Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop

It is time to start a new Blog Hop! 

YAY!

Can you guess what it's about?

Yep! You guessed it!

Eggs and Chicks!

Quick note:

My first Blog Hop ~ Frog ABC'S Blog Hop ~ has been well received and we have over 20 links now. Whoo hoo! I had several people contact me about wanting to link up but not having the time to do it yet. The time was extended. :o)

Also, I can always add after the deadline has passed.  So if anyone writes a post about frogs or comes across a cool idea about frogs after the deadline, please send me a message. I can be contacted at storytimeabcs(at)gmail(dot)com for any questions or issues.

ABC'S (Activity, Books, Crafts, and Snacks) Blog Hops are excellent for "resource-building" whether you are:

•    a parent looking for something fun to do with your child as you spend quality time together
•    a preschool teacher looking for exciting new learning activities for your classroom
•    a children's librarian looking for new ideas to add to your storytime repertoire
•    a leader of a Mom's group looking for a simple easy ideas to share with your group
•    actually anyone interested in Early Literacy and Early Childhood Education

And besides being a good resource, Blog Hops are just plain FUN!

So, let's get started:

Eggs and Chicks Blog Hop!

 

That means we will be collecting all kinds of resources that are about eggs, chicks, hens, farms, etc.

To get us started, I am going to share a few resources from the different areas that my blog covers.

Activities:

(Includes: Learning Games, Creative Movement Activities, Songs, Dances, and so much more!)

This is a Green Eggs and Ham Relay that we did at a
recent Dr. Seuss Party at our library.

You might be thinking, "What?!??! That is a Dr. Seuss idea. Why is it included in the Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop?"

Well, it does include eggs and it is easily tweaked for our upcoming Farm Storytimes at our library. I will be sharing more information about it in the Blog Hop once I have the post ready. It is lots of fun so you will want to keep and eye out for it!

Books:

(Please feel free to include any recommendations for Children's books 

~ new and classic and in-between ~ 

I love learning about new versions of an old classic, don't you?

This is a fairly new book about a colorful egg.
I am looking forward to sharing ideas about it soon.

Crafts:

This is one of my latest Story Crafts:
My Hatching Egg!

It that was inspired by a pin on Pinterest
and a recent craft shared by a fellow librarian.

Snacks:

A yummy Cheese Chick!

That is an example of the types of things we will be sharing on  the Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop. Please don't limit yourselves to just these categories though. Anything you post yourself or you find on the internet that is related to learning about Eggs and Chicks is fine to link up. I am really looking forward to exploring what is shared!

I'll mention one more type of post that I personally LOVE!

 I call them:

Fun Funds:

(Any awesome purchase that can be turned into a learning activity, craft, or snack 

or just any item that can be re-purposed for a little fun with your child!)

I found this Fun Find at a local Michael's right after Easter .
She was 70 or 80% off!
I'm thinking about ways to use her in a learning activity.
It will probably be a counting one. :o)

Okay, enough of me sharing already! We need to get to the nitty gritty of the Blog Hop so you can share, too.

Here's what to do:

• Write a blog post showcasing any activity, book, craft, snack, or other idea about Eggs and Chicks or link to one that is already posted on your blog. You can share a flannel or magnetic board set that you created for a song or fingerplay about Eggs and Chicks. You can share an old classic children's book about Eggs and Chicks that you love to share at storytime or bedtime with your child or brand new book about Eggs and Chicks that you are adding to your "must read" list. You can share your latest craft that you created yesteday or a yummy snack that you found on Pinterest and decided to try last week when it was rainy outside. You can even share a website that shows hatching eggs, if you like! Anything about Eggs and Chicks will do! It is all up to you!
• Next, add your link to this post by clicking on the "Click here to enter" link at the bottom of the page and following the instructions. Make sure you link to your specific blog post, not to your homepage, and choose a picture and give it a caption.
• And the final step to making this a successful Blog Hop that benefits everyone ~ please click on "Get the code here" and follow the steps to adding the Blog Hop to your post. This step is what actually creates the links between all of the participating blogs so that a visitor to one blog will be able to visit any of the other blogs with just a click. Please don't forget to link-up! Another benefit to this step is that you will quickly see when another blog has linked up and you will be able to check out their contribution. That means less time blindly searching for new Eggs and Chicks ideas for your next storytime at your library or circle time in your preschool class or playdate with your Mom's Group or your child's best friend.

