Guitar - Violin - Harp String Instrument Craft

The local symphony has been holding monthly programs at the library which have been very popular with families.   The interactive presentations are meant to connect families and young children with music and literature and have centered on the oboe, brass instruments, and coming up this weekend, the harp.

For the harp, we wanted to come up with an easy activity and could be easier than rubber band "harps"?!?

One thing libraries are not short on are rubber bands!  People may not have many laying around their house, but they are fairly inexpensive to purchase.  I made a variety of harps to show the children (and parents!) that a wide range of items could be used - not simply kleenex boxes!  (see photo)  Some of the items I used include: box lids, styrofoam tray, plastic deli meat lid, tin coffee lid, and of course a kleenex box.  The key is that you need something that has space for the sound to resonate (rubber bands flat against a piece of cardboard or a book cover won't have the same sound quality).

Let the kids experiment with different sizes of rubber bands (thick, thin, stretchy, tight), placement of the rubber bands, as well as the size and shape of the "harp" body... then of course form a family band and have a rockin good time :)

Earth Day Storytime

April 22, 2012 marks the 42nd Earth Day celebration.  This year's theme is "Mobilize the Earth".  Check out the Earth Day website (at either of those two links) for things you can do to help make the Earth a better place!

If you're planning a storytime or small activity for your local area, here are a few books you can share with young children that will help to reinforce the message - we can all work together to make a difference and save the planet!

Fancy Nancy: Every Day Is Earth Day by Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy does her best to make sure Mom, Dad, and her little sister do their part to protect the environment, but her efforts to be greener soon go too far.

Happy Dog Sizzles! by Lisa Grubb
When the weather is too hot for Happy Dog and his friends, they enter a contest to build the best walla-pa-doo--a creation made out of junk--and wind up discovering a way to cool off in the process.

The Tree by Dana Lyons
An 800-year-old Douglas fir ponders the many things it has seen in the natural world as it hears the bulldozers coming, and then some people arrive to save it from destruction.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
A very old overcoat is recycled numerous times into a variety of garments.

Curious George Plants A Tree by Monica Perez
The mischievous monkey learns about protecting the environment by planting trees and recycling paper. Includes tips on conserving energy and resources.

Trouble With Dragons by Debi Gliori
When dragons cut down too many trees, blow out too much hot air, and do other environmental damage, the future looks grim, but other animals advise them on how to mend their ways and save the planet.

CRAFT:


Any craft using recycled materials would be perfect for an Earth Day storytime, however, you can do an activity too, such as planting a tree or flowers appropriate for your area, or spending 20 mins outside picking up trash (for example, around your school or library). 

Because I have limited time, I decided to make a terrarium using empty plastic water and pop bottles.  This is a great project for any age and very flexible.  You can use larger 2 LT bottles and plant a couple different seeds and/or plants or using a smaller 20oz size bottle and just plant one type of seed or plant.  My project is with preschoolers so I went with 20  oz water and pop bottles and we're planting grass seed.

The most difficult part of this project is cutting the bottle!!!  Do that a head of time; obviously don't let young kids try to do it!  I used scissors and it was a bit difficult to actually puncture the bottle, but once done, the cutting was easy.   Perhaps a craft knife will work better. 

You'll want to cut the bottle about 1/3 down from the top.  Put dirt and then seeds (or a plant) in the bottom portion, add some water and then put the top portion of the bottle back on.  It will slide over the bottom portion with a little bending/squeezing!

If you're going to decorate the bottles, do so before you put them back together so the kids don't twist and turn their new seeds and plants around!

Enjoy, and have a wonderful Earth Day!

Spring Flowers Storytime

Up here in Michigan we are getting horrible frosts during the night that will more than like do some damage to our lovely spring flowers, but typically this time of year, we have gorgeous blooms!   It's around about April or May that I like to do a flower storytime and encourage children to look for the many different kinds of flowers in their neighborhood; though the flowers won't look too happy this year!

I dug around for something fresh to liven up the storytime - if not for the kids, than for me!  Nothing dooms a storytime more than a burnt out librarian!   For years I have seen people do coffee filter flowers and I never tried it.  This year, I did!!!  And wow - what an easy and pretty craft project!  We even went crazy and made some butterflies too!

The books I chose are ones that I haven't read before in storytime.  I used these three, though there are others to choose from:

Huck Runs Amuck by Sean Taylor
And then it's Spring by Julie Fogliano
What Does Bunny See? by Linda Sue Park

Other great books include:

Planting a Rainboy by Lois Ehlert
One Little Seed by Elaine Greenstein


SONG:

Out in the garden
Growing in the sun
Were 5 pretty flowers
And I picked one!

