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!!

Time for Fall Leaves.

 

It's that time of year! I have another Fall post here but I realized I really don't have any fall leaves posts. so here goes!  I usually hand out the small colored leaves to the kiddos and then I use the big leaves as a visual cue for the color in the rhyme.  If your group is too big for them to come add their leaf to the flannel board then they can stand and twirl their leaves as you sing that color in the rhyme.  

*Brown Leaves*

*Brown leaves, brown leaves all around,

twirling, swirling to the ground.

see them dancing through the air,

see them falling everywhere.

Brown leaves, brown leaves, all around, twirling, swirling to the ground.

*Red   *Orange   *Yellow   *Fall (all leaves)

When their color is called the kiddos stand up and twirl and swirl their leaf through the air and then sit down. Last verse all children stand up and do the motions with their leaves.  You can use the green leaves and add that color verse if you want to.  I usually don't use the green ones.  Fall leaves are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Two Little Acorns

 

I'm gearing up for fall and wanted to add a 'two little' set and these fill the ticket!  

Two Little Acorns ready to fall

One is Penelope and one is Paul.

Jump down Penelope. Jump down Paul!

Bounce high Penelope. Bounce high Paul!

Two little acorns had a big fall.

One named Penelope and one named Paul!

I used several shades of brown felt and some glitter glue and fabric paint and the cute googly eyes.  I used an image from Google and just deconstructed it for my pattern.  Easy Peasy! They are mighty cute! Fall and acorns are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Our Tree in Four Seasons

 

We did a tree themed storytime at my library last week and I needed another felt set/ story for my program.  I already had these two Here and Here but I needed a story or something to round out my theme.  We used Tap the Magic Tree and The Busy Tree for our books.  I saw this idea on Etsy in several shops so I adapted it and made my own set. I used some glitter glue on the snowflakes but otherwise nothing shiny! Can you believe it?! I don't have a set script for this we just talked about the seasons as they follow each other and then ... start over again! Easy Peasy.  Trees are very important and Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Two Hungry Hedgehogs

We just did a Forest Animals storytime and I had my Five Little Foxes felt set, Five Little Hedgehogs but I wanted 2 little hedgehogs, of course!  Meet Morris and Marie! I love them.  I used a couple of Google images to make my cuties.  They were a big hit!  

Two hungry hedgehogs sniffing near a tree

One named Morris and the other is Marie.

Sniff away Morris, sniff away Marie.

Come back Morris, come back Marie.

Two hungry hedgehogs sniffing by a tree,

They're eating up the grubs, Morris and Marie!

                                 

Fall Animals are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Two Little Bats

Here's my Two Little Bats in time for Halloween Fun!  I do have another post that include bats HERE! These are super easy and lot's of Fun with Friends at Storytime! 

Two Little Bats

By Kathryn Roach  10/24/2023

Two little bats hanging out in a cave.

One named  Shiver and one named Brave.

Fly away Shiver!

Fly away Brave!

Come back Shiver!

Come back Brave!

Two little bats hanging out in their cave.

One named Shiver and one named Brave! 

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater!

Here's my latest in my Nursery Rhyme series of felt sets. I had to use several different Google images and tweak them a bit to get my patterns for my Peter and Mrs.Peter.  He looks happy with his sweet Mrs and cute pumpkin house! LOL!  Check out my other nursery rhyme sets HERE.   I figured this set could be used in the fall with a pumpkin theme, or in the spring with a garden/bunny theme.  I did think of an alternate line to the rhyme about Mrs. Peter. 
"He had a wife and wanted to please her. They moved into a pumpkin shell and there they lived very well!"   Anyway, bunnies and pumpkins are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

10 Sleepy Owls

I've made a new set of owls for our Halloween Hoot storytime! Here's a link for the doc.  10 Sleepy Owls. They turned out cuter than I expected. That's always a happy thing! Owls are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Beary Fun!

Fall is upon us and a really fun theme is 'Bears!' I've posted about bears before...Here. But I thought I'd share a fun version of the Little Mouse hiding game with a bear.
Here's a link for the rhyme/instructions for Where Is Bear Sleeping?  The bear is a traced bear on Pellon and the 'caves' are easily cut out 2 at a time from different colored felt. This fun peek-a-boo game never gets old with preschoolers! Yay!!
Fun with Friends at Storytime is
'Beary' Fun!!

Mole's New Hole...an inspired post

Two years ago when our Summer Reading theme was 'Dig into Reading' I was inspired to make my own set for the story that Linda Meuse shared from Notes from the Story Room. Not only had she made up a cute story, she shared patterns ready for use!! I used her patterns and instead of coloring the pellon with colored pencils I used acrylic paints. I made my hole for mole out of felt with a couple of dots of velcro on the back to hold it tight as I maneuvered mole and then possum in and out of it. We all really enjoyed the story!

