Flannel Friday: Five Brave Firefighters

My creative coworker again turned a random idea I had into a super cute prop for storytime!  It’s based on the popular fingerplay Five Brave Firefighters, and I can’t wait to break it out for fire prevention week.

Each firefighter is laminated, and has velcro attached to the back.  By attaching Velcro at the top of the board, the bottom, and along the ribbon “pole”, we are able to send the firefighters down one at a time to stand in front of the trucks.

The ribbon goes through the board at two points, creating a circle.  To move the firefighter down the pole, we just pull on the ribbon from the back, creating a sliding effect for the firefighters!  Enjoy!

Five Brave Firefighters
Five brave firefighters,
Standing in a row,
Ring goes the bell, (ring bell at top of board)
And down one goes… (pull ribbon in back to move firefighter).

Build a Pirate

My lovely coworker, who has a lot more creative juices flowing than me, took the idea of “Dress a Pirate” from Miss Meg’s Blog and made some modifications. She told me it was Johnny Depp inspired, and who can blame her? Don’t you just love the droopy eyes on her pirate!

There are two options for this flannel. You can say it with the poem below (modified from the one on Miss Meg’s Blog), or you can start with the pirate’s face on the board and begin adding pieces. You can make it fun for the kids by adding the pieces in the wrong place (surprised of course that they don’t belong there) then ask the kids where you should put the pieces.

As always, don’t forget that flannelboards help develop visual literacy – knowing that objects represent real life things.

Pirates wear patches (add patch)
and on their hands, hooks. (add hook)
Pirates love to mismatch
and give dirty looks.

Pirates wear red & white shirts (add shirt)
with little short sleeves.
Pirates are scoundrels,
and rascals, and thieves!

Pirates wear black hats (add hat)
with skull and cross bones.
Pirates yell, “Avast”!
and, “Ahoy! Thar she blows!”

Pirates have long hair
they decorate with beads.
Pirates aren’t rare
When you’re sailing the seas!

Pirates have a pet bird (add bird)
and tie the best knots.
Pirates are quite absurd,
X marks the spot! (add X)

Flannel Friday: Move Over, Rover!

One of my favorite books to read for a weather storytime is Geisel award winning book Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont. In this book, Rover is sleeping safe and dry during a rain storm in his dog house, when all the animals (one by one) join him in an effort to find shelter. It’s a cumulative story, where each page adds a sentence onto the previous page’s words. This makes it predictable for the children, and helps build their vocabulary with repeated words and rhymes. I decided to create a flannel with all the creatures that join Rover in the dog house–including the skunk that drives them all away! Check out the book for words to this flannel.

Here are all the animals:

One by one, I add the animals to the dog house, piling them on top of Rover:

This flannel would lend itself really well to a magnet board as well, but I just couldn’t resist the cute felt characters.

Click on the images below to print your own template.  All these images, except for the dog house, were traced from online clipart.  So if you want the animals to look different you could definitely find different clipart!

Lastly, here are some closeups of all the animals:

““Move Over, Rover!”

“Skit-scat, Cat!”

“Make Room, Raccoon!”

“Squeez in, Squirrel!”

“Out of the Way, Blue Jay!”

“Slide Aside, Snake!”

“Sorry, Mouse. Full House!”

Skunk is in the dog house…

Enjoy!

Weather

BOOKS WE SHARED

Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds, 2005©
Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont, 2006©
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems, 2008©

MYSTERY BOX
Item:  Magnet board weather pieces for “What’s the Weather” (below)
Clue #1:  You hear about it on the TV, radio, and computer
Clue #2:  It’s something that happens outside
Clue #3:  It can change everyday

SONGS, RHYMES, AND FINGER-PLAYS

What’s the Weather?
(Tune: Oh My Darling Clementine)
What’s the weather, what’s the weather,
What’s the weather, everyone?
Is it windy, is it cloudy,
Is there rain, or is there sun?
Credit: Perpetual Preschool

The Rain Song

There are clouds in the sky, oh my my x2

I hope that we’ll all stay dry.
The thunder shakes the ground, oh what a sound x2

I can hear it all around.
Lightning cracks in the sky so black x2

I think we’d better all get back.
Rain’s falling down all over the town x2

I sure hope we don’t all drown!

