Sammy the Seal's Balancing Act - A Flannel Friday

Salutations everyone! This Flannel Friday posting is brought to you by an It's A Circus! storytime that I did last month (an outline of that is in the works). This is a really simple flannel activity to do, which something that I love and do very often because it is always fun and just works on the children's fine motor skills. 

To make my little Sammy the Seal I found a printable online and enlarged it (he's approximately 8 inches across). For the collar I simply created a half circle with squiggly edges and I added squiggly stripes for some flair. As for his different colored balancing balls, I used a die cut that my library has on hand. 

During the storytime, I placed the first ball on Sammy's nose as the example. Then the children (both Toddlers and Preschoolers) took turns placing the balls on top of each other. One thing you have to remember, especially if you have a lot of children in your program, to place Sammy at the bottom of your flannel board (I have an easel type, by the way) so that you have enough room for a very tall column of balls! The children loved this simple flannel activity that tied into the uber fun theme for the day!  

Have a wonderful Easter weekend everyone!

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Mollie on her blog What Happens in Storytime.... To learn more about Flannel Friday and ways to get involved, please visit the official Flannel Friday blog!

Old Bear's Seasons - A Flannel Friday

Long time, no Flannel Friday post! I'm finally getting back into blogging again. Whew! Thought I'd share my Old Bear's Season flannel board that I did for my I Heart Kevin Henkes storytime I did last last year. The activity started out as a join project between me and one of our Library Assistants, Korey. For a Library Science class she needed to plan a storytime. We decided that he would help be plan out my Kevin Henkes program since it just so happened one book option was Old Bear. Needing a flannel board, I told her that ideally we should have something with lots of pieces so that the little ones can play with it. So what you see is what we came up with!

She made one version for her to keep and I made a copy for the library. I used a lot of die cuts to create the pieces. The bear you see here is an exact copy that Korey created by hand! Wow!

For Toddler Storytime the children played with the pieces after I read the story. For Preschool Storytime, as I read the story, the children had to put appropriate season on the board.

Thank you, Korey, for being my co-creator for this flannel board!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Melissa on her blog Mel's Desk. To learn more about Flannel Friday and ways to get involved, please visit the official Flannel Friday blog!

Funky Patterns - A Storytime Outline

The first storytime of my Spring season was about patterns. It is said that National Argyle Day is January 8, and my storytime was the day before, so obviously I had to do funky patterns! The families enjoyed the program

BOOKS
Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story About Colors and Counting written and illus. by Emma Dodd (T)
The toddlers loved this story. One little boy continuously said "very messy" whenever Dog got a new spot.

The House in the Night written by Susan Marie Swanson and illus. Beth Krommes (T)
I read this Caldecott Medal winning book because I loved the illustrations. The texture and patterns of the black and white lines and the selective yellow was a lot of fun. The toddlers were not into it as much as I would have liked them to be.

Elmer written and illus. by David McKee (P)
I had to read Elmer because, well, he's a patchwork elephant! The children got the story, which was awesome!

Stripe written and illus. by Joanne Partis (P)
The children enjoyed this book, and many thought that little Stripe was very cute. Other were excited because my library system's big tiger puppet had been resting on my storytime table that morning.

SONGS & RHYMES

Open, Shut Them (T, P) 

follow actions

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Give a little clap

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap

Creep them, creep them up to your chin

Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Give a big clap

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap.

I Can See A Circle (T, P)
I can see a circle shape, circle shape, circle shape
I can see a circle shape, how about you?
(continue with square, triangle, rectangle, diamond)
Source: The Story Place via Storytime Katie

Touch Your Nose (T, P) 

follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES
Egg Shakers (T)
Need I say more?

Pattern Identification (T, P)
For each program I had printed out examples of different patterns: chevrons, polka dots, stripes, floral, argyle, and etc. for the children to see. I had the preschools try to guess what type of pattern they were seeing.

FLANNEL BOARD
I Can See A Circle (T, P)
To go along with the song I simply used my die cutter to create felt shapes. While we sang the song, the children took turns putting the current shape on the board.

