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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Saturday Share: Prickly Pokey Fun

Good afternoon!


I missed my usual Flannel Friday post because I was home sick yesterday.

 sick_emoticon.gif

But while I was resting, I created some delightful little creatures that I can't wait to share with everyone.
 Shhh! 
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Don't tell anyone
~ especially my family ~ 
because I was supposed to be resting!  

But making these sweet little things helped take my mind off all my aches and pains. Maybe that is why I love them so much! They helped me ignore being sick. :o) Plus they are felt fingerpuppets which make them fun and versatile!



Without further ado, 
here they are:
Porky-Poo and Hedgie-Hug

Aren't they cute? They were inspired by several different things over the past few months. Finally, everything came together yesterday with scraps of felt, sharp scissors, a little Tacky glue, and embroidery thread and needle.

Here is a fun rhyme that I plan to share ~ using my new friends and some rolling motions:


Two Little Hedgehogs
(Adaptation of: "Two Little Black Birds")

Two little hedgehogs 
Sitting on a hill.
One named Jack 
And the other named Jill.
Roll away, Jack.
Roll away, Jill.
Roll back, Jack.
Roll back, Jill.


My first inspiration for my spiny friends came from a cute porcupine applique that I saw in passing ~ so long ago that I can't even remember where I saw it. :o( (If I find the original again, I will provide more information.)

I do remember, at the time, thinking, "That is adorable!" But I didn't connect it to the idea of a boy/girl porcupine/hedgehog fingerpuppet until I found these:

My second inspiration!

I recently found this package of felt spiny creatures at Michael's. I set them aside to share as a Fun Find. They are inexpensive and perfect for using with a felt glove for counting rhymes. In the package, there are  five pink and five brown spiny creatures. I just added a piece of Velcro to each back so that they could stick to a felt glove or to a flannel board.

I use them for a Count Down rhyme, a Count Up rhyme, and then a combination Count Up/Count Down rhyme. I also use them interchangeably (is that a real word??!!??!) as Porcupines and as Hedgehogs. They are versatile, too!


Hedgehog Friends
(Count Up Rhyme)

One little hedgehog looking for something to do,
Along came another and that made two.
Two little hedgehogs snuffling near a tree,
Along came another and that made three,
Three little hedgehogs searching for one more,
Along came another and that made four.
Four little hedgehogs waiting for one to arrive,
Along came another and that made five.





Five Little Porcupines
(Count Down Rhyme)

Five little porcupines rolling across the floor,
One waddles off and then there are four.
Four little porcupines rolling by me,
One waddles off and then there three.
Three little porcupines rolling by you,
One waddles off and then there are two.
Two little porcupines rolling under the sun,
One waddles of and then there was one.
One little porcupine rolling all alone,
He waddles off and that leaves none.







Ten Little Hedgehogs
(Sung to: "Ten Little Indians")

One little, two little, three little hedgehogs.
Four little, five little, six little hedgehogs.
Seven little, eight little, nine little hedgehogs.
Ten little hedgehogs sitting by some logs.

Ten little, nine little, eight little hedgehogs.
Seven little, six little, five little hedgehogs.
Four little, three little, two little hedgehogs.
One little hedgehog chasing a frog.


Ten Little Porcupines
(Sung to: "Ten Little Indians")

One little, two little, three little porcupines.
Four little, five little, six little porcupines.
Seven little, eight little, nine little porcupines.
Ten little porcupines standing in a line.

Ten little, nine little, eight little porcupines.
Seven little, six little, five little porcupines.
Four little, three little, two little porcupines.
One little porcupine looking so fine.


These rhymes are a combination of ones that I have used over the years for my preschool classes/storytimes and ones that I "piggybacked" using popular songs and fingerplays. Some I only tweaked (something I love to do) a little yesterday while I was working on creating my new favorite spiny creatures ~ Porky-Poo and Hedgie-Hug

I have a few more ideas to share with you and a few books, as well.

