Flannel Friday – The Shape Game!

This session I decided to start having a theme each week in my baby storytime. What better way to introduce it then with a game?

I think including a theme has made it easier for my parents to focus on the books. Plus, it gives them a sense of what to expect each storytime. I have definitely noticed a difference in the conversations parents are having with their babies about the books.

I have been using this game off and on for over a year, so I have no idea if I stole this from someone or not. All of my bookmarks were lost in the great Google Reader switch. So, if you gave me this great idea, please tell me!

The actual flannel pieces are super easy. All you do is cut out 4 shapes in flannel pieces. Make sure they are different colors and make sure they are big enough to hide things behind.

Each week I pick a theme and then make a piece that relates to it out of flannel.

Our theme was babies!

After our opening song and rhyme, we unveil the shape game. Unveiling is important. It takes away the temptation for kids to pull pieces off as soon as they enter the room. Plus, it makes it more exciting!

Every week I say, "Now it's time for our shape game! Are we ready to see what we're going to read about this week? Let's see if there is anything under the purple star...." I always wait until the last shape to find my item.

The babies have responded really well to this. The first two weeks they were a little unresponsive, but now they clap when I unveil the shape game and make a mad rush to the flannel board. It's adorable. Plus, they're getting exposed to shapes which is a precursor to learning letters!

You can see all the other Flannel Friday Roundup submissions for this week at Future Librarian Superhero!

Early Literacy Center: Finding Shapes!

This month I needed something quick and easy to change out in the early literacy center. Summer craziness has hit our library and I didn't want to spend too much time on something. Also, with our current amount of groups visiting I needed something durable enough to last for a month. So I decided on... Shapes!

These were super easy to make. I simply went to publisher and inserted one shape on each page. Then, I found different colors of cardstock. I did seven shapes total.
 

Next, I printed them out, and taped them to the floor. This was definitely the most time consuming part of the project. I used contact paper and clear book mending tape to reinforce it. I still expect these to come up at least once in the next month.

I then added a quick parent tip and some instructions.

Voila! A new fun activity for little ones. Best of all, it was free!