What color will Selena wear today?

We're doing a 'Getting Dressed' theme this week at Storytime and I wanted to use my little girl with the colorful wardrobe! This is Selena and she loves fashion...lol.  I start off with her in her nightgown and slippers as she begins to try on one colorful dress after another.  I do have a little rhyme to coordinate the whole activity.  Here she is with her many outfits to choose from.

(change the color dress as you say the rhyme)

What Color Shall I Wear Today?

Good morning, Selena, it's time to get dressed!  

Let's choose a color that we like the best.
How about a red, orange, green, or yellow dress? 

Maybe a purple, or blue, or a pretty flower dress?
Selena tried on her dresses one by one.

Now, she's ready to play and ready for fun!

                                  

 

I really enjoyed making all of Selena's outfits with their embellishments! Getting Dressed for our day is so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Mittens Hide a Snowball

 

I've been using this variation on the Little Mouse Hiding in a House game for years.  I thought I'd share it in time for Winter themes at Storytime!  This website has several great ideas to use with preschoolers!

Where’s the Snowball?

http://tonsoffunpreschoolactivities.blogspot.com/2011/01/tot-school-mittens.html

Snowball, snowball cold and round

behind which mitten can you be found?

I have always just used the one snowball to find but this time I might 'hide' other funny things behind the other mittens. It makes for a silly, fun activity! I cut my mitten shapes about 8 inches so that leaves me plenty of room to hide funny things.  I cut my snowball shape from batting so it is flat and keeps it's shape.  Mittens and snowballs are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

        

Mittens Galore!

 

I just realized I didn't have any mitten posts!  So here you go.  The mittens are for a color match rhyme activity.  You can hand out pairs so that the kiddos bring up their matching mittens to make a pair. You can put up one color and the kiddo that has that color brings it up to make a pair.  I have strung a yarn line and had the kiddos clothespin their mitten to the line (fine motor). There are any number of ways to play with these. Here's a couple of rhymes - Each Mitten Has a Mate  or  10 Little Mittens Hanging on the Line.  Here's a song I found MANY  years ago. I don't know the tune but it's a cute chant as you put on a pair of mittens! 

 The Mitten Song    

By Marie Louise Allen

“Thumbs in the thumb-place,

Fingers all together!”

This is the song

We sing in mitten-weather.

When it is cold,

It doesn’t matter whether

Mittens are wool,

Or made of finest leather-

This is the song

We sing in mitten-weather;

“Thumbs in the thumb-place,

Fingers all together!”

  

Stay as toasty warm as you can in mitten weather! Mittens are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime.

What's In My Pocket?

I made a fun Look and See game with Pockets! I used my Mushroom Guessing Game idea and made pockets instead! I wish I had made the pockets bigger though.  They are about 4" by 4" and I'd really like them to be more like 6" by 6". If I get ambitious I'll remake them because they are super easy and quick!  The pics are all Google images that I printed and laminated and cut out. I use double sided tape to keep them flat and secure. It's always fun to hear the kiddos' reactions when they see what's in the pocket. This activity is always a big hit and so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

                                  

Buttons everywhere!

 

I made a set of colorful shirts and buttons to use with Pete the Cat and His Groovy Buttons.  This is an interactive game where I hand out the colored buttons and the kiddos bring them up to match the shirt as I add it to the board.  Even the nonverbal toddlers can play this and they LOVE it!! I deconstructed a shirt image from Google and used 2 shades of each color and glued them onto a dark grey back. I did it this way so that I could make my pieces Big!. I have a Sizzix circle diecut for the buttons. I used some black shiny fabric paint for the thread holes on my buttons.  I usually add a hook side Velcro dot to the back of the big pieces to keep them steady while we play.  I made a Pete the Cat felt set a few weeks ago. He's so mellow and groovy, LOL. 

Buttons for My Shirt

Kathryn Roach 09/16/2022

Here’s my green shirt, but the buttons are gone!
Bring a green button and let’s put it on!

Put up the next shirt and say the rhyme with new color word.
Orange, Purple, Yellow, Pink, Blue

Buttons and Pete the Cat are such groovy Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Someone Lost a Button!?

I recently made a felt set to be used as I read the book Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.  I had been inspired by this post HERE  She posts a link for a template for Pete the Cat and his buttons that you could use HERE.  I did use her idea of making Pete's coat attached at the top so I can show off his belly button!  Here's a cute extension activity to make a Pete the Cat booklet! Be sure to change the setting from Letter to Legal size paper for it to print correctly.  I plan to do a Button storytime and use the felt piece for the rhyme/chant, Miss Mary Mack. Buttons are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Updating Balls of Yarn!

