Flannel Friday: Gingerbread Friends

HAPPY 

FLANNEL

FRIDAY!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day! 

This has been a busy week but it has also been an especially fun one, too!

We have had lots of new visitors ~ of the tiny tots and preschoolers types ~ at our library all week long. They have been so adorable that it has inspired me to start a new #hashtag on Twitter in honor of them. 

If you are one Twitter, just look for me ~ @StorytimeFun ~ or for #LibraryCuties. 

If you aren't on Twitter yet, I highly recommend that you try it out. You will find lots of ideas and interesting conversations for #Librarians and for others who work with young children (#ECE) including young parents. :o)

Oh, and we also have our own #FlannelFriday hashtag, too. (Bet you wondered where I was going with all this Twitter talk, huh? I also bet you didn't think it had anything to do with felt and Flannel Friday but ~ it did!!!)

So... 
come join in on all of the fun Twitter conversations!

Okay, let's get on with this week's Flannel Friday contribution:

We have been having an exciting time with Nursery Rhymes and Fairytales at my Library for the past few weeks. Last night was our culminating program. 

It was our Mother Goose Pajama Party featuring our very own version of the Gingerbread Boy! Yum! Yum!

I was inspired to do our new version by a resource book that I have had sitting on my desk for quite some time. It is such a wonderful book that I think all Storytime presenters (teachers, childcare providers, and parents) should at least take a peek inside its covers. 

This wonderful book is:

FingerTales

written by Joan Hilyer Phelps

As I was searching for Gingerbread Men ideas and Cookie ideas, I scanned the contents page and found BOTH! 

JACKPOT!

Combining the two topics, I came up with this version of the Gingerbread Boy (full written script available on request):

There was a little old lady and a little old man...

Don't you love the way the oven door opens and allows our Gingerbread Boy to look like he is popping out? I had fun tweaking the pattern to make that work. :o)

The Gingerbread Boy hopped out of the oven and ran...

The Gingerbread Boy ran by a black and white Cow
 chewing on grass in the green pasture...

The Gingerbread Boy ran by a brown Horse
munching on hay near the old red barn...

The Gingerbread Boy ran by a pink Pig
snuffling at its empty trough...

The Gingerbread Boy ran by a white Dog
by the kitchen door sniffing for food...

The Gingerbread Boy ran by a gray cat
in the flowerbed searching for a mouse...

And, as the story goes, none of them could catch the Gingerbread Boy as he ran past them calling, "Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Soon, the Gingerbread Boy saw a:

Fox coming across a field. 
The Fox began to run after him...

The Gingerbread Boy ran faster and faster until he came to a river and...

since the Gingerbread Boy could not swim, the Fox offered to...

Take the Gingerbread Boy across the river on his tail.

But when the water got deeper, the Fox suggested that:

The Gingerbread Boy climb onto his back
so he wouldn't fall off.

As the Fox swam further across the river, the water rose higher. The Fox worried that the Gingerbread Boy might get wet so he suggested that:

The Gingerbread Boy climb onto his head.

Finally, they reached the other side of the river. When they had climbed onto the shore, the Fox threw back his head and...

Gobbled up the Gingerbread Boy! Yum! Yum!

I know, I know! I spoiled the ending for you but I had to share the surprise of the Gingerbread Boy IN the Fox's mouth. I was so excited when I figured it all out.

It is actually too simple for words but here's how I did it:  I cut along the Fox's mouth line then I was able to slide the Gingerbread Boy into his mouth. 

I am really easy to excite, aren't I? 

Weeeell, in my defense, my storytime friends were just as excited about that part as I was!

By the way, did I mention that the patterns for this story were found in the book shared above? They are! 

Some of the patterns are in the "Cookies" chapter and the rest are in the "Gingerbread Men" chapter. They are simple patterns that can be enlarged to whatever size you want. Then simply cut them out of construction paper and laminate for the magnetic board or out of felt for the flannel board. I also like to make copies for each of my storytime friends to take home, color and cut, and use to retell the story.

I also have another activity for these pieces. I found it in the "Cookie" chapter and tweaked it so that I could use it as an extension activity for this storytime. It is my Gingerbread Friends version of Who Stole the Cookies From the Cookie Tray? Click here for the game.

The title of this post mentions "Gingerbread Friends" and "Flannel" so I will share a sneak peek at another Gingerbread Man extension activity that I will be posting about soon.

Here are my adorable little Gingerbread Friends that absolutely delighted my storytime friends last night:

Very simple to make from felt, glue, and brads.
Plus they are very versatile and easily used for
lots of learning activities like 
color recognition, counting,
and so much more!

I will have a "how I made my Gingerbread Friends" post up very soon since they are one of the items that I sent to one of my swap partners in our First Annual Storytime Swap. (Boy, I have a lot more typing to do, don't I?)

