Pretty Parrots

 

I've been thinking of a Pirate Storytime theme and of course I needed Five Pretty Parrots! These were a bit tedious but I'm so pleased with my pretty parrots!  I deconstructed and tweaked a Google image to make my set. I can use these to play our favorite game, "Which One is Missing?". The kiddos never get tired of that activity.  After we've finished the rhyme I say, "Let's play a game!" We review the colors of the parrots and then I say, "Cover your eyes". I step in front of the felt board and reach behind me to grab one of the parrots. I step aside so that they can see the board and then I say, " Open your eyes"! They love it!  The older kids get it quickly and the younger ones learn how to play quickly too!      Here are other Pirate posts; Pirate Treasure and Ahoy Matey!.  

Pirates and parrots can be a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Tulips in a Row

 

I wanted a new flower set when I do a Flower theme at Storytime  When I ran across a sweet rhyme about 5 Little Tulips on Pinterest I had to make it! 

5 little tulips in the meadow grew.  "Hmmm, I said, "I bet they smell pretty too!"

So I bent down to sniff, but they tickled my nose!

Ah-ah-choo! Oh no! Away 1 flower blows.

repeat with 4,3,2, and 1.

I used a simple Google image to deconstruct to make my colorful tulips.  I did hot glue the leaf to the flower so it wouldn't be floppy.  Tulips make me happy!

Flowers are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime.

 

Five Sugar Cookies! Yum!

Here's a variation of the Five Christmas Cookies rhyme for a baking theme at Storytime! I have a large (4") circle diecut for my sizzix machine and I just freehand cut out the 'frosting' shapes and added some white glitter glue "sugar".   As always the different colors will lend them to be used in a 'Which one is missing?' game after the rhyme.  Easy Peasy!  I have other posts for Cookies  and for Baking.  Yummy cookies are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Cinnamon Buns for Breakfast!

 After a recent trip and stop at Buc cees for a large cinnamon bun, I was inspired to make this set! I had made the first one a couple of years ago just because and now I finished the set with the magic preschool number of 5!  It's hard to tell but there's iridescent glitter glue 'sugar' on each of the buns. Here's the rhyme;  Five Breakfast Buns.  I have a couple of other breakfast food posts; Flip Flap Jack and Pigs and a Pancake.  Yep! Breakfast is so delicious and Fun with Friends at Storytime!

                                     

Squirrels are Ready for Fall!

 

I've got a new set to use this fall for acorns and squirrels.  I've posted before Here and Here. I already had the squirrels but I added these new bigger acorns and a new rhyme! Down Around the Corner.

We're having Fun with Friends at Storytime with fall squirrels and acorns!!

Birthday Presents!

 I adapted a rhyme from In The Children's Room blogspot to make a different felt set.  My version is called Birthday Presents!.  This was a super easy and quick set to make! I already had the variegated color yarn to make the pom pom style bow for each present.  I will hide the items behind the boxes and reveal the 'present' as we play. They never get tired of this technique! You can make your 'presents' reflect your kiddo's interests. I printed and laminated and cut out each item.  I just put a small piece of tape on the back to hold it until we 'open' the present.  I did add a piece of Velcro to the top of each felt piece to hold it as we're handling it.  You can always play, Which One's Missing? after you have all the items showing! Birthday presents are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime.  Check out my other Birthday themed posts Here! 

Here's a new set to use for a Book or Library theme!  I have 2 ways to use these. I found these rhymes at Storytime in the Stacks' blog post HERE. I added an enlarged  and laminated pic of our library card that we give out to our children patrons. I'm sorry but these colors are not true to life. In person they are more vibrant! I used 2 shades of each color except the pattern books.  I found a Google image that I adapted and deconstructed for my pattern. These were quick and easy!  When I use the ten books I am going to print and laminate book covers of favorite picture book characters to 'hide' behind each book.

I have made a document with the rhymes and pictures of the books HERE.  They never get tired of this activity! Yay for books from the library for Fun with Friends at Storytime!

