Silly Stories

For Storytime this week, we read the silliest stories I know. In The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach, a dog tried to tell his owner a silly story of how her sandwich disappeared. Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin gave tips about hosting a taco party for dragons.  And my personal favorite, The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend, was about a cat trying to get some eggs to make an omelet. You won't believe what he actually got! Aye Carumba!  

To go along with the silly stories, we made a silly octopus craft. We made eight cuts on one end of a toilet paper tube, then folded them up to make the octopus’ legs. We covered the octopus body with collaged tissue paper, then gave it some googly eyes and a blue crepe paper head. We glued fruit loops to the octopus's tentacles. Pretty silly, aren't they?

What's your favorite silly story? Comment by clicking the speech bubble at the top of this post. 

Garden Bunnies - Munch Munch!

Building on last week's garden storytime, today we read about rabbits and gardens - and you do know what rabbits like to eat, don't you?

We read lots of carroty stories! Muncha, Muncha, Muncha! by Candace Fleming told about a man who planted a garden, then worked night after night to be sure rabbits didn't eat his crops. Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds told about a boy who helped himself at a wild carrot patch - and what the wild carrots did to stop him! Creeeepy! Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino told of owl and rabbit, who lived happily side-by-side until one of them needed a small change to his house.  And Carrot Soup by John Segal was about Rabbit, who loved his soup and what happened when he tried to make it.

As you can see, our craft was another garden one. A paper bag was glued on three sides to a large paper. Garden plants were colored on the bag. Then carrots (some of them creepy!) were made with crepe paper leaves. The carrots fit inside the bag, with leaves sticking up, so it looked like they were growing in the soil of the "garden". Tug them by the leaves, and up the carrots come! Some kids left creepy eyes peeking out of their gardens, just like the vegetables in Creepy Carrots. A rabbit to color and glue finished the project - and a cotton ball was the end of the t̶a̶l̶e̶   tail.

In The Garden

It's August, and our gardens are blooming and producing! This week, we read about gardens and some of the plants and creatures we might find in ours. Our first story by Aliki, Quiet in the Garden, tells about the peace a boy finds in his garden, as well as the sights and sounds he notices. My Garden by Kevin Henkes tells the story of a girl who wishes for a fantasy garden! When she sows bean seeds, she hopes for jellybean plants! In the Garden: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George shows two children trying to discover what kind of creatures have been in their gardens.

One thing we did not see in our stories was a scarecrow for a garden. So we made one, with shredded packing material for hair and stuffing and a paper bag for a body. Each face was different - but they were all happy!

Bring Your Own Hero Ice Cream & Dance Party!

What a fabulous time we had last night, celebrating the end of our Summer Reading with our families and our invited heroes! During the party, we sat with our friends and made Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Captain America from paper tubes. We put capes and masks on lollipops and made them into into superheroes. We ate ice cream donated by the New Hampton School with toppings brought by parents. And we sang and danced and then danced some more! At the end of the night, everyone took home three special prizes for a job well done. Thanks to parents and heroes and Mrs. Simard who all made the night so special. What a wonderful time we all had!

THE CRAFTS

 

A FEW OF THE HEROES

ICE CREAM and DANCING!

More Community Helpers

As we finish up our morning Summer Reading Program session, we today read about people in a community who do not get much recognition for the things they do. Albert The Fix-it Man by Janet Lord told about a man who helped whenever anyone in his town need something repaired. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems featured a bus driver. The Dumpster Diver by Janet S. Wong was about a man who would help kids in his neighborhood make inventions from recycled materials. Finally, A Sick Day for Amos Magee by Philip Stead was a story about a zookeeper who helped each of his animal friends in a special way. 

For our craft, we made some of Amos McGee's animals. We colored the animal(s) of our choice, then pasted them onto a big piece of paper. Some of us made our animals habitat in the background, and everyone chose to wrap yarn around the paper from top to bottom to make a cage for their zoo animals.

What a colorful zebra!

Unsung Heroes: They're all around us

This week's program featured people in our community who work hard to selflessly help make our community a good place to live. 

Mrs. Huckins tells about her work as a nurse at a local clinic and the ways she can help kids stay healthy. We made a tissue holder to take home with us. 

As we made bookmarks, Mrs. Simard explains why she chooses to be a library volunteer on Saturdays, a day she has off from her regular job.

Miss Holloran of the New Hampton Community School tells about the things her school does to support our community and its members, like collecting pajamas for homeless kids, donating canned goods to shelters at Halloween, and raising money to help families in need. We left her table with a pencil and a pipe cleaner topper!

Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. McCormack from the New Hampton Garden Club showed photos of the gardens they plant and maintain to make our community so beautiful. They don't get paid to do this. They do it because they love gardens and want to share that beauty with others.

(They also showed us how to find marigold seeds in a plant that was dead!)

At Mrs. Hunewell's table, we talked about easy ways for kids to recycle and why it was so important to our community to do it. Kids also noted that Joe, the recycle man at the New Hampton Transfer Station, gives children a small reward when they recycle!

Can you think of other unsung heroes in our town?

High-Flying Storytime!

Stories this week were all about flying! On the Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers told of a boy who found an airplane in his closet and flew it to the moon! In Bear Flies High by Michael Rosen, Bear's friends take him to an amusement park so he can "fly". Owlet's First Flight by Mitra Modarressi shows what happens when a brave baby owl leaves the nest for the first time. Lastly, Flight School by Lita Judge tells the story of a persistent penguin who follows his dream to fly!

Next came rocket ships, made of paper shapes. Bodies, fins, and nose cones we all embellished with stickers, pompoms, and glitter glue. Tissue paper exhaust and flames made it look like it was soaring through space!

Many thanks to Brandie for overseeing this Storytime in my absence! It looks like it was out of this world!