Catch the Possibilities

I'm in the process, thanks to some donation money, of updating our storytime kits. Storytime kits include books, music, flannel boards, props, puppets, and activity sheets that correspond to a specific theme. Kits are marketed toward daycare providers & parents as a way to do "storytime at home."  Most were created in the early 1990s, so the donation money is allowing me to completely update and refresh them!

For flannels in the winter kit, I've made the 5 Little Snowflakes and this Snowman Glove, which will work with any of your favorite "10 Little" or "5 Little" snowpeople rhymes.

Stretchy gloves like the ones I used are in abundance in the Midwest right now, and cheap. I purchased a set of two pairs for $1.50 at Target during the holidays. Are these accessible in warmer climates?

Snowmen are made with my new favorite sparkly glitter felt, with felt scarves and noses. Eyes and buttons were drawn on with a permanent marker.

I attached the snowmen to the gloves using Tacky glue. We'll see how well it stands up to repeated circulation, but I was hesitant to pull out the hot glue gun for this one (as the directions suggest). I glued the pieces together, laid the glove on my desk, and shoved pencils and pens into each of the finger holes to keep the fronts and backs from sticking together.

Enjoy!

I had pinned this set of Library Quine's a looooong time ago and had been scared to try to make it because look at how neat and intricate the flakes are! I'm in the process of creating a storytime kit to circulate with a Winter theme, so I knew now was the time to try it. As I was thinking of how I might attempt this, the idea crossed my mind to use some spray adhesive to allow me to use the paper as a stabilizer to keep the felt from moving around as much. Best. Idea. Ever. So good, in fact, that it turns out to not be that original. See here and here for some other great felt cutting tips and techniques.

Several summers ago, I was a librarian in Iowa and had the privilege of attending a summer reading workshop for the CSLP theme "Be Creative." Now, I know Iowa gets a bad rep sometimes, but I gotta tell you, the youth services librarians there are awesome. FF's own Roving Fiddlehead is just one of them!

Pretty sure most of October is a big blur. One day I'll get around to updating this blog with all the programs!

Since my "Letter A" storytime conveniently fell in the fall, apple ideas were in abundance. I came across this idea on Pinterest, and knew a trip to the local dollar store was in order.

Ten Apples Up on Top Prop

Supplies:

• Fake apples
• Headband
• E-6000 adhesive [Note: in trying to keep this a total dollar store project, I picked up some super glue with the other supplies. In a word: FAIL. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say, there was more super glue on my fingers than on the project. Stick to the E-6000 and you'll have much better results.]

I've had I Can Teach My Child's Monster Finger Puppet idea pinned and on the back burner for months. Someday I'll have all the right materials in the same place at the same time to make this!

In the meantime, I wanted to come up with something to use with the 5 Little Monsters Sleeping In My Bed rhyme I found from Perry Public Library.

I was digging around my craft supplies at work for inspiration when I came across some metallic pipe cleaners I had ordered from Oriental Trading a while back. They were "poofier" than I was imagining when I purchased them-- but they're so much fun to use!

I simply wrapped each one around the corresponding finger to make a corkscrew effect. Then I added self-adhesive wiggle eyes.

Each "monster" has a different number of wiggle eyes. I took them off in order (the monster with 5 wiggle eyes disappeared first in other words).

The wiggle eyes are not very secure, so I wouldn't let little ones play with these in case the eyes looked a little too much like something they should put in their mouths. And I put an extra sheet of wiggle eyes right in with the monsters in their storage bag since I anticipate having to replace eyes each time I use them.

Philemon Sturges' first book, Ten Flashing Fireflies, is a cute counting book about a boy and a girl catching fireflies. The book simultaneously counts down and up, like this:

"What do we see in the summer night? / Ten flashing fireflies burning bright! / Catch the one twinkling there / Like a star. (next page) One flashing firefly in our jar."

The text rhymes, but changes throughout the text a little. Each firefly is just a ball of bright yellow/white light.

I needed another flannel or activity to do in next week's pajama storytime (on, as you can guess.. fireflies), and I decided this would be the perfect fit.

I used Miss Alison's firefly as a template, scaling it down in Word to be the size I needed to get 10 of them to fit into my jar (drawn free hand from this inspiration).

Here's the final product:
I always have trouble guessing how big things are in pictures, so I put a standard 12 inch ruler next to it so you can get a sense of the size of the jar and bugs.

The fireflies are done on yellow felt with brown puffy paint wings and faces, and gold puffy paint butts :) (sorry for the blurry photo. They were all turning out this way and I was in a hurry)

Mollie over at What Happens in Storytime has a post talking about some work she and I have done to refine the organization of two categories of pins, Animals and Seasons over at the Flannel Friday Pinterest site. Leave us feedback through comments on our blogs, or on Facebook. We're anxious to see what you think!

I'm finally doing it. I'm making a Flannel Friday post.

I've been a part of this community as a reader and advocate since the beginning. But I've never been able to pull off actually posting anything. I'm not sure how frequent a poster I will be, but some of the conversations I've been having with fellow Flannel Fridayers recently have convinced me that I should at least make an effort, because I'm invested in the professional development of other people. If I look over my storytime and music & movement class plans, hardly one has gone by this year where I haven't used something I learned about through Flannel Friday or a member of the Flannel Friday community. It's only fair that I share too, right? Plus, I am really excited about some of the things I am doing, especially the music and movement classes.

So without further ado, I present What Will We See in Outer Space. I discovered this in the flannel board sets left by the previous children's librarian upon her retirement. As such, I'm not sure who to credit for the rhyme... she didn't indicate anything on her note card. If you know... let me know so I can source it!

If you care to sing, this works to the tune of  "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush"

What will we see in outer space, outer space, outer space,
What will we see in outer space, away up in the sky?

We'll see some tiny twinkling stars...


We'll see the moon with a smiling face...

We'll see a moon rock on the moon...

We'll see a rocket ship flying by...

We'll see a planet that spins around...

We'll see a martian with just one eye...

I used this in a space-themed music and movement class this spring.

Flannel Friday is hosted this week by Linda at Notes from the Story Room this week. Check her site to see the full round-up!