Flannel Fun @ MLA

The lovely Anna Haase Krueger at Future Librarian Superhero and myself successfully presented a workshop last week on how to effectively make flannel stories during the annual Minnesota Library Association's Conference. Despite the fact that at times I felt we really slapped it together at the last minute, we had a great experience and were able to share some nice tips with attendees.

Here is a link to our Prezi : Flannel : Not Just Your Grandma's Pajamas

After discussing types of flannels (stories, songs, games, etc.) and how flannels can support the five early literacy elements, we dug into the "how to make" and "how to use" ... my favorite part of the workshop!

We had three options for folks to make during their time at the workshop :
1. These fabulous dinosaurs (courtesy of Piper Loves the Library)

Here is the template that was shared for attendees to use in making their dinosaur pieces :

2. Another option was to make simple shapes as faces showing emotions and expressions. The idea was to make these double-sided with a sleeping face on one side and a surprised/shocked/delighted face on the other side. Using the rhyme "Five In The  Bed" the idea was to start with the faces sleeping and turn each one over as they fall out of the bed :

3. The final option (and many folks just took the template home with them) was to create a five apples template, double-sided, to be used with any various apple rhyme :

Here is what the template looks like :

After collecting all our flannel pieces, scissors, glue, paper, tape, display boards, brains ... we made it out of the workshop room in time for the next presenter -- whew! Note to self : if presenting a crafty-type workshop? ask to be scheduled right before a break ... so many folks wished they'd had more time to work on their flannel pieces.

All in all, Anna and I brought forth the power that is ALL HAIL FLANNEL and had a superb time.

Getting Down-n-dirty with Flannel at MLA