Read-Aloud: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

During Week 4 of our Summer Program, there have been lots of at-home activities involving the story of The Three Little Pigs - the engineering video, the LEGO challenge, the puppet show...  I knew I wanted this week's read-aloud to be a retelling of that same story, but from a different perspective or with different details. After a lot of thought (and a lot of reading!), I finally decided on this version, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, a book which has been around for about thirty years. The author's name is Jon Scieszka, he used to be a second grade teacher, and he's written lots of other books since this one. The story is also very different, but look for similarities. 

I've been having issues recording this and am getting a little frustrated and worried that I won't get a read-aloud posted in time. So, who better to read the book than the author himself? He does a much better job than I do, and I hope you like the story and the illustrations! Leave me a comment below if you want!

Week 4! Here's some more!

Here we are in the last week of July and staring the fourth week of our most unusual Summer Reading Program. If you're just now finding this, jump in this week or on any of the previous weeks and start having fun! 

It's great to hear that kids are reading and taking advantage of various ways to get books! Don't forget - if there's a favorite that you're looking for or a book you're anxious to read, let us know and we'll try to make that happen!

Before we get on to Week 4 activities, here's a quick look at some photos from Week 3. It looks like there was lots of fun with bridge-building activities! Some to help the Billy Goats get past the Troll...

and some to support cans of food!

Beautiful painted rocks from this week's Bingo sheet.

A water picture for our Photo Challenge:

And an original poem about summer:

Hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, s'mores

Lots of meals to eat outdoors

Unless it pours. 

😆

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Here's the link to our Week 4 activities: https://bit.ly/302ieqU. This week, there will be opportunities to be better engineers than the those three pigs were! There will be another puppet musical to watch and our Storytime read-aloud will be a different version of the Wolf and Three Pigs story. Be sure to check out the two Bedtime Math posts - one features fascinating physics and the other one is really funny! Cool down yourself and your family with crafty fans. And our writing challenge is to create a song! If you do, send it to me - and I'll sing it for you!

Keep sending in photos for this blog and our Gordon-Nash Library Facebook page. 

Keep reading and having fun!

Keep cool!

Read-Aloud: Clever Jack Takes the Cake

Week 3 is Here - With a Song!

I hope everyone had fun with our Week 2 activities. I sure had fun reading Kate and the Beanstalk!

Here's this week's menu of activities for Week 3 of our Summer Program. https://bit.ly/3fL8WVM. This week, you'll help goats get over a bridge, you'll listen carefully to background sounds, you'll build a weight bearing structure, maybe you'll get a little wet, and you'll hear a funny story about another Jack, this one who brings a special gift to the princess's birthday party! There are lots of other activities, too! Also, there are still some engineering kits left - click here to sign up if you want some! 

Someone asked if there was a deadline in getting activities and challenges in - and the answer is no! Take as much or as little time as you like with these suggested activities. The goal for this summer is to read, of course, but it's also to have fun.

Do check in though, with photos and videos of activities that you wouldn't mind sharing with me. Kids also like to see what friends are doing, so let me know if I can share online, too! Here are a few projects from this week! 

Engineering Jack's parachute!

When your materials don't work the way you had expected, 

it's good thinking to change your design - and materials! Engineers do that!

A LEGO Castle!

Note the banner flying from the top!

Check out this beautiful Family Coat of Arms! Wow!

Finally, do you remember last year musician Steve Blunt and author Marty Kelley came to the Gordon-Nash and did a program for us? We couldn't ask Steve Blunt back this year like we wanted to, but he gave me one of his songs to share with you. It's all about stories - and he does sign language! Sing along with Steve!!

 

Read-Aloud: Kate & the Beanstalk

Here's this week's read-aloud. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't start at the beginning. If you drag the playhead marker back to the left and the beginning of the video, it will play right.

In the meantime, I'll keep searching for a way to fix it.

Week One: Fun! Week Two - NEW!

There sure has been a great response to Week One activities - it sounds like kids are having a good time being outside, creating, and investigating. Here are two of the Gnome Homes created by clever builders!

      

I heard that two of my favorite patrons were trying to completely fill their Week One Bingo cards! What a great idea!! I hope they succeed! Here's their progress so far!

And here's are a few cairns by one of our young readers! Such craftsmanship! Such balance!! 

It's The Gingerbread Man's boat! It floats!!

And finally, here are two wonderful young friends who took the challenge to memorize nursery rhymes as suggested on the Week One Bingo card. Great job to both of you!!

If you're getting a late start or want to revisit some of the past activities or videos, the link to Week One activities and downloads here.

Here's the link for the activities for Week 2: https://bit.ly/2OjP1kC. Included this week is a link to a wonderful puppet musical that I loved! A library in California has generously made this available to other interested libraries, but only until the end of the week at which time the link will be deactivated. So watch soon! There's also a STEM challenge that features the same fairy tale as the play. There's a Build a Castle LEGO Challenge and a chance to design your own family crest to hang in your home-castle! There's a new photo challenge, a new scavenger hunt, a new Bingo Card, and a new Thursday Storytime, coming in a few days.

Do you have friends who need Summer Reading Program materials and an Engineering Kit? I have some left! Just let me know! Click here to fill out the form to make it happen!

Read Aloud: Go Big or Go Gnome

2020 Summer Program: "Imagine Your Story"

It's been quite a year so far for all of us. In January, when I ordered materials and began planning for this summer's reading program, I never dreamed we'd be where we are today.

In trying these months to repeatedly adjust my plan for a summer program for kids, I was really hopeful that I wouldn't have to involve any online or virtual programming. But with the way things are, that's exactly what will be happening. 

This summer, I will offer children weekly at-home activities in the name of the Gordon-Nash. Some will involve reading, some will be craft-related, and there are a few interesting STEM activities as well. There are photography and LEGO challenges, fun Bedtime Math games and activities, and a virtual Storytime. To start the activities for Week One, click here: https://bit.ly/2BF5AEM.

I hope there is enough here to allow you and your child to make choices about how your family will participate. As your child completes activities, let us know. You can save your papers to turn in at the library at a later date, or you can show them if you check out books at the New Hampton Community School's Curbside Library on Tuesday mornings. You can also take photos of activity sheets, craft creations, models built, and experiments performed and email them to me (email address below) or post them to a weekly post on the Gordon-Nash Library Facebook page. When the program is finished, small prizes will be awarded to all who have actively participated.

One of the STEM challenges this summer involves videos and craft material from the Children's Museum of NH in Dover. They have supplied us with videos of their engineering challenges and with the materials kits they would have used had they presented in person at the library. I have kits for 50 children. If you would like kits for your child or children, just let me know by filling out and submitting this quick form at https://forms.gle/MHWGA3rTmt6kxS139. 

I hope you will find creative ways to keep books in the hands of your children. The New Hampton Community School is generously offering their students Tuesday morning curbside pickup of books selected from their online catalog at https://newfound.follettdestiny.com/. Share personal books with friends. Borrow from other libraries. Download to Kindles. If there is a book that someone is really anxious to read, let me know - and maybe we can make that happen. Lastly,  I hope that you continue to read to and with your children this summer and make literacy a family affair.

Please reach out with questions and concerns. My email is below. If you leave me a voice mail at the Gordon-Nash (677-3479), I'll get your message and call you back.

I hope to see you soon at the library. Take good care.

Chris Hunewell (chunewell.gnl@gmail.com)