Friday 31 August 2012

Flannel Friday - Katie Bairdie had a coo


Nursery rhymes about farm animals are perfect for Baby Rhymetimes.  I used another of my newly minted set of farm animal finger puppets to explore Nursery Rhymes about cows (coos in Scots).


Cow from the Farm Set Floral Blossom’s Etsy pattern

A favourite traditional Scots Rhyme is Katie Bairdie.

Katie Bairdie hid a coo',
Black and white aboot the moo'
Wisna that a dainty coo'?
Dance Katie Bairdie.

Here's the translation
Katie Bairdie had a cow,
Black and white about the mou(th)
Wasn't that a dainty cow?
Dance Katie Bairdie.

Traditionally this rhyme was sung. You can listen to a recording of children from Inchture Primary School who have made up some delightful additional verses of their own for this rhyme.  I love the image of Katie's coo having "Bright red lipstick roon its moo"!

In fact, Karen Sutherland's cow in this book would be the one to pull off the look!

Katie's CooKatie's Coo by James Robertson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some short traditional rhymes in Scots dialect. The perfect book of rhymes to share in a Scottish themed rhymetime or storytime. I share something from this book almost every week.
Read in numerous Baby Rhymetimes.

View all my reviews



You can also hear a version sung by Matthew Fitt on the Scottish Book Trust website. There is a lovely verse about a sleekit moose (a glossy-coated mouse) - a great addition to a Burn's themed storytime after a verse of 'To a Mouse'.


The felt/flannel coo, like the other farm animals from the set, was made from a pattern recommended by Storytime Katie from a pattern purchased from Floral Blossom’s Etsy shop. The conditions of use are quite restrictive, so I can't share the pattern, although if you check out the selection you might me tempted to buy some patterns for yourself!








Want more?

Find out about Flannel Friday on the dedicated website. Features include past roundups, host schedule and how to participate.

Scan the Flannel Friday posts on Pinterest.

Search for flannels and storytime ideas at Mel's Desk.

Discuss storytime and flannel boards on the Flannel Friday Facebook Page.




This week’s round up will be hosted by Linda at Notes from the Storyroom.





Thursday 23 August 2012

Piggy Wig (This Little Piggie - part two)

In my earlier post about Nursery Rhymes with pigs I was inspired by the rhyme 'Piggy Wig and Piggy Wee'. I wanted to develop the idea of using the rhyme further (whilst acknowledging that it's better suited to our older pre-school audience).



I wanted a Piggy Wig AND a Piggy Wee, so transformed my existing pig finger puppet with a jaunty wig and made another, slightly smaller, pig.





I tried to trace the origins of the rhyme (to see if I could reproduce it here in it's entirety) and came across it in an enchanting Project Gutenberg E-book written by Emile Poulsson in 1893.  As Project Gutenberg actively encourages distribution and reusing of its texts, I've reproduced the rhyme and finger play together with the book's beautiful title page.


title page
Finger plays for nursery and kindergarten by Emilie Poulsson via Project Gutenberg

On page 26 I discovered, not only is it a finger play, but also a song, complete with MP3!







The Pigs



Enchanting, don't you think?



The book is a treasure trove of rhymes and finger plays. I found some that would be very suitable for my Baby Rhymetimes and I'll feature my favourites in the coming weeks.



These little piggies, like the other farm animals from the set, was made from a pattern recommended by Storytime Katie from a pattern purchased from Floral Blossom’s Etsy shop.  Of course, these finger puppets stick just fine to the flannel board too, and it would be a great to make a flannel gate too.







Want more?

Learn about Flannel Friday on the dedicated website. Find past roundups, who's hosting and how to participate.

Scan the Flannel Friday images on Pinterest.

Search for flannels and storytime ideas at Mel's Desk.

Discuss storytimes and flannel boards on the Flannel Friday Facebook Page.




This the next Flannel Friday round up (on 24th August 2012) will be hosted by Lisa at Libraryland

Thursday 16 August 2012

Flannel Friday - This Little Piggie

Nursery rhymes are an essential ingredient for Baby Rhymetimes.  As I have a newly minted set of farm animals and a new block of sessions to plan, the time is ripe to revisit my Nursery Rhyme treasury and see what I can dig up for this wee porcine.


Pig from the Farm Set Floral Blossom’s Etsy pattern

The obvious rhyme to use with this puppet is This Little Piggie which I've just discovered was first published in 1728!

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went...
"Wee wee wee" all the way home...

Obviously five pig puppets would be better still. Here's a quick set made from card and construction paper using the same pattern.




To Market, To Market To Buy A Fat Pig.

To market, to market to buy a fat pig;
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog;
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.


[When I looked it up I was surprised to see that there are two further verses.]



Tom, Tom the Piper's Son

Tom, Tom, the piper's son.
Stole a pig and away did run;
The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,
Till he came crying down the street.

[Hmm, not sure that one would be considered suitable these days.]