Here is a creative movement/song that also could be used when talking about emotions:


I'm a Little Hedgehog
(Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little hedgehog, short and round.
Here is my smile, here is my frown.
When I get scared, I roll around.
Just watch me spin across the ground.

And another creative movement activity to use when your young friends need to get up and move around a bit.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog
(Adapted from "Teddybear, Teddybear, Turn Around")

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, turn around.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, touch the ground.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, stretch up high.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, search the sky.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, search down low.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, touch your toes.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, sit on the ground.
Hedgehog, Hedgehog, curl up small and round.

My volunteer says this one is a little hard to say with the overwhelming number of "hedgehog" mentions. Doesn't easily trip off the tongue, but I don't mind because ~ if I mess up ~ it is a good reason to laugh together. 
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But, if you aren't into being silly, you could always give your hedgehog or porcupine a nickname that is easier to say so many times. 

Speaking of nicknames, I want to share my inspiration for my girl puppet's name ~ Hedgie-Hug. I found this cute little book about a hedgehog's search for love. A little tweak and my sweet little girl had a cute name! The book is:


Hedgehug
 A Sharp Lesson in Love
created and illustrated by Dan Pinto
written by Benn Sutton
For Hedgehug, love appears to be very prickly.
Will he ever find someone who will accept his heart ~ prickles and all?


Another book about spiny creatures and also about names is:

A Porcupine Named Fluffy
written by Helen Lester
illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Meet two unlikely characters ~ 
a porcupine named Fluffy and a rhinoceros named ... WHAT?!??!

This book is written by the author of Tacky the Penguin. If you know Tacky then you know that humor will be found in spades inside the cover of this book! I have used this book for years and years. It never fails to bring about fits of giggles from both children and adults. 

One more book that could be used with our spiny creatures is an easy reader book with an age-old problem to solve ~ too many cooks in the kitchen:

Hedgehog Bakes a Cake
written by Maryann MacDonald
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Hedgehog wants to bake a cake.  
Rabbit, Squirrel, and Owl want to help.
Oh, what a mess!

Before I wrap this up, I have one more fun piggyback song to share. It provides you with an opportunity to talk about porcupine characteristics such as what they like to eat and what they do when something frightens them.

Five Little Porcupines
(Sung to: "Five Green and Speckled Frogs")

Five little porcupines
Sittin' in a crooked line
Eating the most delicious bark.
Yum! Yum!
One heard a scary call.
Rolled up into a ball.
Now, there are four little porcupines.

Be sure to count the porcupines as you add them to the flannel board
and as you start each new verse.
Rub your tummy as you say, "Yum! Yum!'
As the porcupine "rolls into a ball", take one from the board 
and hide it in your hand as you make your fist into a ball.
Continue until no porcupines are left.


Can anyone think of a Hedgehog version of "Five Green and Speckled Frogs"? 

I'd love to hear it! I get stuck on the first line because I can't get anything to fit nicely into 6 syllables. The hedgehogs can be sitting near or on a log. Since they eat bugs that part would still work from the original version. Then I think the ending could be the same as above because they also curl up when they are frightened. 

Hmmm... just need a starting line. Anyone?

Oh, by the way, my mind is still remembering more books and some old learning activities I used to do for our porcupines and hedgehogs units at my school. And I am thinking of new ideas, too, so I am sure there will be more prickly fun to come! Like ~ a fun tweak to the "Hokey-Pokey"...

Hope you enjoyed this Saturday Share! I enjoyed writing it now that I am feeling a little better. :o)

Have a lovely weekend with your families!
And, as always, 

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

25 comments:

  1. How fun and original!!! Thank you for sharing!!
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome, Donna! I had so much fun with this post. I might have to do Saturday Share posts more often because I felt like I had time to add whatever I wanted. ;o)

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I love hearing from new and old friends who stop by. <3

      Have a wonderful evening!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
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  2. My you've been (busy) resting! We won't tell. Thanks for an array of great ideas. Get well soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Library Quine, for keeping my secret! :o)

      I thought I was feeling better but, when I got out of bed a little while ago, I realized that I am not quite ready for normalcy yet. Back to bed for me! Until the dizziness and fatigue decide to go away for good.