 

I posted a set of balls of yarn a while back (click here!) and got inspired to finally finish an idea I started in 2015! Here's my rhyme and I finished a set of balls of yarn and the Sweater!! Ya'll I'm super pleased with my cute sweater.  Here's the rhyme:   Balls of Yarn . Playing with yarn is so much Fun with Friends at  Storytime!   

   

             

Let's Build a Snowman.

One of my all-time favorite books to use with a snowman theme is Lois Ehlert's, Snowballs. It's always a big hit with the kiddos! I've got several snowman rhymes that I like to use for this theme. I made a pellon set for the classic snowman rhyme, 'Cute Little Snowman'.



I have another pellon set for a song/chant; 'Happy Snowman'. I really need to add some velcro dots to help the pieces stay in place as I dress the snowman. If the group is small you can hand out the pieces and the kiddos can dress the snowman!






Here's a little rhyme for this sweet snowman,

              'A Happy Jolly Fellow'

A Snowman sits upon the hill,

He's a happy, jolly fellow.

His hat is black, his scarf is red,

And his mittens are bright yellow!

And here's one more Snowman rhyme/song; this file folder one that I use with the CD by Carole Peterson; *Highly Usable Music kids Can Sing, Dance & Do! H.U.M.* all Year Long. The tune is London Bridge is Falling Down. Here's the printable doc. for  I Can Make a Snowman.  
Snowmen are 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! 

Winter Fun!

We're in the middle of winter so I thought I'd post some of my wintertime sets. I made these many years ago and have used them a lot! Both of these sets are made from pellon that I colored with crayons or colored pencils. This first set is a getting dressed set and in order to make the pieces stick to each other, I stapled velcro dots to them. There is a song/chant to the tune of 'Mulberry Bush'. Here's a link to a printable Google doc. for 'We Put on Snow Pants'. This would be great to use when you use the set for the book,  The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. I also have an active rhyme that I made a little pellon figure for. I think I got both of these from Felt Board Fingerplays by Dick and Liz Wilmes.  Anyway, here's the link for the active rhyme, 'Snow Everywhere'. I also sing 'Sing a Song of Winter' and use the little rhyme, 'Winter Signs'. Here's one more winter active rhyme from Everything Preschool, 'Cloudy Day'. Brrrrr, winter is a lot of 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!

Fox in Socks

Whwooo, here's my first post of the new year! Christmas was fun but, I'm glad to get back to a steady schedule! We are planning a 'fox' themed storytime to use the Five Little Foxes that I made a while back and we needed one more thing. I saw this adorable idea @ Storytime with Miss Tara and Friends and wanted to add it to our program. She used it with a sock theme so this is a versatile set! I made my set pretty big and we will teach the kiddos a couple of new color words; turquoise and tan. Foxes are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!

There are more ideas on this week's 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!

Dear Old Dad!

This is my version of  'Daddy's Ties'  by Katie @ Story Time Secrets for Father's Day. If you have a small group you could hand the ties out and the child could bring up Daddy's tie when you sing that color. 
I made my set out of felt and gave the Daddy a snazzy shirt with a button-down collar and a debonair mustache. LOL! I used him this week and he was a big hit!! Dads are Fun with Friends at Storytime!
Mollie @ What Happens in Storytime has the rest of this week's roundup.Have questions about Flannel Friday? Check out the Flannel Friday official blog.  Be sure to  join us on the Flannel Friday Facebook page and enjoy the great Flannel Friday Pinterest boards too!

Dressed for Winter!

Time for winter themes!  I have so many flannel sets for winter, snow, snowflakes, snowmen, penguins... but still I make new ones LOL!  I was inspired by this terrific post by  Lisa @ Thrive after Three of her flannel set for the book, The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Nietzel; illus. by Nancy Winslow Parker.  Of course, my set doesn't exactly match hers or the illustrations in the book. I used, felt, fabric paint, some yarn and a pom pom. I'm really looking forward to using this set with my storytime children this January.  I plan on handing out the pieces and as we read the book they can bring up their piece and add it to the board.

I'm planning to read, Keats' The Snowy Day and  Under My Hood I Have a Hat by Karla Kuskin. Lisa also has this recent post with her flannel set for Under My Hood... Maybe I can make me a set before next year?!  

I also play my 'Which One is Missing?' game with this theme. I made 5 adorable felt toboggans to count, discuss colors and play with. I used the variegated color yarn from Walmart to make my pom poms. I used a Google image as a pattern.  I cut 5 extra brims; one of each color, and cut them apart and glued them back together for each toboggan.  I LOVE these little hats!!  I made up a rhyme to use with these before we play the game; here's the link to 'Five Toboggans'.   Winter time is Fun with Friends at Storytime.