Take a nighttime stroll in your local neighborhood and…who knows? You might notice something you’ve never seen before! Light projects are always a hit at our story times, and this sweet story was the perfect companion to the craft.
We read Night Walk, written by Sara O’Leary and illustrated by Ellie Arscott (Groundwood Books, 2020). When a young child can’t sleep, their Dad invites them on a night walk through the neighborhood. From warm lights in windows to late suppers, the world can be a different place, even when you’re close to home.
You’ll need:
- 1 large box (ours was 4.5” X 4.5” x 9” but a large tissue box works too!)
- 1 small strand of LED string lights
- Dark blue poster board
- Construction paper and tagboard
- Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
- Markers for decorating
- Hole punch
This project is a simple diorama with silhouettes of buildings cut out of tagboard. Kids used hole punches to add windows to the buildings and “stars” to the sky:
To light the box, we used strands of mini LED lights scored from a holiday discount bin. First, punch holes in a rectangle of dark blue poster board, then push a light bulb through each hole. Use tape to secure the wires to the back of the poster board to prevent the light bulbs from wiggling loose.
In the above photo, you can also see how the end of the light strand is threaded through the back of the box. It leads to the strand’s battery pack, which we taped to the back of the box to make it extra sturdy:
Complete this portion of the project by taping the night sky to the back of the box. Now add your tagboard skyline, then decorate your buildings with markers, construction paper, or whatever else is available. We also recommend adding cardboard trees, shrubs, sidewalk, whatever strikes your fancy!
When the projects were complete, we lined up all the boxes, turned out the lights, and everyone took a walk to enjoy and observe the little worlds we created!
It’s beautiful, botanical, and inspiring…find your little light in the darkness with this lovely garden box illuminated with shimmering votive candles!
While this was a quiet and simple project, it was incredibly cozy and the kids absolutely loved it. Our story time can sometimes get a 
Learn about the phases of the moon (and track them yourself!) using this awesome, 3D, double-sided, lunar calendar! Katie and I dubbed this “the story time project of the year.” Because STEAM power!
Next, use black construction paper, a toilet paper tube, and a small box to create mountains, a tree, and a house (we recommend adding a little yellow window to the house as well). The hot glue the tree and the house to the backdrop. Important! In order to get the calendar to stand up, the house needs to be attached in the center of the backdrop:
To the right of the house is a small lunar phase calendar. Tape or hot glue a binder clip to the backdrop, then clip the calendar in place. I custom designed our calendar for June-December 2019, but seeing as time inexorably marches on, you can find a current calendar with a Google search. Add some white card stock 
Above is the other side of the calendar. First, use construction paper or poster board to create a pocket (our pocket was 4.75″ x 12″ silver poster board), then tape or glue the 
This was a great part of the story time project. Watching the kids methodically checking and matching the labels, to the chart, to the sticks was really sweet. And very science!
To use your new lunar calendar, match the date on the calendar to the appropriate phase of the moon. Identify the correct moon stick, then slide it into your night sky pocket. Keep checking the calendar to track the moon’s phases. Oh, and we also used glow-in-the-dark paint to fill in our stars and moon sticks. So this calendar glows at night!