Ask the kids what they know about owls.
Share facts from “20 Fun Facts about Owls” by Melissa Mayntz (find it here)
Read All About Owls by Jim Arnosky or a selection from Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (part of chapter 1 and all of chapter 2 as suggested by Rob Reid in Reid’s Read-Alouds)
Crafts: Thumbprint owls (ideas from Ed Emberley’s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing Book and Emberley’s Complete Funprint Drawing Book), Draw an owl (from Legend of the Guardians Activity Guide)
Game: Owls & Mice (a version of tag, find instructions here)
Note: Craft is only for programs longer than 30 minutes. 30 minute programs get draw an owl sheet to take home.
Ask the kids to name nocturnal animals.
Share the ones they didn’t.
Share Bat facts from Brian Lies’ website.
Share facts about 2 animals from Monsters in the Night by Lisa Regan (let the kids choose the animals)
Read aloud from 1 of 4 choices. Let the kids choose.
Craft: Glow Worms (pipe cleaners, glow-in-the-dark pony beads, wiggle eyes…Idea from Preschool Favorites by Diane Briggs)
Note: craft is only for programs longer than 30 minutes. 30 minute programs get a bat coloring sheet to take home.
Game: Owls and Mice (version of tag...instructions are here)
Activity: Match This: Nocturnal Animals (from Californal Library Association’s SRP workshop…tween ideas…find it here)
Read Aloud Choices:
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Selection suggested by Reid’s Read-Aouds 2 by Rob Reid)
Poppy by Avi (Selection suggested by Reid’s Read-Aouds 2 by Rob Reid)
Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant (chapter 4; selection suggest by Family Storytimes by Rob Reid)
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz (selection suggested by Rob Reid in his Book Links column “Reid-Aloud Alert” from January 2011)
Read-Aloud: Aliens Are Coming: The True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Broadcast by Megan McCarthy or Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
Activity: Constellation Viewers (paper towel tubes, tape, and the patterns found here...you'll need to enlarge these a bit to be big enough to cover the end of the tube)
The book Constellations: A Glow in the Dark Guide to the Night Sky by Chris Sasaki will offer the kids more information about the constellations they see.
Game: Planetary Tag (find it here...click on the Children's SRPs 2012 Handout)
Craft: Make your own alien (pompoms of various sizes, wiggle eyes, pipe cleaners, foam feet, and glue…inspired by this idea)
Note: Craft is only for events longer than 30 minutes. The shorter programs receive an outline of Van Gogh’s Starry Night to color (find it here)
This program is all about Australia! At 9:00am here in North Carolina, it’s 10:00pm in Australia.
For K-3rd Grade:
Language Learning: Australian English vs. American English (Flashcards)
Book: Possum Magic by Mem Fox
Movement Song: “Waltzing Matilda” sung by Burl Ives
Book: Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French
Song with Flannel Board: “DINGO”
Book: Over in Australia by Marianne Berkes
Game: Platypus, platypus, where’s your egg?
Craft: Origami Koala
Takeaway: Fairy Bread Recipe from Chickadee magazine
For 4th-5th Grade:
Language Learning: Australian English vs. American English (Flashcards)
Tongue Twisters: from the “Y” page of D is for Down Under by Devin Scillian (Australian town and city names)
Read-Aloud: Over in Australia by Marianne Berkes
Movement Song: “Waltzing Matilda” sung by Burl Ives
Game: Platypus, platypus, where’s your egg?
Craft: Origami Koala
Takeaway: Fairy Bread Recipe from Chickadee magazine
Note: The craft is only for programs longer than 30 minutes. 30 minute programs get a wombat coloring sheet.
Book Display for Browsing:
Explore Australia and Oceania by Bobbie Kalman
Spotlight on Australia by Bobbie Kalman
Watching Kangaroos in Australia by Louise & Richard Spilsbury
Australia by Colleen Sexton
Read Aloud: Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping by Peggy Parish
Read Aloud: “Two Voices in a Tent at Night,” “Toasting Marshmallows,” and “Sleeping Outside” from Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems by Kristine O’Connell George
Game: Guess the animal sound (use cd)
Activity: “I’m packing my back pack” (from Upstart’s Read S’more Books activity guide)
Craft: create your own edible campfire (idea from scoutingweb.com)
Note: Craft is only for programs longer than 30 minutes. Kids who attend a 30 minute program receive the edible campfire instructions to take home.
Additional Activity (time permitting, if needed): Play Nocturnal Animal Tracks Match Up (I used Crinkleroot’s Book of Animal Tracks & Wildlife Signs and Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints both by Jim Arnosky to create this game)
Ask the children what they want to be when they grow up.
Read Aloud: Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell (for K-2nd grade) or The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter (for 3rd-6th grade)
Share Walt Disney’s quotes about dreams:
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
”It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Craft: You’ll be a Star Drawing Activity (provide kids with star coloring sheets and colored pencils. Instruct them to draw a picture of themselves working in their chosen careers.
Note: Craft is only for programs longer than 30 minutes. Kids who attend a 30 minute program receive the star coloring sheet to take home.
Books to share:
Teeny Tiny retold by Jill Bennett
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
The Book that Eats People by John Perry
Story to Tell: “In a Dark, Dark House”
Craft: Coffee Filter Ghosts (coffee filters, cotton balls, back yarn, orange yarn, white yarn, permanent markers)
Read Aloud: Wait! No Paint! by Bruce Whatley
Reader’s Theater: “The Three Little Pigs” from You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman
Activity: Fairy Tale Mad-Lib
Craft: pig stick puppet with pipe cleaner tale (cardstock pigs, hole punch, pipe cleaners, colored pencils, craft sticks)
Takeaway: The Three Little Pigs Book List
This event will feature crafts, games, and refreshments that celebrate nocturnal animals such as owls and bats.
Ask tweens to name nocturnal animals (reward answers with individually wrapped candy like starburst and jolly ranchers)
Show pictures from Monsters in the Night by Lisa Regan
Play Guess the animal sound cd. (find it here) Ask tweens to identify the animal and whether it’s nocturnal or not.
Play Nocturnal Animal Tracks Match Up (I used Crinkleroot’s Book of Animal Tracks & Wildlife Signs and Wild Tracks!: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints both by Jim Arnosky to create this game)
Read aloud from Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Selection suggested by Reid’s Read-Aouds 2 by Rob Reid)
Crafts:
Toilet paper tube owls (use paper towel tubes cut in halves or thirds and sharpies to decoate. Inspired by the picture I found here)
Thumbprint owls (ideas from Ed Emberley’s Great Thumbprint Drawing Book, Ed Emberley’s Fingerprint Drawing Book and Emberley’s Complete Funprint Drawing Book)
Origami Owls
Game: Pin the mouse on the owl
Refreshments: Owl cupcakes (inspired by this creation...the kids will put these together) & soft drinks
Fairy tales are filled with wishes and dreams. Watch a fairy tale film complete with movie theater snacks like popcorn and candy.
Movie Choices: Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Mulan, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella
Snacks: Kool-aid, Popcorn, mini candy bars
Book Display: The Fairy Tale Detectives by Buckley, Cinderella by Ensor, The Glass Slipper by Farjean, A Tale Dark & Grimm by Gidwitz, Just Ella by Haddix, The Fairy's Mistake by Levine, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Lin, Leaping Beauty by Maguire, The Flint Heart by Paterson, Bella at Midnight by Stanley, A Handful of Beans by Steig, and Dealing with Dragons by Wrede
Projects:
Snacks: S’mores Cookies, Cupcakes, and Kool-aid