Hey Diddle Diddle Felt Board Set: Brown Bear Version

If you're like me, you like simple things.  

Simple songs.  

Simple rhymes.

Frequent repetition so things are...simpler!

And if you're like me, you're also very familiar with the following three things:

1.  Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat & the Fiddle

2.  Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See

3.  Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

And if you're like me in one last way, you like to mix things up.

If you fit the bill, you're going to love this one.  I've combined all three of those fabulous simple things into one fabulous simple felt board activity.

Let's keep this simple--here's the video :)  Enjoy!

Little Bo Peep Hide & Seek: A Little Mouse Variation

I love using one felt board set to accomplish many things.  

In this case, it's my Hey Diddle Diddle set, which I've written about before right here.  

Nursery rhymes are wonderful ways to build early literacy skills like rhyming and vocabulary.  Plus, they're comforting in their familiarity and they're often a little bit silly.  Silly means fun, and fun means kids are engaged.  Winning.

In that post, I mentioned my little laminated Bo Peep.  

Hiding her behind one of the felt characters and trying to find her while chanting a wee rhyme is such a fun way to get the kids involved.  

And now I've got a video of this activity!  

So much easier to just show you how it works instead of trying to explain it!  But in case you need to copy and print the chant, here it is:

Bo Peep, Bo Peep, playing hide and seek...

Are you behind the orange cat?

Let's take a peek!

OR 

Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and we've lost HER somewhere!

Is she behind the brown fiddle?  Let's look under there!

Down at The Bus Stop (video!)

Need a fun song using animals and a bus?  Well, here you go!  (I used my Hickory Dickory Dock set for this one.  You can see my other post about it right here.)

This bus and animal version of Down by the Station is counting and animal vocabulary fun.  Plus there's naming of movements and speeds and other fun early math and literacy stuff tucked in there--your toddler and preschool kids will love this one.  

And you could of course invite them to perform the movements of the animals with their hands or with their whole bodies...

Click the picture below to watch the video :)

Want some books to go along with this song?  How about some of these...

The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom

Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand

School Bus by Donald Crews

Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Hey Diddle Diddle Remix--Video!

You may have read about my Hey Diddle Diddle set before--I wrote about it here.  But I didn't have a video using the set until right this very minute :)  So...here it is!  Classic Nursery Rhyme fun--but with a twist!  

Let's get all mixed up (click the picture to watch the video!) 

Hickory Dickory Dock--Ocean Style!

Hickory Dickory Dock, the fish swam up the clock!  Here's a fun way to combine an old classic nursery rhyme with ocean critters.  

You can see my Hickory Dickory post here, set for sale here, and original video here.  My Ocean Set post is here, the felt set for sale is here, and there are a bunch of Ocean videos here.

Hey Diddle Diddle Felt Board Set

 It's time for another nursery rhyme.  Because they're classic.  Because they're fun.  Because I love the simplicity of a good nursery rhyme, and the absolute lack of making any sense.  It's fun!

I do have another version of Hey Diddle Diddle.  But I copied those pieces from images online, and I wanted to make my own adorable set!  So...I did :)  And here it is:

I will of course use my Hey Diddle Diddle Re-mix with this set, as well.  It's tooooo fun!  The kids love getting things all mixed up!

Hey diddle diddle, the COW and the SPOON, 

The CAT jumped over the DISH!
The little MOON laughed to see such sport, 

and the DOG ran away with the FIDDLE!

Whaaat?  That's not right... Let's try again!

(over.and.over.and.over.)

June 2022, editing to add the video:

And I needed a cute nursery rhyme character to hide under those cuties, so I drew a Little Bo Peep, printed her out, and laminated her.  

She's going to love hiding, and the kids are going to love trying to find her!

Bo Peep, Bo Peep, playing hide and seek...

Are you behind the orange cat?

Let's take a peek!

OR 

Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and we've lost HER somewhere!

Is she behind the brown fiddle?  Let's look under there!

These guys will also perfect for a Hey Diddle Diddle version of the Brown Bear concept.

Here's to nursery rhymes!  

