Sturdy for Common Things

Pages to Projects: Weaving a Tale

I invite you to head on over to Library as Incubator Project for the latest Pages to Projects post, “Weaving a Tale”. This month, Thanks for the Animals, a picture book about gratitude and migration is the inspiration for a nature weaving extension activity. This weekend, I’ll post a flannel board I haven’t quite finished yet to go along with this beautiful picture book!

Pages to Projects: Weaving a Tale 

Also, be sure to check out the Pages to Projects pinboard for storytime book recommendations and projects!

Trick-or-Read: A Halloween Storywalk Exhibit

For a fun twist to trick-or-treating, the Wednesday before Halloween my coworkers and I created an interactive storywalk experience inside the library using five favorite Halloween tales. If you’re not familiar with storywalks, typically outside, they’re replicated picture books taken apart and plotted along a path for kids and their families to read. I thought it might be fun for Halloween to use this storywalk concept, in more of a gallery style walk inside the library’s Kids Room with FIVE Halloween favorites:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd

Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell

Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler

Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane, illustrated by Jane Manning.

These books were replicated and hung around the room for patrons to walk and read through, while also enjoying a variety of extension activities related to the books.

The opening storywalk reveal, “Trick-or-Read”, was a 3-hour drop-in evening program and the kids were encouraged to dress up in their costumes— And they did! They could read the stories with their families and after they were finished, come up to me, say “trick-or-read”, and receive a free book! The books given away were leftover books from various events or past summer reading programs. Macmillan Kids was awesome to send along library card holders with the artwork of Kazuno Kohara (Midnight Library, Ghosts in the House!) as an extra treat for kids.

The exhibit stayed up after the event was over for library patrons to enjoy, which were counted in passive programming stats. It was a busy week, so I tried to snap pictures when I could the night before and immediately prior to the event start. Hopefully, you’ll get the idea. Here it is mapped out:

 The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

 

This story started with a door with the book cover on it (trick or treat!) and either starts with an activity or ends with one. This book ended with putting together the scarecrow in the book on a flannel board and doing the actions from the story. If you are interested in recreating this activity, I found this handy template via Toddler Approved.

 

Mystery Vine

I paired actual pictures of the various life cycle stages of a pumpkin with the illustrations in this book.

 

Ghosts in the House!

 

This storwalk started with making a little ghosty friend out of a coffee filter at a little self-serve station to take with while reading the story. Easy ghost craft credit via Blog Me Mom.

 

Big Pumpkin

The activity for Big Pumpkin was an act out — Kids could choose what character to be using these fun costumes my co-worker, Emmy, made from this sequencing activity featured on Fun-a-Day.

 

Little Goblins Ten

Little Goblins Ten had a couple activities: Singing the tune “Over in the Meadow” to the text in the story and/or counting the Halloween creatures on each page.

Since there was interest in how this program was set up, I’ve outlined a short checklist of main items done in preparation. Nothing was purchased  for this event– Everything used was in our supply closet, but a bit of prep work was required.

• Ask publishers for permission to photocopy. I was told you probably don’t have to do this because the copies are not being distributed and because of the nature of the event, but I went ahead and asked anyway, because having permission is the nice and legal thing to do.
• Photocopy interiors of the books chosen, trim,  and mount to colorful construction paper or poster board using double stick tape. This took the majority of the prep time.
• Create extension activities for each book.
• Decorate as needed.
• Host an opening event for families to view.
• Maintain storywalk as needed. Keep posted for all to enjoy as long as you desire!

And that’s pretty much it! A lot of kids that visit the library walk or take the bus from the west side projects, and the goal was to create a unique, safe Halloween experience for everyone in the library. Plus, it promotes reading together! I had a couple families arrive who quickly realized that it wasn’t your everyday trick-or-treating experience, but instead of turning around and leaving participated in the storywalk and activities with their kids. 

