The story time diner is open, and delicious waffles await! Your mission: to get the woodpecker to the table…by any means possible!
We read Woodpecker Wants a Waffle by Steve Breen (HarperCollins, 2016). Benny the Woodpecker makes every attempt to taste the waffles at Moe’s Diner, but is consistently thwarted by a stern waitress. The other animals laugh at Benny, but he’s determined not to give up. He hatches an incredibly complicated plan to get into Moe’s (juggling, dancing, cannons, fireworks, etc.). The next day, a crowd of animals arrive to see Benny’s crazy plan in action, but he is nowhere in sight. The herd draws the intrigue of the diner customers, who step outside to stare at the animals…leaving the restaurant unguarded. Benny walks right in. Success! The delicious waffles are all his, and they are well worth the effort!
You’ll need:
- 1 box (ours was 9” x 4 ½” X 4 ½” but a large tissue box works too!)
- 1 smaller box that fits inside the larger box (ours was 4″ x 4″ x 2″)
- 2 toilet paper tubes
- A selection of construction paper
- Scissors and tape for construction
- Markers for decorating
This is essentially a toss game, with the goal of getting the two toilet paper tube characters into the diner to enjoy waffles. We folded up the lid of a large craft box to create the sign for our diner, and couldn’t resist adding a large picture window, tissue paper shrubs, star stickers, and patterned wallpaper. The toilet paper tube characters can be decorated with construction paper and markers.
Inside the diner is a small box that serves as a table – just make sure there’s space around the table for the the toilet paper tube characters during the toss game!
Want to try another variation on the game? Have one person close their eyes and “guard” the diner, while another tries to sneak the woodpecker to the table without being heard!
Where there’s rubbish, disorganization, and debris, you will find a happy herd of piggies, ready to roll! The perfect indoor game to combat the winter blahs…it’s trash time!
First, the pig! Wrap a large oatmeal container in pink paper, then add a circle of pink paper to the lid as well. Next, cut a paper cup down to approximately 1.75″ and cover it with pink paper. This is your pig’s snout. Use extra paper for the ears, and a curl of paper (or corkscrewed craft stem) for a tail. Draw the eyes and nostrils on with markers. Finally, tape 3 paper towel rolls together to create the “steering stick” for your pig. You can color it with markers, or fancy it up with colored tape. You’re ready to race!
Time for the race! Scatter “rubbish” in a large area (we used plastic eggs, old film canisters, and toilet paper tubes because they rolled smoothly). Have all the contestants line up, standing behind their pigs with the steering stick. On the shout of “Go!” players push their pigs forward, zero in on a piece of rubbish, and push it across the finish line.
A less competitive version is to turn a table into the “goal,” and have kids roll the rubbish underneath it. When all the garbage is under the table, everyone wins!
It’s been a long journey, but Katie and Finley finally completed their quest!
The company also mails postcards when you reach certain milestones, and they physically plant a tree for every 20% that you walk. For Katie and Finley, that translated to 25 trees! The medal set also included the One Ring. It fits inside the Shire medal and the Mordor medal. But Katie very prudently cast it into the fires of Mordor, thus saving Middle Earth forever. Go Katie!
In case you are wondering where Katie is warming her little hobbit feet, it’s by the massive fireplace in the Yankee Doodle Tap Room. It’s located inside the Nassau Inn in Princeton, New Jersey. It was the perfect location for a restful fireside tankard.
With it’s stone, brick, wood floors, and ceiling beams, The Tap Room really does look like it could belong in the Shire. We just need a house band and a few dozen jolly hobbits.
The Tap Room has plenty of Princeton University touches as well, from a photo wall of famous alumni, to a carved tiger guarding an exit door.
But the most famous feature of the Tap Room is “Yankee Doodle,” an original Norman Rockwell painting that hangs over the bar. One of his largest canvases, it was commissioned in the mid 1930s by Edgar Palmer. Rockwell painted in right onto the wall of the Tap Room. Today, it’s carefully protected by glass.
Congratulations to Katie and Finley on their fantastic achievement! And, if you’re still in hobbit party mode, why not check out