Vacation Under the Volcano

For warm up, the children decorated a picture of Hercules since that's the book Jack and Annie search for in Pompeii. Then, they rolled it to look like a scroll because in ancient Rome, books were written on papyrus scrolls.

I summarized the thirteenth book, Vacation Under the Volcano, 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 Rome, 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 gladiator shields. I passed out a blank shield to each child. They used crayons and AlphaBits to color and spell out words on their shields.

Our next craft was making a sundial, which was what the ancient Romans used to tell time. Each child colored a paper plate and numbered it 1-12, like a real clock. I helped the children punch a hole in the middle of their plate and insert a straw. When the children take their sundial home and place it in their backyard, the straw's shadow will point to a certain time.

At the end, everyone made their own volcano! By mixing four, salt, water, and oil, I made playdough prior to the meeting. Each child received a bag of this playdough, as well as a small water bottle. The children stuck the playdough around the water bottle to form the volcano. Then, they took home instructions on how to make the volcano erupt lava.

This meeting had an AMAZING turn-out! We had 28 kids show up. :) A reporter and photographer from the Acorn also came to interview me about the book club. I'm looking forward to seeing how the article turns out!

Polar Bears Past Bedtime

For a warm up, the children made their own Magic Librarian cards! Each child got a piece of paper with the letters M and L on it, and then decorated the library card with crayons. 

I summarized the twelfth book, Polar Bears Past Bedtime, 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.

First, we made marshmallow igloos! I handed a piece of paper with an igloo on it to each child and scattered mini marshmallows along the tables. The children glued a mini marshmallow in each square of the igloo. You can find the igloo at http://www.zimbio.com/Wallpaper/articles/7z7bLljIbTK/How+To+Build+An+Igloo+For+Kids.

Then, each child got a piece of paper with a polar bear's face on it. You can get this at http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/crafts-images/animals/polar-bears-masks-printables.png. The children colored and cut out their polar bear’s face. Then, I walked around, using the hole puncher to punch two holes – one on each side of the face. I also helped the children attach yarn to their masks so they could actually wear them.

Our last craft was a winter scene. Everyone got a piece of blue construction paper, as well as a piece of paper with a polar bear on it. (You can find the polar bear at http://www.supercoloring.com/wp-content/main/2009_11/polar-bear-coloring-page.jpg.) The children decorated their polar bears with crayons, cut them out, and glued them onto the blue construction paper. Then, they used chalk to draw “snow” on the blue paper.

Lions at Lunchtime

For warm up, the children colored a picture of a lion, giraffe, and zebra. You can find this picture at http://www.edupics.com/coloring-page-lion-giraffe-and-zebra-i12528.html.

I summarized the eleventh book, Lions at Lunchtime, 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 Africa, 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.

For our first craft, I gave all the children a piece of paper with circles, rectangles, and triangles on it. They colored, cut out, and glued these shapes to form an elephant! You can find this craft at http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mshapes-elephant.htm.

Prior to the meeting, I printed out a blank beehive for each child. I brought Honeycomb cereal for the children to glue onto their beehives. After the craft was finished, everyone ate the leftover Honeycomb. Yum!

At the end, I scattered rotini pasta along the tables and gave each child a paper plate. The children glued the pasta around the plate, like a lion's mane. They also decorated the middle of the plate with crayons and googly eyes to look like a lion's face.