Friday, June 12, 2020

Five Little Dinosaurs - Flannel Friday


Dinosaur felt set for flannel board, dinosaur flannel board

In my previous position we had a great felt set for the "Five Little Dinosaurs" song and I've really missed having it, so I finally got around to making myself one! 

As you may have realized "Dinosaurs" is one of my favorite themes, and the kids and I have always enjoyed this song. I keep forgetting that I don't have all the flannels from my previous position until I need them, and it's too late. I haven't had time to make felt sets at work and I was busy with school, but now I have plenty of time of my hands since I finished my MLIS in May and my library is still closed thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, so I'm trying to use this time to get some made.

Some people make really fancy, detailed felt sets, but I don't really have the time to invest in that, so mine tend to be fairly simple. Sometimes I draw my own freehand patterns if they are very simple, but most of the time I use clip art or coloring pages. Coloring pages often make the best patterns, as they are simple line drawings, and there are so many to choose from. 

I learned a simple trick from a previous supervisor (thanks, Natalie!) that makes cutting things out of felt so much easier! I print out the pattern, rough cut it so that there's 1/4-1/2" extra around it, and staple it to the felt, then cut out the item. Cutting through the paper with the felt really makes it much more manageable and gives you better control. Once it is cut out, just carefully remove the staples and add details; I typically use colored Sharpies as I did here, but occasionally use puffy paint. Stiffened felt is much easier to work with, especially if doing small and or intricate items, and be sure to use a clean, sharp pair of scissors.



I chose to make a T. rex, brontosaurus, triceratops, stegosaurus (my favorite), and ankylosaurus, but you can make whatever combination of dinosaurs you prefer! I also made a swamp (which I now realize looks more like a tar pit than a swamp 😂, but I didn't have any dark brownish-green felt), giant ferns, and cycad trees for the background, but you can keep it simple with just the swamp or large, stylized ferns. I've seen variations of the song with the dinosaurs playing in either a giant fern or a giant swamp, and saying either "little," "big," or "enormous" dinosaurs. I choose to say "little" as in young, and have the grown-up dinosaurs call them home at the end. 

Before we do the song, I tell the audience we need five dinosaurs and ask them to help me count to be sure I have the right number as I put them up. Then we talk about the names of the dinosaurs and identify the colors. Before I start the song, I have them practice putting their hands up and calling "Oh, diiinosaur!" and patting their hands on their legs to imitate the next dinosaur running to play.

Five Little Dinosaurs
(to the tune of "Five Little Ducks")



One little dinosaur went out to play,
Out in a giant swamp (or the giant ferns) one day.
He (she) had such enormous fun,
He (she) called for another dinosaur to come.
"Oh, diiiiinosaur!"



Two little dinosaurs went out to play,
Out in a giant swamp one day.
They had such enormous fun,
They called for another dinosaur to come.
"Oh, diiiiinosaur!"



Three little dinosaurs went out to play,
Out in a giant swamp one day.
They had such enormous fun,
They called for another dinosaur to come.
"Oh, diiiiinosaur!"



Four little dinosaurs went out to play,
Out in a giant swamp one day.
They had such enormous fun,
They called for another dinosaur to come.
"Oh, diiiiinosaur!"



Five little dinosaurs went out to play,
Out in a giant swamp one day.
They had such enormous fun,
They played all day, til the day was done.

(Spoken) And then the mommy and daddy dinosaurs called,
"Oh, little diiiinosaurs! Time to come home!"

(Remove dinosaurs one by one)

Since making felt sets is rather time-consuming, I like to get as much mileage from them as possible by finding multiple rhymes, songs, or stories to use them with. In addition, I like to use both counting up and counting down rhymes, so here is another rhyme this set can be used with that counts down:

Five Big Dinosaurs


Dinosaur felt set, dinosaur flannet board, flannel friday

Five big dinosaurs letting out a roar. (ROAR!)
One stomped away, (stomp, stomp, stomp)
And then there were four.



Four big dinosaurs knocking down a tree. (TIMBER!)
One stomped away, (stomp, stomp, stomp)
And then there were three.



Three big dinosaurs with leaves to chew. (Ew!)
One stomped away, (stomp, stomp, stomp)
And then there were were two.



Two big dinosaurs sitting in the sun.
One stomped away, (stomp, stomp, stomp)
And then there was one.



One big dinosaur left all alone. (Aww...)
He stomped away, (stomp, stomp, stomp)
And then there were none.



No more dinosaurs. Why, do you think?
That's because they are all extinct!
(This was inspired by a rhyme I found on Miss Katie's Story Time Wiki
but I made several modifications and added a verse to make it my own)

And here are my three lovely assistants that helped hold up my flannel board so I could take pictures:





For more felt & flannel ideas and tips, check out the Flannel Friday Facebook group and Pinterest Boards! To share your flannel, submit via the Flannel Friday Tumblr. For complete information and all the details, visit the main Flannel Friday website.

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