This idea was intended for Halloween, but it could absolutely be used with any favorite story, holiday, season, or theme in the library! The patrons enjoyed it so much, that we’re already started talking about possibly doing something for the winter season that would stay up for several weeks at a time with one or two books. If you decide to do something like this in your library, let me know! I’d love hear about it!

 

** A big thanks to HarperCollins Children’s Books, Macmillan Kids, and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for permission to use these books!

Farm Stand Storytime: Pumpkins & Compost

Last Friday was the second installment of a new storytime series in collaboration with Crabtree Farms, highlighting stories, songs, and activities about the local food system and great outdoors. (You can read about the first one HERE.) Being the October month, it’s a given that pumpkins are a must. Crabtree Farms doesn’t grow pumpkins, BUT their big annual Pumpkin Smash the day after Halloween is fun alternative to recycling Jack-o-Lanterns. So, the theme for this month’s Farm Stand Storytime was “Pumpkins & Compost”.

Pumpkin & Compost Storytime

After welcoming the crowd to Farm Stand Storytime, we started with the same opening fingerplay rhyme from last month:

I wiggle my fingers,
I wiggle my toes.
I wriggle my shoulders,
I wiggle my nose.
I give my hands a clap,
I put them in my lap.
 

The Wondering Box: Then I brought out the Wondering Box. The box was as closed as it could be (my pie pumpkin was too big) and asked the kids, “I wonder what is in the Wondering Box? Shall we look inside?”. They all yelled back that we should! I faced the box towards me, peak inside and shut it. I do this again. And then I looked surprised, opened it all the way, and turn it around for all to see. As I do this, (and they all yell “pumpkin!”) I explain to the audience that it is a pumpkin and that today we are going to be sharing stories and learning about the life cycle of pumpkins as well as composting, which we will talk about later in the storytime. First, PUMPKINS!

  

Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell

First I read Mystery Vine, my absolute favorite book about pumpkins for all ages. It’s just the right amount of information about the life cycle of a pumpkin without being too long for the younger kids. It’s also a mystery and who doesn’t love a mystery?! At my old library, we had a prop for this book my former coworkers, Jenny and Linda, made (see HERE) based off of the author’s creation (see HERE), but since I’m at a new library I decided to make my own. It was a few late nights in the making when the kids were in bed, but was 110% worth it. As I read the book, every time there is mention of the vine growing, I pull a little of the vine out of the pot until it’s time to reveal what the vine is growing: pumpkins! I make a big deal, put down the book, and pull out the pumpkins. The kids love watching the vine grow before their eyes and they all gasped when the pumpkins came out.

I was a little nervous to attempt making this prop, because I can barely sew a button but it did the job. I made my Mystery Vine using green cording, flannel, thread, pipe cleaners, and lots of hot glue. The dirt is hot glued to a plastic pot that I purchased on clearance. The leaves were cut from various pumpkin leaf templates I found online and I made the pumpkins using this method stuffed with plastic bags. There is also a piece of velcro on the bottom interior that the vine can attach to. The pumpkins were both stiched and hot glued and everything else was hand-sewn onto the vine. Credit props to my husband for helping me cut the leaves, my mom, who was visiting for the weekend, for helping sew, and Cathryn Falwell for sending helpful hints and suggestions on how to make it!

Next we said the pumpkin chant which was written by my dear friend Jane Johnston and is delightfully fun! You say this chant/action rhyme to the rhythm of  PAT PAT, CLAP CLAP, PAT PAT so that it sounds like this: Pumpkin (pat pat), Pumpkin (clap clap), Pumpkin (pat pat) bread (action- hold hands flat in front)…..  

Pumpkin Chant
By Jane Willis Johnston

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin bread!
(Hold hands flat in front, palms up, on lying on top of the other)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin head!
(Put hands on head)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin pie!
(Hold hands in a big circle)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin eye!
(Curve hands around eyes)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin cake!
(Hold Hands flat, one palm up, one palm down five inches above the other)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin shake!
(Hold fists up close to years and shake hard)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin stew!
(Pretend to stir stew)

Pumpkin, pumpkin,
Pumpkin BOO!

