Five Elephants in the Bathtub

(updated to change photo 12/10/15)

I don't know how I had never come across this chant in my 20+ years of being a preschool teacher, but somehow I only discovered this little cutie a few months ago.  I used clip art as inspiration for my free-handed elephants and bathtub, and used the collage technique

From the very first time we did this, the kids really loved it when the elephants come tumbling down from the board, so I quickly made them their own set to use in the Book Corner.  (Though I love the feel of the felt pieces, they would not stand up to as much (ab)use as the kids would put them through.) To do this I scan the pieces, print them out on card stock, laminate them and put velcro on the back of each piece.  The back of one of our shelves in the Book Corner is covered in Veltex, so the kids can use regular felt/flannel or velcro pieces on it.  We have also made 4 small Veltex covered boards that the kids can use on the floor, in their laps or on a table.  I use this method as often as possible so the kids can re-tell their favorite stories.  It is so amazing to hear them reciting the words to chants, songs and stories they've only heard a couple of times...  I'll do a post some day on the envelopes we use to store the children's versions of our flannel board stories.

Anyway!  Here's a link to the chant: Five Elephants  Thank goodness for JBrary!