Sammy the Seal, Inspired post.

This week I have a post that was inspired by Dorothy @ The Wielded Pen - Children's Corner. I saw this and pinned it 2 years ago. At the time I saw it she had used it as an interactive activity with a song to the tune of Frere Jacques suggested by Mary Zenker (in the comments). So cute!!  I've been thinking about it off and on for these 2 years and last week I was suddenly inspired with a rhyme to go with Sammy. I chose to make 10 colored balls and program them with the number symbols 1-10. My rhyme uses two clues for the children, colors and numbers.  My coworker, Miss Margaret suggested a theme of animals that balance balls (she has a wonderful set of elephants that balance on different colored balls) or plays with balls. I'm also thinking of the book, The Seals on the Bus. So, I don't have to wait to do a circus theme to use my version of Sammy the Seal! Here's the rhyme: Sammy the Seal Counts to 10.

Sammy the Seal and his amazing counting color balls is a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Here's the rest of this week's roundup @singing in the stacks!  If you have any questions about Flannel Friday you can find answers at the official Flannel Friday blog.

Flannel Friday Roundup for March 20.

Hey everyone! Spring is almost here, and boy, am I glad!! I'm looking forward to all the posts for this week's roundup. Please leave your link in the comments and I'll have it ready on Friday. I can continue to add links during the day as needed. 

I'm so happy to see these beautiful cardinals from heytherelibrary!

Here's an adorable 'inspired' post of  Denise Fleming's book Lunch @Libraryland.

Catch these French fish puppets on a stick @rovingfiddlehead! Ooo la la!

See what the well-dressed cowboy is wearing @littexaslibrary. Welcome to a first time contributor!!

My blog has gone to the dogs! LOL! @ Fun with Friends at Storytime.

Here's a great idea for a walk!! Thanks Jane & Piper @Piper Loves the Library.

March Madness anyone?!! Wow, book competition! Which one will win??  Thanks Jane for a really fun idea! from Piper Loves the Library.

Here's a set of cute Dragon/Dinosaurs for a different version of 'Two Little Blackbirds' @ Storytime Katie.

Thanks Cate @storytiming for a Mister Roger's inspired idea!

Here's a cute felt set for the book Move Over, Rover from Rachel @rachel'sreadingroom.

Thanks Katie for sharing the great Freddy Figuras bilingual set of your guest, Paula Mason @¡Es divertido hablar dos idiomas!










What a great roundup for the First day of Spring!! Thanks to everyone that shared a post this week. My to-do pile just got bigger. Be sure to check out the Flannel Friday Pinterest boards for other great ideas. If you have any questions about Flannel Friday you can find answers at the official Flannel Friday blog.

Doggy Wants a Bone!

We did a lot of barking and laughing with our Doggy Theme! This is such a popular theme, we should probably do it more often. There are a lot of fun dog books to use! There are a lot of cute ideas on the Flannel Friday Pinterest boards, including Dog In Boots @ busycraftingmommy.  I use the rhyme, Five Juicy Bones with my dog hand puppet and some white felt bones. I let my doggy 'eat' the bones as I say the rhyme. That's always a big hit!

I like to use the classic, Dog's Colorful Day; a Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd. I used a Sizzix die-cut for the circles. There's always the great song, BINGO too. I programmed some construction paper pieces with the letters on one side and  Google images of different dogs on the other. I laminated the pieces and added velcro to both sides so we can flip the letter over and bark as we sing the song! 

We did hand out a Home Extension that is a lot of fun! It's a puppy hand puppet. We prepped the pieces and clipped them to the paper bag and handed them out for the kiddos to enjoy! I had programmed a paper with the eyes on it so that we could print off a lot and cut out a lot quickly!  Dogs are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!! I'm hosting the Flannel Friday Roundup this week! Check it out here. Have questions about Flannel Friday? Check out the Flannel Friday official blog. 

Chickens and Eggs!

It's that time of year again! Time for Chickens and Eggs!! Even though real chickens are not that cuddly or cute, storytime chickens are adorable! I have posted some chicken rhymes on a post from a few years ago HERE. I do have a new egg rhyme activity to share. "What's Inside the Egg?" . I saw the idea initially @ Mel's desk and tweaked it a little. LOL! I made eggs about 5" x 4". I cut them to look as if they had cracked apart. I used Google images that I sized to fit behind each colored egg. I doubled the felt on the lighter colors so that the kiddos couldn't see through them. I place them on the board so that the children can't see the items behind the eggs. Then we talk a little about eggs and what could be inside and then we play the game. I say the rhyme and remove the bottom part of the felt egg. As the kiddos see part of the item they can guess what it is. Then I move the top part of the egg and we see what was in the egg. Each item is very different and gives a lot of scope for discussion! We're looking for the baby chick so I make sure that's the last egg we 'crack' open! 

