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Virtual October Book & Fun Club

10/15/2020

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Our Virtual Book and Fun club is our COVID-19 friendly version of our Book and Cookie book discussion group. 

Book and Fun Club is a monthly online only book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade.  We get together on Zoom to discuss the monthly book pick for one hour.

To keep the Book & Cookie tradition alive, we encourage everyone to bring treats to snack on while we chat on Zoom.
The Book: Love, Sugar, Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano
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A Dash of Trouble is the first book in the Love, Sugar, Magic series.  

The main character, Leo, is the youngest of five sisters.  As a result, Leo wants to do everything her sisters can do. Leo wants to help her family with the Día de Los Muertos preparations at the family bakery. When her offers of assistance are repeatedly turned down, Leo decides to take matters into her own hands by spying on her family. Unbeknownst to Leo, she is about to uncover a BIG family secret!

This is a fabulous story about the bonds of sisterhood, what it means to be a good friend, the impact of secrets, and how curiosity can often lead to trouble.
The Plan:
Online Activity: Sugar Skulls on Google JamBoard
While the entire book does not solely focus on this celebration, the Logroño family is able to celebrate an important holiday in the open with the rest of their community.  Leo and her family use face paint to create sugar skulls for the celebration.  

This activity used Google's Jamboard, which is an interactive white board.  Each participant was given a slide with a blank skull to decorate.  These are the sugar skulls (below) that the participants created.
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December Book & Cookie Club "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon"

12/19/2019

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Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead. 

At my new library, I take turns facilitating Book and Cookie Club with two of my colleagues.  Instead of facilitating Book and Cookie monthly, I facilitate it four times a year.


The way that I lead Book and Cookie has changed as well due to the participants that come to the program.  Most of the participants that come to Book and Cookie are older (4th and 5th grade) and I have more caregiver engagement.  As a result, we have more of a discussion format.
The book: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
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This is the second time that I have selected Where the Mountain Meets the Moon for Book and Cookie Club. Grace Lin is one of my favorite authors. Grace has such a way for weaving together a story that is compelling, exciting, and wonderous. I also find it fascinating how the children perceive Minli's running away from home versus how the adult caregivers feel about it. The themes of family, fortune, gratitude, friendship, and kindness all lend themselves to a really great discussion.
Icebreaker: Minli's Bag
Materials Needed:
  • paper treat bags
  • paper list
  • pencils

Activity Description:
Before Minli leaves home she places these eleven items in her bag:
  1. chopsticks
  2. fishnet
  3. needle
  4. uncooked rice
  5. copper coin
  6. gourd
  7. pot
  8. water
  9. dried bamboo
  10. knife
  11. rabbit rice bowl

If you were to leave home to change your family's fotune, what items would you take with you?  On your paper, write down the eleven items you would take with you and place your list inside of your bag.

When I say "fortune" get into (pairs or a group) to compare your lists.
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Discussion
I used the discussion questions from The Educator's Guide by LB School & Library
Activity: Painting Watercolor Dragons
Materials: 
  • Crayola watercolor paint pens
  • Strathmore water color paper

Activity Description:
Participants will use the provided materials to create a watercolor dragon
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October Book & Cookie Club: A Properly Unhaunted Place

10/17/2019

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​Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead. 

At my new library, I take turns facilitating Book and Cookie Club with two of my colleagues.  Instead of facilitating Book and Cookie monthly, I facilitate it four times a year.


The way that I lead Book and Cookie has changed as well due to the participants that come to the program.  Most of the participants that come to Book and Cookie are older (4th and 5th grade) and I have more caregiver engagement.  As a result, we have more of a discussion format.
The Book: A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander
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To quote Anne of Green Gables "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."  This is my favorite month and time of the year.  I am a BIG fan of Halloween. 

