Flannel Friday-The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants

One of the big events that we do at least 1 time each summer is a story time in the park.  When we do these events, it is not uncommon to have 150 people at our story time.  When we choose books, props, and flannelboards, we look for ones that we can make bigger so everyone can see them.  This summer, we did a movement story time that included The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants by Eric Litwin.  Not only is it a great story, but the figures are pretty easy to make larger.  We used fun foam and puffy paint to create our figures.  As one person read the story, another danced with their nut to go along with the words.

 Hazel Nut and her dad

 Mama and Wally Nut

Grandma Nut

 

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Mollie at What Happens in Storytime.

 

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.

   

Parachute Games, 2015 Edition

I love summer reading time because I get to pull out my favorite programs!  One such program is Parachute Games.  Once you have a parachute and access to music, it is a free program that you can run year after year.

Set Up & Registration
Parachute Games is one of those programs where it is handy to have registration.  You only have so many handles on the parachute.  While you can fudge the numbers a little, you don't want 60 kids showing up to play with a 20 handle parachute.  You also don't want only 1 child showing up.  We sign up 20 kids for our program (as we have a 20 handle parachute).  Normally a day or two ahead of time I will bump in an extra 2-4 kids as you will have kids who don't show up.  To make this decision, I look at how many siblings could possibly be available to pick up some slack in case a chunk of kids don't show up. 

Our Playlist
1.  Round the Village by Wee Sing on Wee Sing and Play-This is a good slow song to get going.  You get to go around the circle, go in and out, and turn the circle again.

2.  Moving in a Circle by Mr. Eric and Mr. Michael on Rockin' Red-This is a circle spinning song again.  It tends to slow the kids down as they get super excited about bouncing things.  You will get to walk, jump, and take baby steps with the parachute.

3.  Five Little Monkeys on the cd Five Little Monkeys-Since monkeys like to bounce, we pop some monkey finger puppets we have onto the parachute for the kids to bounce.  Like the monkeys in the rhyme, they tend to fall off and we have to toss them back on again.

4.  Spin Around by The Fresh Beat Band on The Fresh Beat Band Vol. 2.0-This is one of those songs that will stick in your head all day long.  It is a fun and peppy spinning song.

5.  The Popcorn Pop by Rosenshontz on Tot Rock-Now it is time for some bouncing.  I have a lot of mini beach balls from Oriental Trading that I use as "popcorn".  The hard part is getting beach balls off of the parachute when the song is done.  Today we just left them all on and it still worked great.

6.  Ring Around the Rosie by Caspar Babypants on Sing Along!-I am loving Caspar Babypants right now, but am having a hard time getting it to catch on.  This is a circle song again, but you get to fall down.  The 2-4 year olds love to fall down and think it is the silliest thing ever.

7.  Spin Again by Jim Gill on Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on His Toe Leg Knee-We have Jim Gill coming to perform on Saturday so I am popping his songs in everywhere I can.

8. Juggling, Juggling, Juggling Balls by The Wiggles on Hot Poppin' Popcorn-I have a bunch of mini beach balls that I got as part of a parachute set from Oriental Trading.  Beach balls are great for the parachute because they "pop", but you can also deflate them to maximize your storage space.

9.  Popcorn by Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights on I'm a Rock Star-We got to pop all of our beach balls again!

10.  Popcorn by the Barenaked Ladies on Snacktime!-Nothing beats Popcorn as a finale song as it is super fast and you get to bounce everything.  If you have any balls or props left, throw them on the parachute to bounce.


After the program was over, I let the kids play with the beach balls as I wasn't in a hurry to clean up.  It was great fun!

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-Butterflies

One of my favorite easy and cheap props are stick puppets.  You can make them in bulk quickly and the kids love them.  This week's butterfly puppet was made using our butterfly die cut, fun foam, tacky glue, and craft sticks.

My first use for these was in my sensory story times.  I had read Trish's ALSC blog post on how she uses "Butterflies Flit" by The Wiggles.  When I tried it with my groups, it worked great.  This past week I also used them with my baby story time kids (12-24 months) and they also had a good time.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is being hosted here at Libraryland.  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-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

This past fall my library was given a grant to develop circulating early literacy kits.  As I was going through catalogs, I realized that I could make most of the felt stuff better myself.  This is my first completed prop to go along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  I am really excited about it and will give you my tips and tricks below.

The original idea came to me from Twodaloo. I really liked the design and "wow" factor.  My only is that I wanted young kids to be able to play with it and small wooden circles and coconuts make a choking hazard (great idea for home, but not for a public library).  I also wanted it to be low cost as people will lose the parts.  I wanted to be able to easily recreate parts so we don't have to withdraw the kits as parts disappear.

My mom and I followed the instructions on Twodaloo to create the trunk.  I used my mom because I do not sew (and she does).  I thought that sewed trunks would make them more durable.  Just a note-1 yard of fleece will create 6 trunks.  Also, we added 1 inch extra around our arm as neither of us have thin arms and I wanted adults to be able to use it too.

While my mom sewed trunks, I cut out leaves.  I wanted a pattern for these as I wanted them to look as close to the real thing as possible.  One of my favorite sources for patterns is Making Learning Fun.  I used the leaf and coconut patterns from here and blew them up on the copy machine to 121%.  I used three different shades of green to make my trees fun.

