Saturday, June 2, 2012

Storytime Crafts: Reversible FUN!

This week has been incredibly busy and incredibly difficult!

I have a special friend and co-worker whose husband is gravely ill. My family has been close to her, her husband, and their son over the past 11 years. It has been very emotional this week as we have tried to support them through this difficult time. So besides the emotional ups and downs with their family, I have been covering her duties at the library ~ that means I was extra busy with my own end-of-school/beginning-of-summer activities and hers, too. But I sure didn't mind helping her out. She is such a sweet lady!

All that to say ~ please offer a prayer or send positive thoughts to my friends. I know they will appreciate it all!

It also explains why I missed my Flannel Friday post. :o/ 

So... I am once again doing a Saturday Share ~ that way I don't miss doing at least one post this week. (If I am lucky, I will post something else this weekend, too ~ I have so many things waiting to be shared!) 

 I should start doing a Sharing Saturday post about Storytime Crafts each weekend!??!!? Hmmmm... what do you think?

Okay, enough jibber-jabber! Let's share some Reversible FUN!

I actually have a few reversible ideas to share with you from our Farm Storytimes but the idea of Reversible FUN can be used for just about any storytime theme. Just use your imagination and I am sure you will come up with some cool ideas!

My first share is an Eggs and Chicks idea so you can find it in the Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop.


Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop




Here is my reversible Eggs and Chicks Storytime Craft:


 Hmmm... I see a nest, a Mother Hen, and 10 eggs but where are the chicks? Do you see them yet?


Oh! There they are!
So cute!

This craft was created to go with the rhyme, Five Eggs and Five Eggs. I tweaked the rhyme a little from the original to make it easier to add some ASL signs as we say it at our storytimes. I found that many young families enjoy teaching their little ones some signs and storytimes are the perfect place to introduce new signs for such words as nest, egg, mother, numbers, yellow, etc.

Here is the rhyme:

Five eggs and five eggs,
That makes ten.
Sitting on top is the Mother Hen.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
What do we see?
Ten yellow chicks as fluffy as can be!


This reversible craft is actually a hen puppet, a nest with a pocket (for the eggs and chicks) and, as you can see, reversible eggs and chicks! 

It is such a cool craft to share with little ones!

***Be sure to watch for that cute little "Oh!" face when you share it with your little one(s) for the first time.

Now, before we move on to the next reversible craft, I need to mention that the idea for this Eggs and Chicks Storytime Craft is a Flannel Friday post by one of the awesome and creative librarians from the Flannel Friday group. You can learn more about the inspiring post and the instructions for making your own Eggs and Chicks Storytime Craft here. (As soon as I get it posted ~ I'm working on it and it will post soon! I promise!)

On to the next reversible craft! It is also Flannel Friday inspired. :o) 

Of course, I had to tweak it a little. :o} But only because I love taking an idea and putting my own spin on it ~ even if it is just a change of a few words or adding another opportunity to count at the end. You'll see what I mean...

It's time for some Fun on the Farm with Five Pigs So Squeaky Clean!


Sing it to “Five Green and Speckled Frogs”

Five pink pigs so squeaky clean
Cleanest you’ve ever seen
Wanted to go outside and play
Oink! Oink!
One jumped into the mud
Landed with a great big thud
Then there were four clean squeaky pigs. 

Continue until all the pigs have joined in the muddy fun:


And now there are NO clean squeaky pigs!
Oink! Oink!

But there are five muddy pigs!
Let's count them.
1-2-3-4-5. 

Making this Storytime Craft is simple but FUN! AND a little MESSY ~ if you want it to be. The instructions will be here along with the links to the post that inspired it.

The last reversible craft that I am sharing today is based on my own Flannel Friday post from last week. The one about Mrs. Wishy Washy and her silly farm animals.

Mrs. Wishy Washy loves to have a nice clean farm ~ even her animals have to be bright and shiny clean. But... the animals have their own ideas about that!


You can see in the above picture that the Cow and Pig are dirty and the Duck is clean. All three animals are reversible for this Storytime Craft. This is done by making mirror images of each animal:


Then gluing them together back-to-back and adding the "mud" to one side of each animal:


Here is what I sent home with each family to make their own Storytime Craft last week:


Again, the directions for this craft will be posted here soon but you can email me with any questions or requests until then. Oh, by the way, I will be posting a cute song with this craft post.

I hope you have enjoyed a Sharing Saturday post about Reversible Storytime Crafts for Fun on the Farm. We have had a blast with these crafts at my library this past few weeks. I think they will become some of my most requested crafts if the response over the past few weeks is any indication. Even families who missed a storytime have requested the craft that they missed because other families were talking about them so much! :o) I love it!

