In today’s edition of Flannel Friday – no rhyme, no song. Just pictures, and words.
I try to include words on as many of my flannels as possible. While preschoolers generally can’t/aren’t reading them yet, I point out the words and hope they’re making the connection between what I’m saying and what is written. It’s kind of my little way of continuing what the preschool teachers do; labeling many things in their classrooms.
One of the themes that preschools often take up is “community helpers.” You know – people who make a difference in their communities, like firefighters, police officers, teachers, garbage collectors (absolutely!), LIBRARIANS, etc. This flannel is a take-off on that theme.
I made a bunch of objects that various “community helpers” (or people doing specific jobs) might use. I picked occupations that had a specific “item” associated with them that the kids might recognize. I freehanded them all (althought I do look at pictures online so I can get an idea of what something looks like). I labeled them all; the kids also might learn a bit of new vocabulary:
The kids tell me what the object is, and I show them the word. I then ask, “who uses this?” When they tell me, I add the word for that occupation. These are paper, covered in contact paper, with velcro tabs on the back:
Firefighter’s hydrant; Librarian’s book (yes, that’s a picture of me on the word strip):
Hairstylist/Barber’s scissors; Doctor’s stethoscope.
Mail carrier’s letter (on the back it looks like an envelope and says “letter”; teacher’s pencil.
Can you think of any objects I should add?
missmaryliberry.com 
I really like the idea of using the flannelboard as a dialog opener. I am not always such a fan of rhymes and I definitely need a break from Five Little Whatsits all the time.
I agree – when I don’t have a rhyme memorized I always think it sounds a little stilted. I try not to use notes, but, well, sometimes I’m just not enough prepared. But conversations are always good! And I don’t think flannelboards ALWAYS have to be rhymes or stories!
This is great! I see quite a few storytime providers struggling to read rhymes off of note cards, or trying to do some dialogic questions in the middle of a rhyme, and the presentation is a little compromised when that happens. I love sometimes leaving the rhyme behind and just having conversations with the kids, like this.