Sew Bookish Blog

June Book and Cookie Club: Castle in the Attic

6/27/2018

Every month I facilitate a book club for students in 3rd - 5th grade. This program is designed to be a caregiver and child book discussion group. I plan activities and games based on the book that we read. B&C Club is one of my favorite programs and I love the challenge of creating new activities and games each month for The Crew (my nickname for my B&C Club participants) to enjoy.

My plan for this month's B&C Club can be accessed by clicking here.

Our book for this month was The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop.

What's Your Medieval Name? -- Nametag Activity

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I decided that it would be great fun for The Crew to create their own Medieval Name for the evening.

I made this Medieval Name generator graphic using PicMonkey and found some name inspiration on Storm the Castle. As I was creating this graphic, I realized that I only had so much space to work with so I opted for gender neutral names. I also picked out some Jousting horse names for some of the surnames because I found it amusing.

British Word Matching Game -- Icebreaker Activity

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I purchased the clipart for this collage from the amazing Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

I thought it would be fun to have The Crew match British terms and slang to pictures that I mounted on foam core. This was such a fun icebreaker because it got everyone to work together!

Race to Build a Castle -- Discussion Game

The Crew was divided into two teams for this game. Each team took turns answering questions from the book. If they answered the question correctly, they were given the card the question was written on and used the card as a "block" to build their castle. To win the game, a team had to earn 20 blocks and have a castle that had 2 towers. It was a close race, but Unicorn Castle was victorious!

Stained Glass Art

This was one of the most popular activities of the evening. For this activity, The Crew drew a design on glossy photo paper with Sharpie markers. When they were finished drawing and coloring their design, they outlined the shapes of their design with a black marker. I actually had this photo paper lying around my house, so I didn't have to buy any #score! The idea for this activity came from Happy Hooligans blog.

Castle Challenges

This is a really cool STEM and team building activity that I found on Teachers Pay Teachers. I plan on trotting this activity out again during the school year for our Makerspace. The supplies are super simple and cheap - a ruler and index cards. I added cups for an additional challenge.

Magic Tricks

I pulled some magic books from our nonfiction section and marked the easiest tricks (and the ones I had the supplies for) with a post-it note. Some of the members of The Crew were excited to try out the tricks they learned on their friends and siblings.

Book Display

We are trying to promote our awesome nonfiction books via display carts for special programs. Our nonfiction section is tucked away in the very back corner of our department, so the books back there can get a bit neglected. I thought it would be fun to pull some books that related to various themes and topics in Castle in the Attic. I pulled books on castles, knights, jokes, and riddles.

Biscuits

Reading this book made me nostalgic for the time that I studied abroad in England (back in 2009). I had the opportunity to student teach in an English primary school. The best part of the day was tea time. All of the kids would go out to recess where they were supervised by parent volunteers. All of the teachers would head into the lounge for tea, biscuits, and cakes. I'm food oriented, so it's safe to say that this was my favorite part of the day.

I decided to order my favorite biscuit for The Crew to try. Unfortunately, Amazon was out of stock on the chocolate covered Digestives so I had to get the plain ones. I'm not complaining though, I get to enjoy some biscuits with my tea.

Summer Swag Bags

I might have kept one (or three) of the Squishies. Isn't it CUTE?

Last summer I thought it would be fun to give out little "swag" bags with activities and items related to the next book that we would be reading in Book & Cookie Club. I decided to bring them back again this summer because they were a lot of fun to put together!

This month's Swag Bag included Squishies (which were difficult to part with because they are tiny, cute, squishy animals), a "box of normal" (a Darice mini clear box with lock tabs purchased at my local Meijer for $1), Ticonderoga pencils (purchased at my local Meijer),Darice holographic star stickers, deco-trope craft with bamboo skewer, and I'm a Balloon! bookmark activity with string.

I have included the PDF to the activity templates and descriptions for the June Swag Bag.

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Family Storytime: Dads

6/13/2018

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Clipart by Krista Wallden of Creative Clips. Graphic designed on PicMonkey.

Our family storytime basket this week was Father's Day themed. I wanted to share books that showed male caregivers playing, cooking, talking, reading, etc. I did share one book that was Father's Day related, but the rest were centered around the daily activities of a male caregiver and the child in their care.