Elmer's Patchwork Flannel Board (P)
This flannel board was super simple. I created the Elmer body by finding a coloring page online to use as my template. I had to enlarge it a little so that Elmer was big enough for lots of patchwork pieces. After gray Elmer was completed, I cut out lots and lots of different color squares. During the program the children had to put on the patchwork pieces. I had them do it by color so that there was some organization to the chaotic-flannel-board-acticity-excitement that happens.

CRAFTS
Pattern Shapes (T) 
Almost an exact repeat of our I Can See A Circle flannel board activity, the toddlers got to create their own pattern to take home. Using the same die cuts I created different color shapes that the little ones had to glue onto a sheet of construction paper.

Kaleidoscopes (P)
I must say that this was on the coolest crafts that I have ever done! Inspired by other blog posts, such as one made by Little Birdie Secrets, about kaleidoscopes, which helped in figuring out what to place inside of the toilet paper tube. What I used was scraps of leftover laminate that I kept after laminating posters and fliers. I cut the plastic into rectangles and folded them into long triangles. What the preschoolers had to do was (1) tape a black circle to one end of the toilet paper tube (this circle had a hole punched in the middle, which served as the eye piece), (2) insert the laminate triangle, (3) cover the other end of the tube with a square piece of wax paper and tape or rubber band it down, (4) cover the wax paper with glue stick glue, and finally, (5) dip the scope into a bin of tissue paper confetti to create their custom pattern. The children :: LOVED :: their kaleidoscopes!

PICTURES

Elmer Flannel Board, Toddler and Preschool Storytime,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2013

Pattern Shapes, Toddler Storytim Craft,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2013

Kaleidoscope, Preschool Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2013

Kaleidoscope, Preschool Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2013

Inside of the Kaleidoscope, Preschool Storytime Craft,
created by Dorothy, WP-CC 2013

The Legend of the Ghost Dog

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody. 2012. The Legend of the Ghost Dog. NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 97806545391276.

BOOK REVIEW
When she follows her father and little brother Jack to Nome, Alaska for two weeks as part of her Spring Break, Tee was hoping for some quiet time to read and hike through the wilderness. However while on a hike with her beagle Henry they both see the glimpses and wisps of a shadowy thing that both sends creepy feelings through both of them. With new friend Quinn at her side, the girls try meet the legendary ghost dog Shadow and solve the mystery of why he is still in the woods by an abandon cabin. There is just enough details of each of the characters for young readers to understand who they are and their background. Some readers will also related to Tee being a the responsible older sibling when both parents are busy workers (dad is a writer doing research for his new book and mom is in Japan on a business trip). A wonderful feature of the story is the use of double voice. The main story is Tee's, but sprinkled in between the chapters there are chapters from the point of view of Dodie, an old woman with a story about her family, their dogs, and the mysterious disappearance of her little sister over fifty-years ago. Additionally, Alaska's history of Balto and the other dog sled teams that brought medicine to Nome during the Diptheria epidemic and the Iditatrod plays a keep part in both stories. Through Kimmel's great writing story has all the qualities needed: adventure, mystery, tension, goosebump producing moments, history, and family and friends, which makes this book a must addition to library and school's juvenile collections.

CONNECTIONS

• Find Nome, Alaska on the map and any other visual connection to the town.
• Explore this history of the Iditarod.
• Pair with the ghost stories of Mary Downing Hahn.

I Love Kevin Henkes! - A Storytime Outline

Long time no blog post! I took full advantage of my library's break from regular programming (plus, I couldn't find my camera cord!). Now, I am getting back in the swing of it! This storytime outline is for the last storytime I did for the Fall season. It was so much fun! The families loved all the books and activities. Plus, as a perfect way to end the fall storytime season I had too priceless moments for me to remember!

BOOKS
Birds written by Kevin Henkes and illus. Laura Dronzek (T)
This was a great book for Toddlers. One little boy had eyes wide as saucers and his mouth dropped open when he saw the page with all the birds on it. He was amazed, and it was priceless for me! (Priceless Moment #1)

Old Bear written and illus. by Kevin Henkes (T, P)
A perfect book for us, especially since it started to get cooler out here in Texas.

My Gardren written and illus. by Kevin Henkes (P)
This book allows a wonderful exercise of the imagination.

