Flannel Friday: There was a Little...

Brrrrrrrrr!

It's cold outside!

Well. maybe not that cold here in Florida 

but definitely where this week's Flannel Friday friend lives...

Ooooh! A cute little ice bear
or 
~ polar bear ~
as they are more commonly known.

This one is made from white felt, black embroidery thread for the details on his ears and tail, and a small black bead for his eye. I backed him in stiff black felt so that I could cut the intricate details of his legs and head. He was very quick and easy to create.

For my Polar Friends Storytime, I decided to make this little ice bear to use with the rhyme that I shared last year featuring my penguin friend...

The penguin flannel set was one of the very first felt sets that I made after joining the Flannel Friday group last January. It is "There was a Little Penguin". 

This week, I am changing it to:

There was a Little Ice Bear

(a polar bear version of "There was a Little Turtle")

There was a little ice bear

Who sat on some blocks.

He swam in the ocean 

And he climbed on some rocks.

He snapped at a seagull.

He snapped at a seal.

He snapped at a fish.

Mmmm,

What a meal!

You could also do it as " there was a little polar bear". I have used both names at different times with different groups of children ~ depending on the circumstances.

Since we were talking about Polar Friends at this storytime, I brought a globe with me so we could briefly talk about the North and South Poles. 

I mentioned that while you might see penguins and polar bears together in books, they don"t actually live together in the real world. This was a surprise to many of the adults! I guess anyone can learn something new in a Family Storytime. ;o)

I am trying to keep this Flannel Friday post short and sweet so I am going to stop here. I will have more Polar Bear rhymes, fingerplays, and songs soon. Most of them, I have used for more years than I care to count so I don't have any credits to give for them. They are tried and true and lots of fun so be sure to check back soon.

And, as always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

For all you Flannel Friday-ers, Sarah is hosting our Mushy Gushy Round-Up for Valentine's Day ideas this year. I hope you will all head on over and take a peek at the fun.

Brrr...Zero?!

From seven o'clock this morning until seven o'clock tomorrow night the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for fifteen counties in northwestern lower Michigan.  With snow falling in some places to more than a foot, the cold will follow quickly on its heels with the wind cranking up to near blizzard conditions.  While we Michiganders are used to wintry weather, it's been so mild to date, this is going to be a shock.

With the knowledge of an impending storm there is an air of urgency and preparation in the businesses in our small burg.  There is also a sense of anticipation; the anticipation of what this weather will mean for inside and outside activities.  When you combine the talents of author Eileen Spinelli with those of illustrator Marjorie Priceman, a beautiful but chilly book like Cold Snap (Alfred A. Knopf) results, taking a look at another small town caught in Mother Nature's grip.

It was snowy cold in Toby Mills.
Ears tingled.
Cheeks were frosty pink.
Toes, too numb to wiggle.

It begins with piles of snow inviting the inevitable snowball throwing, making of snow angels and sledding down T-Bone Hill.  Exhausted, wet and cold the children are forced to head home as evening approaches.  This is Friday.

By Saturday newspaper headlines feature the weather front and center.  Soup and stew are the local diner's entree of the day.  Being inside is distinctly more appealing.

Even long underwear worn under dresses, earmuffs, scarves and cuddling with the church cat cannot keep the cold from coming inside the church on Sunday.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday find the thermometer dipping lower and lower each day.  The icicle which began as a drip on the tip of General Toby's nose is close to touching the ground.

The endeavors of the citizens of Toby Mills have gone from enjoyment to survival, complaints to the mayor's office mounting.  It's his clever wife who hatches a nighttime surprise, gathering the entire town on top of T-Bone Hill.  Young and old alike, all the names readers have come to know, meet and greet each other rejoicing in what they have missed.


