Little Mouse, Little Mouse!

Classic Flannel Board, with a twist!

Little Mouse has ventured into houses all across the world!  Numbered houses, silly houses, multi-colored houses, almost identical houses - children chant the words, sing the words, change the words - but before the story is done...the missing mouse is always found!  I was inspired by Flannel Friday Friends to create my own version of this classic tale/tail!!  I've used it in story times and discovered that my colleague Kari Ann was ever so right when she said..."you can hide anything in the brown house...they never pick that one!"  I always let his tail stick out and they still don't pick the brown house!

I was thinking this week that Little Mouse could easily be "Daddy Mouse" and we have sent him looking for his father's day gift!  We have hidden the gift in a house...but which house? Daddy Mouse is searching all the houses!   But hold on...I am getting a little ahead of myself!

Once upon a time a pretty little girl, named Taylor A. Mouse, lived in a pink house with her mommy and her daddy.   Mommy Mouse and Taylor A. Mouse made a special cupcake for Daddy Mouse because it was Father's Day.  A day to celebrate all the dads!!!  Yay for Dads!

Taylor hid the cupcake in a house in her neighborhood.  Hmmm, which house?  

Daddy has gone in search of his cupcake...let's see where he is..

(pretty fancy neighborhood!  no zoning!) 

And so we ask..all together...

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

 are you in the Green house?

nope!  Daddy Mouse is not in the green house!

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

are you in the pirate house?

no, Daddy Mouse is not in the pirate house!

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

are you in the brown house?

Not there!  (not today)

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

are you in the gingerbread house?

Daddy Mouse is not in the gingerbread house!

Where oh where is Daddy Mouse and did he find his special cupcake?

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

are you in the orange house?

Daddy Mouse is not in the orange house.

Taylor is worried, where is Daddy Mouse?  Maybe in the blue house?

Look carefully..

Oh, let's call together...

Daddy Mouse, Daddy Mouse

are you in the blue house?

YES!  We found Daddy Mouse!

with his cupcake and fancy bow tie!  

Daddy is Fancy!  

Happy Father's Day Daddy

with love from Taylor xo

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies everywhere!

P.S. (piper script) Piper has a few things to add today!

        Piper says:

1. Don't let the Pigeon in the pirate house!

(Piper always places the Pigeon in the pirate house!!)

 2. Add some photos that children will recognize - Cinderella's Castle house!

...just imagine all the ideas!  And Mickey can be your mouse!  

3.When we do this story at the library it looks like this on the flannel board.

Reading Birds in Flannel!

Dream Big Reading Birds!

Each year my library presents a summer reading skit in all of the 11 elementary schools in town.  The talented children's team from our Main Library and the two branches come together to brainstorm an original script, music, set design, costumes and props.  We draw, paint, sew, write. re-write, and revise, revise and revise!  Followed by rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! 

This year we are using the National reading theme - Dream Big.  And...well...you know how those naughty green pigs stole the eggs from the Angry Birds?  In our town the naughty Professor Vader, from Green Pig Laboratory, Inc., took the books from the library, and you can just imagine how ANGRY the Reading Birds can be!!  Oh, and Miss Nelson, our trusty Librarian, is Missing! 

READING BIRDS TO THE RESCUE!

The costumes are the collaboration of three crafty librarians!!  Felt and Feathers!  Who knew?

This is part of the scenery, Happy Reading Birds!

P.S.(piper script): maybe next year I can be in the show! or in the scenery!!

We did it!

These are the Flannel this, Puppet That! presentation hi-lights!

Kari Ann and I presented Flannel This, Puppet That! at the Connecticut Library Association  Conference earlier this week - we are proud to provide you an overview. 

We had excellent tech support from Heather Baker, Librarian/Super Hero - thank you!  It is really important to have a "Talented Techie" with you to take care of showing the Youtube video and blog links.  Hopefully you have watched Kari Ann's absolutely perfect video on how-to-make flannel stories. Here's the link to her blog post for CLA 2012

Six 5' foam boards

Five hundred quilt pins! 

So many tags with titles and sources

Years of creations...by two crafty librarians

55 in attendance!!!

Each attendee left with a flannel story kit, (felt and templates in a ziplock bag) with our blog info

 and email addresses.

Some of our puppets!!

To see all of our puppets - check the Puppet That! entry on this blog (May 6th, 2012)

...and back at the Library, well, we just aren't ready to take these boards apart yet...you know, 500 pins to unpin...499 pins to unpin...498 pins ....

A Flannel Fest, for sure!!

FF Friends: many thanks for the inspiration and assistance you provide each week for my story times and my professional development.  And thank you for the terrific new blog - a safe place to learn and practice.

