Thursday, October 9, 2014

Flannel Friday Series - Felts3Ways! Ducks!

Today was a big day!   Library Village had the fantastic opportunity to present at this year's Ohio Library Council's Convention and Expo.  We created a poster session on how to re-consider felts and bring them back into story time.  We explained various techniques on making felt sets, and showed how to use them in baby, toddler, and preschool story times.  I'll let Kristen blog about the OLC Convention, and of value of felt sets to young children (which is very rich!), but suffice it to say that all three of us are strong advocates for the use of different mediums in story time.  Felt is our favorite medium!

One of the main ideas we presented is how to save time and money by creating ONE felt set that can be used in various ways for different age groups.  We found in our department that we were creating many sets with only one use each.  We all enjoy felting, but this just was not efficient.  With just a small amount of planning our sets became far more versatile, and they still cost far less than store bought sets!  

Just like Iron Chef, this Story Time Ninja (see Storytime Underground for more information about Story time Ninjas) would like to present the first in my series called "Felts 3 Ways."  Today's edition: Ducks!!


Here the the entire set.

Some of the images were inspired by a kit for purchase on Cambridge Educational Toys http://www.cambridgeeducationaltoys.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=173_64_79
In addition, we have created similar sets for our story times before!  See Kristen's Where's Duck felt set post for more on her baby set!  Here is the link to my original Ugly Duckling set for Preschool which is much larger and different from the set here.
Want even more ducks?  We have SEVEN DUCK POSTS for you to see!

NOW, what can you do with this amazing set?

For Babies, you can use these pieces to create an activity to demonstrate for the caregivers called "Where's the Baby Duck?"  Mama calls 'Quack Quack' looking for her baby!  Is he behind the fence?  No?  Is he in the pond?  There's the baby duck!


For Toddlers, what is more fun that the 5 Little Ducks Song?

5 little ducks went out one day
over the hill and far away.
Mama duck said 'quack, quack, quack, quack'
But only 4 little ducks came back.
4 little ducks.....(until you get to no ducks left and then...)

One Mama Duck went out one day,
over the hill and far away
Mama duck said 'quack, quack, quack, quack'
And all 5 of her little ducks came back!


And for Preschool and Early Elementary, here is the Ugly Duckling story.  While the original tale can be embellished and extended with other forest animals, I created only enough felts for a preschool-length story time.  I imagine you could add any other creatures in the original to make it longer for school age story telling.  You could even use the pond, log, and tall grass as more scenery for this story.  Remember the ugly duckling hides himself away in the tall grass by the pond until one day he sees the swans soaring overhead and wishes he was as beautiful as they are.

As an added bonus, I have templates for you.  We created these templates as a handout for the OLC so I thought I would add them here for those of you who couldn't make it this year.

***Please remember that if you use these templates or re-blog about them, credit the original author or get permission for anything but private use. None of the images on the first page are mine to sell.  The second page is just hand drawn shapes and you are free to use those.





And with that, you have "Felts 3 Ways."  I hope you enjoy this series and stay tuned for more!


Special thanks to Kathryn at Fun With Friends at Storytime for hosting this week's Flannel Friday.  If you would like to learn more about Flannel Friday and how you can participate, Click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Flannel Friday - Halloween Extravaganza 2014

We could not be more excited to share this Halloween edition of Flannel Friday.  Everyone has been working so hard!  This post is LOADED with amazing felts, songs, draw & tells, dancing, and just about everything you need for a great Halloween Story Time!  You all deserve a round of applause!  Let's start this Halloween Party!