Thanks for stopping by this weekend. I hope to see you again soon!

And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!


26 comments:

  1. Hi, Valerie! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. I really appreciate the kind words. :o)

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  2. I thought that all these crafts were very nice for the little ones. I am going to share you blog with my fiance. She is a Child Life Specialist at a hospital and she is always looking for crafts to did with some of the children that have to be in the hospital long term.

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    1. Hi WillYum!

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving your kind comment. I would love to visit with your fiancé and hear more about her job. If she ever needs a craft for a specific theme, please tell her to feel free to email me at storytimeabcs(at)gmail(dot)com

      I have lots of craft ideas that I haven't posted yet. Many can be tweaked for children with special needs or children in a setting other than school, home, or library. It must be a very fulfilling and sometimes difficult job to work at a children's hospital. The children are lucky to have someone bring in crafts and activities for them. :o)

      I look forward to hearing from you again.
      Take care!
      K

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    1. Thank you, Hubba! I'm glad you liked the crafts. :o)

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  4. How cute are these. Reminds me of some of the stuff we used to do at playgroup with my older children.

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    1. Thank you, Monica!

      I'm glad they remind you of fun memories with your older ones. I would love to hear about some of the things you did at your play group. I work with lots of young families and I am always reminded that these things are new to them. They get so excited about things that I have been doing for years! It is fun to see the "old" stuff through new eyes. :o) I remind myself often that they are making their memories now. <3 And I want to share lots of creative ideas with them!

      Hope you will visit again soon and share your memories!

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  5. Oh wow those are such cute ideas! I love it! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Hi, Ashley!

      You are so welcome. Thank you for visiting and taking the time to leave a comment. I do appreciate it!

      Take care!
      K

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  6. I just love these little guys:) I remember some of my favorite times as a child was when it was story time with a flannel board. I have looked and looked for flannel items but was so unsuccessful when my kids were little. I am glad to find you now I have grandkids:) I wish I had a kids project to link up but sadly I don't. Thank you for sharing at Freedom Fridays. Have a fabulous week!
    PS I am now following you!

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    1. Hi, Evelyn! Welcome to Storytime Fun! I am glad you found us, too. :o) thank you for the follow. I hope that you and your grandchildren will enjoy the ideas from the blog and make lots of special memories together.

      Please visit often because I hope to share many fun learning ideas over the next few months.

      I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Take care!
      K

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  7. Ha ha ha! You had me at reversible eggs and chicks! It's a wonderful craft and I bet the kids have loads of fun! Thank you for leaving a sweet comment on my handmade notebook :)

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    1. Thank you, Meeha Meeha! I loved reading your comment! :o)

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  8. These are so cute! Great crafts :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Hardly Awkward! It is always nice to see thar you have stopped by and taken the time to comment. :o)

      I hope you have a lovely weekend!
      K

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  9. Reversible is great - your crafts are so cute. I'm so glad you shared this at Romance on a dime!!

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    1. Hi, Betsy! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my post. I love joining in Blog Hops and visiting new blogs, don't you? It is a fun way to "meet" new friends and discover new blogs.

      Enjoy your weekend and take care!
      K

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  10. I like these crafts!I wanted to have these types of things for my daughter, helps her develop her analyzing skills...

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    1. Hi, Icar! I love your comment about analyzing skills. It is always great to find a fun way to encourage our children to grow and learn, isn't it? I hope you enjoy making one or two reversible crafts with your daughter. :o)

      Have fun together!
      K

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  11. Hi, Daisy! Thanks for dropping by. I will definitely be visiting you soon. Hope you enjoyed your look around. :o)

    Have a wonderful week!
    K

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  12. Hey, Emily! I'm happy to hear that you found me. Thanks for commenting and following. :o)

    I will be returning the visit today. Can't wait to check out your giveaway.

    Hope to hear from you again soon.
    Enjoy your day!
    K

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  13. Such cute crafts! I am definitely going to make these!!

    tracie
    weddedblissplusbaby.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi, Tracie, I am happy to see that you dropped by for a visit. And I am delighted that you will be making these. I would love to hear how it goes and maybe see a picture or two of your version.

      If you need any help or have any questions, please feel free to email me at storytimeabcs(at)gmail(dot)com.

      Have fun!
      K

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  14. Could you send me the link for the craft page of Mrs. Wishy Washy that you sent home to the kids? Thanks and God Bless!

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  15. Hi I was wondering if you could send me copies of the Reversible characters for Mrs. Wishy Washy. Thanks so much! Please send to khjoe@hotmail.com
    Jo-Anne Huxter

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