If you have questions, would like suggestions on how to present at your conference or run a Flannel Fest Program, (for teaching staff or preschool teachers)...please leave a comment and we can follow-up with email discussion.  This week's Flannel Friday Round-up host is Sharon at Rain Makes Applesauce!  Looking forward to our first week in our new home!

Puppet That!

The Connecticut Library Association annual conference begins on Monday, May 7th. Presenting Flannel This, Puppet That! with my colleague Kari Ann St Jean and a host of puppets, (each clamoring to be a "star"),  is the highlight on my spring calendar!  

I am creating this post to allow those attending the Conference a place to re-visit the puppets in the "Puppet That" part of Flannel This, Puppet That!

Piper comes to this event with "depth of experience"! Heck, she's been to Broadway, Lincoln Center...New Jersey, Baltimore, Rocky Hill...she has FANS, a following!  It is her job today to keep Tanika, Isabella, and Mouse calm.  Besides, she is a very real puppet...a category of her own.  You haven't heard of VERY REAL PUPPETS? - someday you will...and then you will know!

Facts about Piper:  Story Time Mascot!

Age:  stage age..3.  (Real age, a secret!)

Breed:  Black Labrador Retriever

Source:  Folkmanis (shhh...don't let Piper hear you), Puppets

Parents: Dad is Murphy, Mom is "Mom"  

Favorite things: books, balls, biscuits, bed, chewy sock, Mimi, Twinkle, pacifier, singing, magic fairy dust, Speedo

Piper's Biography: found on the home page of this blog!

Piper with bandaids! She is a tad dramatic!

Now this is Tanika!

 She is forever taking her shoes off, she loves her hair and her favorite color is purple.  Tanika is a full body puppet yet her legs are removable.  I adopted Tanika and Isabella about 5 years ago although they remain preschoolers...for life!  Tanika is known for the very best hugs at the end of Story Time.  She is gentle and kind and a very good listener.

Hola from Isabella and Bo!

My library is located in a culturally diverse neighborhood. Isabella speaks Spanish and English. She assists me with the many languages in our community.  She has a sweet way about helping me understand.  She is polite with everyone.  She will sing some of our opening songs in Spanish...and sometimes she will be at Story Time for hugs if Tanika has gone to 

Miss Kari Ann's house for a sleepover!

Now, Bo is new to us...and as much as I love, love, love this new Dog....he is not fully accepted by the children yet.  I need to work on Bo's personality some more.  My Bo is the Presidential dog..lives at the White House, hangs with the President and family and comes to the library for Special Events.  

We are sooo lucky in West Hartford!

I love these two little puppets!

Introducing Twinkle and Mimi!!!

Twinkle and Mimi are finger puppets.  Twinkle flies through the night sky twinkling her favorite song, (Twinkle twinkle little star..) ...and Mimi's claim to fame is singing

"mi-mi-mi-mi-mi" in a deep, or low voice, then again in a middle range voice, and then in a high voice  (She is a great intro to the 3 Billy Goats Gruff)  These two finger puppets live in Piper's bed, therefore...I never leave home without them.

Chicken and Mouse will be with us at CLA. I am a big believer in back stories, (biographies) for puppets...the children want to know...and they remember!  Yet in all the years that Mouse has been with me...he has never been given a name.  And this works for us because...that's the way I tell it...Mouse has no name!  Sometimes we will ponder names...kids always have suggestions!  Mouse will even bring the books with baby names to Story Time...so we can look up names. But seven years later...

Mouse still has no name!

Chicken makes occasional appearances, usually with the shaker eggs or in Spring stories and sometimes in Our Mother Goose on the Loose Program with Betsey Diamont Cohen's chant: "Hickory Dickory Dare...the chicken jumped up in the air!" And every child has a chance to toss the chicken!  (of course our Chicken has some words about this!!)

FYI: Piper is always introduced by her little girl and the spelling of her name.  To the tune of BINGO we sing: "There was a girl who had a dog and Piper was her name-oh

P-I-P-E-R...."

I have a clearly defined goal in my Story Times..Learn to LOVE your Early Reading Skills! I am dedicated to Every Child Ready to Read.  check it out!  This flannel board song-introduction to Piper purposefully brings together skills to practice with parents and children.

Talking builds vocabulary...I begin with talking about the little girl and her clothing, the color of her hair, her busy day.. 

Print awareness is demonstrated with words and symbols... we even discuss that the heart on the shirt is a symbol for love

Letter Knowledge... the letter P begins Piper's name...where is that letter?  what does it sound like? who can make that sound?  does anyone else have a P, yes, Peter has a P!

