Ghost Town at Sundown

I recently bought a book titled "Games and Puzzles from the Tree House" by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce. I found the three warm-up activities for this week's meeting in this book. There was a connect-the-dots worksheet forming a pair of cowboy boots, musical notes code that when solved displayed the message "Be nice to those around you," and follow-the-line maze connecting the baby and mother mustangs. 

I summarized the tenth book, Ghost Town at Sundown, and asked the children a variety of questions about the book.

When we arrived at the part in the book where the tree house spun and took Jack and Annie to the Wild West, each child received a Dizzy Pill (which is actually a tootsie roll) to help make them less dizzy. After eating their Dizzy Pills, the children were instructed to spin around three times, as if they were in the spinning tree house.

When we got to the part in the book where Jack wrote in his notebook, I showed the notebook I made that has all of Jack's notes in it.

Our first craft was making a cowboy puppet (just like Slim!) out of a brown paper bag. Before the meeting, I printed out a cowboy hat and vest for each child, which they decorated with crayons, cut out, and glued onto their bag. The children also colored their cowboy puppets, adding eyes, mouths, buttons for the vests, stars for the hats, etc.

Later, we made ghosts (just like Lonesome Luke!) by covering a Tootsie Roll lollipop with a thick white napkin and then tying the napkin with white yarn. I passed out markers, which the children used to draw faces onto their ghosts.

Our last craft was making a clothespin horse. Before the meeting, I printed out a horse template for each child, which can be found at http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/support-files/horse.pdf. The children colored and cut out the horse, and then I passed out google eyes and yarn for them to glue on. Each child also received two clothespins to clip onto their horse, allowing it to stand up on its own.

Dolphins at Daybreak

I printed out shark mazes and submarine coloring pages for all of the children to work on at the beginning of the meeting. I found them at http://www.kidzone.ws/imageschanged/sharks/sharkmaze.gif and http://education.usace.army.mil/clubhouse/coloring/sub.jpg.

I summarized the ninth book, Dolphins at Daybreak, and asked the children a variety of questions about the book.

When we arrived at the part in the book where the tree house spun, each child received a Dizzy Pill (which is actually a tootsie roll) to help make them less dizzy. After eating their Dizzy Pills, the children were instructed to spin around three times, as if they were in the spinning tree house.

When we got to the part in the book where Jack wrote in his notebook, I showed the notebook I made that has all of Jack's notes in it.

Next, I passed out a paper plate and 8 strips of construction paper to each child. The children folded the construction paper back and forth, accordian style, and colored a face on the paper plate. I walked around, helping everyone tape the paper strips to their plates. Such a cute craft!

We also made dolphin mosaics with multi-colored squares of construction paper I cut prior to the meeting. The children enjoyed picking the colors for their dolphins and gluing them on.

Finally, we decorated foam visors with markers and ocean-themed foam stickers (dolphins, sharks, fish, shells, seaweed, etc.)

Midnight on the Moon

For warm up, the children colored a picture of an astronaut and a space buggy on the moon. They also worked on two connect-the-dot worksheets since that is how Jack and Annie figured out the mouse was the fourth M thing in the book. Instead of forming a mouse, these connect-the-dot worksheets formed a moon and an alien. You can find them at http://colormefree.com/category25/ctd129.gif and http://www.fun-website.com/tockalice/alien.jpg. I chose an alien because Annie thought the giant space man on the moon was an alien.

I summarized the eighth book, Midnight on the Moon, and asked the children a variety of questions about the book.

When we arrived at the part in the book where the tree house spun and took Jack and Annie to the moon, each child received a Dizzy Pill (which is actually a tootsie roll) to help make them less dizzy. After eating their Dizzy Pills, the children were instructed to spin around three times, as if they were in the spinning tree house.

When we got to the part in the book where Jack wrote in his notebook, I showed the notebook I made that has all of Jack's notes in it.

Then, we made space buggies out of celery, carrot slices (the wheels), and grapes (Jack and Annie). The children attached the fruit and vegetables using toothpicks. Instead of giving them direct instructions, I chose to just hand them the supplies and let their creativity take the reigns. Everyone had a lot of fun experimenting with different designs for their space buggies.