That said, I wanted to choose a book that was a little spooky and eerie for Book and Cookie this month.  I love that A Properly Unhaunted Place has librarians that work as "ghost appeasement specialists."  It isn't too scary for those kids that aren't into thrillers or ghost stories, but it has the right amount of spookiness for this time of year.
Ice Breaker: Halloween Mad Lib
For our icebreaker, I downloaded this Mad Lib from Teachers Pay Teachers and had everyone give me their suggestions for each field.  Then I did a dramatic reading of our Mad Lib.  
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Discussion Questions
  • Does the title, “A Properly Unhaunted Place” have any significance to the plot of the story?  Would you keep the title or change it to something else?  What would be your new title if you changed it?

  • What do you think of the cover of “A Properly Unhaunted Place”?  How did you feel when you first saw the cover?  What did you think the story would be about? Does the cover reflect the story well?  Why or why not?
 
  • How original and unique is “A Properly Unhaunted Place”?  Are there any books that you have read that are similar to this one?  Which ones?
 
  • Would you want to work as an appeasement specialist and live in a library?  Why or why not?  What part of the job would you enjoy the most?  The least?
 
  • What scene resonated most with you personally in either a positive or negative way? Why?

  • What surprised you the most about the book?
 
  • Which characters in the book did you like the best?  Why?  Which characters did you like the least?
 
  • In the town of Ingot, their town history was a half-truth (in regards to Baron being a hero).  How did that impact the town?  Is it right to alter the facts of history?
 
  • Did you find the ending satisfying?  If not, what would you change or add to the ending of the story?
 
  • Mrs. Jillynip, the head librarian in Ingot, was fairly strict about the library.  How have libraries and librarians changed over the years?  
 
  • There is a sequel to a “Properly Unhaunted Place” - do you plan on reading it?
 
  • In some chapter books, the primary adults are removed from the storyline. Why do you think authors do this?  How would the book have been different if Rosa had both of her parents around to help her?
 
  • Tell a friend - 1 thing that you liked about this book and 1 thing that you wished was different about the book.
 
  • What time in history would you most like to travel to?
 
  • This book has some artwork throughout (pp. 8, 28, 60, 108, 156, 171). Which illustrations did you spend the most time looking at?  Why?  Did the illustrations reflect what was happening in the story?  What other scenes from the book could have used an illustration?
 
  • Rosa believes that spirits live in books.  When you read a book from the library do you think about the life that the book has had?  How so?  
 
  • What genre does “A Properly Unhaunted Place” fall under?  Is this a genre you chose to read often?  Why or why not?
 
  • What was one big lesson that you learned from reading this book?
 
  • Which places in “A Properly Unhaunted Place” would you most like to visit?
 
  • Does this book have Hollywood potential?  Can it be turned into a movie or TV show?  
 
  • If you could speak with William Alexander, the author, what would you ask him?
 
  • This book was selected for last year’s Battle of the Books.  What made this book Battle worthy?
 
  • Rate this book.
    • 5 - worst book ever
    • 4 - disappointed 
    • 3 - meh
    • 2 - enjoyable
    • 1 - best book ever
 
  • Thumbs up or thumbs down if you would recommend this book to a friend.

Sources for discussion questions:
Multnomah County Library "Talk It Up! Book Groups for Kids"

Scholastic "5 NEW Questions to Ask Kids About Books"

Book Riot "40 Great Book Club Discussion Questions for Any Book"

Book Bundlz "General Discussion Questions for ANY book"
Activity: Build a Haunted Library
I love everything that Krista creates and this activity is no different.  I had the participants build a "haunted library" and they really got into the activity (caregivers too).  
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March Book & Cookie Club: "The Case of the Time Capsule Bandit"

3/18/2019

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Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead.