If you are doing an Easter Egg theme I have 2 posts from a couple of years ago, Here and Here. Of course, we will sing Laurie Berkner's fun song, I Know a Chicken! I have shakey eggs that I made for us to use. I put a teaspoon of rice inside the shiny plastic eggs and super-glued them shut. They've held up pretty well. I usually go through and check the eggs before I use them and reglue or take out any that are 'iffy'. Occasionally one will pop open but it's no biggy since there isn't much rice in them. I just run the vacuum quickly after storytime and we're good to go! Having them in a basket makes it easier to get them back too. This song is a favorite! Lots of clucking and shaking and laughing going on!!

We did hand out a fun Home Extension for this theme. I programmed a paper with 2 basket shapes and ran them off on colorful paper. We cut them out and cut out the handle. I have a Sizzix diecut of 2 small eggs that we used with large sheets of sticker paper to make our own stickers. Each basket had 5 for each kiddo to count and color and stick in their basket. 

Yessiree!! Chickens and Eggs are a Lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!
The rest of the Flannel Friday roundup is @ Library Lalaland. Be sure to check out the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards for other great chicken and egg ideas! 

Hide Little Mice!!

Happy 4th Anniversary to Flannel Friday this week! This week I have books about mice! There are so many cute books to use! I've mentioned some in a couple of posts, here and here. I have several mice flannel rhyme sets that I used. But you know me...I wanted something new! LOL!  I really wanted something interactive too. I made up a little rhyme. Then, I found a cute mouse image from Google images and ran it off on colored paper, laminated and cut them out. I handed them out and said the rhyme and fun happened! There was lots of squeaking and giggling! Here's the link for the document ready for printing and using. Hide, Mice, Hide!

Hide, Mice, Hide!

by Kathryn Roach

"Meow!" says the cat. Mice better hide!

All the ________ mice, quick, run inside!

  green, yellow, blue, orange, purple, pink, red, brown, grey, hite

For our Home Extension we offered a cute little finger puppet mouse that was inspired by this post at Paper Crafts for Children. We tweaked it a little and it was a big hit!.

We prepped the pieces into the cone shape with the pipe cleaner nose and tail already done. We had Sharpies and a glue stick available to add the eyes and attach the ears. Easy Peasy!! It's a shame real mice are not so appealing!! But these little mice are a lot of Fun With Friends at Storytime!!
Be sure to check out the rest of the 'Guest Post / 4th Anniversary' roundup @ What Happens In Storytime...

Guest Post...Five Elephants in the Bathtub!

I'm so happy to have Kelsey guest posting on my blog this week!

Happy 4th Birthday Flannel Friday!

Hi! My name is Kelsey and I’m a librarian in Washington State and am so very excited to be guest posting today on Kathryn’s blog for Flannel Friday’s 4th Anniversary. Flannel Friday is probably the highlight of my week and I was very excited to share something for the first time this month! 

Now I’ll admit, I tried to put together a great birthday flannel to share or something brand new that hadn't been on Flannel Friday before, but sadly my mind went blank and my creativity fled. So instead, I thought it only fitting that I share my own version of a classic and one of the many amazing creations I've seen on Flannel Fridays throughout the years. My version of 5 Elephants in the Bathtub was inspired by Lisa over at Libraryland  and the wonderful Mollie and Leah at SunflowerStorytime .

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the rhyme, but for those who aren't, it goes like this:

One Elephant in the bathtub,

Going for a swim.
Knock, knock (Slap knees twice)
Splash, splash (Clap hands twice)
Come on in! (Motion to come in with both hands)

Continue counting up until 5 …..

Five elephants in the bathtub,
Going for a swim
Knock, knock
Splash, splash
They all fell in!

At one of my coworker’s prompting, I tried pulling all of the pieces to the floor as they all fall in and the kids loved it. It got them wondering about the size of the tub and how many elephants it would take to break it. We've also talked about how many elephants they think could fit our meeting room, what colors elephants are in nature, and whether or not they'd want to take a bath with an elephant (that one always gets some really fun answers)! 

This set is really versatile as well; besides an elephant storytime, I've also used it for a color themed one and a messy/clean storytime. I also use the set to play a really simple guessing game. You can hide an elephant behind the tub and then try and guess which it is. I’ll bring out an elephant not “playing” in the tub one at a time until they can figure out which color is missing.

Thanks for checking out my contribution to Flannel Friday and thanks a million to Kathryn for agreeing to host my guest blog!

Thanks Kelsey for such a fun post! Love the size of your pieces too. It's always great to get ideas for using our sets in more than one theme/activity! 

The rest of this week's Guest a Palooza / 4th anniversary roundup is @ What Happens In Storytime.