Since I am all about full disclosure on this blog -- I plumb forgot that I was due to facilitate storytime this week (#SummerReadingBrain) so I didn't have time to look for some books about uncles and grandpas!

Pre-Storytime Music

These are the songs that we listened to before storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album covers are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and purchase these great songs!

"Because I Love You"

"L-O-V-E"

Pre-Storytime Activity: Words of Kindness

I purchased the clipart for this activity from the amazing Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

I placed the words around the room for participants

Since the words of kindness activity was such a hit, I decided to do it again for this storytime. I encouraged participants to find a word in the room that described their caregiver. I also had blank ones that participants could take home, color, write on, and give away to someone they think is special to them.

family_storytime_activity_my_dad_june_2018.pdf
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Hello Song: We'll Wave Hello Together
Credit: Verona Storytime

To the tune of: Jolly Good Fellow

We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
Because it’s fun to do.

We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
Because it’s kind to do.

We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
Because it’s fun to do.

Letter of the Week: Ff

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When I introduce the letter of the week I like to ask the participants if they recognize the letter. I had the kiddos practice making the sound of the letter F.

Then we drew the letter F in the air. When I do this activity, I like to have the kids draw a big square in the air and I like to tell them that is their paper.

fter we drew the letter of the week, we talked about the pictures in the collage. As we talked about the pictures we made frog and fly sounds and I had kids raise their hands if they like french fries.

I purchased the clipart for this collage from the amazing Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

Recorded Music

These are the songs that we danced during storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album covers are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and purchase these great songs!

"Can't Wait to Celebrate"

"One, Two, Three, Whee!

"Head & Shoulders"

"Legs and Arms"

Flannel
Credit: Storytime Bandit

Oh, my little red heart, I love you.
Oh, my little red heart, I love you.
Oh, my little red heart, I love you.
Then the orange heart asks, “Do you love me, too?”

Repeat with yellow, green, blue, and pink

*I used clipart from Graphics from the Pond on Teachers Pay Teachers to create this flannel. To protect the artist and their work, I am not including a downloadable PDF of this flannel*

Action Rhymes & Fingerplays

I Have a Little Heart
Credit: Jbrary

I have a little heart, (place hand over heart)
And it goes thump, thump, thump (pat chest three times)
It keeps right on beating,
When I jump, jump, jump (jump three times)
I get a special feeling, when I look at you.
(point to child)
It makes me want to give you a hug or two. (hug)

My Family
Credit: Preschool Education Songs

If you peek into my room at night                  (stand on toes as if peeking)
My family you will see                                      (nod head)
They kiss my face and tuck me in tight,       (blow kiss)
Why? Because they love me!                         (hug yourself)

One Hand Can Wave
Credit: Jbrary

One hand can wave
And one hand can snap
But it needs a friend
To clap, clap, clap!

Little Mousie Brown
Credit: Jbrary

Up the tall white candlestick
Went little mousie brown.
But when he got up to the top,
He could not get back down.
called for Mama, "Mama, Mama!"
But Mama was in town.
So she called for daddy, "Daddy, Daddy!"
But Dadddy wasn't around
So little mousie curled right up
And rolled right down.

Books

The Night Before Father's Day has some The Night Before Christmas roots. The children work hard to make sure their dad has a very special day.

Papá and Me is a wonderful story about a boy and his Papá and their daily activities. Some Spanish words are woven into the text. The illustrations are dreamlike and colorful.

Peek! A Thai Hide and Seek is a really great book to use for group participation. The kiddos loved looking for the little girl and making the animal noises with me. I did some research on how to say "Jut-Ay" (Shut-A) and practiced saying it a couple of times before reading it in storytime.

Every Friday is about a young boy and his father and who have a tradition of going to breakfast together on Fridays.

Goodbye Song: Say Goodbye

This is the goodbye song that we used in storytime. If you are interested in checking out this song, the album covers is linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and purchase this song.

Post-Storytime Music

These are the songs that we listened to after storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album covers are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and purchase these great songs!

"Best Day Ever"

"My Family"

"It's a Happy Day"

Storytime Book Display

We have been toting a cart of books to storytime so participants can grab a book (or ten), check them out, and head home.

