Tag Archives: storytime

Over the Rainbow

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storm and rainbowThis dangling storm cloud has a surprise inside. Just tug the secret loop…and release a rainbow!

We read Thunder Bunny by Barbara Helen Berger (Philomel, 2007). Thunder Bunny is a surprise to her rabbit family. She’s the littlest and last, but she’s also…blue! Curious about the sky, Thunder Bunny sails up into the clouds. A scary storm brews, but Thunder Bunny soon realizes that even thunder and lightning are part of who she is. When she returns home, her family recognize what a truly special bunny she is.

You’ll need:

The funny thing about this project is that the box’s lid, which technically is always on top is going to be the trap door at the bottom. So begin by flipping the box over so the lid is on the bottom. Then, up at the “top,” cut two small slits on each side.

prepping boxUse your scissor blades to enlarge the slits into holes (large enough to thread the elastic beading cord through). Slide the ends of the cord through the right and left holes. The ends should now be poking into the interior of the box.

ends of cordNext, use this wrapping technique to wrap and secure the cords around the craft sticks. Tape the craft sticks to the interior walls of the box.

craft sticksNext is the secret loop that will release the rainbow from the trapdoor.

secret loopFold 1/2 of a pipe cleaner into a loop and twist the ends together to secure.

twisted loopTape the loop to the inside edge of the lid.

loop on trapdoorTime to decorate the cloud! I showed the kids how to pull apart a cotton ball so it will cover more space on the box’s surface. Then I made a diagram to show kids approximately how many cotton balls they would need for each side. Otherwise, one zillion cotton balls will be glued on there. Trust me.

sneaky mathTo attach the cotton balls, squirt some white glue on the box, and then press the cotton ball on top. Repeat on all sides of the cloud EXCEPT the trap door on the bottom! That needs to remain cotton ball free so you can attach the “rain” and thunderbolts to it.

Next, use tape to attach the blue cellophane, blue shimmer ribbon, and blue curling ribbon rain to the bottom of the trapdoor. We prepped the thunderbolts in advance by using the template to trace the bolts onto mirror board (or you could skip the mirror board and just have white card stock bolts). Tape the 3″ – 5″ pieces of elastic beading cord to the back of the bolts, then tape the cords to the box.

storm cloudThe storm cloud is done, now for the rainbow! Red goes first. Attach a piece of tape to the end of the red streamer. Press the tape to the ceiling of the box, all the way to the left. Repeat with each color until you have a row of rainbow streamers from left to right.

rainbow streamersGently tuck the streamers into the box and shut the trapdoor. Suspend the cloud from its cord, then tug the pipe cleaner loop. Your rainbow will appear! Try to refrain from bursting into song.

Refraining…

Refraining…

SOOOOMEWHEEEERE…OVER THE RAAAAINBOW…

Doh!

Everyone’s an Engineer

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everyones an engineerGet ready to create, build, and innovate. Today, everyone’s an engineer and the sky’s the limit!

We read Rosie Revere, Engineer written by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (Harry N. Abrams, 2013). At night, young Rosie Revere designs gadgets, gizmos, and fabulous machines…and then hides them. She’s an engineer, but due to an unfortunate incident with her Uncle Fred (a zookeeper who mistakenly laughs at a cheddar cheese spray hat designed to keep pythons away), she’s keeping her light under a bushel.

However, when Great-Great-Aunt Rose comes to visit and expresses her life-long wish to fly, Rosie puts aside her fears and builds her a flying machine. The machine flies…and then promptly crashes. Rosie gives up. But wait! Great-Great-Aunt Rose has something to say. Failures are part of engineering, but the true failure is if you give up and stop trying. Don’t forget to check the last page for a sweet illustration of Rosie’s ultimate success!

This story time cost zero dollars because I used materials that were already in my art cabinet and storage closet. You could do something similar by sending out a call for recyclables at your library, school, workplace, or neighborhood (more about that here). Another option is to announce the story time theme in advance and invite families to bring recyclables and surplus art supplies from home to contribute.

Here’s a list of the materials I offered:

  • White matte boxes in various shapes and sizes
  • Pastry boxes (you can see the exact ones I used on this project)
  • Tissue boxes, assorted sizes and colors
  • Oatmeal containers
  • Toilet paper tubes
  • Paper towel tubes
  • Wrapping paper tubes
  • Corrugated cardboard bases (leftover from this project)
  • Bulk CD cases (the kind that look like big plastic tubs)
  • Paper plates
  • Plastic cups
  • Paper cups
  • Different lengths of PVC pipe
  • Some cone water cups
  • Pieces of tagboard
  • Assorted beverage caps
  • Film canisters
  • A variety of tea tins
  • Black plastic top hats
  • A selection of sparkle stems
  • A selection of pipe cleaners
  • A selection of craft ties
  • A selection of color masking tape
  • Aluminum foil
  • Construction paper
  • Poster board strips (regular and metallic)
  • Metallic paper
  • Clothespins
  • A variety of craft sticks
  • A selection of twisteez wire
  • A selection of large plastic buttons
  • A few spools of metallic tie cord
  • Plastic drinking straws
  • A few spools of britelace
  • Some marabou boas
  • A selection of dot stickers and star stickers
  • The Bling Bin
  • Scissors, tape, hole punch, and glue stick for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • A box cutter
  • Hot glue

One building supply I didn’t list above are these…the round plastic guides at the ends of large rolls of paper. Pop them out and you have some excellent tires:

tube tiresTo prep for story time, I piled everything onto side tables, plugged in the hot glue gun, and invited everyone to make a machine. No additional prompting was needed!

