Meet Sparkee! Somerset Patriots Mascot (All Ages)

 

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, plus additional group for MLK 2:45-3:30

Join us for some baseball-inspired activities for the whole family, and a special visit from Sparkee, the mascot of the Somerset Patriots baseball team!

Opening music: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” --Carly Simon (track #1 of CD from book below),  kids started doing crafts while I was awaiting confirmation that “Sparkee” had arrived in the building…

Gather together kids – sit down – who likes baseball? favorite team?

Read: Randy Riley’s Big Hit by Chris Van Dusen (omitted for MLK – they’d heard it Monday) a kid who strikes out but loves astronomy saves his town by designing a giant robot that hits that fireball back into outer space…

Meet and Greet with Sparkee

Read: Moon ball by Jane Yolen (A boy learns that he can hit a home run for his team the “all-stars” (made up of constellations!) when he remembers that "eye on the ball is all"))  -- Sparkee sat down to listen with the kids

Ended with a rousing reprise of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” --Carly Simon  -- Sparkee led the actions for the chorus

Crafts: Baseball Buddy: http://www.dltk-kids.com/sports/mbaseballbuddy.htm (12x18 cardboard, gluesticks, scissors, markers), decorate your own visor and/or pendant (ellison dies), take-home baseball word search: http://www.puzzles-to-print.com/printable-word-search/baseball-word-search.shtml

Sparkee mingled with kids doing crafts

Music playing while crafting:

Baseball [music CD] New York : Elektra Nonesuch, [1994] – selections from this soundtrack album.

8/3/2016 BWL & MLK@BWL

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

 

A fun, yet educational program, inclusive of African-Americans and
women in the sport, designed to help kids develop a sense of history and empathy
(ages 6-9)

 

”Music playing as they come in: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” --Carly Simon sings in on track 1 on CD that accompanies book:

Show cover of Teammates by Peter Golenbook (J796.357 GOL), ask if anyone knows who is in the picture (Jackie Robinson) – then read this book which tells the story of the hostility Jackie received when he was the first to integrate the major leagues and how his fellow player “Pee Wee” Reese stood up for him.

Song (to tune "John, Jacob, Jingleheimer Schmidt" (clapping reduction) modified by Carol Simon Levin) 
Jackie had a baseball ball and bat. 
He loved to play all day. 
Whenever he would play, the people all would say,
Jackie – make home base today!  La La La La La La!

Show cover of Mighty Jackie: The Strike Out Queen by Marissa Moss (JB MItchell). Ask what the kids notice (its a girl!) – read this book which tells the story of Jackie Mitchell, the girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig!

Reprise song above with “he” changed to “she.”

“Did you ever daydream when you were supposed to be keeping your eye on the ball?...that’s what this story is about…”

Randy Riley’s Big Hit –Chris Van Dusen (booktalked: Moon ball – Jane Yolen (fantasy "eye on the ball is all"))

Read: The Summer My Father was Ten by Pat Brisson – kids playing a pick-up baseball game end up ruining a garden in this story about making amends and intergenerational friends.

Finished with an exciting narrative of a single hit by Jackie Robinson – read: Stealing Home: Jackie Robinson Against the Odds by Robert Burleigh (JB Robinson) -- the book ends with the line: “…because this is Jackie Robinson and baseball (and America, too) will never again be quite the same.

Ended with a rousing reprise of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” --Carly Simon

Booktalked:  Eight Animals Play Ball – Susan Middleton Ely (bilingual) Song/Book: Take Me Out to the Ball Game, The Field Beyond the Outfield – Mark Teague,
Players in Pigtails – Shana Corey (Women's Professional Baseball League during WW2, the movie: A League of Their Own),  Girl Wonder – Deborah Hopkinson, Alex Rodriguez: Out of the Ballpark (also in Spanish) by Frank Morrison

MLK Center 8.16

School Age Story/Craft: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

“Join us for stories, songs, and crafts celebrating America’s national sport.”(Ages 4-9)
A fun, yet educational program, inclusive of women’s role in the sport.

”Music playing as they come in: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (track 20 on Kidsongs 25^th Anniversary Album.)

As children arrive: Baseball books (fiction/non-fiction) to browse, baseball word search http://www.printactivities.com/Word_Search_Puzzles/Baseball-Word-Search.html & pencils available.  
Books to display: lots of baseball books & biographies, Eight Animals Play Ball – Susan Middleton Ely (bilingual) Stealing Home: Jackie Robinson Against the Odds, Teammates, Song/Book: Take Me Out to the Ball Game, The Field Beyond the Outfield – Mark Teague, Summer My Father was Ten – Pat Brisson

Talk about who plays – boys/girls…mention there was a time when girls weren’t supposed to play…
Players in Pigtails – Shana Corey (Women's Professional Baseball League during WW2  -- booktalked Mighty Jackie: The Strike Out Queen – Marissa Moss, Girl Wonder – Deborah Hopkinson, the movie: A League of Their Own)

Song (to tune "John, Jacob, Jingleheimer Schmidt" (clapping reduction) modified by Carol Simon Levin)
Katie Casey had a baseball ball and bat. 
She loved to play all day. 
Whenever she would play, the people all would say,
Katie Casey – make home base today!

“Did you ever daydream when you were supposed to be keeping your eye on the ball?...that’s what this story is about…”
Randy Riley’s Big Hit –Chris Van Dusen (booktalked: Moon ball – Jane Yolen (fantasy "eye on the ball is all"))

Song (to tune "I'm a Little Teapot" source unknown)
I love playing baseball every day.
There's nothing else I'd rather play.
When I'm up at bat the fans all cheer
when I crack the ball right out of here!

Craft Stations:

• Die-cut visors to decorate (markers, tape, strips for headbands, print-outs of team logos)
• Die-cut pennants to decorate (same)
• Lace up baseball glove craft (front and back of glove, scissors, hole punch, yarn, tape) – small motor skills
• “Baseball Buddy (http://www.dltk-kids.com/sports/mbaseballbuddy.htm)

4.13

Reading Rainbow: Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo