Rainy day projects

You can take the preschool teacher from the school, but you can't take the school out of the preschool teacher. Or you know, something to that effect.

I have an entire closet full of craft crap, literally, because sometimes I just get the itch to create something after sitting behind a desk for 8 hours straight. Sometimes, I really miss teaching.

I had bought some felt sheets and a giant black felt square in hopes of turning an old poster frame into a flannel board for Sully. I forgot I ended up turning that poster frame (the glass shattered in it some time ago but we kept the frame) into a message board above my desk.

When we moved we bought Sully a cheap Ikea chalk board for his playroom. The other side is a dry erase board, and because I don't have STUPID stamped across my forehead, we never used that side, for obvious reasons. (I like my walls)

Well I decided one night to literally hot glue the black flannel to the dry erase side of the chalkboard, effectively taking any future marker usage out of commission - for good.

I ended up getting some patterns from work (We had a flannel making workshop), and just free-handing the rest. We've been working on them since its been raining a lot lately, and in the evenings once he's asleep I paint them so they can dry. They're one of his favorite things at class, and he's been really enjoying getting to play and sing - especially since he doesn't have to share with 10 other kids at home. (And by share I mean other children taking them from Sully and him just watching because my kid is a huge pushover and doesn't fight back/push/hit/scream/yell even though I secretly wish he would sometimes .... and certain parents would rather chat it up with other moms than actually parent their kids, leaving my kid bewildered watching your punk play with the stuff he just had)

Sorry. Anyways, here are some of the flannel stories we have so far. Don't judge my freehand puff painting skills. Look past the horrific whale and never mind that my octopus looks more like a 4 legged squid. I was a preschool teacher, not a freakin' artist!

But seriously, its been really fun and we have a blast doing the songs together. I'm including the lyrics in case anybody wants to give it a go! These are all songs/books I sang/read when I taught preschool. They're fun but also teach children about counting, sequential order, memory, colors and on and on. And its cheap! The felt cost me 5 dollars for a multicolor pack and the puff paints cost me 6 bucks for a small assortment, which honestly is all you really need unless you're looking to get really fancy.

Including the ones below, we also have Twinkle Little Star, and are in the process of making I AM A PIZZA (CHARLOTTE DIAMOND) and 12 LITTLE CARS. Next month at work we'll be doing another workshop so I plan on snagging the patterns for 5 LITTLE DUCKS, MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED and BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR.

And yes, Sully can sing all of these, purely from us just singing/doing them all the time. Did you know storytelling is a dying art? And that singing and story-telling (sans book) is a excellent form of literacy? You don't always need a book to hit that 20-minutes-of-reading-to-your-child-a-day goal!

OCTOPUS (AKA SLIPPERY FISH)

(SONG BY CHARLOTTE DIAMOND ON "10 CARROT DIAMOND" CD)

SLIPPERY FISH, SLIPPERY FISH

SWIMMING IN THE WATER

SLIPPERY FISH, SLIPPERY FISH

GULP, GULP, GULP

OH NO!

ITS BEEN EATEN BY A ....

OCTOPUS, OCTOPUS

SQUIGGLING IN THE WATER

OCTOPUS, OCTOPUS

GULP, GULP, GULP

OH NO!

ITS BEEN EATEN BY A ....

(TUNA FISH, FLASHING IN THE WATER ...

GREAT WHITE SHARK, LURKING IN THE WATER,

GINORMOUS WHALE, SPOUTING IN THE WATER)

BUUUUUUUUUUUURP!

PARDON ME!

FIVE GREEN SPECKLED FROGS

FIVE GREEN AND SPECKLED FROGS

SITTING ON A SPECKLED LOG

EATING SOME MOST DELICIOUS BUGS

ONE JUMPED INTO THE POOL

WHERE IT WAS NICE AND COOL

NOW THERE ARE 4 GREEN SPECKLED FROGS

(NOW THERE ARE 3

NOW THERE ARE 2

NOW THERE IS 1

NOW THERE IS NONE)

GO AWAY BIG GREEN MONSTER (BOOK BY ED EMBERLY)

BIG GREEN MONSTER HAS TWO BIG YELLOW EYES

A LONG BLUEISH-GREENISH NOSE

A BIG RED MOUTH WITH SHARP WHITE TEETH

TWO SQUIGGLY EARS

SCRAGGLY PURPLE HAIR

AND A BIG SCARY GREEN FACE!

BUT...

YOU DON'T SCARE ME!

GO AWAY SCRAGGLY PURPLE HAIR!

GO AWAY TWO SQUIGGLY EARS!

(GO AWAY LONG BLUEISH-GREENISH NOSE,

SHARP TEETH, RED MOUTH, TWO BIG YELLOW EYES,

BIG GREEN FACE, BIG GREEN MONSTER)

AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL I SAY SO!

THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ...

THERE WAS A HOLE, DEEP IN THE GROUND

THE PRETTIEST HOLE, THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

THERE WAS A TREE

DEEP IN THAT HOLE

THE PRETTIEST TREE

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE, THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND ON THAT TREE

THERE WAS A BRANCH

THE PRETTIEST BRANCH

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

AND THE BRANCH IS ON THE TREE, THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE

THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND ON THAT BRANCH

THERE WAS A NEST

THE PRETTIEST NEXT

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

THE NEST IS ON THE BRANCH AND THE BRANCH IS ON THE TREE

THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE AND THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

AND IN THAT NEST

THERE WAS A BIRD

THE PRETTIEST BIRD

THAT YOU EVER DID SEE

THE BIRD IS IN THE NEST, THE NEST IS ON THE BRANCH

THE BRANCH IN ON THE TREE AND THE TREE IS IN THE HOLE

THE HOLE IS IN THE GROUND

AND THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND

ALL AROUND

YEH, THE GREEN GRASS GROWS ALL AROUND