Play ball!

Everyone loves to play ball. I have a circle theme that I've done several times that involves a ball.  I have different types of balls as props; a basketball, baseball, and soccer ball. We talk about the shape of the balls; the difference in the sizes of the balls and how you play with them. I have a simple little rhyme to use with flannelboard pieces. We also repeat the rhyme using our hands and arms.  I've used this rhyme for years but here it is with other great resources for a sports theme. Also, you might check out this Flannel Friday post about baseballs from Maria at The Serpentine Library blog. I want to make a set like hers for my files!

A Little Ball

A little ball
A bigger ball,
A great big ball I see.
Now let's count them.
Are you ready?
1-2-3!

I made the balls out of pellon and painted the colors with acrylic paint. First I traced the balls with a sharpie, then painted them.  After the paint dried I went back over the black lines with a wide black sharpie and cut them out.  The paint does not affect the pieces sticking to the felt board at all.  I like the more even color coverage and it's quicker than crayon or marker.  I've got an adorable set of shoes I'll have to share in another post that I made with this technique.  

Little Chameleon's Color Game

This is an oldie but goodie from my files. I made this set many years ago. I used the classic, A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni with it and we had a blast!  This was one of my first attempts at making my own rhymes and I was pretty pleased with it.  It was also the first attempt at a giving clues type activity. I could almost see the wheels turning in their little heads as they used their visual memories to match the clues I gave.  I LOVED it so much, I've been trying to do similar things ever since!  It's so rewarding to watch a child 'get it'! Their little faces light up and they are so proud of themselves...I'm so proud of them too!  Anyway, here it is:

Little Chameleon's Color Game
 by Kathryn Roach
(put up the gray chameleon on the board to start)

Little Chameleon let's play a game today

Change your color to match the things that I say!

Fluffy clouds in the sky, cotton balls, a polar bear,

Sometimes this is the color of people's hair   

(put up white one - big laugh, my hair is almost snow white now)

The sun and a lemon, sunflowers too,

Squash and bananas to name a few!    (yellow)

The great big ocean, the big, high sky,

Yummy berries to put in a pie!   (blue)

The grass and frogs, a small snake that slithers by,

Peas and broccoli, my, oh my!  (green) 

Pretty flowers, cotton candy, a little bunny nose,

cute baby pigs and tiny baby toes! (pink) 

Three things I can think of that are this beautiful hue,

Some pansies, sweet grapes and eggplants too!  (purple)  

Now try this color of leaves in the fall,

Pumpkins and carrots and a basketball!  (orange)  

We like this color when it's chocolate to eat, dirt in the garden or wood for a seat.  (brown)

This color is dark, the opposite of white.  You'll see this color when you turn off the light! (black)

  

Roses and cherries, a Valentine heart; Yummy strawberries baked in a tart!  (red) 

Little Chameleon now it's time for you to rest. You've changed to all the colors that we like the best!

(put grey chameleon back on the board)

The chameleon is made from a deconstructed picture from an old Mailbox magazine page. I just cut it apart and used the pieces as patterns. **update**  I found the page in The Mailbox 1996-1997 Yearbook: Preschool pg. 131. I reduced the size a little on the copier, made two copies and cut apart the head, and legs (I didn't worry about two legs for the front and back). I cut the total body shape and glued the head and legs on the body. I added a pink circle 'cheek' just because I liked it that way. Be sure to glue the tail to the back to reduce pulling and general floppiness. **       I did glue the end of the tail to the back of the chameleon  because it was too floppy and one or two were pulled too hard and lost their cute curve. This could also be a cute file folder rhyme too.    This was a LOT of fun at Storytime with my little friends!

10 Swimming Seahorses

Here's another post about getting ready for summer.  I found this rhyme that I made up a couple of years ago when our summer theme was a beach theme.  I made the rhyme work with seahorses and starfish. I really love the seahorses!  I used an organza ribbon to make the ruffled fin down the back of the starfish.  The eyes are flower and circle sequins.
Here you go:
Ten Swimming Seahorses (*Starfish)
by Kathryn Roach

Let's count 10 seahorses* swimming by
All different colors, my, oh my!
The first is red
the next light blue
Here is orange
And purple too.
I see one that's green
We're not done
I see a white one;
This is fun!
Now, yellow, then blue
pink is last
10 Seahorses* swimming fast!
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10


*Update*  This could also be done with a laminated file folder cutout and colored paper.**

Here's the craft we did. I used a strip of yellow crepe paper sandwiched between 2 seahorse shapes. The children spongepainted the seahorse shapes with a small sponge and blue paint and added a stick-on eye.  They were pretty pleased with these!  I had some teen volunteers help cut out the shapes.







Of course, I couldn't leave the starfish shapes alone! Notice the shiny glitter? LOL!










Happy swimmy summertime to come!!

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

I'm getting ready for summer programs by going through my summer theme tub. I found this flannel set and realized I hadn't used it in years. I made this set when I had done a summer time theme. I found the ice cream shaped bottles of bubbles too, that was just added fun!  Makes me want some ice cream!
Here you go:

I found these bubble blower, ice cream props!

Ice Cream Colors

We have ice cream, the best in town,

Let us begin with chocolate brown.

Here is ice cream minty and green

It is the creamiest that we’ve ever seen.

Yellow ice cream is lemony and tart,

We like its taste from the very start.

Orange sherbet is next, oh so sweet,

Everyone thinks that it’s a great treat!

Scoops of blueberry make this a lucky day,

We just want to cheer, hip, hip hurray!

Red ice cream is a cherry delight.

This ice cream cone is a heavenly sight.

