Arbor Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a Nebraskan, I'm very proud that Arbor Day originated in Nebraska City.  Since today is Arbor Day, I wanted to share this flannel board I created using wooden shapes from the craft store and paper tree décor sheets from the dollar store.  I found the trees and brainstormed until I figured out how I could use them.

 

 

WHAT'S IN THE TREE?

 

Red bird, red bird,

What do you see

Hidden high up

In the tree?

 

 

Red bird, red bird,

Look with me

There a __________

In the tree.

 

 

We talked about how footballs, soccer balls (or a helicopter) could end up in a tree.  I thought it might be fun to find things that DON'T belong there as well.  I may also do a set with pictures behind the trees of nests, birds, and fruit.  On group of kids kept guessing apples each time.

 

 

Kate at Feltboard Magic is our hostess today so visit her page for more sharing.

Robots

I haven't posted for quite awhile, so I thought I'd share several robot flannel boards today.  These were all items I picked up at various stores but I don't think I paid more than $3 for any one set.

These are wooden lacing robots I got from Target's $1-$3 bins (these were $3)

EIGHT ROBOTS

 

Hank has eight robots in his shop this week.

This one's microchips are fried and that one sprung a leak.

 

Hank will give these two a look-see

And he'll know just what to do.

And when these robots leave Hank's shop

They'll be as good as new!

 

(repeat with 6, 4, 2)

 

Hank has no more robots in his shop this week.

He's fixed all their microchips and plugged up all their leaks.

 

 

This is my adaptation of the rhyme Cate at STORYTIMING wrote.

 

 



Two different sets:  the top ones were bulletin board cutouts from Wal-Mart & the bottom three are from Dollar Tree & a set of 15 (5 of each design).  Here's the rhyme I use with 9 of the bottom ones.

NINE FRIENDLY ROBOTS

 

One friendly, two friendly, three friendly robots,

Four friendly, five friendly, six friendly robots,

Seven friendly, eight friendly, nine friendly robots,

Standing in three rows.

 

Nine friendly, eight friendly, seven friendly robots,

Six friendly, five friendly, four friendly robots,

Three friendly, two friendly, one friendly robot

Waving bye, bye, bye.

 

 



I love these because they're big (9") & I got them from Dollar Tree.  I used these with this song (to B-I-N-G-O).  I cut the 8" letters out with our Ellison dies.  I'm still working on some other rhymes for these.

ROBOT

 

I took a lot of metal parts

and built a funny robot.

R-O-B-O-T

R-O-B-O-T

R-O-B-O-T

I built a funny robot.

 

(Continue with by replacing one letter at a time with a robot & a clap)

 

 

Shawn at Read, Rhyme & Sing is hosting Flannel Friday this week so check out his blog to get lots of good ideas.  Flannel Friday is a wonderful way to share and gain inspiration for programming.  I love to visit, learn, and borrow ideas from lots of different folks.

Paul's Pandas

My co-worker Sue had a toddler request a panda toddler time. Sue was charmed since this little one was very shy & needed encouragement from his parent to share his wish.  While she worked on it, I remembered Pippa's Penguins by Susan M. Dailey.  I suggested Sue switch it to pandas & since the boy's name was Paul, Paul's Penguins were born.  They were so cute I wanted to share them.

Sue used circle dies for the head & body.  She said all her kids loved them especially Paul!


I haven't had much time to post but I thought I'd show you my five blue birds.

These are magnetic dry erase boards from Dollar Tree.  Here they're on the side of our refrigerator so I could snap a quick photo.  I haven't had a chance to use them yet but look forward to doing a counting rhyme with them.

Nikki is hosting Flannel Friday at heytherelibrary.  Check out her sight for some great ideas.

Spring Flowers

I found these felt flowers at Target several years ago in their dollar bins.  Each flower is 5" or wider.  With spring starting next week, I'm planning on using them in story time, possibly with more than one rhyme.

Rhymes that I'm considering are:

Five Flowers

 

Five flowers standing in the sun

 

See their heads nodding, bowing one by one.

 

Down, down, down comes the gentle rain

 

And the five flowers lift up their heads again.

 

 

 

My Flowers

 

 

One bright flower in my garden grew,

 

Up popped another and now there are two.

