Tag Archives: story time project

Tigers on Tiptoe

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Can you tiptoe your tiger through the forest without making a sound?

We recommend reading The Tiptoeing Tiger by Philippa Leathers (Candlewick Press, 2018, read here by DaddyRead2Me). When Tiger prowls the forest, the other animals NOTICE and move away. But not Little Tiger. No one is afraid of him in the slightest! So he contrives to sneakily tiptoe around the forest until he thoroughly terrifies someone. It doesn’t work with Boar, Elephant, or the monkeys…but Little Tiger might have met his match at the pond!

You’ll need:

  • 1 small oatmeal container
  • Construction paper and/or poster board
  • 2 brass fasteners
  • 2 craft sticks, approximately 3″ long
  • Scissors, tape, and box cutter for construction
  • Markers for decorating

Begin by decorating a small oatmeal container like a tiger. For added texture, we used a pair of wiggle eyes, a bit of self-adhesive foam for the nose, and twisteez wire whiskers, but you can also just use markers to add these features. The dynamic part of the project comes when you add the moveable back legs!

Use a box cutter to make small slices in the oatmeal container, then attach the tiger’s back legs to the body using brass fasteners. Next, attach two, 3″ long craft sticks to the legs, leaving plenty of room for you to grasp the sticks. To operate, move the sticks up and down while gently sliding the oatmeal container forward, and you have yourself a splendid tiptoeing tiger!

 

That’s a Big Bunny

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It’s a simple DIY projector that creates an enormous shadow friend! All you need is a sheet of paper, an oatmeal container, and a cell phone flashlight. And have we got the PERFECT storytime book for it!

We recommend reading The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers (Candlewick, 2006, read here by Storytime with Miss Abi). When Rabbit is stalked by an enormous Black Rabbit, he tries everything to escape his foe. He loses him in the deep dark woods, but unfortunately encounters a hungry wolf! Rabbit gets chased and just when things look bleak (and with juuuuust the right amount of sunlight), the Black Rabbit appears and saves the day!

You’ll need:

  • 1 large oatmeal container
  • 1 piece of black construction paper
  • Scissors or a utility knife
  • Hot glue or tape

First, cut a circle of black construction paper that fits over the open end of a large oatmeal container. Then use scissors or a utlilty knife to cut a design into the circle. Attach to the oatmeal container using hot glue or tape.

On the other end of the oatmeal container, cut a pinhole that’s just a tad larger then your cell phone light.

Find a darkened room, activate the flashlight on your cell phone, and place the light against the pinhole of the container. Point the image towards the wall and watch the magic happen! Move closer to the wall for a smaller projected image, and further away for a super large projected image.

FYI: we discoverd that a cell phone flashlight definitely works best. We tried a regular flashlight and found it produced a blurrier, less definied image, as seen below.

Make one shadow projector, or create several and put on a fabulous show!

A Proper Toast

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a proper toast

Meet a toast with a LOT of personality! Today’s blog post is a story time, simple project, and quick snack, all rolled into one!

We recommend Toasty by Sarah Hwang (Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House Books, 2021, read here by the Loveland Public Library). Toasty is a slice of bread, but he really wants to be a dog. Even though he knows there are differences and major challenges, the intrepid Toasty heads to the park to meet some pups. Unfortunately, all does not go as planned. But when a girl appears at the moment Toasty needs her the most, a beautiful friendship begins.

You’ll need:

  • A piece of toast
  • A toaster or oven

Why I didn’t figure out this toast drawing thing when my kids were smaller?!? It’s adorable. First, use you fingers to firmly press a design (or a letter or word) into an uncooked slice of bread. Pop the slice in the toaster, and done!

Of course, me being who I am, I did wonder if the cooking time/temperature impacted how the design appeared on the toast…

toast test 3The answer is basically no. Above you can see 3 slices of toast cooked on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd settings on my toaster. The design appears about the same. Or…maybe I did the experiment so I would have an excuse to eat three yummy slices of toast that morning? Hmmmmm. Totally not telling.