Oh hey, by the way...  If you like rhymes for kids, check out a ton of them 

right here on my YouTube channel!

Hickory Dickory Dock Felt Board Set

 

Oh, I love a classic nursery rhyme!  (I think I might be an old fashioned, low-tech kind of girl.)

I had an older version of Hickory Dickory Dock, with a mouse.  And a clock.  But a one use set wasn't cutting it.  It was just a little too simple (although I do think simple is a good, good thing!)

So how to mix it up, but keep it simple, right?

Enter the mouse, the clock...and some friends!

Now, going up the clock isn't just for mice!  

Let's JUMP up the clock!  

Let's CRAWL slooowwwwly up the clock!  

Let's RUN up the clock!  

And hey--we can give clues to the kids and have them guess which animal is going next...

"I'm thinking of a tiny critter who has a shell and moves very slowly..." 

"Lets find an animal that jumps AND has a pouch for their baby..."

"This animal moves quickly, and can be a pet at your house..."

Here's a video of one way to use these friends:

Now, I also printed out a little clock, because why not have a Hickory Dickory version of the Little Mouse game?  It's always a winner, right?!

Tick tock, tick tock, the clock is hiding somewhere..

Is it beneath the green frog?  Let's check under there!

Hey Diddle Diddle Video!

Finally got around to making a video of this Hey Diddle Diddle set!  

You can check out my original post about this set right here.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

I love nursery rhymes, and they provide so many early literacy skills (singing with kids helps them hear the sounds in words; rhyming helps with phonological awareness; rhythm helps with understanding syllables!)  It's fun to just share them with children while you're playing, talking, and reading--and sometimes during a story or group time they need a visual to hold their attention.  Enter Mary and her little lamb (and everyone else pictured, of course :) )

Here's the rhyme to go with this set:

Mary had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rule!
It made the children laugh and play
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned him out
Turned him out, turned him out
And so the teacher turned him out
But still he lingered near...
And waited patiently about
Patiently about, patiently about
And waited patiently about
Til Mary did appear.

Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go!

How about a few books to go along with this set, in case you're doing a lamb, spring, or farm story time...





And here's my Pinterest board on Farm Books!

And don't forget to check out Flannel Friday's Pinterest Boards and Tumbler Page for a zillion flannel board ideas!

Jack and Jill

My goal this year is to post a new set weekly!  I'm not off to a great start, but hopefully Jack and Jill will be the start of good things for 2018...  Here they are, ready to be shared at a baby, toddler, or preschool story time.  I love good old fashioned nursery rhymes, and this was a fun one to make.

I'm thinking most people already know the rhyme, but just in case...

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down, 

And broke his crown, 

and Jill came tumbling after!

If you have a bucket in your possession, this is a fun one to act out, too!  Paper crowns are a quick accessory to add.  A towel or blanket on the floor can be the hill...

This is a nice one to add if you're doing a nursery rhyme story time, or just need something fast and quick between stories.

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Jessica!  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 :)

And I hope you'll come take a look at my other sets at my shop, right here:  Flannel Board Fun :)

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!

Hickory Dickory Dock

Phew!  Busy week... So: simple, simple, simple flannel for me this week...

What's simpler than Hickory Dickory Dock?  Especially when Judy Sierra provides a ready to print pattern??  I am pretty sure I downloaded her Favorite Flannel Board Stories free at some point last year, but now I can't find a link to share.  Her patterns are basic and remind me of the 1980s for some reason, but I like them enough to use them when I'm short on time.

So there's the mouse going up, and there he is going down...  Not much else to say!

That set isn't for sale, but check out many more in my shop!

Flannel Friday is being hosted by your's truly this week--the roundup is here.

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

Little Miss Muffet

I've been enjoying going back to the basics with nursery rhymes lately, so this week I made the pieces to go along with Little Miss Muffet.  We do have an older laminated card stock version that looks like it dates back to the 80s, but I like this sweet little girl, her cute spider friend, and her fancy tuffet quite a bit more :)  Her socks are looking pretty scruffy, but they'll do!