 

 

Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky, illustrated by Susan Swan This is a wonderful book about looking closely at one’s surroundings. One October day, two siblings notice shapes all around during their day on the farm. Below is a flannel board I made to use while reading this book. Every time a shape was mentioned in the story I would point to a shape on the flannel board and ask the crowd if that was the shape mentioned.  I always pointed to the wrong shape at first to make it a game.

The kids had a good ol’ time helping me pair the shapes in the story to the flannel shapes. When I finished reading I made a point to tell kids and their grownups that finding shapes is a game you can play on the farm, in a park, or at home. Shapes are everywhere!

 

What is “Compost”?: Next, I asked the kids again what shape a pumpkin is, if they have ever seen what happens to a Jack-o-Lantern that wasn’t thrown away in the trash, and then I showed them pictures of a decomposing pumpkin (photo credit: Gifts of Curiosity). The first picture I showed was a picture of a 1-week old Jack-o-Lantern and I asked them if the pumpkin looked like a circle to them. Then, I showed them the picture of a 2-week old Jack-o-Lantern and we made the observation that the top had fallen in and the insides were not orange anymore. I showed them the a picture of a 3-week old pumpkin and we talked about how it looks “squiggly” and “shrinking”. I explained that decomposition means the pumpkin is decaying, rotting into the ground. Last, I showed the picture of the same Jack-o-Lantern after 4 weeks. The pumpkin is almost flat! Then I told the audience that decomposing Jack-o-Lanterns are great items to use for composting. Composting is a cheap, effective and environmentally friendly method of producing compost from all different types of materials to create a fertilizer to help plants grow!

 

 

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Washley Wolff The last book we read is Compost Stew, a wonderful introduction to composting and all the items that can be used to make compost. Asked the kids to get out their imaginary pots, because they are going to help make compost stew! I had a real pot (that contained fresh items for compost inside… Shhhh) and pretended along with the kids everytime an item was mentioned in the book, throwing that item in the pot.

Once we arrived to the end of the book, we stirred our pot (they pretended, I actually stirred with a wooden spoon), moistened with a watering can (pretend again), and then at the last line, “…Now open the pot and what have you got?” We all yelled “COMPOST STEW” and I showed them the real compost in my pot.

I told the kids they would have the chance to make compost stew after one last song and asked everyone to stand up. Since stortime was in a nice, grassy, open area we ended with a pumpkin version of “Ring Around the Rosie”. I placed the pumpkin from the Wondering Box in the middle and we all gathered around it, holding hands, singing:

Ring Around the Pumpkin 
via Everything Preschool

Ring around the Pumpkin,
Pocket full of nuts,
Leaves, leaves,
They all fall down.

We did this a couple times with these alternate actions:
..March …..
Tip-toe (whisper while tip-toeing)
……..Jump!

Composting Activity

After ringing around the pumpkin a few times, we all walked over the Crabtree Farm’s compost piles for our post-storytime activity: composting aka making compost stew! Anna, the farm’s programs assistant talked a little about how they compost and then the kids tossed buckets of organic matter into the composting pile. Because smelly things, worms, and throwing things are superb ingredients for kid fun… 

That’s a wrap for the latest installment of the Farm Stand Storytime series.  If you have any Thanksgiving/being thankful/November season book suggestions, please let me know. Feast for 10 is a must, but am looking for some new material for the next Farm Stand Storytime.  It will be the last one until spring!

 

No Such Thing

Halloween is my *favorite* holiday of the year, which means of all the holidays I have soft spot in my heart for Halloween picture books. This year, I fell hard for No Such Thing, by first time picture book author, Ella Bailey. 

As Halloween nears, young Georgia notices bizarre happenings around her house. A vase falls out of nowhere. (Must be the cat.) Her socks go missing. (Must be mice.) Her crayons go missing and pictures appear on the walls. (Must be little brother.) Georgia always finds some type of logical deduction to explain these occurrence, determined there are no such things as ghosts.