Out in the garden
Growing in the sun
Were 4 pretty flowers
And I picked one!
Etc.


CRAFT:

The great coffee filter flowers!!!   All you need are washable markers, pipe cleaners, water/spray bottle, possibly some clothes pins if you too want to make butterflies, and of course, coffee filters.

Being a non-coffee drinker, I had no idea filters came in different sizes.  We used the really big ones here.

First, all you need to do is let your child go crazy with the markers on the coffee filter (or on many coffee filters).   The more marker, the better.  My example pictured here ended up rather light.  The more color added to the filter, the more bright and bold the flower!

Once they are happy, it's time to get the coffee filter wet.  Experiment and dry getting it went at different locations on the filter and see what happens.  Also, it's a great time to explore what colors are made when others blend together.  ***I actually found that sprinkling the water from my fingers worked better at blending the colors than the spray bottle.  I think the spray bottle just has too fine of a mist.

Now, the waiting... it takes about 20 mins for these to dry; less time if you leave them out in the sun.  Better yet, if you're short on time, use a hair dryer!

When the filter is dried, then you can create!  Find the middle of the filter, pinch it and then tightly wrap a pipe cleaner around it to make a stem.  

OR if you would like to make a butterfly, use either the push type of clothespins and slide your filter up (then fluff out the "wings") or pinch the filter from the top to the bottom (accordian style) and then secure using the pinching type of clothes pins.

OR  pinch the filter from the top to the bottom (accordian style) and then secure with a pipecleaner, wrapping it around to form the body and then using extra ends to make antennae. 

Whatever you choose to do - have fun!!!

Secrets of the Garden by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

This gem of a book explains food chains and food webs that children can observe in their own backyard.  Though it is categorized as non-fiction, the story reads smoothly and is entertaining enough to lend itself well to reading aloud. 

From the book:  Alice's family plants a vegetable garden each spring, and this budding naturalist reports all she sees about how the plants grow, what insects come to eat the plants, and what birds and animals come to eat the insects. It's the food chain, right in her own backyard!

There is enough pop-out and side-bar type factual information that any reader eager to plan their own garden could pick up quite a few tips.  The adorable illustrations by Prisacilla Lamont are colorful as well as fantastically detailed; such a great reflection of Zoehfeld's text.

Entertaining and educational - a great combination in any book!

Titanic - 100 year Anniverary of the Sinking

April 14, 1865 - President Lincoln is shot

April 14, 1912 - The Titanic hits an iceberg
April 14, 1963 - My brother is born

Alright, perhaps my brother's birth wasn't that much of a disaster, but as kids there were times I thought so.  Now actually, the Titanic didn't sink on this date in history, but it did hit the iceberg which sealed it's fate. 

I never had much more than a passing interest in the Titanic.  Being from Michigan, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was more "real", but that all changed when I got married.  My husband is a huge Titanic aficionado and reads just about every book published on the topic.  Of course when James Cameron's movie came out, we had to see it ( and own it in VHS, DVD and Laserdisc format!).

On a trip to Denver, I also became interested in Molly Brown ; such a fascinating and feisty woman!  Learning that she was on the Titanic and her character would be in the movie made it all the more interesting for me.

Well, for the 100th anniversary of the sinking, I thought I would do a display at work - using my husband's collectibles of course!   This is the display that I came up with.   Not too bad!   I also included here a picture of part of a book display that I did.  I was amazed at the number of books we had on the subject.  I hope people check them out!

April 15, 1912 - "The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic, causing the deaths of about 1,503 people."

D.E.A.R - Drop Everything And Read Day - April 12th

April 12th, Beverly Clearly's birthday, is D.E.A.R day!   That is to say, "Drop Everything And Read". 

Check out the website for some fun ideas for the day, but most especially, be sure to drop everything and READ!

Drop Everything And Read website

Sandpaper Iron-On : Tried my hand at it!

A couple of days ago, I put up a quick blog about a site I saw describing how to make iron on transfers out of sandpaper and crayons.  I was so taken with the idea, I had to try it out myself along with the assistance from my daughter (12) and niece (17).

 Plopping them down at the table with a bucket of crayons and some sheets of coarse sandpaper maybe not have been the best approach to get their creative juices flowing, but they did come up with some amazing artwork!

My niece who loves all things British, did this awesome flag!   I did mess up a bit ironing (how did I miss those chunks on the left?!) but it was easily fixed by placing the sandpaper back on the shirt and re-ironing those spots.

