Flip Flap Jack

So...we're planning for September and our first week's theme is Names. My children's librarian found this adorable post by Anne at So Tomorrow and asked me to make us a set. Flip Flap Jack is another version of Aiken Drum. Also, if you teach preschool and use Handwriting Without Tears you might like Flip Flap Jack as another version of Mat Man! The rhyme/song and pattern is in Ready to Go Storytimes: Fingerplays, Scripts, Patterns, Music and More by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis. Here's a great link with a video and the words for Flip Flap Jack.  Here's my version with added glitter and fabric paint.

His head was a pancake...

His body was a waffle...his bellybutton was a raspberry!

his legs were bacon...his feet were French toast (with 'brown sugar glitter')

and his name was Flip Flap Jack!

I think he's adorable ... mmmmmm and DELICIOUS!  I also found a fun song to sing with this theme on an older CD, Ralph's World. It's the Name Song!  Check out this youtube video of the song. So much silly fun.  We're having Fun with Friends at Storytime

Flannel Friday Roundup August

I hope everyone has had a great summer! Summer Reading is finished and we can prepare for back to school, fall and the big holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In some ways this time of year feels like New Years. The children are starting a new grade and you can feel the excitement of new possibilities and challenges as they come into the library or you see them buying school supplies in the store. I love it!  That's how I feel on Fridays when I see the post that the weekly Flannel Friday Roundup is ready. So...here's this week's collection of Fun for your Storytime. Enjoy!

Miss Tara @ Storytime with Miss Tara and Friends has two posts for us this week. She has a wonderful storytime with props about alligators. Her Alpha-gator is Adorable! She also has a simply super, stunning post about ...Socks!  This is just an abundance of cuteness!

Lisa from Libraryland is sharing an app for ...Sock Puppets!  (great minds must think alike - see Miss Tara's post about socks). This looks like a lot of fun!

Lisa from Thrive After Three shares a Marvelous Monster post!  I am totally in love with these monsters!

Miss Sue @ Let the Wild Rumpus Start shares a cute felt board kit for use with three different nursery rhymes.  Sheep feature in all three rhymes. What a great idea!

Oohhhh! Creepy Carrots are ... hilarious! Andrea at Roving Fiddlehead is guest hosting Karen's cute, carrot rhyme this week.  Don't be scared...take a peek!

Jane at Piper Loves the Library has posted a tribute to summer with art from the kids at the library. Jane, enjoy your rest after the busy summer!

My post this week is for cat lovers.  My Ten Little Kitties make me happy!

Next week, Lisa @ Story Time With the Library Lady will be the host. Have a great weekend everyone!

Have questions about Flannel Friday? Check out the Flannel Friday official blog.  Be sure to  join us on the Flannel Friday Facebook page too! 

D is for Dinosaurs!!  Rawrrrrrr!

Here Kitty Kitty!

Cats...you either LOVE them or NOT. As Amy Farrah Fowler told Sheldon, "I love cats. They're the epitome of indifference." (Big Bang)  Well, I love these cats!  I was inspired partly by this post by Nikarella @ narrating tales of preschool storytime. We are planning a cat themed storytime for this fall and I wanted something new. Of course, I turned to Flannel Friday Pinterest boards and was not disappointed!  One idea led to another until I came up with a new set of kitties and rhyme.   I tweaked my 10 Circus Seals rhyme and ...voilà... Ten Kitty Cats.  

Ten Kitty Cats
by Kathryn Roach

Ten kitty cats ready for a trick. 
Which color ball will each one pick? 
Let's match them up one by one.
Kitty cats are so much fun!

(put cats on board, count to 10, Hold up and name each color ball and put it on the same color cat on the board)

Ten kitty cats ready to rest.
They have the color ball that they like the best.
We matched them up one by one.
Kitty cats are so much fun!

I found a Google image that I deconstructed for my pattern. I changed the nose and used google eyes and slick black and white fabric paint for the details. I couldn't resist adding sequins and glitter to the balls for the kitties. I'm having such Fun with Friends and cats at Storytime!

Calling All Firetrucks!

I'm still in the fall mode for planning and remembered that October is Fire Safety month. When I taught preschool the firefighters would bring the firetruck to our school. Most of my 3 year olds loved it.   My grandson, J. loved firetrucks when he was 2 and 3 years old.  He fixated on Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell, when he was about that age and we read it a LOT! Another great firefighter book is Firefighters A to Z by Chris A. Demarest.  Check out this link for the National Fire Prevention Association here.  I decided to make a rhyme/activity with a firetruck Ellison diecut.  I embellished the diecut a little by adding either yellow or lt. blue to the window opening and a shiny sequin 'light' for the top of the firetruck. I hand out diecut firetrucks to the kiddos and then as I say the rhyme and put my firetruck up they can 'drive' their firetruck to the flannel board too.  I eventually want to make this a filefolder color recognition activity for our toddler storytime.