This set isn't for sale in my shop, but many of my other sets are!

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on her tuffet

Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider 

And sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away!

It's always fun to make Miss M run away and hide!  This is also a good one to act out if you have a small group of kids.

Flannel Friday is being hosted by Laura at Library Lalaland! and of course you'll find lots of other ideas at Flannel Friday's blog or Pinterest page.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Well, I looked up the meaning behind the lyrics to this one, and I just won't share that with the kids :)  No need to terrorize two- and three-year-olds, I always say...  I'll just pretend it's about a little girl growing some lovely flowers.

I'm enjoying making these simple nursery rhymes into flannel sets.  I tend to have more sets that work with my older group, but these can be used with all ages.

I'm very disappointed in my cockleshells--the fabric paint is just a mess, and doesn't give the look I was going for at all.  But, the kids won't care so I'll deal with it.  From far away it's not terrible, and I think Mary and the Pretty Maids make up for it :)

This particular set isn't available for purchase yet, but please stop by my shop where you'll find lots of my flannels for sale!

Shop Flannel Board Fun!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Jen at Adventures in Storytime.  You can find a huge assortment of ideas at Flannel Friday's Pinterest Board, and other goodies at the Flannel Friday Facebook Page and  FF blog.

Hey Diddle Diddle

This is going to be a super quick post!  Just hoping to make it in on time for Flannel Friday!

I'm planning to do a series of good old nursery rhymes--so here's Hey Diddle Diddle (with pieces unglued and fabric paint still wet!  Forgive the messy fiddle--I will likely be redoing him!):

Editing to add a link to a video of these cuties in action!

Flannel Friday is being hosted this week by Kate at Felt Board Magic.  You can find a huge assortment of ideas at Flannel Friday's Pinterest Board, and other goodies at the Flannel Friday Facebook Page and  FF blog.

A non-copied, designed-by-me Hey Diddle Diddle set awaits you in my shop :)

This Little Jungle Critter...

Okay, so really some of these are sub-Saharan critters.  Lions, zebras and giraffes don't live in jungles, right?  Monkeys do...and crocodiles, and jungle elephants.  But anyway, on with the rhyme!

 I realize my giraffe is missing some important parts!  They're going on tomorrow :)

You can read the background story below if you're interested, but if not, let's just cut to the chase!

Choose five of your animals and line 'em up.  Put your sub-Saharan scene a bit away from your animals, and commence your chant:

This little monkey went to market.

This little lion stayed home.

This little zebra ate grass.

And this little elephant ate none.

And this little crocodile went 

"snap snap snap snap!" 

all the way home!

Move the crocodile to the picture as you're saying the last few lines, then move him back to the front of the line of animals and start over.  Always put your returning animal at the front of the line, so that the next time you do the rhyme you'll have a new animal at the end of the line--that's the one that goes "all the way home".  

You can really use this rhyme with any set of five animals--farm, zoo, jungle, pets, etc.  You could do it with bugs, even.  And sea creatures! Just make sure you know what everyone eats and what noise or movement they make before you get started :)

A new version of this set is available in my shop!

The Flannel Friday roundup is being hosted this week by Kate at Felt Board Magic!  You'll also find other Flannel Friday goodies at Pinterest, Facebook, and the FF blog--check them out!

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Background Story: A few weeks ago I was playing with one of my two year olds with these sorting farm animals:

  

We were lining them up, building homes for them, making them slide down ramps, and just generally having a good old time with them.  (They are great, and most sorting toys are too small for below age three, so I especially love these guys!) At one point I started doing the This Little Piggy rhyme, but the row of animals I was pointing at had only one piggy, so I substituted the other animals names and sounds, and did the rhyme that way.  It was a hit--I had to do it at least 17 times before I was allowed to play anywhere else!

Yesterday when I pulled out my Herman the Worm flannel board story, I recalled the hacked version of This Little Piggy rhyme and tried it with the Herman and his friends.  It worked, and I decided I wanted a set to devote to it.  I went for jungle animals because there are already so many farm songs and poems swimming around in my head, and I wanted to change things up a bit.