Chronicling the days of a week, Friday to Friday plus one, person by person, Eileen Spinelli makes readers feel as though they, too, are members of this close-knit community.  We are privy through her descriptive phrases and word choices (puffballs in the frigid air, slogged through the slush, huddle-cuddled) of the cold getting colder and the townspeople's reactions to this frosty turn of weather events.  Our collective knowledge of cold, what we would be willing to do when faced with similar circumstances, even though Spinelli assigns specific actions to specific people, binds us to this story.  Her technique of measuring the cold by the length of the icicle on the statue's nose paints a picture in our minds.  Not without humor, the mayor's wife brings him his pink bunny slippers and blue bathrobe to wear at the office, we begin to feel a distinct chill in the air.


Beginning with the front jacket, two-time Caldecott Honor award winner, Marjorie Priceman, using gouache on watercolor paper, whips up a batch of icy, snowy, blowy painted pictorial pieces of Toby Mills. The perspective shown to readers when first picking up this book, overlayed with the rough, sandpaper-like feel of pressed shiny snowflakes, leads readers into this winter's tale.  Brightly colored endpapers, the town thick with snow, provide an invitation, a bird's eye view of the place and its people.

A two-page visual extending across the gutter to page edge tucks publication information beneath a snow-covered hill, wind howling as a person walks up and over, snow shovel sticking up behind with the title above.  Throughout most of the book the illustrations, covering two pages, provide readers with a rare richness, color choices pulling them into the story despite the cold.  Single page visuals are faced with a page of smaller pictures text above or below.  Extra details reveal emotion, motion and shivers from the cold that gets colder and colder.  While many of the illustrations are worthy of framing my two favorites are of the children snow-play weary going home at night through the village and of the mayor's office, the Moffat home and the movie theater advertising Long Hot Summer and Little Miss Sunshine with B. Y. O. B. (bring your own blanket).


Cold Snap penned by master wordsmith Eileen Spinelli with vivid illustrations by Marjorie Priceman is a first choice for snow day reading.  Whether you winter in this type of weather or have never seen a single snowflake, there is "snow" doubt you will wonder why you now feel a cool breeze passing.  The blended skills of two masters has created a perfect picture....a book for readers of all ages.

Please follow this link to the publisher's website for more illustrations from this title.

"Not a Flannel" Friday: Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere!

It is finally time for some Penguin Fun at my Family Storytime so I thought I would share some of the fun with you, too.

I actually have several penguin activities to share.
Let's start with a playful rhyme that allows you to use ordinal numbers with your little ones, as well as counting up and counting down with a little help from our cute black and white friends.

Five Little Penguins 



Five little penguins,

As happy as could be,

Standing on a rock, 

Looking out at sea.

Crash! Went the waves,

Oh, what a din!

Said the first little penguin,

"Shall we all jump in?"

Said the second little penguin,

"The water's like ice."

Said the third little penguin,

"That's not so nice."

Said the fourth little penguin,

"Let's bask in the sun."

Said the fifth little penguin,

"Hey, that's no fun!"

So the five little penguins

Take a leap and dive 

And splash into the water,

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5.

Three seconds later, 

Out they all pop.

And stand once again

Atop the big rock.

5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1.

Yay!

Our second activity is a good one to use with a simple penguin puppet. It is easy to make a puppet for each child by photocopying a small penguin, cutting it out, and taping it to a popsicle stick. 

Or if you have a Ellison diecut machine and a penguin diecut, it is even easier to make a puppet for each storytime friend. ;-)

This activity allows you to demonstrate positional words with even the youngest storytime participants ~ just have the adult do the motions with the puppet for their child.

The Penguins

The penguins are here; the penguins are there.

The penguins, the penguins are everywhere.

The penguins are up; the penguins are down.

The penguins, the penguins are all around.

The penguins are in; the penguins are out.

The penguins, the penguins are all about.

The penguins are low; the penguins are high.

The penguins, the penguins all say "goodbye"!

Another activity that I use with my Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere storytime is the flannel set that I shared a few weeks ago: 

There Was a Little Penguin
(Click on the title for a link to my post.)

For our craft, we made Adorable Penguin Hats so that the children could pretend to be penguins and waddle around in our last two activities.

Adorable Penguin

I'm a little penguin

Black and white,

Short and wobbly,

An adorable sight!

I can't fly at all,

But I love to swim.

So I'll waddle to the water 

And dive right in!