And it is as simple as that!

Have fun!

 Be sure to grab the Eggs and Chicks Blog Hop button if you link up.
Just grab the code from the sidebar on the right.

Isn't it cute? ;o)

Oh, and I added an Eggs and Chicks ABC'S Blog Hop board on Pinterest. Check it out here.

Flannel Friday: Fun Finds Galore!

It's Friday and I am off work! Whoo hoo!

Since I have the day off, I am not sure how detailed this post will be. It might be short and sweet because my guys want to go somewhere ~ or it might be a little longer and more detailed because they decided to hang out at home. We'll see as we go along. ;-)

A while back, a Flannel Friday-er, Cate at Storytiming.com came up with the idea of doing a Post-Easter-Sale Story Prop Extravaganza where we share any storytime ideas for props or flannels that are inspired by things we found on sale after Easter. (At least, that is the way I understood it. LOL!)

Since one of my favorite things to do is to shop AFTER a holiday, I was definitely looking forward to the challenge for this week's Flannel Friday post. I LOVE those after-holiday sales where you can find 50% discounts ~ 70% discounts ~ 80% discounts ~ Heck! sometimes even 90% discounts! In fact, I LOVE those huge discounts so much that I usually am inspired to think more creatively than usual. 

During one of my heightened creativity levels ;-), I decided to add a regular feature to my blog. It is the Fun Finds feature. In these posts, I will share a cool, inexpensive item that I found on sale (or just at a good price) and I will show you how to create a craft, a learning game, or even a storytime prop with the item.


Check out my first Fun Finds post here. It features a learning game made with these cute cupcake candyholders that I found the day after Easter for only $2.25 a box ~ more than 50% off!

Aren't they adorable?

And now, I have soooo many other things to show you! I will quickly share a few cool things I've picked up since Easter. Some will be featured in upcoming Fun Finds posts because I have more than one idea for them. Others will just be mentioned here with a quick description of what I plan to use them for.

First, here is a picture of ALL my post-Easter finds ~ well, almost ALL of my post-Easter finds. I probably bought more and have them in a bag or two at the library. :-}

My discounts ranged from 50% to 80% off ~ no 90% ~ yet!  

All these finds were from WalMart, Target, and Michael's. Some were just found this morning so there are still some good post-Easter deals out there!

***By the way, if I don't share an item from the picture that you are curious about then just leave me a question in the comments. I'll share the information there because I have a feeling I am not going to get through all of the items in this post. LOL!

Let me start with a non-Eastery item. (You'll understand why I chose to share this item first when I share another item later.) The item is felt stickers! There are 10 frogs and 6 monkeys in the package. I bought a package of these about a month ago. At the time, I got 10% off so they cost me $1.79 for the package.

The price was not bad when you figure that you can get at least 2 to 3 sets of glove puppets or 2 to 3 sets of flannels out of the one package. I chose to make mine into glove puppets. (For those of you who don't know about glove puppets, I will share a little more about that in an upcoming Fun Finds post. I'll be back to link it here when it is shared.) 

In the meantime, here is a picture of the Monkey Glove Puppets:

While at Michael's today, I was able to pick up another package (on sale!) so that I can make a glove puppet set or two for a friend and for a future giveaway ~ with a different glove included!

The other day, I was also able to pick up a craft kit to make some different glove puppets. They will be little chick puppets for my Farm Storytimes in May. All I have to do is glue them together ~ minus the bunny ears ~ and add some velcro. So easy! And inexpensive! 

They were only .44 per package. Since I needed 5, I decided to buy two packages. But wait! Why not make a giveaway of Chick Glove Puppets, too? So... I bought another package. AND I still didn't spend the amount I would have spent on 1 package had I bought them before Easter. I love it!

Super cute chicks! I adore their little cheeks!

Be sure to check back for a more detailed post on how to make different kinds of Glove Puppets and for the fun giveaways, too!

