Christmas Play Felt Board Set

I've had a lot of fun creating some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate (like Diwali, and Kwanzaa, and Ramadan, and Hanukkah!) (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for those sets.)  I'm really happy to be able to share those, as I think it's pretty important to expose kids to various cultures. And to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)  

For the most part, I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand most easily. So the concepts are generally about simple traditions vs. religious themes.  

I also want my sets to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.  






And today I'm sharing my Christmas set!  This one was primarily created for kids to play with independently at home (or in a classroom or library setting).  I've got a couple of other Christmas storytime sets already, and I was thinking more about independent play when I built this cutie  But as you see from the songs below, it can certainly be used at story time as well!

The Lights on the Tree 

As you sing each verse, place the pieces on the board.

 

The lights on the tree go sparkle, sparkle, sparkle, (twinkle fingers) 

sparkle, sparkle, sparkle; sparkle, sparkle, sparkle 

The lights on the tree go sparkle, sparkle, sparkle… 

On Christmas day! 

 

The cookies left for Santa are yummy, yummy, yummy (rub tummy) 

The stockings hung with care are red and green (point at each as you sing the color)

The Christmas pajamas we wear are cozy and warm (put the jammies on the kids and hug yourself)

The presents under the tree have bows and ribbon (place the ribbons on the gifts)

The candy canes in the stockings are sticky and sweet (put the candy canes in the stockings)

 

 

Ornament Hide and Seek

Arrange your pieces on the board as you’d like them, naming them with the children.  Have the children cover their eyes, or turn the board around, or take the pieces off and sneakily put one of the felt tree ornaments under one of them as you replace them on the board.   Then, perform your chant: 

 

Ornament, ornament, you fell off the tree!

Are you behind the ___________?  Let’s look and see!

Hanukkah Play and Storytime Set

I thought it would be fun to create some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate (like Diwali, and Kwanzaa, and Ramadan!) (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for these sets.)  I'm so happy to be able to share these, as I think it's so important to expose kids to various cultures, and to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)  

I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand most easily, so the concepts are generally about simple traditions vs. religious themes.  

I also want them to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.  

So up today is Hanukkah.  This particular set was originally created for kids to play with independently--but then I realized it's completely usable at story time, too! I made up some super simple songs to go with the set--Hanukkah vocabulary and concepts are sprinkled within, and the tunes are familiar so everyone will have an easy time joining in.


It is Hanukkah  © Wendy Gerbi

To the tune of Frere Jacques.  Explain the concept of call and response if the kids aren’t familiar with it.  You can set up your pieces on the board ahead of time or place them on as you sing about them.  Do what works for you—having the kids help place the pieces on the board is the most fun 😊

It is Hanukkah, it is Hanukkah

The festival of lights, the festival of lights!

The shamash lights the candles, the shamash lights the candles.

Shining bright, shining bright!

 

It is Hanukkah, it is Hanukkah

The festival of lights, the festival of lights!

Fry potato latkes, fry potato latkes,

Eat them up, eat them up!

 

It is Hanukkah, it is Hanukkah

The festival of lights, the festival of lights!

Spin the little dreidels, spin the little dreidels,

Watch them fall, watch them fall!

 

It is Hanukkah, it is Hanukkah

The festival of lights, the festival of lights!

Fry the sufganiyot, fry the sufganiyot,

Cherries on top, cherries on top!


 

Hanukkah is Here

to the tune of Farmer in the Dell

As you sing about each felt piece, place it on the board.

 

Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Light the candles in the menorah,

Hanukkah is here!


Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Fry the latkes in the pan,

Hanukkah is here!

 

Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Spin the dreidels and watch them fall,

Hanukkah is here!

 

Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Chocolate gelt for all the kids,

Hanukkah is here!

 

Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Icing and cherries on our doughnuts,

Hanukkah is here!

 

Hanukkah is here, Hanukkah is here,

Celebrate with friends and family,

Hanukkah is here!






Five Little Friends Went Out Today

 

Five little friends went out today...out on the playground where they like to play!


Why is it still so hard to find classroom materials that are representative of various cultures, skin tones and abilities?  I'm doing my part to take care of that problem!  And now my All Together friends are going out to play on the playground together :)  

It's to hard to learn all the tunes, so I like to re-use familiar tunes and rhymes as much as possible.  Kids and educators benefit from this--we can all join in more easily :)

Here's the video of Five Little Friends Went Out Today--enjoy!



Wild Animal Count Up

 Counting Animals

I've often referred to this collection of cuties as jungle animals, but I've seen the error of my ways and will henceforth be referring to them as Wild :) Upcoming videos will even mention their various habitats, like the savannah, plains, rainforests, etc....



In this counting rhyme I've included some related vocabulary like roar, swing, stomp, snap and dive.  Let's keep things simple, right?  We name our animals, we count, we name our numbers...  Of course you can make this longer by pointing out various features of the animals, like colors, body parts, habitats, etc.  

But sometimes you just need something short and sweet, and I think this short counting rhyme fits the bill.  I hope you and the kids enjoy it!

 


Looking for more circle time and storytime fun?  More videos are right here!


Elephant in a Hole

Elephant in a Hole

Many moons ago I made a printed, laminated version of this story.  But I recently realized that my Wild Animal set would work perfectly with this tale, too.  AND, with the upcoming Summer Reading Program theme of All Together Now, I thought friends helping friends would be quite fitting as well :)  So, off we go!


As you'll see in the video, size doesn't matter.  Often these cumulative stories have the smallest animal/character come last to help, and lo and behold, that's the one that saves the day.  But if you know me, you know I like to mix things up.  So in my version, it really doesn't matter who comes first, last, or in between.  It's all about working together to help each other.
Enjoy!



Cumulative Story: Kite Stuck in a Tree

A little bird told me that the summer reading program this year is All Together Now.  I thought it would be nice to have a group of sweet felt friends all work together to solve a problem.  And that's how this little felt set was born :) 

Here they are:


And rather than write out the whole kite story here, I'll just show it to you on video :)  

Just click those cuties below to watch.




I've not got the videos up yet, but I'll also use these friends in a few more circle time activities, coming soon:

Kind Friend Count Up
Five Little Friends Went Out Today
Little Kite Hide and Seek

By the way, if you liked this video story, I've also got  a Halloween version of the Enormous Turnip!