For this rhyme, I teach the sign for penguin, black, and white. We also do motions for "short and wobbly", "fly", "swim", "waddle", and "dive". This particular activity gets numerous requests for repeating it. I usually plan to do it 2 to 3 times. The repetition will help the little ones remember the rhyme so that they can continue to "be penguins" at home. I also send home a flyer with the words and I post them on my library's Facebook page for easy accessibility.

Our last rhyme was also fun to do together with lots more waddling and diving.

Penguin Cheer

I like fishies.
Yes, I do!
When I want fishies,
Here's what I do.
One, two, three...
SPLASH!

And finally, here is a picture of one of my storytime friends in her Adorable Penguin Hat. 

She is so precious!

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Here’s Flannel Friday information for this week:

This week’s Flannel Friday roundup is hosted by Katie.

Round up archives and host schedule is at So Tomorrow.

Visually scan all the Flannel Friday posts at Pinterest.

Talk about storytime and flannelboards at the Flannel Friday Facebook Page. Be sure to checkout my Flannel Friday Comment Challenge on the facebook page. This is the fourth week and I am offering an incentitive!

Follow Flannel Friday on Twitter with the #flannelfriday hashtag. (You don’t have to be on Twitter to check this out.)

And, last but not least, if you’re a contributor, there is an awesome blog button from Melissa and you can grab it from the right hand menu at Mel’s Desk!

Craft: Snowball Snowglobe

Last week at our Family Storytime, we enjoyed books, songs, and activities about snow, snowflakes, and snowmen. We also enjoyed making a craft! 

It was a "Snowball Snowglobe"!

Here are the Supplies needed for the craft:

Two 8 or 9 inch blue paper plates 

(I searched until I found plates with blue on top and white on bottom)

5 inch circle template

Pencil

Scissors

6 inch circle of clear plastic

(I will give you suggestions for this in the directions below)

Tacky glue

White glitter paint

Paintbrush

Styrofoam bowl

Snowman shape

(Several suggestions shared below)

Snowflake stickers

Iridescent confetti

Black sharpie

(Not pictured)
White ribbon
(Not pictured)

Directions:

1. Paint the bottoms of both plates with the glitter glue and let dry. (This step can be skipped if you don't have glitter paint and/or your library does not allow painting during your programs.)

2. Draw a 5 inch circle on the bottom of one of the plates. Be sure to center it. (It is hard to see in the picture but I used black cardstock to make my circle template.)

Heads Up: 

The next few steps should be done by an ADULT.

3. Carefully poke a hole in the center of the plate with a pair of sharp scissors.

4. Then cut from the center hole to the drawn outline several times ~ forming an X.

5. Now cut closely to the inside of the circle until it is all removed. (At this point I cut very closely to the line but not on the line yet. This allows me the ability to cut a smoother edge in the next step.)

7. Finally, cut along the drawn line with smooth cuts.

Child-friendly steps again:

8. This next step involves gluing something clear into the cut-out opening to make a "window"  so that your child can peer into the inside of your Snowglobe. The clear plastic is a 6 inch circle. I used our Ellison diecut to cut my circles out of leftover laminate from our laminating machine. I love to recycle ~ reuse ~ repurpose (whatever you want  to call it) and these laminate scraps were headed toward the trash can before I thought of this use for them. 

***If you don't have leftover laminate, 

*How about that leftover clear plastic from toy packages 

after your child opens Christmas presents 

or birthday presents or just gets a new 

toy because it looked so cool at the 

store yesterday?

*How about those folders with the clear plastic covers 

that you used for last year's budget report?

*How about a piece of Saran Wrap or part of a 

gallon-sized Ziploc bag?

There are lots of options if you just take a look around. ;-) It is easier for the parent or caregiver who is sharing this craft with one or two children. If you are a preschool teacher or a children's librarian, you will have to think ahead and start collecting what you need for all the friends that you will be sharing this craft with. But don't despair! I am sure if you share your idea with a few of your parents then they will help you out. :-)

When gluing the clear circle to the inside of the top plate, be sure to spread the glue all around the edge. The opening needs to be completely sealed so that no confetti can escape when the project is finished.