      I hope you are having a relaxing weekend!
      Take care!
      ~ K ~

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  3. Wonderful ideas Kay! Thanks for sharing from your sick-bed - shhh, mum's the word :). I can't wait to look up those cute books. I have a couple of ideas that might work for 5 Little Hedgehogs.

    5 little hedgehogs
    Scurrying through a log
    Chasing the most delicious bugs
    Yum! Yum!
    - do hedgehogs eat bugs? I'm not sure.


    5 little hedgehogs
    Sleeping beside (or inside) a log
    or
    Playing beside (or inside or around) a log

    .....you can take it from there and give it the K touch ;)


    Thanks again K! Hope you're all better soon :-)
    Amanda Murray

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the ideas, Amanda! And the well wishes, too. I love bouncing ideas back and forth with other people. :o)I really like the "scurrying through a log". Would you mind if I use it?

      Let me know what you think about the books. There are a few more books that I didn't include in my list. If you need more titles, I can send them to you.

      Take care!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
  4. I forgot to say I love, love, love Porky-Poo and Hedgie-Hug!

    Amanda :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW! I think you were overjoyed to be closed up in your resting space...hiding flannel and a laptop under the blankets! Did you have coffee too? Seriously girl, great stuff. Oh, and I so love Fluffy, A Porcupine named Fluffy. Hope you are feeling better ~ jane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No coffee here. I don't like the taste! :o} But I did have Cranberry-Lime juice. Yum!

      Thank you for the encouragement and well wishes. I am feeling better this weekend but not quite back to full steam yet ~ busy week!

      Hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend with your family!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
  6. How cute! I love those little felt hedgehogs. I think my son would love the books, too. Thanks! Hope you're feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Jessica! Thank you, I am feeling better. :o)

      How old is your son? My boys loved books about any kind of forest animals but I think porcupines and hedgehogs were top of the list. They were always asking to get a pet hedgehog!

      Enjoy your weekend!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
  7. Hedge hogs are so much fun! I love the felt glove idea. Thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Janine! I am so glad you like the felt glove. I use it all the time in my storytimes and my young friends love using it to practice the rhymes.

      Have a lovely day!
      ~ K ~

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  8. These will be great for the summer theme this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooooh, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for mentioning it!

      Maybe I should add it to the Flannel Friday "Dig into Reading" Round-Up next week. Hmmmm...

      Thanks for stopping by!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
  9. What a wonderful round-up on hedgehogs! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Carrie! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. It is much appreciated!

      Hope you are having a great Sunday!
      ~ K ~

      Delete
  10. Sorry you've been sick. Feel better soon! Looking at more posts on your blog. I'm totally in awe with each one I see!!! Where do you get so many ideas???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Melissa! I am slowly feeling better. :o)

      I am very happy to hear that you are enjoying your exploration of my blog. That is always nice to hear!

      To answer your question, many of my ideas have been around for a very long time and have come from some wonderfully inspiring people in my life ~ my Mom, my co-teachers, my professors from my Early Childhood classes, other children's librarians, homeschool moms ~ and from wonderful teaching resources like magazines and blogs. Too many people and places to mention really!

      I do try to give credit and add links when I can so ~ if I don't mention where my own inspiration came from, the idea might be something that I thought of on my own or tweaked from a totally different idea.

      There are sooo many ideas and soooo little time to do them all! Don't you think? LOL!

      Delete
  11. Have you seen the book, Mr. Prickles by Kara LaReau? Boy porcupine, girl porcupine, hugs...

    ReplyDelete
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