Flannel Friday: Spring is Here!

I missed another Flannel Friday deadline again. Dang it! But here it is anyway ~ disguised as another Saturday Share. **wink**

I am behind again this week due to being extremely busy with our special Snack with the Easter Bunny events. Plus several coworkers were off work so we were short-handed - especially yesterday. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it! Lol

Enough with excuses though. Time to move forward!

I am hoping to learn all about how to schedule posts this coming week. I would like to start getting ahead ~ although I have enjoyed writing a Saturday Share post the last few weeks. It is nice to get up early and create my post without distractions.(Maybe I will continue with a few SS's each month once I get some kind of organization happening with my blog. Wish me luck! Ha! Ha!)

Okay, enough chitter chatter. Here we go with this week's Flannel Friday:

I love this time of year, don't you? I love bringing out all of the butterfly songs, the bug fingerplays, rainbow learning games (you knew I would sneak in a rainbow somewhere, didn't you? LOL), the farm and pond books, and all the other storytime items that I save for Spring.

One of my favorite items to share in the Springtime is a lively song titled Spring is Here.

It is also a favorite of my storytime friends! They get very excited every time the music starts.

The song is done by a musical group that I met years and years ago at an Early Childhood convention in Oklahoma when I was a preschool teacher. I met them in Oklahoma but they are actually from Melbourne, FL so they are only a few hours away from my library!

The group is The Learning Station.
 



Their music is very enticing and interactive, which I really love! I use it quite often in my programs for children of ALL ages and in ALL sizes of groups from a small preschool classroom to a huge auditorium filled with K through 2nd grade students. Everyone, including the adults, have fun and sing-along!

Below, I will share the words for a portion of the song, Spring is Here. (Click on the song title or CD cover, then scroll down for a sampling of this song and a list and sampling of the other songs on this wonderful CD. I think you will find several songs that you will want to fit into your Springtime storytimes. This is a fun CD!)

Now for the Flannel Friday part of this blog.

I have borrowed several pieces from my Leprechaun, Leprechaun set and then made a few more pieces to cover all the things we see while singing the song. I'll share the words for the first part of the song and pictures of the signs of Spring. Then I will share a little about how I present this song in a few different ways.

Spring Is Here

Spring is here.

Spring is here.

How do you think I know?

I just saw a blue bird.

That is how I know!

Spring is here.

Spring is here.

How do you think we know?

We just saw a blue bird.

That is how we know!

Do the bird walk and strut your thing.

Do the bird walk and flap your wings.

Do the bird walk, do anything.

And look around for another sign of Spring.

As the song continues we also see:

A Bee

A Ladybug

A Butterfly

A Frog

(Isn't he cute?)

And a what?!!??!!??

You didn't think I was going to give a way the surprise ending, did you? You'll have to download the song to find out what else we saw. I know you will want to use the song over and over, even if it is just to play as the families enter the room for storytime or while they work on their craft at the end of the program.

*** A few ideas for using this song:

1. The magnetic or flannel pieces are usually my first option ~ of course! I place the items on the board as we sing about each new Springtime creature. You could pass out the pieces and have children place them on the board at the appropriate time.

2. Puppets could be an option! For a larger group, I use puppets ~ either with a puppet theater or without. If I am visiting a school without a puppet theater then I just take the puppets out of a cute bag as they appear in the song.

3. If you are comfortable with using sign language, then signing is always an option. This option can be done by itself or combined with one of the other two options.

As I have mentioned before, I enjoy using ASL signs throughout my storytimes because it is a fun way to keep the little ones' attention and to help them connect more with what we are doing. Being physically involved with a song or a book will help the child understand more and remember more.

If the group I am working with is unfamiliar with sign language or unfamiliar with me or my library storytimes (such as a preschool class visiting our library for the first time) then I usually show only a sign or two. I make the sign and give a very quick comment before encouraging everyone to make the sign(s) with me a few times.

For example, for this particular song I might only do the sign for Spring. As I make the sign, I would mention that it is just like a flower or plant growing up through the ground. This sign actually means "to grow" if you do it once but it indicates "Spring" if you do it twice.

Sign for "Spring"

For a group who is familiar with me or with sign language, I would use the signs for more of the words. Since my families at my weekly Family Storytime already sign parts of the song "If You're Happy and You Know It", I encourage them to sign "know" when we sing, "How do you think we know?"


Sign for "know"


I also encourage that group to do the signs for "bird", "bee", "ladybug", "butterfly", and "frog".


Sign for "butterfly"



If you are interested in learning more about sign language or just want to find a sign or two, I recommend going to ASLPro.com. It was recommended to me by a friend who is deaf. I use it often!

We do a few motions with this song that are not specific to sign language. We tap our legs when the song says "do the bird walk" or "do the butterfly walk" and we flap our arms each time we sing "flap your wings". We also put our hands to our foreheads and look up, down and all around like we are searching for something when we sing, "And look around for another sign of Spring". Just these few motions would work for anyone who isn't comfortable with using sign language.

I quickly want to mention that the pieces for this week's song are made by layering different colors of construction paper. It is then laminated and has both magnetic tape and velcro on the back so that it is a dual purpose set.

Well, that is it!

If you have any questions about The Learning Station, about using sign language in storytimes, or about how I made the pieces for this week's Flannel Friday, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me by email at storytimeabcs@gmail.com.

I enjoy hearing from you!

And as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Flannel Friday information for this week:

Our host is at Erin at her Falling Flannels blog. A huge "Thanks!" to Ering for doing the round-up this week!

Round up archives and host schedule is at So Tomorrow.

Visually scan all the Flannel Friday posts at Pinterest.

Talk about storytime and flannelboards at the Flannel Friday Facebook Page.

Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the #flannelfriday hashtag. (You don’t have to be on Twitter to check this out.)

And, last but not least, if you’re a contributor, there is an awesome blog button from Melissa and you can grab it from the right hand menu at Mel’s Desk!