Tail Spin

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super stylish tailThis is an extremely simple project that, with a little prepping beforehand, a staff person can run by his or herself. And the results are fantastic!

We read Edna’s Tail by Lisze Bechtold (Houghton Mills, 2001). Edna is a cat with the biggest, fluffiest tail in the neighborhood. She spends all her time making a show of it and is only lured out of her window with the promise of a feline party in the woods. As she progresses through the woods, she gets the feeling that something is following her. Actually, it’s debris getting stuck in her fluffy tail, resulting in a display so horrifying that Edna is convinced she’s being chased by a monster. She attacks, only to discover it’s her own tail! Luckily, the other cats at the party are good-natured about the mistake, and she make a lovely new friend.

If you’re worried about how this project will go over with boys, have no fear. I gave them the option of creating a “scary monster face” like the one in the book!

You’ll need:

  • 1 strip of white poster board for headband (approximately 22 long x 2.5″ wide)
  • 2 triangular pieces of poster board for cat ears
  • 2 triangular pieces of self-adhesive foam for the ears (I offered a pink or yellow option, but you can also use markers)
  • 1/2 sheets of white poster board (approximately 22″ long x 13.5″ wide)
  • Hole punch
  • Hot glue
  • 1 long piece of curling ribbon for belt
  • Stapler, scissors, tape, and glue stick for construction
  • Supplies for decorating! In addition to items from the Bling Bin, we offered assorted pipe cleaners, crepe paper streamers, tissue paper sheets, construction paper, pom-poms, poster board strips…

For the headband, wrap the strip of poster board around the kid’s head, then remove and staple. Staple ears in the front of the headband above eyebrows. I offered a choice of pink or yellow self-adhesive foam to create some texture inside the ears, but you can also use markers.

cat headbandI also offered to hot glue a large gemstone on the front of the headband. Oo-la-la! For the tail template, take 1/2 sheet of poster board, and cut it in this shape:

tail templateYes, it does look like a lopsided, elongated lid of a potty seat. But we won’t go there.

Punch two holes at the top BEFORE decorating begins, and instruct the kids not to cover the holes while they’re decorating (otherwise, you run the risk of the curling ribbon belt not going through). Then, turn them loose on the art supplies!

We found it helpful to staple multicolored poster board and construction paper strips to the top and sides first, and then added lots of little stuff on top. You can add bulk to the tail by crumbling up tissue paper and sticking it under the poster board and construction paper strips. We also had great results with sheets of tissue paper fringed and hung below and off the sides.  I had my hot glue gun ready and waiting in case there was something that needed extra reinforcement.

When the tail is finished, run the curling ribbon through the two holes and then tie it around the waist! Just look at these amazing creations!

fabulous tails on displayIf you don’t have a plethora of art supplies, don’t worry. The tail can be decorated with plain old crayons, markers, or even paint. Kids will have fun no matter what!

It’s Glow Time

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glow pigmentIt’s the stuff that dreams are made of…it’s glow-in-the-dark pigment! To make custom glow-in-the-dark “paint,” simply measure this pigment into white glue and stir. In an instant, you have glowing paint to make your projects really pop. The pigment is activated by sunlight, fluorescent, incandescent, and ultraviolet light. Best of all, it’s non-toxic.

In the past, I’ve had kids paint surfaces with brushes, use squeeze glue bottles to write things, and create glorious glowing masterpieces in a black light room. I get my pigment (the standard green color) at Educational Innovations, an online science supply company.

It’s wonderful stuff!

Totally Egg-Citing

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humptyWhy is this egg wearing a climbing harness and birthday hat? Read on for answers!

We read Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk (Scholastic, 2001). Humpty Dumpty, tired of hiding indoors, begs to go to shy Prince Moe’s royal birthday parade. When the crowds get too thick for Humpty Dumpty to see past, he climbs higher and higher and…falls. Right on the royal carriage. Luckily, the puzzle-crazy prince manages to put the broken egg back together again, and they become the best of friends.

You’ll need:

  • 1 oatmeal container
  • White construction paper
  • 1 pair of wiggle eyes
  • Pom-pom for nose
  • A selection of patterned paper (or construction paper)
  • 4 white poster board strips for the arms and legs
  • 2 poster board strips for the egg’s climbing harness
  • 3 jumbo paper clips
  • 3 pipe cleaners
  • 1 super long piece of twine
  • Hot glue
  • Markers for decorating
  • Tape, staples, and hole punch for construction
  • 1 climbing wall (more on this later!)
  • Birthday eraser prizes (optional)

Start with the egg! Wrap an oatmeal container in white construction paper, then wrap an additional piece of patterned paper / construction paper around the bottom to create the egg’s pants. Hot glue the wiggle eyes and pom-pom nose. Draw the mouth with markers.

The birthday party hat is a patterned piece of paper curled into a cone and taped. You can tape a fringed paper tassel to the top if you so desire. Cut the hat to the right size, and then tape to the top of the egg’s head.

To make the harness, wrap one strip of construction paper around the egg’s waist like a belt. Staple. The next strip goes in between the legs like so:

plain harnessNow punch three holes in the harness (right, left, and back).

harness holesSlide the egg into the harness and set aside. Using markers, decorate the arms and legs. Feel free to use scissors to shape the egg’s hands and feet. Keeping the egg in the harness, attach the arms and legs with hot glue.

Now for the climbing wall (drum roll please)…

egg climbing wallTA DA! That’s my student assistant Iara belaying Mr. Dumpty on the wall.

We made the wall out of a large flattened box that was secured to an overhead metal bar with twine. You could also create the wall on a stairwell, ladder, tall box, tree…

The rock “holds” on the wall are crumpled pieces of brown paper. The “bushes” are crumpled pieces of green tissue paper. The “snow” is bunches of polyester stuffing. All of these items were hot glued to the wall before we hung it.

With the egg and the wall finished, all you need is the “climbing rig.” Wrap the ends of 3 pipe cleaners around 3 jumbo paper clips. Now bunch the 3 pipe cleaners together at the top and twist. Knot the super long piece of twine around the twisted pipe cleaner top. It should look like this:

harnessThen slide each paper clip through a hole in the harness (it’s easier to show this step without the egg in the harness).

harness attachedThen we threw the free end of the twine “rope” over the metal bar and dropped it down so kids could grab it and raise and lower their eggs (actually, we had 2 ropes on the wall, since we had 24 kids at story time and wanted to shorten the waiting time).

Ready to climb! Clip the pipe cleaner “rig” to the egg’s harness, and then have the kids pull the rope to make Humpty Dumpty climb the wall! In keeping with the spirit of the book, we created a game in which the birthday hat clad egg climbed to the top of the wall, “touched” a gold star, and dropped back down safely to receive a birthday cake prize (little cake erasers from Target).

cakesPostscript: Originally, this project was created for the book Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again by Dave Horowitz (Puffin, reprint edition 2011). In the story, Humpty Dumpty is an avid rock climber who falls and loses his confidence. He descends into a terrible depression (complete with moping around in his underwear). He revives when he learns that only he can save one of the King’s horses from a dangerous ledge, and ultimately saves the day!

We had prepped the whole project when I discovered that (the day before we were set to go) the book had gone missing! I frantically checked THREE bookstores and none of them had a copy. So I substituted Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk. Mostly, it involved switching an alpine climbing hat for a birthday hat, and awarding a birthday cake prize instead of a gold star sticker prize.

However, if you’re interested in taking the project in this direction, here is an image of the hat. It’s a simple origami hat fold with a fringed construction paper tassel and marker decorations.

alpine hatYodel-lay-he-hoo!