Flannel Board Fun: 2016

The Three Little Pigs

Okay, it's time for a good old fashioned felt board story. Not a rhyme. Not a song. Not a game. A story! And for that, simple is best:

I decided not to go for many details on the houses. No fabric paint at all! I didn't want to have any pieces other than the main characters and their humble abodes. Easy peasy. My only problem is that my wolf is not a baddy--he borders on cuter than the piggies!

When we tell stories in my classroom, we usually start out by telling it pretty much "by the book". Once the children become familiar with it, we retell it and mix it up a little. Sometimes we ask the children to name the characters... Sometimes we change the story line a little--maybe one of the pigs has a broken arm like one of the kids in the class, and needs help from his brother-- or bring a character from another story into the mix. Goldilocks has made an appearance in this story, for example. She was just passing through the woods... We might change the ending depending on the mood of the kids (or teachers). There are lots of ways to use these simple pieces to encourage imagination, build vocabulary, and just generally have fun and inspire a love of reading!

Or click below to get the pattern for these cuties!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Kate at Felt Board Magic! Please also check out the Flannel Friday Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest pages, which will give you tons of information and gazillions of ideas to spruce up your story times :)

Five Little Monkeys

Editing: It's come to my attention that The Five Little Monkeys has racist roots. For this reason, I no longer use, recommend, or sell this set in my shop. Here's some more information.

After I made this, I realized I already have another very similar set (which I've never used!) These monkeys are a bit smaller, and numbered... We are working on having more print numbers available for the children that represent quantity, so this will be a set that the teachers and children both have access to.

I based my cute little creatures on a Precious Patterns pattern. And though my bed looks a whole lot like the one in my other set, this one is actually from a clipart search. And my doctor's stethoscope is directly copied from my snowman doctor's...

Five in the Bed

I haven't had enough time to make my own bed in the morning lately, but in the past week I've made two felt beds! I love this one and the bears that go with it (both found through clip art searches). And Five in the Bed is one rhyme that I use every single year, probably every single month at least once... You can't go wrong with it :) Five Little Teddy Bears by Susan Pflug (1998) is also adorable.

Five Little Teddy Bears (1998 Susan Pflug)

Five little teddy bears sleeping in the bed,

Three at the foot and two at the head.

One little teddy said, “This bed is too full,”

So he grabbed the blanket and started to pull!

He pulled and he pulled and he pulled some more,

Until one little teddy went BOOM to the floor!

(Make pulling motions, and clap on BOOM)

(Count down until there's just...)

One little teddy bear sleeping in the bed,

Zero at the foot and one at the head.

This little teddy said, “This is not right!

I don’t want to sleep alone tonight!”

So…

One little teddy bear sleeping in the bed,

Zero at the foot and one at the head.

This teddy said, “This bed is not full!”

So he put out his paw and started to pull.

He pulled and he pulled and he pulled some more,

Until four little teddies climbed up from the floor!

Now...

Five little teddy bears sleeping in the bed,

None at the foot and five at the head.

One little teddy said, “This is JUST right!”

So five little teddy bears said, “Good Night!”

Five in the Bed

There were five in the bed and the little one said, “I’m crowded, roll over.”
So they all rolled over and one fell out...

Wheee….Boom!

(count down until…)
There was one in the bed and the little one said, “I’m lonely, come back now!”

So they all came back and they snuggled in tight,

There was not a sound and they said “Good night! Sleep tight! Don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

This set is for sale in my shop! I hope you'll visit me there...

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by me! You'll find the Roundup here. Please also check out the Flannel Friday Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest pages, which will give you tons of information and gazillions of ideas to spruce up your story times :)

Hanukkah Set

We don't really read a lot of Hanukkah or Christmas books in my classroom. Most of the books I've found that focus on those topics aren't really great in terms of quality literature. However, we do sing several Hanukkah songs, play with dreidels, and make latkes. We do similar Christmassy stuff, and I have a few Christmas sets for the children to play with. But as far as Hanukkah goes, we had nothing in felt.

So, now we do:

This set could be used on a felt table for individual use after a Hanukkah story time.

It could also be used just to help aid in having a conversation about Hanukkah.

You could pass out candles and flames and have the children come up and "light" the candles!

They can come up and put a latke in the frying pan to cook!

They can frost the sufganyot, and put the cherries on top!

You can talk about the symbols on the dreidels, pass them out, and see if they can remember what their symbol means (bring me your dreidel if you have the symbol that means "take all").