Penny and Her Song written and illus. by Kevin Henkes (P)
I started out this book with the question of "Have you ever had a song or music stuck inside your head?". Most of the children said "No," but the parents new what I was talking about. I actually sang Penny's song with a tune that I just came up with during my practice reading. It wasn't too bad. By the way, thanks to Katie over at Story Time Secrets for the reading/singing idea! Afterwards, a little girl who loves a certain superhero, jumped up after the reading and started to sing the hero's theme song! My heart melted!  (Priceless Moment #2)

SONGS & RHYMES

Open, Shut Them (T, P) 

follow actions

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Give a little clap

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap

Creep them, creep them up to your chin

Open your mouth wide, but don't put your fingers in!

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Give a big clap

Open, shut them

Open, shut them

Lay them in your lap.

Five Little Birds (T, P)
Five little birds
flying around my door
The blue one flew away,
and then there were four.

Four little birds
sitting in a tree.
The yellow one flew away,
and then there were three.
Source: Story Time Secrets

Three little birds
didn't know what to do.
The red one flew away,
and then there were two.

Two little birds
sitting in the sun.
The brown one flew away,
and then there was one.

One little bird
sitting all alone.
She flew away,
and then there were none.

Late on that very same day...
Five little birds came back to play!
Source: Story Time Secrets

Touch Your Nose (T, P) 

follow actions

Touch your nose

Touch your chin

That's the way this game begins

Touch your eyes

Touch your knees

Now pretend you're going to sneeze!

Aaachooooo!

Touch your hair

Touch one ear

Touch your two red lips right here

Touch your elbow where it bends

And that's the way this touch game ends.

ACTIVITIES
Egg Shakers (T)
Always back at popular demand!

Music Makers (P)
These were a great hit after reading Penny and Her Song. I ran through the same actions that I do for the Toddler egg shakers (reach up high to the sky, down low to our toes, tummies, behind our backs, etc) but I allowed the preschoolers help come up with other actions like turning around and jumping jacks.

FLANNEL BOARDS
Old Bear's Seasons (T, P)
This activity was so much fun! The Toddlers played with the flannels after we read the book, but for the Preschoolers I had them hang on to their pieces. When I got to their season they had to put their piece on the board.

Special Note: The bear I created for this flannel board was copied from a bear that a Library Assistant created :: by hand!!! :: for one of her library school classes. Amazing!

Five Little Birds (T, P)
I quickly made felt birds to go with the rhyme. I love my die cutter since it makes it so easy! I added an extra wing to give it a little more detail.

CRAFTS
Feather Bird Pictures (T)
I used my library's new bird die cut. The toddlers got to color and paste on new some very colorful feathers to create their own birdy picture.

My Garden (P)
I found this craft idea on the blog Brimful Curiosities. It is such a wonderful and beautiful idea! The children had so much fun creating their own gardens. Some of them were like mine and what was in the book while other created their own flowers. One girl actually created a pasture that had hills in it so that her little toy horses had a place to play. Awesome!

MORE BOOKS
Obviously there is a plethora of Kevin Henkes books, but these are the ones that are great for storytime:

• Circle Dogs 
• Oh!
• Kitten's First Full Moon 
• A Good Day
• Little White Rabbit

PICTURES

Old Bear Flannel Board, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Five Little Birds flannel board, created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

Feather Bird Picture craft, Toddler Storytime,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

My Garden craft (front), Preschool Storytime,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

My Garden craft (side), Preschool Storytime,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012

My Garden craft (back), Preschool Storytime,
created by Dorothy WP-CC, 2012 (I love my fence!)

2013 Texas 2x2 Reading List!

Compared to all of the other reading lists and award lists coming from the Lone Star State, the Texas 2x2 is by far my favorite! The 2x2 Committee and the Children's Round Table of the Texas Library Association has just announced their new 2013 reading list for children beginning at age 2 and up to children in 2nd grade. 

Without further ado....