 

Two bright flowers for everyone to see,

 

Up popped another and now there are three.

 

Three bright flowers that I adore,

Up popped another and now there are four.

 

Four bright flowers prepared to thrive,

 

Up popped another and now there are five.

 

Five bright flowers standing straight and tall.

 

Five bright flowers answered Spring's wake-up call.

 

 

Sandy Wallick

 

 I've added a 2nd picture without all the background "noise", but left the first one up because I think it shows the colors better.

 

Laura at Library Lalaland is our host this week, so check out her site for lots of  fun ideas.

Valentine Bears (or any other creature)

I remember reading someone's blog about how they used window clings like they would flannel board pieces.  GENIUS!  (I'm sorry I can't remember who--but please know how much the idea was appreciated)

I found these window clings at the dollar store & thought I'd give them a try.

I only used the bears & here's the rhyme I wrote to go with them:

FIVE BEARS' VALENTINE DAY

 

One bear dressed in an outfit brand new

Called for a friend and now we have two.

 

Two bears dressed and ready for a party,

In strolled another and now we have three.

 

Three bears talking, heard a knock on the door,

In pranced another and now we have four.

 

Four bears began to dance a jive,

In walked another and now we have five.

 

Five bears continued to dance and play

On a very, very happy Valentine's day.

 

 

This could easily be any animal you wanted it to be & you could used pieces you already have.

 

 

Flannel Friday this week is hosted by Ms. Kelly at the Library

Snowmen, Snowmen

I've been doing several winter themes and last week I focused on snowmen.  This first one is one that we make ages ago (& despite the photo it is still very white).

We used a rhyme from RHYMES FOR FINGERS & FLANNELBOARDS by Louise Binder Scott.  We added the last four lines since the children were upset that the original rhyme didn't have arms.

THE SNOWMAN

 

Roll a snowball large,

Then one of middle size;

Roll a snowball small;

Use lumps of coal for eyes.

Place a carrot for a nose,

An old hat on his head,

And for his necktie, tie around

His neck a ribbon red.

A corncob pipe goes in his mouth,

Some buttons on his vest;

And there he stands so round and fat;

Of snowmen, he's the best.

But's something's missing...Can you guess what?

Let's give our friend a hand;

Some sticks from a tree will work just great

As arms for our snowman.

 

 

 

 

This guy is new (& also white)  I found the following rhyme in an old book that was donated to us & loved the fact that it used pebbles for eyes and raisins for the mouth.  I've since seen some very similar rhymes on the web. 

 

LET'S BUILD A SNOWMAN

 

First the body

And then the head.

A stovepipe hat

And a scarf of red.

Pebbles for eyes,

And a carroty nose,

And a mouth made of raisins

In two smiling row.

 

 

 

Just by adding a heart, you can use any snowman for Valentine's Day:

 

VALENTINE SNOWMAN

 

I made a snowman yesterday

So jolly, fat and fine.

I pinned a red heart on his chest

And called him Valentine.

 

 

Lisa at Libraryland is hosting Flannel Friday this week, so visit her site for lots of good ideas.

 



Winter Fun

   Does anyone remember the song "Suzy Snowflake"?  It's one that I grew up with & always loved.  For those who want snow/winter without the holiday aspects it works really well though the sheet music for it is almost always in a holiday collection.  Suzy comes to town & taps on the window to ask the children to come play with her, build a snowman or ride a sleigh.  You can find the lyrics at http://www.songlyrics.com/rosemary-clooney/suzy-snowflake-lyrics/ as well as the music.
 
   I was thinking about making the pieces for a flannel board but decided to do it 3-D instead with a snowflake from Dollar Tree that I spruced up a bit, a big plush snowman I had & a large sled ornament from Hobby Lobby. 

   I played & sang along with the Rosemary Clooney recording and used the props -- the kids really loved it!  I also had paper snowflakes to give the children so they could dance with me as well as use them with another action song--Dancing Snowflakes, from www.hummingbirded.com/winter-snow.html  .  They were able to take the snowflakes home which was another big hit.  I also had one daycare that wanted a version of Suzy on compact disc that they could take back with them (which I was able to do).

  I also created a flannel board at short notice on winter using a package of cut outs that I found at Dollar Tree.  These are all basic shapes that I'll someday recreated in felt to be sturdier.  The pieces are laminated so I'm afraid there's a bit of glare.