Credit: Written by Lily Schamp

Sound Activity: Creating a Rain Storm
Tell the kids that “we’re going to make a thunderstorm today!”

The Storm Gathers!
1. Rub your hands together – wind rustling
2. Snap your fingers – raindrops
3. Hit your thighs with your hands – thunder and rain
4. Stomp your feet while you’re hitting your thighs – heavy thunder and heavier rain.

Then the storm quiets…
1. Just hit thighs
2. Just snap your fingers
3. Just rub your hands together.
4. Then all stop because the storm is over (and the rainbow appears!)
Credit: AISD Social and Emotional Learning

It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More
It ain’t gonna rain no more, no more
It ain’t gonna rain no more
Oh no, it’s up to my toe
But it ain’t gonna rain more.

Verses:
Oh gee, it’s up to my knee
Oh my, it’s up to my thigh
Oh fiddle, it’s up to my middle
Oh heck, it’s up to my neck
Oh dread, it’s up to my head, I’m just going to swim on home.

Rain Is Falling Down
(Tune: Farmer in the Dell)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH (clap once loudly)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH (clap once loudly)
Pitter patter pitter patter (tap legs softly)
The rain is falling down, (flutter fingers down)
SPLASH (clap once loudly)
Credit: Storytime Katie

Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider
Crawled up the waterspout (crawl fingers up)
Down came the rain (bring arms down)
And washed the spider out (swing arms out to sides)
Out came the sun (arms circle overhead)
And dried up all the rain (arms open and go down)
And the itsy bitsy spider
Went up the spout again (crawl fingers up).
Credit: Childhood

You can repeat this with the “big fat spider”, and the “teeny tiny spider”, making your voice lower and higher respectively

Little Raindrops Falling
(Tune: London Bridge)
Little raindrops falling down, falling down, falling down
Little raindrops falling down, falling to the ground

Bigger raindrops – clap
Giant raindrops – stomp
Credit: King County Tell Me a Story

FLANNEL

Flannel version of Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont.  See more details on my Flannel Friday post.

Manners

BOOKS WE SHARED

Oh no, George! by Chris Haughton, 2012©
Monster Knows Table Manners by Connie Colwell Miller, 2014©
Manners in the Library by Carrie Finn, 2007©
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!  by Mo Willems, 2012©

MYSTERY BOX
Item:  Miss Bee Polite
Clue #1:  She buzzes
Clue #2:  She loves good manners
Clue #3:  Bad manners make her sad

SONGS, RHYMES, AND FINGER-PLAYS

Before we started singing and reading, we taught the kids how to say “thank-you” and “please” in sign language.  Here’s a YouTube video that demonstrates these signs.

Thanks a Lot
We played the song on CD and sang to it, while putting pieces on our magnet board.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for Sun in the sky.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for clouds so high.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for whispering wind.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for the birds in the spring.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for the moonlit night.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for the stars so bright.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for the wondering me.

Thanks a lot,
Thanks for the way I feel.

Thanks for the animals,
Thanks for the land,

Thanks for the people everywhere.
Thanks a lot,

Thanks for all I’ve got.
Thanks for all I’ve got.
Credit:  Raffi© from the Album Baby Beluga

Never, Ever, Pick Your Nose!
Pick a flower,
Pick a rose,
Pick a treat,
Or pick your toes (just kidding).

Pick some buttons,
Pick some bows,
Pick some jeans,
Or fancy clothes.

Pick some friends,
Or picks some foes,
But never, ever
PICK YOUR NOSE!! YECH!
Credit:  G.B. Lipson

Thank You
(Babies: adult moves their arms and feet)
(Older children do motions themselves)

My hands say thank you with a clap, clap, clap
My feet say thank you with a tap, tap, tap
Clap clap clap,
Tap tap tap
I turn around, touch the ground
And with a bow, I say…thank you, now.

