In a Dark Dark Wood

I told the classic make-you-jump story "In a Dark Dark Wood" in story time this morning using a Folkmanis puppet set I haven't used in years. In case you have one of these, or something similar, this is a good use for it--not nearly as scary as yelling "Boo!" to a group of preschoolers.

Puppet:
Three Little Pigs finger puppet set from Folkmanis.

The Story:
I add a lot of movement when I tell this one.

Once there was a dark dark wood (pretend to be trees)
And in that dark dark wood there was a dark dark path (let's walk together)
Down that dark dark path there was a dark dark house (fingertips together, make a roof for a house)
And on that dark dark house there was a dark dark door (let's open it . . . SQUEEEAK . . .)
And behind that dark dark door there was a dark dark room (squint, hand above your eyes)
And in that dark dark room there was a dark dark closet (open another squeaky door)
And in that dark dark closet there was a dark dark shelf (arms folded in front of you)
(I have the Folkmanis box hidden and bring it out.)

And on that dark dark shelf there was a dark dark box
And  in  that  dark  dark  dark box  there  were . . . .

THREE LITTLE PIGS!

The children (and grown-ups) really got a laugh. We told the story of The Three Little Pigs
after this on the flannel board.

Super simple.


Happy Day,
Miss Lisa

"I'm Not Scared!" Revisiting Jonathan Allen

Back in 2012, I told Jonathan Allen's I'm not Cute! and now in 2014, celebrating the spookiest month of the year, I decided to tell the companion, I'm not Scared! I like to add books about feeling scared or anxious into my October story time themes because Halloween can be a scary time for small children.


Puppets:
Three owl puppets.
I was able to use different sizes: a finger puppet for Owly,
a Folkmanis snowy owl for Baby Owl, and a large owl for Papa Owl.

We don't have a badger puppet on hand, so I used a rat instead.
Bear
Bat

Props:
A bed for Papa Owl to tuck Baby Owl into.

 

 

 

 

 

I followed the book pretty closely, the biggest change being changing the badger to a rat. I had the children help me with the "but I'm not scared!" response of Baby Owl as the animals he encounters on his walk assume he's scared.

 

 

An easy puppet adaptation.

 

 

Happy day,

Miss Lisa

 

Dinosaur Needs His Binkit! (A Sandra Boynton Knock-Off)

This is a super-simple puppet skit that I used with my toddler story time group. It would also work well for a quick skit for a preschool group as well.
It's based on Sandra Boynton's adorable book, Dinosaur's Binkit.

Puppet:
Dinosaur. (I used our not-so-scary one.)

Props:
paper napkin
placemat
scarf
small quilt

I pulled dinosaur from my bag and told him it was time for bed. He cried,"I need my binkit!"
So I had the children help me find his binkit by pulling each item from my bag until we found the quilt. After each item, dinosaur shook his head that no it was not his binkit and cried "I need my binkit!"

Once we got to the quilt, I wrapped him in it and asked if he was ready for bed and he cried, "I need a song!" and we sang him  "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Easy peasy.


Happy day,
Miss Lisa

POUCH! David Ezra Stein

I wanted to do a Mother's Day story time theme this week in preschool story time, but not an in-your-face Mother's Day theme. Pouch! is one of my favorite stories to tell with our Folkmanis kangaroo puppet and her joey, so I thought it may be fun to change it up a bit and add a felt element to my storytelling.

The Set-Up:

 

Puppets: 

In addition to the felt kangaroos and joeys, I used my small puppets to help tell the story. For this story: a cardinal finger puppet, a baby rabbit finger puppet, and a bumblebee glove puppet.  

 

 

I hand sewed a little contrasting fabric pouch on each kangaroo mommy with just enough room to fit the joeys.

 

 

 

 

 

Throughout the story, Joey yells "Pouch!" and jumps back into his pouch each time he's frightened. I needed the ability to quickly pull Joey out and then put him back into his pouch, so I decided to attach each joey to a craft stick. This made the joeys sturdy enough to push and pull and gave me a handle to make Joey jump.