The swap  was such a wonderful experience! It was so successful that I have had many requests to do another one. Planning is underway for the next one and it will be announced this week. Be sure to check out the posts about our first swap and then come on back next week to find out how you can join in our next one!

Have a wonderful weekend!

And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by Ann at So Tomorrow.

And I will be pinning all the awesome contributions from this week's Round-Up on Flannel Friday's very own Pinterest boards. :o) Stop by and enjoy all of our beautiful flannels and creative storytime ideas.

Flannel Friday: There was a Little...

Brrrrrrrrr!

It's cold outside!

Well. maybe not that cold here in Florida 

but definitely where this week's Flannel Friday friend lives...

Ooooh! A cute little ice bear
or 
~ polar bear ~
as they are more commonly known.

This one is made from white felt, black embroidery thread for the details on his ears and tail, and a small black bead for his eye. I backed him in stiff black felt so that I could cut the intricate details of his legs and head. He was very quick and easy to create.

For my Polar Friends Storytime, I decided to make this little ice bear to use with the rhyme that I shared last year featuring my penguin friend...

The penguin flannel set was one of the very first felt sets that I made after joining the Flannel Friday group last January. It is "There was a Little Penguin". 

This week, I am changing it to:

There was a Little Ice Bear

(a polar bear version of "There was a Little Turtle")

There was a little ice bear

Who sat on some blocks.

He swam in the ocean 

And he climbed on some rocks.

He snapped at a seagull.

He snapped at a seal.

He snapped at a fish.

Mmmm,

What a meal!

You could also do it as " there was a little polar bear". I have used both names at different times with different groups of children ~ depending on the circumstances.

Since we were talking about Polar Friends at this storytime, I brought a globe with me so we could briefly talk about the North and South Poles. 

I mentioned that while you might see penguins and polar bears together in books, they don"t actually live together in the real world. This was a surprise to many of the adults! I guess anyone can learn something new in a Family Storytime. ;o)

I am trying to keep this Flannel Friday post short and sweet so I am going to stop here. I will have more Polar Bear rhymes, fingerplays, and songs soon. Most of them, I have used for more years than I care to count so I don't have any credits to give for them. They are tried and true and lots of fun so be sure to check back soon.

And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

For all you Flannel Friday-ers, Sarah is hosting our Mushy Gushy Round-Up for Valentine's Day ideas this year. I hope you will all head on over and take a peek at the fun.

Not Quite a Flannel Friday: Melting Snowman

HAPPY 
FLANNEL
FRIDAY!

We had our all day Summer Reading Workshop today ~ so I'm a little late.

My "Melting" Snowman

I know!  I know!
He looks just like an ordinary little guy.
But he is NOT!

He is actually a ton of fun to play with and simple enough to make with a large group of families. 

I can confidently say that because this is our Storytime Craft for last night's Family Storytime.

We made our "melting" snowmen to go along with several of our snowman songs and fingerplays ~ like this traditional one:

I'm a Little Snowman

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

I'm a little snowman

Short and fat.

Here is my tie 

And here is my hat.

When the sun comes out,

I'll melt away.

But I'll be back.

Another day!

Isn't he cool?!??!!

For the little ones ~ and even the adults ~ it is like magic! 

He rolls down and up with ease due to some well-placed brads.

I heard a whole wave of ooooh's and aaaah's as I did it the first time. Then we had to do it over and over and over again to satisfy everyone's curiosity. :o) 

When I announced that everyone would be creating his/her own to take home, the room erupted into screams of "YAY!" and there was lots of jumping up and down with excitement. It made my heart smile to see them so excited!

If you would like directions for making this cool craft, please contact me at storytimeabcs@gmail.com or check out below who and what inspired me to make my "melting" snowman. It was a post about "telescoping" cards ~ using circles ~ that I came across recently. The post I read was not about making a snowman but it does have a video tutorial that shows the steps to make a "telescoping" card. Barb's video was all I needed to get excited about "telescoping" crafts. It didn't take much for me to tweak her circle card into a snowman! And I have several more ideas for "telescoping"!

***Special Note: There have been some discussions on-line and in my personal life recently about giving credit to others for their ideas. As far as I am aware, none of the discussions involve the Flannel Friday group but I feel that the topic of the discussions does apply. One of the first things that impressed me about this group is how often credit is given back to other participants. I think we, as a whole, do a very good job of that. Kudos to us!

I totally agree with the concept of giving credit for ideas and even for giving credit for that mystical little thing called inspiration. It is a positive concept! And well worth the effort to do!

But! I also know that many people have the same idea around the same time without ever seeing the other person's idea or knowing that the other person is thinking about doing the same thing. That has happened to me several times over just the past year. I have read a Flannel Friday post that is EXACTLY like one that I have been working on for weeks! Neither of us knew what the other one was doing. 