WINTER IS COMING

(Sing to BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP)

 

 

Winter is coming, the weather's getting cold.

 

It's time for our hats and mittens we are told.

 

Snowflakes start to fall, and many plans we make

 

To build some snowmen and go sledding at the lake.

 

Winter is coming, the weather's getting cold.

 

It's time for our hats and mittens we are told.

 

Sandy Wallick

10-30-14

 



   Flannel Friday is being hosted by Melissa at Mel's Desk this week.  It's Flannel Friday's Holiday Extravaganza so check it out!

Melting Popsicles

I love Flannel Fridays and all the wonderful ideas that I have found there.  I find many things I can use as is and others that I can easily adapt to fit my needs.

This spring we did a fun storytime on sticks.  One of the flannel boards I used at that time is also great for summer--Three Melting Popsicles which I found on Story Time Secrets (it was a Flannel Friday post).  She just did three popsicles but you can see that I expanded that number. I read that along with early literacy, early math skills have been found to impact how well young children do in school.  I'll sometimes take away multiples and then ask how many are left.  I also sometimes change colors out for flavors.

MELTING POPSICLES

Eight melting popsicles

Sticky and sweet

Mark and Jan ate green ones

What a yummy treat!

(Rub stomach and say "Yum! Yum!)

(Repeat removing 1-3 each time until...)

No more popsicles

Sticky and sweet.

I guess I'll have to find

Something else to eat.

I use this with the picture book, WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A PALETA by Carmen Taffola.

Katie at Story Time Secrets is the host for this week's Flannel Friday.  Please visit her page to see what others have shared this week.

Fruits & Vegetables

I love all the sharing that goes on with Flannel Fridays and how ideas will move & morph between storytellers.  Since June is National Fresh Fruits & Vegetables Month, I decided to use that as my storytime theme this week.  I found "Picking Up the Fruit" at Mollie's blog--What Happens In Storytime and decided to adapt it for my groups.  She did it as a flannelboard (which is how we'll present it in Toddler Time), but I wanted to do a prop song for my preschoolers.  I used Melissa & Doug plastic fruit and vegetable sets as my props.  I wasn't able to get a picture up yet of my basket of fruit, but I hope to post it later.

 

Rather than doing just one fruit/vegetable at a time, I used three different ones for each refrain and changed the location to what fit my choices best  (farmer's market for items found there or grocery store for shipped in items)  The song can also be arranged to fit an orchard, a garden or a fruit stand.

PICKIN' UP FRUITS & VEGETABLES

(sing to "The Paw Paw Patch")

 

 

Pickin' up apples and puttin' 'em in my basket

Pickin' up carrots and puttin' 'em in my basket

Pickin' up pears and puttin' 'em in my basket

Way down yonder at the farmer's market.

 



 

 

 

 

\

For resources on Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, visit the USDA's website.  I found links to some great fact sheets and bulletin board materials. 

This week's Flannel Friday is being hosted by Amy at Catch the Possibilities 

 

Treetop friends

A few months ago, I found a dog toy that was a plush tree stump with a chipmunk, a mouse & a hedgehog inside.  I knew I wanted to use it as a storytime prop but wasn't sure how until we were planning an Earth Day/Arbor Day storytime. 

 

 

We added some beanie babies we already had at the library & tucked all the creatures into the tree.

 

 

Another storyteller & I discussed our ideas and this was the finished project:

 

 

WHO IS HIDING IN THE TREE?

(tune: Frere Jacques)

 

 

Who is hiding

 

Who is hiding

In the tree

 

In the tree

 

I spy a hedgehog

 

I spy a hedgehog

 

Yes, indeed.

 

Yes, indeed.

 

 

Our other entries were mouse, chipmunk, ladybug, snake, frog, butterfly, lizard--basically anything you might find in a tree & have handy.

 

Our kids love "finding" hidden things during storytimes and this was a really big hit.  Another popular activity was "Five Bottles of Juice" that I found on What Happens in Storytime... and adapted a little bit.  We had five empty plastic bottles & a blue recycle tub that we used while we sang:

Five bottles of juice that we drank,

Five bottles of juice.

Put one in the recycle bin.

