Literacy Volunteers/Middle Earth "Soup's On"

 Participatory Stories & Songs: Soup & Thanksgiving

Asked about everyone's favorite kinds of soup, then opened with a very strange recipe:

Book: Monkey Soup by Louis Sachar (child makes her father a special kind of soup to help get him well – silly! -- Don't try this at home! )   

Song/Flannel:  "Alphabet Soup" by Tom Chapin (another silly recipe, reinforces alphabet, lyrics here: Soup's On)

 

Book: Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt (how to handle a "bad day" - could also make "Mean Cheerios!")

Interactive story with props (pot, puppets, & veggies): Stone Soup  (Participatory storytelling, mentioned old story many variants – I use the Ann McGovern version with old lady and young man - script here: Soup's On)

Book/Cards/Song: Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak, tune by Carole King from “Really Rosie” (audio & video available, concept: the names of the months, lyrics here: Soup's On)

Craft: decorating potholders with fabric markers, then concluded with a "snowball fight" (details here) on this cold evening!

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed)

Wednesday January 8th 4:30 p.m. Registration Required.

Join us as we share a story about the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, then explore the geometry of his designs, a fantasy house, and create some buildings and designs of our own.

As kids entered, had assorted coloring sheets of his buildings and windows from the internet as well as pages photocopied from Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work along with books on architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright to browse (including some adult “coffee table” books to look at pictures).

Opened by asking if anyone knew what architect/architecture was?  Said we’d be reading a book about an architect who some consider America’s best.  Man who loved shapes…had kids look for shapes on the cover of The Shape of the World (one kid even pointed out the rhombus = diamond!), notice what was on the end-papers – items from nature…

Read the book aloud then showed pictures of some of his famous buildings: Falling Water, The Johnson Wax building interior with the “lilypads”, Guggenheim – asked kids to respond with what shapes they saw.  Showed pictures of a few things he dreamed up but never built – future city with helicopters, mile high skyscraper. Then shared another book of imaginitive architecture If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen

Booktalked Dreaming Up by Christy Hale (poems & children's versions of iconic buildings), The Wright 3 mystery,  Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work.

“Design It” - encouraged kids to create their own Wright-inspired  designs or imagine a future city

• tables with coloring sheets, paper and cardboard, grid paper, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, rulers, scissors
• on the floor -- magnetiles, foam shapes, straws & connectors, Toobers &  Zots.

More ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2017/09/steam-storytimethe-wright-stuff.html

CDPL 1/2025

Winter Holiday Singalong: Bernardsville Library

 

Holiday Sing-Along (Need Easel, Promethean, Board and Musical Instruments)

Action Song:  You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song 

Flannelboards:  

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah 

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Candles

Action: Spin Little Dreidel, Turn Around

Flannelboards:  

I have a Little Dreidel

Flying on the North Wind

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Active Music Play (with videos - next time, use audio only, kids were too glued to video to participate very actively with instruments)

**Pass Out Musical Instruments**

Videos: 

Jingle Bells

Little drummer boy (omitted)

Feliz Navidad (omitted)

Deck the Halls

Singable book: The Marvelous Toy by Tom Paxton

Wish For Snow and a white holiday Break!

Videos: 

Frosty the Snowman (prefer singable book when I can get it)

Let it Go

Flannelboard: In the Freezer by Joe Scruggs

Snowball Fight Play – Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson

Goodbye/Wind Down - action songs

This Little Light of Mine 

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Sing, Sing a Song (clasp hands and make a circle - go in and out - sing louder 2nd time)

Distribute Stickers

Lyrics for the songs can be found at: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/01/singalong-winters-day.html

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/singalong-keep-spiritwinter-holiday.html

December 2024

Family Storytime/Craft "All Presents Accounted For" - Clarence Dillon Library

 

Family Storytime/Craft "All Presents Accounted For" - Clarence Dillon Library

Come join us for a STEM Story & Craft ---  Saturday 12/21  10:30

                         Ages 4 and up (siblings welcomed). Saturday, Dec. 21, 10:30 am

Join Carol Levin for a great story plus a fun wrapping paper & card craft afterwards!

Booktalked: Rabbit's Gift (A Fable from China) by George Shannon, Silver Packages (An Appalachian Story) by Cynthia Rylant, and Boxes for Katje (a story of American packages to Europe after WW2) - had kids vote for which one I should read. 

Read: Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant

Song/Flannel pieces: He'll be coming round the mountain when he comes

Read (silly story): The Gift by Gabriela Keselman (a child's parents try to figure out what kind of gift could be big, strong, soft, sweet and other qualities...)

Song (silly verses): I had a little driedel, I made it out of clay... soap, ice, straw, etc.