This set is for sale. Come visit my shop!.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Ah, a good old fashioned flannel board story... Goldilocks!

I love Byron Barton's version of this one, and was inspired by the simplicity in his illustrations. The bears and their "stuff" are color coordinated, so this can work as a matching set as well as a story-telling set.

You can buy this set right here.

Or if you're feeling crafty, click here for the pattern :)

Just as with my Three Piggies set, I start off by telling this story as originally intended. Later, as the children are more familiar with the characters and story line, I might change things up a bit. I also leave the pieces out for the children so they can use their own imagination and story-telling abilities!

Click below to see a video of Goldi and the bears in action:

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by me! You'll find the Roundup here.

Flannel Friday Holiday/Winter Extravaganza Roundup!

Here's this year's Winter/Holiday Extravaganza Roundup!

We have several fabulous contributions this week--check them all out:

Kate adorns a Christmas Tree with beautiful ornaments, stars, lights and more--and includes poems, rhymes and chants to go along with each!

Mollie shares a lovely, cozy set of winter wear in the gorgeous collage method--with two songs that will work perfectly with the pieces!

Jessica's Five Little Aliens will make you snort with laughter at some of the lyrics she's included--and she even shares her pattern!

I have three to share this week:

My first ever Hanukkah set, my most recent take on Five in the Bed, and finally Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Thanks to everyone for contributing! Next week Kate at Felt Board Magic will be hosting the roundup. Please also check out the Flannel Friday Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest pages, which will give you tons of information and gazillions of ideas to spruce up your story times :)

Thanks A Lot

Here's another one I made a year ago and never posted. I actually haven't used this yet, other than to bring the pieces out to show the kids. I need to download the Thanks A Lot song to go along with it, which I plan to do this weekend just in time to use it next week before Thanksgiving...

Anyway, pattern/idea/excellence is courtesy of Mel's Desk!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Keith at Felt-tastic Flannelboard Funtime. You can also find lots of information and ideas at the FF Blog, Facbook, or Pinterest pages!

Clip Art Mish Mosh

Sometimes there is just no time to get anything done. Cutting felt just takes a back seat. Or in my case, cutting felt for the classroom takes a back seat while cutting felt for a craft show takes over every other inch of my life :) Luckily I love it!

Anyway, before I discovered the joys of felt, I made a lot of flannel board sets using clip art. This is a great way to do it if you're short on time, lack cutting or artistic skills, or just aren't inclined to make felt board sets out of felt! My suggestions: print your pieces out on card stock, laminate them, and attach a piece of sticky velcro to the back. (You can buy a huge roll of it at Discount School Supply.) My flannel boards are covered in Veltex, which loves velcro and felt equally.

Here are several examples of old sets from my room.

Little Dinosaur (a variation on Little Mouse)

The Insects Outside

Hey Diddle Diddle

Three Little Fishies/ Boop Boop Ditty

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Keith at Felt-tastic Flannelboard Funtime. You can also find lots of information and ideas at the FF Blog, Facbook, or Pinterest pages!

Nervous Turkeys

I made this set a year or so ago, but didn't post it since it was such a total copy cat... However, I'm busy with preparing for an upcoming fair, so I haven't been making any new sets for the classroom. So, here's to posting old stuff!

Here's my version of Five Nervous Turkeys (which I just love, by the way!) I ripped it off of this genius version, and did just what he said to do in the comments section--printed out the images as a template for my pattern.

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Keith at Felt-tastic Flannelboard Funtime. You can also find lots of information and ideas at the FF Blog, Facbook, or Pinterest pages!

And hey! Come on over and visit my shop for lots of felt goodness!

Little Snail

I completely stole this idea from Rachel the Librarian, the local librarian who comes to our classroom on the first Wednesday of every month. Though she used a little clip art worm under her leaves (rather than the felt snail I'm using), it was her genius use of real leaves that grabbed my attention. Now granted, I will most likely make felt versions so this will be easy to do at any time (since the real leaves will dry out and crumble). But I just love the idea of using the real leaves so the kids are exposed to them (in more ways than just trudging through them on their sidewalks :) )

I used the baby snail from my Animal Pairs set.

You can do this rhyme using colors, shapes, and real leaf names:

Little snail, little snail, playing hide and seek

Are you under the __________ leaf?

Let's take a peek!

Here are more Little Mouse variations.

