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.  



 

 

 

 

Moose and Muffins for Flannel Friday

When I did a moose storytime last year, one of the books I had to use was IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN by Laura Numeroff.  Luckily, I found the perfect flannelboard idea to go with it at

 

 

 

www.makinglearningfun.com under their theme for the book.  They gave the rhyme (but said little muffins) and a pattern for a moose headband.  With my group, I used a moose puppet and made BIG muffins from photos I found by googling muffins.

 

TEN BIG MUFFINS

 

 

Ten big muffins on the window sill.

Moose came along and ate his fill.

Now how many muffins are on the window sill?

 

____ big muffins on the window sill.

Moose came along and ate his fill.

Now how many muffins are on the window sill?

 

(Continue)

 

____ big muffin(s) on the window sill.

Moose came along and ate his fill.

Now no more muffins are on the window sill.

 

 

I asked a child each time how many muffins he thought moose would eat so this verse can go very slowly or very fast.  This would also be fun to do with props if you had them & could also be changed--for example to Cat & Cupcakes as a companion for IF YOU GIVE A CAT A CUPCAKE.  Don't you just love something that can be adapted quickly to fit your needs?

 

 

Sharon is our host this week for Flannel Friday at RAIN MAKES APPLESAUCE.  If you'd like to get involved, visit Flannel Friday's home at Flannel Friday.

Monster Mania

I love to do monsters in the fall since we don't do a specific Halloween theme.  Last year, I found blank balsa wood masks at one of the fabric stores for $1 each & just had to have them.

 

As you can see, I also had fun coloring them all in.  I used them in a family storytime and had five parents come up to be my monsters and follow as I read the following rhyme:

 

FIVE BIG MONSTERS ON A DARK, DARK NIGHT

 

Five big monsters on a dark, dark night

 

Made a very, very spooky sight.

 

The first one danced on his tippy toes

 

The second one tumbled and bumped his nose.

 

The third one jumped high up in the air.

 

The fourth one walked like a fuzzy, fuzzy bear.

 

The fifth one sang a Monster song.

 

Five big monsters--played the whole night long.

 

 

What was really fun was when some of the parents took their role very seriously--falling down & singing a made up monster song.  The kids enjoyed seeing their adults acting silly and helping out the storyteller.

 

 

I also had some holographic monsters that I found at the dollar store; I just had to trim "Happy Halloween" off the bottom.  These I can use on the flannel board when the masks don't work as well with my group. 

 

 

 

Hallmark put out a picture book with sound effects of "Monster Mash" last year.  I found a CD with the song and put the two together as part of our Monster Mania.

 

The book is out of stock on line at Hallmark, but you might be able to find a copy through another outlet.  (I found a 2nd copy on clearance at Walgreens this fall).  This was fun to use and then at the end, I played it again and encourage them to dance.

 

 



 

 

 

 





Five Green (or Red) Peppers--Flannel Friday

     I found these green peppers (as well as red ones) at my local Dollar Tree store.  My preschoolers love actual objects and (when we have a small group) enjoy participating by putting something in or taking it out of a basket.  I made of the following rhyme which can be done with either (or both) sets of peppers for a gardening theme, a color theme, or a vegetable theme.  I also use these peppers as part of my collection of vegetables we use when we tell the story of stone soup.
    For larger groups, I like to make really large cutouts (usually using clip art) that I can put on the flannel board so the kids who like to sit in the back can easily see them.

FIVE GREEN PEPPERS

Five green peppers in a basket by my door,

Ann took one for her pizza and now I have four.

Four green peppers in the basket as you can see,

Joe took one for grilling and now I have three.

Three green peppers in the basket, bright and new,

Sue took one for her relish and now I have two.

Two green peppers in the basket, safe from the sun,

Jack took one to make stew and now I have one.

One green pepper in the basket, now I'm almost done,

I used it in my tossed salad and now there are none.

If I have enough peppers for my group, I'll give one to each child and sing the following song as I move through them with a basket.  I just repeat the song until the peppers are gone.  Of course, you can do this with any item & could make it generic by changing pepper to veggie.

