April Ideas

Let's Celebrate Frog Month
Read: Jump! by Fischer and A Frog in a Bog by Karma Wilson
Craft: Frog Face

• Need green paint, sponge brushes, red craft paper, large paper plates, clip-art flies and eyes.
• Prior to storytime, print out fly clip-art and large eyes and cut red paper into strips and curl one end (to look like long tongue)
• Give children a limited amount of green paint and have them paint the plate. (In order to hurry along the drying process, blot excess paint with paper towel)
• Next, glue on two big eyes, tongue and lastly the fly.

Our storytime is structured for 2 to 5 year-olds, but younger siblings can attend as well. If we have extra craft supplies, we invite the parents and younger sibling to join us. Because of having so many "little ones," we use paper eyes. My co-worker cuts about a million eyes a year, for use in our various crafts. I use Microsoft Publisher and design a sheet of eyes -- adjusting the size and shape for what is needed .... and it is a heck of a lot cheaper than purchasing googly eyes!

Earth Day
Read: My Garden by Henkes and Up, Down and Around by Katherine Ayres
Craft: Planting seeds

• Need soil, various flower seeds, and cups.
• Prior to storytime, I put a few of each type of seed into ketchup cups (if you haven't noticed yet, these are invaluable. You can purchase an entire box of these little paper cups at the party supply store.)
• I prepared three "stations" around the craft tables. Two stations were for scooping dirt - (large mixing bowls with potting soil and cups for scooping) and the third station was set up with the seeds.
• The group split into two groups, scooped dirt into their cups and moved along to the seed section. I showed them how to put a small impression into the dirt with their fingers and then plant the seeds.

Great and simple project for when you are more than done with cutting out vast quantities of eyes and other bits for gluing-crafts!!! This summer, one of the children brought a picture of the flower that they planted -- I couldn't believe how large it had grown.

Trees
Read: A Tree is Nice by Udry and Grade Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma
Craft: Tree

• Need paint dabbers filled with green paint, tree trunk shape copied onto white copy paper and brown crayons.
• Have children color tree trunk brown.
• Using the paint dabber, create a tree filled with leaves.

Really......can this be more simple?