This month we discussed "The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit" by Octavia Spencer.
Scavenger Hunt
I divided our participants into two groups.  They had to answer questions about the book and answer the question correctly in order to be lead to the next question. The questions were hidden in different places within the Children's Department.  The last question lead them to the children's reference desk where they were given a cryptogram puzzle to solve.  Once they solved the puzzle they could choose a "Top Secret" note pad or pencil as their prize.
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Fingerprint Lab
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I purchased a Spy Day activity kit from Teachers Pay Teachers that had the idea and printable for this station.  
Masters of Disguise
Part of being an excellent detective/spy is being able to come up with amazing disguises.  I set-up a mini photo booth, my personal puppet stash, photo booth props from Target, and an iPad for The Crew to snap photos.  These are pictures that the kids took.  
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Laser Obstacle Course
I used crepe paper to create the obstacle course.  The kids had a lot of fun trying to squeeze, bend, and wiggle their way through this "laser" obstacle course.
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Secret Message Decoder
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I used the bookmark Ellison to cut out rectangles of red cellophane paper.  I also created the template for the decoder to fit that Ellison die.  

The kids made their decoder then used them to read the spy jokes.
Morse Code Keychain
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We made Morse Code keychains using our initials!  The kids loved getting to make something they can display on their backpacks.
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February Book & Cookie Club: Hidden Figures (Student Adaptation)

2/25/2019

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​Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead.

Our book for this month was “Hidden Figures (Student Adaptation)” by Margot Lee Shetterly.  I have wanted to incorporate some nonfiction titles into our Book and Cookie Club reading for a while.  I want to challenge The Crew and try to get them to read some genres that they do not always read on their own.  I know that nonfiction can be a bit dry for some readers, so I thought that using a book that was turned into a movie would stir some interest.
Discussion Activity - Padlet
We used a Padlet to talk about two questions: What is it like when you are the first to do something?  and Why is it important to have a support system?
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Space STEAM Challenges
I found the coolest downloadable resource called "Space STEM Challenges" from Kim Carroll on Teachers Pay Teachers.  It had lots of great activities that I just had to print off.  It was a huge time saver and I am so glad that I will be able to use some of the activities again in our Makerspace.  

​I also bought some badges from Amazon and made NASA badges for the kids to wear.
NASA Badges
I created the badges on PicMonkey with graphics from Pixabay and Clipart Library.
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January Book & Cookie Club: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

1/28/2019

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I think there needs to be a new weather rule - no inclement weather on the days that children's librarians have programs!  The joys of programming during the winter months, amirite? All kidding aside, I would rather my program participants play it safe - especially when it comes to snow and slippery roads!  

We had a small Crew today, but there was still fun to be had and cookies to be consumed (Keebler Chips Deluxe #YUM).  
The Book
Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle by Dana Simpson
Icebreaker: What's Your Unicorn Name?
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I *might* have actually paid shipping on Amazon so that I could have unicorn nametags for tonight.  I designed a "What's Your Unicorn Name?" chart on PicMonkey with a unicorn illustration that I found on Pixabay.
Discussion Game: UNICORN!
Since we had a late start (thanks to the snowprise), we did not get to do the discussion game.  I planned to break everyone into 4 groups.  Each group would recieve a question card.  They would answer the question and bring the card to me.  If the answer was correct, I would give them a part of a unicorn and their next question.  I found a neat unicorn puppet printable from Arty Crafty Kids (you have to sign up to get the free unicorn puppet).
Candy Dragon Candy Bowl
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My favorite character in the Heavenly Nostrils series is Todd, the candy dragon.  I brainstormed several ways to make Todd - at one point I considered a Todd piñata.  I eventually figured out this version of Todd and feel pretty pleased with how he turned out.