9. It is now time for the snow! Using the Tacky glue, make a "snowdrift" at the bottom of the 2nd blue plate. Then, shake some iridescent glitter on top of the glue and gently press it down to help it stick. Shake off any excess onto a piece of scrap paper and save for later.

10. While the glue and glitter are drying, build a snowman with the sticker set and add snowflake stickers, too.

***Snowflake sticker set was purchased from Oriental Trading as one of the prizes for our Snow program last year. I had enough leftover for this craft. I like this sticker set because it allows the child to build his/her snowman one snowball at a time. It gives the adult a chance to observe whether or not the child has mastered the idea of small, medium, and large, as well as, several other pre-reading and pre-math skills.


***Don't have any snowman stickers lying around:

*How about cutting out three snowballs from 

construction paper and adding details with 

crayons or markers?

*how about printing a snowman picture from the 

internet, cutting it out, and gluing it on the plate?

*How about finding a small toy figure around the 

house to glue to your snow scene?

Here again, there are lots of options if you just take a look around. ;-)

11. Once the snow scene is created and the glue has had time to dry, it is time for a SNOW STORM! Just add more confetti! As much or as little as desired.

12. Final step is to add glue all around the edge of the plate. Don't be stingy with the glue! We want to make a complete seal all around the plate so that when we shake our Snowball Snowglobe to make it "snow", we don't want any snow to escape.

Ooops! Did I say final step? Well, it is ~ unless you want to be able to hang up your Snowball Snowglobe when you aren't using it. If you want to hang it up, then cut a piece of ribbon to about  4 inches in length. Fold it in half and glue to the bottom plate at the top of your snowglobe. Once it is dry, it can be hung anywhere.

Final Craft:

It's a blizzard!

Here are a few pictures of my storytime friends and their Snowball Snowglobes:

This craft was made by a 4 year old. 

She decided she wanted to add some bigger snowflakes to the outside of her snowball. 

I love her creativity!

  

Another friend enjoying her snowball cookie while sharing her craft with me.

Hey, dude! Like my snowman?

(This friend is also 4 years old. If you look closely, he chose to make his snowman differently. 

His choices can actually tell his teacher or parent a lot about his abilities in certain pre-reading/pre-math areas.)

I hope you will consider creating a Snowball Snowglobe with a young child in your life. If you do, please stop back by and share your thoughts and maybe even some pictures with me. I would love to see your child's version of a Snowball Snowglobe!

I have some thoughts on a ocean-themed version. Check back with me ~ I am thinking maybe an underwater bubble full of sand and ocean creatures...

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!

Storytime Fun: It is Snowing All Around!

Here is my very first STORYTIME post. I hope you enjoy it!

IT IS SNOWING!

IT IS SNOWING!

ALL AROUND!
ALL AROUND!

Snowing in Florida?!!??! 

Some of you might be asking why I would do a Snow Storytime at a library in Florida?!?!!

My answer is: WHY NOT?

We don't need real snow to enjoy a story or two about it ~ just like inland states don't need to have the ocean and the beach to enjoy an ocean-themed storytime. If ~ like me ~ you live in a place where it doesn't usually snow, then I suggest you use your imagination and be creative! 

Want to see what we do here in Florida?

I start my Storytimes in the same way each week with the same songs and activities. (In a future post, I will share what we do and why.) 

But once the introduction is over, it is time for something NEW!

For this storytime, we started with a fingerplay and a song (with hand motions).

Two Little Snowflakes

Way up high In the Winter sky,

(Point up)

Two little snowflakes caught my eye.

(Hold both hands above head)

Down to the ground they fell without a sound.

(Wiggle hands downward, then put finger to lips)

Before very long it was snowing all around.

(Swirl hands around everywhere)

It is Snowing!

(Sung to: "Frere Jacques")

It is snowing!

It is snowing!

(Swirl hands)

All around.

All around.

(Move hands in larger and larger swirls)

Soft and quiet snowflakes,

Soft and quiet snowflakes,

(Put finger to lips)

Fall to the ground. 