I thought it would be a good idea to display some of the books on a table instead of the cart so that there won't be a large mob around the tiny book cart after storytime.

The option of grab & go books on the cart and table have been a crowd pleaser. An added bonus is that we have managed to give our circulation stats a little baby boost! Score!

Meet Pico!

I have my very own puppet stash. I am slowly reaching the point where I may need a larger bin for said puppet stash because it keeps growing! I was recently gifted this fuzzy fluffy monkey (on the left). My mother in law was doing some spring cleaning and found this lil' fella. He used to belong to my husband, MLaw, back in the day. Which makes this guy extra special. I love greeting the kiddos as they come into storytime with a puppet. Today was Pico's storytime debut! He recieved a warm reception! Yay, Pico!

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Family Storytime: Be Brave

6/9/2018

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Clipart by Krista Wallden of Creative Clips. Graphic designed on PicMonkey.

Today's storytime theme was all about courage and bravery. My colleague that assembled the basket and selected this week's theme recently introduced me to the work of Dr. Brené Brown.

I have been watching Dr. Brown's videos (see the end of this post for my favorite video) and plan on reading ALL of her books because her research and writing on the topics of shame, empathy, connection, and courage are extremely thought-provoking and powerful.

"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” ~ Dr. Brené Brown

THE PLAN

Pre-Storytime Music

"Because I Love You"

"L-O-V-E"

Pre-Storytime Activity: I Am Proud

Click on the photo to get the downloadable version of this activity.

Hello Song: We'll Wave Hello Together
Credit: Verona Storytime

To the tune of: Jolly Good Fellow
We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
We’ll wave hello together,
Because it’s fun to do.

We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
We’ll give a hug together,
Because it’s kind to do.

We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
We’ll high five together,
Because it’s fun to do.

Letter of the Week: Bb

I purchased the clipart for this collage from the amazing Krista Wallden of Creative Clips.

After I introduced the letter of the week, we drew the letter B in the air. Then, we talked about each of the pictures in the collage.

letter_b_collage.pdf
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Books

Recorded Music

These are the songs that we danced to during storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album covers are linked to Amazon so you can listen to a sample and purchase these great songs!

"Walking, Walking"

"Hands Are for Clapping"

"If You're Happy & You Know It"

Songs We Sang

Come Along & Dance with Me

*Note: The video is the lapsit version of this song.

For older children, I like to use: dance, wiggle, tip-toe, stomp, jump, bend (I like to have them cross the midline with their arms when bending), and twist.

A PDF of a list of movement verbs is down below.

come_along_and_walk_with_me_verbs.pdf
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I Am Special

To the tune of: Are You Sleeping?

I am special,
I am special,
Yes I am.
Yes I am.
I'm a really neat kid
And a very sweet kid,
Yes I am,
Yes I am.

Fingerplays & Action Rhymes

My Feelings
Credit: Loving2Learn

When I am sad, I feel like crying. (rub eyes)
When I am proud, I feel like trying. (head held high)
When I feel curious, I want to know. (look up, wondering)
When I'm impatient, I want to go! (cross arms, tap foot)
When I feel angry, I look this way. (angry look)
When I feel happy, I smile all day. (big smile)
When I am puzzled, I make a shrug. (shrug shoulders)
When I feel loving, I want to hug. (hug yourself)

One Hand Can Wave
Credit: Jbrary

One hand can wave
And one hand can snap
But it needs a friend
To clap, clap, clap!

Tall As a Tree
Credit: Pierce County Library System

Tall as a tree, (stretch arms overhead)
Wide as a house, (stretch arms out to sides)
Thin as a pin, (arms tight against sides)
Small as a mouse. (crouch)

Special Me
Credit: Kids Soup

Special, special, special me,
How I wonder what I'll be.
In this big world I can be,
Anything I want to be.
Special, special, special me,
How I wonder what I'll be.

Goodbye Song: Say Goodbye

This is the goodbye song that I used. If you are interested in checking out this song, the album cover image is a link to Amazon where you can listen to a sample and purchase this song!

Post- Storytime Music

These are the songs that we listened to after storytime. If you are interested in checking out these songs, the album cover images are linked to Amazon where you can listen to a sample and purchase these great songs!