Four bottles of juice that we drank.

 

We continued until all the bottles were recycled.  Then you could end with:

 

 

No bottles of juice that we drank,

No bottles of juice.

They all are in the recycle bin,

All those bottles of juice that we drank.

 

Happy storytelling and for more ideas visit Andrea who is hosting Flannel Friday for April 26 on her blog, RovingFiddlehead KidLit  Check it out.  I always find something interesting when I do.  For more on Flannel Friday visit its homepage.

Dr. Seuss Storytime

Each year we do a Dr. Seuss program prior to Read Across America Day for our toddlers, preschoolers, and families.  Since we have a Cat in the Hat costume that we use, these tend to draw a crowd so I'm always looking for something a little different for the flannelboard that isn't too small and is colorful.  This year I found some Dr. Seuss fish cut outs at our local Michael's store.  There were 12 of each color in the packet.  I then found a rhyme "So Many Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea" at King County Library System's Tell Me A Story.  I adapted it to:

So Many Fish In the Deep Blue Sea

From Nany Stewart  (then adapted by Sandy Wallick)

 

There are so many fish in the deep blue sea.

What color fish do you see?

(Hold up one colored fish.)

 

Blue, blue, this one's blue. This little fish is blue

(Repeat first refrain)

 

Red, red, these are red. These two fish are red.

(Repeat first refrain)

 

Yellow, yellow, these are yellow. These three fish are yellow.

 

There are so many fish in the deep blue sea.

Can you count the fish with me?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

 

 

I laminated 3 of each color so I can change the color order if I want.  I added this to the flannelboard I made using Mel Depper's idea of GREEN EGGS (NO HAM) and fingerplays from Storytimes Online to some of my favorite Dr. Seuss books and plush Seuss creatures that I've collected (most recently from Kohl's).

Flannel Friday is being hosted by Storytime ABC's this week, so check out that site for lots of great ideas.

Pickup Trucks

My library added the big book LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LEADS THE WAY by Alice Schertle to our storytime collection recently.  I began planning a storytime around it and discovered that there were enough good pickup truck books to narrow my theme to that.  The next thing I needed was to find some flannel boards.  I found a great rhyme, "Five in the Truck" at King County Library System's Fingerplays, Rhymes and Songs page.  I also found a simple truck pattern at Honeybunch Boutique that was meant for quilters but which worked well for a flannel board pattern once I enlarged it.

 

 

The rhyme (based on "Five in the Bed") starts with Five in the Truck and the little hen clucked, "Move over, move over".  Instead of using five chickens, I used five wooden farm animals I had and just added some velcro to the back.  This fits in very well with the books FARMER DALE'S RED PICKUP TRUCK by Lisa Wheeler and MINERVA LOUISE AND THE RED TRUCK by Janet Morgan Stoeke. 

 

I used the same pattern, just not as big, to make several trucks in various colors.

 

 

 

I wrote two rhymes that I could use with these, one of which needs a duck and some other creatures that will fit behind the trucks.  This first rhyme can be used with different colored trucks or numbered trucks.

 

STUCK BEHIND THE TRUCK

 

My friend duck

Is hidden behind a truck.

 

Is my friend duck

Behind the _____ truck?

 

If no:

No, that's not duck

Behind the _____truck.

That's.....

 

If yes:

Yes, that's duck

Behind the ______truck!

But if duck is behind the _____truck

Who's behind the _____truck?

 

 

 

These trucks were made from card stock so I can also attach them to sticks for stick puppets if I want and have kids help with the second rhyme/song.

 

MY OLD TRUCK

tune:  "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush"

 

 

My old blue truck goes bumping along, bumping along, bumping along.

My old blue truck goes bumping along, all the way to town.

 

 

Different colors & descriptive words can replace the underlined ones.  For example, bumping can become bouncing, zipping, speeding, rolling, cruising, or crawling.

 

 

For an action song, I adapted "Wheels on the Bus" to "Wheels on the Truck" and adjusted verses accordingly.

 



 

 



Buffalo's Tail

Several weeks ago, I did a buffalo theme and finally used this flannel board by Teresa Chiv which is from the 2008 Texas Summer Reading Manual.  It also includes patterns and begins:

 

A buffalo’s tail is hard to find.