Fall to the ground.

(Wiggle hands downward)

Next, we read one of our snowman books: 

All You Need for a Snowman

After the story, I passed out snowflakes (diecut from white construction paper and glued to blue circles) for a couple of creative movement activities. 

Snowflakes, Snowflakes

Snowflakes, snowflakes,

Dance around.

Snowflakes, snowflakes,

Touch the ground.

Snowflakes, snowflakes,

In the air.

Snowflakes, snowflakes,

Everywhere!

The children were allowed to dance and twirl with their snowflakes as much or as little as they wanted. Then we moved on to a more detailed, creative movement activity that required the children to use their listening skills.

Snowflake, Snowflake, Dance with Me

Snowflake, Snowflake, fancy free.

Snowflake, Snowflake, dance with me.

Touch my head, then my toes,

Land on my nose where the cold wind blows.

Snowflake, Snowflake, turn around.

Snowflake, Snowflake, touch the ground.

Snowflake, Snowflake, fancy free.

Snowflake, Snowflake, dance with me.

Touch my elbow, then my shoulder.

Land on my chin where it's a little bit colder.

Snowflake, Snowflake, turn around.

Snowflake, Snowflake, touch the ground.

Snowflake, Snowflake, fancy free.

Snowflake, Snowflake, dance with me.

Touch my ear, then my knees.

Snowflake, I'm about to freeze!

Snowflake, Snowflake, turn around.

Snowflake, Snowflake, land the ground.

The children were now sitting and ready for another story. You could share another book here but I had a magnetic board adaptation of one of our favorite books that I shared at this time. The original book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? written by Bill Martin. My magnetic board version is:

 Snowflakes, Snowflakes, What Do You See?

Snowflakes, Snowflakes, what do you see?

We see three, white snowballs down below us.

Snowballs, snowballs, what do you see?

We see two blueberries right on us.

Blueberries, blueberries, what do you see?

We see an orange carrot right below us.

Orange carrot, orange carrot, what do you see?

I see five red cherries down below me.

Red cherries, red cherries, what do you see?

We see a purple scarf down below us.

Purple scarf, purple scarf, what do you see?

I see three, yellow stars down below me.

Yellow stars, yellow stars, what do you see?

We see two, brown branches up above us.

Brown branches, brown branches, what do you see?

We see two, green mittens right on top of us.

Green mittens, green mittens, what do you see?

We see a black hat up above us.

Black hat, black hat, what do you see?

I see lots of children right in front of me.

Children, children, what do you see?

(This is where I encourage the children to say everything with me 

in the order that we added them to the board.)

We see:

Two pretty snowflakes

Three white snowballs

Two blue berries

One orange carrot

Five red cherries

One purple scarf

Three yellow stars

Two brown branches

Two green mittens

and

One black hat.

We see a snowman right in front of us! 

Happy Snow Day!

With our snowman built, we went right into a fun fingerplay/magnetic story.

Chubby Little Snowman

A chubby little snowman

Had a carrot nose.

Along came a bunny,

And what do you suppose?

That hungry little bunny

Was looking for some lunch.

He ate the snowman's nose!

Nibble, nibble, CRUNCH!

I usually finish my storytimes the same way each time. This gives the children some consistency just like at the beginning of the storytime.

We form a circle and sing "The More We Get Together". Then we do our goodbyes with My Hands Say, "Thank You".

Most of the time, we share a snack and we either do a "sit-down craft" or I give the families a "take-home craft" to help extend the learning fun into their homes. (I will be sharing some of our crafts soon.)

Snack this week was a "Snowball Cookie". In the past I have given them "Snowman Cookies" or "Yummy Snow" (shaved ice with or without lemonade syrup). I will try to add a picture of the cookies soon.

Whew! Sharing Storytimes is a little more involved than I thought! 

I feel like my post is too long but I also feel like I left things out! 

What do you think? Too long? Should I break my Storytimes up into smaller parts and make multiple posts? Maybe a separate post for the songs and for the magnetic board story? 

I'm not sure...

Well. that's it until my next post. As always,

HAPPY READING TOGETHER!