A Small Fox in a Big World

Story Hour :: Moon

We Read:


No Moon, No Milk!, by Chris Babcock


Hildilid's Night, by Cheli Duran Ryan


And if the Moon Could Talk, by Kate Banks

We Made:


The Moon!


Just glue some noodles to a plate and wrap in tinfoil and you too, could have the moon in your house!

And now, I'm officially caught up with Story Hour... Until tomorrow!

Story Hour :: Mixed-Up Animals

This story hour is all about animals who think they are, or want to be, someone else.

We Read:


Stellaluna, by Janell Cannon


Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse, by Judy Schachner


Where to, Little Wombat?, by Charles Fuge

We Made:


Mixed-up creatures. We used styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, beads and feathers to put together some mixed-up creatures of our own! Here is a chicken alien and a turtle elephant bunny bird.

Story Hour :: Balance

We Read:


The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein


Mirette on the High Wire, by Emily Arnold McCully

We Tried:

Balance Activities!

Story Hour :: The Library

We Read:


When the Library Lights Go Out, by Megan McDonald


Bats at the Library, by Brian Lies


D.W.'s Library Card, by Marc Brown

We Made:


Penpal pictures for the kids at Willow House, Kristin's school! The kids drew pictures all about what they like to do at the library and I gave them each a picture of their penpal. Then, we wrote a letter and sent them off to Kristin's kids.! I just got her reply yesterday, so tomorrow's Story Hour will be an opportunity to write our own reply!

Story Hour :: Dance

We Read:


Giraffes Can't Dance, by Giles Andreae


Clorinda, by Robert Kinerk


Hilda Must Be Dancing, by Karma Wilson

We Made:


Ballerina Finger Puppets

Story Hour :: Pirates

We Read:


How I Became a Pirate, by Melinda Long


Roger the Jolly Pirate, by Brett Helquist

We Made:


A Pirate Hat
A Parrot for our Shoulder
A Treasure Map


ARRRRGGG!

Story Hour :: Music

We Read:


Mole Music, by David McPhail


Berlioz the Bear, by Jan Brett


Banjo Granny, by Sarah Martin Busse and Jacqueline Briggs Martin

We Made:



Toilet paper tube maracas! Get your self a bunch of toilet paper tubes (yay recycling!) and set them in a merry row on your table. Then, find some paper. We used colored construction paper, but you can use whatever you have handy. Draw yourself a 6.25 x 4.25 inch rectangle on your paper of choice and decorate it to your hearts content. Once finished with your stellar decorations, cut out the rectangle. Apply a liberal amount of glue stick to the back and then wrap your groovy piece of paper around one of the tubes, using tape to secure the seam. Then, pinch one end closed and staple. Fill your new container no more than 3/4 full of beads, beans, bells or anything else to make a neat rattling noise. Pinch the other end of your tube closed -- perpendicular to the first seam as illustrated in the photo -- and staple. Shake your maraca and your butt! It's fun!

Story Hour :: Valentines

We Read:


Little Mouse's Big Valentine, by Thacher Hurd


Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, by Diane deGroat


The Ballad of Valentine, by Alison Jackson

We Made:


Pencil wormy things and paper collage valentine cards. 

For the pencil wormy things (I know, real technical name, right?!), you take a 12"x1ish" strip of paper and accordion fold it.  Then, you get your husband to punch a hole -- or a few holes overlapping if your hole punch is smallish -- into the middle of the folded paper.  (I'm not saying get your husband because I don't think you can do it, I'm saying get your husband to do it, because I bruised my hand punching the holes and I didn't want to pass that on to you!)  Next, thread a pretty pencil through the punched holes and open the strip of paper up a bit so it runs the length of the pencil.  Then, glue on google eyes and giggle.  This is a really good option if you don't like giving out candy. 

For the card, fold an 8.5"x11" piece of card stock in half to make a card.  Then, fold just the front flap in half and cut a heart shape out of it.  Then, on a separate half sheet of card stock, glue collage paper in any design you desire.  I had the kids rip paper to glue to the collage, because it's fun.  Then, glue the collaged paper to the inside of the card, so that the pretty collage shows through the heart hole.  Then, decorate the inside of the card.

I hope that all made sense.  I'm still giddy because I got to have Valentine's story hour this year.  And, it's like 50 degrees out!  Last year, I got snowed out three times! WOOO! I wish Spring would stay!

Story Hour 2009 :: Hedgehogs

We Read:


Hedgie's Surprise by Jan Brett


The Prickly Hedgehog by Mark Ezra


The Mitten by Jan Brett

We Made:

I was originally going to make paper plate hedgehogs, but since I just made paper plate animals last week, I instead decided to have the kids make the Mitten Activity from Jan Brett's site, so they could retell the story.  Jan Brett's site is a treasure trove of fun activities, so make sure you check it out!

Story Hour 2009 :: Armadillos

We Read:


Armadillo Rodeo, by Jan Brett


Armadillo's Orange, by Jim Arnosky.

We Made:

Paper plate armadillos.  You'll need a paper plate for the body, limbs and tail and a piece of card stock for the head.  Just cut, color, glue/tape/staple and enjoy!