Pyramid Party

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Dana Sheridan

Deep inside this golden pyramid is a lavish tomb complete with jeweled table, companion cat, mysterious hieroglyphics, decadent sarcophagus, and of course, a mummy!

We read Ten Little Mummies: An Egyptian Counting Book, written by Philip Yates and illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Viking Juvenile, 2003). Ten little mummies, dead bored, decide to emerge from the tomb for a day of play and mischief. As the countdown progresses, each adventurous mummy encounters something different – heat stoke, adoption by baboons, a chariot race, being unwound on a pyramid slide, vanishing into the night on a hippo, etc. Finally, one sad, lonely little mummy returns to the tomb to discover that – surprise! – the other nine waiting for her, all safe and sound.

You’ll need:

1 corrugated cardboard pyramid base (approximately 7.25″ x 11″)
A selection of embossed foil paper
1 rectangle of golden metallic poster board (approximately 9.5″ x 21″)
1 heiroglyphics sheet printed on 8.5″ x 11″ white paper
2 toilet paper tubes
1 rectangle of black construction paper (approximately 2″ x 6″)
A selection of eye stickers
3 – 4 strips of white construction paper (approximately 0.75″ x 18″ per strip)
7 – 8 mini pom-poms (mine were 0.5″ in diameter)
1 paper cup (I used a metallic-colored one)
1 small beverage cap
A selection of large gemstones (and small ones as well)
1 cat and lid template printed on 8.5″ x 11″ white card stock
1 small wooden spool (mine was 1″ tall)
Extra scraps of gold poster board and embossed foil paper
Tape, scissors, and glue stick for construction
Metallic markers for decorating
Hot glue

We begin with a corrugated cardboard pyramid base (I cut mine out of a copy paper box). Glue or tape a sheet of embossed foil paper on one side, right on the middle. This is the floor of your tomb. The foil paper won’t go to all of the edges of the base, but we’ll fix that later!

Next comes the pyramid. I used gold metallic poster board (ordered online from Blick Art Supplies. It’s gold on one side, white on the other). It looked fantastic, but yellow poster board would look good too. Unfortunately, my pyramid template didn’t fit on an 11″ x 17″ piece of paper, so I wasn’t able to make a printable template for you. Here are the dimensions:

One important thing to note is that the pointy top of the pyramid is NOT part of the 10.75″ and 10″ sides. I left some extra room during the original cut and then cut the pointy top out of the excess. This template is not perfect, but the kids didn’t seem to care if their pyramids were a bit lopsided.

If you don’t want to tackle this pyramid, here is an alternative. Simply cut a triangle out of poster board, then hot glue it to a box “tomb.” See? This mummy is just as happy in this type of pyramid as the other one…

With the pyramid cut, use the hieroglyphics sheet to write messages on the interior walls. The talented Miss Joani did these with metallic markers (the bottom one says “Tiger Tales Rocks”). She also did the drawings for the templates! Awesome.

When you’re done with your hieroglyphics, fold the pyramid template along the blue lines and tape it the top of the cardboard base. You might have to do a little shaping with the scissors to get it just right.

Ready for the mummy? First, wrap the black construction paper rectangle around the top of the toilet paper tube and affix eye stickers. Run a glue stick down one side of a white construction paper strip and, starting at the bottom of the tube, wrap it around your mummy. When the strip runs out, start another until the mummy is complexly wrapped (but make sure to leave its eyes peeking out).

Now for the sarcophagus. Cut a toilet paper tube in half, lengthwise. Glue a small piece of embossed foil paper on the interior of one of the tube halves (like a metallic mattress for your mummy to rest on). Then flip it over and hot glue 4 mini pom-poms on the bottom for legs.

Next, use metallic markers to color the sarcophagus lid template and hot glue (or tape) it to the top of the remaining tube half. I added some small plastic gems as well. Lay your mummy on the bottom half of the sarcophagus, then gently place the lid on top.

Just a few more touches remain! Cut the paper cup down to 1.5″ then hot glue large gemstones on it. This is your table, to which you can add a beverage lid filled with mini pom-pom fruits.

Color the cat template, then flip it over and hot glue a wooden spool to the back.

All that’s left now is general decorating fun. Use extra pieces of gold poster board and embossed foil paper to fill the gaps in the floor and add flourishes to the walls. I also had some some gold embossed foil seals handy (purchased from Nashville Wraps).

One clever story time artist added an eye sticker to the center of the seal and I just had to do the same on mine. Behold the Eye of Horus!

Think Spring

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Dana Sheridan

What could be better than this lovely bluebell, orchid, and dandelion? How about an entire garden full of this fantastical flowery headgear?

We read My Garden by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, 2010). While a little girl is helping her mother in the garden, she daydreams about her own garden. In her garden, the flowers change color according to your thoughts, chocolate bunnies pose no threat to your lettuce, colorful jelly bean bushes bloom, the air is full of birds and butterflies, and the strawberries glow like little lanterns at night. Beautiful!

You’ll need:

A circle of white poster board (approximately 10″ in diameter)
A pencil
1 long strip of poster board (approximately 2″ x 20″)
1 shorter strip of poster board (approximately 2″ x 15″)
Pieces of poster board, assorted colors
Pieces of construction paper, assorted colors
Pieces of tissue paper, assorted colors
A selection of pipe cleaners, assorted colors
A selection of pom-poms, assorted colors
2 rectangles of green poster board (approximately 5.25″ x 10″)
2 pieces of green britelace
Green masking tape
Scissors, stapler, tape, white glue and/or glue stick for construction
Markers for decoration
Hot glue

Press the circle of poster board up to your face and use a pencil to trace an opening for your face in the center. The top of the face opening should be under your eyebrows, and the bottom should be just below your lips. For this particular project, it’s best if the face circle is on the small side (my face circle, for example, was 5.5″ in diameter). Once the circle is traced, cut it out.

