Tigers at Twilight

This week, I summarized the nineteenth book, Tigers at Twilight. As the children arrived, they colored a picture of jungle animals and solved a riddle about python snakes.

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.

Our first craft was making a monkey! I passed out a picture of a monkey's body and 2 green pipe cleaners to each child. After coloring the monkey, the children taped the 2 pipe cleaners in an X shape to the back of the monkey to form its arms and legs.

Next, the children colored and cut out tiger faces. I passed out 5 black triangles to each child to glue onto their tiger (1 on the top of the face, 2 on each side).

Our last craft was making the "gift from a forest far away" that Jack and Annie found on their adventure - the lotus blossom. Each child colored and cut out a picture of a lotus blossom. Then, they taped their flower onto a stick (we used chopsticks) to serve as the stem.

Buffalo Before Breakfast

This week, I summarized the eighteenth book, Buffalo Before Breakfast.

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, I passed out a picture of a buffalo to each child. I then scattered grass all along the tables. The children glued the grass around the buffalo to represent the prairie, which is described in the book as "an ocean of grass."

In the book, when Jack and Annie saw the buffalo for the first time, we colored our own buffalo. I passed out a color-by-number paper to each child. Each number on the buffalo corresponded to a particular color.

Our final craft was a dream catcher, which was first invented by the Lakota Indians that Jack and Annie met on their adventure. Prior to the meeting, I punched holes all around the paper plates and tied yarn to the holes. At the meeting, the children weaved the yarn through the holes and attached feathers. Everyone's dream catchers looked so cool!

Tonight on the Titanic

This week, I summarized the seventeenth book, Tonight on the Titanic. 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.

For our first craft, we made a little dog, just like the dog named Teddy that Jack and Annie found in the tree house. The children colored, cut out, and folded the dog template.

Next, I passed out pictures of the Titanic hitting an iceberg. The children colored and cut out this picture. Then, I passed out blue construction paper. The children glued their Titanic picture to the blue construction paper and used chalk to further decorate the paper. Some drew the ocean on the blue paper, while others simply drew designs. They were all unique and very creative!

Finally, I asked the kids what else started with the word ice, besides iceberg. They answered in unison: "Ice cream!" We added vanilla, half and half, and sugar to a Ziploc bag. The children put this bag into another bag filled with ice. They spent 5 minutes shaking their mixture until it was ready to eat. Everyone agreed that the ice cream was delicious.

Hour of the Olympics

As the children arrived, I passed out a connect-the-dots worksheet for them to color.

I summarized the sixteenth book, Hour of the Olympics, 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.

For our first craft, the children decorated Olympic medals. I had already hole punched the circles and tied yarn to them prior to the meeting, so all the children needed to do was design the medals.

Next, I passed out a picture of a Pegasus and scattered feathers along the tables. The children colored the Pegasus and glued feathers onto its wings. At the end, the children asked if they could take some feathers home - it was so cute!

Finally, we played Bingo, but instead of shouting BINGO when we won, we shouted GAMES! I found some Olympic themed Bingo cards online, which were perfect for this week's theme. We used Fruit Loops as markers, and kept playing until everyone had gotten at least one Bingo.

Viking Ships at Sunrise

This was our first meeting at our new location, the Miller Family YMCA. As the children arrived, they decorated their own book, just like Brother Michael's "Serpens Magna."

 I summarized the fifteenth book, Viking Ships at Sunrise, 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, each child colored a Viking and all of its clothing (helmet, coat, belt, boots, shield, hammer). Then, they cut out the clothing and glued in onto the Viking. This paper craft can be found at http://www.dltk-kids.com/fantasy/mpaperviking.htm.

We then made Viking ships! Prior to the meeting, I printed out and holepunched the boats. At the meeting, the children colored and cut out the Viking ships. I walked around, taping the boats and attaching a straw to the sail. If you do this activity, I recommend having multiple helpers. With only one or two people, it takes a while to tape all of the children's boats. You can find this craft at http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/activities/bayeuxtap-ship.pdf.

Our last craft was creating a sea serpent, like Sarph. The children colored and cut out oval pieces, and I helped hole punch them. Then, the children attached the pieces using brads.

Day of the Dragon King

For warm up, the children designed a new robe for the emperor.

I summarized the fourteenth book, Day of the Dragon King, 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 China, 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 the Chinese hats that Jack and Annie wore during their adventure. The children decorated and cut out their hats. Then, I walked around and helped tape them. We all wore our hats for the remainder of the meeting!

The next craft was making a bamboo strip book, like the one Jack and Annie searched for. I cut strips of construction paper and printed copies of the Chinese alphabet. The children used the alphabet key to write their first names on the "bamboo strips." Some of the children decided to tape their bamboo strip together and wear it as a bracelet.

Later, when Jack and Annie went inside the Dragon King's burial chamber, the room was filled with Chinese lamps. All the children got to make their own lamp! Prior to the meeting, I marked on the construction paper where the children should cut. At the meeting, the children decorated their Chinese lamps, cut the lines I had previously marked, and added handles to their lamps.

Our last activity involed the yellow silk weaver and the cow herder. Beforehand, I printed out pictures of cows and hole-punched the borders. At the meeting, the children colored the cow, and then weaved the attached yellow yarn around the picture.