PICK A PEPPER

("Paw Paw Patch" was my inspiration)

Pick a pepper, put it in my basket,

Pick a pepper, put it in my basket,

Pick a pepper, put it in my basket,

Until my basket's full.

Mollie at What Happens in Storytime... is our hostess this week.  Check out her site to see what other fantastic ideas are there.  I know I always find something I want to try out.

Fruits & Vegetables--Flannel Friday

Several years ago my library purchased a flannel board set of fruits, vegetables, and nuts.  There were no rhymes or stories to go with it.  I took some of the most familiar pieces and wrote a piggyback song to use with them.

While the song can get a big long if you use all the pieces what has worked well is when I choose the ones that work for a specific theme:  just the fruits, just items from the garden, sweet treats, etc.

The title came about because I first used it with a theme of "Big Eaters" with books like THE GLERP by David McPhail.

The Big Eater's Song

(Tune:  "Mulberry Bush")

Chorus:

These are the things we like to eat,                                       

Like to eat, like to eat.                                                        

These are the things we like to eat,                                     

'cause we are big eaters.                                                      

                                                                                            

                                                                                            

Strawberries so ripe and red,

Ripe and red, ripe and red.                                                  

Strawberries so ripe and red,                                               

Will satisfy our tummies.                                                    

Chorus                                                                                

                                                                                            

Watermelon so sweet and wet,

Sweet and wet, sweet and wet.                                           

Watermelon so sweet and wet,

Will satisfy our sweet tooth.

Chorus

Pears that are plump and ripe,

Plump and ripe, plump and ripe.

Pears that are plump and ripe,

Picked from the tree.

Chorus

Oranges so big and juicy,

Big and juicy, big and juicy.

Oranges so big and juicy,

Make us wipe our chins.

Chorus

Pineapples from far away,

Far away, far away.

Pineapples from far away,

Are always such a treat.

Chorus

Peas that are green and round,

Green and round, green and round.

Peas that are green and round

Make us use a spoon.

Chorus

Pumpkins that are big and fat,

Big and fat, big and fat.

Pumpkins that are big and fat

Go in a pumpkin pie.

Chorus

Carrots that are long and orange,

Long and orange, long and orange.

Carrots that are long and orange,

That we love to crunch.

Chorus

Green beans so long and thin,

Long and thin, long and thin.

Green beans so long and thin,

From our veggie garden.

Chorus

Nuts with shells we like to crack,

Like to crack, like to crack.

Nuts with shells we like to crack,

For the nuts inside.

Chorus

If I was writing this today, I would probably change the last line of the chorus to " 'Cause they're good for us." or something along that line.  As I said, I adapt this to my theme & I encourage you to do the same.  Our set also had an eggplant, onion, peach, beets, and a few others in it and verses could be added for those or other fruits, berries, or nuts you might have.  This would also work with props such as plastic fruits and vegetables. 

Erin at Falling Flannelboards is our hostess this week.  If you'd like more information on Flannel Friday, visit their website and learn how you can get involved.





Flannel Friday--Fairies

One thing I enjoy as I choose rhymes for storytime is finding something different to use in presenting the rhymes.  In earlier posts I have included a number of 3 dimension things but today I'm including something I found in Michaels' scrapbooking aisle on clearance.

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These chipboard embellishments are stiff and colorful.  The fairies are about 5"-6" in height.  All I did to prepare them for a flannel board was put a velcro dot on the back.

The other nice thing is that they can easily be converted to stick puppets by putting the loop velcro dot onto a large craft stick and then the fairies can be switched from one use to another.  They can also be used on a glove as finger puppets.

I've also found that Disney has a collection of princesses in Chipboard Embellishments as well & I'm planning to use them in the same way.


Now that I have the fairies, what could I use them with?  The book STORYTIME MAGIC by Kathy MacMillan and Christine Kirker from ALA has the rhyme "Five Tiny Fairies Flannelboard".  It uses the colors red, blue, green, yellow, and purple for their clothes (sorry--my flash reflected off the center fairy, but take my word she's wearing purple).  VOILA!  I was in business!  If you can't find this set, patterns for the flannel board pieces are given on line at the link where you can purchase the book if you don't already have it.

