Ninja Theme

This week we did a ninja themed storytime.  We read The Three Ninja Pigs and Ninja Red Riding Hood, both by Corey Rosen Schwartz.

Both stories are so cute and the artwork is amazing.  I think The Three Ninja Pigs is a better story though.  The "fractured fairy tale" aspect of these books might be lost on a younger crowd but my group of 2-5 year old kids seemed to really like both of them.

Our craft was a very cute ninja paper craft that I adapted from here.

Here is the one I made and the blank template I used. My ninja is a girl :)

Sick Themed Storytime

This week we read stories about being sick.  This is actually kind of a fun topic for a storytime and there are a surprising amount of great books to go along with the theme.  We read Llama Llama Home with Mama by Anna Dewdney and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen.  I wanted to read A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead but we didn't have time.  I will certainly try to read that one next time I do a sick theme because it is such a great story.

I had a bit of a hard time coming up with a craft to fit with my sick theme and then it came to me!  I made awesome green slime to represent snot!  Yaaay!  It was really fun and the kids loved it.  The slime is easy to make and we already had all the ingredients.  I made two different recipes of slime because I couldn't remember which one I liked best. 

The first batch of slime I made requires:

• clear glue, glitter glue, or white glue
• liquid starch
• water
• food coloring
• 1/2 cup measuring cup
• bowl and a spoon

In the bowl mix 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of glue.  Add your food coloring at this time and give it a mix.  I added 5 or 6 drops of food coloring to mine but I wish I'd added a little more to make it a more vibrant green.  Once you've mixed the colored glue and water mixture together a bit, you can slowly add 1/2 cup of liquid starch to the mix.  Stir it with a spoon until it starts to thicken and then dig in with your hands and continue mixing.  It will feel really wet but keep mixing because it will get thicker.  

The second batch of slime I made requires:

• clear glue, glitter glue, or white glue
• Borax
• warm water
• food coloring
• 1 cup and 1/2 cup measuring cups
• teaspoon measuring spoon
• bowl and spoon

In your bowl mix 1 cup of glue and 1 cup of water and the food coloring.  (A full 8 oz bottle of glue is equal to one cup)  Next, fill up a half cup measuring cup with warm water.  To this warm water, add one teaspoon of borax and stir to help dissolve the borax a bit.  The borax won't dissolve all the way and that's fine.  Now slowly pour the borax water into the glue and water mixture and stir.  As with the other recipe, mix with the spoon for a while and then dig in with your hands.  

I made my slime with white glue because that's what we had on hand.  I think clear school glue would have  made a much more snot-like slime but this was still very gross looking!  I've found that the slime made with the starch is much more slimy and is a lot stringier.  The borax slime is much stiffer and more rubbery.  They are both awesome to play with but I could see the borax slime being slightly less messy.  My advice is to try both and see which one you prefer.  Either way, you're in for a good time!

Slime made with liquid starch 

Slime made with Borax

Slime made with Borax

Valentine's Day Storytime

Love is in the air and we're celebrating Valentine's Day at storytime!  We read, The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda A. Ferber and Love Monster by Rachel Bright.  They are both super cute Valentine's Day reads and I'd highly recommend them for storytime.

For this year's Valentine's Day craft we made cosmic hearts.  They turned out so cool and they are incredibly simple.  The paint is just corn syrup with food coloring added to it.  It's so simple but the results look really impressive!  

I don't think the pictures do them justice!  You'll have to whip up a batch and see for yourself!

Groundhog Day Storytime

We celebrated Groundhog Day here at the library.  I do a Groundhog Day theme every year, and every year I question it.  Most kids really don't understand what I'm talking about.  And really, why would they?!  It's such a weird holiday.  But, I end up doing it every year and I'm sure next year will be no exception.  This year we read Gregory's Shadow by Don Freeman and Ten Grouchy Groundhogs by Kathryn Heling.

Our groundhog craft was really simple this year.  I cut slits in some cheap paper plates and printed out a sheet of these little guys  and let the kids color the ground (paper plates) and their little groundhogs.  Once they slid the groundhog cut-out through the slit in the plate, they could make him pop up and look for his shadow.  Most of the time I don't know if the kids understand the Groundhog Day crafts we do, but they always like to color with the Mr. Sketch Scented Markers so I feel like it's a win.

Robot Storytime

Today's storytime theme was Robots.  We have two really awesome robot books that I love to read whenever I get a chance.  We read, Clink by Kelly DiPucchio and Boy+Bot by Ame Dyckman.

For today's craft, we made balancing robots, courtesy of the Buggy and Buddy blog.  The kids were really impressed with the balancing robots.  I was too!

Turtle Storytime

This week's storytime theme was Turtles.  We read, Turtle Splash! Countdown at the Pond by Cathryn Falwell and Baby Turtle's Tale by Elle J. McGuinness.

Today's paper plate turtle craft came from http://www.seaturtleinc.org/education/lesson-plans/build-your-own-sea-turtle/ 

I stapled the turtle parts to the plates, rather than gluing them.  It was easier for me to do this ahead of time since most of my storytime kids are pretty little.  They turned out really cute!

Dinosaur Storytime

Today we ready Little Grunt and the Big Egg by Tomie de Paola.  This book is a little longer than most of the books I normally read for storytime, so we only read the one book today.  The kids seemed to really like it and the story went along perfectly with today's craft.

Today's craft was a hatching baby dinosaur egg craft.  This craft came from
 http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Hatching-Baby-Dinosaur.html