You'll find all these pig nursery rhymes, with many more, on Rick Walton's website. 

I may also use this fun finger play with the older group. I've reproduced the first verse only here. A PDF of the entire rhyme can be downloaded from Artfelt where you can view a video of the whole thing.



Piggy Wig and Piggy Wee

Piggy Wig (thumb) and Piggy Wee (other thumb)
Hungry pigs as pigs could be.
For their dinner had to wait,
Down behind the garden gate. (Gate made of fingers)
Piggy Wig and Piggy Wee (wiggle thumbs)
Climbed the barnyard gate to see. (thumbs through fingers)


If you have some other favourite Pig themed nursery rhymes, please share - add the rhyme or a link in the comments form below.



This little piggie, like the other farm animals from the set, was made from a pattern recommended by Storytime Katie from a pattern purchased from Floral Blossom’s Etsy shop. The conditions of use are quite restrictive, so I can't share the pattern, although if you check out the selection you might be tempted to buy some patterns for yourself! 



In my earlier post Using finger puppets in baby rhymetimes I mentioned safety concerns. Parts that were previously glued are now glued and stitched, and I've removed the bead eyes, and replaced them with pearl drop paint (a more sophisticated version of puffy paint).




Want more?

Learn about Flannel Friday on the dedicated website. Find past roundups, who's hosting and how to participate.

Scan the Flannel Friday images on Pinterest.

Search for flannels and storytime ideas at Mel's Desk.

Discuss storytimes and flannel boards on the Flannel Friday Facebook Page.




This week’s round up will be hosted by Mollie at What Happens In Storytime ....





Sunday 12 August 2012

Finger Puppets for Baby Rhymetimes

Finger puppets are essential props for Baby Rhymetimes and Storytimes, at least I've found them to be so.

The flannel board is great for toddlers and beyond, but I find younger babies concentrate much better in storytimes if I can keep attention focused on a limited number of places, namely my face, my hands and  the things I'm holding. They usually include (only at the time they are in use)
  • books,
  • model baby &
  • storytime props.
For the remainder of of the time I keep them all hidden away.

The choice of props varies from week to week my favourites being scarves, shakers, bubbles and of course, finger puppets.


Twinkle, Twinkle Star from The Puppet Company

I have a pre-made nursery rhyme set from which I use at least one puppet every baby session, consisting of six puppets for Twinkle Twinkle (above), Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, Hickory Dickory Dock, Incy Wincy Spider and Once I caught a fish alive. The manufacturers, The Puppet Company, sell the puppets individually but no longer seem to sell the set which came with the rhymes on a card and a transparent carry case. It is still available from Amazon though and various eBay sellers.

I find finger puppets work so well with this age group.
They help to:
  • hold attention
  • make surprise moments
  • demonstrate positioning (e.g up, down, behind etc)
  • facilitate play (e.g. peek-a-boo)
  • anticipate the next item (silver star = we'll sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle')
  • associate words and objects (in songs, rhymes & chat)
and are easy to hide when we move on to another item.


Farm Set made from Floral Blossom’s Etsy pattern
I've been making puppets too. The patterns used in this farm set were recommended by Storytime Katie with a pattern purchased from Floral Blossom’s Etsy shop. These were made straight from the instructions but, being ever aware of choking hazards, I'm working on tweaking the instructions to make them a little more child-friendly. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Check out Flannel Friday's NEW Finger Puppet Pinterest board and Storytime ABC's Blog Hop (below) for more finger puppet ideas.








Wednesday 8 August 2012

Start the month with some great read aloud picture books


Most of the books I've read in the past few weeks have been, well, OK.  But suddenly a swarm of great read alouds fell onto my desk and I couldn't wait to share them.




The Really, Really, Really Big DinosaurThe Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur by Richard Byrne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A book filled with fun illustrations, featuring dinosaurs and jelly beans can't really fail. This one should be a big hit! It has some moral lessons too, with the boasting big dinosaur getting his comeuppance and the little sharing and caring dino having the most exciting of friends. There are lots of opportunities for a dramatic read aloud story reading and I always enjoy hamming it up!


Jungle Jive (Elephant Joe)Jungle Jive by Tony Mitton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A lively and sparkling book where the animals dress up for a party and a jungle jive. Slithery snake ALMOST spoils the fun when he asks, 'What are you doing, dressed in those? You mussst know ... ANIMALS DON'T WEAR CLOTHESsss!' However, guess who is finally crowned Best-Dressed Guest?


The No-No BirdThe No-No Bird by Andrew Fusek Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The No-No bird is self-centered and says NO to everything - remind you a small child you know? However he learns that no is not always the way to have the most fun with friends and decides to change his tune before the end of this cute rhyming story. I'll be waving my finger windscreen wipe style along with this one!


I Spy With My Little EyeI Spy With My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An excellent guessing book, each page has e new animal with a visual glimpse, a colour and a hint. Spy a host of wonderful animals, and then they spy YOU!



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