I love that "great minds think alike" and that we have so many "great minds" in our Flannel Friday group!

Another "But!" here:  

But it can be a little frustrating when someone else beats you to the punch. When this happens to me, I try (and hope that I am successful) to have a positive attitude about it. I often write a "what a wonderful idea! note to the other person and try to be happy that other children and other families will benefit from the idea ~ whether or not I was the first person to get that idea out there. I try to make the importance of the idea be about the children, not the origin of the idea.

I also know that there are times when someone sees an idea, likes it, but can't use it at the time. Then weeks, months, even years, later that idea comes to them at a time when they can use it. They may remember that they saw it somewhere ~ or not! I know my mind isn't as good at remembering these things as it used to be! 

Anyway, they may remember that they did see it somewhere but not know where to give the credit. I personally don't fault someone for this. I want to believe that most people, given the opportunity, like to give others credit for their work. So I try really hard to give the benefit of the doubt and trust in Karma. If the person meant well ~ good! If the person had questionable intent then "Uh Oh!" for them.

I am not naive or inexperienced though! I work with someone right now who takes others' ideas and doesn't give credit where credit is due. What do you do about that? I have learned several ways to handle it but that is for another time. Email me if you need suggestions right now though. ;o) I might be able to help by sharing from my vast experiences and frustrations! LOL!

Okay, I didn't mean for that to get so long! Sorry! I just want to be clear that I am giving credit for my inspiration. There may be posts out there that are actual "telescoping snowmen" ~ I couldn't tell you ~ because this particular idea came to me when I saw Barb's tutorial and decided to tweak her circle card into a snowman. :o) 

If anyone has a "telescoping snowman" or any kind of "telescoping" craft, I would love to hear about them and share a link to them! I might just start a Telescoping Blog Hop! Whoo hoo! You know how I love a good Blog Hop!

One last thing before I go, I  just want to mention that my features on this particular snowman were done to go along with my very first storytime post from last year, It Is Snowing All Around! 

I used the snowman from the "Snowflake, Snowflake, What Do You See?" magnetic board set but I tweaked it this year. (See, I am even known to tweak my own ideas! Tweak! Tweak! Tweak! I see a new blog coming to life!)

I gave my melting snowman a green bowtie instead of a purple scarf so that I could use him for a different snowman fingerplay that includes bowties. (Watch for this in an upcoming post. It is fun, too!)

I hope you enjoyed this Flannel Friday contribution! And didn't mind too much that I shared a few of my thoughts about giving credit. They are just my opinion and as people often say, "It's a funny thing about opinions ~ everyone has one!" 

Please feel free to share your opinion below ~ if you are inclined to do so. It can be about this craft, something fun that you do with a winter/snowman theme, or even your own opinion on giving credit ~  whether you agree or disagree with mine. 

I love sharing ideas and hearing what others think, too!

As I tell my boys: "If I want to be heard then I need to be willing to listen!"

Thanks for stopping by and, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Guest Post: Turkey in the Straw

Happy Flannel Friday!

This Guest Post is another swap from our First Annual Storytime Swap. (I am loving all the cool activities that were shared in our swap! And I am excited to be sponsoring another swap for Flannel Friday's upcoming birthday. Keep an eye out for the details ~ they are coming soon!)

This item was sent from Ann to Lauren, who described it as "very cute" and I agree! Don't you?

Ha, Ha, Turkey in the Straw

by Jean Warren

(Sung to: "Skip to My Lou")

Turkey in the brown straw, ha, ha, ha.
Turkey in the brown straw, ha, ha, ha.
Turkey in the brown straw, ha, ha, ha.
Turkey in the straw, my darling.

Turkey in the white snow, ho, ho, ho.
Turkey in the white snow, ho, ho, ho.
Turkey in the white snow, ho, ho, ho.
Turkey in the snow, my darling.

Additional verses:
Turkey in the blue shy, hi, hi, hi.
Turkey in the red barn, harn, harn, harn.
Turkey in the yellow corn, horn, horn, horn.
Turkey in the green tree, hee, hee, hee.

Directions:
Place all the felt shapes, except the turkey, on the flannelboard. 
Then sing the song with the children and let them take turns 
placing the turkey on the appropriate shapes.

Audience participation! You gotta love that!

In case you have been reading all of the swap posts, you may have noticed Ann's name mentioned many times. She actually swapped 6 times! She did 4 flannel swaps and two prop swaps. Just imagine all the fun that her preschool class is going to have with their 6 new activities. :o) 

Thanks for swapping and sharing, Ann!

Guest Post: The Vegetable Song

Here is another Guest Post from Tami. She particpated in two swaps during our First Annual Storytime Swap. This one was swapped with Ann.

