Saturday Share: Prickly Pokey Fun

Good afternoon!

I missed my usual Flannel Friday post because I was home sick yesterday.

 

But while I was resting, I created some delightful little creatures that I can't wait to share with everyone.

 Shhh! 

Don't tell anyone
~ especially my family ~ 
because I was supposed to be resting!  

But making these sweet little things helped take my mind off all my aches and pains. Maybe that is why I love them so much! They helped me ignore being sick. :o) Plus they are felt fingerpuppets which make them fun and versatile!

Without further ado, 
here they are:

Porky-Poo and Hedgie-Hug

Aren't they cute? They were inspired by several different things over the past few months. Finally, everything came together yesterday with scraps of felt, sharp scissors, a little Tacky glue, and embroidery thread and needle.

Here is a fun rhyme that I plan to share ~ using my new friends and some rolling motions:

Two Little Hedgehogs

(Adaptation of: "Two Little Black Birds")

Two little hedgehogs 

Sitting on a hill.

One named Jack 

And the other named Jill.

Roll away, Jack.

Roll away, Jill.

Roll back, Jack.

Roll back, Jill.

My first inspiration for my spiny friends came from a cute porcupine applique that I saw in passing ~ so long ago that I can't even remember where I saw it. :o( (If I find the original again, I will provide more information.)

I do remember, at the time, thinking, "That is adorable!" But I didn't connect it to the idea of a boy/girl porcupine/hedgehog fingerpuppet until I found these:

My second inspiration!

I recently found this package of felt spiny creatures at Michael's. I set them aside to share as a Fun Find. They are inexpensive and perfect for using with a felt glove for counting rhymes. In the package, there are  five pink and five brown spiny creatures. I just added a piece of Velcro to each back so that they could stick to a felt glove or to a flannel board.

I use them for a Count Down rhyme, a Count Up rhyme, and then a combination Count Up/Count Down rhyme. I also use them interchangeably (is that a real word??!!??!) as Porcupines and as Hedgehogs. They are versatile, too!

Hedgehog Friends

(Count Up Rhyme)

One little hedgehog looking for something to do,

Along came another and that made two.

Two little hedgehogs snuffling near a tree,

Along came another and that made three,

Three little hedgehogs searching for one more,

Along came another and that made four.

Four little hedgehogs waiting for one to arrive,

Along came another and that made five.

Five Little Porcupines

(Count Down Rhyme)

Five little porcupines rolling across the floor,

One waddles off and then there are four.

Four little porcupines rolling by me,

One waddles off and then there three.

Three little porcupines rolling by you,

One waddles off and then there are two.

Two little porcupines rolling under the sun,

One waddles of and then there was one.

One little porcupine rolling all alone,

He waddles off and that leaves none.

Ten Little Hedgehogs
(Sung to: "Ten Little Indians")

One little, two little, three little hedgehogs.
Four little, five little, six little hedgehogs.
Seven little, eight little, nine little hedgehogs.
Ten little hedgehogs sitting by some logs.

Ten little, nine little, eight little hedgehogs.
Seven little, six little, five little hedgehogs.
Four little, three little, two little hedgehogs.
One little hedgehog chasing a frog.


Ten Little Porcupines
(Sung to: "Ten Little Indians")

One little, two little, three little porcupines.
Four little, five little, six little porcupines.
Seven little, eight little, nine little porcupines.
Ten little porcupines standing in a line.

Ten little, nine little, eight little porcupines.
Seven little, six little, five little porcupines.
Four little, three little, two little porcupines.
One little porcupine looking so fine.

These rhymes are a combination of ones that I have used over the years for my preschool classes/storytimes and ones that I "piggybacked" using popular songs and fingerplays. Some I only tweaked (something I love to do) a little yesterday while I was working on creating my new favorite spiny creatures ~ Porky-Poo and Hedgie-Hug. 

I have a few more ideas to share with you and a few books, as well.

Here is a creative movement/song that also could be used when talking about emotions:

I'm a Little Hedgehog

(Sung to: "I'm a Little Teapot")

I'm a little hedgehog, short and round.

Here is my smile, here is my frown.

When I get scared, I roll around.

Just watch me spin across the ground.

And another creative movement activity to use when your young friends need to get up and move around a bit.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog
(Adapted from "Teddybear, Teddybear, Turn Around")

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, turn around.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, touch the ground.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, stretch up high.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, search the sky.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, search down low.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, touch your toes.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, sit on the ground.

Hedgehog, Hedgehog, curl up small and round.

My volunteer says this one is a little hard to say with the overwhelming number of "hedgehog" mentions. Doesn't easily trip off the tongue, but I don't mind because ~ if I mess up ~ it is a good reason to laugh together. 

But, if you aren't into being silly, you could always give your hedgehog or porcupine a nickname that is easier to say so many times. 

Speaking of nicknames, I want to share my inspiration for my girl puppet's name ~ Hedgie-Hug. I found this cute little book about a hedgehog's search for love. A little tweak and my sweet little girl had a cute name! The book is:

Hedgehug

 A Sharp Lesson in Love

created and illustrated by Dan Pinto

written by Benn Sutton

For Hedgehug, love appears to be very prickly.

Will he ever find someone who will accept his heart ~ prickles and all?

Another book about spiny creatures and also about names is:

A Porcupine Named Fluffy

written by Helen Lester

illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

Meet two unlikely characters ~ 

a porcupine named Fluffy and a rhinoceros named ... WHAT?!??!

This book is written by the author of Tacky the Penguin. If you know Tacky then you know that humor will be found in spades inside the cover of this book! I have used this book for years and years. It never fails to bring about fits of giggles from both children and adults. 

One more book that could be used with our spiny creatures is an easy reader book with an age-old problem to solve ~ too many cooks in the kitchen:

Hedgehog Bakes a Cake

written by Maryann MacDonald

Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

Hedgehog wants to bake a cake.  
Rabbit, Squirrel, and Owl want to help.
Oh, what a mess!

Before I wrap this up, I have one more fun piggyback song to share. It provides you with an opportunity to talk about porcupine characteristics such as what they like to eat and what they do when something frightens them.

Five Little Porcupines

(Sung to: "Five Green and Speckled Frogs")

Five little porcupines

Sittin' in a crooked line

Eating the most delicious bark.

Yum! Yum!

One heard a scary call.

Rolled up into a ball.

Now, there are four little porcupines.

Be sure to count the porcupines as you add them to the flannel board
and as you start each new verse.

Rub your tummy as you say, "Yum! Yum!'

As the porcupine "rolls into a ball", take one from the board 

and hide it in your hand as you make your fist into a ball.

Continue until no porcupines are left.

Can anyone think of a Hedgehog version of "Five Green and Speckled Frogs"? 

I'd love to hear it! I get stuck on the first line because I can't get anything to fit nicely into 6 syllables. The hedgehogs can be sitting near or on a log. Since they eat bugs that part would still work from the original version. Then I think the ending could be the same as above because they also curl up when they are frightened. 

Hmmm... just need a starting line. Anyone?

Oh, by the way, my mind is still remembering more books and some old learning activities I used to do for our porcupines and hedgehogs units at my school. And I am thinking of new ideas, too, so I am sure there will be more prickly fun to come! Like ~ a fun tweak to the "Hokey-Pokey"...

Hope you enjoyed this Saturday Share! I enjoyed writing it now that I am feeling a little better. :o)

Have a lovely weekend with your families!

And, as always, 

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!