A nice element of surprise to this book is that until the very end, there are ghosts hidden on almost every page. If you didn’t happen to notice, at the end the reader is prompted to go back and search for them. Frequently, I have children that come to the library that are easily scared. With it’s playful, smiley ghosts, No Such Thing is a great Halloween pick for those who tend to become uncomfortable or frightened by ghoulish holiday staples.

Since sharing this book with my 4-year-old daughter, she has been ghost crazy and is frequently found creating her own not-so-spooky renditions at her art table:

She was having such a good time making her own ghosts, that I thought we’d try going 3-D and construct friendly cheese cloth ghosts. We kinda-sorta followed this tutorial from Martha and once dry, cut the eyes and mouth out of felt and adhered using fabric glue.

For Spontaneous Storytime, an initiative to conduct random storytimes on the fly in the library, I have been playing around with the idea of reading a featured book of the day several times to kids throughout my shift and having an extension activity available to explore after the reading. So, I brought in a few of the cheese cloth ghosts L and I made and hid them behind displayed books. After reading No Such Thing, the kids went on a ghost hunt in the library! The ghosts decided they enjoy the library so much that they’re going to hide out and cause mischief until Halloween…

 

 

Recently, I found out that the library has a REAL resident ghost named Eugene. Hope he enjoys his new buddies in the Kids Room!

 

For more fun Halloween activities in the library, check out: 

Hafuboti’s Mostest with the Ghostests and Book Graveyard.

These adorable book character pumpkin contests here, here, and here.

 

A couple other easy-peasy ghost crafts that look like all the fun:

Coffee filter ghosts via Blog Me Mom

Cotton Ball Ghost Craft via Happy Hooligans

 

Source of Book Reviewed: The wonderful folks at Flying Eye Books!

Introducing Miss Lucy Jane

Jane Johnston is an artist and a poet. She also happens to be an adored former children’s librarian who invoked a sense of wonder and whimsy while working at the library. She continues to encourage the imagination of children with her very first, independently published picture book: Miss Lucy Jane:

“The fanciful Miss Lucy Jane is “full of dreams and flap-doodle schemes” as she creates a wonderful week of amazing adventures. From building “rainbow smiles on a stilt” to “collecting one wish off a fin of each fish” to lassoing “Mars just to measure the stars,” she makes each day delightfully her own. Search every picture for a mouse that goes along for the ride! Miss Lucy Jane, told with Jane Willis Johnston’s lyrical words and Emmeline Hall’s whimsical illustrations, promises to become a read-aloud favorite for bedtimes, storytimes, and classrooms.I have invited her to share a few ways to share her new picture book, Miss Lucy Jane with you.”

I’ve invited Jane to share ways the many ways readers can enjoy Miss Lucy Jane with you here. We’ve very much enjoyed reading her book and making rainbow smiles (instructions below) during an episode of creating art early this morning.

 More Ways to Explore Miss Lucy Jane

Thank you for reading and listening to Miss Lucy Jane.  Here are a few suggestions for exploring her world as you share her adventures every day of one wonderful week.

Find the mouse in every picture.  He is very small and can be good at hiding.  Does the mouse ever see a mouse friend?

Search each picture for something that leads to the next picture.  Sometimes the connection is very strong, other times it might seem a little bit tricky.

For example, notice what Miss Lucy Jane is carrying in her bag in the first picture.  Did you find some things of different colors?  These things connect to what she makes in the next picture, because she does something with colors, and also with what she leaves on the sidewalk in the last picture in the book.

In the first Sunday picture Miss Lucy Jane is at the ocean shore.  Do you see anything in the sky that connects to the next picture?

Some pictures may have two or even three connections.  Look at the first Wednesday picture.  What is the cat doing with her tail?  What kind of bushes do you find in the next picture?   Who else is sitting on the hat with the cat?  Where have you seen them before and where do you see them after the hat picture?

In the second Thursday picture, can you find something in the river that runs under the square trees that connects with the big Friday picture?