I'll pair this up with the book, LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO; TOLD AND SUNG BY THE GOOD FAIRY by Paul Brett Johnson.
Check out this week's other postings at Liz's blog:  Putting Smiles on Faces :)

Flannel Friday--Sunflowers

     After attending an Every Child Ready to Read 2 workshop, my library ordered a copy of Frances Barry's BIG YELLOW SUNFLOWER.  It opens up into a sunflower, petal by petal, and I wanted to build a storytime around it.  I was surprised with how many sunflower books we had so it was just a matter of finding flannelboard ideas to go with it.   I found what I wanted at Making Learning Fun  where they had "I'm a little Sunflower" rhyme and pattern.  (They also have other related activities)  I enlarged the pattern and cut it out of felt.  As they suggested, I didn't glue the seeds on but I did make a lot of them.  I made five sunflowers.                                     

For my group, I had differing numbers of seeds on each flower from 3 to 8.  We sang the verse with each flower, counting at the end of it.  I had a very large group, so we did this as a group activity rather than having one child come up to count.

The flowers stayed up on the board while we read another story and did an action verse.  When the time came for the next flannel board rhyme, I did a variation of a common five flowers rhyme.

FIVE BIG SUNFLOWERS

Five big sunflowers growing by the door,

I picked on for mother; that left four.

Four big sunflowers so beautiful to see,

I went and picked another one; that left three.

Three big sunflowers looking fresh and new,

Sue Ann picked one; that left two.

Two big sunflowers growing by the dog run,

John Paul picked one; that left one.

One big sunflower lifting toward the sun,

Until I went and picked it; that left none.

The other titles I used were:  THE SUNFLOWER SWORD by Mark Sperring, SCARY MARY by Paula Bowles, and TEN SEEDS by Ruth Brown.

I purchased a sunflower bush and cut the sunflowers off (leaving a long stem).  We then used them to do "Five Sunlowers"  Eventually, I'd like to have enough flowers to hand out so each child could have on and we would just take the number out of the rhyme and do it as a group.

FIVE SUNFLOWERS

Five sunflowers standing in the sun

See their heads nodding, bowing one by one.

Down, down, down comes the gentle rain

And the five sunflowers lift up their heads again.

I found the site, Storytimes Online, very useful for finding fingerplay, song, and book ideas.

This week's Flannel Friday is being hosted by Miss Mary Liberry, check out all the wonderful ideas there!

Six Colorful Fish

 I found these fish squirters in the dollar section at Target & thought they'd be a nice alternative to a flat flannel board story (of which I have several ocean related ones).  I used "Five Little Fishes" from Storytime Katie as the basis for what I did.  I have a small cart I take into storytime and they sat on top of it very nicely.  The kids seem to enjoy having 3-D objects periodically (& as you can see from my previous posts--I do too!)

SIX LITTLE FISHES

Six little puffer fish going out for a dive;

the (color) one got caught then there were five.

Five little puffer fish swimming by the shore;

the (color) one got caught then there were four
Four little puffer fish swimming in the sea;

the (color) one got caught then there were three
Three little puffer fish swimming in the blue;

the (color) one got caught then there were two
Two little puffer fish swimming in the sun;

the (color) one got caught then there was one
One (color) puffer fish swimming straight for home

decided he would never roam

I also borrowed the idea of the color spinner from Miss Mary Liberry, but I used a spinner I found at Dollar Tree & adapted it to my purpose by adding the color names over what had been on it before.

As you can tell, I've been using Flannel Friday posts as inspiration and you can too.  This week's Flannel Friday is being hosted by Shawn at Read, Rhyme & Sing.  To find out more about Flannel Friday and how you can participate, visit the Flannel Friday homepage.

Moose

I love doing moose as a storytime theme and wanted a simple counting flannel board.  I made up a rhyme back in January and then found this cute moose at this site:  http://www.clipartandcrafts.com/clipart/themes/kidstuff/thumbs/mooseth.gif

I enlarged him and printed him on cardstock.  He worked just perfectly.

Ten Mighty Moose

Ten Mighty Moose sitting in a line,

One toppled over and then there were nine.

