Birthday Cake Draw and Tell Story

Although the official celebration of Flannel Friday's 2nd birthday was last week, I have another birthday contribution.

Birthday Cake Draw and Tell Story

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

March 21, 2013

Even though it was raining outside (Draw 1), it was bright and cheery inside Mike's house.  The family was getting ready for his little sister Katie's birthday party. Mike was helping. He put plates on the table. (Draw 2) Then he put a fork on one side and a spoon on the other side of each plate. (Draw 3) He helped his dad hang colorful streamers over the table. (Draw 4) He put two presents for his sister on the table. One was from him and the other was from his mom and dad. (Draw 5) Mike checked all around to make sure that everything was ready for the party. (Draw 6) Mike smiled a big smile. (Draw 7) Now it was time for the party to start and he couldn't wait to have some yummy BIRTHDAY CAKE!

Drawing sequence:

1. Draw candle flames

2. Draw the top of the cake (be sure to leave room for the candles)

3. Draw the sides of the cake

4. Draw the decoration on the cake

5. Draw the candles and add the stripes

6. Draw the cake plate

7. Draw the bottom of the cake

Notes:  The drawing for this story is fairly simple. However, space must be left to fit in the candles. Practicing a few times will help.

For those who would like more of a challenge, a great draw and tell story with a birthday theme is "The Birthday Party" in Mystery-Fold: Stories to Tell, Draw and Fold by Valerie Marsh (pp. 16-17, Alleyside, c. 1993). It has to be done on paper because the paper is folded and turned to reveal the birthday animal.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-up is hosted by Amanda of Trails & Tales.


 

Birthday Guessing Game

In honor of Flannel Friday turning two, I have a birthday guessing game. I made up "clues." I then printed out the clues and answers. I made my own pictures and numbers though they can easily be done using clip art. I cut the pieces out and glued them to card stock. The photos below show how I put them together.

Front

Back

Inside

You are welcome to use the clues I used, making any changes you wish:

Baby Tommy turns 1 today.

Can you guess his present?

It's soft and cuddly, and for a hug is always ready.

Though it's a bear, we often call it.....TEDDY.

Sally turns 2 today.

Can you guess her present?

It's round and can roll down the hall.

It's a brand new, bright blue.....BALL.

Kathy turns 3 today.

Can you guess her present?

She can pile them high or build what she wants.

There are many shapes and sizes of her new wooden.....BLOCKS.

Michael turns 4 today.

Can you guess his present?

It has four doors and four wheels which make it go far.

It's a shiny new toy.....CAR.

Sam turns 5 today.

Can you guess his present?

With words and pictures, it's fun to take a look.

Sam likes to turn the pages of his brand new.....BOOK.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by the one who started it all - Melissa of Mel's Desk. Also, take a look at her post about Flannel Friday's 2nd anniversary.

Flannel Friday Means -

Last year I wrote about "How I Got Mixed-Up with That Flannel Friday Crowd."

This week's special Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Sharon of Rain Makes Applesauce.

Everything about Flannel Friday can be found here.

Mole's New Hole

This week's Flannel Friday post was written to go along with this summer's CSLP theme, "Dig Into Reading." The story was inspired by the folktale "The Big Turnip" and Elephant in a Well by Marie Hall Ets.

Mole’s New Hole

Linda Meuse

3/1/13

Notes from the Story Room

Mole popped out the ground. He had just made a new entrance to his underground home. He had a nice new mole-sized hole. Just then Possum came ambling by and saw Mole. “Hello, Mole,” said Possum. “How are you today?” “Fine, thank you,” replied Mole. “I just made a brand new hole for my underground home.” “Oh, may I take a look?” asked Possum. “Certainly,” said Mole, “but be careful. It’s a mole-sized hole not a possum-sized hole.” Possum had never seen Mole’s underground home so he was very curious. He stuck his head in the hole but couldn’t see much. “I’ll just go down a little further,” thought Possum, pushing his front into the hole. “Be careful!” said Mole but it was too late. Possum was stuck. He couldn’t get himself out of the hole. “Help!” yelled Possum. “My feet are up and my head is down. I have nothing to grab on to. Please pull me out!”

Mole tried to pull Possum out. He pulled and pulled but he could not get Possum out. “I’ll get help,” said Mole. Mole found Raccoon who came to help. Raccoon pulled on Mole and Mole pulled on Possum. They pulled and they pulled but Possum did not come out. Rabbit came over to help. Rabbit pulled on Raccoon and Raccoon pulled on Mole and Mole pulled on Possum. They pulled and they pulled but Possum stayed stuck. Squirrel saw what was happening and offered to help. Squirrel pulled on Rabbit and Rabbit pulled on Raccoon and Raccoon pulled on Mole and Mole pulled on Possum. They pulled and pulled but Possum did not move an inch. Skunk came to help. Skunk pulled on Squirrel and Squirrel pulled on Rabbit and Rabbit pulled on Raccoon and Raccoon pulled on Mole and Mole pulled on Possum but Possum was still stuck in the hole. “What are we going to do?” asked Mole. “We can’t pull Possum out.” “I think we are going to have to dig Possum out,” said Raccoon. “But that will ruin my hole and my home below!” wailed Mole. “Let me help too,” said a teeny, tiny voice. It was Mouse who was so small she could barely be seen above the grass. “I would like to help pull Possum out of Mole’s hole,” said Mouse. “We already tried. One little mouse won’t make a difference,” said Raccoon. Mole really didn’t want his nice new hole ruined so he said, “Let’s give it one more try.” Mouse pulled on Skunk and Skunk pulled on Squirrel and Squirrel pulled on Rabbit and Rabbit pulled on Raccoon and Raccoon pulled on Mole and Mole pulled on Possum. They pulled and pulled and Possum finally came up out of the hole. “Thank you,” said Possum. “I am really happy to be out of that hole.” “Not nearly as happy as I am,” replied Mole looking at his nice new mole-sized hole.