I purchased mini paper ice cream bowls from Amazon and found a dragon body printable from BakerRoss.
Unicorn Ring Toss
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This game is as much fun as it sounds.  There was a great deal of giggling, ducking, and fun.  The rings are made out of foam, so there isn't any worry of injury from the rings.  It's the horn you have to worry about.  As they say "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye!"  No unicorns or humans were injured or harmed during the process of playing this game tonight.
Dakota's New 'Do
Marigold zapped off Dakota's hair which means The Crew has an opportunity to design a new look for Dakota!  I tried my best to free-hand Dakota and copied her likeness onto cardstock.  The Crew members gave Dakota a Pom Pom hair-do, a Rapunzel inspired hair-do, and a polka dot hair-do.
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December Book & Cookie Club: "The Island of Dr. Libris"

12/19/2018

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This month marks the 3 year anniversary of when I began facilitating Book and Cookie Club at NPL!  The past three years have gone by in the blink of an eye. The way that I plan and lead Book and Cookie is completely different and I suspect that it will continue to evolve.

We wrapped up 2018 with “The Island of Dr. Libris” by Chris Grabenstein.  “Island of Dr. Libris” is practically a love letter to readers, imagination, and books.  I thought it would be a fun read to wrap up the year.

If you are not familiar with “Island of Dr. Libris” - here is the book trailer that I made to introduce the book to the Book and Cookie Club Crew:

Activities

Icebreaker - Book BINGO
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Click on photo for Book BINGO file
I like to start with an icebreaker.  We have been fortunate to get a lot of new Crew members so it is important to me to foster a welcoming community of book nerds!  I created a Book BINGO game.

To play Book BINGO, participants were given a BINGO sheet with various classic and current book covers.  Participants had to go around the room and find people that have read the books on their BINGO page. Participants were not allowed to mark their own sheet and they were limited to two signatures from each person in the room.  To win, they had to get BINGO going diagonally, vertically, horizontally, or four corners (plus free space).
Book Talk
I recently attended a training given by one of my amazing colleagues about book discussions and she inspired me to add a new component to Book and Cookie Club - “Book Talk”.  I set aside 5 minutes for the Crew to share their thoughts on the book. I created some Google Slides that posed some questions: “How would you rate this book?”, “What did you like about this book?”, and “Would you recommend this book to a friend?”  

For the longest time, I was not sure how to approach discussing and evaluating the books that we read for Book and Cookie because I did not want it to feel like school.  I wanted to maintain the fun atmosphere that I established and was not sure how to tackle evaluating the books.
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After my colleague's inspiring workshop, I decided that there was a way for me to have The Crew evaluate the books and that there was a fun way to do it.  I thought of the three questions I wanted The Crew to answer then I browsed Giphy for inspiration.
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The Crew found this GIF to be funny yet "disturbing".
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I am happy to report that The Crew had a lot of fun sharing their thoughts on the book and our first “Book Talk” was a big hit.  The Crew had some really great thoughts and opinions on the book and we even extended our “Book Talk” by sharing what book characters we would love to meet in real life.  

Click here to see the slideshow I created for "Book Talk" (includes GIFs & questions)
Discussion Game: LIBRIS
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Originally, I was going to make a Kahoot, but it was finals week at the high school and our WiFi needed a bit of a break.  I decided to create a Jeopardy-style game but with a twist.

I purchased one of those science fair cardboard tri-folds and covered it with Kraft paper. I printed the spell book clipart from Krista Wallden onto brown construction paper to create “flaps” that I could lift up to reveal questions about the book.
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I divided the room into two teams - “Billy Goats Gruff” vs. “Three Musketeers.”

Each team selected a captain and the captains picked the questions they would like to answer - i.e. L 20.

We played until we ran out of questions.
Inkblot to Inkblot
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Click on photo for Inkblot card file
The idea for this game originated from Chris Grabenstein’s website http://chrisgrabenstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SLM_Libris_EducatorGuide.pdf

To play, one participant took on the role of “judge” and held up an inkblot card to the rest of the group.  The other participants in the group looked at the inkblot and wrote down what they thought the inkblot looked like on a dry erase board.  When the judge said“GO!” the rest of the group held up their dry erase boards. The judge selected a winner based on originality or creativity.  The winner was the judge for the next round.

I downloaded the inkblot graphics from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test  and made them into cards.
Redesigned Book Covers
I provided books and various art materials for The Crew so that they could design new book covers that would be displayed in the library.