Vanilla white is a popular flavor,

It tastes very good to an ice-cream craver.

Purple ice cream really gives us a kick.

Good and yummy till the very last lick.

Now, let us scoop some bubble-gum pink,

It is sweet and yummy, the best, we think.

Ice cream, ice cream, what a cool sensation,

We love ice cream in any combination!

The sprinkles on top of the ice cream cones are bugle beads and seed beads.  

I found a few other ice cream rhymes here; and this adorable rhyme posted by Mollie at What Happens In Storytime from the 5 whats-its board on Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards.
You can't go wrong with ice cream!

Ladybug, Ladybug!

We're beginning to plan for the summer and, of course, we're planning to present a bug storytime.  I'm not sure that I'll be using ladybugs but I found this not-flannel prop and rhyming game that I made last year and thought I'd share it.  

The Lovely Ladybug

(by Kathryn Roach)

Let’s play a ladybug color game

I’ll give you rhyming clues

If you know it, say the name

Of each color that I use!

The first color for our buggy fellow

Is the color of sunshine

It’s the color yellow.

Frogs in the pond and a fresh snap bean

Did you guess the color green?

The sky above and the ocean too

Such a beautiful color, it's the color blue.

Strawberry ice cream, come on now, think.

You are right! It’s the color pink!

Grapes for jelly on a P B & J,

Purple is the color we say!

Pumpkins or basketballs rolling by

Orange is the color that we now spy.

Fluffy clouds and the moon at night

Did you say the color white?

Roses that grow in a garden bed

Are this beautiful color, the color red.

Ladybug, ladybug up in the sky

Thanks for the fun

and now we say, “Goodbye!”

I traced the large circle and cut it out and glued the partial circle black construction paper head on the file folder and ran the folder through the laminator. Then, I attached the black construction paper circles to the film on the large circle with a teensy bit of double sided tape and ran the file folder through the laminator again.  I hot glued the google eyes and black pipe cleaner antennae on and stacked my colored paper (trimmed to fit) in the file folder with black to start and end with the red.
Now that's a lot of buggy fun at Storytime!

A Gift for Mommy

I am looking forward to Mother's day next week!  I always like to do a Mother's Day theme for preschool storytime. It's a BIG hit with the mommys and grandmothers that come to storytime!  I have two books that I ALWAYS use;  My Mom by Anthony Browne and My Mommy Is Magic by Carl Norac. I loved this CUTE felt set and song at Storytime ABC's, so I made my own!  For laughs and so much fun, we sing 'Mama Don't Allow'.  I wanted one more flannelboard rhyme and couldn't find one I wanted to use so...I made up my own.  I found Google pictures for each item and of a child kissing his mom. The color words are links to a Google page.  I printed and mounted each picture on bright green paper and laminated them.  I flip the papers as I say the rhyme.  I think it will lead to some discussion about what gifts we'd like to give to our mother for Mother's Day. Here you go:

                                                                A Gift for Mommy

By Kathryn Roach

I want to get a gift for Mommy

For this Mother’s day

Let me think, what could I find?

I don’t have money to pay!

I know she likes some fancy shoes

I bet she’d like them blue!

Maybe a fancy, party ring?

A lovely purple one could be the thing!

A mug for the coffee she likes to drink?

I know she likes the color pink!

Or a purse to carry all her stuff

A red one might be big enough!

An orange scarf, fresh and light,

With white polka dots, could be right!

I know what I can give to Mommy

I know that this won’t miss!

I’ll tell her, “Mommy, I love you”
With a great big hug and kiss!

I have adapted Jane's (Piper Loves the Library) adorable version of the Little Mouse hiding game to be a Mother's Day version.  I already had 3 felt houses for the original version of the game, so, I just made two more color houses,  a mother mouse and felt cheese. In my game little boy mouse is looking for a piece of cheese to give to his Mother mouse for Mother's day. I hid other small things behind each house and he even finds one piece of cheese.  He's so hungry and it smells sooo good that...he eats it! Oh no!  But, he finds another piece of cheese (in the last house) to give to his mother. (We all know, don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach! LOL!)    I call my version, 'Where's the cheese for Mother Mouse?'  I have a purple house that I forgot at work.  The pattern for the mice came from Feltboard Fingerplays by Liz and Dick Wilmes.  The mice are made out of pellon and the houses and cheese are felt.  Notice that Mother mouse has shiny gold earrings? ...little things... LOL! 
I have as much fun as the kiddos that come to Storytime!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Up, Up and Away

I know this post might seem random...well it is! But, ... this was a fun theme and I wanted to share with you.  Two summers ago our Summer Reading Theme was One World Many Stories and one of the images on our marketing pieces was of children in a hot air balloon. That gave me the idea for this theme.  Then I found a book that I really wanted to use, The Big Trip by Valeri Gorbachev and I was ready to go! We sang the fun song, When I'm Feeling Up by Rick Hubbard to complete the 'up, up and away' theme.  We enjoyed the following rhyme that I adapted by adding more verses and colors. Then we played a "Which one's missing?" game with the colored balloons. I'll have to share the riddle rhyming game I made up in another post.  

Pretty Balloons

adapted by Kathryn Roach

Pretty balloons are in the air

Lots of colors everywhere.

Red and Yellow,

Green and Blue;

Can you see the colors too?

Foating high up in the sky

Lots more colors we can spy.

Orange and Pink,

Purple and Brown

Balloons are high above the ground.

Up high we'll ride and look down below

As we ride in our hot air balloon RAINBOW!

I still remember the fun we had with this theme; plus I am in love with the glittery hot air balloons!  

I have so much fun with my friends at Storytime!!