.  For those that haven't used shakers before, here is some reasoning why and how to do it.

Why Use Shakers

• Singing is a big component to early literacy.  Shakers are good for reinforcing the beat, which slows down music for kids to hear the parts of words.  This reinforces language development. 
• They are FUN!  Fun reinforces learning.  After all, do you remember boring programs or fun programs more? 

Which Shakers?
We use LP RhythMix Plastic Animal Shakers from Little Hands Music.  While they look expensive, we have used them multiple times a week for the past 5 years.  These shakers have been chewed, thrown, stepped on, etc., and they still look like they are new.  They are indestructible.  Because they are plastic, it is easy for me to wash them in the sink with a bleach solution to sanitize and they require little drying time.  Plus, they are just plain fun.

Egg shakers are also good.  Personally, I would purchase them if you have the means.  While I have made my own in the past and they are inexpensive, they are not sturdy.  You have to plug the holes and it is a lot of work to make an entire story time set.  Plus, plastic eggs are seasonal.  I do still like to pull them out sometimes so parents can see how to make them.

As you can see above, I had to plug the holes with hot glue before I added rice.  Then I added another ring of hot glue around the seam to fasten the egg together.

How to Use Shakers
Shakers have a wide variety of uses in story times.  You can use them as you tell the story.  Shakers make good rain noises, help keep the beat (think of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), or can make rattlesnake noises.  For a good idea of possibilities, check out the book The Sound of Storytime by Tiara Dixon and Paula Blough.  They run through a variety of instruments and how they can fit with children's books.

Do you dance in story time?  We have fun dancing to get our wiggles and sillies out.  Here are some songs that may work for you:

•  Alabama, Mississippi by Jim Gill on Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes
• I Can Shake My Shaker Egg by Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael on Rockin' Red
• Shake It by Jodi Koplin on Jumpin' Bean
• Shake It Up by Milkshake on Great Day
• Shake With You by Mr. Eric & Mr. Michael on Bouncy Blue
• Shake Your Shakers Slowly by Kathy Reid-Naiman on I Love to Hear the Sounds
• Shake Your Sillies Out by The Wiggles on Yummy Yummy
• Shake, Rattle & Rock by Greg & Steve on Shake, Rattle & Rock
• The Shaker Hop by Carole Peterson on Dancing Feet
• The Shaker Song by Rocknocerous on Dark Side of the Moon Bounce
• Shaky Shaky by The Wiggles on Yummy Yummy

One of my favorite rhymes to use with the kids is:

One, two, shake it on your shoe.

Three, four, shake it on the floor.

Five, six, stir and mix.

Seven, eight, stand up straight.

Nine, ten, wave to all your friends. 

For those who like to sing without background music, here are some other fun songs that I have used.

Title-Going to Kentucky

I was going to Kentucky, going to the fair,

To see the senorita with the flowers in her hair.

Oh, shake it, shake it, shake it,

Shake it if you can,

Shake it like a milkshake,

And do the best you can.

Oh, wobble to the bottom,

Wobble to the top,

And turn around and turn around until you make a stop!

___________________

 Title-Shake Your Shaker (to the tune of London Bridge)

Shake your shaker in the air,

Shake it here, shake it there.

Shake your shaker in the air,

Shake your shaker.

Shake it high and shake it low,

Shake it yes, shake it no.

Shake it high and shake it low,

Shake your shaker.

Shake it up and shake it down,

Rub your shaker on the ground.

Shake it up and shake it down,

Shake your shaker.

Shake it near and shake it far,

Drive your shaker like a car.

Shake it near and shake it far,

Shake your shaker.

Shake it fast and shake it slow,

Shake it stop, shake it go.

Shake it fast and shake it slow,

Shake your shaker.

 ____________________ 

Title-If You're Happy and You Know It 

If you're happy and you know it give a shake.

If you're happy and you know it give a shake.

If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it.
If you're happy and you know it give a shake.

If you're happy and you know it give a clap.

(Clap shaker against palm.)

If you're happy and you know it give a tap.

(Tap shaker on the floor.)

If you're happy and you know it do all three.

(Shake, shake, clap, clap, tap, tap) 

_____________________

Title-Shake It to the East

Shake it to the east, shake it to the west.

Shake it all around and then you take a rest.

Shake your shakers up, shake your shakers down.

Shake it, shake it, shake it and then you settle down.

________________________

Title-Shake Your Shaker

Shake your shaker in the air, in the air,

Shake it here and everywhere.

Shake it up,

And shake it down.

Shake it, shake it all around the town.

Shake your shaker in the air, in the air.

__________________________

Title-We Shake Our Shakers Together 

(To the tune of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow)

We shake our shakers together.

We shake our shakers together

We shake our shakers together

Because it's fun to do!

________________________

Title-Shake Your Shaker

(To the tune of Are You Sleeping?)

 Shake your rattles, shake your rattles,

Like the leaves.

That are growing, that are growing,

On the trees.

Shake them high, and

Shake them low.

Round about

And to and fro.

Shake your rattles, shake your rattles,

Love the leaves.

_____________________________

Title-Shaking Your Shaker

Shaking your shaker.

Shaking it up high.

Shaking it down low.

Shake it side to side.

Tap it on your foot.

Tap it on your knee.

Shaking your shaker

Very quietly // Very loudly.

 

If you haven't used them before, shakers are definitely worth adding to your story time repertoire.  I am a big fan of using props with my story times and as I have free time, I will add more posts like this one.