I Want to Write a Story

 

We are doing Back to School or Starting School storytimes and I wanted a new rhyme inspired by my Five Happy Pencils Ready to Write felt set from a few years ago. The new set has different colors and have emotions that go with the new rhyme I wrote.  Colored Pencils Help me Write a Story   You can't tell but this set is Big! Each pencil is about 10 inches from top to tip. I deconstructed a Google image to make my pencils and used glitter glue and shiny fabric paint and google eyes for the details. 

I can always just tweak my first rhyme to use the color words or the emotion words to use them in a slightly different theme.  We're having a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Ducks Away!!

 

I wanted to make a felt set to use as I read this adorable book , Ducks Away!.  Our storytime group is tending to be the younger preschoolers right now. I wanted to have a little more movement as I read the book to try to keep the attention of our young crowd. Since we are a small community branch we don't have age specific storytimes so we have All ages! It can be slightly challenging some times, LOL.  I intend to add the ducklings as they do in the book and then when one 'falls' into the water under the bridge I can tuck their feet behind the blue felt so that they look as though they are swimming.  The momma duck is two sided so that she can turn around to look down at the ducklings in the water.  I'm in love with the whole set! Ducks are always so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Mouse Loves Cheese Shapes!

 Here's a new game/rhyme for a Mouse that loves cheese shapes!  I had an old pattern sheet that I deconstructed for my mouse and the shapes were easy peasy. They're all about 3 1/2  to 4 inches tall.  I did make up a quick little repeating rhyme:  'Here's a little mouse looking for his lunch. He found a circle cheese to munch, munch, munch!'  Just change the name of the shape as you add another one to the flannelboard. Be sure to make munching noises as you have the mouse eat the shapes.  The kiddos always think that's hilarious! I can use this with a couple of fun mouse books...

We're having so much Fun with Friends at Storytime! 

Dragon Fun!

We are going to have so much Fun with Friends at Storytime with these Five Baby Dragons.  I saw these by Jessica @ Storytime in the Stacks and wanted a set of my own. Her rhyme is adorable! Any chance to blow bubbles or kisses is fine by me. I jazzed my set up by adding glitter glue and a tail on my dragons. We have several fun dragon books to use as well as my 10 dragons from a previous post  HERE.  Right now I have NO plans to make a Mama dragon but...I might in the future! LOL!  I'm sure these cuties will make return appearances in storytime. Be sure to check out the Flannel Friday Pinterest boards for more fairytale/dragon/medieval/royal inspiration! 

Airplanes Flying Away!

Up, up and away with Five Little Airplanes! We played 'Which One Flew Away?' after we did the rhyme. I had one little guy that exclaimed when I put the airplanes on the board, "There's a honey mustard plane!"  That's why I love doing preschool storytime. Airplanes are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime.

Babies in a Stroller going for a Ride!

Oh my! I just love my sweet babies riding in the giant stroller! These little cuties make me smile. I have a rhyme I made up to justify making this set and we will be using them this month at storytime.

  5 Babies in the Stroller.

I have several different posts about babies HERE,but this is the first time having them in a stroller with different weather conditions! They turned out better than I had hoped which is always a good thing.  I used a Google image that I deconstructed and tweaked a little for the babies and I loosely adapted a stroller image to make my own pattern (free hand cut out) stroller with diecut circle wheels. Babies are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Electric Guitars

                               

I made a shiny set of Five Electric Guitars and a rhyme to go with them to use this summer with our Summer Reading Programs. Here's a link for my rhyme, Electric Guitars.  I saw this set on a Flannel Friday Facebook post by Syntha Martin Green and was so impressed!! I  made my own set and then one thought led to another and viola! Five Electric Guitars!!  Here's a fun guitar craft idea from notimeforflashcards.com!

Rock On Dudes!!   Rock n Roll is so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Five Fancy Peacocks!

I've been wanting to make a set of peacocks for awhile and finally I did it!!  We plan on doing a program later this summer about birds and one of our books features a peacock, so that's as good an excuse as any to make a rhyme and set of 5 proud peacocks. Here's a link for the rhyme- Five Peacocks.  I used a Google image and loosely translated it into felt using some sequins and gold glitter glue, fabric paint and hot glue! I'm happy with the results but I don't want to make anymore!! This was fairly simple but very tedious! 