When we discussed the meteorite falling on the moon and blocking Jack and Annie's way, we played a game with white balloons or "meteorites." The children got in a circle and tossed the meteorites, keeping them from hitting the ground which was the "moon." If you plan this game for your own book club, be prepared that the children will not stay in the circle for very long, as can be seen by the pictures below.

Finally, we played a game called Moon Rock Relay. The children were divided into two equal teams, and each team received a snowball maker and a pile of plays balls or "moon rocks." Each child used the snowball maker to pick up one play ball, walk to the other side of the room, and drop it in the bucket. They then had to walk back and hand the snowball maker to the next person in line. This continued until all of the rocks had been moved. The children enjoyed the game so much that we ended up playing two times!

Sunset of the Sabertooth

Just like Jack and Annie found cave paintings of bears, lions, elk, reindeer, bison, woolly rhinos, and mammoths in the Cro-Magnons' cave, the children drew their own cave paintings for warm-up. Some colored pictures of animals, while others colored pictures of actual caves. You can find the worksheet online at http://www.magictreehouse.com/teachersclub/resource_center/pdfs/7-cro-magnon-cave-painting.pdf.

I summarized the seventh book, Sunset of the Sabertooth, and asked the children a variety of questions about the book.

When we arrived at the part in the book where the tree house spun, each child received a Dizzy Pill (which is actually a tootsie roll) to help make them less dizzy. After eating their Dizzy Pills, the children were instructed to spin around three times, as if they were in the spinning tree house.

When we got to the part in the book where Jack wrote in his notebook, I showed the notebook I made that has all of Jack's notes in it.

While running to one of the caves, Jack and Annie put on their swimming goggles to be able to see and covered their heads with their towels to stay warm. We played a relay race, similar to this. Everyone was divided into two even teams. One person from each team put the goggles on, covered their heads with their towels, walked quickly to the other side of the room, tapped the wall, walked back to the line, and handed the goggles and towel to the next person. We raced to see which team could finish first. Everyone had a lot of fun, and afterwards, we discussed whether goggles and towels would help Jack and Annie stay warm in the Ice Age.

After Jack and Annie ran out of the bear cave, they turned back towards the cave to see if the bear followed them, but all they could see was the snow, rocks, and their own footprints. We made our own footprint in the snow. Each child drew their footprint with pencil on a piece of cardstock. Then, they used glue and cotton balls to make snow around their footprint. Some also put cotton balls inside the footprint!

Prior to the meeting, I printed out templates of sabertooth tigers on cardstock for each child. At the end of the meeting, the kids colored and cut out this template. Then, I instructed them how to fold the head, arms, legs, and tail so the tiger could stand up on its own. You can find the template online at http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/printables/Paper_Zoo_Animals.pdf.

Afternoon on the Amazon

For warm up, the children colored pictures of a jaguar, snake, and monkey. I found some great coloring pages online at http://www.thecoloringbarn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Rainforest-20.jpg and http://www.321coloringpages.com/images/rainforest-coloring-pages/rainforest-coloring-pages.gif.

I summarized the sixth book, Afternoon on the Amazon, and asked the children a variety of questions about the book.

When we arrived at the part in the book where the tree house spun, each child received a Dizzy Pill (which is actually a tootsie roll) to help make them less dizzy. After eating their Dizzy Pills, the children were instructed to spin around three times, as if they were in the spinning tree house.

When we got to the part in the book where Jack wrote in his notebook, I showed the notebook I made that has all of Jack's notes in it.

We made our own snakes, just like the one Jack grabbed when he tried to get back to shore. Each kid got a green pipe cleaner and strung Fruit Loops onto it. This not only was a cute craft, but it was also a delicious snack for later! 

Then, we made monkey puppets using paper plates. Prior to the meeting, I placed two paper plates on top of each other and stapled them together halfeay around the edges. I folded each unstapled plate-half over the stapled section, so there would be a pocket for the kids to hold the puppet. At the meeting, each kid got their stapled paper plates and colored them to make a monkey. I was really impressed with everyone's puppets!

Finally, I handed out a matching game for all of the children to play. There were pictures of all the animals in the book - snakes, vampire bats, army ants, butterflies, jaguars, crocodiles, monkeys, and fish. The children spent the majority of the meeting playing this game - it was a lot of fun!