Nine Mighty Moose sitting on the grate,

One toppled over and then there were eight.

Eight Mighty Moose were sent from Devon,

One toppled over and then there were seven.

Seven Mighty Moose would like salt licks,

One toppled over and then there were six.

Six Mighty Moose sat listening to Clive,

One toppled over and then there were five.

Five Mighty Moose sat quietly on the floor,

One toppled over and then there were four.

Four Mighty Moose, two and two you see,

One toppled over and then there were three.

Three Mightly Moose, wanted something new,

One toppled over and then there were two.

Two Mighty Moose wished for some fun,

One toppled over and then there was one.

One Mighty Moose felt like he weighed a ton,

He toppled over and then there were none.

Lisa at Libraryland is our Flannel Friday hostess this week.  Visit her site at http://lisaslibraryland.blogspot.com/2012/05/flannel-friday-round-up-for-june-2.html to share in this week's wealth.  To learn more about Flannel Friday, visit the Flannel Friday home page http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com/ for more information on what it is and how you can participate.

 





Let's Build!

I've been working on a construction/big machines storytime for a while.  I found these five cement mixers in the dollar bin of a local grocery store and couldn't wait to use them.  I looked for a rhyme and found the song "Five Big Dump Trucks" by Pam Beall & Susan Nipp on the internet.  You can hear it at http://www.angles365.com/classroom/songsci04/fitxers/song17.swf  I changed the Dump Truck to Cement Mixer & it worked just fine.  (Linn Brown also has his own "Five Big Dump Trucks" which is a little different.)

FIVE BIG CEMENT MIXERS

Five big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Five big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload.

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Four big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload.

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Three big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

Two big cement mixers rolling down the road,

One pulls off to unload

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

One big cement mixer rolling down the road,

It pulls off to unload.

No more cement mixers rolling down the road.

I also stumbled across Addison Public Library's Rhymes & Resources on construction & building at www.addisonlibrary.org/assets/1/childrens_pdf/Construction.pdf   That's where I found Five Little Houses by Joan Hilyer Phelps from her book FINGER TALES.



It fit perfectly & was so easy to do--I just used our PrintShop to find five houses, printed them on cardstock, did minimal trimming & laminated for an instant flannelboard!

I would save this last one but by adding it you might still be able to get the same jeeps I did.  I found these at Hobby Lobby in their summer crafts.  They are made from fun foam & meant to be frames but work well as flannel board pieces (I just put a little velcro on the back)

I left two of these without the window punched out so you can see your options.  If I can find the right picture of fruits/vegetables, I may put those into the frame later.  Here is the rhyme I wrote to go with them.

TEN RED JEEPS

Ten red jeeps racing in two lines,

One got a flat & then there were nine.

Nine red jeeps didn't want to be late,

One got lost & then there were eight.

Eight red jeeps with their engines rev-in',

One dropped an axle & then there were seven

Seven red jeeps racing over bricks,

One took a detour & then there were six.

Six red jeeps out for a drive,

One dodged a dog & then there were five.

Five red jeeps zooming past the shore,

One got stuck & then there were four.

Four red jeeps, tires screeching like a banshee,

One slid into a ditch & then there were three.

Three red jeeps, down the road they flew,

One lost its engine & then there were two.

Two red jeeps, each one weighing a ton,

One spun out & then there was one.

One red jeep feeling like a hero,

Completed the journey & then there were zero.

Mel is hosting Flannel Friday this week.  I'm so glad she had this wonderful idea & that so many people have joined in.  I've gotten so much from the rest of you that it is what inspires me to post on this blog.

Visit Mel at http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog to check out all of this week's ideas.

Kites

Sue Block, who does our toddler time, created these simple kites using patterned & glitter felt as well as ribbon with designs on it.  She used the book, KITE DAY: A BEAR AND MOLE STORY by Will Hellenbrand as the base for her toddler time.

Both of the rhymes Sue used came from http://stepbystepcc.com/kites.html.  The first rhyme she used with the felt pieces was:

FIVE KITES

One little kite in the sky so blue

Along came another, then there were two.

Two little kites flying high above me

Along came another, then there were three.