Birds and especially Peacocks are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime! 

Koala Fun!

We are planning for our summer session already and wanted to use some books about the cutest animal ever...koalas!!  Of course this was a perfect opportunity for me to make some new felt pieces and write a couple of new rhymes. I have a 5 little whatsit rhyme for my koala pieces,  here's the link for 5 Koalas.  I used a Google image and deconstructed it to make my koalas. They were labor intensive so I'm not sure I'll make another set any time soon!! But, I am so pleased with their sweet little faces! They have a eucalyptus branch for counting and eating!

 

Koalas are so sweet and so much Fun with Friends at Storytime! There are other ideas this week @ Flannel Friday Roundup. Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. Here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog for more info! 

Noisy Robots

We  wanted to do a robot storytime and I had NO flannel sets!! What to do? Flannel Friday Pinterest boards to the rescue! I found this cute rhyme @anneslibrarylife and got right to work! I used shape jewels on my set with metallic pipe cleaner antennae. I also added a final verse to the rhyme.
5 Noisy Robots
5 noisy robots in the toy shop,
Shiny and tall with antennae on the top
Along came a girl/boy with some money one day.
Bought a noisy robot and took it away.
(continue with 4, 3, 2, 1)
*No noisy robots in the toy shop,
No loud, 'beep beep or bop or bip-bop'
Each robot has a home now with a little girl or boy.
5 noisy, shiny, funny, robot toys!

Robots are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime! There are more great ideas on the Flannel Friday Roundup! Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. Here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog for more info!

I See the Moon!

      

I love variations of the Little Mouse, Little Mouse hiding game.  I found this rhyme on so tomorrow blogpost .  I tweaked my rhyme and pattern a little and since I have a circle diecut I just used it for my moon. I added some shiny glitter glue and we are all set for some fun! This will be a great time to use Laurie Berkner's wonderful song, 'Moon, Moon, Moon'. I sing this song as a lullaby when my grandsons sleepover!  Here's my take on the rhyme:    

                            Little moon, little moon, playing hide and seek

                            Are you behind the purple*  cloud? Let's take a peek!

Just change the color at * each time.  I also hide a small star shape behind the other clouds til we 'find' the sleepy moon! LOL!  They love this game. 

Singing and playing are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime! There are more great ideas on the Flannel Friday Roundup! Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. Here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog for more info!

Space; the Final Frontier!

Going boldly into outer space is super fun! Here's the five little astronauts that we used with this fun rhyme. (Don't remember where I found it) It's a take on 'Five elephants went out to play'.
One Little Astronaut 
One little astronaut floating out from base,
Hooked to a hose, exploring space.
She thought it was such an amazing trick,
She called for another astronaut to join her quick!
Two....
Three...
Four...
Five little astronauts floating out from base.
Hooked to a hose, exploring space.
They thought it was such an amazing trick,
But, then their work was done and they went back quick!

 My astronauts and rockets are diecuts. I hot glued a silver holograph sequin behind the opening for the helmet. LOL, One little girl with an eye for detail noticed that the yarn hose for the orange astronaut wasn't orange! Little things like that make storytime fun for me!! I do have several other posts about space and astronauts. Check them out!  Counting astronauts is a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime! There are more great ideas on the Flannel Friday Roundup! Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. Here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog for more info!

Sly Foxes!

I've been wanting to make a set of foxes since I saw these at Sunflower Storytime.  The idea of a fox storytime is really appealing.There are so many great ideas from Flannel Friday boards! I remembered the fox in Rosie's Walk by Hutchins and knew that would be a perfect book for storytime. I also found Dinnertime! by Sue Williams so now I'm set! Leah @ Sunflower Storytime also has patterns and ideas for crafts on her site! What a treasure! I did tweak my foxes little! ;)

Wow, who knew storytime could be so much Fun with Friends and foxes!

There are more great ideas on the Flannel Friday Roundup! Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. Here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog for more info!