Theme Thursday: Robots!

Did you know that my one of my favorite albums of all time just got turned into a stage musical? In honor of the Flaming Lips and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (which, incidentally, is my number one pump up song of all time) we had a very robotic story time last week.

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

Flannel: Alphabet Soup- ROBOT

Finger Play: 10 Little Fingers

Book: Hello, Robots by Bob Staake


Flannel: Robot Shapes

Song: Do Your Ears Hang Low?

Song: Open, Shut Them

Book: Robots Everywhere by Dennis Hebson


Song: Shake Your Sillies Out

Song: One Finger, One Thumb, Keep Moving

Flannel: Let's Go Out on a Summer Night

Action Rhyme: Big, Big, Big

Song: Turn Around from Getting to Know Myself


Make and Take Craft: Build Your Own Robot

Supplies:
-paper cups
-tin foil
-googly eyes or eye stickers
-pipe cleaners (cut in half)
-stickers
-glitter glue

Process: Before story time I covered each paper cup in tin foil (if my kids were a little older I would have had them do it themselves), after story time I passed out the cups, stickers, pipe cleaners and eye stickers and let the kids go crazy. Adults helped poke pipe cleaners through the cups and everything else was pretty easy for the kids to handle on their own. The sheer variety of end results from the same starting point was wonderful to see.

Time: Prep took 25 minutes and the craft took 45.

Origami X, Nick Robinson

The Teaser: Origami X provides 10 pieces of origami paper and instructions for 10 origami models that super secret spy agents will find helpful in their day to day operations. Along with the easy to follow instructions are side panels on all sorts of helpful spy skills like cryptology and secret messages.

Succes! The Death Mark from page 20

What Stood Out: The book is colorful and bright without being overwhelming. The instructions are, for the most part, incredibly easy to follow and the end results are beautiful. This is a great introduction to origami, with a fun twist for reluctant crafters. I would pair it with Harriet the Spy or Liar & Spy for a great gift, and will certainly refer to it if I ever need to plan a spy themed library program or party. 

Success! The Secret File from page 28

Success! The Star from page 12

What Didn't Work: I tried four of the ten origami diagrams in the book and had great success with 3 of them. The camera didn't work for me, no matter how many times I tried it. Actual written directions are tricky with origami, I know, but it would have been nice to have a little bit more than just arrows when the need for troubleshooting arises.

Fail. Whomp, whomp. The Covert Camera from page 32

Anything Extra Special?: All throughout the book, hidden at the end of each origami diagram, are little hints on being a spy. Lessons on cryptography, disguises, ciphers and trailing targets line the pages, adding a little extra something to the all the great origami projects.

Flannel Friday: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

"Okay, you guys, I need your help. Do you know the song "Row, row, row your boat"? Great. Let's sing it together:

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream

Merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream

Row, row r- Wait? You guys don't know the next verse? Oh, well, it goes like this

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream,

If you see a crocodile,

Don't forget to scream!

I didn't hear you guys scream. You have to really let it out. Okay, on 1...2...3...

AGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH

And there's more

Row, row, row you boat

Gently down the creek

If you see a mouse,

He'll surely go squeak, squeak!

Okay, last verse. Get ready.

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently towards the shore,

If you see a lion,

Give him your best ROAR!

Great job you guys! Give yourselves a round of applause."

There are a lot of possibilities with this song and water words, make up your own verses and play along!

brook...look (If you see an elephant, take a second look)

wave...cave (Right around the corner, a bear lives in that cave)

bend... end 

sea...free

flash...crash

Flannel Friday is being hosted by Erin today, for more info on Flannel Friday: The Movement, check out the official website.

Theme Thursday: Yo Ho Ho

Arrr matey, walk the plank! Our pirate themed story time is the very best!

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

Flannel: This Old Pirate

Finger Play: 10 Little Fingers

Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Book: I Love My Pirate Papa by Laura Leuck



Song: Grand Old Duke of York

Action Rhyme: Here We Go Up, Up, Up


 Baby Bounce: X Marks the Spot

X marks the spot (draw an X with a hard poke in the middle of the baby's back)
A circle and a dot (draw a circle with a dot in the center of the baby's back)
Here we go looking for treasure (wander your fingers all over the baby's back)
I love you more than words can measure (hug the baby)


Flannel: 5 Little Ducks

Book: Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarret Krosoczka


Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Song: Turn Around from Hap Palmer's Getting to Know Myself

Make and Take Craft: Pirate Hats




Supplies: 
-chalk
-black construction paper cut into pirate hat shape
- long strips of construction paper (I stapled 2 full length strips together)
-stapler

Process: Before story time I cut out the pirate hat shapes, and had I been thinking, I would have pre-stapled the construction paper strips too. But silly me, I thought I was the only one with a big head. After story time I gave out the pirate hats and the chalk. After they were done decorating they came to me, where I measured their heads by putting a construction paper strip around their head and folding the ends at their temples.Then I stapled the strip to the pirate hat in a loop that slid easily down and held in place.