Where is Thumbkin?
Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin?
(Hold hands behind back)
Here I am!
(Bring right hand forward in a “thumbs-up”)
Here I am!
(Bring left hand forward in a “thumbs-up”)
How are you today, sir?
(Shake right thumb towards left)
Very well, I thank you.
(Shake left thumb towards right)
Run away,
(Put right hand behind back)
Run away.
(Put left hand behind back)

PROPS

Miss Bee Polite

Flannel Friday: Miss Bee Polite

I’m not sure where this activity originally came from – I stumbled upon it in my predecessors archives when I took my current position.  I looked on the interwebs and found it here, here, here, and here, just to start.

Read the following statements to the children, and after each one ask “would Miss Bee Polite be happy or sad?”

1. Beatrice Butterfly said, “Pass the flowers, please”
2. Gracie Grasshopper said, “thank you,” when she was given a treat.
3. Bobby Bumblebee bumped his brother off the beehive.
4. Arnie Ant waited his turn in line.
5. Carl Caterpillar crunched quietly.
6. Chrysy Caterpillar chatted with her mouth full.
7. Sammy Spider played with his food.
8. Christopher Cricket chirped wile another cricket was chirping.
9. Casy Cricket chirped, “Excuse me,” before interrupting.
10. Lucy Ladybug borrowed a leaf without asking.

Birds

BOOKS WE SHARED

No Two Alike by Keith Baker, 2011©
Feathers for Lunch = Plumas para almorzar by Lois Ehlert, 1990©
Birds by Kevin Henkes, 2009©
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett, 2009©
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood, 2009©

MYSTERY BOX
Item:  Feather
Clue #1:  It’s soft
Clue #2:  It’s shiny
Clue #3:  It floats and it flies

SONGS, RHYMES, AND FINGER-PLAYS

Ten Fluffy Chickens
Five eggs and five eggs,
And that makes ten
Sitting on top,
Is Mother Hen
Cheep cheep cheep
What do I see?
Ten fluffy chicks,
Yellow as can be
Credit: King County Library System

Chickadees Chickadees
Chickadees, chickadees, happy today,
Chickadees, chickadees, fly away.

Four little chickadees, sitting in a tree
One flew away, and then there were three.
[Repeat the Chorus]

Three little chickadees, looking at you
One flew away, and then there were two.
[Repeat the Chorus]

Two little chickadees, sitting in the sun
One flew away, and then there was one.
[Repeat the Chorus]

One little chickadee, sitting all alone
That one flew away, and then there was none.
Credit: Barney Wiki

Five Little Yellow Ducks
(Tune: Five Green and Speckled Frogs)
Five little yellow ducks
Floating on a big blue pond
Swimming around and having fun [quack, quack]
One dove under way down deep,
Wanting to play hide and seek,
Now there are four yellow ducks [quack, quack]
[Count down]
Credit: Abby the Librarian

Little Birds Little Birds
Little birds, little birds, jump up and down
Little birds, little birds, don’t make a sound
Little birds, little birds, tip toe to me
Little birds, little birds, bend your knees
Little birds, little birds, peep peep peep
Little birds, little birds, sleep sleep sleep
Little birds, little birds, fly to the leaves
Little birds, little birds, sit down please.
Credit: Storytime Katie

Mr. Owl
Late at night when you’re in bed,
Mr. Owl perks up his head,
He looks left an he looks right,
In the dark all through the night.
Hear him hoot when you’re in bed,
When Mr. Owl perks up his head.
Credit: CanTeach

Two Little Blue Birds (or black birds)
Two little blue birds sitting on a cloud,
One named soft,
The other named LOUD!
Fly away soft,
Fly away LOUD!
Come back soft,
Come back LOUD!
(I also had the birds run like a fox, hop like a frog, and swim like a fish as an extension of “Pepito the Brave”)
Credit: Adapted from Sunflower Storytime

Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck
Mr. Turkey went out one day,
In bright sunshiny weather,
Met Mr. Duck along the way,
And stopped to talk together.

They said:
Gobble, gobble, gobble
Quack, quack quack,
Gobble, gobble, gobble
Quack, quack quack,
Gobble, gobble, gobble
Quack, quack quack,
And then they both went back!