Now, my daughter is  a HUGE fan of the Lorax and thinks the young "Once-ler" is especially "hot", so she wanted a shirt with him on it.  Her drawing ability is amazing.  She even did great getting all the letters reversed, however both she and I missed the fact that she "HEARTS" I THE ONCE-LER  (sounds a bit like Yoda...).  My tip - hold the image up to a mirror before ironing!!!  Then you will know if it's correct or not!  (though I still think this is a fantastic shirt!)

Lastly, my son (4) wanted to get in on the action.  Basically he just scribbled a lot on the sandpaper, so his sister turned it into a Pokemon ball.  Turned out to be a pretty cool one-of-a-kind shirt that her little brother loves!

All-in-all it was a pretty easy project that just amazed the older kids.  Next time I will definitely need more sandpaper and more shirts! 

Oh, one last tip... any tiny bit of crayon on the sandpaper will "melt" into the shirt... there are a few "freckles" on these, but honestly, I think it just adds to the charm.   

CHECK OUT Alphamom's directions if you would like to try your own!  She really has all the steps nicely laid out and easy to follow.

Crafty Chloe by Kelly DiPucchio

There's a new girl in town and her name is Chloe!   Crafty Chloe !  She may not be good at sports or video games, but boy can she glue, stitch and create amazing things!   Everyone is different and a book like this is needed for those girls who are not quite a Fancy Nancy (though maybe they like to MAKE fancy things!). 

Chloe is an adorable "every-girl" type who just happens to be really good at crafts and, thanks to her grandma, sewing amazing outfits (especially for her good natured dog Bert).    Her best friend's birthday is fast approaching though she thought about making her something creative, she decides to buy her a doll she knew Emma had been wanting.   Unfortunately, London had gotten to the store first and already had the doll in hand; SHE was going to buy it for Emma.  Chloe was left to get a bit crafty, and you know what?  The results were spectacular!

Pick this up for your crafty child - not only will they find a like heart in Chloe, they might also find a few new inspirations!

Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff

What a beautiful and cozy way to learn colors!   The book shares baby bear's exploration of nature and the colors that surround us. With each double page spread Baby Bear and Mama have an inquisitive exchange which is followed by another double page spread showing Baby Bear marveling at a specific color in nature.

Check out Ashley Wolff's latest offering, Baby Bear Sees Blue to share a gentle look at our magical and colorful world with your little one.  Wolff's lino print and watercolor illustrations are striking - bright and bold yet so detailed and wonderous. 

Mercer Mayer reads his picture book, "It's Easter Little Critter"

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Sandpaper Printed T-shirts

What a great idea!  I had never even imagined that you could make an iron-on transfer using crayons and sandpaper.  I'm always looking for fun ideas, and when I happened upon this one, it was put at the top of my list of craft projects to try at home.  I'm sure my kids would love it since they both love drawing and coloring and I love the idea of being able to preserve some of their very own artwork  on a shirt they can wear! 

Check out the details directions on Alphamom's website:  Sandpaper T-Shirts

And if you have tried this before, please share your results here!  I think using a coarse sandpaper will "capture" more crayon and therefore transfer better, but who knows.   Also, since my disaster of trying to melt crayon bits to make fun new multicolored crayons I have learned to use top quality ones!!!

Superhero Storytime

Years ago I wanted to do a "superhero" storytime, but could not think of a craft.  Now, I realize I do not need to include a craft for every storytime theme, but they are fun!  And kids love projects; so I searched the internet. 

When I think of superheroes, I think of capes  (I also think of the part in The Incredibles that talks about how dangerous capes are for superheroes!).  Because I don't have a lot of time or fancy supplies, I went a head and searched for "no sew capes" and guess what?!?!  Such a thing does exisit!   Who knew you could turn a t-shirt into a cape with just a bit of cutting?!?! 

For this super cool cape, all you need is an old t-shirt and a pair of scissors.  Decoration items are a bonus.  I used duct tape, which comes in such awesome colors now, and it worked great.  And added plus with using duct tape is that when you're tired of the logo you created, you can take it off and make a new one! Experiement with anything you want to make your own super logo. 


***Note, if you're using a t-shirt that already has a picture or a logo on it, then you're good to go after cutting out the cape shape!

There are quite a few resources now on the internet that explain the cutting procedure - some are much more involved than what I did (and still do!).  Basically all I do is cut up each side of the t-shirt from the bottom to the armpit and then angle in the cutting towards the collar.  You then need to cut around the front of the collar (don't cut through it - you slip the collar over your child's head to hold the cape on!), and you're done!