Three little kites, just watch how they soar

Along came another, then there were four.

Four little kites, so high and so alive

Along came another, then there were five.

Five little kites dancing 'cross the sky

What a sight to see, way up so high!

Once she had the kites up on the board, she left them there until it was time for her second rhyme.  For this one, she went to our die machine and cut out various things that can be seen in the sky.  This second rhyme can be as short or as long as you would like since you can add more "Say hi to the..." to fit whatever you'd like.

FIVE LITTLE KITES

Five little kites, way up in the sky

Say hi to the clouds, as they pass by

Say hi to the birds

Say hi to the sun

Say hi to the airplane, oh what fun.

Then swish went the wind

And they all took a dive:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

To see these in relation to the size of the kites:

You can see that Sue made some extra kties and I think she also added a star to her sky shapes later on.

Check out the other Flannel Friday posts at Linda's blog:  http://meusenotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/flannel-friday-round-up-for-may-18.html

May Baskets & More

Prior to Easter, I found a packet of fun foam baskets in a variety of colors at Wal-Mart.  While I don't do an Easter storytime, I am planning a storytime on Baskets, Boxes, and Bags for the first week of May and decided to make some May Baskets.  I still need to finish the last two but here is a photo of the three I have done.

As you can see, I still need to finish the 2nd & 5th basket.  I'm using glitter fun foam flowers from a packet called "Peace & Love" that I also found at Wal-mart, but these would also work made out of felt.  (This was just quicker & I love quicker)

FIVE MAY BASKETS

Five May baskets sitting by my door.

One went to my neighbor and then there were four.

Four May baskets put together by me,

One went to my friend and then there were three.

Three May baskets, pink, orange, and blue.

One went to Grandpa and then there were two.

Two May baskets--I'm having so much fun.

One went to my cousin and then there was one.

One May basket--my task is almost done.

It went to my baby sister and now I have none.

Being from Nebraska, home of Arbor Day, I decided we would do Tree Top Tales for family & preschool storytime during the week of April 23. As I was planning it, a customer donated a small, metal tree to us which I thought was just begging for some monkeys.  I used it after reading CAPS FOR SALE and doing the activity, "Monkey See, Monkey Do".  I bought the game "Barrel of Monkeys" to get the right size monkeys and used a beanie baby croc.  Since I wanted to start with a lot of monkeys in the tree, I made up a rhyme to lead into "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree".  The kids loved it!

See all the monkeys hanging in the tree,

Waving their arms and chattering at me?

How many monkeys do we see?

Count them now along with me.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

Ten monkeys laughing and feeling quite fine.

One chased a butterfly, then there were nine.

Nine monkeys busy throwing sticks,

Three ran after them, then there were six.

Six monkeys poking at a bee hive,

One got stung, then there were five.

Five monkeys climbing and enjoying the sun,

Saw a crocodile and thought they'd have some fun.

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree,

Teasing Mr. Crocodile, "You can't catch me!"

Along came Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be.

"SNAP" that monkey right out of the tree.

(continue to the end)

Ah-Choo!

     A few months ago, I did a preschool storytime on SNEEZES.  I was looking for all kinds of things that make us sneeze--allergies, colds, pollen, etc.  We had the pansy die from Ellison and I came up with this rhyme to use with the die cuts.  I cut them out of felt, and made separate stems and flowers and only glued the blue blossom to a stem.

A FLOWER FOR YOU

Out in the garden the flowers grew

Each with a different color and hue.

I picked the red one just for you,

Then took a sniff and went "Ah-choo!"

Away the head of the flower flew.

(This continues substituting the colors purple, yellow, orange, pink for red until only blue is left)

Out in the garden where the flowers grew,

All that was left was a flower that was blue.

I picked that flower just for you

But I didn't sniff and go "Ah-choo!"

Now I can give you the flower that is blue.

Sea Serpents for Flannel Friday

A few years ago, I stumbled across Stephanie Stokes' site, Library Palooza (http://www.librarypalooza.com/) and her archive of Puppet Tales newletters.  In the issue for June 2008, Sea Serpent Tales, she had a rhyme and pattern for FIVE GREEN SEA SERPENTS.  I tweaked it just a little to make it SIX LARGE SEA SERPENTS and cut my serpents out of varigated felt pieces.  I use these with storytimes on sea creatures or imagination or things that swim.