You could also play "Which animal is missing?" game with these pieces by having the kids close their eyes (ha!) while you take an animal off of the board. It's so funny that someone always peeks!! This story would be great with a nonfiction book also!! Forest Animals 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.

Inspired Pumpkins

This is my version of Sarah @ Read Rabbit Read's 'Five Giant Pumpkins'. I loved the 2-sided action with her images. I combined felt and images in my set. I made the pumpkins out of felt and, of course, added some glitter. I used laminated Google images with velcro on the back for the items hiding behind the giant pumpkins.  The kiddos really liked this one last year. Then we played, 'Which One's Missing?' with the items after I moved the pumpkins. I love a 2 for 1 set!!

You just can't have too much Fun with Friends (and pumpkins) at Storytime.  Check out the rest of the roundup HERE.  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!

Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving! I like it better than Christmas. I like thinking of all the things I'm thankful for!  It makes me feel so rich. One of the books I like to use at Thanksgiving is an older book, I Never Say I'm Thankful, But I Am by Jane Belk Moncure. We talk about what it means to be thankful and that we should say it more! It's so precious to hear little children talk about the people and things that they are thankful for. I have several thanksgiving flannels that I like to use too, especially my turkey ones. There are some really great turkey posts on the Flannel Friday Thanksgiving Pinterest board. I have one that I found at Mommy and Me Book Club called "Going On a Turkey Hunt!"  I used an Ellison diecut for my colorful turkeys. I got to thinking though, you could also make it a laminated file folder too.
I have ten little diecut turkeys that I can use several ways but I really would like to use them with this adorable song, Ten Little Turkeys by the Learning Station. I found another cute 10 little turkeys rhyme here.  Here's the link to the one I made up, "Ten Turkeys on the Fence".

Here's my favorite turkey rhyme/activity- The turkey body is colored pellon that I glued to a brown felt circle. I cut out a bunch of colored 'feathers' that I hand out and the children add to the 'nekked' turkey to make a beautiful turkey tail. The idea started with "Turkey Feathers" by Liz Wilmes from Felt Board Fingerplays with Patterns and Activities: Rhymes and Songs by Liz and Dick Wilmes. I used their turkey pattern but I wrote my own song to the same tune, Are You Sleeping?. Mine goes like this:

Turkey Feathers Game
(by Kathryn Roach)
Our poor turkey
lost his feathers.
Let's all help, everyone.
Do you have a  *(red) one?
Come and bring the *(red) one.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!

*change the color each time...
This is always a BIG hit!

 

I also have a sweet little 5 Little Pilgrims flannel set too. I have found it here and here.  I've used this set for years! The pieces are colored pellon. The food is separate so that I can add them as we say the rhyme: 

Five Little Pilgrims

Five Little Pilgrims on Thanksgiving Day

The first one said, "I'll have cake if I may"

The second one said, "I'll have turkey roasted"

The third one said, "I'll have chestnuts toasted"

The fourth one said, "I'll have pumpkin pie"

The fifth one said, "Oh, cranberries I spy"

But before they ate any turkey and dressing

All of the Pilgrims said a Thanksgiving blessing.


Last year I shared a couple of my pie felt sets as a guest on Trails and Tales's blog. I want to make this pumpkin pie set from Read Rabbit Read  to add to my collection. Food is always something to be thankful for. I usually do an activity where I name typical foods and ask for 'thumbs up if you like....'. Sometimes I get a thumbs up when I name broccoli!  The kids love this activity and it gives me the opportunity to talk about how we all like different things but that's alright! We can be thankful for one another!

I'm thankful for everyone that's a part of Flannel Friday. This past year this group has enriched my life so much. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fall is Fun!

There's so many great themes to do in the fall; apples, leaves, squirrels and acorns. I've already posted about apples so I thought I'd post my newest fall set. It includes, leaves, squirrels and acorns! Of course, you'll want to use Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert and possibly her titles, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf or, for older preschoolers, Leaf Man. I also like Nancy Tafuri's, The Busy Little Squirrel with this theme. The pictures are big and there's minimal text. There's also the added challenge of predicting what will come next from the clues on the page. This leads to some interesting exchanges between me and my storytime kiddos. I love it when one of them has that 'ah ha!' moment and begins to understand the concept.
                                            

Here is a pic of the felt set that I made. I already had the leaves and had made a larger version of the squirrels a few years ago to use with another rhyme. I reduced the size of the squirrel on the copier and cut out many separate pieces for the 3D look I wanted. I've been wanting to make some acorns since I saw Katie's post here. I love her great squirrel rhymes and was inspired to make up one of my own. Here is the link;  Fall Fun. I start by putting the leaves on the board as I say the first verse. The acorns are already under the leaves. Then I add a squirrel and turn over the leaf to 'find' the acorn underneath as I do the other parts of the rhyme.  We end up with all the squirrels on the board beside a leaf and holding an acorn. We always count again at the end.  This works on that one to one correspondence as they count rather than rote counting. I think I got the pattern for the squirrel from an old Mailbox magazine many years ago. There are a LOT of Google clip art images that you could easily deconstruct to make your own pattern. I used black and pink slick fabric paint for the features and a google eye.  I had to put some glitter on my leaves and acorn caps!  I am looking forward to using this rhyme and set this fall. After I do this rhyme, I'll play 'Which One's Missing' with the colored leaves. They never get tired of that game!

