Flannel Friday: Monster Mania Fun!

Happy Flannel Friday!

It is time for a little

No, not the game!

It's 

Flannel Monster Mania 

Time!

To start us off we have a very friendly monster who adores polka dots!

His name is "Baby Moe". My Storytime Friends loved him!

But wait!

I don't see any polka dots. 

Do you?

Well, that's where our Storytime Friends come in on this one.

They each have a small felt circle of different colors. 

They bring them up and add them

 to our friendly little guy as he asks for each color.

Here is the rhyme to share with your Storytime Friends:

I'm a Little Monster

Isn't he sweet with his red polka dots?

I'm a little monster friendly and bright.

I won't give anyone a fright.

I love polka dots but I have none.

So step right up and give me red ones.

I'm a little monster friendly and bright.

I won't give anyone a fright.

I love polka dots but I only have some.

So step right up and give me orange ones.

Continue until each color has been added,

then sing the last verse:

With all his colorful spots added,
he is now ready for the Monster Mash Party!

I'm a little monster friendly and bright.

I won't give anyone a fright.

I love polka dots and I have lots.

Thank  you for my colorful spots.

The idea for a cute polka dotted monster and the words to the activity were originally found here on a past Flannel Friday post. And I have seen the words shared on another site (which I can't find at the moment) where they were presented as a piggyback version of "I'm a Little Teapot". 

I decided to make my own monster and to just tweaked the song a little ~

as I am known to do! 

I just changed a couple of things ~ including the last verse ~ and I recited it as a rhyme rather than singing it.

We also had some familiar monster come to visit us at our Storytime.

Elmo, Telly Monster, and Cookie Monster!

First we did a count-up rhyme and added each monster friend to the board one by one. Then we did a monster-version of "Five Little Monkeys" with just our three friendly monsters (count-down song). This fun song lead into our second book of the evening which is fast becoming one of my favorite monster books. It is:

Nighty Night,

Little Green Monster

by Ed Emberley

A felt version of this awesome book is coming soon!

We ended our monster-ific evening with a grrrrr-licious snack and a chance to make our own friendly monsters to take home and play with:

Monster puppet craft and songs to be posted soon!

Thanks for stopping by again this week. Don't forget to check out the rest of the Flannel Friday fun by visiting our host this week, Lisa, at Libraryland.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Not a Flannel Friday: Super Friends to Save the Day!

It's October already!

Can you believe it?!??!

Well, that means one thing ~ Halloween is just around the corner!

It also means that it is time for our new Storytime theme ~ 

Let's Pretend!

This year I decided to change up my October storytime offerings and do a month long theme all about dressing up and playing pretend. When I mentioned this idea to my storytime friends back in September, several of them mentioned Superheroes as a favorite dress-up theme. So... that is how our first week of October became our:

Super Friends to Save the Day!

Storytime and Game Night

I had more fun than I ever imagined while preparing for my first ever Super Friends Storytime. And I look forward to sharing all the super fun activities, songs, rhymes, and books we shared this week but, for now, I will share only one. It is a bright and colorful Super Friends version of the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle.  It also has a little tweak to it based on the book, The Amazing Adventures of BATHMAN!, by Andrew T. Pelletier:

Our first Super Friend to be placed on the magnetic board is a my version of Bathman ~ 

with his super special glow-in-the-dark goggles on!

Super Friend, Super Friend, 

Who Do You See?

Super Bathman, Super Bathman,

Who do you see?

I see Red Glitter Girl looking at me.

Red Glitter Girl, Red Glitter Girl,

Who do you see?

I see Dr, Orange Lava looking at me.

continue with:

Yellow Lightning Boy

Green Slime Guy

Blue Astro Kid

Purple Power Princess

finish with audience participation:

Purple Power Princess, Purple Power Princess,

Who do you see?

I see lots of Super Friends looking at me.

Super Friends (children in the audience), Super Friends, 

Who do you see?

We see:

Super Bathman

Red Glitter Girl

Dr, Orange Lava

Yellow Lightening Boy

Green Slime Guy

Blue Astro Boy

and

Purple Power Princess

Looking at us!

It's a Super Friends Party!

Yay!

I'll be back soon to share the rest of our awesome Superheroes Storytime and Game Night ~ including Super Power snacks and Superhero Challenges ~ but, in the meantime, since this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up  is our 2nd Annual Halloween Extravaganza I thought I would shar a few links to my past posts that are Halloween-related:

Owl-rific Rhyme and Game

Whooo? Whooo?

Ghostly Props

Giggling Ghost Fun

Halloween Extravaganza

Fun Find  ~ Monster Puppets

And last but not least:

Last year's Flannel Friday's Halloween Extravaganza

hosted by Miss Mary Liberry

This year's 2nd Annual Flannel Friday Halloween Extravaganza

hosted by Me!

Flannel Friday Round-Up: Halloween Extravaganza ~ 2013

This week we have a 

Special Flannel Friday Round-Up!

It is our 2nd 

Halloween Extravaganza!

There are lots of creative and fun ideas to share this week, so grab a cup of your favorite beverage and start click-click-clicking!

Enjoy!

Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Story Time is sharing a "not-so-scary" scarecrow with us. He is as cute as the buttons on his face! There is a "Let's Build a Scarecrow" rhyme and a link to one of my favorite scarecrow songs, "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow". Be sure to click the link!

Lisa at Libraryland was inspired by a past Flannel Friday post to do her own version of "Brown Bat, Brown Bat". Lisa's pieces are bright, colorful, and simple to make ~ especially if you have the diecuts. Her black cat is my favorite!

Bridget at What is Bridget Reading? crocheted some sweet Sesame Street-style monsters with pom pom noses! She includes four counting rhymes (two are "library-style") and a bonus flannel board set. She is a talented lady!

Christine at Felt Board Ideas presents us with her nighttime version of "Five Little Fluffy Owls". Her night sky background just adds to the beauty of her felt pieces! 

Tara at Storytime with Miss Tara and Friends also has owls to share this week ~ along with several other woodland creatures. Her flannel is based on "One Little Owl" which is a different kind of counting song. So cute! Tara is a librarian after my own heart ~ she does sign language with her storytime friends, too. I love it!

Anne at So Tomorrow has written a Draw and Tell Story for her storytime friends. It is "The Pumpkin Patch" and she has included the words and drawing instructions. If you have never tried a Draw and Tell story before, this one just might be the one to start with.

Linda at Notes From the Story Room is also sharing an original Draw and Tell story this week. Her story is "Shadows on the Moon" and Linda also includes the words along with drawing instructions so that anyone can easily replicate her surprise picture. It is always fun to see if storytime friends can figure out the picture before the end of the story.

Shaia at Thrive After Three was inspired by a post from last year's Flannel Friday Halloween Extravaganza to paint her own gorgeous version of "10 Timid Ghosts". I am completely impressed with Shaia's artistic talents and her creative genius of using a canvas board for her background. What a fun idea! This is definitely being added to the very TOP of my TBM (to be made) pile for my Giggling Ghosts storytime in two weeks.

We have another ghost story from Storytime With the Library Lady! Perfect for an Halloween Extravaganza! It is a LARGE version of the book, The Ghost's Dinner, cleverly made from poster board. It is a huge folder story!

Leah at Time for Storytime  combines felt and puppetry (I adore that combination!) to tell the story of "Mouse's Halloween House". She mentions several Flannel Friday friends who inspired her this week. With her winning combination of felt and puppetry, i think Leah will be inspiring a few future Flannel Friday post herself!

Katie at Storytime Secrets is such a dedicated children's librarian that she has shared her original Halloween-themed idea ~ even though she is "officially no longer employed as a children's librarian". Her "Knock! Knock! Trick or Treat!" flannel board rhyme is a must-havee for anyone doing a Halloween theme for even the youngest storytime friends. It is adore-ably simple with just the right amount of spooky fun! Thanks for sharing this week and enjoy the new adventures ahead of you, Katie!

Sue at Let the wild Rumpus Start is going a little bat-ty this week with five smiling bats! She shares "Five Little Bats" which can be sung to the familiar tune of "Six Little Ducks". 

Sue at Let the Wild Rumpus Start has also gone above and beyond with another contribution this week! I am totally, completely in love with her original rhyme, "That's a Costume". Besides addressing a very timely topic, Sue has creatively presented it in an age-appropriate format. Very child-friendly! I am sure her storytime parents appreciate this gentle little reminder that this time of year is all about pretending. Sue.gets my vote for Super Librarian this week!!!

Speaking of Super Librarian, that is just who I was this week for our Superheros Storytime and Family Game Night. For this month in our Thursday Night Family Storytimes, we are following the theme of "Let's Pretend" and we kicked off the month with Superheros! Check out my colorful Superhero version of "Brown, Brown Bear, What Do You See?". It is a magnetic board set and is titled, "Super Friend, Super Friend, Who Do You See?" My storytime friends became "storytellers" as they helped me tell the story with the help of our Super Friend magnetic pieces. I hope you like it!

Katie at Storytime Katie is doing a little pretending of her own with two awesome astronaut finger puppets. Katie confesses that she always wanted to dress up as an astronaut. Who hasn't, right? Let's all blast off with Katie and her awesome astronauts for some exciting sace adventures!

Jenna at Stories with Ms Jenna has created some adorable little kittens to help her tell the ever popular rhyme, "The Three Little Kittens". She even includes a Mommy cat, a clothesline for drying the mittens, a pie, and a mysterious little mouse. Hmmm...

Meg at Miss Meg's Storytime is sharing her fun, colorful version of "Old MacDonald". And she even includes a printable link to the clip art she used! This flannel board is perfect for adding a little print awareness to a very popular song. Great idea, Meg! 

And that concludes our

2nd Annual

Flannel Friday 
Halloween Extravaganza!

Want to find out more about the AWESOME Flannel Friday Family?

Find out all about Flannel Friday on the our very own website. Features include past round ups and host schedule and how to participate.

Scan the Flannel Friday posts on Pinterest. 

Discuss storytime and flannelboards on the Flannel Friday Facebook Page or on Twitter with the hashtag #FlannelFriday.

See you next week when our host will be Lisa at Libraryland!

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!

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!

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!

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!