Time: Prep took 7 minutes, the craft took 30.

Liar and Spy, Rebecca Stead

The Teaser: Georges (the s is silent) is not having an easy go of it. His family has to move out of their house because his dad lost his job, his mom is always at the hospital, his only friend suddenly wants nothing to do with him and he's being bullied by some of the meanest kids in school. When Georges answers an ad in his new apartment building looking for people to join a spy club, he meets Safer, Candy and their big brother Pigeon and it seems like Georges may actually have real friends for the first time in a long time. But not all is as it seems in this new apartment building and there really are mysteries to be solved and spy missions to accomplish. With Safer pushing Georges farther and farther outside his comfort zone, Georges must figure out what he wants and learn to stand up for himself, both to his new friend and to the bullies at school.

What Stood Out: This is a really hard book to write a description for without giving anything away. There are multiple plot lines weaving in and out of this book to give the whole story a very lived-in and true to life feeling. Stead also has an knack for details, building a beautiful if relentless and cruel world for her characters. I was not a fan of Stead's Newbery winning When You Reach Me, mainly because I didn't believe in the world or the characters, but with Liar and Spy I understand exactly where each character was coming from.

What Didn't Work: There was a lot going on in Liar and Spy. Part of that was awesome, it made the story  much more realistic, but I still wish that certain elements had been foreshadowed better or given a little more room to breathe. By the end, with its umpteen twists in the last 20 pages, I was struggling to keep up.

Anything Extra Special?: I love a good unreliable narrator. Not to give anything away, but a huge part of Liar and Spy is Georges piecing together the truth from what people choose to reveal and Georges has a couple pretty big secrets of his own.

Liar and Spy also dives head first into an extended metaphor about pointillism and Georges Seurat that pays off big in the end. I'm impressed that Stead found a way to make 19th century post-impressionism so accessible and interesting for this audience. If one child looks up "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" after reading this book, it will all be worth it.

Flannel Friday: Pirates!

Pirates sure are popular around Flannel Friday these days. I figured it was about time to throw my hat (and skull and crossbones) into the ring.


I started by putting this guy up on the board.

I told the kids that this was our friend wanted to be a pirate and then I asked what else he needed in order to really become one. What do pirates have? As they shouted out each answer, I put it up on the board around his head. They got hat and eye patch right away and I gave clues for hook, ship and treasure. Once we had all the pieces on the board we started with the song.

This little pirate had a patch,

He sailed the seas without a scratch,

With an Aye, Aye Matey! and a Yo, Ho, Ho,

This little pirate sailed for home

This little pirate had a hat,

Where a skull and crossbones sat,

With an Aye, Aye Matey! and a Yo, Ho, Ho,

This little pirate sailed for home

This little pirate had a hook,

He used it to read a book,

With an Aye, Aye Matey! and a Yo, Ho, Ho,

This little pirate sailed for home

This little pirate had a ship,

He sailed the world in just one trip,

With an Aye, Aye Matey! and a Yo, Ho, Ho,

This little pirate sailed for home

This little pirate looked for treasure,

He wanted more they you could measure,

With an Aye, Aye Matey! and a Yo, Ho, Ho,

This little pirate sailed for home

The site that I got the song from has a few more verses that I didn't get around to making. There's something wonky going on with the host of the site, but if you scroll down, you should be able to make out the verses.

I also whipped up some beautiful pirate ships using the template that Andrea at Roving Fiddlehead Kidlit provided a while back. We used the color rhyme that she provided too!

Flannel Friday is being hosted by Liz this week, and you can always learn more about Flannel Friday by visiting the official website.

Theme Thursday: Yee Haw, Giddy-Up

Howdy Partner, this here's what we did for a rootin-tootin' cowboy themed story time.

Song: Good Morning Dear Earth

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It

Flannel/Action Rhyme: I Gave My Horse an Apple

I gave my horse an apple,

She gave me a neigh

I gave my horse a carrot,

She shook her head this way

I gave my horse a lump of sugar,

And she gave me a smile,

Then took me on a ride that lasted half a mile

Book: A Wild Cowboy by Dana Kessimakis Smith

Finger Play: 2 Little Blackbirds

Finger Play: Engine on the Track

Song: Shake My Sillies Out

Song: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Song:  Itsy Bitsy Spider

Flannel: The Colorful Cowboy

Book/Song: She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain by Jonathan Emmett

 

Song: Turn Around from Hap Palmer's Getting to Know Myself

Make and Take Craft: Create a Cowboy

Supplies:

-construction paper

-crayons

-glue sticks

-construction paper hats and boots (pre cut)

Process: The day before story time I cut out a bunch of hats and boot from brown construction paper. I gave the kids crayons, glue sticks and a full piece of paper to glue on the hat and boots and then fill in the rest for themselves.


Time: Prep took 5 minutes, the craft took 25.