Flannel Friday: Vamos a la granja / Let's Go to the Farm

This flannel was originally made more me by a wonderful colleague, Maria, at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.  I used her original as the pattern for my version which I am sharing with you all today.  The flannel is for the easy reader The Day the Dog Said, "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!" by David McPhail, which is also available in Spanish as El día que el perro dijo, "¡Quiquiriquí!"  The basic premise of the story is that a terrible storm comes sweeping through the farmyard, picking up all of the animals into the air, and when they crash back to earth, their voices have been mismatched.  Pretty soon they all begin arguing over who has the best voice.  The quacking cow thinks that the mooing duck has the best voice, etc.  Eventually, they are all swept up by the storm again and when they land this time, their original voices have been restored.

This story is really fun to use with preschool and family storytime audiences.  It's sure to get some laughs!  I usually have all of the kids help me blow in the big wind and sweep the animals up into the air, crashing back to earth with the wrong voices a few times.  I skip the arguing part and instead draw out the humor of the animals making unexpected sounds.  Finally, when their original voices return, the group catches on after the first animal or two and joins in.  This story is great for bilingual and/or Spanish storytimes too.  Bilingual is especially fun because you get to say both "cock-a-doodle-doo" and "quiquiriquí."

I hope you enjoy!

Day the Dog Said from Katie Cunningham