 

 

All in all, a simple and effective way to re-tell a beloved story.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up is hosted by Kathryn over at Fun With Friends at Storytime.  For more information about Flannel Friday, check out the official blog. 

 

 

 

Happy day,

Miss Lisa

 

 

 

 

Move Over, Rover!

Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont is one of my favorite rainy day stories to share with preschoolers and is easily adapted into a short puppet skit. My library branch doesn't own all of the animals in Beaumont's book, so I use what we have on hand and try to include varying sizes of puppets.

Then, I just stack the puppets one on the other inside Rover's dog house, having the children repeat the refrain "Move Over, Rover!" with me. I've tweaked the ending of the version I tell, since we don't own a skunk, and instead have a dinosaur join the mix, scaring the tuna salad out of every animal involved.






Props:
I used my favorite building prop, a tri-fold presentation board, to construct a simple house facade. Cardboard rectangles secured with brass fasteners made the roof, and I cut out a large hole in front.

Puppets:
Dog

You can use what you have on hand and adapt. Here's what I used today:
Cat
Mouse
Bunny
Opossum
Dinosaur

I mostly follow the format of this cumulative story, keeping it simple by saying  "Rover's in the dog house, sleeping through the storm . . . (the animal) is looking all around to find a place that's warm . . .  MOVE OVER, ROVER!"

And I end it with the dinosaur puppet, saying "Crowded in the dog house, snoring all around. What's that sound? ROAR! A dinosaur!" And everyone skit skats out of Rover's dog house.

I hope you enjoy this one.



Happy day,
Miss Lisa

Family Felt Board Party!

In honor of the Week of the Young Child, we celebrated all things felt! I hosted a craftastic morning with parents, caregivers, and children, creating a portable felt board. Who knew a plain 1" three-ring binder could be so much fun?!

We made three play sets to take home:  "Three Green & Speckled Frogs," "Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," and "Shape Monster." The sets were easy to create, and the overall program lasted about an hour and a half.

Here are some quick photos:

I was struck by the cuteness of these peel and stick felt stickers found at Michael's. They are a steal at $3 per pack of 24. I sorted them into baggies of 3 stickers each, so attendees could have a set of each. And boy are they easy peasy to use:  just adhere to a piece of felt and trim the edges.

Plain black 1" binders found at Wal-Mart for $ .97 each. We covered the front with a blue piece of sticky-back felt. Sticky back felt: $ .90 at A.C. Moore

 

I dug out all the excess felt and flannel I've had sitting around my branch for the last ten years! It felt good to pare down this assortment of odds and ends to make room for some clean new felt. I grouped the felt by color and displayed it on a table for families to choose their colors. Cost:  $0

 

 

My set up to quickly demo the rhymes and songs we were making and take a few minutes to introduce myself, talk about the importance of Every Child Ready to Read, as well as the tactile and simple satisfaction that telling a felt story can bring. I also showed attendees examples of other types of felt boards:  the easel I use, a sturdy piece of cardboard, and even an embroidery hoop!

 

 

Each portable felt board included copies of the rhymes and songs we were using, as well as a case to hold the individual pieces we made for "Three Green & Speckled Frogs," "Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed," and "Shape Monster."

 

 

And I snuck some ECRR material in there!

 

 

 

 Here are a couple of snapshots of our finished sets:

 

 

 

 

 

It was a successful and simple program; minimal cost and prep with the instant gratification of a felt board to play with in the car on the way home! I had adults asking if we could get together again and make more felt play sets--I can't wait to host a Family Felt Board Party again.

 

 

 

Shape Monster Booklet can be found  on one of my favorite blogs, Chit Chat and Small Talk:

http://chitchatandsmalltalk.blogspot.com/2012/11/shape-monster-book.html

 

Happy day!

Melisa