Here are a few fabulous creations, beginning with…”The Dollycopter”

dollycopterWhen you pull the craft sticks on top of this computer, they jiggle the strings of buttons inside the monitor.

cone computerAn “alien” computer with with furry frame and space scene!

furry computerThere were plenty of robots, widgets, rockets, and flying mechanisms…

table robot robot 1robot 2 Remember the enthusiastic young fellow who started this post off? He designed a “Police Train” and believe it or not, the thing actually rolled when you pulled it!

train walksGuess we’ll be seeing him at MIT in a few years…

Food Chain

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food chainI must admit, I was incredulous when a local librarian put this book in my hands and said “Have you seen this? Louis gets eaten on the second page…but it’s OK.” I read the story and, inspired, designed this monster food chain. With the pull of a string, the monsters devour each other. But that’s not all…the process can be reversed, allowing the monsters belch everything up again. Mmmm!

We read The Day Louis Got Eaten by John Fardell (21st Century, 2012). During a ride through the woods, little brother Louis gets eaten by a Gulper. Refusing to panic, resourceful sister Sarah sets off in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, the Gulper is eaten by a Grabular, which is then eaten by an Undersnatch…and so on until Sarah finds herself climbing into the stomach of a Saber-toothed Yumper, where Louis is patiently waiting for her. But how will they get back out? The answer is a handy Hiccup Frog which bounces in the Yumper’s belly, setting off a regurgi-tastic chain reaction that ultimately wins the children their freedom. But the adventure’s not over quite yet…

You’ll need:

  • 1 large oatmeal container
  • 1 paper cup
  • 1 toiler paper tube
  • An assortment of construction paper for decorating
  • Four 1.5″ x 4.5″ tagboard rectangles for monster feet (poster board works too)
  • 2 jumbo pom-poms
  • A selection of dot stickers
  • A selection of eye stickers
  • 2 pipe cleaners for monster legs
  • A selection of color masking tape
  • 1 sparkle stem for monster spines
  • 1/3 piece of pipe cleaner (or scrap of construction paper) for monster tongue
  • A box cutter
  • 2 small craft sticks (mine were 3″)
  • A 24″ piece of yarn
  • Markers for decoration
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Hole punch
  • Hot glue

We made the three monsters first. For monster #1 (I’ll call it “Oatmeal Monster”) remove the lid from the oatmeal container. Wrap the outside of the container with a piece of construction paper, then layer zigzag construction paper strips on top to create “scales” (we prepped the zigzag strips in advance):

scalesFor the feet, cut toes in each tagboard rectangle. Use markers to add some delightful monster toenails.

monster toesTab the ends of the legs and hot glue them to the oatmeal container. I added some construction paper fringes to my monster legs, and some kids elected to use markers for further decorating.

While you have the hot glue gun hovering over the legs, glue the two jumbo pom-poms “eyes” above the mouth, and use two dot stickers to create pupils. Oatmeal Monster is complete!

monster 1Next up…monster #2 (I’ll call it “Cup Monster”). Cut two pipe cleaners in half (resulting in four pieces total). Twist and bend into feet, and tape to the sides of the cup. Create wings out of construction paper scraps and attach them with tape or hot glue. Finish by attaching two eye stickers. Cup Monster is done!

monster 2Finally, monster 3 (otherwise known as “Tube Monster”). Wrap a toilet paper tube with construction paper, then use the color masking tape to create stripes (or skip the tape and just use markers).

To create spines, cut the sparkle stem into 3 pieces, curl, and tape along the length of the tube (leave a little room in back for a place to punch a hole).  Use a 1/3 piece of pipe cleaner (or construction paper scraps) for a tongue. Attach eye stickers. Finally, use the hole punch to create a hole in the top back of the monster. Tube Monster finished!

monster 3It’s time to rig up your pull string! Use the box cutter to create slits in the bottom of Oatmeal Monster and Cup Monster. Then use the blades of the scissors to enlarge the slits into holes:

monster 1 holemonster 2 holeThe monsters are ready, now for the anchor! I prepped these in advance. Simply glob hot glue between the intersection of the two small craft sticks.

anchorKnot the yarn around the center of the anchor, then wrap it around a few more times and knot again.

tied anchorThread the free end of the yarn through the hole in the bottom of Oatmeal Monster and pull it out the mouth. Keep tugging until the anchor is pressed against the bottom of Oatmeal Monster.

anchor in placeNext, thread the yarn through the hole in the bottom of Cup Monster and out the mouth. Pull the yarn through, then finish by knotting it in Tube Monster’s hole.

monster 3 knotReady to try it out? Place the three monsters on a tabletop. Put one hand on top of Oatmeal Monster and, with the other hand, slowly pull the anchor away from the bottom of the container. Watch as Tube Monster is devoured by Cup Monster who is then eaten by Oatmeal Monster.

To regurgitate the chain, lift and pull Tube Monster out of Oatmeal Monster. Cup Monster follows! If you want to try a creepy variation of this project, replace Tube Monster with a toilet paper tube replica of yourself. This variation is especially relevant if your name happens to be Louis.

louis