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Lisa at Thrive After Three couldn't WAIT to show you her Ten Little Goblins!  Based on the book by Pamela Jane, this one could very easily become a staple in your Halloween story time!
http://thriveafterthree.com/2014/10/01/little-goblins-ten/

Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime is sharing her post from last year called Going Batty!  I remember these adorable bats from last year and loved the poem it came with. So cute!
http://kdr4xmom.blogspot.com/2013/09/im-going-batty.html

Kathryn was SO excited to participate this week, she added a second post!  Not Halloween themed, but very versatile and could be used all year, check out her Morning on the Farm!  Thanks, Kathryn!
http://kdr4xmom.blogspot.com/2014/09/morning-on-farm.html


SQUEE!!  Scott at Walls Became the World shares a story I have never seen before called Humbug Witch!  I love when felts can support a story with so many layers and surprises.  I might have to make this one for my collection!
 http://www.wallsbecametheworld.com/storytime/2014/10/2/humbug-witch




Kelly at Practice Makes Perfect shows a different approach to the Five Little Monsters Poem. She shows that to have a great flannel story, you do not need to use all felt.  These pop sticks will be sturdy (and not too scary) for many story times to come. Great idea!
http://kellyt-practicemakesperfect.blogspot.com/2014/10/flannel-friday-monsters-on-bed-flannel.html





Bridget at What is Bridget Reading shares not one, but SEVEN ideas for Halloween! Seriously! Just check out her owls!  Owls are perfect for Halloween! 
http://whatisbridgetreading.blogspot.com/2014/10/flannel-friday-halloween-ideas.html





Lisa at Librayland tells me "Not Halloween, but still Fall"....well, Lisa, I think fall leaves are perfect for October as a break from all of the witches and goblins.  Check out her counting and matching activities!
http://lisaslibraryland.blogspot.com/2014/10/flannel-friday-leaves.html




Monica at Ram Sam Storytime also says "not Halloween" but good golly would you look at this beautiful Apple Tree set?  I can see so many story times that can use this set.  And check out the detail.  Just beautiful!
http://www.ramsamstorytime.blogspot.com/p/flannels.html



Linda at Notes From the Story Room has a Draw and Tell!  These add a great new dimension to your story time and can be used in a wide range of age groups too.  Here's The Halloween Hike
http://meusenotes.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-halloween-hike.html




Carol at Program Palooza brings us a Plethora of Perfect Posts.  Her Halloween Hootenany has more ideas than I can count, with songs, fingerplays, books and more.
http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=halloween




And just when you thought that was it, Carol has ANOTHER post on the theme of Monsters!  Enjoy! 
http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=monsters




Jane at Piper Loves the Library brings us a fantastic HOW TO on Tunes for Tots.  Have you heard of Tunes for Tots before?  No?  Well, go check it out!  See their "recipe for success!"
http://piperlovesthelibrary.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-to-tunes-for-tots-on-flannel-friday.html




And Jane has one more!  As she says, "No such thing as Halloween without this book."  I agree.  This is a great book for Halloween, and it works very well as a story board.  Jane uses sandpaper backing here....fascinating!   Here's The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.
http://piperlovesthelibrary.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-am-not-afraid-of-anything.html



As for me, I am reposting my last year's Halloween Flannel Friday for any newbies.  I had a pretty shy story time group and was worried about a lot of the books I was finding at the time, so I wrote this poem and created felts to show the little ones that a costume is just fantasy play and not really scary.  Check out my "That's a Costume" set.  I do not have a story time this year for Halloween, but Miss Kristen is using my set for hers.
http://libraryvillage.blogspot.com/2013/10/flannel-friday-halloween-surprise.html




WHEW I am exhausted!  You guys are AWESOME!  I am so proud of you all.  It's a Halloween Celebration.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  If you would like more information on how YOU can take part in Flannel Friday, make sure you visit the Blog or Facebook page.  Thanks to all of the hosts, fairy godmother's, pinners, and bloggers.  Happy Halloween!!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Flannel Friday Placeholder - The Halloween 2014 Edition - October 3rd, 2014


We can't believe it's here!  Flannel Friday - the Halloween Edition!  WHOOT!


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Place your links in the comments below by Friday 10pm.  This is the Halloween Edition, but please feel free to blog any of your ideas, or even re-post a favorite Halloween Post from the past.

If you have trouble posting or need us to host your post, just write that in the comments below and I will get a hold of you.

Note: We get a lot of spam, so we moderate the comments here.  Don't worry if you do not see yours right away.  We will have the Flannel Friday post LIVE on Saturday morning for all to see!