Now for the straps. Tab one end of the long construction paper strip and staple it to one side of the circle. Then hold the circle up to your face and wrap the strap around the back of your head. Make sure the strap is fairly snug, then tab it and staple to the other side of the circle.

Next, lay the shorter poster board strip over top of your head. Measure for snugness and staple the short strip to the longer strip. You now have two straps – one that fits around the back of your head, and one that rests on the top of your head.

Now it’s time to decorate! Use markers, poster board, construction paper, tissue paper, pipe cleaners and pom-poms to create your flower. I made 3 example flowers – a bluebell, a pink orchid, and a yellow dandelion.

I figured I wouldn’t have to sell girls on this project, but I thought boys might be a little hesitant to become flowers. So the dandelion was designed to be appealing to boys, as was the color / name choice for the bluebell. We had 9 boys and 3 girls at this story time. I’m delighted to report that not a single boy balked at being a flower.

With your headdress complete, it’s time for leafy wristbands! Cut fringes, leaf, or petal shapes out of your green construction paper rectangle.

Then wrap it around your wrist and staple. Make sure you staple the wristband a little loose so you can slip it on and off easily. Next add construction paper fringes, green masking tape highlights, twisted green pipe cleaners, green britelace “vines”…whatever strikes your fancy!

Your project is complete, but we’re not done with this post just yet. This weekend kicked off the world-famous Philidelphia Flower Show and my assistant Joani celebrated by wearing her orchid headdress to the event! Just look at this image and tell me it isn’t the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen.

Kinetic Kites

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Dana Sheridan

No wind in the sky? No worries. With a little arm action, these kites fly indoors!

We read Ping-Li’s Kite by Sanne Te Loo (Front Street, 1998). Captivated by the beautiful kites in the sky, Ping-Li goes to Mr. Fo’s shop to purchase kite-building supplies. As he departs, Mr. Fo warns Ping-Li not to offend the Emperor of the Sky by flying an unpainted kite. But Ping-Li can’t resist a little test run. Unfortunately, his unpainted kite is spotted by the Emperor of the Sky, who hauls Ping-Li up to his dragon ship. Furious at the boy’s cheek, he demands that Ping-Li make the most beautiful kite in the sky or forever remain his prisoner. Clever Ping-Li paints a portrait of the Emperor on his bold and beautiful kite, winning both the Emperor’s admiration, and his freedom.

You’ll need:

1 large rectangle of white poster board for kite (approximately 12″ x 19″)
Hole punch
Pieces of white poster board for decorative templates
1 pencil
A selection of tissue paper (cut into 8″ x 10″ rectangles)
A selection of crepe paper streamers (approximately 23″ long)
1 balloon stick
A selection of color masking tape
A length of string (mine was 45″)
Scissors, stapler, and tape for construction
Markers for decorating

First, cut the kite shape out of the large poster board rectangle. After some trial and error, we determined that this shape works best. Note that the top is rounded. You don’t want any sharp corners on the top of your kite, lest it bonk you on the head!

Punch two holes on the right and left of the kite:

Now it’s time to decorate! I created a selection of poster board templates (tiger, butterfly, fish, bird, and dragon) and invited kids to trace their favorite onto the center of the kite with a pencil. When the tracing was done, they used markers to decorate the kite. I also circled the program area, Sharpie in hand, to add legs and wings to dragons, fierce eyes to tigers, antennae to butterfly, etc.

With the body of the kite decorated, select at least 3 crepe paper streamers, and staple them to the bottom (and only the bottom) of the kite. Then, fringe the tissue paper rectangles and tape them to the lower section of the kite.

Not only do the fringes look great, they sound great! As the kite is circling around you, they pop and snap just like a real kite up in the sky. If you’re interested in adding a tissue paper rosette, crumble up a tissue paper rectangle, then staple it to the bottom (and only the bottom) of the kite. Make sure to attach an even number of rosettes on the kite, so it remains balanced.

Place the kite face-down on a table. Thread the balloon stick through the two holes.

Wrap a 5″ piece of color masking tape around the left-hand side of the stick.

Next, use your fingers to push the poster board up against the taped end of the stick. The goal is to make your kite curve away from the stick slightly (so it can get some lift when you swoop it around on the string). The curve should look something like this:

Keeping the poster board curved, wrap a 5″ piece of color masking tape around right-hand side of the stick.

Then use scissors to cut off the excess stick.

The final step is to attach the kite string. I tried a couple different types of string and determined that this heavier string was easiest for kids to grip while still allowing the kite to fly. Definitely don’t use yarn. It’s way too stretchy!

Knot one end of the string tightly to the center of the kite stick, then make a small “x” of color masking tape over the knot. Fold each piece of tape down tightly to secure the knot.

Ready to fly your kite? Go to a clear, open space (if you have lots of little kids, make sure they s-p-r-e-a-d o-u-t and don’t cluster together). If you are right-handed, use your right hand to hold the string approximately 1.5 feet from the knotted end. Hold the other end of the string in your left hand. If you are left-handed, reverse the above instructions. Extend your right (or left) arm (i.e. the arm closest to the kite) outward and:

Twirl in a circle and watch the kite spin around with you.
Use your arm to circle the kite around your head like a cowboy lasso.
Swoop the kite in a criss-cross / infinity symbol motion in front of you.

All three methods of flying worked at our story time, even though the criss-cross / infinity symbol motion yielded the best results (as demonstrated by the talented Mr. Ian).

Pop Goes the Page

Creative Literacy & Library Love

Category Archives: Picture Book Projects

Pyramid Party

Think Spring

Kinetic Kites