Booktalked: Gifts by Jo Ellen Bogart (a grandmother brings her granddaughter gifts from all over the world - illustrations created from plasticine), The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Christmas Tree by David Rubin, Night Tree by Cynthia Rylant (a family decorates a tree  with edibles for the forest animals), December by Eve Bunting (a homeless mother and child experience a Christmas miracle), The Extraordinary Gift by Florence Langlois (celebrates all the marvelous imaginary things a kid can find in the pages of a book)

Singable Book: The Marvelous Toy by Tom Paxton

and, in celebration of today's snowfall:

Song/Flannel: In the Freezer by Joe Scruggs

Action Song: I'm a little snowman 

Plastic bag snowball fight to the song Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson 

Crafts: making wrapping paper with stamps & stamp pads, cards with stickers and markers

Lyrics: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2015/01/singalong-winters-day.html

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/singalong-keep-spiritwinter-holiday.html

More info on these books & themes: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Gifts%20and%20Giving

Making History - STEM Ideas to bring History to Life

  

Making History - STEM Ideas to bring History to Life

I was one of the participants in this NJ Makers Day Event, which brought together museum educators and librarians to share some of their ideas for interactive history.

A resource guide was compiled from those presentations - my slides are also reproduced below
(click on the Resource Guide link for full-sized slides & more info):

More info: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Archaelogy

Ancient civilizations: 

More info: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20Egypt

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20Greece

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancient%20Rome%20%28Pompeii%29

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Chinese%20New%20Year

More “Picture This” program ideas:

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Art%20%26%20Artist%20Programs

More info:

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Architects

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Empire%20State%20Building

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Houses%20%20Homes%20and%20Habitats

More info: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Brooklyn%20Bridge

https://tellingherstories.com/school-visits/

https://tellingherstories.com

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Bridge-Building

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Aviators has many other programs 

I also have several Telling Her Stories programs on female aviators, details at www.tellingherstories.com & https://tellingherstories.com/school-visits/

Details & more ideas: 

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Engineering

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Eggs

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Houses%20%20Homes%20and%20Habitats

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Recycled%20Orchestra

Many more ideas:

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/S.T.E.A.M.%20Storytime%20Surprise

https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/S.T.E.A.M.

www.tellingherstories.com

Making History: A History Focused Maker Event
Brought to you by the League of Historical Societies of NJ, LibraryLinkNJ, and NJ Makers Day
10/22/2024
Piscataway Public Library, Kennedy Branch
500 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854

Tellebration: Soup & Thanksgiving Stories

 

Participatory Stories & Songs: Soup & Thanksgiving

Asked about everyone's favorite kinds of soup, then opened with a very strange recipe:

Book: Monkey Soup by Louis Sachar (child makes her father a special kind of soup to help get him well – silly! -- Don't try this at home! )   

Song/Flannel:  "Alphabet Soup" by Tom Chapin (another silly recipe, reinforces alphabet, lyrics here: Soup's On)

 

Book: Mean Soup by Betsy Everitt (how to handle a "bad day" - could also make "Mean Cheerios!")

Mentioned today we are celebrating the Trenton Soup Kitchen - community feeding...

Interactive story with props (pot, puppets, & veggies): Stone Soup  (Participatory storytelling, mentioned old story many variants – I use the Ann McGovern version with old lady and young man - script here: Soup's On)

Book/Cards/Song: Chicken Soup with Rice – Maurice Sendak, tune by Carole King from “Really Rosie” (audio & video available, concept: the names of the months, lyrics here: Soup's On)

Other possible books:

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert (vocabulary, non-fiction concepts of gardening & food prep)

“Piggy Back” Song/Action: This is the Way we… make the Soup reinforces sequencing)

Armadilly Chili by Helen Ketterman (Armadillo fails to get help from her friends in chili preparation but when they return with "sackfulls of apologies plus apple cider, cornbread, and brownies, she finds sharing dinner with friends is best of all. This is a  folktale variant of "Little Red Hen"

That is NOT a Good Idea by Mo Willems

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai

Dumpling Soup by Jama Kin Rattigan

Last Stop on Market Street – Matt de la Pena -- grandmother & child travel on a bus to serve at a soup kitchen

More ideas & lyrics: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search?q=soup

Thanksgiving

Book: Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules

Discussion: who came from a different country? parents? grandparents? – all of us came to this country at some time unless we are Native Americans)

Towel Folding Story: The Case of the Missing Turkey -- Rhonda Turley   Piedmont, OK via PUBYAC. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq4eojAsNlY  (or search youtube for towel and chicken).  Story & directions here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2021/12/something-special-for-holidays.html

Flannel/Song: The Turkey Ran Away 

Song/Prop: I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie (based on the book by Alison Jackson – cut out mounted woman below) Story & directions here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2021/12/something-special-for-holidays.html

Action Song: The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven – based on the poem by Jack Prelutsky (lyrics here: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2021/12/something-special-for-holidays.html)

Forgot to do:

Glove Puppets : Uno, Dos, Tres Amigos (reinforces idea that we all have come from different places but celebrate together; enumeration practice, learn/reinforce Spanish language numbers)
Diez Amigos "10 Friends" (glove puppets)Tune: “10 Little Indians” 
Uno, dos, tres amigos,
Quatro, cinco, seis amigos,
Siete, Ocho, Nueve amigos,
Diez amigos son.
One, two, three friends,
Four, five, six friends,
Seven, Eight, Nine friends,
Ten friends are we. 

More Thanksgiving book and song ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/search/label/Thanksgiving