Saturday, August 17, 2013

Saturday Share: B-I-N-G-O and More!


I missed posting for the Flannel Friday Round-Up yesterday.

 
So ~ it is time for a 

Saturday Share!


This week I am sharing an oldie but goodie! 

B-I-N-G-O!
My dogs are made from cardstock and laminated with magnets on the back.
The tags are diecut circles with diecut letters, also laminated.
They are taped on with double-sided tape for easy removal.

There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-o.
B-i-n-g-o, 
B-i-n-g-o,
B-i-n-g-o,
And Bingo was his name-o!

With each additional verse, remove a tag ~ starting with the B ~ 
and revealing a dog paw underneath.


Have the children either clap or say "woof!" for each paw revealed.

Final verse:

There was a farmer had a dog
And Bingo was his name-o.
Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof,
Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof,
Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof,
And Bingo was his name-o!


Fun, isn't it?

Okay, that is the traditional song but ~ you know me ~ I have to tweak it! 


Counting Dogs

I know some dogs who love to play
And counting is their game-o
1-2-3-4-5,
1-2-3-4-5,
1-2-3-4-5.
And counting is their game-o.


Oh, no! One puppy lost his tag! How many still have tags?


That's right four. 
Let's sing about those four dogs and 
when we get to the fifth dog, let's say "woof".

I know some dogs who love to play
And counting is their game-o.
1-2-3-4-woof!
1-2-3-4-woof!
1-2-3-4-woof!
And counting is their game-o!

Continue until once again you are having the children say, 
"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!"
Then end with,
"That's the end of their game-o!"

I have found that Bingo is one of those songs that just invites audience participation without much effort on my part. All ages love to join in singing and clapping! 

It is a fun way to encourage letter recognition and, now with the tweaked version, it can be used to encourage number recognition as well. All with the same set of magnetic pieces!

Do you have a special way that you tweak Bingo? 

I hope you will share your version in the comments below!

Have a lovely Saturday evening and, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Flannel Friday: Watch Out, Little Fish!


Watch out, little fish!

It's SHARK WEEK!



In honor of one of my favorite TV celebrations,
I have made an awesome finger puppet shark out of felt.

Isn't he amazing?!??!?! 

This little guy showed up in my blog feed earlier this week and I knew I just HAD to make him! I clicked on the link from Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me ~ cute name, huh? ~ and found a wonderful post that included a template

That cinched it for me! I found some gray felt, dug out my favorite pair of scissors, and got right to work. Twenty minutes later, I had my toothy little guy all ready to start chasing little fishes.

Yay!
As you can see, I made mirrored images.
 When I put my sharks together ~ to form the finger puppet ~
 he became reversible!
Now, I have a shark to add to my ocean animal finger puppet set along with:



Miss Octavia the Octopus ~ who is also reversible! 
(If you haven't seen Octavia before, be sure to click through 
to see her surprise. It is very cool!)

I have several songs and rhymes in mind for Toothy the Shark(That's his name right now, Might change it later but, for now, Toothy it is.) Here is the song I think my storytime friends will  have the most fun with. I hope you will like it, too!

Five Little Fishes
(Sung to: "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Tree")

Five little fishes swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark,
"You can't catch me!
No, you can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark,
As quiet as can be,
SNAP!
A fishy from the sea!

Four little fishes swimming the the sea,

Repeat until you get to:

One little fish swimming in the sea,
Teasing Mr. Shark,
"You can't catch me!
No, you can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark,
As quiet as can be,
SNAP!
A fishy from the sea!

No little fishes swimming in the sea,
No teasing Mr. Shark,
"You can't catch me!
No, you can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Shark,
As hungry as can be!
Because ~
All the little fishes are swimming quietly 
Among the seaweed!
1-2-3-4-5

The ending is my own tweak on the original because I have had some little ones upset when the fish are eaten. What can you do? You have to save the sweet little fishes, don't you? Besides, it gives you another chance to count to five! LOL!

I will introduce this song using Toothy and a velcro glove puppet with five colorful fish. (I don't have a picture to share yet but I will add one soon.)

Well, that is it for me today. I am heading home to turn on the last night of Shark Week. Hope you have a wonderful evening and don't forget to ~

STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Flannel Friday: Five Playful Puppies



HAPPY FLANNEL FRIDAY!

It has been a few months since my last post ~ life gets in the way sometimes! But I am happy to be back this week and excited to be hosting the Flannel Friday Round-Up!

This week at our Family Storytime, we had some puppy-jumping fun! 

For years now, I have done a simple puppy version of The Five Little Monkeys (with no props) at my pet programs. My storytime friends have loved it! But ~ I have always wanted to flannel-ize my puppy version! Recently I came across a cute little board book that has quickly become a library favorite. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had found the perfect little puppies to flannel-ize!

The book is:
Aren't they unbelievably adorable?!??!

I couldn't resist so I made them out of felt. 
Plus, I made a bed just for them! 

Uh-oh! Just realized I am missing a puppy!
 I took this picture before my sweet little pink poodle was made.
I'll have to add another picture with her included.
I used to do the rhyme just like the original monkeys version but once I read this book, I tweaked it a little...
Five Playful Puppies

Five playful puppies jumping on the bed,
(Place puppies on board as you count them)
1-2-3-4-5
One fell off and bumped his head.
(remove one puppy while rubbing our head)
Mama called the doctor, 
(make phone with one hand and talk into it)
And the doctor said,
(shake one finger and head)
"No more puppies jumping on the bed.'