Fall is always Fun with Friends at Storytime!!

Another Pumpkin Post.

Here's another not-a-flannel prop that I use when I do my pumpkin/Halloween theme. I cannot remember where I found this little rhyme. I've been using it for years! Anyway, I made two paper jack-o-lantern shapes and put black paper behind one and glittered white paper behind the other and then put them back to back and added a brown stem and green pipecleaner vine and green paper leaves. As I say the rhyme I start with the frown side and then turn it around for the happy face! It's always a big hit with the toddler crowd!

Little Pumpkin
I'm a little pumpkin, orange and round.
When I'm sad, my face wears a frown.
But when I am happy and all aglow,
watch my smile just grow and grow!



So much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Old McRainbow's Pumpkin Farm

I just finished doing a Pumpkin themed storytime at a preschool to 10 classes divided into 4 groups.  It was a great success!  I heard, "Read it again!" or "Do it again", or even as he was leaving, a child said, "I love you!".  Of course, I replied," I love you too!".  *sigh*  That's why I do what I do!! Anyway, I used some old favorite flannel sets and a new favorite set copied from Sarah at Read Rabbit Read called Five Giant Pumpkins.  My set is a combination of felt pumpkins with glitter (of course!) and laminated Google images under the pumpkins. We even played a "which one's missing?" game with the Google images. This was a great hit!  But, I didn't have any interactive sets so that the children could get up and participate.  I realize, in that setting, there were just too many kids to really do the interactive game but I still would like a set for my library storytime or a classroom setting. I thought about it for several days and this is what I came up with:

Old McRainbow's Pumpkin Farm

by Kathryn Roach

There's a funny kind of farm where colored pumpkins grow;  

     planted by a funny farmer, Old McRainbow

         (chant or sing to tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress)

       You can see a red one, red one, red one,

            a pretty red pumpkin on the farm.

(repeat with other colors as children bring up their matching colored pumpkin and add it to the 'farm')

        (speak the last rhyme to close the activity)

 What a funny rainbow farm with pumpkins row by row,

 Colorful pumpkins planted by Farmer McRainbow!

I die cut 4 of each color.  I plan to hand them out to the kiddos to bring up and add to the board as I chant/sing the color verse for each color.  I could see this being tweaked to apples or different veggies or fruit depending on the color. The first verse could be; There's a funny kind of farm where colored produce grow...  That gives me the chance to define a new, big word for the kiddos.  Rainbows and pumpkins are so much Fun with Friends at Storytime!

Not so Scary Scarecrow.

I don't really do scary Halloween themes for storytime. I don't read books that have ghosts or scary witches. That's a personal preference and presenter's prerogative. Here are some of my previous Halloween ideas; spiders, monsters and bats.  I do have a not-so-scary scarecrow that I like to use. I made this cute scarecrow many years ago from Liz and Dick Wilmes' terrific book, Felt Board Fingerplays with Patterns and Activites: Rhymes and Songs. I have used so many of their patterns and rhymes over the years. This is one of my favorite, most used resources!  Anyway, I did enlarge the patterns a little because I like my flannel sets to be big.

Let's Build a Scarecrow!

First the body,
Then the head,
a big straw hat,
and a scarf of red.
buttons for eyes,
a carrot nose,
a mouth made of stitches,
In two smiling rows

I made my scarecrow out of pellon and colored him with color pencils. There's two pieces of velcro on the back of the buttons to hold them on the scarecrow. I may have to use some tape because they tend to slip and slide when I put them on. His carrot nose and mouth are made of felt. I'm thinking of doing a little freshening with some yarn and slick puff paint this year.  I can't leave well enough alone! LOL!
My coworker introduced me to a cute little song, "Dingle Dangle Scarecrow" to use with this theme.  Here's another youtube link for the song.  I also talk about the fact that scarecrows are for scaring crows and not people. We talk about dressing up and pretending at Halloween.

We have a lot of Fun with Friends...and scarecrows...at Storytime.

I'm Going Batty!

I have an adorable little Beanie Baby bat that inspired this theme for my Storytime. Last year when I saw this cute post by Amanda at Trails & Tales about Bats! I just had to make my own set.  I tweaked the rhyme by adding one more verse*.

