Flannel Friday: Where Can They Be?

HAPPY FLANNEL FRIDAY!

Are you ready to wiggle and squirm this week?

Last Friday, we bounced like bunnies. This week, we are going to wiggle and squirm like worms! 

I am not sure if I have ever done a storytime featuring worms ~ ewwww! smooshy, gooshy, slimey, slippery worms! ~ before. But it was FUN! Planning last night's Family Storytime and Game Night was actually more fun than I imagined. 

And  did you know worms have their own personalilites? Well... at least mine do! *wink*

 As some of my storytime friends say, "Let's do it!"

Worm Friends

(Count-Up and Color Rhyme)

One red wiggly worm lying under the sky so blue

Along comes an orange one and that makes two.

Two colorful wiggly worms squirming up a tree,

Along comes a yellow one and that makes three.

Three colorful wiggly worms searching for one more,

Along comes a green one and that makes four.

Four colorful wiggly worms into a puddle dive,

Along comes a blue one and that makes five.

Five colorful wiggly worms squirming across some sticks,

Along comes a purple one and that makes six.

1-2-3-4-5-6

Have you started to wonder about the title of this blog post yet? What does "Where Can They Be?" have to do with squirming worms? Stick with me. You are going to find out soon!

For the second rhyme, I am bringing in the colorful bird finger puppets that I shared a few weeks ago in this Saturday Share post. (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

With the felt worms still on the flannel board, I begin this next rhyme:

Where Can They Be?

(Count-Down and Color Rhyme)

Six little wiggle worms 

Wiggling up a tree.

Teasing Mr. Red Bird,

"You can't catch me!"

Down swooped Mr. Red Bird

As fast as could be.

Ooops!

There goes the red worm!

Now where can he be?

Five little wiggle worms 

Wiggling up a tree.

Teasing Mr. Orange Bird

As fast as can be.

Ooops!

There goes the orange worm!

Now where can she be?

Additional verses:

Four little wiggle worms... Mr. Yellow Bird... yellow worm

Three little wiggle worms... Mrs. Green Bird... green worm

Two little wiggle worm... Mr. Blue Bird... blue worm

One little wiggle worm... Mrs. Purple Bird... purple worm

No little wiggle worms

Wiggling up a tree.

None teasing any bird,

"You can't catch me!"

Down swoop the hungry birds

Searching all around.

Where are the wiggle worms?

Safe under the ground!

When doing this rhyme with the bird finger puppets, I give each one to a child. I have the child fly the bird up to the flannel board when we say its color. The child makes the bird swoop towards the worm but I actually take the bird off the board and set it aside in preparation for the end. Once the worm disappears, the child flies his bird back to his seat.

If I do the puppets myself, I use the same hand holding the puppet to pick the worm off the board ~ making it look like the bird got the worm. This makes the ending even more of a surprise!

At the end, I count the worms back onto the board. I have felt pieces that are green above a section of brown. It looks like grass and the ground beneath. (I don't have a picture with these pieces but I will try to take one soon.) These pieces work perfectly with my flannel board because it is blue and great for the sky. I add a few white felt clouds and a large felt tree when I want to build the whole scene.

Aren't worms fun?

I received such wonderful emails from several people last week ~ in response to me including  additional ideas like craft and snack ~ that I thought I would go ahead and include more ideas this week. Not sure I have pictures for it all but I'll try to add some later if I don't.

For the Game Night portion of the Storytime, we played with our parachute and added worms to the mix!

For our snack, we had Pull-N-Peel Twizzlers:

For our Take-Home item, each child chose a felt worm in his/her favorite color. The worms were made using a Die-Cut machine but can easily be cut by hand. 

Here is one of the "Follow Directions" rhymes that we did with our favorite felt worms. This rhyme is good for re-enforcing listening skills, opposites, and positional phrases. 

Wiggle Worms

Wiggle your worm fast; then wiggle it s-l-o-w.

Wiggle your worm high; then wiggle it down low.

Wiggle your worm on your shoulder; then wiggle it on your head.

Wiggle your worm along your arm; then wiggle it along your leg.

Wiggle your worm behind of you; then wiggle it in front.

Wiggle your worm on your nose, what a silly willy stunt!

Wiggle your worm on your toes, then wiggle it towards the sky.

Now wiggle your worm down to the ground; and wave a sad 'good-bye'.

I hope these rhymes and learning activities get you excited about exploring worms with your little ones! It is FUN! 

There are soooo many more worm ideas that I have to share but I'll have to save them for another day. In the meantime, you can check out this past post, Apple Surprise!, about a worm in an apple. (I almost forgot about him!) And, if you are looking for more learning ideas with an worm theme, please feel free to email me at storytimeabcs@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by! I enjoy sharing ideas with you and always hope that you will share your ideas and thoughts with me in the comments below or in email, if you prefer. Have a lovely day!

And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by Lucy on her blog, In The Children's Room.

Go check it out! And if you ever want to share your own ideas in our weekly Round-Up and you don't have a blog of your own, you might want to consider being a Guest Poster on this blog. I would love to host you!