Conversation starters for Applesauce is Fun to Wear
Ask child, “Do you like applesauce? Where is your nose? Show me your hair.”
For each spread, talk about the child’s experience with the featured food and locate related body parts.
On the toast page, ask “Where does a hat go?” On the banana page, ask “What do we put gloves on?”
On the yogurt page, ask “Is yogurt yummy? Do you like it in your tummy or on it?”
Watch for a story hour kit for Applesauce is Fun to Wear, suitable for virtual and in-person story hours, coming in May.
Story Hour Kit for Baby’s Firsts
Assemble these adorable party hats and string pennants to set the scene. Use children’s librarian Meghan Day’s movements and actions as you read aloud. And print out early literacy tips and “snap and share” logs for each family to take home. You’ll find all this and more in the Story Hour Kit from Curious City.
Event kit, activities and crafts for Pirate Jack Gets Dressed
Play a Talk Like a Pirate game, sing a colorful Pirate Jack song, make a pirate’s parrot to perch on your shoulder or shelf, color a pirate bandana, and more, with this event kit from Curious City.
Event kit for Hoorade Day!
Hoorade Day cover
Who doesn’t love a parade? Make your own with help from Curious City’s event kit.
Crafts include making a horn, a drum, and pennants suitable for any parade occasion. Hooray for parades!
Craft for What in the World? Numbers in Nature
How to make a rainbow mobile
Supplies
8 ½ by 11” white paper
scissors
cotton balls
streamers of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet
tape or glue
hole punch
yarn or string (about 5” pieces)
Steps
1. Print this cloud template, or one of your choosing. Cut it out.
2. Cut streamers into desired length (about 6-8”). Fold and cut in half width-wise. (Streamers move in breeze nicely, but construction paper strips can be used as well.)
3. Tape or glue one of each color onto bottom of cloud.
4. Punch a hole in the middle of cloud’s top.
5. Poke yarn or string piece through and tie knot.
6. Tape or glue on cotton balls.
7. Hang your cloud mobile.
Activities for Way Down Below Deep
Way Down Below Deep cover
Click for complete color Activity Guide, including creature cards and games, as well as two coloring pages.
Please comment about how you used it with your class or story time group!
Activities for A is for Alliguitar: Musical Alphabeasts
Here is a grab bag of printable activities about the animals, the instruments, and combinations of the two. Enjoy! And let me know how you used them with your group.
Activities for On a Windy Night
Kindergarten
Preread by looking through the illustrations. Have students predict what will happen in the story.
Read the book. After several repetitions of the refrain, pause for students to supply the rhyming words sack and back.
Reread the book, pausing for children to supply the last word in each rhyming pair.
Talk about the story.
What is the boy imagining in the story? What really happens?
Have you ever been afraid of something that didn’t turn out to be too scary after all?
First Grade
Picture books are made up of words and pictures.
Who writes the words? Authors. Who is the author of this book?
Who draws the pictures? Illustrators. Who is the illustrator of this book?
Talk about how the words and pictures work together.
Have students find places where pictures, rather than words, tell the story.
Have students point out words that describe something, such a windy and winding.
Second Grade
Reading
Have students read rhyme with expression.
Have them identify rhyming words at ends of line.
Ask them to point out where the rhythm changes near the beginning and end of the story.
Challenge them to find examples of alliteration, such as cracklety-clack.
Have them predict:
Will the boy see the cat behind him?
Will he look back?
Will he get home safely?
Have students identify cause and effect.
What might be making the cracklety-clack sound throughout the story?
What is scaring the boy?
Who is making the “awful shriek”?
Why is the boy out of breath?
What is making the soft cracklety-clack sound on the final page?
How do you think the mouse got into the house? (Hint: Look at the very first illustration.)
Speaking
Have students discuss:
Who is the main character in this story?
When does this story take place?
Where does the story take place?
What happens when the boy is walking home?
Why does the voice get louder?
How does the boy find courage to look back near the end?
More What questions:
What different things in the story might make a cracklety-clack sound?
What do you think the boy will do at the end of the story?
What would you do?
Activities for A Kitten’s Year
A Student’s Year by Room ______
A (fill in current grade) student…
________ September
________ October
________ November
________ December
________ January
________ February
________ March
________ April
________ May
________ June
And grows into a ________ grader.
Contributed by Mary Bannister, Teacher- Library Media
Specialist at Whittier Elementary, Seattle