My next two Fun Finds will be combined to make a craft for a future storytime so I won't get into too much detail right now. I will be back to post the Story Craft here when it is ready. I just have to say that it is going to a very fun craft to make and to play with!

These are both made from fun foam. The small package is foam stickers.

These two items were found at Michael's about a week after Easter on their 70% off clearance rack. The box is a Foam Activity Kit that makes two egg wreaths. However, that is not what I will be using it for. ;-) Each wreath is made from 14 eggs. That means I can make 28 of my Story Crafts because I only need one egg per craft! This box cost me about $2.00 so each egg was less than 8 cents. Talk about a cheap craft! Lol! 


The smaller package contains foam stickers. There are bunnies, chicks, and small glittery eggs. I bought several packages at about .75 a piece. I only need the chicks so I will have the bunnies and small eggs for another craft next Easter. Yay! Multiple uses!

***Quick note: If you have looked around my blog lately, you have most likely have seen my Frog ABC'S Blog Hop. 

I have gotten a wonderful response about this resource-building post so I have decided to add another one this weekend. It is an Egg and Chick ABC's Blog Hop! 
I will have it up and "hopping" tomorrow afternoon. It is now up and "hopping" ~ well, almost! It has a Blog Hop Button! But I still need to write the actual post. LOL! I'll be back to do that after my lunch. :-)

In the meantime, here's the button:

If you are a fellow librarian looking for storytime ideas like book suggestions or flannels or if you are a teacher, parent, caregiver, or homeschooler looking for learning activities or craft ideas about frogs or chicks and eggs, I hope you will take a minute to check out the Blog Hops. I think you will enjoy them!

And if you have a blog post about frogs or eggs and chicks, I hope you will consider linking up to the appropriate Blog Hop and sharing your ideas with everyone. It is very simple to link up but, if you have any questions, you can email me at storytimeabcs(at)gmail(dot)com


Okay, one more find:

These "eggs" are so fun! I have quite a few ideas for how to use them.

The last find I am going to share is a couple of sets of "Easter eggs" shaped like farm animals. I had never seen any of these before this year but I can't wait to share them with my storytime friends! The "eggs" are refillable and they are shaped like chicks, rabbits, cows, and pigs. Adorable!

I was able to purchase these at Target a few days after Easter for about $2.25 a set. 

These will also be featured in an upcoming Fun Finds post along with several ideas for how to use them with your child/ren. I am thinking a Library Search is in order for my own storytime friends at our Farm Storytime in May. :-) 

"What is a Library Search?" you might be asking yourself. Well, it is another topic for a future post here on my blog. :-} Sorry! I just never have the time or space to cover everything in one post! So many ideas!

I hope you enjoyed my Fun Finds for this Flannel Friday Post-Easter-Sale Extravaganza! I also hope it gave you the itch to search out your own Fun Finds. But watch out! It can be addicting! Ha! Ha!

Enjoy your Friday evening! And as always, 

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

For anyone interested in the awesome Flannel Friday group, here is this week's information:

Our host is at Cate at her Storytiming blog. A huge "Thanks!" to Cate for doing the round-up this week!

And guess what! I will be hosting Flannel Friday next week! It will be my very first time to host. I am extremely excited to get the opportunity! Please be sure to stop by next Friday. I'll need the support! LOL! 

Round up archives and host schedule is at So Tomorrow.

Visually scan all the Flannel Friday posts at Pinterest.

Talk about storytime and flannelboards at the Flannel Friday Facebook Page.

Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the #flannelfriday hashtag. (You don’t have to be on Twitter to check this out.)

And, last but not least, if you’re a contributor, there is an awesome blog button from Melissa and you can grab it from the right hand menu at Mel’s Desk!

Craft: Little Green Frog Puppet

We have been having lots of fun learning about frogs at a few of our storytimes this month! So many fun froggy things to do.

Here is one that we will be doing at our Pajama Party this month. It is a simple little frog puppet ~ actually it is two little frog puppets ~ because we want to use them with this little rhyme:

Two Little Green Frogs

Adapted from: "Two Little Blackbirds"

Aren't they TOAD-ally cute?

