Summer Bunch: Boats, Ahoy!

Boats, Ahoy!

Read: Busy Boats by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker and Tugga-Tugga Tugboat by Kevin Lewis

Craft: Cruise Ship
Busy Boats discusses all types of boats -- Ships, row boats, sail boats, tug boats and etc. After we finished both books, we discussed the different types of boats, particularly cruise ships. We discussed some of the items you would find on a cruise ship: pool, food, life vest, anchor, and the Captain.

• I enlarged and copied a cruise ship picture found in the One World, Many Stories programming guide.
• Using Google images, I searched and printed clip art of a pool, food, life vest, anchor and Captain. And had my wonderful summer volunteer cut them out.
• After our discussion, I asked the children to color their ships and then glue on their clip art.
• And that is it! Really easy, but when you have a "big" crowd -- I was anticipating 13 children, but only 9 showed -- the easy crafts usually become as complicated as the more intricate/messy ones!

Summer Bunch: Go, Baby! Go!

Go, Baby! Go!

Read: The Bridge is Up! by Babs Bell and Red Truck by Kersten Hamilton

Storyboard: Blue Car, Blue Car, What Do You See?
I created flannel board figures using a pattern that I copied out of our summer manual One World, Many Stories. I had a volunteer color enough cars, trucks, boats, planes and etc, for our group. At storytime, I handed each child two of the vehicles and as we chanted ... continuing with verses for red boat, brown train, pink bike and etc ... each child was able to add their vehicle to the board.

Craft: Map Painting

• Need: Map, paint, various Match Box type cars or trucks (monster trucks work best), paper plates
• Prior to storytime, color-print a US map on copy paper. One map per child. Place various cars on a plate in the center of each craft table. Also, set a plate for paint at each craft seat.
• Tell the children that today, rather than using a paintbrush to paint, they are going to use their cars.
• Show them how the car "drives" through the paint "puddle." Now the car is ready to travel across country!
• Place one color at a time on the plate. You only need about a quarter-size dollop.
• Tell the children that when they are finished. The cars are going to go through the car wash and get all sparkling clean. (Car-washing done by my fabulous summer volunteer Kathleen!!)

Summer Reading 2011

One World, Many Stories

Our Summer Reading Program is in full swing here at the library. Our Kick-off was a success!! Lots of children, parents, songs, laughter and cake (of course). We offer fun activities, SPECIAL Family programs and the popular Summer Reading Club.

The Summer Reading Club is designed for children age two through entering Grade 8. When a child joins The Summer Reading Club, they receive a reading-log Passport. Children then read to earn raffle tickets for a chance to win a variety of raffle prizes from our Duty Free Prize Bazaar! We have some great prizes this year!!

We also have some great programs going on! We are super-excited to have received a summer grant from The Connecticut Community Foundation. This grant has enabled us to host a few Family friendly programs: The Garden of Beats, Riverside Reptiles, Multi-Cultural Food Fest and Burnham's Amazing Race, as well as a henna program for Grades 5-8 and Morning Music Party for the preschool-set.

So, we are going to super-busy! But we LOVE it!

Burnham Bunch: Goodbye for now

Vacation

 

Read: The Summer Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown 

 

Craft: Flower-face Picture Frame

• Need: Small paper plate, flower shaped frame, lots and lots of stickers, glue gun, glue sticks, camera and photo-paper.
• Prior to storytime, hot glue the flower-shaped frame to the small paper plate.
• As children enter for storytime, take their picture.
• As they stickerize their frame, print and cut-out photos ( I used 3x5)
• Have children glue their photo to the center of the flower.
• THE END!

Today was our last storytime until our summer reading program begins. I am typically taped-out of ideas (and energy) by this point. So, this craft was devised about 3 minutes prior to storytime! Thank goodness for my trusty co-worker....

Burnham Bunch: Feet

Four Fur Feet

Read: Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig and Four Fur Feet by Margaret Wise Brown

Craft: Mysterious Animal
Before I began reading Four Fur Feet, I summarized that a mysterious animal with four fur feet decided to take a walk around the world. I asked them to try to imagine what the mysterious animal looked like.

• Need: Various pictures of animal heads and tails, glue sticks, crayons, scissors and construction paper.
• I asked each child to pick out a head and a tail.
• My kiddos are 2 1/2 - 5 years old. So, some can and have used scissors. I precut some "body" shapes for the wee ones. The older children cut their own bodies.

And this is what they all came up with!

This is what we began with: Four Fur Feet

Burnham Bunch: Bugs

Bugs

Read: I Love Bugs by Philemon Sturges and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Flannelboard: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Using clip-art and Microsoft Publisher, I printed and laminated story elements: apples, pears, cake etc.  Because it is hard to turn the pages itty-bitty pages when The Hungry Caterpillar starts eating, I placed all the food on the flannel board. I prompted the children while "reading" : On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry.

Craft: A Caterpillar, of course

• Need: Paper, green and red paint, circle sponge stampers, black crayons and paper plates.
• Explain that we are going to create a caterpillar. Show them the technique of stamping. Show them that the circles should touch one and other.
• On the craft table, I placed paper plates with green paint. Have the kiddos stamp circles to create a long or short or fat caterpillar.
• Then place a small amount of red paint on the plate and have them stamp a head.
• Hand out black crayons and instruct them to draw legs and antennea. Ask them to write what food they would LOVE to eat if they were a very very hungry caterpillar. (if they need help, have mom/caregiver write it for them - but most of my kiddos want to practice their letters. Remember it is the process not the product.)

A nice FAT caterpillar






This reads "apples"



Burnham Bunch: Night

Night is Nice

Read: Night is Nice by Barbara and Ed Embereley and One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler

Craft: Night Surprise

• Need white construction paper (I used white butcher paper and it worked the best), a white crayon, black water color paint, and foam paint brushes.
• Prior to storytime, use the white crayon to draw stars, moon, planets on multiple sheets of paper.
• Lay out craft table with one sheet of prepared paper per child, black paint and brush.
• Explain that there is a nice night surprise that will show on the paper when they paint over the paper with the black paint.
• Pretty simple, but pretty cool!