For assembly, I hot glued 2 big leaves and 3 small leaves to the top of each tree trunk.  I thought that the hot glue would give it a little more durability for the public than tacky glue (my normal glue of choice).  It helped to glue the leaves more to the side than the top of the trunk as felt isn't super thick.  I didn't want falling leaves as I told my story.

Next came the coconuts.  I cut out 156 coconuts as I made 6 puppets (26 letters x 6 puppets).  I puffy painted the letters of the alphabet onto these.  I had to do them in two batches as I ran out of room for them to dry.

Once they were dry, I added velco to the back of each coconut and added them to my tree.  It was at this point that I learned that velcro doesn't stick well to fleece.  Luckily, it still works well on the felt leaves.

Here is a picture of the puppet on my arm.  Taking puppet selfies one-handed is a little difficult!

While I really like the finished product, if I was making another set of these, I would make the trunk in brown felt.  This would also mean that I would add more than an inch around my arm pattern as felt doesn't "give" the same way as fleece.

This week's round-up is being hosted by Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime.  You can always find Flannel Friday at the official blog, on Pinterest, and on Facebook.     

Flannel Friday-I Know an Old Lady

This week for our Flannel Friday Thanksgiving Extravaganza I am showing off I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson.  I love to use it for my story times because it is fun and cumulative.  Plus, by making it into puppet form, it adds some interactivity to the program.  Now the glitch is that I made this prop in my younger days and did not write down the source.  (Note to self-always right down the source!)  If you know where it came from, please let me know and I will add it to this post.

Above is my old lady.  The top of her head is taped to the back of the bag, while her body is taped to the front.  When you put items in the bag, it makes it look like she is eating them.

This is my food.  When I retell it for my younger kids, I like to have all of the food out on my magnetboard in order.  Not only does it mean that I pull it off in order to feed to the old lady, but it lets the kiddos see what is coming next.  They really do like to be in the "know".

When I tell this story to preschoolers, I don't have all of the pieces out ahead of time.  They like the surprise.  To make it easier on me, I first number the backs of all of the pieces.  This lets me pile them up in order quickly, rather than paging through the story to see the order.  I also write out the story and number the words so I know when to pull out the next piece.

While I couldn't find where I got this story from, I did find another old lady here.  You can either make food out of clip art or use some from Making Learning Fun.

This week's Flannel Friday Thanksgiving/Chanukah Extravaganza is being hosted by Tracey at 1234 More Storytimes.  Stop by for some great ideas!

Flannel Friday-Pumpkin, Pumpkin

This week's contribution is a prop that is perfect for any Halloween story times that you are planning.  I even used it for my Trick-or-Treat program and the prop became one of their treats to take home.  My coworker, Kara, sent me the rhyme and the original idea.

Pumpkin, pumpkin round and fat,

Turned into a jack-o-lantern just like that!

To make your own, I used 2 pumpkin die cuts for each one (one had a face drawn on), some double-sided tape, and a craft stick.  I made 75 of them in about 30 minutes.

I love to send props like this home with the kids for a couple of reasons.  First, it is an inexpensive story stretcher.  Props help them to remember what they did in your program so you don't get a blank look if you ask them.  (Trust me, they can forget anything 5 minutes after it happens.  It is the nature of this age group.)  Second, it promotes imaginative play.  While I am using a pumpkin rhyme with them, they can play trick-or-treat or some other idea that I have never thought of.  The best ideas come out of their brains.  Third, it shows parents that you don't have to be Martha Stewart to make fun craft toys for their kids.  These are not high quality props, but they will be fun.

This week's round-up is hosted by Katie at Storytime Katie.  Have a great week!

Flannel Friday-Teddy Bear Puppet

As some of you may know, I am in transition between two buildings right now.  Below is what my old desk currently looks like.  Please note the number of boxes.  (Honestly, it is the cleanest it has ever been!)

Since I am traveling back and forth, often in the same day, I have been living out of this lovely Vera Bradley tote bag.  It contains my iPad and notepad, plus any folders I may need for meetings in the next 2 weeks.

Seeing this, you will understand why I am not cutting out new flannelboards this week.  Instead, I am going to show off my really simple puppet that I use with rhymes.  You can make them for anything and in vast quantities rather quickly.  It took me 2 minutes or less to make one this morning.

One sealed envelope (I cut off about 3 inches at one end) + 1 die cut + glue stick=1 puppet.  Since they are easy and cheap, I like to send them home with the kids after we do the rhyme, although I do have one set of laminated teddy bears.

With my teddy bear puppets, I like to do the following rhyme:

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, stand up tall.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, make yourself small.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, run in place.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, stand real still.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, hold your hands up

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, put your hands down.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, lay on your back.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, roll to your front.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, smile a smile.

Teddy Bear, Teddy bear, look real sad.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, stand up again.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, sit right down.

Because of the nature of the rhyme, if there is a part that you don't like, you can easily cut out that rhyming section.  I will often cut out the lay on your back/roll to your front part as we just don't have the space for it. 

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Bridget at What is Bridget Reading?  Stop on by for some great ideas.

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.