PS: Stick a little velcro dot to the back of the leaves to make them stick to the board. Or a little loop of tape will work, too...

My shop has a TON of other hide and seek felt sets!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Mollie at What Happens in Storytime.

Find all kinds of info at Flannel Friday's Blog, Facebook, or Pinterest!

Winter Friends Dress Up Set

I have officially mailed in my fee for an upcoming November Craft Fair! I did take part in a vendor fair at my preschool last spring, which inspired me to start my shop, but this is the first time I'm venturing out of my comfort zone to sell my sets in person, to strangers. I'm nervous, excited, and busy! I put together five of these sets last weekend, and hope some lovely families think they'll be perfect for their young children :) I will definitely be making a set for my classroom!

I think this would be a great table activity in a library following a story time on winter, penguins, owls, or any of the occupations/themes represented by the outfits...Some other ways to use this set:
Have the kids help you dress the critters! Pass out only one item from each outfit, and keep the coordinating items in your hand. Put the snowman on the board and put the hammer in his hand. "Uh oh, this worker has lost her hat! She only has a hammer! Does anyone have the hat for this construction worker?" You could also put all the accessories on one side of the board, and all the hats on the other side, and the kids can come up and make a match... Really, there are tons of ways to use a set like this--I hope you find some that work for you!

I've got lots of fun felt sets at my shop--come take a peek!

I'm hosting Flannel Friday this week! You can find the roundup here. Need more information about Flannel Friday? Visit the Blog and Facebook! Want a zillion more ideas? Check out Flannel Friday on Pinterest!

Flannel Friday October 28 Roundup!

*Welcome to the Flannel Friday Roundup for October 28th *

This little owl is ready for Halloween! I hope you're ready for the Flannel Friday Roundup!

Happy Flannel Friday everyone! We've got lots of flannel board sets to share this week--check them all out... (Since I'm posting early on Friday night, you can add links in the comments section through Saturday morning, and I'll add them as they come in!)

Kathryn (and her cohort Margaret) at Fun with Friends at Storytime collaborated to make a great rhyme and felt treasure chest that will be a sure hit at any Pirate themed story time! Love the interactive nature of this one...

Kathryn also shares a Little Mouse variation--a lovely moon and clouds set (which would pair well with a bedtime story time, or a sky theme, or a space theme....)

Feel like counting to five? Kate at Felt Board Magic has got you covered from Halloween to Christmas, from the jungle to the tropics, with Five Little Birds, Lions, Bats, and Christmas Trees!

I'm definitely making a copy of Shawn's Color Squirrels set at Read, Rhyme Sing! My kids this year LOVE squirrels, and they're going to go nuts over matching their acorns to these colorful guys :)

Feeling a little sorry for the Itsy Bitsy Spider? You're in good company with Keith at Felt-tastic Flannelboard Funtime, who shares what looks to be a not-so-itsy-bitsy kawaii felt spider--and a surprise guest appearance at the end of his post!

Finally, I made a set that could be used with a clothing/costume/winter story time; as an interactive set; or for independent use: Winter Friends Dress Up.

Thanks for all the contributions everyone--I love seeing everyone's ideas each week!

Next week Mollie from What Happens in Storytime is hosting!

Need more information about Flannel Friday? Visit the Blog and Facebook! Want a zillion more ideas? Check out Flannel Friday on Pinterest!

Ghosts

I wanted to add a few Halloween sets to my stash, and I don't have a ghost set. But I was just sort of uninspired by the clipart ghost selection I found... Enter Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde (and their un-named friend)! Perhaps you recognize them from an old video game...

I've got other ghosts too: right here :) and here!

I found the following poem at One Little Librarian (thanks Amy!)

This Little Ghost

This little ghost went trick or treating!

This little ghost stayed home.

This little ghost ate candy.

And this little ghost had none.

And this little ghost cried BOO! BOO! BOO! all the way home!

And I'll also use two of the ghosts for this one:

Two Little Ghosts

There were two little ghosts looking at you

One named Wheee and the other named BOO!

Fly away Wheee, Fly away Booo!

Come back Wheee, Come back Booo!

If you're a Halloween fan, I bet you'll love

my Halloween Playlist over on my YouTube channel!

Kathryn at Fun with Friends at Storytime is hosting the Flannel Friday Roundup this week, and you can find so many other flannel board ideas on Facebook, Pinterest, and the Flannel Friday blog!