His tail is little, but not so his behind.

I have five tails; one might be his.

Will you help me decide which it is?

 

 

 

 

You start with the buffalo and then put up the tail mentioned (notice the pig tail on him in the first picture) then the correct animal comes on and gets his tail.  Check out the website for the complete story.    I printed the patterns onto color card stock then cut out and laminated.  (For the skunk I made a copy on regular white paper and trimmed out what was white and glued to the black).  It was a quick and easy flannel board that the kids loved.  If you're into the correct "verbiage", you can explain like I did, that although we call them "buffalo" they're really "bison".  This was important to me because COWGIRL ROSIE AND HER FIVE BABY BISON by Stephen Gulbis was one of our stories.

 

 

Cate at Storytiming is our Flannel Friday hostess this week so check out her site for inspiration (I always find something I can use).  For more information about Flannel Friday, visit the homepage where you'll find information on what's coming up, how to post, and the archives.  Happy Storytelling!



Snowmen

For our holiday extravaganza, I thought I'd share an old favorite:  "FIVE LITTLE SNOWMEN" and some different ways in which it can be done.  The first is for the flannel board and these pieces are almost 15" tall and 12" wide at the arms.  I made these many years ago out of card stock then laminated them and they're beginning to show wear and tear.

 

FIVE LITTLE SNOWMEN

 

Five little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Four little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 4, 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Three little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 3, 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

Two little Snowmen standing in a line,

1, 2, 'sh', 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

One little Snowman standing in a line,

1, 'sh', 'sh', 'sh', 'sh' so fine.

Melting in the sunshine with a sigh,

"We'll see you next year. Bye bye!"

 

 

This has proved so popular with a toddler group that Miss Sue does it every week in the winter and then switches to ice cream cones for the summer.  If you're someone like me who likes to put the pieces on the board with one rhyme then off with another later, here is another one that you can use:

 

 

BUILDING SNOWMEN

 

Playing outside under the winter sun,

I built a snowman and that made one.

 

One frosty snowman under a sky so blue,

I built another one and that made two.

 

Two frosty snowmen underneath a tree,

I built another one and then there were three.

 

Three frosty snowmen standing near my door,

I built another one and then there were four.

 

Four frosty snowmen looking quite alive,

I built another one and then there were five.

 

 

These really big pieces are great for our big groups and if you have a large flannel board.  But what about smaller groups or taking something with you for a presentation?  Here are some quick, easy & inexpensive ideas.  For a glove puppet, you can use gift tags (I got mine at Dollar Tree)

 

 

 



 

What is nice about these is that by using the hook velcro on the back of the gift tag, you can also use them on a small flannel board.  Another alternative is shaped playing cards--these are also good for small stick puppets.  I shared this idea at a conference and another librarian said that she had playing card collectors in her city who took out the face cards they collected and gave her the rest of the deck.  She thought this would be a great way to use some of those.  (These are still wrapped so the picture is a bit fuzzy)  I found these in dollar bins but Oriental Trading Company also carries shaped cards.  These are stiff and would also work as a clothesline story.

 

Linda at Notes from the Story Room is hosting this week.  Check out her blog to see lots of other ideas you can incorporate into your storytime.  You can also check out Flannel Friday on Pinterest.  Happy Storytiming!

 

Sandwiches plus

What to do with those Thanksgiving leftover?  Make a sandwich. 

Originally (many years ago), I cut sandwich pieces out of felt but I was never really happy with them.  Luckily for me, (also many years ago) Nebraska Educational Television was a co-producer of Reading Rainbow and they gave my library system a stackable, wooden sandwich.  This is sturdy enough that I can hand out pieces to the kids and have them help assemble the sandwich.  I will generally hold onto the olive & put it in place to avoid any choking hazard.

Miss Tara used the felt sandwich from Melissa & Doug which is also an excellent choice, but recently I found some $1 (yep, just a buck) alternatives.  They were both packaged as coasters.

Dollar Tree

 



Target





These are both cardboard, but the Target hamburger set is heavier & glossier.  I think I'm going to put a small piece of the loop velcro on the front of each piece & then the hook on the back so we can build the sandwich on the board.  The rhyme I have used in the past is very adaptable and is done as a song to give the kids a chance to get up and get their piece in place.

