I have been wanting to make a Dinosaur/Door flannel for a loooooong time! The first 2021 Flannel Friday Just Do It Round Up and an upcoming virtual sensory storytime inspired me to FINALLY get it done.
The classic rhyme goes a little something like this:
Dinosaur, dinosaur, are you behind the (red) door?
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know how I feel about flannels in which color is the only variation. For a long time I was stuck on how to adapt this beloved dinosaur storytime staple. Since I wanted to use it in a virtual sensory storytime for an audience with disabilities, I definitely wanted a way for any participants with colorblindness to participate.
And then it hit me – duh! Add numbers to the doors! 🤦
The rhyme then goes:
Dinosaur, dinosaur, are you behind the (first) door?
…and then I felt inspired to make ANOTHER set of numbered doors with different shape windows:
Dinosaur, dinosaur, are you behind the (oval) door?
…and then, for my smallest of storytimers, I made ANOTHER set with just three different size doors:
Dinosaur, dinosaur, are you behind the (tall) door?
These are such simple adaptations that lead to great opportunities for math talk about size, shapes and number recognition – important early math skills. Here’s some sample math talk we might engage in:
- How are these doors the same?
- How are they different?
- Does your door at home have numbers? Which numbers?
- Which door is the tallest?
- Which door is the shortest?
- Which door would be the best door for a BIG dinosaur to go through? Why?
I like to hide a mix of dinosaurs and other animals/people behind the doors. And sometimes there’s no one behind the door… must have been a dinosaur playing ding dong ditch! 🤷♀️
This variety of characters also sets the stage perfectly for storytelling! For example:
- Once upon a time there was a little girl named Goldilocks who was always going into the wrong house. Which door does she open first this time?
- Goldilocks opened the green door and saw a dinosaur! What happens next?
- Goldilocks ran away from the dinosaur and stopped at another house. She opened the purple door. There was no one there! What does Goldilocks do next?
Or we can have a discussion about home safety as we rhyme and open doors:
- Would you let a dinosaur into your house? No! Why not?
- Would you let a person into your house? Yes? When?
Pick up the free pattern and make your own dinosaur/door flannel sets by clicking on the image below:
Pssst… there’s a bonus take-home dinosaur/door game for families in the download!
Interested in sharing your own fun flannels? Submit your ideas anytime to Flannel Friday on Tumblr! Looking for more inspiration? Browse the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards! Want to connect with fellow crafty folk? Join the Flannel Friday Facebook Group!
Storytime in the Stacks 