For the second Saturday picture, find out two names the bear constellation is called.

Make a list of the sets of rhyming words in each verse just to make sure you hear the rhymes.  Find your favorite set of rhyming words and see if you can think of a third word and maybe even a fourth word to rhyme with them.

Which day’s adventure would you choose to go on with Miss Lucy Jane and why?

Read Miss Lucy Jane at least two times, maybe even three, to feel the rhythm.

HAVE FUN!!

Good Ideas for Storytime and Craft

I have had success and great fun presenting Miss Lucy Jane in a storytime setting to children from two to twelve years old and all ages of adults.  I had two teenage helpers who were intrigued by the book, as well, so Miss Lucy Jane appears to appeal to all ages.

I believe in opening many doors and windows into the books I read to children as some children are more inclined to focus on sounds, some on visuals, some on my facial expressions, some on my hand movements, or some simply to the turning of the pages of the book.

Below you will find rather lengthy description of how I enjoy reading this book to children.  You can, of course, just read it straight through and that will work wonderfully, too!

In order to be sure I keep all ages connected to Miss Lucy Jane, I start with a basket of objects to identity and to watch for in the illustrations.  Study the book and put together your own collection.  I include some sidewalk chalk, a rainbow  colored on cardstock and cut out,* a red ball, a real banana (real things are always attention-getters!), a plastic horse, a small stuffed animal cat, a fabric butterfly, a paper kite made from cardstock, a toy rowboat, a rubber fish, some paper stars, a small stuffed animal black bear (standing on all four feet, not a teddy bear)…and a small stuffed animal mouse. (*When I show the rainbow, I do talk about the arch shape, turn it over to make it a smile shape, and call it a “rainbow smile.”)

I talk about the book briefly, that it is about a girl who likes to find adventures in every day and that this book takes us along on one week in her busy life.  I say it is fun to look for things as we read the book…so then I hold up each object in random order and we all identify them.  I hold up the mouse last and say that he is too small for the children to see from so far away, but that when they check out the book and take it home to look at the pictures closely, they will find the mouse!

Before I start reading, we review in chorus the days of the week.

I announce we are going to read the book twice, once a little slowly with some extra words I will use, and once a little faster after we have heard the words once and have felt the rhymes and rhythm of the poem that makes the story of Miss Lucy Jane.

Then I read the book, stopping to ask what day of the week Miss Lucy Jane is ready for, sometimes saying all of the days of the week up to that day.  In the first picture, where Lucy Jane is on her scooter, I mention that she is carrying a bag of lots of colors of chalk and to remember that.  Sometimes throughout the reading I note other objects we talked about.   When we get to the last page and picture, I ask what she did with her chalk and we talk about the sidewalk drawings from all the things she did in her wonderful week.

We have a discussion about what were some favorite pictures and adventures and days.  We talk about some of the rhyme sets.  We try to think of more words that rhyme with the sets. Then we read it again, straight through, listening for the rhymes and being carried along by the rhythm as we watch the pictures that create the world of Miss Lucy Jane.

Rainbow Smiles Craft for Miss Lucy Jane

Make rainbow smiles on sticks!

Supplies:  6” lightweight white paper plates, cut in half and trimmed in the center to create a rainbow curve; markers; colored jumbo craft sticks (6“x ¾”); double stick tape.

Color your rainbow, turn it upside down into a smile, and tape it to the end of a stick.  You could also make a starry night smile, or a flower power smile, or a scribble and spot smile, or a letters and numbers smile, and/or any kind of smile that makes you smile!

Use your smile to keep yourself happy!  Stand in front of a mirror and hold it up to your face.

Use it like a puppet and make it dance to music.

Use it to make up a story about anything that comes into your head!

 Miss Lucy Jane by Jane Willis Johnston, illustrated by Emmeline Hall is available for purchase on Amazon or by emailing the author.

Rainbow smiles and many thanks to Jane for sharing the wonderful world of Miss Lucy Jane with us!