(In a whisper…)
But then Mr. Duck came back to say…Quack!
Credit: King County Library System

Cheep Cheep Went the Little Blue Bird
Cheep cheep when the little blue bird one day,
Cheep cheep when the little blue bird,
Cheep cheep went the little blue bird,
Cheep cheep went the little blue bird one day,
And they all went cheep cheep cheep.

But….we know birds go,
[Clap] flappy flappy flap
[Clap] flappy flappy flap
[Clap] flappy flappy flap
We know birds go
[Clap] flappy flappy flap
They all went flap flap flap.
Credit: Jbrary

STORY BOARDS

Magnet: Bird Houses

Bird House Color Matching

THOUGHTS

Flapping our “wings” is always a crowd-pleaser!  The children were especially pleased with an owl puppet who’s head is on a swivel.  My only disappointment was that the Chickadee Chickadee song was too complicated for those who didn’t know it.  Using that song as a repeat every week, so that each child could learn it, would lend more success in the future.

Flannel Friday: Bird Houses

I originally saw this idea on Sunflower Storytime and Falling Flannelboards, but wanted to do it in a magnet version.   It’s just a matching game with birds (that coincidentally look a lot like angry birds I’ve been informed).  I used good ‘ol Paint to create these.  Here are the final images:

 

Here’s what it looks like on my magnet board:

The storytime easel I use is the Best-Rite^® Early Childhood Easel , and it’s fantastic!  It comes up to about my waist, is on wheels (that can lock in place), and one side is magnet dry-erase board, with the other side as red felt.  Definitely a great purchase (thanks to my Friends of the Library group).

Bed and Bath

BOOKS WE SHARED

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems
Big Red Tub by Julia Jarman

MYSTERY BOX

This week’s object was a bar of ivory soap.  My awesome coworker informed me that it’s special because it’s the only brand of soap that floats in the tub!

Our clues were:
#1)  It floats
#2)  You can use it in the tub and shower
#3)  It makes bubbles

(I have more information about our mystery box here)

SONGS, RHYMES AND FINGERPLAYS

Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play
Five little ducks went out to play (hold up 5 fingers)
Over the hill and far away (hide fingers behind back)
Mother ducks said, “Quack, quack, quack, quack” (make hand into duck bill and open and close)
But only four little ducks came back (hold up 4 fingers)
(Repeat until no ducks come back…4,3,2,1,0)
So mother duck said, “QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUACK”
And all her five little ducks came back.
Credit: Unknown

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground
Teddy bear, teddy bear, reach up high
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the sky
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch your knees
Teddy bear, teddy bear, sit down please.
Credit: Unknown

Diddle, Diddle
Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped
over the moon;
The little dog laughed
to see such sport,
And the dish ran
away with the spoon.
Credit: Childhood Nursery Rhymes

All through Bath Time
(Tune: Wheels on the Bus)
The bubbles in the tub go
Pop, pop, pop! Pop, pop, pop! Pop, pop, pop!
The bubbles in the tub go pop, pop, pop!
All through bath time!

Repeat with:
The washcloth in the tub goes scrub, scrub, scrub…
The ducky in the tub goes splash, splash, splash…
Credit: I honestly can’t remember where I found this rhyme, sorry!

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
(I transitioned into this song by telling the kids it’s important we wash our whole body when we take a bath, including our head, shoulders, knees, and toes!)

Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes,
Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes
Eyes and ears, and mouth and nose,
Head and shoulders, knees and toes,
Knees and toes.
Credit: Childhood

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said:
“No more monkey’s jumping on the bed”!
(Count down until there are no monkeys left)
Credit: Childhood

Tiny Tim
I had a little turtle
His name was Tiny Tim
I put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap
And when he woke next morning
He had bubbles in his throat!

Bubble, bubble, bubble…bubble, bubble, POP!
Bubble, bubble, bubble…bubble, bubble, POP!

This is the Way We Wash
(Tune: Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we wash our _____,
Wash our _____, wash our _____
This is the way we wash our _____,
So early in the morning.

CD Song: I Took a Bath in a Washing Machine by Jim Gill

Flannel Friday: Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug

This flannel is based upon the book “Bye-Bye Big Bad Bullybug!” by Ed Emberley.