I Want to Believe

Keep your eyes open…you might just spot a unicorn in the library!

We read Do You Believe in Unicorns? by Bethanie Deeney Murguia (Candlewick Press, 2018). It might look like a horse in red hat, but the book’s narrator isn’t quite convinced. I mean, it could be a horse who thinks its hair is messy, likes the color red, or is trying to keep its head dry. But if you truly believe…then yes, it’s definitely a unicorn!

You’ll need:

  • 1 pony head template, printed on 11″ x 17″ paper
  • A 11″ x 27″ piece of white poster board for head (plus extra for the horn)
  • 2 rectangles of white construction paper for ears (approximately 2″ x 3.5″)
  • Construction paper for mane and forelock
  • 2 wiggle eyes
  • 2 black dot stickers for nose
  • A 41.5″ piece of PVC pipe for stick
  • A 35″ piece of ribbon for the reins
  • Hole punch
  • Packing tape
  • Stapler, scissors, tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

Our unicorn is the stick horse we designed for this story time project. With an additional horn, of course. Our horns were 9″ long, and constructed from extra poster board. I stapled two, 3″ tabs of poster board to the base, then folded the tabs outward and hot glued them to either side of the horse’s forehead so the horn stayed centered.

Once we completed our unicorns, we rode forth in the library, including trotting through a magical hoop of flowers (which you might recognize as the slightly deconstructed door from our Hobbit event)! Those talented unicorns even took a stab at a theater performance!

And for the record, I do believe in unicorns.

It’s a Total Pigsty

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!

We read Pigsty by Mark Teague (Scholastic, 1994). Wendell Fultz’s bedroom is a total pigsty. Ordered by his mother to clean it, Wendell is shocked to find an actual pig on his bed. As the mess in his room grows, so does the number of pigs, until finally Wendell is overwhelmed. He asks the pigs to pitch in and clean up. They do – and then depart for dirtier climes. One of my favorite books, and so fun to read aloud!

You’ll need:

  • 1 large oatmeal container
  • 1 paper cup
  • Pink construction paper
  • 3 paper towel tubes
  • A selection of colored tape
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

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!

We also highly recommend decorating a jersey number from this numbers 1-16 template. The paper number gets taped to your back, and the matching number gets drawn on your pig. The pig race gets chaotic, and you want to be able to find your pig quickly if it gets bumped, kicked, or otherwise separated from you.

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!

The Alphabet Gang

the alphabet gang 3

We’re always on the lookout for items for Bookscape Babies, our community program for kids 0-2 and their caregivers. Previously, we’ve shared this Teddy Bear Picnic and an adorably cuddly alphabet. Today’s post also involves a cute alphabet – and one that doubles as a matching activity!

The “Animal Play and Learn” set by Jetbotell retails for around $15 on Amazon, and is intended for ages 18 months and up. The 52 piece plastic set features 10 kinds of animals printed with uppercase and lowercase letters. Each animal is about 3″ long, and easily pulls into two halves:

Bright, chunky, and easy to wipe clean, this set checked all the boxes for us! Special bonus: the set’s pieces are interchangeable, resulting into some very interesting animal combinations, not to mention two letter words and initials.

If you are looking for an terrific letter identification set that is an inexpensive addition to round out your baby story times, early literacy classrooms, and toddler play areas, we definitely recommend this fun little set!