Blankets

I should have made this a BYOB storytime (Bring Your Own Blanket) but forgot to tell the parents ahead of time.  Darn!

Rhyme Cube:  Click here for description

Sign Language:  “Blanket”  – we repeated this word often.

Opening Rhyme:  Open them, shut them…

First Book:  Flora’s Blanket by Debi Gliori

Rhyme: Fuzzy Blanket

I have a fuzzy blanket
To snuggle in at night
I wrap it all around me
And pull it warm and tight!

Rhyme from Sunflower Storytime

Felt Board:  I Once Had a Blanket

I once had a blanket.
It was fluffy and new.
I once had a blanket,
And its color was __________ (blue).
I once had a blanket,
The prettiest I’ve seen.
I once had a blanket,
And its color was ________ (green).
I once had a blanket,
Soft as a pillow.
I once had a blanket,
And its color was _______ (yellow).
I once had a blanket,
At the foot of my bed.
I once had a blanket,
And its color was ________ (red).

Rhyme from Jen in the Library

Here’s a picture of the blankets I made (just a rectangle of felt with satin ribbon glued on the edges):

Close up:

Felt Board:

While I had the blankets up on the board we also played “Teddy bear, teddy bear, are you under there?”   I turned the board so the kids couldn’t see and hid a felt teddy bear under one of the blankets.  Then turned the board to show the kids and asked them to guess under which blanket teddy was hiding.  We chanted “teddy bear, teddy bear, are you under there?” while I pointed to the blanket we were going to look under.  The kids always love this game.

Second Book:  Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket by Tatyana Feeney

Felt Board:  Princess Marigold’s Blanket

I stole this awesome flannel board from Miss Mary Liberry.

Here’s the story that goes with it (I altered it a little to fit my felt board pieces) –

“The king and queen have a beautiful baby girl, whom they name Princess Marigold. They decide she must have a blanket as beautiful as she is. The king looks out the window at the sky and declares, “she must have a blanket as yellow as the sun in the sky.”  The queen also looks out and sees the bright clouds, and declares, “the blanket must be as white as the fluffy clouds floating by.” This continues…
As orange as the flowers in my garden, as green as the grass, as red as the apples in the trees,  as purple as the grapes on the vine, as brown as the earth from which they grow, and finally as pink as our baby’s cheeks.

The servants look everywhere for just such a blanket but can’t find one. They bring in tailors and weavers from all over the kingdom and each can create a blanket with one of the colors, but not all. Finally, an old woman comes forward and offers her faded quilt that she wrapped her children in as babies. She made it from scraps of yarn, blankets, a dress, apron, curtains, and ribbons.
The King and Queen state that they are honored to have it, as it is “as beautiful as our daughter but also as warm as a mother’s embrace and as light as a father’s kiss.” They wrap Princess Marigold in the blanket and they all live happily ever after.”

Here’s a picture with all the pieces on the board:

Here’s a picture of the king and queen puppets (just like Miss Mary Liberry, I got these as a freebie from Muzzy):

(i just placed them on the table as I told the story because I’m not coordinated enough to handle all the puppets and felt pieces at once)

Here’s the baby, Princess Marigold:

(this baby finger puppet came in a pack or finger puppets I got from IKEA)

Rhyme:  A is for Alligator  (not related to blankets but we need to get our wiggles out)

A is for Alligator  (make an “A” in sign language)
Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!  (make a chomping motion with your arms)

B is for Bouncy Ball  (Make a “B” in sign language)
Bounce, Bounce, Bounce!  (jump up and down)

C is for Circle  (make a “C” in sign language)
Spin around!  (spin in a circle)

D is for Dizzy (make a “D” in sign language)
Sit back down!  (point down to the ground and then sit)

Third Book:  Fly Blanky Fly by Anne Margaret Lewis

Song: (to the tune of the “Oscar Mayer Weiner” song)

“Oh I wish I was a fuzzy wuzzy blanket
That is what I’d truly like to be
Cause If I was a fuzzy wuzzy blanket
Everyone would snuggle up with me!”

(From the Perry Public Library)

Activity: Give the kids scarves (mini blankets!) and do the corresponding actions along with the following rhyme-

At breakfast time, oh me, oh my
Milk spilled on my blanket – oh me, oh my
Have to wash my blanket
And lay it out to dry

At lunch time, oh me, oh my
Peanut butter spilled on my blanket – oh me, oh my
Have to wash my blanket
And lay it out to dry

At snack time, oh me, oh my
Mustard spilled on my blanket – oh me, oh my
Have to wash my blanket
And lay it out to dry

At dinner time, oh me, oh my
Spaghetti spilled on my blanket – oh me, oh my
Have to wash my blanket
And lay it out to dry

At bedtime, oh me, oh my
Cookie crumbs fell on my blanket – oh me, oh my
Have to shake my blanket out
No time to wash or dry (shake head no)
I need my blanket (hug blanket)
It’s time for beddy bye (pretend to sleep)

(this idea came from the Storytime Source Page)