If you wanted to, you could neaten up the edges, but really, my child was ready for the cape as soon as I finished cutting and didn't mind a few jagged edges one little bit!

Once your superhero has saved the backyard from any evil doers, settle them down with some fun stories about other superheroes and their good deeds.  

A great story to share is Max by Bob Graham.  It's the story of a little boy who is the youngest child in a family of superheroes.  Everyone is worried because he has not yet learned to fly.  Along the lines of Leo the Late Bloomer , this is a great story to give encouragement to other late bloomers, and a wonderful reminder that we all become super at different rates of speed :)

Another fun story is Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Paul Bright.  Charlie has bright red superhero underpants that get blown off the wash line while hanging out to dry.  It's a rather hilarious story of Charlie and his friends searching the world for his superhero underpants!

Lastly, check out SuperHero ABC by Bob McLeod.  Bold and colorful illustrations bring an array of imagined superheroes to life in this fun alphabet book. 

The Easter Bunny's Assistant by Jan Thomas

Jan Thomas, the author and illustrator of such fun picture books as Is Everyone Ready to Have Fun? and  The Doghouse has come up with a corker for Easter:  The Easter Bunny's Assistant.  I honestly can't remember laughing outloud when reading an Easter picture book before - until this gem. I've always been a fan of Thomas' bold, simple, expressive illustrations, but her humor can't be overlooked either.

In this short story, the Easter Bunny has an assistant - Skunk - and together they are going to show the readers how to color Easter eggs.  Simple enough, yes?   Well, no... it seems that Skunk gets rather excited with every step of the egg coloring process and can you guess what a skunk does when they're excited?  It gets a bit stinky for the Easter Bunny.

If you are not offended by this type of humor, by all means, check this book out!!!  You too will Laugh-Out-Loud!   And hey, directions for coloring Easter eggs can be found in the back!

Books about Cancer for Kids

What does an 85 year old woman do who has just gone through 10 hours of surgery to remove a rather stubborn squamous cell cancer and is now stuck in ICU?   Well, anything she wants to do, which in my aunt’s case is to leave the hospital and go home where she’s more comfortable.  Such has been my life lately – worrying about my aunt, and therefore not doing a whole heck of a lot on the internet.

Considering my life has been consumed with cancer lately though, I thought I could put together a list of books for kids concerning this horrible disease which seems to have touched everyone I know in one way, shape or form.  It’s something to keep my mind busy.   So, here you go:

Picture books for the very young (3-8):

Mom and the Polka-Dot Boo-Boo by Eileen Sutherland

An informative and reassuring story, this book helps families talk about breast cancer, gently preparing children for what lies ahead in the weeks and months following their mother’s diagnosis.

The Famous Hat - A story book to help children with childhood cancer to prepare for treatment, namely chemotherapy, and losing their hair. by Kate Gaynor
This book has been designed to help children with leukemia (or other forms of cancer) to prepare for treatment, namely chemotherapy, and a stay in hospital.

The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
A wonderful story about the invisible string that connects loved ones. Whenever one thinks about another member of the family, the string gives a tug and you feel it.

Let My Colors Out by Courtney Filigenzi
Unfortunately, many young children today are dealing with their parents’ diagnoses and battles with lifethreatening illnesses. In Let My Colors Out, a young child is dealing with his mom’s diagnosis and treatment of cancer. He experiences a range of emotions—scared, sad, jealous, feeling fine, denial, anger—that together form a rainbow of hope through this critical time.

When Someone You Love Has Cancer
A helpful resource for how to talk to a child about a parent's cancer diagnosis

The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco
When Marilyn and her teacher, Miss Wichelman, both get cancer, they encourage each other and, aided by medical treatments and support from friends, they get better.

Books for Older Children (6+)

Because . . . Someone I Love Has Cancer: Kids' Activity Book
This inspired publication is designed to address the basic goals of therapeutic support for children who have a loved one with cancer.

Notes from the Dog by Garl Paulsen
When Johanna shows up at the beginning of summer to house-sit next door to Finn, he has no idea of the profound effect she will have on his life by the time summer vacation is over.

Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.

Runt: Story of a Boy by V. M. Caldwell
Although he tries to make a home with his older sister and her boyfriend after his mother's death, twelve-year-old Runt feels like an outsider until a young cancer patient and his family show him how life can become more meaningful.

The Year My Mother Was Bald by Ann Speltz
Clare keeps a journal that describes the medical treatments her mother undergoes for breast cancer, her family's experiences, and her own feelings and concerns. Includes a list of resources.