Tami says:
"I am always looking for "filler" and came across this cute song for eating vegetables! It was on ChildFun website under Vegetable Activity Theme."

The Vegetable Song

(Sung to the tune of: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")

Carrots, peas and broccoli,

Vegetables are good for me.

For my snack and in my lunch,

Veggie sticks are great to munch.

Carrots, peas and broccoli,

Vegetables are good for me.

"I had found the carrot pattern some time ago and wanted to use it, but after I got to thinking about it I wasn't sure the kids would actually recognize it. So, I included carrot sticks and the little carrot "nubs" just in case. Either can be switched out."

"The brown is my little "dirt pocket" which holds all of the pieces."

I love this rhyme and the little dirt pocket. 

So fun!

A special thanks to Tami for participating twice in the Storytime Swap and for sharing her ideas with all of us on this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up.

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Guest Post: Five Red Foxes

HAPPY FLANNEL FRIDAY!

This week I have a Guest Post from Tami. She is sharing the swap item that she sent to Katie B. during our First Annual Storytime Swap.

Here is what Tami has to say:

"I saw a fox made out of origami paper that had red on one side and white on the other. When it was folded it made the "cheeks" of the fox. So cute! We made them out of construction paper and handed them out on a straw at storytime. Such fun and so easy!

I decided I needed a sturdier version - so these for Katie are out of felt. Could easily be used for other fingerplays or just one fox story."

Aren't they adorable?

FIVE RED FOXES

(As found on Storytime Sparks blog)

Out in the woods under the sun,

Up ran a red fox and that made one.

One red fox under a sky so blue,

Up ran another and then there were two.

Two red foxes sitting by a tree,

Up ran another and then there were three.

Three red foxes trotting by the shore,

Up ran another and then there were four.

Four red foxes watching a beehive,

Up ran another and then there were five.

Five red foxes sunning by the shore,

One went swimming and then there were four.

Four red foxes underneath a tree,

One chased a squirrel and then there were three.

Three red foxes looking for something new,

One found some berries and then there were two.

Two red foxes having so much fun,

One chased a butterfly and then there was one.

One red fox enjoying the bright sun,

It ran home for supper and then there were none.

Pieces you need for a felt Red Fox:

Thank you, Tami, for participating on the Storytime Swap and for sharing these cute little felt foxes with us on the Flannel Friday Round-Up this week. 

I always love to share a rhyme that is a count-up as well as a count-down rhyme. It is good for counting practice. :o)

I will definitely be making these for my storytime friends! 

Flannel Friday Round-Up for January 11, 2013

Are you ready for the second Flannel Friday Round-Up for 2013?

I know I am!

Oh, by the way, this is my

100th 

post!

I am excited to be hosting the Flannel Friday Round-Up this week ~ especially since this is a milestone post for me. 

I can honestly say that Flannel Friday is the reason that I have had more fun in my storytimes this past year. You guys inspire me to be a better storyteller!

Each week, I love reading everyone's creative posts and I am always inspired by each of the exciting and colorful ideas! Thank you so much!

Now, let's get this Round-Up started!

This week I am collecting everyone's contributions into a Blog Hop. (You can check out a couple of past ones here and here.) 

I have been hosting Blog Hops on my blog for quite awhile because I have found them to be a fun, simple way to organize storytime ideas in an easy to access format.

I also find Blog Hops to be much quicker to use. And since participants link a photo from their own site, you can easily see if an idea is what you are looking for. 

It is very Pinterest-y! 

Two ways to participate:

*** If you prefer the usual way of participating, just leave your link in the comment section below. I will add you to the Blog Hop as soon as possible.

***If you prefer to link yourself, then click on the "click here to enter" link below. It will open a window where you will be asked to follow these steps:

1. Add your blog post's url. Please remember to link to your specific post ~ don't post the url to your blog's main page. 

2. Give your post a title. You may use only 30 characters so choose wisely. 

3. You can skip this step. It asks for your name and email but it is not necessary. If you do choose to enter your name and/or email, it will not show in the link-up.

4. This is the fun part! Add a photo from your blog post. First, decide if you want to crop your own picture or use autocrop. Next, click on "From the Web" button. This will open up a window that will display pictures from your blog. Click on the one you want to use.

Viola! You are done! 

And it is time to click through all the other posts. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below, post a comment on 
the Flannel Friday Facebook page, email me at storytimeabcs@gmail.com or 
catch me on Twitter ~ I am @StorytimeFun.

Remember: if you want me to do the linking up for you, just leave your post's link in the comments below ~ exactly as you would in past Round-Ups. I will add you to the list. 

For anyone who is new to Flannel Friday and curious about this awesome group of guys and gals, you can check out the Flannel Friday website here. 

Have fun!
~ K ~