Mel's Desk

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I’ve been a little becalmed here on Mel’s Desk–I wound up needing a few weeks off while getting acclimated to my girls’ new school years and prepping for the ALSC Institute, where my boss and I are presenting on Saturday morning! Thanks for your patience with the downtime, and thanks for your patience with all my “round up posts” this summer; they also provided me with some needed mental elbow room.

But now I am sailing off for ALSC this morning and on the horizon I can see time for regular posting again when I return! I still have lots to talk about, and I know I have comments–some very old ones–yet to answer.

I promise not to reply in pirate speak or use a single maritime reference.

There is something super satisfying about making a flannelboard set out of felt and having it come out JUST the way you envisioned it! Here are the five felt sets that make me smile every time I pull them out…whether I’ve had them for 8 years or 8 months!

Tortoise and the Hare
One of the first felt sets I ever made! I remember basing the rabbit shapes on illustrations in a book of poems I’ve had since I was a kid.

Mouse and the Apple
Another earlier set–these I traced straight from the great illustrations by Stephen Butler.

Where Is Catkin?
For this set I had fun putting in the details with stitching rather than marker. I photocopied pages of the book by Janet Lord and Julie Paschkis and cut them up for my patterns.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
It took me the longest time to get the eyes right on the caterpillar! My table was covered with very many very tiny green and yellow scraps.

Green Eggs
My newest felt set…proof that sometimes the best ideas are the simplest in design!

Most often I share flannelboard ideas, but from time to time I post ideas for storytime props…either a single item for the storytime provider to hold, or sets to hand out to all the kids.

Here’s the list so far!

Brown Paper Oak Leaves

5 Green Frogs

5 Little Nails

Cat in the Hat Finger Puppets

Shoo Fly Pipe Cleaner Puppets

She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain Accordian Pictures

Three Mice Tails Ribbon Pulls

Tissue Box Song Cube

Small Finger Puppets

Felt Ribbon Rings

When children understand that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end, it gives them a way to anticipate what’s going to happen next when they are reading their first stories. Reading is hard work, and children need to both decode the words AND understand the story at the same time. Giving children experience with story arcs and patterns before they become readers is one way of giving them a little head start.

Some of our most familiar nursery rhymes, such as Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, Little Bo Peep, and Mary Had a Little Lamb, are really little stories! Share a song in your storytime, using flannelboard pieces, puppets, or a picture book.

If you’d like, before you sing it, you can ask the children questions about what they already know. What happens first? What happens after Miss Muffet sits down? What do they think will happen after Miss Muffet runs away? What would they do if a spider sat down next to them?

Sing your song together, then tell the parents, “Sometimes when you sing nursery rhymes with your child, you’re really telling a little story. Hearing lots of stories and understanding how stories work helps children become good readers. Singing with your children will help them get ready to read!”