Felt Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacDonald Had 
a Farm  
                 A felt Old MacDonald Barn sounded like a good idea when my 18 month old granddaughter wanted to watch a "Old MacDonald" video over and over, and OVER again.  I wanted her to be able to have a more hands on experience with Old Mac Donald Had a Farm than just screen time.

            So,   I found a little candy box, about  4 by 4 inches.  Covering with felt to resemble a small barn was done with Tacky glue  to adhere the felt to the box. I know this is a Very basic barn.

  
       Then I worked on  some small felt animals to fit into the barn. You will have to excuse my hand sewing because it is really not very good, but I think they are kind of cute. 

       This  barn is made from a tin  Altoids box. It has a different shape with a hinged top. All the animals fit quite well.

          
           A duck is always a popular animal on the farm, with a quack, quack here, and a quack, quack there.

        
            A chick, chicken, or hen makes a good sound in the barnyard," Peep, Peep"!

                 This quiet little lamb makes a nice Baa- Baa sound on the farm.

          You can't sing "Old MacDonald had a Farm" without a pig.  The Oink- Oink here is very special to little ones.

      Last but not least is a cute brown cow that says Moo.

         Singing the Old MacDonald song is  a staple in every child's young learning life.  The tactile experience of opening the barn to pick up the next animal is enriching. As we sing the song, and make the animal sounds, each animal moves around the farm.  Then the barn is opened for the next animal in the song. This animal can be the next on the pile or the choice of the child.

         I feel this type of experience is more beneficial to the young child than watching the videos.  Watching videos for our children is so much fun, but screen time should be limited and not over done.

        Please, interact, sing, dance, and read with your young children. These are so very important event in their lives. They are young for such a short time.  They will grow up so very fast and this experience will be gone forever.

        I remember my mother and grandmother singing a song to me.  "When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother what would what would I be? Would I be pretty , would I be rich? Here's what she said to me. Que sera, sera, what ever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see, Que sera, sera."  This song is from 1956 written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Doris Day sang it so beautifully.

       Please leave a message if you have a minute to spare in your busy day. I'd love to hear from any readers.

Beti  

Five Little Monkeys

Five Little Monkeys

            Five Little Monkeys is such a wonderful finger play for the young toddler.  These children are beginning to listen and repeat actions and words. They love rhyming sounds and silly songs.  What better song than "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"?  
          
            I made these little finger puppets for my granddaughter. Riding in the car seat for a long trip can be very boring a for the child as well as the adults.  But I would rather hear Five Little Monkeys jumping on the bed than a child whining or crying unnecessarily.
           
           Some little distractions like this will definitely help with the sanity of the adults in your car. Spend a few quality minutes with your child instead of putting on a video. Remember that children benefit more from adult interaction than screen time. 

          As you can see, there is nothing fancy about these finger puppets, and you can whip these up quickly on a sewing machine with minimal sewing skills.

               These little monkeys needed a little bed to jump on. A little tin  Altoids box was the perfect size.  I cut a little blanket and pillow from some felt and glued it to the lid of the tin. Hopefully, you can use your imagination to see the little bed. The five little monkeys can sleep inside when not jumping on the bed.  This little tin can be popped into a purse or diaper bag.

              As you can tell from my blog,  I am a proponent of being with and doing as much as you can with your young child as you possibly can.  Our children are young for such a very short time.  They grow up so very fast.  Don't let another opportunity pass you by.  
         
       Today I linked up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five for Friday linky.  Check out all the other blogs who have linked up, too.

www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com

            Please leave a comment if you have a minute.  I'd love to read your thoughts.

Beti