Shape Matching

One of the challenges of presenting a family storytime is engaging multiple ages - not just children but parents and grandparents as well. To go along with the "Fizz, Boom, Read" summer reading theme, I am planning a "Shapes" program. I am planning activities that we can do using the magnet board. One will be a shape matching game. However, it will include increasing levels of difficulty.

We will start out with the basic shapes:

Then it will get a little bit more difficult:

Then it will get even more difficult:

We may even try some like these:

The photos above are just examples. There will be many more shapes in each group to choose from so it will not be as easy as it looks.

My groups have been very good at guessing and figuring things out. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do with the shape challenge. I will also reuse some of the shapes to play a "Which Shape is Missing?" game. To increase the level of difficulty, I will add more shapes after each correct guess. I also plan to make a "Shapes" memory game.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Anne of Itsybitsymom. The Flannel Friday blog has everything you need to know about this great storytime resource.

Guess the Animals as the Snow Melts

Use card stock and clip art to create a simple scene (or draw it if you wish). Put the animals in size order with the smallest on top and the largest on the bottom. I used a mouse, squirrel, raccoon, fox and bear. Cover the scene with white card stock or heavy white paper to represent the snow. As it "melts," slide the white piece down to reveal the top of the animal and have the children guess. Slowly reveal more of the animal to help them guess. Continue sliding the piece down to reveal each animal.

I painted the background using poster paints. Markers streak too much when covering a large surface, I did use markers to color the animals. In order to make the background long enough to fit the animals I taped a smaller piece of card stock to the bottom. That is the "grass." I also trimmed the sides so that the "snow" could fit around it. The piece is about 17 inches long and 7.5 inches wide.

The photo above shows the "snow" that fits over the animal scene. Yes, I did add some glitter glue to make it sparkle. This piece is made up of two pieces of card stock glued together. The sides are folded over. The photo below shows the pieces together from the back.

The animals as they are revealed when the snow melts:

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Kathryn of Fun with Friends at Storytime. For complete information go to the Flannel Friday blog.

Baby Penguin

Although it is not an original idea, I decided to post a version of a popular and easily adaptable flannel board game. The theme for January's family story time is "Penguins!" I found the baby penguin clip art in Microsoft Publisher's clip art file and wanted to use the little guy because he is so cute. Since the pieces are easy to make and many others will be doing winter programs, I thought that I would share what I am making for our magnet board.

I printed out the baby penguin and drew five roughly identical icebergs. (Iceberg clip art could also be used.) I numbered each iceberg. The figures shown below have yet to be cut out. I will put blue paper behind the icebergs so that the penguin will not show through the iceberg it is hiding behind. (If you are using felt or heavier paper this might not be a problem.)

The rhyme I will be using is:

Baby penguin, baby penguin,
Where did you hide?
Did you go behind iceberg 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

We have not played a hidden object game in family story time since the summer so I think the children will enjoy it.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Courtney of Miss Courtney Meets Bobo. Everything you want to know about Flannel Friday can be found here.

Whose Tail? - A Guessing Game

Inspired by a recent addition to my library's non-fiction collection, Talented Tails Up Close by Melissa Stewart (Enslow, 2012), I created a guessing game activity for my upcoming Family Story Time program, "Tail Tales."

This project took a bit of time to research but was easy to put together. First I selected the animals I wanted to include, then I searched free clip art sites for images. I also used some from Microsoft Publisher. The challenge was to find images that clearly featured each animal's tail. I used Publisher to enlarge the images and to crop, enlarge and copy the tails. I printed the image, outlined each animal in black marker, cut it out and pasted it on a page that had the animal's name printed on top. I printed each tail, outlined it in black marker, cut it out, and pasted it to a page that had "Whose Tail?" printed on top. The tail "question" pages were pasted onto neon green construction paper and the animal "answer" pages were pasted onto purple construction paper. This not only adds a bit of color but also helps me know which is a question and which is an answer.

On the back of the answer pages I listed some facts about each tail. Since some of the tails will be more difficult to guess, I will use these facts as clues. For those that are guessed right away, the facts will explain why the tail is unique.

I selected nine animals for this activity: kangaroo, giraffe, squirrel, blue tail skink (lizard will be a correct answer), spider monkey ( monkey will be a correct answer), blue whale, beaver, rattlesnake, and peacock.

This game can be simplified for younger children. I would choose five well-known animals and make flannel/magnet board pieces of the animals and their tails. Since my group has older children and adults, I decided to do a more challenging version. This guessing game is also one I can use for elementary school class visits.

This week's Flannel Friday Roundup is hosted by Anna of the Future Librarian Superhero blog. Everything you ever wanted to know about Flannel Friday can be found on the Flannel Friday blog.

Inspiration for Summer Storytimes

Flannel Friday is probably my main source of storytime ideas now. I finally got to use the "Alphabet Soup" idea. I used the rhyme from In the Children's Room. Thank you Lucy and all the other Flannel Friday bloggers who showed how versatile this activity is. It was a great hit with at my latest Family Story Time and I will definitely be using it again.

I found clip art in Microsoft Publisher that I liked, enlarged it, added the letters, printed it and had it laminated, and then cut the pieces out. Since we use a magnet board, I added magnets to the back of each piece. I used a black plastic pot for the "soup." For very little time and effort, I had an activity enjoyed by all ages. (I think I will use this concept as a "letter scramble" game for future class visits.)