Calling All Firetrucks!  

by Kathryn Roach

Fire! Fire! Emergency!

Someone is in trouble.

Calling all *blue  firetrucks

Come on the double!

(repeat until all the children have added

their firetruck to the board)

Spray the water,

Now the fire is out!

"Everyone is safe!"

We all shout.

*green; yellow; orange; purple; black;

white; pink; brown; red.

Firetrucks and firefighters are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Eeek! A Spider!

We're beginning to plan for the fall and of course that means...Halloween! When I think of Halloween I think of creepy things and one of those creepy things is...duh, duh, duh...Spiders!  I have some not-so-creepy spiders that I like to use with the younger, easily creeped-out kiddos at storytime. I have a 5 whats-it rhyme that I adapted from Preschool Express. Jean Warren had written it as Three Little Spiders.  I used some flannel pieces from other sets along with my ADORABLE little spiders. I placed the *item and made one of the spiders fall with each verse. I added back the spiders for the last verse.   I also changed the last line to be a Happy Halloween rhyme.  You can see that some of my * items didn't match the rhyme...but I'm making some more pieces that will!...or, you can just name the *items that you have.  Either way...Fun is about to happen!!

Five Little Spiders

by Jean Warren (adapted by Kathryn Roach)

Five little spiders climbing up the wall.

Along came a *grey squirrel and made one spider fall. 

Four little spiders climbing up the wall.

Along came a * little mouse  and made one spider fall.

Three little spiders climbing up the wall.

Along came a * hoot owl  and made one spider fall.

Two little spiders climbing up the wall.

Along came a * black cat  and made one spider fall.

One little spider climbing up the wall.

Along came a * Jack-o-lantern  and made one spider fall.

Five little spiders landed on the ground.

They said, "Happy Halloween!" and then didn't make a sound. (shhhhh)

Sorry for the quality of the pics. The spider's legs are made of metallic pipe cleaners. I used google eyes and half of a large circle sequin for the mouth.  I sandwiched the legs between two ovals with a LOT of glue!  These guys make me Happy!

Picnic time!

One of the first Flannel Friday inspired sets that I made I called 'Picnic Basket'.  I had only begun to follow Flannel Friday posts and came across this one by Ms. Anna @ Future Librarian Superhero. Her's was a Fill the Shopping Cart post. I thought,"This would work as a picnic basket activity!". So, I wrote a rhyme and laminated some Google images and found a basket and we had a great time! I handed out the pics and as I said the rhyme the children would 'help me pack the basket'. I made 4 of each item. This activity also generated a lot of discussion about foods we like!    I just love Flannel Fridays!

Picnic Basket
by Kathryn Roach

Picnic basket, open it wide.
what are some things you see inside?

Chips and pickles, sandwiches, too.
A picnic lunch for me and you.







Apples and strawberries, a hot dog too.
A picnic lunch for me and you.

Watermelon slices, an ice cream cone too,
A picnic lunch for me and you.










Cold lemonade and juicy grapes too,
a picnic lunch for me and you.

A hamburger with ketchup and a soda too,
A picnic lunch for me and you.







* You can continue as long as you can think of things or have flannelboard pieces.





We're Going On a Picnic by Pat Hutchins, The Bunnies' Picnic by Lezlie Evans and Mouse's First Summer by Lauren Thompson are great with this theme.  Picnics are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime.

Watermelon!

It's picnic weather here and time to eat yummy summer picnic food! One of my favorite summer treats is watermelon! Check out this link for National Watermelon Day on August 3.   I made a rhyme to use a few years ago when I taught preschool and we tasted watermelon. I used the watermelon prop at the art table too. Summer food is fun ... and delicious!

Sharing Watermelon
by Kathryn Roach

I have a big red watermelon
A juicy summer treat.
I want to share it with my friends
They'd like a slice to eat!

I'll share one,...
Now another,...
One more slice makes three.
Here's one more for my friend,
And that leaves one for me!


I usually line up the felt watermelon slices and take them off as we 'subtract' until the last one, that I pretend to gobble up! 

Some good watermelon books are...Watermelon Day by Kathi Appelt; One Watermelon Seed by Celia Lottridge; The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli; and a nonfiction book, Watermelon for Everyone by Pat Griffeth. You could sing Raffi's book/song, Down By The Bay (Raffi Songs to Read). Then there's one of my favorites, Lunch by Denise Fleming. There are several wonderful Flannel Friday posts based on Fleming's book. Check out the food Flannel Friday pinterest board! Here are some great previous Flannel Friday posts about watermelons; Miss Mary Liberry has Watermelon contest.  Anne @ So Tomorrow has a link to a cute rhyme Yummy Watermelons.  Wow! Watermelons are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!