LET'S MAKE A SANDWICH

(tune:  The More We Get Together)

 

Let's all make a sandwich,

A sandwich, a sandwich,

Let's all make a sandwich

For our lunch.

 

First we need some bread

Some bread, some bread,

First we need some bread

For our sandwich.

 

Add a slice of swiss cheese,

Swiss cheese, swiss cheese,

Add a slice of swiss cheese'

To our sandwich.

 

Next we'll add some ham....

 

Now let's have some more cheese...

 

Next a slice of tomato...

 

Now we need some lettuce...

 

Then a slice of bread,

Bread, bread,

Then a slice of bread

To top our sandwich.

 

Finish with an olive,

An olive, an olive,

Finish with an olive

Now it's done!

 

Let's all eat our sandwich,

Our sandwich, our sandwich,

Let's all eat our sandwich

For our lunch.

 

 

You can shorten or lengthen for your group and what pieces you have.  I will also change "lunch" to  "picnic" for use during the summer.

 

 

And now for my plus:  Target also had coasters that were donuts (also for $1)!  There's several counting rhymes out there for baked goods so I'm just going to show them to you.

 



 



This week's Flannel Friday can be found at Loons and Quine  Check it out for lots of great ideas.  If you haven't participated and would like to, you can find out more at the Flannel Friday site.  Happy storytime!

Treasure Boxes

I decided to have a storytime on Treasures with pirate treasure only a very small part of it.  I found some small, colored boxes at Hobby Lobby and used small items around my office to create a rhyme.

 

TREASURE BOXES

 

What is in the (yellow) box?

What can it be?

Is it a treasure?

Let's look and see!

 

(repeat with each different color box)

 

A frog is a treasure for a boy named Ben;

An apple is a treasure for a hungry wren.

A bee is a treasure when you want honey for your tea;

And candy is a treasure when you're hungry like me.

A cat is a treasure when you're looking for a friend--

So now we've found our treasures and this is the end.

 

 

I used the following books:

• THE TREASURE CHEST by Dominique Falda
• RUSSELL AND THE LOST TREASURE by Rob Scotton
• TREASURE by Suzanne Bloom
• WHAT A TREASURE! by Jane Hillenbrand

This can easily be adapted to the flannelboard, which would make it easier to store.  These would also work well with a color theme and colors could easily be switched out.

 

Tracey at 1234 More Storytimes is hosting Flannel Friday this week, so check out all the other fun ideas there!

 

    

 



Clothesline Story-Five Fat Turkeys

I like doing clothesline stories as an alternative to flannel boards every so often.  In planning for my November storytimes, I thought I'd do "Five Fat Turkeys" on the clothesline.  I found this song at www.perpetualpreschool.com/thanks_songs.htm which was sent in by Kristen Kroll.

 

 

FIVE FAT TURKEYS

 

This old road is hard and bumpy

Five fat turkeys wild and jumpy

 

Driver, driver, not so jerky

Or you'll make us lose a turkey.

 

 

(spoken)

 

Driver!  Driver!  Stop I say!

One fat turkey got away!

 

 

 

repeat each verse until just one turkey is left and say:

 

Driver!Driver! Stop I say!

Let's save this turkey for Thanksgiving Day!

 

 

 

I'm planning to leave off the last segment & let all my turkeys escape.  One nice thing about the clothesline is that it can be shaken for the "hard and bumpy" & "jerky" parts.

 

I made my turkeys with an XL Ellison die & sandwiched two together with a small piece of red paper between so the turkeys can face either direction.

 

 

 

Since I'm using a clothesline, this song could also be done with 5 small plush turkeys.  I didn't have any on hand, but took this photo to give you an idea of what I mean.

 

 

 

You need a sturdy line (clotheslines are available  at most dollar stories) and some clothespins.  If you don't have anyplace to attach it, draft two parents to be your holders.  When I do "Old MacDonald", I'll hand out beanie babies & let the children come up and pin them on which they love doing.

 

 

I work with our local community college and two students took this idea into their preschool.  It was so popular, they set up a clothesline in the play area and preschoolers could use it for sequencing, sorting or just playing.

 

 

This week's host is Amanda at Trails & Tales where you'll find a special Thanksgiving edition of Flannel Friday.