I don't find time to post as much as I'd like, but I've been enjoying and using the Flannel Friday ideas and wanted to join in the fun.

Perfect Pies for Storytime

We had fun with "Pies" in a recent storytime and I thought I'd share a flannelboard we did then.  My wonderful colleague, Sue Block, made some wonderful large pies out of felt.  I came up with the following rhymes based on traditional rhymes.

TEN TASTY PIES

One tasty, two tasty, three tasty pies;

Four tasty, five tasty, six tasty pies;

Seven tasty, eight tasty, nine tasty pies;

Ten tasty pies smell so yummy!

Ten tasty, nine tasty, eight tasty pies;

Seven tasty, six tasty, five tasty pies;
Four tasty, three tasty, two tasty pies;

One tasty pie in my tummy!

FIVE PIES

Five little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Four little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Three little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

Two little pies in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

One little pie in the bakery shop.

Shining bright with the sugar on top.

Along comes (child's name) with a dollar to pay.

(He/she) buys a pie and takes it away.

To make the pies, Sue traced around a dinner plate for the bottom layer (she used textured felt there), then a smaller plate for the color (fruit) inside, & then used the dinner plate for the top layer, scalloping the edge to make it just slightly smaller then the first piece of felt.  Our interiors were all different colors which can be seen though the slits made on the top layer, though it's hard to tell that from the photo.

The books I used were:

BLUEBERRY MOUSE by Alice Low

PIE FOR ALL, ALL FOR PIE by David Martin

PIE IN THE SKY by Lois Ehlert

PIE'S IN THE OVEN by Betty Birney

SWEET POTATO PIE by Anne Rockwell

THREE LITTLE KITTENS 

I love to do pigs in storytime. Lately I've seen several cute ideas on how to create pigs for a flannelboard. I found a really cute notepad a few years ago and laminated some of them for my flannelboard rhyme (which I wrote & dedicated to my fellow storyteller, Sue--not sure she thought it such an honor though).

I like to use this when I read BED HOGS by Kelly DiPucchio and Howard Fine.

PINK PIGS

One pink pig whose name was Sue,

Made a friend and then there were __.

Two pink pigs heard "fiddle-I-fee",

Up trotted another and then they were ____.

Three pink pigs stood near the barn door,

They heard a squeal and then they were ____.

Four pink pigs waiting for supper to arrive,

When up ran another and then they were five.

Five pink pigs rolling on the floor;

One rolled away and then there were ____.

Four pink pigs crying, "whee-whee-whee";

One trotted off and then there were _____.

Three pink pigs heard, "Sooie, Sooie, Sue!"

Sue ran home and then there were ___.

Two pink pigs out enjoying the sun;

They bounded off together and then there were none.

Flannelboard--Iguanas

I was doing a desert theme for preschool storytime and one of the books that I read was MANANA, IGUANA by Ann Whitford Paul. Since we had the iguana die from Ellison, I cut 10 iguanas and used them with a rhyme I came up with. Since it works best to cut felt layered with paper, I ended up with both a paper set that I laminated & a felt set. You can use an image from print shop or draw your own iguanas if you want to use the rhyme. I used green so it would show up on my board, but you could go with any color with this rhyme.

TEN IGUANAS

Ten fat iguanas basking in a line,

One scurried off and then there were _____

Nine fat iguanas under the bright heaven,

Two scurried off and then there were _____

Seven fat iguanas continued to thrive,

Two scurried off and then there were ____.

Five fat iguanas on the desert floor,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Four fat iguanas under the mesquite tree,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Three fat iguanas sat while the wind blew,

One scurried off and then there were ____.

Two fat iguanas baked under the sun,

One scurried off and then there was ____,

One fat iguana knew day was almost done,

He scurried off and then there were none.