• A Kiss Means I Love You written by Kathryn Madeline Allen and photographs by Eric Futran. Chicago, Ill: Albert Whitman. ISBN: 9780807541869.
• Z is for Moose written by Kelly Bingham and illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. NY: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 9780060799847.
• Horsefly and Honeybee written and illus. by Randy Cecil. NY: Henry Holt. ISBN: 9780805093001.
• Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle written and illus. by Mary Newell DePalma. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdamans Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780802854087.
• Fire! ¡Fuego! Brave Bomberos written by Susan Middleton and illus. by Dan Santat. NY: Bloomsburgy Children's Book. ISBN: 9781599904610.
• Step Gently Out written by Helen Frost and photographs by Rick Lieder. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978076365010. 
• Time for a Hug written by Phillis Gershator and Mim Green and illus. by David Walker. NY: Sterling. ISBN: 9781402778629.
• Lemonade in Winter: A Book of Two Kids Counting Money written by Emily Jenkins and illus. by G. Brian Karas. NY: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN: 9780375858833.
• That is Not My Hat written and illus. by Jon Klassen. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763655990.
• It's a Tiger written by David LaRochelle and illus. by Jeremy Tankard. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 97880811869256.
• Frog and Fly: Six Slurpy Stories written and illus. by Jeff Mack. NY: Philomel Books. ISBN: 9780399256172.
• Good News, Bad News written and illus. by Jeff Mack. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 9781452101101.
• Cindy Moo written by Lori Mortensen and illus. by Jeff Mack. NY: HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780062043931.
• I Know a Wee Piggy written by Kim Norman and illus. by Henry Cole. NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780803737358.
• How to Babysit a Grandpa written by Jean Reagan and illus. by Lee Wildish. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 9780375867132.
• Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds and illus. by Peter Brown. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781442402973.
• The Three Ninja Pigs written by Cory Rosen Schwartz and illus. by Dan Santat. NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN: 9780399255144.
• Demolition written by Sally Sutton and illus. by Brian Lovelock. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763658304.
• Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy written and illus. by Jan Thomas. NY: Beach Lane Books. ISBN: 9781442442764.
• Oddrey written and illus. by Dave Whamond. Toronto: Owlkids Books. ISBN: 9781926973456.

I for one see a lot of titles that I had noted as new fun favorites over the past year, so it is exciting to see this list. Do you see any of your new favorite books on the list? 

The Quilt Walk

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dallas, Sandra. 2012. The Quilt Walk. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. ISBN: 9781585368006.

BOOK REVIEW
It was1863 when her Pa announced that the family were to pull up roots and head out west to Golden Calorado, and ten-year-old Emmy Blue had mixed feelings. Excitement and adventure waited out west, but she would have to leave her family, friends even her cat in her hometown of Quincy, Illinois. Despite the chance of never seeing their loved ones again the Hatchett family started out on the Overland Trail to start a new life where the Colorado Gold Rush is in full swing. In attempts to make her a proper young lady and seamstress despite being so far away, Emmy Blue's grandmore gives her a parcel of fabric pieces that would create a minature log cabin quilt that could be stitched during her journey. Though extremely reluctant at first Emmy Blue grows to secretly enjoy quilting to the point that she would walk along the family wagon with her Aunt Catherine and stitch. Told through a child's eyes the historical details are effortelss written into the story that range from how diverse groups of families scarifice many things like their possessions to make the arduous journey to these groups make friends, facing accidents and death, families turning back to return their original homes, and the fears of encountering the American Indians. The book also wonderfully illustrateds the time period's gender roles, especially for women who "have a duty to their husband[s]" but who are also strong, brave, and educted. The encompassing theme of quilting, and how a wuilt itself can tell a story, is something that is typically focused on in a book about America's westward expansion and is a welcomed sight. Based on true events of a pioneer family, Sandra Dallas' first children's book is a beautifully stitched together book that is perfect for library collections and book clubs.

CONNECTIONS

• Ask the children how they would feel if their parents announced that they were leaving many things behind and moving to some place brand new.
• Ask the children for their thoughts on the roles of the adults and children during the journey west.
• Subsquently, ask them for thoughts on gender roles.
• Share books that have colored images of quilts, especially ones that were made during the 19th century.
• Share books about pioneers.
• Have the children create their own quilting block, which can be done on paper and drawing or you can go the whole way and sew a block.