Two Little Hoot Owls

I actually didn't intend to make these for my classroom. I was experimenting with combining fabric and felt, and trying to learn the blanket stitch (several mistakes!), and came up with these owls. I love them, and thought they'd work well in a variation of Two Little Blackbirds. I put a little velcro onto some craft sticks to turn them into puppets, and will be debuting these guys next week with my two-year-old class :)

These guys aren't currently for sale in my shop, but many of my other sets are!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Amy at Catch the Possibilities, and you can find so many other flannel board ideas on Facebook, Pinterest, and the Flannel Friday blog!

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Here we go again with a Judy Sierra nursery rhyme pattern, this time for One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. These simple rhymes combined with simple pieces are perfect for the beginning of the school year with my tiny two-year-olds--but I also can use them with my older kids. We love mixing the rhymes up, or changing the words--they have a great time correcting us :)

(One, two, buckle my...door?? NOOOOO!!!)

These guys aren't currently for sale at My Shop, but many of my other sets are!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Amy at Catch the Possibilities, and you can find so many other flannel board ideas on Facebook, Pinterest, and the Flannel Friday blog!

Old Mother Hubbard

This is another nursery rhyme using a pattern from Judy Sierra. So, so simple. I'm happy I'm building up a supply of simple sets to use with my younger kids...

These guys aren't currently for sale at my shop but many of my other sets are!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Amy at Catch the Possibilities, and you can find so many other flannel board ideas on Facebook, Pinterest, and the Flannel Friday blog!

Five Little Pumpkins

These things have been a life saver this year in my Two Year Old class! One of my little girls has been having a hard time with coming to school and being away from home for the first time. One morning when she was having a particularly tear-filled morning, I remembered her mom mentioning that she loved the book Five Little Pumpkins. I quickly pulled the book from it's spot in our musical books basket, and ran to the drawer full of finger puppets to nab these fellows. The minute she saw them, all was well! She carried at least one of the jack-o-lantern finger puppets around with her the rest of the morning, and we did the chant at least ten times that day!

Of course there are also the more traditional ways to use these :) I put them on when we're reading the book or just saying the chant. Sometimes we invite the children up and each child puts on a finger puppet (or holds a laminated, large pumpkin) and speaks their part of the chant. This one just never gets old :)

You can find lots of felt songs and stories like this in my shop!

Flannel Friday's Halloween Extravaganza is being hosted by Lisa at Thrive After Three!

You can find many more ideas on Pinterest, and learn more about Flannel Friday on Facebook or the FF blog!

It's a Costume!

I've been holding off on posting this till the Flannel Friday Halloween Extravaganza, so now's the time! I made this over a year ago, and if I were doing it now I would have copied the idea but not the exact pieces. It is adorable, but I wish I had made it my own instead of just plagiarizing...Oh, well!

This flannel board poem is definitely one of the most popular chants I've done with children! I love it because it addresses that "I'm a little worried about this whole costume thing" issue that some kids have at Halloween, and also because it is adorable. Sue at Library Village is responsible for both redeeming qualities! I copied and pasted her images, printed them out, and used them as my templates.

That's a Costume - by Miss Sue (with a few changes by me)

Over there I see a ghost! My, oh my, a scary ghost!!

Mom (or Dad, or The Grown Ups) says "Oh, it's all okay--it's just a costume! Take it away-

And you’ll see it’s your friend sheep, out on Halloween night!"

The children picked up on the poem immediately. They love it so much that I scanned my pieces, printed them out on card stock, laminated them and applied velcro to the animals. I showed the kids how to use them on table top flannel boards (since the costumes won't stick to the animals, the kid version doesn't work on the vertical flannel board they often like to use), and they use these constantly whenever we have them available.

Flannel Friday's Halloween Extravaganza is being hosted by Lisa at Thrive After Three!

You can find many more ideas on Pinterest, and learn more about Flannel Friday on Facebook or the FF blog!

Find more holiday felt goodies in my shop!

Halloween Finger Puppets

These adorable guys are based on patterns from PreciousPatterns on Etsy. Like my Christmas Finger Puppet Set, these Halloween creatures are not actually finger puppets--but they certainly can be made as puppets if that's what you want to do. I chose to save time and just glued them together instead. Children can use these to tell stories on a small felt board, or adults can use them to accompany songs or stories. I like the fact that they're all pretty cute, which can take away some of the spooky aspect of Halloween that isn't much fun for some of our littlest kids. (There was a skull pattern, and I chose not to use it.)