I made some examples of redesigned book covers and wrote up explanations of how I went about designing the new cover.  I used PicMonkey with the help of graphics from Pixabay to help me create my redesigned book cover examples.
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We also discussed how the editors of a publishing company will select the cover art that goes on a book.  It is not common for an author to have input on what gets put on the cover of their book. This led to a good discussion of judging books by their covers and how that sometimes the best books have the worst covers.
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If I were to do this activity again, I would do a few things differently.  I would have The Crew go out and select a book they have already read, I would give them more time to work on their designs, and provide laptops for those that wish to design their covers digitally.
Mad Libs
I pulled up Eduplace’s Wacky Web Tales on some of our circulating iPads so that The Crew could make Mad Libs.  At this station, I made sure to include some hints and examples for the various parts of speech that show up in the Mad Libs.
Space Lizard Comic Strips
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Click on photo for Space Lizard file.
I made some comic strip templates for the kids to create their own Space Lizard comics.
That's a Wrap
Click here to see my plans for this month’s Book and Cookie and the station signs for the different activities.

Our first book of 2019 will be “Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle” by Dana Simpson.  I cannot wait! 
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October Book & Cookie Club: Book Scavenger

10/24/2018

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​Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead.
The Book
Our book for this month was Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
What's Your Book Scavenger Name?
The Crew came up with their Book Scavenger name using the formula on the “What’s Your Book Scavenger Name” sheet.  The Crew found the first letter of their first name and the first letter of their last name on the grid to get their Book Scavenger name.
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Book Scavenger Hunt
The Crew worked in groups of 3-4 to answer questions, solve puzzles, ciphers, magic squares, decode secret messages & more!  Their goal was to locate books that were disguised in bookstumes and hidden around the children's department.
Bookstumes
My coworkers helped me create bookstumes for 24 different books to "hide" in.  15 minutes prior to Book and Cookie, I went out into our department and hid the books for The Crew to find.  

The books that we used for this Book Scavenger Hunt were ARCs and books (in good condition) that were being withdrawn from our collection.  The Crew was allowed to keep the books that they found.
Photo Booth
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Emily and James fought the first day of school jitters by taking silly photos.  I set up a "photo booth" with props from Target's Dollar Spot and some odds & ends that we had hanging around our department.
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September Book & Cookie Club: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

9/26/2018

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Book and Cookie Club is a monthly book discussion group for students in third through sixth grade and an adult caregiver.  I have been facilitating Book and Cookie Club at my library since December of 2015.  This is one of my favorite school-age programs to plan and lead.

Our book for this month was "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin.  This is one of my favorite middle-grade fantasy novels.  I also recommend the audiobook for this book as well!
Create a Dragon
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Our discussion game this month involved the neatest dragon floor puzzle I have ever seen and some questions that I wrote and put into a Google Slide presentation.  When The Crew answered a question correctly, they were able to select a puzzle piece from the box.  I liked that this discussion game had a cooperation component to it.  Everyone had to work together to assemble our awesome dragon.
Monkeys in a Barrel
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One of my favorite parts of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is when Minli, our brave and clever heroine, tricks the greedy monkeys in the forest.  So, we played Monkeys in a Barrel.  
Paper Lanterns
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The Crew made paper lanterns.  I found instructions on how to make the paper lanterns on Teachers Pay Teachers.  
Minli's Bag Word Find
I made a word find with all of the items that Minli packed into her bag before she left to find the Old Man of the Moon.  I used this Word Search Maker on The Teacher's Corner to generate the wordsearch.
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July Book & Cookie Club

7/25/2018

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Magic is in the air!  The Party That Shall Not Be Named is just a couple of days away!  I managed to remember to choose a book with magic and fantasy this month so that I could promote The Party!