While I was looking for ideas in the CSLP manual, I came across a small section that mentioned two games I could adapt for the current theme. "Find the Moon" and "Finish the Pattern" (Dream Big Read! 2012 Collaborative Summer Library Program Manual, Chapter 4 - "Night, Night," pp. 126 - 126). I have used variations of both before but this reminded me that I could do them for this summer's theme.

I used "Find the Moon" for a recent Family Story Time but did not have time for "Finish the Pattern." I plan to use it in my upcoming Pajama Story Time.

"Find the Moon"

(Of course I added glitter glue to my moon.)

"Finish the Pattern"

(I used a highlighter to make the stars glow and a metallic marker to make the moons shine.)

This week's Flannel Friday is being hosted by Katie of Storytime Katie.

Playing with Patterns

While catching up on my backlog of PUBYAC digests, I came across a reference to some Native American games.  One of the games mentioned was "Pebble Patterns."  Similar to "Memory" this game requires players to remember and then recreate a pattern made from pebbles.  This inspired me to make a similar game for my upcoming family story time. 

Using Microsoft Publisher, I made a circle (3 1/2 inches in diameter) and copied it 9 times so that I had two pages with 5 circles on each.  I then inserted clip art from Publisher into each circle.  After printing them, I outlined each circle in black to make it stand out against the white board that I use.

I use a magnet board so I will paste the circles on sturdier paper, cut them out and add magnets.  (Felt, interfacing or Velcro could be used for flannel boards.) 

I will place the circles on the board in a simple pattern then remove them.  I will probably start with three or four in a straight line.  I will add circles until they remember all 10.  Then I will arrange the circles in different patterns to see if the children can remember which circle goes where.  Since I will need to remember them, I plan to write down the patterns I will be using and have that information nearby.

What I like about this concept is that it can be simple or complex.  The circles can contain any image or pattern you want to use.  They can even be simply colored circles so that it can be played with young children.  One could make three of each color and then make color patterns (e.g. one red, two blue, two red, one blue).  Older children could even make their own sets of circles to play the game. 

Katie is hosting this week's Flannel Friday on her blog Story Time Secrets.

Variations on a Game

Summer programs are winding down and planning has started for fall.

One of the most popular flannel board activities for toddlers and preschoolers is "Little Mouse, Little Mouse."  Unfortunately I did not write the source on my copy but numerous variations can be found online.  (I tend to think I won't forget something and I always do.)  Years ago I did my own version called "A Daisy for Maisy" which I used for spring:

A daisy for Maisy,

Where can it be?

Behind the rock, the bush,

The house or the tree?

I drew a very simple house, rock, bush and tree.  Maisy can be found in coloring sheets online.  Draw a simple daisy but make sure it is smaller than the objects it will hide behind.  I drew on craft pellon but simple objects can be made from felt as well.  I made a laminated paper version for my current library since we use a magnet board for our storytelling.  Hide the daisy and have the children guess where it is.  Do this a few times to give them more chances to get it right.  Often once they get the hang of it, I will hide it in the same place twice.  They rarely catch on.  With the "Little Mouse" version of this game, I will hide the mouse under the houses of the least popular colors (usually brown or orange) and avoid the most picked colors (usually purple, red and blue.)  Every once in a while I have a child who figures it out.

Now that fall is coming I have made a version featuring a squirrel:

Squirrel Found a Pretty Leaf

(A Flannel Board Rhyme for Finding a Hidden Object)

Squirrel found a pretty leaf,

But the wind blew it away.

Let’s help Squirrel find it

And then we all can play.

This rhyme does not limit the number or kinds of objects so that anything can be used.  As long as there is a squirrel and a leaf, the other objects can be logical (rock, log, bush, flower) or silly (beach ball, dinosaur, snake, hot dog).  More objects can be added for older children.

Squirrel figures (logical):

Memory: A "Board" Game

One spring I was invited by an elementary school librarian to come talk about the public library's summer reading program.  Since I didn't want to just talk about upcoming library activities, I told a humorous story relating to the theme with stick puppets.  I also made a memory game using clip art from the summer reading  program manual.  I put the pieces on the flannel board and talked about the summer reading program and then I took the pieces off.  I then asked the students if they could remember what was on the board.  The students really enjoyed the game so I decided to use it to promote summer reading with other groups as well.

Every spring and fall our library has second graders visit.  I use the memory game every spring to promote the library's upcoming summer reading program.  The more items on the board, the more the children have to remember and the more difficult the game becomes.  This makes it a good game to use with various age groups since there can be fewer pieces for the younger children to remember while more can be added to challenge older children.  Another way to make it a challenge is to not mention the pieces at all while talking about summer programs.  Talking about the pieces makes it easier for the children to recall what was on the board.  Again, how it is presented would depend on the age of the group.  Sometimes I give hints as well.  It's fun to see the children get excited and work to get all the pieces back on the board.  It's also interesting to see that there are always one or two particular pieces that all of the classes have trouble remembering.

Because the summer theme changes from year to year, I usually do not make elaborate pieces for our board.  I copy and color clip art and then I glue it onto a slightly larger colorful piece of construction paper for a backing.  Since we have a magnet board I add magnets.  When I had a flannel board I glued pieces of craft interfacing to the back.  Scrap pieces of flannel would work just as well.  I use this method often when I need to make story pieces quickly. 

Of course the memory game can be used as part of a storytime program.  What I like best is the fact that it is a game that can be used with and adapted for various age groups and that it works well on a flannel or magnet board.

Below is an example of a quick and easy story piece - clip art glued onto construction paper.