5 Little Bats
1...
2...
3...
4...
*5 little bats were trying to behave
They hung by their feet upside down in a cave.
They slept all day until the fading of the light.
Then they woke and said, "We're hungry!" and flew into the night!
(alternate: Then they woke and said, "Happy Halloween" and flew into the night!)


Then I found an adorable song by Carole Peterson on her CD, H.U.M. - Highly Usable Music, All Year Long!; "Black Bat Farm".  I decided to make flannel pieces to go with it as I sang it. I don't use the CD because I don't sing the ghost verse.  But, it is still adorable!  It's a version of "The Green Grass Grew All Around".
Black Bat Farm
Carole Peterson - adapted by Kathryn Roach

There was a farm - *echo line*
A quiet farm -*
The quietest farm -*
that you ever did see...eeeeee!
A field is on the farm, the farm is dark and quiet
Chorus: And the black bats flew all around, all around
Oh, the black bats flew all around.
And in that field -*
There was a vine -*
the creepiest vine -* that you ever did see...eeee! The vine in the field, the field on the farm, the farm is dark and quiet
Chorus

And on that vine -* 
There was a pumpkin -*
the cutest pumpkin-*
that you ever did see...eeeee!
The pumpkin on the vine, the vine in the field, 
the field on the farm, the farm is dark and quiet...
Chorus

And on that pumpkin -*
There was a face -*
the happiest face -*
that you ever did see....eeeee!                
The face on the pumpkin, the pumpkin on the vine,
the vine in the field, the field on the farm, the farm
is dark and quiet...BOO!
Chorus
Happy Halloween!

I made the field with two sheets of felt and pieces of yarn glued on as rows in a plowed field.  The vine is green ribbon with some velcro under the pieces of felt glued to the 'B' and exclamation point.  I glued the ribbon so that the 'O's keep their shape.  I cut out 10 of the small black bats and added a few each time I sang the chorus until they were all up on the board. The caregivers and kiddos soon were singing the chorus with me and everyone liked the happy Jack-o-lantern face at the end. I also got quieter as I sang the last part, "the farm is dark and quiet"... pause... then I said, "Boo!" and we all laughed and sang the final chorus together. This was a really big hit! Turns out I am a batty old lady after all!  LOL!   
Bats are a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime.
update: 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 and enjoy the great Flannel Friday Pinterest boards too!

An Apple a day...is delicious!

Fall is almost here so naturally I think of apples!  There are several posts on Flannel Friday Pinterest boards for apples.  Here's one  from K. Leigh @ Storytime ABC's that inspired me to make my own set.
This is a cute version of BINGO for apples.

I also like to sing the song, Farmer Brown Had Five Green Apples.  I found various versions including Ella Jenkins' version that is Farmer Brown Had 10 Green Apples.  Here's another youtube version of the song with red apples.  Here's another link with the words and a sample of the music. My favorite version is Sharon, Lois and Bram on Mainly Mother Goose here.

I made up a rhyme a few years ago that is a counting by 2's:
I Like Apples
by Kathryn Roach
I like apples crisp and sweet
Apples are my favorite fruit to eat!
2 red apples, I want more.
Add 2 green apples, now I have 4.
2 red, 2 green, now I'll add to the mix,
2 yellow apples; wow!, that makes 6.
Yes, I like apples crisp and sweet.
Apples are my favorite fruit to eat!

These felt apples are Ellison diecuts with extra pieces cut and glued on for the stem and leaves.

Here's another tweak to a classic:
Five Little Apples - 
Chant to 'Five Little Monkeys'
*Five little apples hanging in a tree,
Teasing Mr. Slinky worm, "Can't eat me",
Along come Mr. Slinky worm quiet as can be...
CRUNCH!
* 4, 3, 2, 1...
No little apples hanging in a tree.
Along came Mr. Slinky worm as quiet as can be...
His tummy is full and he's happy as can be.
Yum! Apples for lunch!

I have 5 felt apples on the board and let Mr. Slinky worm gobble up an apple each time I say the rhyme. The children think it's hilarious.

Here  is the hand puppet that I made a few years ago for a puppet skit (I can't even remember what it was?).  Anyway, I used 2 brown pieces and 2 green pieces of felt and sewed the front green piece to the front brown piece and then sewed the front to the back. The two branches are made so that my thumb and pinky can fit in them and move them.  The apples and mouth are velcroed on and the google eyes are hotglued. I usually use this puppet during a song or rhyme during this theme. Also, I use the handpuppet to wave goodbye during my ending song; Skinnamarink.

There are soooo many apple posts on blogs, but for newbie storytellers here are a few links.  Try this Pinterest board for some ideas. Here's a post from Mollie @ What Happens in Storytime.  Here's another from Anne @ So Tomorrow that's really cute too. One last link from Katie @Story Time Secrets!
Apples are so Fun and Delicious and Nutritious with Friends at Storytime!