Note: This story was written to be told with flannel/magnet board figures. When making the figures make sure that Possum's back half is bigger than the front so that he gets "stuck" in the hole.

The cast of characters ready to be laminated:

Squirrel, Rabbit, Mouse

Raccoon and Skunk

Hole, Mole and Possum

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Lisa of Libraryland.

Penguins - Evening Family Story Time

Family Story Time - Penguins!
Monday, February 25, 2013, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Attendance - 28 (15 children, 13 adults)

Book:  If you Were a Penguin by Wendall and Florence Minor

Board Story:  "Porter Penguin's Adventure"

Board Rhyme:  "There Was a Little Penguin"

Prop Story:  "Penny Penguin's Magical Meal"

Guessing Game:  "Baby Penguin, Baby Penguin"

Crafts:  Penguin Mask and Penguin ABC Dot to Dot

Notes:  There were several new families at this program. The ages ranged from infant to age 5. This was a younger than usual group. They were a bit more wiggly than usual as well but settled down when asked. When I talked about the North and South Poles, the five-year-old had no problem informing me that polar bears lived at the North Pole and that penguins lived at the South Pole. "Penny Penguin's Magical Meal" was the most liked story which made making the prop worth the effort. The children also enjoyed the guessing game. The penguin mask was also a big hit. It was fun to see one little guy go waddling out of the room holding up his mask.

Penny Penguin's Magical Meal

Originally I was going to use "Pippa's Penguin" by Susan Daily for my penguin program. Then I decided to use a similiar concept but a different story. I wanted the story to go with "Porter Penguin's Adventure" so I wrote my own. Rather than penguins in a zoo, I wanted them in a more natural habitat. I used a prop for this story but it can easily be used with flannel/magnet board pieces instead.

Penny Penguin’s Magical Meal

by Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

(http://meusenotes.blogspot.com/)

February 19, 2013

Penny Penguin lived on an island almost always covered in snow. Only during two months of the year is there no snow. It was that time of year now. The snow was gone leaving behind a hilly, rocky landscape. Penny decided to explore to see if she could find something new. Last year she found tiny flowers blooming in wind-protected crags in the hillside. Penny started climbing over the rocks. It took her a while and she was starting to get hungry. Just then she spied a small pond hidden among the rocks. It was something new that she had never seen before. She looked into the crystal clear water and couldn’t believe what she saw. It was full of colorful fish. Just then Penny’s tummy started to rumble and grumble. Those fish looked mighty tasty. Penny grabbed one and ate it. It was delicious. Then something strange happened. Her tummy felt funny. She looked down and her white front had turned blue – the same color as the fish she had just eaten! “Wow!” said Penny. “That fish has turned my tummy blue! I wonder what would happen if I ate a green fish.” She decided to find out. She ate a green fish and sure enough her tummy felt funny again and this time when she looked down her tummy had turned green. “This is fun,” said Penny and she promptly ate a purple fish. Sure enough she had that funny tummy feeling and when she looked down her front had turned purple. Then she saw a fish with lovely spots. “I have to eat that one,” said Penny. “Then I’ll have the fanciest front on the island.” Penny ate the spotted fish and sure enough when she looked down she had a fancy spotted front. After a while Penny became a bit dizzy looking at all those spots. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” said Penny. “I think I would rather be my plain old self.” She looked at the remaining fish in the pond. It took a while but she finally saw a plain white fish. Well, it was almost plain. It had one black spot on it. “One spot won’t matter,” said Penny. She ate the plain fish and soon her front became white again though it did have one black spot right in the middle of her tummy. So now there is a penguin waddling around the island that looks like she has a bellybutton!

Note: This story was written to be used with a penguin prop or flannel/magnet board pieces.

This is the prop that I made to go along with the story:

Penny - front

It is similiar to the one I made for Drakestail only smaller. I drew a penguin on card stock. After I cut out the penguin, I cut out the white front and glued a piece of clear plastic on the back so that the different colored pieces will show. I used a scrap piece of laminating film. I cut around the beak so she could "eat" each fish. When telling the story I pull out each front piece to reveal the new color.

Penny - back

The "pocket" stapled on the back holds the different fronts. I also stapled on a handle so I could hold Penny. I colored the parts of the staples showing on the front with black marker to make them less noticable.

Penny - eating a fish

I cut the fronts from various colors of cardstock. The dotted front is from an inexpensive booklet of textured and patterned paper that I purchased at a craft store.

Penguin fronts and fish

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Storytime ABC's. Click on Flannel Friday for complete information.

Not Quite There Yet

I feel like the tortoise - slow and steady. I'm making progress but it is slow. I hope to post something useful next week.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is being hosted by the Storytime Katie blog.