Mother's Day box

This is a quick and easy craft for Mothers' Day. The kids loved it, and the adults got a kick out of it. The grandmas in particular loved it - hint, hint.


Sorry for the poor quality of the picture. The label says:
"You may think this box is empty, but it's as full as full can be.
Whenever you feel lonely, just open it and see -
It's filled with hugs and kisses, with love for you from me."

All you need for this project is a small paper mache box (I found inexpensive mini boxes at A.C. Moore.), crayons, small stickers, a label and glue stick. Let the kids decorate them, glue the label on, and blow kisses into it. Then they put the lid on and "wrap" it in a hug. We had a couple of scares where the lids came off and the kisses fell out, but the great thing about kisses is that you never run out of them. Just fill the box with more!

What we read:
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
The Mother's Day Sandwich by Jillian Wynot

Deep thoughts from story time

Miss Katie: I have a little brother named Andy. And guess what? He has a brand new baby!

Aidan, age 3: A new baby? Like a new fish?

In like a lion...

This was our March craft for crafty tots. If it wasn't abundantly clear to you before that I am not an art school graduate, it will be when you see my lamb. Also, please ignore the clutter under my desk.




Supplies:
2 paper plates
Brown and white contruction paper for ears
Markers
Glue
Cotton balls
Ribbon or yarn
Hole punch

Color one paper plate to look like a lion. Color the other paper plate to look like a lamb (or in the case of my sample, a strange but cheerful dog). Glue cotton balls to the lamb's head. Cut out one set of brown ears for the lion and one set of white ears. Glue them together, then glue them onto the back side of one plate. Glue the plates together, back to back, and when they're dry, punch a hole on either side and string a ribbon through to hang it up.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Caldecott Review - Mei Li

Mei Li
written and illustrated by Thomas Handforth
1938

I have to admit that when I picked up this book, I was expecting to find page after page of Chinese stereotypes. I was wrong. Oh me of little faith. According to the book jacket, Thomas Handforth lived in China after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship for study in 1931, and both the story and the illustrations show his respect and love for the Chinese culture. Of course, I don't know anything about what life was like for people in China in 1930, so I can't say with any certainty that the story is an accurate portrayal of that place and time. It felt authentic, though, and that's what makes for an interesting story.

The story is all about Mei Li, who convinces her older brother, San Yu, to take her to the New Year Fair in the city. While there, she plays with the acrobats and the trained bears, she rides the circus ponies, she gets attacked by a kite (flown by San Yu...typical brother!), and most importantly, she has her fortune read. According to the fortune teller, Mei Li will one day rule over a kingdom. At the end of the story, as the family celebrates the new year, the kitchen God appears to tell Mei Li that her home is her kingdom and her family will be her subjects. The pictures are very detailed, and Mei Li is just adorable. I wish the whole book was in color, because I love her rosy cheeks there on the cover.

Alex Alien Valentine Mailbox

I got the idea for this craft from the February 2010 issue of Pack-O-Fun magazine. I left the sample on my desk, and when I came in the next morning, someone had put a dollar in it. Score!

Supplies:
Empty 2 liter soda bottle (remove the cap)
Styrofoam ball
Red foam
Black felt scraps
Glue
Hot glue
Scissors
Pencil

Cut out a small circle of black foam and glue it to the ball. Push the ball down on the top of the bottle. This will be your alien's eye.

Cut a mouth in the middle of the bottle. I had to use a razor to make a small slit in each bottle, but the kids could cut the rest.

Draw teeth, tentacles, hearts, polka dots, or whatever you imagine on the red foam, cut it out and glue it on to your alien. Small pieces will stay on with regular glue, but larger pieces need hot glue.

Put it out and let it fill up with valentines.

Deep Thoughts from Story Time

From Sadah, age 4:

"I always see the moon at night. It follows me wherever I go, because it likes me."

Super Bowls

That's right, I'm calling this a super bowl. I'm not too cool for a pun.

Supplies:
Small glass bowl (I found these ones at A.C. Moore for a dollar a piece.)
Green glass paint
White acrylic paint
Small pictures of footballs*
Modpodge
Paint brushes
Glue

Paint your bowl green on the outside. While the paint is drying, cut out picture of footballs. When the paint is dry, paint white "yard lines" up the sides and around the top and bottom of the bowl. Glue football pictures onto the bowl. When the white paint is dry, paint a thin layer of modpodge over the bowl.

*Smaller pictures work best. The one I used in the sample was a little too big. You could also use football-themed stickers.

Mitten suncatchers

I often get my best craft ideas when I'm digging through the odds and ends in the library's craft corner. I made these suncatchers with leftover contact paper and cardstock. This was our January craft for Crafty Tots (ages 2-5). It was a fun craft for January, since we all need a little sunshine and color this time of year.

Supplies:
Contact paper
Tissue paper, many colors or shades
Construction paper or cardstock
Glue
Ribbon or yarn
Hole punch

Cut the contact paper into a mitten shape using the template on the right. Peel the paper side off and lay the mitten on the table sticky side up. Tear tissue into small pieces and stick them onto your mitten. If you like, you can cut the excess tissue paper from around the edge. Cut paper or cardstock to make the border. Glue a border onto either side of the mitten. Punch a hole in the top and tie the ribbon through it. Hang in a window and let the sunshine in!

For another variation, try melting crayon shavings between two pieces of waxpaper and cutting them into mitten shapes.

Caldecott Review - Animals of the Bible

My resolution for 2010 is to read all of the Caldecott Medal winners, starting with the first winner from 1938.



Animals of the Bible
Dorothy P. Lathrop
1937

This is a collection of short Bible stories about animals. Most of the stories are accompanied by an illustration. Naturally, the artwork is the main attraction here. Check out the Leviathan from the book of Job:



The text is pulled directly from the King James version of the Bible, so it's a little complicated for children. Not to mention that the story about Balaam's ass will be unintentionally hilarious to the grade-school set. Between the heavy text and the black-and-white illustrations, I don't think this particular title is very likely to find many young fans nowadays. In a perfect world, I'd like to see it updated with text from a more recent translation of the Bible or just paraphrased Bible stories.

The Incredible Edible Snowman

This craft is based on something I did with my librarian when I went to story time. That was 20 years ago, so it certainly left an impact on me. It was a big hit with the pre-k and kindergarten story time groups, and even some of the older siblings got in on it. Some of the snowmen made them out of the library; some were not so lucky. The one pictured here tragically lost his life when one of our teenage pages got hungry.

Supplies:
Marshmallows
Pretzel sticks, broken in half
Fruit roll-ups, cut into strips
Graham crackers
Tube of white cake decorating gel
Round sprinkles

Stick half a pretzel into the top of a marshmallow. Press another marshmallow into the top of the pretzel. Repeat so you have three marshmallows stacked on top of one another. Break another pretzel in half and stick them into your middle marshmallow to make arms. Wrap the fruit roll-up strip around the snowman’s neck to make his scarf. Use the decorating gel and sprinkles to give him a happy face; add buttons of you want. Finally, squeeze gel onto the bottom of your snowman and stick him to the graham cracker base.

Admire. Devour.

What we read:
Cat and Mouse in the Snow by Tomek Bogacki
Tracks in the Snow by Wong Herbert Yee
First Snow by Bernette Ford