Print Motivation ...we are reading the T-shirt, reading PIPER's name!  We are such good readers.  (If you are doing this with me...you are awesome!)..Those letters mean something!

Narrative skills...we tell this story in a sequence that slowly brings all the letters into their space holders..we narrate this story every single week and it is the best!

Phonological awareness...we put it all together and whoa...it's a song for us to sing...giving value to each sound...making words and then sentences.  WOW!

Thoughts inspired by organizing my puppets:

Learning to read does not come easy for every child.  Loving to learn is not automatic.  Something I hope I can do in story time and with Piper's blog...is to inspire parents and professionals to make every time we pick up a book to read with a child...a happy time.  Send a positive connection into that amazing, developing, gorgeous brain!  

If we are successful in making happy connections to reading...the child will ask for a book again and again.  And then...the golden opportunity arrives to pass all the early reading skills along - show your child that reading is a blast! They will learn, they will remember. Understanding the value of letter knowledge, print motivation, narrative skills and singing will empower you to want to read more, sing more, play more with your child!!  ...or your story time kids!! 

So, go pick up a book and read to someone little.  xo

P.S. (Piper Script) :  I'm little!

Flannel Friday Ducklings!

Move over Little White Duck, you've got some company!  So, my Five Little Ducks were hanging around Story Time with The Little White Duck flannel pieces listening to mo willem's new book - The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?  and before I knew it...my ducks were "willem-ized"...take a look!

Now, if you haven't read the book, here's my advice...

Don't let the Pigeon hide this book!!

If you really want your ducks to

look "mo" like mo willems' duck

- just change the eye.  Like this:

You may want to make a 6th little duck...the "Duckling"

Here's the template - have fun!!!

Oh, and here's the rhyme done as a song!

The very English and traditional Five Little Ducks went out to play

The "Pigeon" is very popular in our library...these are all MUST READS.

Click this link to visit mo willems and learn about all of his books and silliness!

P.S. (Piper Script)  I'm thinking....

 "The Piper wants a Pigeon" is a good title!

or better yet

"The Piper wants a Duckling!"

ut-oh!  

The BuNny HoP!
The bunnies, the chicks, the kiddos and the fun! The Faxon Branch Library hosted the Bunny Hop last week, during school vacation, and oh my, what fun!  
B is for Bunny!   b is for baby!
Kendra brought two beautiful bunnies from Westmoor Park and everyone had a chance to pet the bunnies.  We learned so much about them. They hopped around our story time room.  And all the while, little chicks were waiting for us.

We listened to the book Hurry Hurry by Eve Bunting while we carefully and gently...without shaking or peaking held little eggs in our little hands.  When the story was over...our eggs were ready to hatch.  Quietly, ever-so-quietly we opened our eggs to find little colorful chicks!  OMGoodness - it was too cute!

Our little birdies where on the flannel board heralding the arrival of the chicks and keeping a watchful eye.

We had a bunny wedding! (indeed) 

Bunny babies, three!

We made bunny ears!

We did the bunny hop..... hop, hop!!  

And no one spilled anything on our new Story Time Rug!

B is for Bunny, b is for bear!

bye- bye Bunnies!

Thanks for reading.

Flannel Friday ...before/after flannelization!

I recall Oprah Winfrey saying that the before/after shows were always her most popular.  No doubt you recall - she had stylists come in and a lucky audience member or two or three would have a make-over with the proper fitting clothes, new hair color, a cheeky new hair cut, trendy accessories, etc.  I would love a make-over this Spring...my entire closet needs a make-over as well.  I fear that I am slowly growing into a fashion "don't" <sigh>  With all this in mind and preparing for "The Flannel This, Puppet That!" presentation at the upcoming Connecticut Library Association Conference on May 7 & 8 with my colleague, Kari Ann, I took a look at some of my older flannel board stories and decided to try a Do-over!  A Make-Over!

As Oprah would say...let's take a look again at the BEFORE photos:
(But we need a little set-up)
Here is the 25 yr old Little White Duck and her friends at the Lily Pad.  
They used to be "regulars" in story time...but now they are in the back of the bin, hardly ever making an appearance.  Lacking confidence?  I don't know - maybe after doing this song for 15 years or so, I just changed things up.  I think they look pretty cute!

I drew these on paper, colored them with pencils and markers, and laminated them

...a long time ago!

And now, are you ready?  The big reveal!

Let's hear it for the flannelized version

I must say, flannel does make a difference!  The pieces are brighter and more importantly, they have depth and texture...they are warmer.  I am thinking they are even more fun!  

Please let me know what you think!  

thanks ~ piper & jane

Click here for the Little White Duck song!

P.S. (Piper Script) No flannel board pieces were injured in this make-over!