Our book for this month was Upside Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins.
Book Trailer
Activities
Icebreaker: What's On Your Mind?  A Drawing Game
I borrowed this game from my boss.  We played it at one of our department meetings this past winter.   It’s pretty low prep and the results are hilarious.

Participants are given a paper plate and a marker.  Have the participants place the paper plate on top of their head.  Remind participants that the plate must stay on their head until the activity is complete.

For an extra challenge, you can have participants use their non-dominant hand to draw!

As participants hold the paper plate on their head, tell them to draw the following:
  • A flower in some grass
  • To the left of the flower, draw a bunny rabbit
  • A sun in the sky
  • To the right of the flower, draw a squirrel climbing a tree
  • Draw some birds in the sky
  • Draw a ladybug on top of the flower
  • Give the sun a pair of sunglasses
  • Draw some clouds in the sky

Participants can take their plate off from the top of their head and look at their remarkably hilarious art!
Stations
All of our station activities honored a character from Upside Down Magic.
Animal Flip Book
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Since Nory, the main character from Upside Down Magic, can flux into more than one type of animal at a time, I thought it would be cool to create  an animal flip book.

I found the original idea for the flip book from Sketchbook Challenge.

I made a new version, including a unicorn because I LOVE UNICORNS!  

I had participants color in the pictures.  When they were done coloring we bound the book together using a comb binding machine, and then we cut horizontally on the lines.  
Yoga Poses & Breathing Exercises
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Ms. Starr likes to have her Upside Down Magic (UDM) students do yoga so that they can get in touch with their feelings.

I hung up some posters of various yoga poses from Mindful Practices Yoga and I also shared some breathing exercises from Childhood 101. 
Ice Paint Pictures
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​Elliott is a flare that freezes everything he touches.  I had pictures of every day objects that participants could collage onto a piece of paper then paint over with “ice paint”.

Ice paint consists of glue, shaving cream, and glitter.
Balloon Yo-Yos
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Andres is a flyer that floats 24/7. 365 days a year.  In honor of his flying talent, we made balloon yo-yos.  The supplies are pretty simple (flour, balloons, funnel, and rubber bands) and this is a fun (and messy) activity. 

​Messy activities are the best because they =  #MaximumFun!
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Mess = #MaximumFun and the need for a vacuum cleaner
Rock Decorating
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Bax is a fluxxer that turns into a rock.  So, in honor of Bax we decorated some smooth river rocks with gold, copper, and silver sharpies!  One of the kiddos from The Crew made a rock for me that says "I love unicorns" that will serve as my post-it note paperweight at my desk :)
Game: Catch the Dragon
​I planned a game of “catch the dragon” where I would place the dragon in the middle of the room.  I would ask a question about the book, and the first person to grab the dragon could answer the question.

However, we never got to the game because everyone had so much fun trying out the different stations.
Goodie Bag
During the summer I like to make goodie bags for Book and Cookie Club.  The bags have activities and items that are themed around the next month's book.   Next month, we will be reading and discussing Extra Credit by Andrew Clements.  Since it will be August and the 2018-2019 school year is almost upon us, I wanted to have some items that the Crew could use at school!

This is what went in the bags for this month:
  • Naperville Public Library Pens 
  • Assorted Stickers
  • Emoji Post-It Notes 
  • Letter writing bundle/snail mail activity:
    • envelopes (2/bag),
    • blank postcards (2/bag)
    • blank index cards (2/bag)
  • granola bar recipe 
  • pocket poems 
  • nature scavenger hunt activity
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    About the Author

    Children's librarian.  Unicorn wrangler. 
    ​Crafter.  


    Disclaimer

    ​​The views ​expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or the community I serve.

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    Reading

    How to Be an Antiracist
    This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work
    Get a Life, Chloe Brown
    Jo & Laurie
    So You Want to Talk About Race

    goodreads.com

    2021 Reading Challenge

    2021 Reading Challenge
    Nicole has read 24 books toward her goal of 150 books.
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    24 of 150 (16%)
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