Additional verses:
(same as first verse using different number)
Four 
Three
Two

One playful puppy jumping on the bed,
"I miss my puppy friends," he cried.
Mama called the doctor, and the doctor said,
"Let those puppies play outside!"

Thanks for stopping by today!

And, as always, 

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Flannel Friday Round-Up for August 2, 2013s!

Are you ready for this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up?


I know I am!

This week's contributions are clever, dynamic, and charming ~ not mention inspiring! Grab yourself a refreshing drink and settle in because you don't want to miss any of these fun ideas.

Here we go:

First up is a ***Newbie Alert*** because we have two ~ yes, that's right! TWO! ~ new Flannel Friday friends sharing their creativity this week.

Please give a warm welcome to Jenna! She blogs at Stories with Ms Jenna where she is sharing her flannel-ized version of Eric A. Kimmel's picture book, The Greatest of All. Jenna's pieces are beautifully done with paint details! I am always envious of anyone who can add details with paint ~ that is just something I can not do well.   :o(   

Soooo, Jenna ~ I am officially envious of you!

Let's give another warm welcome to a team of four youth services librarians from Ohio ~ Miss Kristen, Miss Kristi, Miss Sue, and Miss Carol ~ who blog at Let the Wild Rumpus Start. This week, Sue says they are excited to share their version of the Big Wide Mouthed Frog featuring Australian animals based on the art work of Ana Martin Larranaga. The animals are gorgeously made and, once again, I am envious of the incredible paint details! Ladies, you have definitely inspired me to try my paints again because I have to make this set!
Beautiful!


Next, we have some yummy flannels featuring one of my favorite fruits of the Summer season ~ WATERMELON! Yum!

According to Kathryn over at Fun with Friends at Storytime, Saturday, August 3rd, is National Watermelon Day! And she is inviting us to celebrate by sharing her original rhyme, Sharing Watermelon. Also, shared in the post is a list of books, songs, and links to other watermelon flannels posted by other Flannel Friday-ers. How awesome is that?

Tara ~ from Storytime with Ms Tara and Friends ~ has "a fun way to present a new(er) book" that would pair perfectly with Kathryn's watermelon rhyme. Tara uses a friendly alligator puppet and delicious-looking felt watermelon slice to creatively share the Greg Pizzou's book, The Watermelon Seed. Enjoy! But watch out for a flying...

Continuing on we have:

Katie using her own imagination to create a wonderful flannel set of a little boy who imagines and then draws himself a cute ~ but very demanding ~ monster. On her blog, Storytime Secrets, Katie mentions that this flannel "was probably the most successful" she has ever used with her preschool storytimes! 
Take a look at the little guy. 
Who can resist a cute little monster Like him? 
Not me!

Next, we have Shawn at Read, Rhyme, and Sing who has a toddler storytime favorite, Little Ball, Big Ball. It has been tweaked to include new verses to be used with some very colorful flannel balls. Shawn gets lots of "extra mileage" with this simple but very smart set that can be used for color recognition and counting with even your youngest storytime friends.

I am beyond excited about this next , and a contribution! (It is what I call a Fun Find on my blog and I can never resist them!) 1234 More Storytimes announces that she "found some kids" in the dollar bins of Target! How FUN is that?!??! These kids are perfect! That is all I am going to say because you need to head on over to the blog and check them out yourself. Because who can't use more sweet kids at storytimes?

Now, let's have a little felt-y fun with Animals:

Bridget used her wonderful crocheting talents to bring us some delightful frog magnets. On her blog, What is Bridget Reading?, she provides two original rhymes. Check them out! They will help make your storytime a hopping-ly good time!


Anne at So Tomorrow brings us an unusual prop that is sure to surprise your storytime friends. It is a Nesting Cats set! Along with the set, you"ll find a rhyme that goes perfectly with the prop. Oh, Anne also points you in the direction of a 10% off coupon just in case you too would like to own a set,

Since Anne played with kitties this week, I think I'll share my very excitable puppies that we played with this week. They are based on the puppies in one of our favorite board books. It is a touchy-feely book so the little ones really enjoy it! You will find these silly little guys on my blog ~ Storytime ABC'S

Can you believe that Summer is winding down and Fall is just around the corner?!??! Well, Lisa from Libraryland is already prepping for Fall Storytimes with one of my favorite Fall animals ~ SQUIRRELS! She made some cute little squirrel finger puppets. So sweet! She provides two rhymes to help get you started with your own Fall planning and she
even includes a pattern for the puppets! What more could you need to get "squirrel-y" this Fall?

Miss Meg is a Librarian after my own heart! <3 Not only does she like to make sure that her storytime friends have a take-home item, she makes sure it is fun and interactive! Two very important requirements, in my opinion. ;o) But she doesn't stop there ~ she also makes sure that you won't need a lot of time or money! Something quick and simple, too! On her blog, Miss Meg's Storytime, you'll find her adorable hedgehogs. They will easily become a "treasure" that continually reminds our young friends that storytime is Fun!

This next one from Thrive After Three is based on a book that is new to me. Mrs Shaia says that it is one of her favorite Fall stories so I am looking forward to searching it out ~ especially after seeing the magical prop that she uses to tell the story! According to Mrs Shaia, it astonishes the children. I can see why! It is a dazzling display of creativity!

That's this week's Round-Up!
I hope you enjoyed all of the awesome-ness that is Flannel Friday each week.

Thank you to everyone who shared their awe-inspiring ideas!