1,2, Buckle My Shoe!

This is a favorite nursery rhyme for counting, rhythm and the funny fat hen at the end! 

I did use a real buckle for my shoe and stuffed my sticks made of felt with a pipe cleaner so that I could bend them into the shape I wanted.  I added velcro dots to the back of these pieces because they are large and heavy. Counting is lots of Fun with Friends at Storytime!   

                  

Hens of Different Colors

Here's an oldie but goodie, Hens of Different Colors file folder rhyme.  I usually start with the orange paper in place so that the kiddos can see the hen shape and details that I outlined with a sharpie on the laminating film. Then I start the rhyme and I stop talking as I change the color sheet for the kiddos to say the color. This is fun to use when I sing Laurie Berkner's song, I Know a Chicken! We use the shakey eggs and have a blast!

Hens of Different Colors

This little hen is black.  She stands in the barnyard by a big haystack.

This little hen is red. She is very tired and won't get out of bed.

This little hen is brown. She is feeling sad and wearing a frown.

This little hen is yellow. Her friend is the rooster. He's a handsome fellow.

This little hen is white. She dances and plays; Oh, what a sight!

This little hen is purple. She spends her day running in circles.

This little hen is green. She is the silliest hen I've ever seen.

This little hen is blue. She lays eggs for me and you.

This little hen is pink. She goes down to the pond to get a drink.

I have colorful hens so pretty to see. I love them and they love me!

I hI have posted several other 'chicken' posts so check them out! Chickens are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime. There are more great posts on the Flannel Friday Roundup. Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. If you want more info about Flannel Friday here's the link for the official Flannel Friday 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! 

Morning on the Farm

 

There are so many fun books about Farm that you could use it for the overall theme for a month! Actually, I've done that before. The first week I did general Farm books. The second week I did Chicken books. That was an excuse to use Laurie Berkner's song, ' I Know a Chicken' and use the shaky eggs! The third week I did Pig books and the fourth week I did Sheep books.  I guess I could have continued with Cow or Tractor or Seeds or Veggies.  There are so many great books to choose from. Also, there are so many great songs to use too! There's the classic 'Old MacDonald had a Farm'. It's not technically about a farm but 'Cat Goes Fiddle-i-fee' has all the farm animals. I have a new favorite song now from Nancy Stewart. It's her song, 'When Ducks Get Up in the Morning'.  I think I first saw it mentioned on one of the Flannel Friday blogposts...but I can't remember which?! Anyway, since I have access to some great Ellison farm animal diecuts I decided to make the song an interactive activity. So I cut out about 5 or 6 of 6 different farm animals and handed them out to the kiddos. As we sang about that animal the children holding the matching animal diecut brought it up to the board. I tried a different way to do this with a small group of 2's and young 3's. I was able to give them all the same animal and they had to wait for me to say the sound that the animal makes to bring up their diecut. Waiting and listening for the sound before they could get up was challenging for one of the little kiddos. It didn't take long though, he got the hang of it and could sit on the edge of his chair and wait for the animal sound! I had as much fun as they did!! Playing is one of the ECRR components that we model in our storytimes. Now, I'm thinking a set of jungle/zoo animals might be next on my to-do list. The song is really easy to learn so that you don't have to have the music and you can improvise as you like. Be sure to check out some of the other great Farm/farm animal ideas on the Flannel Friday Pinterest boards.

Farm animals are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime! Check out the rest of the roundup  @ Library Village. Have questions about Flannel Friday? Check out the Flannel Friday official blog.  Be sure to  join us on the Flannel Friday Facebook page too.

Which Came First? The Chicken or the Egg?

Having just done an Easter Egg program, I've got eggs on the brain! Maybe my brains are 'scrambled?' cue the laugh track...  Anyway, I thought I'd share these two cute little chicken flannels that I've had a loonnggg time!  I can't remember where I got the rhymes or the idea for the nest and mother hen's movable wing.  I've used Nancy Tafuri's book, Five Little Chicks and Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting when I do a chicken and/or egg theme.  I also like A Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker.   Another good egg book that's not necessarily about chickens is First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.
When I do these rhymes I always do the Five and Five Eggs rhyme first with the mother hen.  Then I  read a book, sing a song and do the other rhyme, Sleepy Chicks, with the same mother hen, but a different nest.

Five and Five Eggs 

Five and five eggs
that makes ten.
Sitting on top is mother hen.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle! 
What do I see?

Ten fluffy chicks as yellow as can be!  


I made two nests and stacked them on top of each other.  When I say the crackle line, I take off the top nest and ...ta da! there are the 10 yellow chicks!  Even the caregivers laugh when they see the surprise! The chicks are made of yellow cottonballs with little google eyes and orange felt beaks glued on.

Sleepy Chicks

"Come little children,"

calls mother hen.

"It's time to take your nap again."

So under her feathers the small chicks creep,

and she clucks a song till they fall asleep.

I start with just the mother hen on the nest.  I put the chicks under her wing when she calls and finish the rhyme by closing her wing.   We play peek-a-boo a few times with the mother hen's wing which is always a big hit with my youngest preschoolers.  We do a lot of clucking and peek-a-booing; and a lot of giggles!

Chickens are a lot of fun at Storytime!