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.

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.