 Oh ~ wait! These are frogs, not toads. :-/

They are cute though, aren't they? And they are simple to make! Plus the little ones love using frogs instead of birds in a rhyme that they are familiar with. Here's the adapted version: 

Two little green frogs sat on a hill,
One named Jack and one named Jill.
Jump away, Jack; jump away, Jill.

Come back, Jack; come back, Jill.

Two little green frogs sat on a hill.

One named Jack and the one named Jill.

Ribbit! Ribbit!

If you haven't done this rhyme with your storytime friends or with your own child before, it's okay! The motions are even more simple than the craft. ;-)

Here are the motions, step-by-step:

***Hold your two puppets out in front of you. (Or, if you don't have the puppets made yet, just hold up one finger on each hand.)

***Wiggle your right puppet or finger for "named Jack" and your left puppet or finger for "named Jill".

*** Make your puppet or finger "jump away" by bouncing it up and down as you hid it behind your back while saying, "jump away, Jack/Jill".

***Make the appropriate puppet or finger bounce back into view while saying, "come back, Jack/Jill".

***Once again wiggle your puppet or finger when naming the frogs.

***Finally, just hop your frogs all around while saying, "Ribbit! Ribbit!"

Now that you have the rhyme and the motions down, let's make some cute frog puppets!

Things you will need:

Copy of frogs (front and back)

Scissors

Colored pencils or crayons or markers

Popsicle sticks (jumbo) 

Tape

Tacky glue

I have been using this craft for a few years and I can not for the life of me remember where I first got it from. I will come back and post the information if I ever remember. Since I don't know where it came from, I am not going to post a template here. But if you would like a copy of the frogs, please send a request to storytimeabcs@gmail.com ~ I will try to send you an attachment. Or, if you are braver than I am,  you can draw your own frog or let your child draw one.

After copying the frog pattern onto green construction paper, I cut the frogs out. 

If your child is ready for scissors, I would allow him/her to do the cutting. Using scissors is one skill that many preschool children are lacking when they enter Kindergarten. The more cutting practice you give your child, the better! 

If you don't want to have your child cut out the frogs (it might be too frustrating for some), maybe you could let him/her cut the scraps to make confetti for a "hill". Snipping pieces of scrap paper into smaller pieces will help to strengthen the fine motor muscles that are needed for the more controlled cutting.

Next, I used colored pencils to add details. you can use anything you have on hand ~ colored pencils, crayons, markers, small sticker dots.

Now it is time for tape and glue! Many times, we as grown-ups like to do these steps ourselves.  But, here once again, your child needs practice using the right amount of tape and glue. Try to allow your child this opportunity if at all possible. As you can probably see from the picture, I use a very small bottle of Tacky glue. The smaller bottle allows a child to have more control over the amount of glue s/he is using.

First, I put a small amount of glue on one end of the popsicle stick and apply it to the frog's back. Then I put a piece of tape across it. This helps to keep it together if your child wants to play with the frogs before they are dry. Next, I add glue all around the edges and all over the back of the frog's front. I line the front and back up as much as possible and press them together.

The frogs are now ready to go hop, hop, hopping away! 

In the top picture, I used a black Sharpie to write "Jack" on one stick and "Jill" on the other stick. This is another fine motor opportunity for child if s/he is ready to do some writing.

Now that the puppets are made, I am sure you and your little one will find many opportunities to play with them. Here are two suggestions that I do during my storytimes:

We like to use our puppets when we read Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan. It is the perfect book for using the frog puppets!

Every time my storytime friends here me say, "Jump, frog, jump!", they repeat the phrase while jumping their frog puppet. This is a fun way to engage the children while reading the book and to keep their attention focused on what is happening on each page.

Another fun activity that we do with the frog puppets is to use them while singing "The Little White Duck". If you are unfamiliar with this song, you can take a listen to Raffi's version by clicking  here. It is a children's classic and lots of fun to share with little ones. The song has been adapted into book form with many different versions. One of my favorites is credited to Walt Whippo and illustrated by Joan Paley. You can probably find it at your local library. ;-)

If you are having fun with these suggestions and you want more ideas for some more froggy fun, please check out my Frog ABC'S Blog Hop. There are lots of really cool posts all about frogs!

Enjoy your puppets and, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!