Catch the Possibilities

I really can't take any credit for this week's Flannel Friday. But in case some of you are newer members of the group and didn't get to see this idea when Melissa posted it originally... check out her 5 Little Nails post, which links to where she explains how to make this style of prop on her blog.

I emailed her posts to one of our information assistants who's got a great eye for paper engineering (she's an origami guru too!) and asked her if she'd be willing to monkey around with this idea. I've talked a bunch about different projects I've created using cardboard I saved from the boxes our rolls of RFID tags came in, and this is no exception. The tubes used in the boxes are wider and a bit shorter than a paper towel tube, but it worked just fine.


I had the kids make a fist with one hand and pound it into the palm of the other as I twisted the nail around during the rhyme. They got really excited about that.

Books:




ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)

In all honesty, I never actually did this Letter L storytime. We had some bad weather, so I read a few llama books to keep us on schedule to end at the right time, but mostly just re-did the Letter K storytime from the previous week.

Books:


ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)

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!

Books:
Mountain of Mittens didn't come in on time, so we just read the first two. I would normally have picked a different book to sub, but I was out Wed-Monday with a pair of sprained ankles!



ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) [Just ran out of time today!]

Books:




ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) [Just ran out of time today!]

Books:
We read all the books today! Yay!




ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) [Just ran out of time today!]

Books:
We read all the books today! Yay!




ECRR2 Activities:

• Put Talk about letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing Talking & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) There were 40 people at storytime today. Not enough boards to cover that!

Books:
Didn't have time to get to Five.



ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) 

Books:
Actually read all the books today... yay!



ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) 
• Identify which parts of our bodies start with the letter E (Talking)

Books:
We didn't have time to read the Mo Willems one.



ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing)
• Put together the letter puzzle flannel (Storytime Katie) (Playing & Talking) The first letter puzzle didn't go over well, so I didn't make one for this week
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing)

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

Started off today wearing a Conductor's hat I found on clearance for $1 in the party aisle at Target, and bringing out the Choo Choo Train Whistle (yes, it actually says that on the side). Even though we weren't going to talk about Trains, since our letter of the day was C, I've been itching to bust out the train whistle!

Books:
Actually read all the books today... yay!



ECRR2 Activities:

• Put letters on the Chicka Chicka tree; sing ABCs (Playing & Singing) [There were more kids than letters (we are missing several) so instead of handing out letters, I just held up the tree with the letters on it and sang the song]
• Pull letters out of the Alphabet Soup pot, practice matching them to the letter of the day (Playing & Talking) Miss Amy had the pot this time, but with the large amount of kids, I elected not to try this today
• Letter writing practice with the dry erase boards (Writing) Some kids requested we try this, but I knew I didn't have enough boards for everyone, even after adding to my stash after last week. Will be making yet another trip to the dollar store for more!