Sandy Wallick 5-24-11

Bedtime storytime

While looking ahead to 2011 Summer Reading, "One world, many stories", I remembered a rhyme I wrote called, "The Bedtime Train." I had some unusual felt & had cut a train using dies, then decided that it looked like a bedtime train. I couldn't find a story to fit so I wrote this:

THE BEDTIME TRAIN

(tune: The wheels on the bus)

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Chugging along, chugging along.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Hauling sleep and dreams.

Here is the tank car filled with yawns,

Filled with yawns, filled with yawns.

Here is the tank car filled with yawns,

On the bedtime train.

Here is the boxcar filled with dreams,

Filled with dreams, filled with dreams,

Here is the boxcar filled with dreams,

On the bedtime train.

Here is the caboose to carry you away,

Carry you away, carry you away.

Here is the caboose to carry you away,

To the land of dreams.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Chugging along, chugging along.

The bedtime train comes chugging along,

Hauling sleep and dreams.

Sandra Wallick c. 11-2-10

I plan to use this in a bedtime storytime with bedtime stories from around the world.

Fox Storytime

Animal of the day--FOXES

Picture Books on Foxes:

FOX AND FLUFF--Crum
FOUR FAMISHED FOXES AND FOSDYKE--Edwards
HATTIE AND THE FOX--Fox
RED FOX AT McCLOSKEY'S FARM--Heinz
DO LIKE A DUCK DOES--Hindley
ROSIE'S WALK--Hutchins
MY LUCKY DAY--Kasza
THE RUBBER-LEGGED DUCK--Keller
LITTLE CHICKEN AND LITTLE FOX--Sidjanski
AROUND THE HOUSE THE FOX CHASED THE MOUSE--Walton
IF A CHICKEN STAYED FOR SUPPER--Weston
DINNERTIME!--Williams

Fox rhymes:

FOXY LOXY (adapted by me 3-10-99)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch your toes. (touch toes)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch your nose. (touch nose)

Foxy Loxy,
Pat your head. (pat head)

Foxy Loxy,
Go to bed. (lay head on folded hands)

Foxy Loxy,
Wake up now. (stretch arms above head)

Foxy Loxy,
Take a bow. (bow)

Foxy Loxy,
Touch the ground. (touch floor)

Foxy Loxy,
Turn around. (turn)

Foxy Loxy,
Sit back down. (sit)

Foxy Loxy,
Don't make a sound. (finger to lips)


FIVE RED FOXES
(I wrote this 3/9/99 & have used it with small beanie babies & as a flannelboard)

Out in the woods under the sun,
Up ran a red fox and that made one.

One red fox under a sky so blue,
Up ran another and then there were two.

Two red foxes sitting by a tree,
Up ran another and then there were three.

Three red foxes trotting by the shore,
Up ran another and then there were four.

Four red foxes watching a beehive,
Up ran another and then there were five.

Five red foxes sunning by the shore,
One went swimming and then there were four.

Four red foxes underneath a tree,
One chased a squirrel and then there were three.

Three red foxes looking for something new,
One found some berries and then there were two.

Two red foxes having so much fun,
One chased a butterfly and then there was one.

One red fox enjoying the bright sun,
It ran home for supper and then there were none.


FOXY, FOXY, TURN AROUND.

Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, touch the ground.
Foxy, foxy, dance on your toes.
Foxy, foxy, touch your nose.
Foxy, foxy, jump up now.
Foxy, foxy, take a bow.
Foxy, foxy, turn around.
Foxy, foxy, sit right down.


HERE IS FOXY

Here is foxy's pointed ears. (point to ears)
Here is foxy's nose. (point to nose)
Here is foxy's bushy tail. (point to "tail")
Now up and off he goes! (trot around)


FOX HAS GOT A LONG RED TAIL

Fox has got a long red tail,
Shake that tail, shake that tail!
Fox has got a long red tail,
Shake that tail now!

Fox has got a pointy nose,
Wiggle that nose, wiggle that nose!
Fox has got a pointy nose,
Wiggle that nose now!

(continue Fox has got: two front paws; two pointy ears; two bright eyes; long pointy teeth, etc)


Flannel board ideas:
FIVE RED FOXES (see above)
HENNY PENNY (you can make your own or purchase)
FOX IN A BOX.